Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WFXR) -- Christiansburg native Derrick Lancaster was involved in this fiery crash last month at the ARCA race at Talladega. He spent a few days in an Alabama hospital before coming back home. Derrick's road to recovery has included trips to VCU for hydrotherapy which is him getting what is comparable to a power wash to keep his 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his face, neck and arms clean. Overall, it is tough for Derrick and his wife Beth to look back on that fiery day at Talladega last month.

"They tell us where the fire trucks are so I new I had to drive where the fire trucks were. I knew the grass was wet from the four inches of rain we had from the night before. So I drove to thru to get to the water to put out what fire I could but I knew I had help. Pretty much at that point, once I got the car stopped, I started to get out, they helped me get out, I do not remember anything until Wednesday," said Derrick Lancaster.

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Averett University hosts second COVID-19 vaccination clinic - WFXRtv.com

YPSILANTI, MI -- The Pull Over Prevention Clinic is back in Ypsilanti, and this time participants can also be administered a COVID-19 vaccine.

The free event is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 22, at Masjid Ibrahim, the Islamic Association of Ypsilanti, 315 S. Ford Blvd.

Pull Over Prevention Clinics have been conducted several times since last August, when the Huron Valley Democratic Socialists of America, the Mutual Aid Network of Ypsilanti and Peace House Ypsilanti combined as a response to institutional racism and mass unemployment or under-employment, officials said.

Racial injustices fuel these Ypsilanti-area organizations to provide free minor car repairs

The POP Clinics provide free repairs of broken brake lights, headlights, license plate lights, other minor automotive issues and on-site consultation for other maintenance and repair concerns. When minor automotive issues are used as justification for a traffic stop by police, a failed brake light can lead to a dangerous outcome, officials said.

As Michigan continues its COVID-19 vaccination efforts, POP is partnering with the Washtenaw County Health Department to administer COVID-19 vaccinations at this event for those 18-years-old and older, no appointments necessary, officials said.

Participants will have the opportunity to choose either the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the two-dose Moderna vaccine, Washtenaw County Health Department Public Information Officer Susan Ringer Cerniglia said. Those who choose Moderna will be scheduled to come to the same site three weeks later, she said.

Were at the point right now where we can focus less on having a high number of vaccines, Cerniglia said. Now we have the opportunity to focus on access and convenience and this particular event is a great opportunity to do that.

During this event, Pet Pals Mutual Aid will be offering free pet supplies, and participants will also have access to free snacks, officials said.

More information is available on the events Facebook.

Donations are accepted here to help support this event as well as future POP clinics

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Free car repair clinic in Ypsilanti will also offer COVID-19 vaccinations - MLive.com

Eloise LaCour, 3, gets her COVID-19 vaccination as part of Phase 1 clinical trials on use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children 5 and younger. Stanford Medicine hide caption

Eloise LaCour, 3, gets her COVID-19 vaccination as part of Phase 1 clinical trials on use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children 5 and younger.

Eloise LaCour clutches her dolly as a nurse takes her blood pressure, then swabs the 3-year-old's delicate arm with alcohol.

"Tickle tickle," says Eloise's mom, Angelica LaCour. She's trying to get a smile. "Mommy's going to hug you, OK?"

A Stanford University nurse carefully gives the little girl her shot. Eloise is one of 144 children in the country who are part of a Phase 1 clinical trial to test Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in the most adorable of study cohorts those 5 and younger.

"That's it!" exclaims nurse manager Richard Brotherton, pulling the needle out of Eloise's arm.

Eloise barely flinches. In fact, under her mask it looks like she's smiling.

"Look at you! Brave kid!" beams her mom.

The next day, Eloise has yet to complain of any side effects not even tenderness at the injection site.

While some people are still hesitating about the highly effective vaccines, let alone enrolling their kids in clinical trials, Angelica LaCour stresses the bigger picture.

"I think it's just really important to highlight that we're not going to get to herd immunity as a country if children are not vaccinated," she says. "We don't know the long-term impacts of the virus. And we know that this is a well-tolerated vaccine that's saving people's lives. And it's important that our children get that as well."

