Short-term safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in patients with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors  The Lancet
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Oregon will expand its ever-growing line for the COVID-19 vaccine to include family members of grocery store workers, transit operators and other frontline workers.
Gov. Kate Brown and Oregon Health Authority officials on Friday also said the state would open the floodgates for vaccine appointments to those aged 16 and older who have an expanded list of underlying health conditions as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- including current and former smokers, people who are merely overweight and not obese, Type 1 diabetics, people with hypertension and many other conditions.
The state acknowledged it doesnt know how many unvaccinated people are included in this expanded pool, nor does it have estimates for how many identify as frontline workers or are in those households. Some people may already have been vaccinated due to other qualifying factors.
As of Friday, 28% of all Oregonians have received at least one dose of a vaccine, slightly below the national average. Oregon has fully vaccinated 17% of its more than 4 million people, slightly above the national average.
Expanding the qualifying health conditions protects communities that face the highest risk, the states top health official said, noting people of color are more likely to have certain health conditions that increase the likelihood of adverse health outcomes if they contract the virus.
Brown said its important to expand the vaccine line to bring in families of frontline workers, in part, because transportation is often a barrier for accessing vaccines. If youre a frontline worker making the effort, bring your family members and do it all together, she said.
Patrick Allen, Oregon Health Authority director, said frontline workers are disproportionately people of color and their families are also at greater risk due to proximity to their loved ones.
Short-circuiting family transmission protects loved ones of vulnerable frontline workers and in turn helps keep the virus from being passed into the workplace from frontline workers exposed at home, Allen said in a Friday news conference.
The expanded eligibility comes as the state is approaching what Brown cautioned could be the fourth surge of the virus at our doorstep.
Heres what else you need to know.
Whats the expanded list of health conditions that qualifies?
Heres what the state posted Friday:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma (moderate-to-severe), interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension
- Dementia or other neurological conditions
- Diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2)
- Down syndrome
- Heart conditions (such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies or hypertension
- HIV infection
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system)
- Liver Disease
- Overweight and obesity (defined as body mass index, or BMI, greater than 25 kg/m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease or thalassemia
- Smoking, current or former
- Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
- Stroke or cerebrovascular disease
- Substance use disorder
Who is a frontline worker?
The states qualifications use the CDCs guidelines, which includes grocery store and retail workers, community college and university staffers, the U.S. Postal Service, transit employees, news media, legal officials, elected officials and government workers, food service employees and much more. Heres the full list.
I know people who work in retail who are getting a shot in Oregon already. Are some counties already vaccinating those workers?
Yes. Twenty-three of Oregons 36 counties are already vaccinating frontline workers and those peopled aged 16 to 44 with some certain health conditions (Baker, Benton, Coos, Clatsop, Crook, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Lincoln, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union and Wheeler as of Friday). Starting April 5, the remaining 13 counties, including the tri-county area, will start scheduling frontline workers who are eligible for their shots. People 45 and older with qualifying conditions are already eligible.
I have type 1 diabetes and I am 42 years old, and I live in Lane County. Whats my situation?
You would be eligible to get a vaccine appointment immediately, since you are a member of group 7 in the states vaccination plan, which includes the frontline workers and those aged 16 to 44 with underlying conditions who have already been made eligible in the counties listed above. The newly expanded underlying conditions outlined Friday includes type 1 diabetics, so schedule away.
What about me? I am in the same boat as the person above, but I live in Washington County.
You will be eligible April 5, when your county is scheduled to move forward to younger people with underlying conditions and frontline workers.
Wait, if its important to stop transmission, why cant I get my vaccine too? I am healthy but live with a person with those underlying health conditions? Can I get my shot now?
