Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

A majority of faculty members who answered a survey about mandatory COVID-19 vaccination at the University of Michigan believe the vaccine should be required for all students, faculty and staff, with limited medical and religious exemptions.

The survey results also showed most respondents believe that if U-M does not mandate vaccination, instructors should be able to opt out of in-person instruction in the fall.

Currently, U-M requires vaccination only for students planning to live in residence halls and other university housing.

The fact that an overwhelming majority of our faculty who responded believe that vaccine mandates are necessary to ensure the safety of our students, faculty, staff and community, thats a great message, said Faculty Senate Chair Allen Liu, who supports a vaccine mandate. Liu is an associate professor of mechanical engineering, of biomedical engineering, and of biophysics.

Liu sent the survey last week to members of the Faculty Senate all professorial faculty, librarians, full-time research faculty, executive officers and deans as well as clinical faculty and lecturers.

Amongthe Faculty Senate, 1,484 out of 4,297 members responded, with 1,305 (89.1 percent) saying they support making vaccinations mandatory for students, faculty and staff. Among clinical faculty, 487 out of 2,024 clinical faculty members responded, with 418 (88 percent) saying they support a mandate. Among lecturers, 399 out of 1,169 responded, with 331 (85.1 percent) favoring a vaccine requirement.

Asked if instructors should be able to opt out of in-person teaching if there is no vaccine mandate, 76 percent of Faculty Senate members who responded, or 1,054, said yes. Among clinical faculty, 67.3 percent, or 288, said yes. For lecturers, 89.5 percent, or 333, favored the opt-out provision.

Liu said he shared the survey results with President Mark Schlissel, Provost Susan Collins and Board of Regents Chair Jordan Acker. Liu said Schlissel thanked him and said he and members of his team are continuing to consider other possible mandates.

U-M officials have been strongly encouraging students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated and voluntarily report their vaccine status to the university.

We appreciate our faculty governance colleagues for engaging in this important issue for our community, university spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said. While there are many complex factorsas we consider any changes to our current approach,we know that the approved COVID-19 vaccines are highly safe and effective. We ask our faculty and staff to get vaccinated and report their vaccination status to help our campus stay safe and return to the activities we all enjoy.

In an email sharing the survey results with faculty members, Liu also strongly encouraged them to report their vaccination status via Wolverine Access.

This is not the first time faculty members have expressed support for a vaccine mandate. In April, members of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs and the Senate Assembly endorsed a resolution encouraging the administration to mandate vaccines with limited legally mandated exceptions.

SACUA is the executive arm of the universitys central faculty governance system, which includes the Senate Assembly and the Faculty Senate. The Senate Assembly consists of 74 elected faculty members from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses.

Liu said he believes making the vaccine mandatory with limited exceptions is the best way to keep people safe and allow the university to return to a more normal in-person semester.

In my opinion, I think vaccination is currently the most effective tool for us to come back from the pandemic, Liu said, noting that vaccines werent yet available last year at this time. Now that we have this great tool under our belts, we have to use it to our advantage.

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Faculty survey supports mandatory COVID-19 vaccination at UM | The University Record - The University Record

The SEC has schools in states with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country, but the conferences commissioner sounds like hes ready to get tough with football teams who aren't getting vaccinated at a high enough rate.

Speaking at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., on Monday, Greg Sankey said all teams will be "expected to play as scheduled" because games won't be rescheduled due to COVID-19 and that it's up to teams to get their players vaccinated.

"That means your team needs to be healthy to compete, and if not, that game won't be rescheduled," Sankey said. "And thus, to dispose of the game, the 'forfeit' word comes up at this point."

GETTING TOUGH: Big 12 officials to continue cracking down on Horns Down gesture

According to Sankey, six of the conferences 14 teams have reached 80% vaccination, but he didnt name the programs. Once a team reaches the 85% vaccination threshold, the SEC no longer requires its players to be tested regularly or wear masks inside the team's facilities.

That number needs to grow and grow rapidly, Sankey said.

A week earlier, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby delivered a similar message.

Frankly, anyone not getting vaccinated is taking unnecessary and unwarranted risks, said Bowlsby, who also said most of the Big 12 teams have reached at least 75% vaccination. It's shortsighted to not get vaccinated. If indeed the delta variant is as infectious as it is reported to be, not getting vaccinated is rolling the dice. As student athletes, you're also rolling the dice on whether you're going to participate.

