Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

What DeMarcus Ware wants from Cowboys coach Dan Quinn this season

Former Cowboys player DeMarcus Ware shares his hopes for Dallas defense in 2021 season.

SportsPulse, USA TODAY

OXNARD, Calif. Front-office members and coaches called players. Head coach Mike McCarthy shared his initial hesitancy and how the science won him over. Players swapped questions and answers, communicating among themselves.

The result: The Cowboys expect roughly 84 of the 89 players on their current roster will soon be vaccinated against COVID-19.

It was a many-faceted effort, Jones said Wednesday morning in a news conference to launch Cowboys training camp. From the standpoint of the players, from what I call in the pipeline that is committed atsome various stage of whether they need two vaccine shots and theyve got one, or theyre waiting a period of time to have the vaccine and go through the protocol.

We have a handful that in my mind that have still to commit to this. A handful and a hand is five. Thats iffy that in my mind. Several of that hand of five are on the way to potentially having their vaccine.

Were very satisfied with where the Dallas Cowboys are as far as looking at our competition.

Like with many NFL teams, such vaccine buy-in has not been a given.

NFL Network reported on July 12 that seven NFL teams had surpassed the 85% vaccination threshold that other sports leagues haveidentified for reducing team restrictions. A person with knowledge of the Cowboys vaccination rate told USA TODAY Sports that night that Dallas was not one of those seven. The person, speakingon condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to publicly disclose the information, said they didn't foresee enough players even receiving first doses for the team to clear that bar before training camp.

The NFL has not solidified a team vaccination rate protocol, league spokesman Brian McCarthy told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday, instead coordinating restriction on an individual basis. Even after a team has more than 85% of players vaccinated, any unvaccinated player will be subject to masking, testing and distancing protocols, McCarthy said.

Monday, on the eve of the Cowboys departure to Oxnard,the person with knowledge of the Cowboys vaccination rate said the club had a pretty good run of guys going to get it recently.

My opinion is (vaccinations)absolutely will not limit us in any way … as to being competitive as early as when we play Pittsburgh in the first preseason game, Jerry Jones said of the Cowboys' Aug. 5 competition in Canton, Ohio.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones clarified that players in the pipeline those who decided to get vaccinated more recently or those who have said they will but have not yet received a shot will not all be vaccinated by the opening preseason competition. Negotiating a team threshold around 85% is "still a work in progress," Stephen Jones said, but I do think well hit that threshold and more.

Per NFL policy, all Cowboys staff members and media who will interact with players were required to be vaccinated for admission to training camp in Oxnard. Media members were required to verify their vaccine both online and via showing a hard copy of a valid vaccine card in addition to showing proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Tracking devices are required while on premises.

Player vaccination is not required, but unvaccinated players are subject to daily testing, masking, isolation and additional restrictions on in-person activities including meetings and workouts. That factored into the decision for McCarthy who acknowledgedhe wasnt the first one to jump to get vaccinated.

At the end of the day, professionally, were here to win championships, said McCarthy, who added that he consulted medical professionals. This is part of the responsibility and its an educated, its an individual choice.

Cowboys Hall of Famers from the 1990s Super Bowl days have publicly encouraged the vaccine. Running back Emmitt Smithrecently partnered with First Lady Jill Bidento promote vaccines in Dallas, while receiver Michael Irvin said a player who declines the vaccine isnt doing everything he can in pursuit of a Super Bowl.

Jerry Jones said Irvins message was outstanding.

Michael Irvin is the best example that I know of how much will and how much body language and how much of heart and sacrifice mean to winning championships, Jones said. He comes with all the credibility in the world.

So when he talks, I listen.

Follow USA TODAY Sports Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.

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Jerry Jones expects more than 90% of Cowboys players will receive COVID-19 vaccine - USA TODAY

While the COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the U.S. have been proved to be safe and effective, recent reports of rare adverse events, or side effects, have raised concerns. On July 12, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved an update to the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet to include an increased risk of the rare nerve condition Guillain-Barr syndrome. This follows previous reports linking the J&J vaccine with a rare blood clot.

While reports like these can be scary, theyre a sign that the vaccine safety reporting system is working. They also highlight how the relative risks of rare side effects like these need to be put into context.