No, you cant. The state didnt explain why those family members wouldnt be eligible while acknowledging family transmission is the main source of spread. During the news conference, Brown was asked why not open eligibility to all residents, which she said was a good question. She said the focus remains on those with high risk, which is a good way at targeting those who are frontline workers. She also noted Oregon is not getting enough vaccine per capita, a factor highlighted by The Oregonian/OregonLive Friday. We will move heaven and earth to make sure were getting our fair share, Brown said, adding that the state has a good relationship with the Biden administration.
What does this mean for all Oregonians? Im healthy, I have none of those conditions, but I still want my vaccine.
Patrick Allen said despite some uncertainty about upcoming vaccine distribution due to disruption with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pipeline, the state still intends to give counties the option of moving forward with vaccinating all adults 16 and older by April 26. Oregon remains committed to its timeline where all Oregonians statewide would be eligible for a vaccine appointment by May 1.
Does this mean that we are doing super well at vaccinating everyone so far?
Not necessarily. Oregon is increasingly concerned, in particular, about vaccination rates in some rural counties. While the state rate for vaccinating those 65 and older is just under 70%, its significantly lower in several counties. Allen said that seven counties -- Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Lake, Malheur, Morrow and Umatilla have vaccinated less than half of their senior population.
Im 17 and my mom works for TriMet. How do I schedule my appointment?
State leaders were a bit vague on specifics, just noting that multiple appointments can be scheduled through the states Get Vaccinated Oregon portal. Allen said those family members should submit their information to the states database, where residents are contacted when they are eligible.
Oregon Health Authority officials said updates to the getvaccinatedoregon.gov website are taking place for the transition, although it wasnt immediately clear when the changes would happen.
Oregonians can also schedule appointments through pharmacies and local health agencies in many counties. Heres the website with more information.
-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen
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An open question is how long the current COVID-19 vaccines will offer protection against the virus. Will they provide lifelong protection like some vaccines, such as polio, or seasonal, like influenza? Its largely an open question simply because the vaccines havent been in existence long enough to give a definitive answer.
However, the current Phase III trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has confirmed the protection remains high for at least six months after the second dose. In a statement, Pfizer and BioNTech reported the vaccine, BNT162b2, was 91.3% effective against the disease, measured seven days through up to six months after the second dose. More importantly, it was 100% effective against severe disease as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 95.3% effective against severe COVID-19 as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
These data confirm the favorable efficacy and safety profile of our vaccine and position us to submit a Biologics License Application to the U.S. FDA, said Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer. The high vaccine efficacy observed through up to six months following a second dose and against the variant prevalent in South Africa provides further confidence in our vaccines overall effectiveness.
The data was based on an analysis of 46,307 trial participants. Out of the 927 confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 cases in the trial, 850 were in the placebo group and 77 were in the vaccine group, which provides a vaccine efficacy of 91.3%. Efficacy was consistent no matter the age, gender, race and ethnicity, as well as in people with various comorbidities.
Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert and dean of the school of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN, The information coming from Pfizer-BioNTech is good news with evidence that those enrolled in the clinical trials last year are still protected. So we know that immunity will not be short-lived. Hopefully, the protection might last years, but we wont know until we know.
This hope is bolstered by a study out of Charit Universittsmedizin Berlin that suggests a yearly COVID-19 shot will probably be necessary for a few years after the pandemic is largely over, but may be unnecessary after a few years post-pandemic. The researchers compared the evolution of endemic common cold coronaviruses with influenza viruses. Influenza viruses make such rapid mutations that flu shots need to be updated every year. SARS-CoV-2 is not an influenza virus, but a coronavirus. The rise of more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants has made it likely that at least for a few years, updates will be required. The investigators focused on the two longest-known coronaviruses, 229E and OC43, evaluating changes in the spike gene in samples collected over about 40 years. They published their research in the journal Virus Evolution.
Based on the mutations they observed and mapped and then compared these phylogenetic trees to that of H3N2, a well-known influenza subtype that is particularly good at evading the human immune response, they were able to calculate the likelihood of the SARS-CoV-2 mutating so fast and thoroughly that yearly shots would be required. They found that all three they compared had a pronounced ladder-like shape.
