Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

Britain will begin offering a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to 32 million Britons starting in early September, The Telegraph reported Sunday. The shots will be available in as many as 2,000 pharmacies with the goal of getting them into arms by early December.The government has been preparing since at least June, when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) called for a plan to offer the third shot to people 70 years old or older, care home residents and those who are vulnerable for health reasons.At least 90% of British adults have received at least one shot, but that rate falls to 60% for those 18-30 years old, government figures show. To encourage younger adults to get vaccinated before colder weather prompts people to spend more time indoors, the Department of Health and Social Care said that restaurants, food delivery services and ride-hailing apps are offering discounts to persuade people to be vaccinated.The lifesaving vaccines not only protect you, your loved ones and your community, but they are helping to bring us back together by allowing you to get back to doing the things youve missed, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said, according to the Associated Press.

British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who tested positive for COVID-19 in December, said he may be suffering its effects after appearing unwell Sunday after finishing second at the Hungarian Grand Prix."I've been fighting all year really with staying healthy after what happened at the end of last year and it's still, it's a battle, the 36-year-old said after seeing a doctor after the race. "I haven't spoken to anyone about it but I think (the effects of COVID are) lingering. I remember the effects of when I had it and training has been different since then.In Berlin, thousands marched Sunday to protest pandemic restrictions and about 600 protesters were detained after clashes with police, the AP reported.

While Germany eased many of its restrictions in May, large gatherings remain banned. The number of new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, remain low but are rising. Germany, with a population of 83 million, reported 2,100 new cases Sunday, more than 500 above last Sundays number.Since the pandemic began, it has reported 3.8 million cases and 92,000 deaths. More than 200 employees at two major hospitals in San Francisco, in the western U.S. state of California, have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a report Saturday in The New York Times. Most of the staff members at Zuckerberg San Francisco General and the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center Hospital were fully vaccinated and most of them tested positive for the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus, according to the newspaper. Only two cases required hospitalization. The hospitalization rate would have been higher without vaccinations, said Dr. Lukejohn Day, Zuckerbergs chief medical officer. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said Sunday evening there are 198 million cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 4.2 million deaths globally. The U.S. leads the world in the number of COVID-19 cases, with 35 million, and 613,174 deaths, according to the university.Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Britain to Offer COVID-19 Booster Shots This Fall - Voice of America

The new incentive program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

HOUSTON Starting Monday, the Houston Health Department will be giving away $25 gift cards to people who get fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The $25 gift cards will be awarded to anyone who completes their vaccination series within 42 days of their first dose at a health department health center or multi-service center clinic.

The incentive promotion lasts until 1,900 total gift cards for Walmart, Target, Old Navy, Ross, Amazon, Shell, Walgreens and METRO are awarded.

We are at a pivotal point in the fight against this deadly virus. Positive cases and hospitalizations are increasing, primarily among the unvaccinated, despite vaccines being free and readily available, Mayor Sylvester Turner said. It is our hope the new incentive offered by the Houston Health Department will encourage people to take their best shot and help save lives in the process.

Eligible clinic locations and hours of operation:

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 99.5% of Texans who died from COVID-19 from Feb. 8 through July 14, 2021, were unvaccinated. Texas hospitals report more than 90% of patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

The Delta variant is different because it is much more contagious and, while rare, vaccinated people may get infected and spread it to others, said Dr. David Persse, chief medical officer for the City of Houston. While this can seem discouraging, its important to remember the vaccines prevent almost everyone who gets a breakthrough infection from serious illness and death. Vaccines are the best tool to protect you and those around you.

The gift cards will be provided at the time of the second dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or with the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently authorized for people age 18 and older and Pfizer is approved for people age 12 and older. Vaccination of minors requires parental consent forms, available at the clinics.

Getting vaccinated is free and does not require ID, proof of residency, citizenship, or insurance.

Houston Health Department-affiliated COVID-19 vaccination sites are available with or without appointments. Locations are available at HoustonEmergency.org or by calling 832-393-4220.

The gift card incentive program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Houston Health Department offering gift cards to those who get the COVID-19 vaccine - KHOU.com

ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) Crowds lined S. Promenade Blvd. Sunday to protest Mercy Northwest Arkansas hospitals decision to require employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Protestors held signs describing the requirement as medical tyrrany, and stating unvaccinated lives matter.

The protest lasted from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Mercy officials said the decision to require inoculations for employees was one made out of a concern for the safety of not just staff, but patients as well.

It is essential that we take these steps in order to protect the health of our co-workers and our patients at Mercy, said Dr. William Sistrunk, Mercy infectious disease specialist.