College football games around the country last season were rescheduled due to COVID-19 outbreaks, including a Texas A&M-Tennessee matchup in November and LSU games against Alabama and Florida. The Texas A&M-Mississippi game was postponed twice and eventually canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Ole Miss.

"We know nothing is perfect," Sankey said, "but the availability and the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines are an important and incredible product of science, not a political football, and we need to do our part to support healthy society."

Across the country, 59.4 percent of people 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Only six states are below 40 percent fully vaccinated in that age group, and four of those states Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi - have schools in the SEC. The other two states below 40 percent are West Virginia and Wyoming.

See original here:

SEC football talking tough when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations - Chron

The popular sentiment out there is that the US has gotten through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the various types of COVID-19 vaccines became available for public distribution, the US has made a concerted effort to get as much of the population vaccinated as possible. Case numbers across the nation started to significantly decrease and more aspects of our pre-pandemic lives started to return. You saw fewer mask requirements and more people at public events, to include sporting events. Especially compared to the rest of the world, it appeared that COVID was all but done in America.

Yet, somebody forgot to tell COVID-19 that is the case. COVID-19 case numbers are starting to rise again in various parts of the country, especially in areas with significant numbers of unvaccinated players. This uptick is impacting the sporting world. Just this past week, a New York Yankees/Boston Red Sox game was postponed when six Yankee players (most of them vaccinated) tested positive for COVID-19. While individual players still are placed on health and safety protocols in various sports, from baseball, golf and the Olympics, there had not been any major cancellation of games/events on a team for some timeat least until now.

For the NFL, there is a two-tiered system for COVID-19 protocols. For those who are vaccinated, the requirements regarding mask wearing/daily testing/strict isolation requirements/prohibition on non-football related activities no longer apply. Additionally, teams that reported 85% or greater of players vaccinated could open training camps with the drastically reduced COVID-19 protocols (as of this past week). Given how rough that could be on players last year, there is plenty of incentive to get vaccinated and regain some lost freedoms. Yet, in recent reporting, two NFL franchises have less than 50% of players and team personnel vaccinated (Washington, Indianapolis). The same reports indicated that at least four franchises are over 85% vaccination rates (Pittsburgh, Miami, Carolina, Denver) with an unconfirmed total of ten teams exceeding that threshold.

Given the sensitive nature of medical information, we do not know which players are confirmed vaccinated and which players are not. Additionally, we do not know the reasons for the 4 teams with the low vaccination numbers. However, we seem to know that the Texans do not appear in the bottom 2 or the top 4. Perhaps this is a positive, given that in nearly every other poll/ranking scheme, the Texans have a stranglehold on the #32 position. While we dont know exact numbers for vaccinated Texans players, a recent interview with Texans Head Coach David Culley indicated that the team was in good shape as far as vaccinations went.

While there is no move to alter the plan for the NFL stadiums to have max or near-max capacity for the coming 2021 season, the recent rise of COVID-19 numbers and impact on sporting events should give us some pause. Most could recall the number of games that were shifted to weird times last year (think the Steelers/Ravens matchup that got flexed from Thanksgiving night to that vaunted Wednesday mid-afternoon broadcast time) The recent impact to the New York/Boston matchup, the sole MLB game with a projected primetime audience this past Thursday right after the All-Star Break should remind sports fans that COVID can still disrupt our sporting pleasures.

While there are ever more opportunities to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the US, there are vast swaths of the country that will not take advantage of those opportunities. Again, the reasons are varied, either by necessity or by choice. This article will not address those debates, most of which likely dominate your respective favored news source/social media preferences. However, with a rise in new variants in COVID-19, and reporting that shows lower numbers than expected vaccinations of team personnel, the disruptions that so overshadowed sports in 2020 are not leaving the field for 2021.

Hopefully, those vaccination numbers will increase, the NFL season will be able to kick off on time with nearly full houses and we can fully enjoy the coming season (even for the forlorn Texans fans). However, we cannot ignore that COVID-19 still exists in the world. The various vaccines did not eradicate it, not even close. As a result, it could return to disrupt the sporting world. While those vaccinated should have greater defenses against its impacts, vaccination alone cannot assure that COVID-19 wont return to upend schedules. The Texans, aside from the loss of a few defensive players from a Week 9 tilt at Jacksonville, did not see a major disruption to their schedule in 2020. [Your respective religious affiliation figurehead] willing, they will not see a COVID-driven one in 2021.

