Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

PITTSBURGH Thousands of COVID-19 vaccine appointments are sitting unfilled in western Pennsylvania and providers are encouraging people to double check their eligibility.

If you look 45 minutes outside of the city, an hour outside of the city, there are literally thousands of appointments just sitting there. No ones claiming them, Leighann Bacher said.

Bacher uses her Facebook page, Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated, as a platform to connect people with appointments. She said there are lots of appointments if you look hard enough.

Butler is one. Clarion, Westmoreland, Fayette. Armstrong is one that has a ton right now and theyre scrambling to fill slots, she said.

Jen Salmans drove to Hempfield in Westmoreland County to get her shot. Now her two boys can see their grandparents for the first time in a year.

Its incredible for them. Just makes my heart melt that they can be back together giving them hugs and kisses, she said.

If youre an unpaid caregiver for an elderly adult, you qualify to get a vaccine. If your Body Mass Index is over 30 youre also eligible.

I really encourage people to check. Go on Google, theres a calculator. Enter your height and weight and it turns out a number for you, Bacher said.

She fears if unfilled appointments arent opened up to everyone, people will increasingly head across the border to Ohio or West Virginia to get the shot.

Were underestimating how many people are willing to go there. Its going to be a lot, she said.

Read the original:

Thousands of COVID-19 vaccine appointments sitting unfilled in western Pennsylvania - WPXI Pittsburgh

Ines Garcia Sr. doesnt own a computer. And even if he did, he says he wouldnt know how to register online for a COVID-19 vaccine.

So his stepdaughter and daughter-in-law each registered him for the shot in January with Dallas County.

Garcia said after he was invited to schedule a vaccine appointment, his son drove him the next day to get his first dose of the Moderna vaccine at The Potters House church in southern Dallas. They arrived around 7:30 a.m. on March 4, and Garcia got the shot close to three hours later.

Sitting in his sons pickup in the churchs parking lot, Garcia waited for possible side effects. He said he felt a wave of relief and anxiety. He kept thinking of people whod gotten their shots and told him they felt fevers coming on afterward.

Most of them got it and theyre doing all right, said Garcia, 67, of Mesquite. So Im hoping I do all right too.

Three months into vaccinations, Texas, like many states nationwide, has lagged in inoculating residents of color.

Starting Monday, all adult Texans over 16 will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccines making the Lone Star State the largest in the country to expand eligibility to everyone. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for 16 and up. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for those 18 and up.

But without a statewide plan to focus on vulnerable populations outside of age or serious health conditions, many fear that vaccination gaps will widen. And the consequences could be deadly as people of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Racial and economic disparities have marked all aspects of the pandemic, from the early testing site locations to the diverging infection and death rates.

And gaps persist for Latinos and Blacks, who trail behind their white counterparts in getting the vaccine, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of state vaccine data.

The process for getting a vaccine still heavily favors those who have a car and internet access making community outreach crucial in underserved areas, said Rogelio Senz, a demographer at the University of Texas at San Antonio who has studied the pandemics effects on communities of color.

Beyond technology and transportation barriers, other hurdles remain among Texans of color. Concerns about the vaccines persist, including apprehension over side effects since they have only been approved for federal emergency use.

Garcia is one of nearly 6.9 million Texans or roughly 24% of the states population of 29 million who have received at least the first dose of the vaccine, according to state data as of Saturday. Around the same percentage of Dallas Countys 2.6 million residents have also gotten at least the first of the two-dose shots.

With 2.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state, 47,000 Texans have died as of Saturday, according to state data. Nearly 3,500 have been in Dallas County alone.

At 46%, Latinos make up the largest ethnic group of Texans killed by the virus despite accounting for nearly 40% of the states population. As of Thursday, only 23% of vaccines statewide have gone to those residents.

While in the drivers seat next to his father earlier this month, Ines Garcia Jr. said he was still apprehensive about the vaccine. The 48-year-old caught COVID-19 last fall and said he nearly went to the hospital because of it after experiencing symptoms for about a week. Effects linger, he said, including routine aches.

I dont want to get that sickness again, he said. Getting a shot, nothing might happen to me. But ...

He thinks he might end up getting it again, his father said, finishing his sons sentence.

Dallas city and county officials have prioritized vaccines in hard-hit neighborhoods. The city moved its main vaccine site from downtown to The Potters House in southwest Dallas Mountain Creek neighborhood. And UT Southwestern, another hub provider, offers vaccines at Southwest Center Mall in Red Bird. Dallas Countys site is at Fair Park in South Dallas.

All three of those areas are lower-income and majority Black or Latino. And theyre in ZIP codes with some of North Texas lowest vaccination rates, The News analysis found.

The News analyzed the most recent vaccination data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. It shows by ZIP code the number of residents who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose as of March 22.