Still, she and her husband Chris were initially nervous about enrolling their only daughter in the early trial. They are not sure they'd be any less anxious when the official rollout of vaccines for the youngest Americans takes place.

And while Eloise is healthy, "we know that there's a lot of other families with kids with vulnerabilities where COVID-19 is potentially life-threatening," Angelica says. "And so being part of making this a reality for those families is something that is really meaningful to us."

Second dose

After three weeks, it's time for Eloise's second poke. She has decided to dress up as Princess Merida from the Pixar movie Brave. This time, she squirms a little more but still doesn't cry.

That night she complains her head hurts a little and that her arm is sore. Nothing that can't be solved with a low dose of Tylenol, says her mom. Otherwise she's running around with "lots of energy," says Angelica.

Now, even before her father has gotten his second shot, Eloise is one of a small number of little kids in the country to be fully vaccinated. The family is excited to start planning summer vacations.

Stanford scientists will track Eloise for the next two years to make sure all goes well. The next phases will involve enrolling many more children, eventually thousands, to study accurate dosage, vaccine safety, immune response and efficacy.

Pfizer is planning to apply to the Food and Drug Administration in September for emergency authorization of the vaccine for children aged 2 to 11. Moderna is also conducting clinical trials in small kids for its vaccine. The FDA has already approved vaccinating those 12 and older.

Fall rollout expected

Currently there are a lot more families willing to volunteer in trials than spaces available in the trials. Historically it's much easier to recruit kids for studies during active disease outbreaks. COVID-19 has killed more than 300 kids across the country.

"That actually represents one of the top 10 causes of death in children right now," says Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Stanford Medicine who is leading the trial. "And there have been thousands of children hospitalized."

But not all parents are so eager to vaccinate their kids. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a survey showing fewer than a third of parents say they plan to get their kids COVID-19 shots as soon as it's possible. Another 32% said they would "wait and see."

Reluctance, especially early on, is not new. It started in the early 1800s when the first smallpox vaccine was developed. However, hesitancy is more rampant now than ever before, according to Dr. Myron M. Levine, associate dean for global health, vaccinology and infectious disease at the University of Maryland.

"Hardcore anti-vaxxers exist in a way that simply could not exist in the 1970s or even the 1980s because we didn't have the connectivity that we have now," says Levine.

The internet and social media platforms provide a ripe environment for anti-vaccine sentiment. In the coming months Levine hopes parents will be swayed by the data from early trials rather than misinformation. He says vaccinating kids is critical to stamping out COVID-19.

"You have to have a very, very high level of coverage," he says, " to keep that bad genie in the bottle."

Read more:

COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Underway For Kids 5 And Younger - NPR

Posted on May 17, 2021 in Latest News, Newsroom

*Media Advisory details below

The University of Hawaii System is adding the COVID-19 vaccination to its student health clearance requirements beginning in the fall 2021 semester. This means that, to be on any UH campus, students must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As with existing health clearance requirements, students will be able to request exemptions for medical and religious reasons. More detailed information will be made available in the coming months as implementation plans are finalized.

It is clear that a vaccinated campus is a safer campus for everyone, and a fully vaccinated student community enables the best opportunity for a healthy return to high-quality face-to-face teaching, learning and research, said UH President David Lassner. This decision does not come lightly, and is based on guidance from our own Health and Well-Being Working Group as well as the American College Health Association recommendation that all on-campus college students be required to be vaccinated.

The vaccine requirement will take effect only after at least one of the three COVID-19 vaccines currently under emergency use authorization has been approved and fully licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is anticipated this summer.

Unvaccinated UH students will still be welcome and may enroll in online courses. Online learners will continue to be able to engage with student services online, as they have done over the past year, and will be able to participate in student activities virtually.

UHs health clearance requirements for students currently include aTBclearance and immunizations for Measles Mumps, Rubella (MMR) and Tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis and Varicella. The Meningococcal Conjugate vaccination is also required for first-year students living in on-campus housing.