Original post:

Reports: Two Teams Reporting Under 50% COVID-19 Vaccination Rate - Battle Red Blog

Employees in Athens hospitals will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, both Piedmont Healthcare and St. Marys Health Care System confirm.

As COVID-19 vaccination rates in Clarke County hover just around 40%, the countys two health systems both announced that its employees will be required to receive the vaccine.

Piedmont Athens Regional and St. Marys Health Care System are the two largest private employers in Athens, according to Athens Economic Development Department. St. Marys employs about 1,850 people in Athens-Clarke and Oconee County and Piedmont Athens Regional employs over 2,600 people as of 2020.

More: Athens area COVID-19 update: Oconee leads in vaccinated %, Barrow has most new infections

St. Marys, a part of Trinity Health, will be requiring all employees to receive the vaccine and Piedmont currently is requiring Piedmont leaders, physicians, providers and new employees to receive the vaccine, with a few rare exemptions, according to a statement from Piedmont.

At Piedmont, there is a Sept. 1 deadline for those required to receive the vaccine and following that deadline, whether or not to mandate the vaccine for the remainder of the staff will be decided.

This is in keeping with our policy of requiring proof of vaccination or (a blood test)confirming immunity to Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) and Varicella for new employees and in requiring the annual flu vaccine for all current employees, said a statement from Piedmont.

At St. Marys, proof of vaccination must be submitted by Sept. 21. There are exemptions for employees, but if an employee who does not meet these exemptions refuses the vaccine, they will no longer be employed at Trinity Health.

Exemptions will be made for those who have medical conditions that prohibit vaccination and those with strongly held religious beliefs. These exemptions must be formally requested, documented and approved prior to set deadlines, according to a statement from Trinity Health.

The vaccine mandates come with the rise of what is known as the Delta variant across the county.

The Delta variant is much more contagious and potentially more deadly than earlier forms of the virus. Natural immunity to the Delta variant is very low, even among those who had another form of COVID, according to St. Marys.

Within St. Marys, COVID-19 hospitalizations have been increasing over the past two weeks and as of July 15, there were seven patients at St. Marys with COVID-19. It is unclear, however,if these numbers are due to the Delta variant. That is determined by a procedure that St. Marys does not perform and is performed by the Georgia Department of Health at their request.

Although these numbers are low compared to previous surges, cases are rising and the increase is disturbing after months of improvement, said Montez Carter, President and CEO of St. Marys Health Care System.

See the original post here:

Athens hospitals to require COVID-19 vaccination for employees, with few exemptions - Online Athens

Cleo Subido from OUC website

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Previously: DC 911 directors blunt email highlights critical staffing & performance problems

In a Friday email, the interim director of DC 911 pointed out that less than 35 percent of the staff has been vaccinated for Covid-19. Cleo Subido says thats the lowest percentage of any District of Columbia agency. Subido reminded Office of Unified Communications (OUC) workers that she will be monitoring to make sure those who arent vaccinated remained masked while on duty. Thats just one of several workplace issues Subido covered in a long and blunt message to her staff.

As previously reported, the email also notified staff that mandatory overtime was starting. This is due to only half the employees being available to work at any given time, leaving the 911 center below minimum staffing (that story here). For those who are coming to work, Subido was very clear about her expectations.

Subido described employees who feel they dont have to follow rules meant for everyone. Among those rules, sitting at the specific work station for the job theyre assigned and not leaving the building prior to their shift ending. Subido shared the impression one new employee had about working at OUC: I have never seen so many people so interested in not working and just using their day to visit or spread gossip.

Subido also pointed out that she had to learn from me of a recent incident where a radio channel wasnt answered for four-minutes. She made it clear notification must be made internally when problems and mistakes occur.

What I get from reading this lengthy email is that Cleo Subido is putting the interests of the public above those working at DC 911. Its long overdue. The Office of the DC Auditor is in the process of taking a look at OUCs persistent performance issues. If those investigators want to know whats behind the long-standing problems of radios not being answered, delayed calls and calls sent to the wrong address, Subidos email may be a good start.

Here are the excerpts:

Vaccination or mask

I want to let you know that I will receive a confidential copy of all vaccinated personnel so that I and only me will be aware of who should still be wearing a mask and who can go without one. Remember, if you have not been fully vaccinated you must wear a mask at all times indoors. Also, the OUC has the worst numbers in all the district agencies in terms of percentage of staff thats been vaccinated. Please make sure you reach out for science information and not social media information if you get your vaccines you get a day off and $51.00 if you do it in DC. Less than 35% of our employees have reported being vaccinated. If youve been vaccinated you are still of course permitted to wear a mask. We are following all of the CDC guidelines and will continue to do so.