Dallas ZIP code 75225 which includes parts of Preston Hollow and University Park has the regions highest vaccination rate, The News found, with an estimated 60% of residents having received at least one dose. Its predominantly white and the median income is $161,296.

About a half-hour drive south in Dallas Red Bird community, in 75237, only 11% of residents there have received shots. The areas population is 80% Black and the median household income is $28,000 a year.

This is a tremendous problem, said Dr. Erin Carlson, an associate clinical professor at the University of Texas at Arlingtons College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Ultimately, public health is about everyone.

If any one group or neighborhood or demographic of our community is unvaccinated, then we dont have herd immunity.

Leslie Armijo, who works at a medical nonprofit, said shes been going to churches, grocery store parking lots and other places helping people to sign up for the vaccine. Recently, she and colleagues have targeted outreach in ZIP codes like 75212 where infections have been higher.

She recently volunteered to register people and to thread that mission with other nonprofits, like Hunger Busters, on a chilly morning. The Hunger Busters crew provided food to people who lined up to get vaccine registration information.

Some people say they are scared and want to wait, Armijo said. They are a little wary of the side effects.

But they make up only a small percentage of those Armijo has talked to.

Armijo would like to see vaccinations extend into the evenings for those who work night shifts. Registrations could take place at big workplaces with stable internet, she said.

Enrique Facundo, 51, pulled his white Ford truck into the line. Hed already received his first shot because he has diabetes and was on a priority list. But he knew others who were resisting, he said, shaking his masked head.

Its good to have this focus here on the vaccines, Facundo said.

Tabitha Wheeler, a community activist who lives in South Dallas, said most people she knows are delaying getting the vaccine or are unsure altogether if theyll get inoculated.

Many say they dont know enough about the vaccine options to know if theyre safe or feel there hasnt been enough time to study the long-term effects.

Some possible side effects of the vaccines can range from mild ones like arm soreness, headaches or muscle pain to more severe issues like difficulty breathing, swelling or hives.

Wheeler, who is Black, said some people are still on the fence even after they have had relatives die.

Wheeler recently turned down an offer to get a first dose from Parkland. After hearing about new strains of the virus, she said, she needs more time to gauge their effectiveness, particularly for Black women, to be more comfortable with getting inoculated.

She mentioned community leader Bishop Omar Jahwar, who died March 11 after COVID-19-related complications. She noted theyre around the same age and that the death of the 47-year-old hit close to home.

Youre kind of rolling the dice a little bit either way, said Wheeler, 44. I dont want to get COVID and die, but Im scared about the vaccine. A lot of us are.

Another challenge in the Catholic community has been the debate over research or production of vaccines involving fetal cell lines.

There has been some trepidation about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, said the Rev. Russ Mower, the parish priest at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church in Oak Cliff. But he tells parishioners: If that is a concern and you have a choice, then certainly go with one of the other vaccines.

The Vatican itself stepped in to say it was morally acceptable to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

If a Catholics only choice is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, they should take that jab in the arm, the priest said.

Do that with a clear conscience that what you are doing is for the benefit of your brothers and sisters in your neighborhood.

Jenny Zacharias, a Peruvian immigrant, said more must be done to reach Latino and Black communities. She was vaccinated recently after the age limits were lowered to 50.

Bring the vaccines to the people, said Zacharias, 51.

That will improve efficiency and raise trust, said Zacharias, who volunteers with Dallas Area Interfaith at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. The group works with many undocumented immigrants, she said.

They dont trust the government. That is another concern. Who do they trust? They trust the church.

Dallas City Council member Jaime Resendez said he was part of an effort with the county and a local nonprofit to bus eligible residents who live in ZIP codes 75217 or 75227, which include Pleasant Grove and Buckner Terrace, to Fair Park for their appointments on March 10 and March 16. About 200 people were taken to the site, he said.

Its been very helpful to folks, but theres still more work to be done, said Resendez, who represents southeast Dallas and Pleasant Grove.

Dallas City Council member Casey Thomas, who represents southwest Dallas, including Red Bird, said he believes more people will be left behind in the weeks following widespread eligibility because of lack of transportation and the online registration process.

Getting more vaccines would go far in helping fill the demand and close disparity gaps, said Thomas, who chairs the citys COVID-19 recovery and assistance committee. But he said its unclear what the plan is to prevent gaps from widening as more people become eligible for shots.

You would have thought, Thomas said, that after having fought this fight for equitable testing for communities of color, and equitable access to PPE for communities of color, that we would be prepared with a written, detailed plan on vaccine distribution for everyone.

He said he hasnt seen one.

Go here to see the original:

As COVID-19 vaccine eligibility opens up, fears persist that residents of color will continue to be left behind - The Dallas Morning News

SYDNEYTo reach indigenous clans in northern Australia, vaccinators must navigate monsoon rains that can ground aircraft and waterways infested with crocodiles. Once they reach communities, they face another tough challenge in convincing those groups to accept the shots.