All UH students and employees can sign up now to be vaccinated, and UH urges all members of the UH community to be vaccinated now. The university will also ensure there are vaccination opportunities over the summer and at the beginning of fall for members of the UH community who arrive from other locations where they may not have been able to be vaccinated.

Hawaii Department of Health Director Libby Char says UHs decision to add the COVID-19 vaccine is an important development for the university and the state.

Having fully vaccinated campuses will help tremendously to create a much safer learning environment and minimize any transmission of COVID-19 from person to person, said Char.

The university will also be initiating formal discussions with the three unions that represent UH employees about possibly requiring COVID-19 vaccination.

For more information, please visit the UH COVID-19 vaccination requirement for students FAQs.

Media Advisory:

WHAT: News conference

WHEN: Monday, May 17, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. (HST)

WHERE: Bachman Hall courtyard, UH Mnoa campus

WHO: UH President David Lassner

LIVESTREAM:A livestream of the event will be posted at https://www.hawaii.edu/itunesu/vlive/?s=uhnews.sdp

###

Contact: Dan Meisenzahl, (808) 348-4936 Spokesman, UH Communications

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UH NEWS RELEASE: UH to require COVID-19 vaccination for on-campus students this fall - David Y. Ige | Newsroom

Study to focus on effect of COVID-19 vaccine on pregnant women, new moms  13WHAM-TV

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Study to focus on effect of COVID-19 vaccine on pregnant women, new moms - 13WHAM-TV

The city of Brentwood, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), will offer a two-part, pop-up COVID-19 vaccination event at the John P. Holt Brentwood Library on May 22 and June 12.

Appointments are available, but not required. To sign up for an appointment, visitsignupgenius.com/go/10C0C49ADA72CAAFCC16-brentwood.

The TDH will offer Pfizer vaccines only at this event and will be available to individuals 12 years of age or older, per the recent emergency use approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the 12-15 age range. After receiving the vaccine, individuals will be required to wait 15 minutes in the facility for monitoring.

When requested, we were happy to offer the library as a space for the community to receive the COVID vaccine, Brentwood City Manager Kirk Bednar said.

Both events will take place at the library, located at 8109 Concord Road in Brentwood, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

To learn more about TDH services and programs, visitwww.tn.gov/health.

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City of Brentwood to hold two-part COVID-19 vaccine event - williamsonherald.com

HIMSS on Monday announced that it will have a "Vaccination Required" policy for its 2021 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, currently scheduled to take place Aug. 9-13 in Las Vegas.

WHY IT MATTERSHIMSS (parent company of Healthcare IT News) will mandate that attendees, exhibitors and staff at HIMSS21 provide proof of "full vaccination" for COVID-19.

As explained on the new HIMSS21 Health and Safety Hub, full vaccination is achieved two weeks after a person's second dose of a two-dose vaccine series such as Pfizer and Moderna, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine such as Johnson & Johnsons Janssen.

"This guidance applies to COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines), and COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (i.e., AstraZeneca/Oxford), as of May 10, 2021," said HIMSS officials.

Attendees who cannot meet those requirements and demonstrate full vaccination will not be allowed onto the HIMSS21 campus.

The details of how full vaccination status will be confirmed and communicated are still being determined, but HIMSS says it is "evaluating validation solutions with a focus on accessible, privacy-preserving technologies. We will provide attendees, exhibitors and HIMSS staff further guidance in the coming weeks on accepted proof and validation solutions."

HIMSS has put together an FAQ focused on other questions about its plans for in-person attendance from the exhibit hall to education sessions to networking events.

THE LARGER TRENDThis past week, a listening session presented by the Global Consortium for eHealth Interoperability, an organization founded by HIMSS, HL7 International and IHE International, offered a look at some of the approaches to vaccine credentials making progress in the U.S. and Europe.

For one example, during the sessionCOVID-19 Vaccination Credentialing: Global Initiatives and Implications, Dr. Brian Anderson, chief digital health physician at the MITRE Corp., gave an update on the U.S.-based Vaccine Credential Initiative, which was launched in January and whose 400 member organizations have been working since on a secure and interoperable approach to proof of vaccination.