Assigned seating

Dispatchers, I am ordering permanent signs for the consoles indicating the position 1D, CW, 2D, Channel 1, 11 etc. Starting Wednesday, July 21st we will sit at the console we are assigned. If you have an issue with that, take it to your union. I am done. Thats where you will sit. If you refuse to move you will be written up and placed on administrative leave pending investigation. If you are insubordinate, you will be written up. I am not sure when it became ok to ignore directives but I promise you, I wont tolerate it.

You cant leave work early

There should be NOBODY leaving the building before 0615 am or 0615 pm. I am not sure how many times I have to say that but if I need to, we can go to a scanning system.

Special deals

Many of you have historical relationships that are causing you to use poor judgement. This is that last time I will talk about this in a group setting, any favoritism will be dealt with individually. You and I will treat each other professionally USE YOUR CHAIN OF COMMAND TO REPORT THINGS, SEEK HELP, NOTIFY ETC. If you dont know your chain of command, ask a supervisor to help you. For example, my Chain of Command consists of the Deputy Mayor, the City Administrator and the Mayor in that order. Thats what chain of command means. No matter how much Id love to have us working on a beach in Hawaii for 2 hours a day getting paid for 12, I cant do it. WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO THIS DISTRICT AND ITS PEOPLE. Forget the past discretions youve been allowed to have slip by Those days are over. We are committed to following the rules and being transparent about it. Anything that gets in the way of us improving performance, treating each other with respect, providing our responders and constituents with the care they deserve, or meeting the objectives of our mission I will handle without delay.

If you screw up, fess up

We had another situation where a radio channel was not answered for 4 min. yet I did not get a call about it AGAIN, Mr. Statter was kind enough to inform me of what is happening in my own center. If this occurs again, any person that was aware of the incident and did not ensure I was immediately notified will be written up I have asked for months very kindly and still, its not happening. This is a directive, if you do not follow it, you will be written up. Supervisors, inform staff of this often I will not accept any less an I expect full cooperation. As you can see, my vision is clear. This agency and our mission is important and we will do what we need to do to take care of our District. We will be transparent, we will hold ourselves and each other accountable

Sorting out who wants to work at OUC

The employees of this agency need to remember why we are here.we are 911 and 311. We are here to serve the District and make money for our families right? Lets just focus on that.

A new person, shes not new to the District but new to our agency said I have never seen so many people so interested in not working and just using their day to visit or spread gossip. That was embarrassing. I want us all to be successful each one of us. When things turn around, and we sort out who wants to work here and who doesnt, maybe we can start looking at more development opportunities so that people can advance and get the necessary skills to do something other than the job they have right now. I am looking forward to that time

Link:

Exclusive: DC 911 has lowest Covid-19 vaccination percentage of any city agency - STATter911

Rick Gatteau, vice president for Student Affairs, and Marisa Bisiani, assistant vice president for Student Health, Wellness and Prevention Services, have issued a message to Stony Brook University students regarding the requirement for all resident students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

From the onset of the pandemic, the safety of our campus community has been our top priority, the statement read. In support of Stony Brook Universitys commitment to health and safety, we are requiring all resident students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This health policy update means that, with limited exceptions, all students planning to live on campus as a residential student in the Fall 2021 semester must be fully vaccinated.

The statement includes information for partially vaccinated students and international students as well as details regarding medical and religious exemptions. It also includes guidelines for students living on campus who are approved for an exemption of the vaccination requirement.

Read the complete message at the Student Affairs website.

Read more from the original source:

SBU Resident Students Required to Have COVID-19 Vaccine | | SBU News - Stony Brook News

People living with chronic hepatitis C have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms than individuals without the condition. Those who do develop severe illness may also have a higher risk of liver damage.

However, a 2021 study found that despite the higher risk for severe illness, people with hepatitis C did not have a higher risk of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) or death due to COVID-19 compared with those without the condition.

Read on to learn more about hepatitis C and COVID-19, including the risks, how the two conditions interact, and whether people with hepatitis C can receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list liver disease as a risk factor for developing severe illness from COVID-19. Hepatitis C is a type of liver disease.

The risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms can depend on the level of liver scarring, or cirrhosis, a person has. According to a 2021 study, people with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are more likely to develop serious COVID-19 symptoms and receive treatment in the hospital if they have a high fibrosis-4 score, a method that doctors use to estimate liver cirrhosis.

Despite the higher risk for severe illness, individuals with HCV do not appear to have a higher risk of ICU admission or death compared with those who do not have HCV. However, they may have a higher risk for complications.

Evidence suggests that severe COVID-19 can cause liver damage and that this may be especially harmful to individuals with preexisting liver disease.

A 2020 review found that up to half of people hospitalized with COVID-19 had elevated liver enzyme levels, which can indicate liver damage. This result was more common in those who:

The 2021 study also notes that in people with existing cirrhosis, COVID-19 has links with a deterioration in liver function.

However, it is important to note that most individuals with HCV do not develop severe COVID-19 symptoms, while liver injury is less prevalent among people with mild symptoms.

HCV cannot kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Having HCV does not protect someone from the disease.

However, both these viruses share a similar structure. They are both positive single-stranded RNA viruses that cause a similar immune system response. Because of this, some antiviral drugs that target HCV may also affect SARS-CoV-2.

The effectiveness of HCV medications for treating COVID-19 is still unknown. At present, the only drug with approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating COVID-19 is remdesivir, an antiviral that doctors can use with or without the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.

Yes, people with hepatitis C can get the vaccine for COVID-19.

The CDC included anyone with a medical condition that increases the risk for severe COVID-19 in their phase 1 vaccine priority group. This meant anyone aged 1664 years with HCV could receive a vaccination earlier than other adults. Now, the vaccine is available to all adults.

The only situation where a person with HCV could not get the COVID-19 vaccine is if they have:

People can speak with a doctor if they have concerns about the safety of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Read more about COVID-19 vaccine safety.

The most effective way to stay safe from COVID-19 is to avoid coming into contact with the virus that causes the disease. Actions that everyone can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 include:

There are also special precautions people with HCV can take to protect themselves. These include:

If a person is using drugs or has a substance abuse disorder, they should not delay seeking help from a doctor or counselor. People with a substance abuse disorder are at a higher risk for severe COVID-19. However, there are virtual treatment and recovery programs that can help.

Learn more about treatments for addiction.

People with HCV may wish to speak with a doctor to get more information about COVID-19 and how it may affect them. Some potential questions to ask include:

If someone thinks they have COVID-19 symptoms, they should remain at home and follow the guidance from their local health authority. The symptoms of COVID-19 can vary, but the most common include:

Call 911 or the nearest emergency department and notify them that an individual may have COVID-19 if their COVID-19 symptoms suddenly worsen or they develop any of the following:

Research suggests that people with HCV are more likely to experience serious illness and hospitalization if they develop COVID-19. They may also be at a higher risk for liver damage or reduced liver function as a result of the disease. However, individuals with HCV do not appear to have higher mortality rates than those without the condition.

Anyone with liver disease or cirrhosis can help reduce their risk of serious complications by receiving the COVID-19 vaccine if they are eligible. It is also important to continue taking precautions. People can remain at home as much as possible and make use of virtual medical and mental health support services.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

Read more here:

Hepatitis C and COVID-19: Risks, vaccination, and safety - Medical News Today

During an interview Monday on MSNBC, Mitch Daniels said Purdue and many other universities are taking the same path.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said he will not require students and staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but did say those not vaccinated will face other restrictions.

During an interview Monday on MSNBC, Daniels said Purdue and many other universities are taking the same path.

"We're with that very large majority of American colleges and universities who are not planning to require the vaccine this fall," Daniels said.

Daniels said that it will be left up to a student to decide if they will get vaccinated or not.

"I will say, here at Purdue, we have offered a choice model and people can either chose to stay with the system we used all last year all of us were subject to surveillance testing on a regular basis or they can exempt themselves by getting vaccinated. We've done everything we know how to encourage that, enable that," Daniels said.

Daniels said 60 percent of students have already registered that they are vaccinated. He said the university will continue working to increase those numbers, but he doesn't see how requiring the COVID-19 vaccine will work.

"We believe there will be very big enforcement problems trying to absolutely require, throw people off campus if they didn't prove their vaccination status," Daniels said. "The vaccine is not approved yet and some people draw a distinction on that basis. Of course you should also notice the age group we're talking about here, and they're smart enough to know this, are at almost zero risk, personally, from this."