As a pharmacist who has been managing operations for the University of Virginia Health Systems COVID-19 vaccine program for the past seven months, Ive seen how uncertainty and fear over potential side effects can drive vaccine hesitancy. Understanding how information about adverse events is collected and what it means for vaccine safety may help people make informed decisions about their health.

The FDA enforces rigorous testing and approval processes that manufacturers must follow before a new vaccine can be made available to the public. Regardless of whether a vaccine is approved through the typical FDA approval process or an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), the steps required to test a new drug for safety and effectiveness are the same. An EUA can get a vaccine to the public more quickly by streamlining the regulatory process, but no shortcuts are taken. Every step is taken to ensure the vaccine is both safe and effective.

Vaccine clinical trials occur in four sequential phases. In the first three phases, study investigators are the ones who identify, quantify and document safety issues. Phase 1 typically introduces the vaccine to fewer than 100 people over several months under controlled conditions. Typically, the majority of potential adverse events are identified in this stage.

After the FDA reviews phase 1 data and deems the vaccine safe enough to be studied further, the vaccine moves on to phases 2 and 3, where it will be given to larger numbers of people over longer periods of time. Here, investigators determine optimal dosage and screen for rare side effects.

If phase 2 and 3 data meets FDA approval standards, the vaccine will then move on to phase 4 and become available to the public. The vaccine is observed over much larger populations and extended periods of time, and manufacturers are required to regularly check and report potential safety concerns to the FDA.

Whats different about this final phase is that the public can also contribute to safety reporting. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national safety monitoring system run by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While certain types of adverse events, such as injuries during vaccine administration and serious complications, are mandatory for health care providers to report, anyone can submit a report. Recent adverse events associated with the COVID-19 vaccine, including Guillain-Barr and thrombosis for Johnson & Johnson and myocarditis for Pfizer, were identified through VAERS.

A rare adverse event may take months or years to identify for a simple reason: Its rare. For some drugs that are less commonly used, new safety data takes longer to discover because a relatively small number of patients use the drug. For example, though the shingles vaccine Shingrix was approved 2017, it wasnt until March 2021 after over 3.7 million patients had gotten the shot that the FDA announced a potential increased risk of Guillain-Barr. And it still hasnt been confirmed that the Shringrix vaccine causes the nerve condition.

For cases like the COVID-19 vaccine, however, millions of people will receive the drug shortly after its released to the public, and new issues or patterns often emerge more quickly.

This can lead to two problems.

First, not every reported adverse event is directly related to the vaccine. For example, many of the tens of millions of people who have received the Pfizer vaccine have likely experienced a sunburn. People might report that they experienced a sunburn to VAERS, but the vaccine has no effect on your skins ability to protect against the sun. VAERS is very clear that it is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem, but is especially useful for detecting unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse event reporting. Correlation does not imply causation.

Second, a plausibly identified adverse event does not necessarily make the vaccine unsafe. According to CDC, there have been 100 preliminary reports of GuillainBarr out of 12.5 million J&J doses, or 0.008% of people who received the vaccine. Administering one vaccine to a huge sample of people can make it easier to identify a possible connection between the shot and a side effect. But that doesnt mean the risk of getting that side effect is very likely, or that it outweighs the benefit of getting vaccinated.

These risks, while real and potentially life-threatening, must be viewed in context with the much larger risk of negative outcomes from the diseases vaccines protect people from. For example, 1%-7% of patients who take cholesterol drugs called statins are likely to experience potentially harmful muscle injury. However, these drugs are still taken by millions of people because they are highly effective at preventing heart disease and stroke. And in the case of GuillainBarr, about one in 100,000 people, or 0.001%, develop this condition yearly in the U.S. from any cause. By comparison, the U.S. has had more than 33 million cases of COVID-19, and over 600,000 deaths caused by this disease.

In such extraordinary times as during a pandemic, its understandable that people may be hesitant to take on any more risk than they have to. But there are safety nets in place to monitor the COVID-19 vaccines, and they are still working as they should.

The COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be overwhelmingly safe for most people. More than 40,000 patients participated in J&Js clinical trials before the company applied for emergency use authorization, mirroring Pfizers and Modernas study sample sizes. Some 0.4% of participants in the J&J trial experienced serious adverse events unrelated to COVID-19 infection. In contrast, the trial demonstrated that people who get the vaccine are 85% less likely to get severe COVID-19 than those who remain unvaccinated.

The extremely rare side effects associated with the COVID-19 vaccines were discovered because safety reporting tools were used appropriately. Being aware of the risks of a treatment, however rare, can help people make health decisions that work best for them. However, these risks must be viewed in context. And in the case of the COVID-19 vaccines, they must be weighed against the consequences of remaining unvaccinated and letting the pandemic rage on.

[The Conversations most important coronavirus headlines, weekly in a science newsletter]

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New COVID-19 vaccine warnings don't mean it's unsafe they mean the system to report side effects is working - The Conversation US

More than 110,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been destroyed in Georgia since December 2020, when vaccines were first administered in the state, Georgia health officials said.

Georgia Department of Health spokesperson Nancy Nydam told CNN that 110,079 doses were destroyed because they were not being used.

There are various reason for vaccines to go unused, according to Nydam, including doses not being needed after being prepared, parent or child refusal, damaged vials, syringe leaks and apparent contamination.

Vaccines using mRNA, as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do, have a short life once they are prepared. Once the Pfizer vaccine is mixed for administering, it will only last for six hours. Health care providers are advised to discard remaining vaccine after that time.

According to data from Georgia Department of Health, destroyed doses included thousands from all three approved manufacturers, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson.

"With more than 8.5 million doses going into arms, that is a very small percentage (1.4%) that go unused," Nydam said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate/allowance for vaccine wastage is 5%, so Georgia is well below that percentage, Nydam said.

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In March, when demand for vaccine was much higher around the country than it is now, CDC records showed that less than 1% of the 155 million doses reported adminsitered by March 29, were reported as wastage by 35 states, 17 pharmacies and three other federal agencies through March 29.

The vaccination rate in Georgia continues to lag behind much of the country. According to the state's data, 39% of residents were fully vaccinated, while 44% had had at least one dose as of Monday morning.

According to CDC data, 48.6% of the US population is fully vaccinated, and 56.1% have had at least one dose of vaccine.

"Georgia continues to follow best practices for using every dose of vaccine possible, however, as supply now exceeds demand, we also will not miss the opportunity to vaccinate someone when they are ready to be vaccinated," Nydam told CNN.

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More than 110000 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been destroyed in Georgia since December - Henry Herald

July 19, 2021 -- There are lots of unfounded fears about the COVID-19 vaccines floating around, and one of the most pervasive is the idea that these new shots aren't really vaccines, but that they will somehow change your genes or insert themselves into the DNA of your cells.

You may see people posting on social media about the vaccines being a kind of gene therapy, and they're partly right, but in the end this idea often misses some important details about how the vaccines work. They can't change your genes, and they don't stay in your body for more than a few days.

But plenty of people have distorted the way the vaccines work into something that could sound sinister. For example, in January, the Weston A. Price Foundation, a group that discourages vaccination, hosted a podcast where David Martin, PhD, described by FactCheck.org as a "financial analyst and self-help entrepreneur," called the vaccines gene therapy.

"a vaccine is supposed to trigger immunity. It's not supposed to trigger you to make a toxin," Martin said. "It's not a vaccination."

Except that these shots are vaccines, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and they don't cause you to make a toxin.

So where did this idea get started?

"Like many rumors, there's sort of an element of truth," says Beth Thielen, MD, PhD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

But the truth is that the vaccines involve sound science that sounds complicated to most people not educated in the field.

The vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna use tiny oily envelopes called lipid nanoparticles to slip a single strand of genetic material called messenger RNA (mRNA) into our cells.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is slightly different. It uses double-stranded DNA inserted into a common, but inert virus called an adenovirus. This DNA also contains the instructions for building the spike protein. Once inside the cell, these instructions are read and translated into mRNA.

These bits of mRNA go into the jellied liquid called cytoplasm that makes up the body of our cells.