VCI is working with mobile devicemanufacturers to support its FHIR-enabled SMART Health Card, an "open-source-based credential on your phone that you can then use with your consent, with a verifier or with a destination as you see fit," said Anderson.

ON THE RECORD"After careful consideration and consultation with internal and external health and safety experts, HIMSS has determined that HIMSS21 can be the most robust, productive and interactive conference possible by requiring vaccinations for entry," said HIMSS officials.

"HIMSS will likely utilize one or more digital health applications to confirm that the vaccination status of each attendee, exhibitor and HIMSS staff member complies with the applicable right of entry protocols," they added. "The anticipated tool(s) will display a HIMSS21 pass status that will be checked (along with a HIMSS21 badge) to permit entry for attendees, exhibitors and HIMSS staff onto the HIMSS21 campus."

HIMSS will continue to update the HIMSS21 Health and Safety Hub.

Twitter:@MikeMiliardHITNEmail the writer:mike.miliard@himssmedia.comHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.

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Full COVID-19 vaccinations to be required for HIMSS21 attendance - Healthcare IT News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) In an effort to get as many people vaccinated, people of color and minority communities are still trailing at the bottom of the list. In the Mountain State, the numbers are extremely low and arent improving much.

Overall, and talking to people theres still a big hesitation on getting the vaccine, especially among our people, especially among our youth, said Bishop Robert Haley, Pastor of A More Excellent Way of Life Church.

According to the West Virginia DHHR, only 5.5% of Kanwaha Countys African American population is fully vaccinated or have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That number is up half a percent from two months ago. Hispanics, Asians and other minority groups have 3.6% of the population vaccinated and 4.0% have had one dose.

What we found that was more of how people are treated now by the health care system rather than something that happened in the past, Rev. James Patterson, CEO of the Partnership of African American Churches said.

Advocates are trying to get those vaccination numbers higher to get the pandemic behind us, now focusing on teens.

Were really going to be pushing our youth and helping the parents understand about this, Bishop Haley said.

Just like when 16 and up were eligible to get the vaccine, West Virginia Health Right will be partnering with the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department to make getting vaccinated convenient.

Every middle school is getting the opportunity for sure to get the vaccine and reaching every child, Angie Settle, West Virginia Health Right said.

Patterson said hes going to stick with what he knows to encourage more minorities to take the shot.

Weve been around for 20 years, so people know us and know who we are. They trusted us and so that was the way we were able to get and continue to get people of color vaccinated, Rev. Patterson said.

Community leaders say the biggest problem is that many seniors on Charlestons west side dont have transportation to get vaccinated. Thats why churches on the west side have agreed to make their locations vaccination sites.

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Why arent Black and minority COVID-19 vaccinations rising? - WBOY.com

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hillis working tosupport expansion of COVID-19 vaccination toprimary care clinicsin areaswith lowvaccinationrates, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The work comes as the pace of vaccination in North Carolina has slowed and the state and federal government expand efforts to target hard-to-reach populations.

More than 7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in North Carolina, mostly at mass vaccination sites, hospitals, health departments and even inside cars. Butin the next vaccination phase,moreshotsare expected to be given atdoctors offices.

TheUNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, supported by a $500,000 grant, will provide 18 primary care clinics in areas where vaccination is lowest with the coaching, data and community partnerships needed to get more people vaccinated, especially Black and Latino patients.

Primary care doctors and nurses are among the most trusted professionals in the U.S. Thats where most of us prefer to get our vaccines and vaccine information, said Melissa Gilkey,the scientific lead of the project whois abehavioral scientist at theUNC GillingsSchool of Global Public Healthandfellow atUNCHPDP.

Alice Ammerman,a professor of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health,directs UNC HPDP.Itsone of 26CDC PreventionResearch Centersacross the country to receive support to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.Shell leadHPDPs involvement, sharing best practices and insights with other research teams.

Prevention Research Centers, with their long-term community partners and focus on engagement, are well-positioned to make progress toward increasing vaccine confidence and uptake, Ammerman said.