Daniels' remarks come after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in South Bend ruled in Indiana University's favor in regards to its vaccine requirement for students, faculty and staff.

IU will not require documentation that students, faculty and staff have received the COVID-19 vaccine by the fall semester. IU is still requiring everyone working or enrolled at any of its campuses be vaccinated.

Daniels was asked if he thinks it would be easier to enforce restrictions Purdue University will place on students not vaccinated over just implementing a vaccine mandate. Daniels did not answer that question, but he did say they will be clear with students about the expectations.

"I've said to them, 'Listen, we believe in personal responsibility here, and you can make a choice about yourself. But we share a responsibility to keep this campus open. So, if you don't do what we believe is the wise thing and get the vaccination, then you will have to agree to some other inconveniences: regular testing and what may be more important, if you are exposed and unvaccinated, you'll have to quarantine and interrupt your own academic progress in a way you probably won't find very comfortable," Daniels said.

Daniels also said the university has not yet decided on mask wearing.

"We won't make the masking indoors or masking in classrooms decision until we get much closer. That's something we can decide literally at the last minute. And so, we don't know what we're gonna do yet and neither do any other schools that we're talking to, or most of them," Daniels said.

Daniels said they are doing their best to make sure students' education is not interrupted.

What other people are reading:

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Daniels: Purdue will not require COVID-19 vaccine, not saying how it will enforce other restrictions - WTHR

LANSING, Mich. At the beginning of the year demand for COVID-19 vaccines greatly outweighed available supply, now here in Michigan more than 260,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are set to expire in the next four weeks.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Pfizer vaccines will begin expiring in September and Moderna shots the following month.

Its sad, you know as a public health person we know that the vaccine saves lives and the fact that we have so much vaccine available but the rate at which people are getting newly vaccinated or completing their vaccine schedule is so slow is really disappointing, said Debra Furr-Holden, associate dean for public health integration at Michigan State University.

Vaccines that expire at health local health departments are disposed of as they would be at any hospital or health center.

Theres a process in place and we have real procedures in place for how you deal with medical and biohazard waste which is what vaccines are considered, she said.

The Mid-Michigan District Health Department has 1,800 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which are set to expire in the next month.

"Right now the state has instructed us to keep all the expired COVID vaccines to the side, we label them do not use and we also keep them at the recommended temperature requirements for the specific vaccine, said Elizabeth Braddock, environmental director at the Mid-Michigan District Health Department. We are waiting for further guidance from our state's immunization team on how to deal with them when the time comes, when it's closer to the expiration date.

In Ingham County, the health department has partnered with local clinics and medical providers to minimize waste.

"Lansing Urgent Care has been a really great partner in that regard and they can call in their patients or offer it to people who walk into the urgent care that has been significant in reducing the amount of waste we have, said Nike Shoyinka, Ingham County Health Departments medical director.

Livingston Countys health department says they are also working with local partners to ensure minimal waste by asking other departments if they are able to use the doses before they expire.

Furr-Holden says there arent any major local programs to relocate vaccines that are about to expire.

The problem with getting vaccines distributed before they expire is its bigger than a local problem.The redistribution of vaccines has now become a global problem, she said. The World Health Organization is working on a kind of good stewardship program where some of the leading affluent countries are contributing vaccines to the global landscape to support countries that are under-resourced and also being hit hard by COVID.

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262,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine set to expire in Michigan in the coming months - WSYM-TV

In a continued effort to get Americans vaccinated, President Joe Biden is pushing a door-to-door campaign in which volunteers reach out directly to community members to spread information about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

Now we need to go to the community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and oftentimes, door to door literally knocking on doors to get help to the remaining people, Biden said in a recent news conference.

According to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 68 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Still, progress has plateaued across the country, with the rate of new vaccinations on the decline, spurring concern that steep rises in COVID-19 cases may be seen in areas with low vaccination rates.

Experts are warning that the delta variant, which is more transmissible and becoming more pervasive in the United States, will make this outcome more likely and more dangerous.

Much of the decline in the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations has been blamed on misinformation, which leads to vaccine hesitancy. That is why the Biden administration has been focusing on community-driven, grassroots efforts to get the message across that vaccines are safe and effective.

Yet, like much of the antiscience rhetoric being spread throughout the pandemic from some political leaders, the campaign has received widely publicized criticism in the form of fearmongering and blatant lies.

The Biden administration wants to knock on your door to see if youre vaccinated, tweeted Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Whats next? Knocking on your door to see if you own a gun?