The deadline for hospital employees to receive their vaccines is September 30.

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Crowds gather to protest Mercy hospitals requiring COVID-19 vaccination for employees - KNWA

CNN

Theres dangling a carrot at the end of a stick. And then theres dangling a pizza.

The United Kingdom is using take-out food discounts and free taxi rides as incentives for young people to get their Covid-19 vaccines, the countrys Department of Health said in a statement Sunday.

So far, companies teaming up with the UK government include Uber, Bolt, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims. Other incentives could include vouchers or discount codes for people attending pop-up vaccine sites and booking through the NHS (National Health Service), social media competitions and promotional offers for restaurants, the department added.

Some of the incentives from companies such as Uber and Bolt have been used in the past. But the measures are resurfacing due to signs of youth vaccination uptake still catching up to older generations.

People over the age of 80 were among the first in the country to receive their first shot, in December 2020. Since then, vaccination centers have gradually been working their way down to younger demographics.

People under 30 were granted access to their first vaccine dose in June 2021. Around 67% of 18 to 29-year-olds in England have since had a first vaccination, according to the government statement.

A total of 84.7 million vaccine doses have been administered in the UK, with 46.7 million people (88.4%) receiving a first dose and 37.9 million (71.8%) receiving both doses.

Alberto Pezzali/AP

People on the dance floor shortly after the reopening of The Piano Works venue in Farringdon, central London, on July 19.

In England, home of one of the worlds highest vaccination rates, Prime Minister Boris Johnson loosened nearly all Covid-19 restrictions on July 19, while at the same time announcing that full vaccination would be a condition of entry to nightclubs by the end of September, when all over 18s will have had the chance to be double jabbed.

Though we can see the enthusiasm of millions of young people to get their jabs, we need even more young adults to receive a protection that is of immense benefit to your family and friends and to yourselves. And so I would remind everybody that some of lifes most important pleasures and opportunities are likely to be increasingly dependent on vaccination, Johnson warned at the time.

The government has also launched several pop-up vaccination centers across the country, to encourage walk-ins. It said over 600,000 people were vaccinated last weekend at such clinics, including Londons Tate Modern Gallery and the Primark clothing store in Bristol.

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Pizza and taxi rides used to lure UK youth into getting Covid-19 vaccination - CNN

Vaccinated Portland man tests positive for COVID-19, warns that a mild case is still scary  KATU

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Vaccinated Portland man tests positive for COVID-19, warns that a mild case is still scary - KATU

'Theres a trust issue here': Battle lines are drawn over COVID-19 vaccinations  Muncie Star Press

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'Theres a trust issue here': Battle lines are drawn over COVID-19 vaccinations - Muncie Star Press

CLAIM

COVID-19 vaccines will cause the virus to be more dangerous, will make the SARS-CoV-2 more dangerous due to a mechanism called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE)

DETAILS

Inadequate support: COVID-19 vaccines havent shown signs of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) in animal studies or vaccinated people. On the contrary, evidence indicates that vaccination reduces the risk of infection and the severity of the disease.Misrepresents source: Fully vaccinated people who become infected tend to show less virus than unvaccinated people. The video misinterprets an article by NBC News reporting on new data about the Delta variant in particular. When infected with this variant, vaccinated people might have viral levels similar to unvaccinated people, but not higher as the video claimed.

KEY TAKE AWAY

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is a mechanism that occurs when antibodies can't neutralize a virus but instead increase its ability to infect cells, making the disease worse. While ADE was a concern during COVID-19 vaccine development, previous knowledge allowed researchers to minimize this risk from early stages. COVID-19 vaccines haven't shown signs of causing more severe disease in animal studies, clinical trials, nor vaccination roll-out. On the contrary, all FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe disease.

REVIEW On 28 July 2021, the podcast War Room: Pandemic published this video interview between host Steve Bannon and the vaccine and clinical consultant Robert Malone. The video was widely shared on social media platforms, receiving more than 25,000 interactions on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter (see examples here, here, here, and here)

Both Bannon and Malone have previously spread misinformation on COVID-19 vaccines. In November 2020, Twitter permanently suspended Bannon after he suggested that certain U.S. officials like Anthony Fauci should be beheaded, violating the platforms policies against the glorification of violence. YouTube later removed the podcasts channel in January 2021 for violating the platforms policies on misinformation.

Malones interview focused on the primary claim that COVID-19 vaccination will make the SARS-CoV-2 more dangerous due to a mechanism called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). ADE occurs when antibodies cant neutralize a virus but instead facilitate its capacity of infecting cells. This phenomenon increases the risk that vaccinated individuals develop more severe disease when exposed to the virus.