The work startswith an analysisofstate datatoidentifyareas in North Carolina withlow vaccination rates anddemographic gaps invaccinations.Researcherswill also analyze data from a state-wide surveyofbarriers togetting vaccines at primary care clinics.

The goal istoincrease the likelihood thatpatients receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccineand there are multiple strategies clinics can try.

For example, settingreminders to talk to patientsabout COVID-19 vaccinationand offering evening and weekend clinicsto make it easier toschedule ashot.

The results willbetracked for three months, but researchers will spend a yeareliciting community-drivenideas on ways to improve COVID-19 vaccination.

Joining the project willbePaul Delamater, a Carolina geographer who specializes in geospatial analysis of vaccine uptake and refusal; Noel Brewer, a professor at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and internationally recognized expert in vaccine behavior and communication andAlexandra Lightfoot, a behavioral specialist at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and expert in community engagement.

The team of UNC experts in behavioral science, vaccine delivery and community engagement will conduct the project in partnership with the NC Division of Public Health, the NC Area Health Education Centers and the PRIME Collective, a group of community experts that partners with investigators to engage communities in research.

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UNC-Chapel Hill helps expand COVID-19 vaccination to doctor's offices | UNC-Chapel Hill - UNC Chapell Hill

How long will it take to produce and approve boosters?

The good news is that the MrNA vaccines are very amenable to updating, Bushman said.

You just change the nucleic acid sequence to match that of the new variant, and voil, youve got the new vaccine, he said. So that can happen very fast on an engineering level. Then, theres the whole testing and approval process. But testing can probably go pretty quickly, and similarly, approval. So, I think we probably could implement a new vaccine quickly. But it would be much better if we didnt have to.

Vaccines, mask-wearing, and physical distancing help fight against new variants, Bushman said.

So, if we can keep those up and suppress the levels of virus, that reduces the chances of the virus mutating. If theres a lot less virus, a lot less transmission, there will be a lot less viral evolution, he said. So, we have it in our power to strongly influence the situation by getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and engaging in all the precautions weve been hearing about.

If were suppressing the virus in the U.S., but the virus is taking off in South Africa, or Brazil, or wherever, that could be an incubator for new variants that could break through the vaccines we have, so no one is safe until everyone is safe, Bushman added. We need to finish the job here, vaccinating and suppressing the virus, and bringing that to the rest of the world. We need to try and squelch the virus everywhere.

The city of Philadelphia announced Tuesday that all COVID-19 restrictions, with the exception of face mask requirements, will end on June 11. In Pennsylvania, all restrictions are set to lift across the state on Memorial Day, with the exception of face mask requirements. New Jersey is lifting most of its restrictions on May 19, and Delaware on May 21.

I can see the argument both ways. You want to reward people for getting vaccinated, you want to have something to look forward to. However, I think we really have to respond to events, Bushman said.

Things were looking good in India several months ago, until the virus soared because people didnt take enough precautions, and a new variant may have contributed, and now theyre having 400,000 new infections a day. So, it can change very fast. So I think an important thing is to say, We really need to keep up with precautions, we will loosen up gradually in response to data, but should things ever look to go in the wrong direction, were clamping down again.

Moderna said in a statement that during its clinical trial of its booster, people typically reacted similarly to their second dose of the vaccines. Common side effects included pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, as well as muscle and joint pain.

Bushman said hes optimistic that COVID-19 might be an easier problem to solve, because it copies its genetic material more accurately than the flu virus does.

And theres something else going on with the flu, he said.

The genetic material comes in a lot of little pieces, and there are lots of different kinds of flus in the world. So, if two different viruses go in one cell, they can reassort all these little pieces of genome, and you can get something that has four segments from virus one or three segments from virus two, or something like that, so you can get massive changes in the sequence of the flu virus, he said. That doesnt happen with SARS-COV 2 because of that reassorting antigenic shift its called. So, Im hoping SARS-COV 2 will be easier to vaccinate against.

Read more:

Will I need to get a COVID-19 booster shot? - WHYY