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson tweeted: I have directed our health department to let the federal government know that sending government employees or agents door-to-door to compel vaccination would NOT be an effective OR a welcome strategy in Missouri!

However, since April, the grassroots campaign has been ongoing by a group the Biden administration refers to as the COVID-19 Community Corps, consisting largely of volunteers, advocacy groups, corporations, and local community organizations.

These are people the community knows, said Rita Burke, PhD, an assistant professor of clinical preventive medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and an expert in public health response to disasters, pandemics, and childhood trauma. Its not federal workers or someone brand new coming in and telling people what to do. These are people that are part of the community. This is going to be done on a local level.

The Keck School of Medicine is a member of the COVID-19 Community Corps.

For its part, the Biden administration has shot back at critics of the community vaccine campaign.

For those individuals, organizations that are feeding misinformation and trying to mischaracterize this type of trusted-messenger work, I believe you are doing a disservice to the country and the doctors, the faith leaders, community leaders, and others who are working to get people vaccinated, save lives and help end this pandemic, Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 coordinator, said in a COVID-19 news briefing.

In Washington D.C.s Ward 8, a predominantly Black and low-income community, which has experienced the highest per-capita rate of coronavirus-related deaths in D.C., the overwhelming majority of those leading the charge to get residents vaccinated are local organizations, clergy, and volunteers.

These are people the community knows and trusts, said Dr. Jehan El-Bayoumi, a professor of medicine at George Washington University and founder of the Rodham Institute, an organization working on health equity issues in Washington. Theyre not just there as fair-weathered friends. These are people that have been there for the community and will continue to show up.

Earlier this year, the Rodham Institute worked with former first lady of Washington D.C. Cora Masters Barry and the Black Coalition Against COVID-19 to put on a mass vaccination event at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center in Ward 8.

To get people to the event, organizers relied on community and faith-based organizations, including local food banks, nonprofit organizations, health centers, and churches, for outreach and door-to-door efforts to sign people up.

Community-based organizations know their neighborhoods intimately, El-Bayoumi wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. They know who has an internet connection, who is food insecure, who has lost someone to the coronavirus. They know the obstacles that impede the path to good health.

These organizations are also aware of the varied reasons residents have yet to be vaccinated, which are not always based on antiscience beliefs, El-Bayoumi emphasizes.

In under-resourced communities such as Ward 8, people must decide which competing priority gets their immediate attention, she wrote in the Post. Paying the rent or putting food on the table can make preventive care or registering for a vaccine even a lifesaving one fall to the bottom of the to-do list.

El-Bayoumi points to one church in particular Ward 8s Temple of Praise Baptist Church, responsible for delivering 1.2 million meals to residents throughout the pandemic and vaccinating 4,600 people.

To make the mass vaccination event more appealing, organizers provided food, a DJ, and additional health services like mental health consultations and blood pressure readings. Free Uber rides to and from the event were also provided.

Something interesting people told us was we like how it feels here, El-Bayoumi told Healthline. When people are feeling disenfranchised, having an open, nonjudgmental, fun place where people feel they are respected and treated with dignity is so important.

In the end, the event resulted in nearly 900 Ward 8 residents receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Its important to note that door-to-door public health campaigns have been successfully implemented for decades in the U.S. and around the globe.

This isnt a new concept, Burke said. Theres been a really strong reaction to it, but weve done this sort of campaign before with polio and smallpox, so its really not a novel idea.

In Africa, door-to-door canvassing is credited from 2014 to 2015 with helping slow the devastating Ebola epidemic. According to a study published in the journal Comparative Political Studies, after talking with canvassers, residents of Liberia, the epicenter of the outbreak, were 15 percent more supportive of disease control policies, 10 percent less likely to violate a ban on public gatherings, and 10 percent more likely to use hand sanitizer.

In the United States in the 1940s and 50s, volunteers from the March of Dimes, most of whom were mothers, went door to door, spreading the latest information about polio and how to prevent it. They also asked for donations. The organization funded research for the polio vaccine, which led to eliminating the disease in the United States.

Similar door-to-door efforts continue throughout the world in areas where polio has yet to be eradicated.

These are community members who are trusted and speak the language and speak the dialect, Burke says. That personal touch is really critical because youre able to have that face-to-face conversation with a person and directly answer any questions or concerns.

See the article here:

What Biden's Door-to-Door COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign Is and Isn't - Healthline