An asymmetrical tree of this kind likely results from the repeated replacement of one circulating virus variant by another which carried a fitness advantage, said Wendy K. Jo, first author of the study. This is evidence of antigenic drift, a continuous process involving changes to surface structures which enable viruses to evade the human immune response. It means that these endemic coronaviruses also evade the immune system, just like the influenza virus. However, one also has to look at the speed with which this evolutionary adaptation happens.
Which they did, and found that the influenza virus gathered 25 mutations per 10,000 nucleotides per year, while the coronaviruses had about six in the same timeframeor about four times slower than the influenza virus. SARS-CoV-2 appears to change at a rate of about 10 mutations per 10,000 nucleotides per year.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) also believes that the vaccines will probably protect for longer than six months. They know at six months its clearly there, he told CNN. It more than likely will be even longer. Time will tell.
Indeed. However, Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied mRNA vaccines like Pfizers and Modernas, thinks the protection will likely last several years. These mRNA vaccines it really seems the level of antibodies they elicit are so high, they are persistent, he told CNN. And the combination of having very high levels of antibodies and persistent levels of protection are the recipe for a very long level of protection against these variants. I would not be surprised if this is a vaccine that we only get once.
More here:
How Long Will COVID-19 Vaccines Be Effective? Six Months and Counting - BioSpace
Illinois surpassed 6 million COVID-19 vaccines administered Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.
On Thursday, 124,870 more people received COVID-19 shots compared to the seven-day average of 108,811.
The federal government has delivered 7,748,925 doses of vaccine to Illinois since distribution began in mid-December, and 6,043,292 shots have been given, the Illinois Department of Public Health said. That means 1,056,130 doses shipped since Sunday; the Biden administration had promised to provide 1 million vaccines a week in April.
There's still a long way to go before a majority of Illinois' 12.7 million residents are fully protected against the virus, however.
So far, 2,262,076 people -- 17.8% of the state -- have been fully vaccinated. Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. require two doses several weeks apart. A third version made by Johnson & Johnson requires one shot.
Meanwhile, cases of more infectious COVID-19 mutations in Illinois increased to 351, compared with 227 a week ago on March 25. Most of those cases, 276, were a variant originating in the United Kingdom.
The variant has approximately 50% increased transmissibility and can result in more severe illness, based on hospitalization and fatality rates in Britain, said Dr. Gregory Huhn, an infectious disease specialist with Cook County Health.
But the good news is data shows "those that would be protected by vaccination would be likely protected against acquiring this U.K. variant."
Huhn noted one reason for the growth in variant cases is labs now have more experience sequencing and detecting COVID-19 mutations,
The state reported 3,235 new virus cases Friday, reflecting an upward trend, with 24 deaths from the respiratory disease.
Illinois hospitals were treating 1,445 COVID-19 patients Thursday night. Hospitalizations reached 1,386 a day between Thursday and March 26 based on a seven-day average or a 13% increase compared to 1,225 patients daily between March 25 and March 19.
Officials also provided a new metric about wasted vaccines. A total of 1,645 doses have been wasted so far from a variety of causes, including dropped syringes, vials expiring while stored, or not kept at the correct temperature.
The state's positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 3.5% based on a seven-day average.
Total cases statewide stand at 1,251,346, and 21,349 Illinoisans have died since the pandemic began.
Labs processed 90,575 virus tests in the last 24 hours.
More:
State tops 6 million COVID-19 vaccinations; 3,235 new cases, 24 deaths - Daily Herald
Its normal to be cautious when something new comes along. Wanting to know more is a good thing it means you want to be informed. Getting informed about COVID-19 vaccines is an important step to help us stop this pandemic.
Why should I get vaccinated?
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Virginia Aparicio is Health and Human Science educator with Purdue Extension Elkhart County. She can be reached at 574-533-0554 or vaparici@purdue.edu.