"Where they join about 200,000 other pieces of messenger RNA that are also sitting in every cell's cytoplasm, because our cells make proteins and enzymes all the time," says Paul Offit, MD, director of the vaccine education center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The mRNA chains are basically work orders that spell out the instructions for making the spike proteins that stud the outside of the coronavirus that cases COVID-19. The virus uses its spikes to dock onto our cells and infect them.

It's one of the viruses' most recognizable features. Our cells read this mRNA and use them to assemble the spikes. The spikes migrate to the outside of our cells where they are recognized and remembered by our immune system.

These spikes, by themselves, are not dangerous. They can't make anyone sick. They are essentially mug shots that help the body recognize and fight off the real perpetrator when it comes along.

The mRNA chains from the vaccines only last for a couple of days before they break down and the pieces are swept away by the body's normal waste disposal system.

Messenger RNA is genetic material, so in that sense, the vaccines are genetically based therapy.

But the FDA classifies them as vaccines, not gene therapy.

"I think people hear that and they think 'Oh my God, You're going to alter my DNA," Offit says. "That's not possible."

For the vaccines to alter a person's genes, Offit explains, the mRNA instructions would have to enter the cell's control center, the nucleus. The nucleus is walled off from the rest of the cell by its own membrane. To get past that membrane, the mRNA would have to have an enzyme called a nuclear access signal, Offit says, "which it doesn't have."

Even if it could get into the nucleus, the single strand of mRNA would have to be translated back into a double stranded DNA.

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can do this. It uses an enzyme like reverse transcriptase to insert itself into our chromosomes. The mRNA in the vaccines lacks this enzyme, so it can't turn back into DNA.

The DNA adenovirus used in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine does enter the nucleus of our cells, but it never integrates into our chromosomes.

Even after those two steps, there's a third firewall between the vaccines and our genes: Another enzyme, called an integrase, would be needed to stitch the new DNA into the DNA of our cells. That's also not in the vaccines.

"So the chances are zero that that can happen," Offit says.

One way to think about mRNA is to imagine if a friend wanted to make a delicious salad that you have the recipe for, Thielen says.

"You'd go to your cookbook, you'd copy the recipe on a note card and give it to them," she says. They can make the salad, but they don't have the cookbook, the original cookbook. You didn't change the cookbook, you just gave them a Post-it note or something that's temporary and that's meant to be," she says.

It's true that these are some of the first vaccines to work this way, but the technology was years in the making. The science was given a final push by billions in funding that was made available through Operation Warp Speed.

The vaccines have now been given to millions of people. They are some of the most effective in the world at preventing severe outcomes from COVID infections. So far, they are holding up well against all the viral variants.

While very rare side effects have been linked to the vaccines, so far, the FDA has determined that the benefit from taking one far outweighs these rare risks for most people.

"I've been astonished, actually,at how well it seems to be working. And so, I think it is very exciting from a vaccine development standpoint that we have new tools in our armamentarium to make new vaccines," Thielen says.

But there's still more to learn.

"I think we need to do dedicated studies of this platform to really understand how long the protection lasts and how well does it adapt to other vaccine targets like RSV. I think that remains to be seen," Thielen says.

Medscape Medical News

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Chance That COVID-19 Vaccines Are Gene Therapy? 'Zero' - WebMD

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) A Southeastern New England hospital system recently announced it would be mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all staff, but only once at least one is fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

12 News obtained a July 14 letter to Southcoast Health employees from President & CEO Keith Hovan, which states, COVID-19 vaccination will be required for employees, providers and staff once the FDA, as anticipated, has granted full approval of at least one of the vaccines.

NEW: I just obtained a letter sent from @SouthcoastHlths President & CEO to employees last week, stating COVID-19 vaccination will be required for employees, providers and staff once the FDA, as anticipated, has granted full approval of at least one of the vaccines. @wpri12 pic.twitter.com/fxHMu3SII6

Hovan stated more details will be forthcoming, and while a booster shot may become a future requirement, it is not currently under discussion.

In an email to 12 News, Southcoast Health spokesperson Shawn Badgley said the vaccine mandate would apply to all employees,which includescontract workers, volunteers, medical and other clinical staff with facility privileges, temps, students and on-site preceptors, et al., unless granted an exception for medical and/or religious reasons.