Claims that COVID-19 vaccines would cause ADE started circulating on social media platforms early in the pandemic. Such claims are baseless and actually contradict scientific evidence, as we explain below.

ADE is not a characteristic of a particular vaccine but of a disease itself. The first reports of ADE came from patients with dengue virus infections. Researchers observed that previous infection with one of the four variants of the virus often worsened the symptoms of the disease if the person had a second infection with a different variant. This phenomenon caused problems in the development of vaccines for dengue, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), measles, and some coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1) and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The risk of ADE was a true concern during the development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates[1]. However, previous knowledge helped researchers to minimize this risk from the early stages of COVID-19 vaccine development[2]. This influenced critical decisions during vaccine design, such as targeting the spike protein instead of other viral proteins that had caused ADE in vaccine candidates against past coronaviruses[3]. Researchers also conducted specific animal studies to detect ADE and closely monitored clinical trial participants for any sign of this phenomenon in COVID-19 vaccine candidates[4].

The result of this awareness is that COVID-19 vaccines developed so far showed no signs of ADE in animal studies, clinical trials, or during vaccine roll-out. Real-world studies further demonstrate that all FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe disease and death[5,6]. Furthermore, COVID-19 infections in fully vaccinated individuals are rare and tend to produce milder symptoms than in those who didnt receive the vaccine[6,7]. This is exactly the opposite of what one would expect if ADE was occurring.

During the interview, Malone further claimed that SARS-CoV-2 variants are most likely developing in the people who have been vaccinated, increasing the risk of ADE. As Health Feedback covered in previous reviews, current evidence doesnt support the claim that COVID-19 vaccines lead to more viral variants, and actually contradicts it.

Each time the virus replicates, it can introduce mutations, which are changes in its genetic sequence. These changes are random and a natural process in viral evolution. The more infections the virus causes, the more times it replicates, increasing the likelihood of generating new mutations that might spread as new variants. Studies show that long-lasting infections also favor the development of new mutations.

If COVID-19 vaccines did lead to more variants, those regions with higher vaccination rates would observe more new variants circulating among the population. This isnt the case. In fact, all current variants of concern emerged in 2020, before the vaccination campaigns began. Because COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevent infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, they also make it less likely for the virus to mutate and for new variants to spread. In contrast, unvaccinated individuals are more likely to get infected and develop severe COVID-19, increasing the chances of new variants to emerge.

Given the above evidence that COVID-19 vaccines arent worsening the disease, on what grounds claimed Malone that COVID-19 vaccines cause ADE?

During the interview, Malone mentioned a 27 July 2021 article by NBC news discussing an imminent update on face masks guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This update reversed previous indoor masks policy and recommended that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors again in places with high transmission rates.

According to Malone, NBC News reported that this change in guidance responded to new data suggesting that people vaccinated against COVID-19 had more virus than unvaccinated individuals. Malone also shared this claim in a tweet, together with a screenshot from a USA Today article echoing that of NBC News. USA Today removed this part of the article in a later update. However, neither NBC nor USA Today stated what Malone claimed:

Federal health officials still believe fully vaccinated individuals represent a very small amount of transmission. Still, some vaccinated people could be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood and potentially transmit it to others. NBC News.

NBC News, citing unnamed officials aware of the decision, reported it comes after new data suggests vaccinated individuals could have higher levels of virus and infect others amid the surge of cases driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus. USA Today.

Multiple studies show that the few people who develop COVID-19 after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine tend to have a lower viral load than unvaccinated people[8,9]. New data suggest that viral levels in vaccinated individuals who get infected with the Delta variant might be as high as in unvaccinated individuals, but not higher as Malone claimed[10]. These data imply that some vaccinated individuals who get infected might still transmit the virus to others and is what informed the CDCs decision to reverse face mask policy, as the article by NBC News reported.

In summary, Malone misrepresented the NBC News article to claim that vaccinated individuals have higher virus levels than unvaccinated individuals, which is inaccurate. Vaccinated people who become infected generally show less virus than unvaccinated people. When infected with the Delta variant in particular, viral levels in vaccinated individuals can be similar to those in unvaccinated, but not higher.

COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19 and reducing the risk of infection. Contrary to what Malone claimed, vaccinated individuals who become infected tend to have milder symptoms than unvaccinated individuals. By reducing the risk of infection and severe disease, COVID-19 vaccines also limit the spread of the virus within the population, making it less likely for new variants to emerge.