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COVID-19 vaccination: It's up to you | Features | elkharttruth.com - The Elkhart Truth
Lansing, Mich. (WLNS) The Ingham County Health Department (ICHD) will start collecting health insurance information from people who are insured at COVID-19 vaccination appointments starting April 5.
The Ingham County Health Department said the decision to collect health insurance info is in alignment with other COVID-19 vaccine providers in the region.
The health department wants to assure people that there is no out-of-pocket cost for the vaccine whether someone is insured or not.
The federal government is providing COVID-19 vaccines free of charge to all people living in the United States, regardless of their immigration or health insurance status, but vaccine providers are allowed to seek reimbursement for a vaccine administration fee from insurance plans including Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance.
Here is where to find a COVID-19 vaccine near you.
ICHD was the only local provider not billing the fee to insurance but is changing course to be consistent with other providers, it said in a press release.
Mass vaccination has been a major undertaking for our health department, but we have operationalized the process and it runs very smoothly, said Ingham County Health Officer Linda S. Vail in a press release. We now have the capacity to start billing insurance. I assure people there will never be a cost to the person getting vaccinated. Cost and insurance should never create a barrier to getting vaccinated.
The health departments ongoing mass vaccination efforts include operations at the Michigan State University Pavilion, Dwight Rich School of the Arts and the Ingham County Fairgrounds in addition to multiple targeted one-day events to reach people who are at high risk or who face access barriers. To date, ICHD has offered these special events in 37 different locations.
Everyone age 16 and over will be eligible for the vaccine starting Monday, April 5. The health department encourages all residents to register to get vaccinated with ICHD at https://tinyurl.com/CoVaxRegistration as well as to register with other providers in the community.
Continued here:
Ingham County Health Department will bill insurance for COVID-19 vaccines starting April 5 - WLNS
UB has launched a new website to help people easily find available COVID-19 vaccination appointments across Western New York.
WNY Vaccine Hound is a critical community resource that serves as a one-stop website that lists vaccination appointment openings in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Niagara and Erie counties.
The website was developed and launched by faculty, students and staff from the School of Management, with assistance from the UB Information Technology group, under the leadership of Brice Bible, vice president and chief information officer, and University Communications.
Although a handful of appointment-generating websites have become common knowledge since vaccinations began, Vaccine Hound searches more than 100 local sites daily, looking for evidence of open appointments. Much like a retail aggregator helps locate hard-to-find products by pointing visitors to stores that have those items in stock, UBs WNY Vaccine Hound volunteers search its large pool of potential vaccination sites, and point users to locations with appointment openings.
Its important to note that WNY Vaccine Hound does not schedule or manage appointments, but instead highlights opportunities for vaccination. This service streamlines the often exhausting process of finding an open appointment, according to Natalie Simpson, chair of the Department of Operations Management and Strategy in the School of Management.
At a time when the vaccine is still relatively scarce while the number of people searching for vaccine appointments continues to rise, making an appointment can be stressful and frustrating, says Simpson. As a result, looking for an appointment may often seem like a taxing game of Whack-a-Mole, as opportunities vanish as quickly as they sometimes appear.
Simpson first approached Sanjukta Das Smith, chair of the Department of Management Science and Systems, about the opportunity for UB talent to make a difference in this situation.
Das Smith quickly identified the team to fix that problem: Dominic Sellitto, team leader and UB adjunct instructor, along with Anthony Guarnieri, Aditi Samiran Katti and Mayuri Garg, students in the Master of Science in Management Information Systems program. Soon after, the team began building the site, designing its user interface and developing the flexibility necessary to provide continually updated information.
There are a lot of moving parts that went into designing something so user-friendly, says Sellitto. This was all remarkably accomplished in just over three weeks.
Its quite an achievement.
We hope to make vaccination a bit less stressful, and to allow the community to see a wide range of opportunities, says Simpson. We know people are often driving considerable distances to receive a vaccination, but Vaccine Hound now lets people see what organizations in their own neighborhood might be providing.