Badgley said there is a similar policy in place for the flu vaccine.

Any possible repercussions for not getting vaccinated have yet to be determined, and are part of an ongoing discussion, according to Badgley.

Our program is meant to protect our patients, workforce, and community rather than be punitive, Badgley said.

Badgley also said a deadline to receive a COVID-19 vaccination has yet to be determined, but would depend on several factors, including full FDA approval, vaccine supply, and staffing considerations.

In theletterto employees Hovan said the decision is one that has made after much deliberation and discussion.

As we look ahead, the timing of this vaccination requirement will likely coincide with the return of many more of our remote workers to their Southcoast offices, making immunity even more important. This process is under way already and will be completed in September, Hovan stated.

According to Badgley, a vast majority of the Southcoast Health workforce has already been vaccinated.

Internal COVID-19 vaccine clinics for Southcoast Health staff began in mid-December.

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Southcoast Health to require staff to get COVID-19 vaccine once one is fully approved by federal regulators - WPRI.com

With COVID-19 vaccines now available to all American adults, the vaccine landscape has changed since anticipation for vaccine rollout began in January. But according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundations COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor project, opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine mostly have not. Still, the report found shifts both toward and away from vaccination that offer insight into how Americans are thinking about this public health priority.

The report, released last week, is based on two interviews with a group of 878 American adults. The group was first interviewed on vaccine intentions in January, and then again in June about whether they ultimately got vaccinated, allowing the researchers to figure out who had stuck with their original intentions and who had changed their mind.

In January, nearly half of the people surveyed had either already been vaccinated or wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Since then, 92% of those surveyed received at least one dose by June most even got it months earlier. Recent vaccinations tend to be among those who were initially taking a wait-and-see approach. Over half of them have now also gotten at least one dose.

That fits with what Maya Bass, a family medicine physician and assistant professor at Drexel College of Medicine and Tower Health, has seen. A couple of my patients wanted to see others get it first, Bass said. Now that were six months out, many of them are starting to set up appointments to get it done.

Meanwhile, 23% of survey respondents said in January that they would either get the vaccine only if required to do so for work, school, or other activities or not at all. Vaccination rates have remained low in this group: About a quarter of them reported receiving a dose of the vaccine when interviewed in June, and 67% were still not planning on getting vaccinated.

For those who changed their minds and rolled up their sleeves, the people around them were the main motivation. Some saw family and friends get vaccinated safely, while others realized they would need to get vaccinated to spend time with high-risk loved ones. Two-thirds of vaccinated Americans reported trying to convince more hesitant people around them, and their efforts paid off: 36% of adults who ultimately got vaccinated even though they were originally hesitant were convinced by others.

Delana Wardlaw, a family medicine physician at Temple Physicians at Nicetown who conducts outreach with her sister through Twin Sister Docs, said it is important to note that physicians are still among the most trusted sources of vaccine information. The poll found doctors convinced 11% of those who were swayed to get vaccinated. Bass has persuaded some of her patients to get vaccinated, although it has taken time to slowly chip away at the anxieties that they have.

But there are still holdouts. Some people have problems trusting the information that I give them, despite trusting me with all their other care, Bass said.

Among the people who remained unwilling to get vaccinated or would only do so if required, side effects were the main deterrent. Nearly one-quarter of those with no plans to get the shot expressed concern about side effects, though experts say most people dont get anything worse than mild flu-like symptoms that quickly resolve. Social media, however, has been awash in more severe claims that the data dont bear out. This was also a major reason why roughly one in 10 people who initially wanted to get vaccinated later changed their minds.

Vaccine hesitancy doesnt have to be a negative term, Wardlaw said. It simply means that patients have questions or issues that they need to have addressed before they can make an informed decision. Wardlaw talks with patients about anticipated side effects and makes it clear that they are normal and treatable.

Bass also noted that some people cant take time off from work if they have side effects, and she recommends that these patients get their vaccine before a day off so that they can rest. Side effects generally last no more than 24 hours, experts say.