The medicinal chemist Derek Lowe made in his blog in Science Translational Medicine a detailed analysis of ADE in the context of COVID-19 vaccines. He also discussed previous research on ADE in different diseases and the mechanisms that can lead to it.

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COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevent severe disease; haven't shown signs of antibody-dependent enhancement as claimed by Robert Malone - Health...

In a continued effort to support the health and wellness of the entire Northeastern community, the university announced today that faculty and staff based in the United States will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the fall semester.

Northeastern was among the first universities to require that all students be vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall, and at the time, officials encouraged faculty and staff to get vaccinated as soon as they became eligible as well.

Now, as cases of COVID-19 tick upward across the country and a more contagious strain of SARS-CoV-2the coronavirus that causes COVID-19gains traction, university officials are requiring faculty and staff to submit verification of vaccination by Sept. 8, 2021.

University employees can submit vaccine verification through Northeasterns online wellness portal, under the link that reads Vaccine Verification. Completing the vaccination verification process is required, and the university will take all steps necessary to ensure full compliance with this policy, said Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning at Northeastern, in a message to faculty and staff on Monday.

Faculty and staff will be able to submit requests for exemptions to the vaccine requirement for medical reasons or where someone expresses a sincerely held religious belief.

The universitys management of the pandemic over the last 18 months has consistently been ahead of the curve and has allowed Northeastern to maintain safe, effective operational continuity without interrupting students academic progress or our research growth, Henderson said.

Achieving a 100 percent vaccination rate among our community will allow all of us to continue to achieve these goals and will further safeguard our community, he said.

Christo Wilson, associate professor of computer science, said that vaccination was extremely important for him.

I have small children who wont be eligible for vaccination anytime soon; reaching herd immunity is the only way to protect my family and still regain a semblance of normal, pre-pandemic life, said Wilson, who also directs the bachelor of science in cybersecurity program at Northeastern.

Key parts of Northeasterns successful reopening for the Spring 2021 term were an adherence to public health guidelines and robust surveillance testingboth of which the university will continue into the fall. Students, faculty, and staff will undergo COVID-19 testing once a week starting in the first week of September.

Its a comfort to know that Northeastern is a safe place to come to work every dayboth for my own peace of mind and because Im aware of protecting the other people I see outside of Northeastern, said Tim Kenneally, vice president of operations and planning for University Advancement.

The university recently conducted a survey of vaccine status among employees in which 80 percent of faculty and staff participated. Ninety-seven percent of the people who responded reported that they were already fully vaccinated or would be by September 2021.

While this level of reported vaccine adherence is strong, we are still left with a significant number of individuals whose status is unknown, said Henderson, a concern compounded by the emergence of the Delta variant and the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.

The Delta variant is much more contagious than other known versions of the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination and, in some circumstances, continued mask-wearing, are important measures to protect against such a transmissible variant, officials say.

The vaccines provide our best defense against this virus, said Neil Maniar, professor of the practice and director of the Master of Public Health in Urban Health program at Northeastern.

Having as close to 100 percent of our Northeastern community vaccinated will help ensure that we have a safe and successful school year by creating an environment where the virus has very few opportunities to enter our community, he said.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Northeastern to require COVID-19 vaccinations for faculty, staff this fall - News@Northeastern

(Photo provided by the City of Lubbock)

LUBBOCK, Texas (PRESS RELEASE) The following is a press release from the City of Lubbock Public Health Department:

The City of Lubbock Public Health Department will work with LISD to offerschool vaccinations as well as Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations to students and parents onAugust 6, at Monterey High School, from9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Walk-ins are welcome. Recipients do not need to be enrolled in LISD to receive a vaccination.

For more information, call the Public Health Department at 806-775-2933.

(Press release from the City of Lubbock Public Health Department)

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Health Department and LISD to offer school and COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Aug. 6 - KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com

LUBBOCK, Texas (PRESS RELEASE) The following is a press release from the City of Lubbock Public Health Department:

When: Saturday, August 7th (Tax-Free Weekend), 10 a.m. 3 p.m.

Where: South Plains Mall at 6002 Slide Road

The clinic will be located inside the mall, near the main entrance by Barnes & Noble Bookstore.First 200 vaccine recipients will receive a gift card.*Walk-ins are welcome.*

For more information visit mylubbock.us/covid19vaccine, or call the Public Health Department at 806-775-2933.

(Press release from the City of Lubbock Public Health Department)

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Health Dept. hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinic at South Plains Mall on Saturday, Aug. 7 - KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com