Its arrival couldnt be more timely, and were thrilled that a UB team has been able to lend a hand.
See the original post here:
UB launches website to find appointments for COVID-19 vaccine - University at Buffalo Reporter
Gov. Jay Inslee said older residents who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine are "living in the danger zone right now."
SEATTLE Health officials in Washington state are concerned about older residents still choosing not to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of March 29, roughly 27% of Washingtonians 65 and older have not received a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the state Department of Health (DOH). Vaccines have been available to residents in that age group for three months.
Gov. Jay Inslee said older residents not wanting or receiving the vaccine is really disturbing because the vaccines are effective, and COVID-19 remains a fatal disease.
"Basically, we have tens of thousands of people, those over 65, who have not had the vaccine who are really living in the danger zone right now, Inslee said during a press conference Wednesday. It is a dangerous situation not to be vaccinated, particularity if you are over 65 today."
As of Tuesday, 84% of people who have died from COVID-19 in Washington state are 65 and older, according to DOH data.
Over 3.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given and reported as of Monday in Washington state. DOH data shows 27.9% of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 16.9% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Everyone 16 and older in Washington will be eligible for a vaccine starting April 15. The previous eligibility date for those over the age of 16 was May 1.
Anyone who needs assistance scheduling a vaccine appointment can click here or call 1-800-525-0127.
Follow this link:
Experts say there are some important things you should avoid after getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to more and more people across the Carolinas, experts are advising against doing certain things after receiving the shot.
Here are five things medical experts say you should not do immediately after getting your COVID-19 vaccine:
1. Do not get a tattoo or piercing right after your shot
Medical experts say there's a slight chance it could trigger an immune response on top of the vaccine.
Your best bet is to wait at least a few days before getting that ink or piercing or consult your doctor beforehand.
2. Do not book any other vaccine appointments around the same time
Scientists say this is out of an abundance of caution. There's still not enough information about how the COVID-19 vaccine will interact with others.
Experts suggest waiting two weeks to get any other kind of shot.
3. Do not push yourself to exercise
Forcing yourself to workout will likely make you feel worse and not better.
It's best to take a day or two off if you're feeling run down after your shot.
4. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water
Water helps your body process your body's immune response to the vaccine.
Plus, if you do spike a fever as a result of the vaccine, staying hydrated will help your body fight it off.
5. Don't lose your vaccine card
We don't know exactly when, where or how that card will be needed just yet but it could likely be your golden ticket for jumping back into the "normal" world.
The good news is right now stores like Staples, Office Depot and Office Max are laminating COVID-19 vaccination cards for free.
Have a relative or friend in another state and want to know when they can get vaccinated? VisitNBC News' Plan Your Vaccine siteto find out about each state's vaccine rollout plan.
More:
Avoid these 5 activities after taking the COVID-19 vaccine - WCNC.com
Tuolumne County COVID-19 vaccine clinic
Sonora, CA Three coronavirus vaccines are available to those 16 plus and 18 and older in Tuolumne County at the next two clinics this weekend and next week.
Due to being slightly ahead of the state, public health and Adventist Health Sonora report COVID vaccines are available for those 16+ with the Pfizer shot, and 18+ with the Moderna and Janssen.
Those 16 plus can set up an appointment for the public healths regular Tuesday, (April 6th) clinic at the Sierra Bible Church on Tuolumne Road. For help in scheduling an appointment, call at 533-7440 or email Health@tuolumnecounty.ca.gov or click here.
Those 18 plus shots are available at the hospitals Saturday (April 3) clinic at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, off Stockton Street. Appointments can be made here.
As the county prepares to make the transition to the states MyTurn vaccine distribution system, public health officials relay individuals can continue to fill out their vaccine inquiry or register on MyTurn by clicking here.
Written by Tracey Petersen.
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