Comments from survey respondents reveal more of their anxieties about safety. When people with no plans to get vaccinated were asked what would convince them, one person replied, Time and proof that it is working and has no lasting negative effects on the body. Others asked for full FDA approval (though this is expected soon after the agency completes its lengthy process, the vaccines still are being distributed under emergency authorization) and a 100% guarantee of safety.

Bass said its hard for physicians to compete with online misinformation. Even if I see a patient once a month, Im just there for 15 minutes compared to the hours they spend on the internet. Some people who reported being more hesitant in June said they dont trust regulatory agencies or vaccine incentives and that the vaccine is too new.

One person said they would get vaccinated if [COVID-19] became a huge problem again. With case counts ticking upward nationwide, Wardlaw has already seen the delta variant changing minds.

At my practice, I have noticed those who still have concerns about moving forward with the vaccine, Wardlaw said. With the delta variant, I have seen a turn of the tide in those patients.

Not everyone who wants a vaccine has received one. The KFF report found that 3% of people who wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible in January still feel the same way but havent been vaccinated. Access-related obstacles have decreased substantially since earlier in the year, Wardlaw said, but there are still some patients who dont know where to get the vaccine.

Bass sees the report as a helpful guide for doctors to understand the bigger picture of patients concerns about the vaccine.

It was reassuring that my patients are asking questions that were similar to patients that they talked to, Bass said. It now gives me a bit of an outline for my spiel.

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Most Americans stuck to initial COVID-19 vaccine intentions, but some have changed their minds - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Bit by bit, people who are eligible for vaccination against SARS-COV-2, the coronavirus causing COVID-19, are getting vaccinated in the U.S. So far, there has been little data regarding safety of coronavirus vaccination for pregnant and lactating individuals since they were not included in the phase III clinical trials for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines. But slowly, more data is coming out regarding safety.

In a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, researchers tested the human milk from seven individuals for signs of mRNA vaccines that the participants received. The milk was collected between December 2020 and February 2021 and mean age of participants was 37.8 years old. The researchers collected samples before vaccination and at intervals up to 48 hours following vaccination.

The team analyzed the different components, the supernatant and the fat, of human milk separately. Out of the 13 post vaccination samples, they didnt find any signs of vaccines. We didn't detect the vaccine associated mRNA in any of the milk samples tested, says lead author Yarden Golan, who is a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in a press release. These findings provide an experimental evidence regarding the safety of the use of mRNA-based vaccines during lactation.

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The scientists think this suggests it is safe for individuals who are feeding infants with human milk to get vaccinated. The results strengthen current recommendations that the mRNA vaccines are safe in lactation, and that lactating individuals who receive the COVID vaccine should not stop breastfeeding, says physician and corresponding author Stephanie L. Gaw, who is assistant professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at UCSF, in the press release. Although, it should be noted that the sample size of the study was small with only seven participants. Future studies could also look at longer time periods post vaccination.

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Study finds no sign of COVID-19 vaccine in human milk | TheHill - The Hill

Only the most vulnerable children and those living with at-risk adults will receive Covid-19 vaccinations in the U.K., the government said Monday, ruling out a broader program due to fears over rare side effects.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be offered to 12 to 15-year-olds with severe neuro-disabilities, Downs Syndrome, immunosuppression and profound learning disabilities, as well as children aged 12 to 17 who live with an immunosuppressed person, officials said. It will also be offered to healthy 17-year-olds within three months of their 18th birthday.

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U.K. to Give Covid-19 Vaccines Only to Most Vulnerable Children - Bloomberg

(NEXSTAR) President Joe Biden spent much of the last week publically blaming misinformation for the lagging vaccination rates in many American communities, and a new survey shows that some conspiracy theories enjoy widespread support in pockets of the country.

Cases of COVID-19 have tripled over the past three weeks, andhospitalizations and deaths are rising among unvaccinated people.While the rates are still sharply down from their January highs, officials are concerned by the reversing trendlines and what they consider needless illness and death. Andcases are expected to continue to risein coming weeks.

The rising numbers are being driven by large pockets of infection among the more than 90 million eligible Americans who have yet to get shots. Just four states with low vaccination rates made up 40% of new cases last week, and nearly half of them came from Florida alone.

Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, Biden said Friday.

The White House has long acknowledged that, given rampant disinformation about the vaccines and the nations partisan divides, it would have little success convincing the GOP to get on board. Instead, administration officials have amped up criticism in recent days of public officials and social media companies for spreading or not condemning vaccine misinformation spreading among the GOP.

Theyre killing people, Biden said Friday of social media companies. A day earlier, Surgeon General Vivek Murthywarned that false information about vaccines spreading on platforms such as Facebook posed a public health risk to the nation.

An Economist/YouGov poll released last week did not attempt to link false beliefs to social media use, but it did find wide confidence in a popular conspiracy theory among 1 in 5 Americans.

The Economist/YouGov asked 1,500 Americans to respond to a set of statements, including, The U.S. government is using the COVID-19 vaccine to microchip the population. Five percent of all respondents said the statement was definitely true, and 15% said it was probably true. Fewer than half of respondents 46% said it was definitely false.

The debunked theory has circulated widely in the past year, and proponents suggest implanted chips will be used at some future date to subjugate humanity. Reuters reported in late 2020 that a single video in support of the conspiracy had been viewed 27,000 times on Facebook.

The belief in the microchip conspiracy was most commonly held by lower-income voters, white non-college-educated Americans and Hispanic respondents, according to the published results. The theory was relatively evenly believed across four regions of the country: Northeast, South, Midwest and West. Some 29% of 2020 Trump voters thought the statement was either definitely or probably true. The survey recorded 0% of Biden supporters saying the statement was definitely true and 8% calling it probably true.

A smaller number of respondents 17% thought the statement Vaccines have been shown to cause autism was either definitely or probably true.

Two out of five Americans said the statements Millions of illegal votes were cast in the 2020 general election and The threat of the coronavirus was exaggerated for political reasons were probably or definitely true. More than half of respondents identified as Trump voters believed there was truth in the statements.

Many Americans remain resistant or unmotivated to get shots despite months of often creative efforts by federal and state officials and the private sector to spread information about vaccine safety and accessibility.

Surgeon General Murthy added that while the government can play an important role, this has got to be an all of the above strategy with everybody in, including schools, employers, technology companies and individuals.

Following Bidens statement, Facebook officials have rejected accusations of spreading misinformation.

We will not be distracted by accusations which arent supported by the facts, Facebook spokesman Kevin McAlister said in a statement. The fact is that more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than any other place on the internet.

The new government expression of frustration comes amid near disbelief that tens of millions of Americans continue to refuse to get vaccinated, needlessly extending the pandemic and costing lives, as health officials emphasize that nearly all serious cases and deaths are now preventable.

More than 99% of COVID-19 deaths and 97% of hospitalizations are among people who have not been vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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20% of Americans believe government is injecting microchips in COVID-19 vaccines, survey finds - WFLA

The Moore County Health Department will hold a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Vass on Thursday.

Open to all residents aged 12 and older, the event is scheduled to run from 3 to 6 p.m. under the pavilion at Sandy Ramey Keith Park on U.S. 1. People younger than 18 seeking vaccination must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who can provide consent, the health department said.

Health department staff will be administering the first dose of Pfizers two-shot vaccine, which is the only vaccine currently authorized for younger teenagers by the Food and Drug Administration. The department noted that all vaccinated adults in North Carolina are automatically entered in a statewide drawing to win $1 million, while vaccinated residents under the age of 18 have a chance to win $125,000 for post-secondary education.

A total of 46,245 local residents, or about 46 percent of the countys population, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services showed that 1,932 people in Moore County were waiting to receive their second dose of the vaccine on Monday.

In addition to Thursdays clinic, shots are available every Thursday from 8:30 to 11:15 a.m. and from 1 to 4:15 p.m. at the health departments office in Carthage. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 910-947-7468 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Moore County, where about 90 new infections have been reported in the past two weeks. The positivity rate for coronavirus testing in the county stood at 7.5 percent on Monday, higher than the statewide average of 5.8 percent.

A total of 9,166 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the county since the start of the pandemic, and at least 196 residents have died of complications from the disease.

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Health Department to Offer COVID-19 Vaccines in Vass - Southern Pines Pilot