First Nations people like those in East Arnhem Landmore than 600 miles by road from the closest city of Darwin and a bastion of traditional Aboriginal cultureare next in line in Australias vaccination program that began last month and has focused on giving priority to health and other workers on the front lines of keeping Covid-19 out of the country.

In many ways, the vaccination program is a litmus test for nations with large indigenous groups that feel marginalized and distrustful of government policy. Almost 150,000 indigenous Australians lived in remote areas in 2016, according to the most recent government data available. In East Arnhem Land, life expectancy is around 50 years and half of Aboriginal children develop a severe hearing, lung or other health problem by age 4.

What were hearing now is probably 50-75% will say no, said Eddie Mulholland, chief executive of Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corp., an indigenous-controlled primary health service for roughly 8,000 people across East Arnhem Land.

Concerns have increased among indigenous Australians after reported cases of rare blood clotting in people in Europe who had received the Covid-19 shot developed by AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford, though regulators found no link between the clots and the vaccine and recommended its continued use.

Read more from the original source:

Indigenous Australians Are Skeptical About Covid-19 Vaccines, and Theyre Hard to Reach - The Wall Street Journal

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) The race is on for health organizations in the region to get as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible.

The latest push is a series of weekend events to open vaccinations up to more people.

Ballad Health is hosting a Super Saturday vaccine event tomorrow.

Ballad will open its community vaccination centers in Kingsport, Elizabethton, Norton, and Abingdon, as well as a one-day site in Greeneville.

Since Ballad Healths announcement, appointments have since doubled. The health care system is anticipating anywhere between 400 to 500 community members to walk through their doors to get a vaccine.

Kingsport is just one of five locations Ballad Health has planned to issue COVID-19 vaccines. The health care system is hoping to meet the needs of community members who are unable to attend vaccine events during the week.

Ballad Health Chief Infection Prevention Officer Jamie Swift said, This is a walk-in clinic. Weve got extra staff on hand, theyre going to help us to crowd control, extra parking. All of our facilities are located in the area that theres plenty of parking. We may be close to a hospital but not inside of a hospital, so youre not having to deal with that traffic.

Appointments are not required and walk-ins are welcome, however, Ballad Health will only have a limited supply of Pfizer vaccines at each site. Here are the number of vaccines available at each site:

What we dont want to happen is someone to stay in line and then be turned away. Well let you know if weve reached our capacity, Swift said. If we have, were still not going to turn you away with nothing. Well go ahead and get you scheduled for an appointment one day next week.

Swift says those who are unable to come in the 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. time slot are asked to call the Nurse Connect line at 833-8-BALLAD, in order to schedule an appointment at their vaccine clinics next week.

Were anxious and hope that we give out every appointment slot and give out every dose of vaccine. Im hoping the community responds and this is truly a Super Saturday to move over 1,000 doses of vaccines if we can, Swift said.

To get the vaccine Saturday, go to these locations:

Read more:

Ballad Health accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations across the region with Super Saturday event - WJHL-TV News Channel 11

NORFOLK, Va (WAVY) More than a thousand at-risk Norfolk residents, ages 65 and older, got their first and for some, the second dose of the Moderna vaccine, Saturday.

This happened at Calvary Revival Church off Poplar Hall Drive.

Nearly 40 JenCare Senior Medical Center volunteers helped get the shots in arms.

Chief Medical Officer of Jencare Medical Center Tidewater, Dr. Lisa Price Stevens, says this clinic helps serve the low-income.

More than 1,000 at-risk Norfolk residents ages 65 and older are expected to get vaccinated at Calvary Revival Church today. Also here are nearly 40 JenCare Senior Medical Center volunteers. This is not a walk up event. pic.twitter.com/TR8FYQ9n0I

She says in the coming weeks they are hoping to get access to the J&J vaccine.

Our plan is to continue to vaccinate folks. We are still sticking with 1a and 1b but as the state opens up we are happy to participate in mass vaccination, said Stevens.

She says this clinic wouldnt have been possible without the partnerships of Calvary Revival church leaders and the Norfolk health department.

Read the rest here:

More than 1,000 at-risk residents receive COVID-19 vaccine in Norfolk - WAVY.com

[Update: Federal health officials raised questions about the AstraZeneca trial results after they were announced. Read more here.]

The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford provided strong protection against Covid-19 in a large clinical trial in the United States, completely preventing the worst outcomes from the disease, according to results announced on Monday.

Although no clinical trial is large enough to rule out extremely rare side effects, AstraZeneca reported that its study had turned up no serious safety issues. Government officials and public health experts expressed hope that the results would improve global confidence in the vaccine, which was shaken this month when more than a dozen countries, mostly in Europe, temporarily suspended the shots use over concerns about possible rare side effects.

The trial, involving more than 32,000 participants, was the largest test of its kind for the shot. The AstraZeneca vaccine was 79 percent effective over all in preventing symptomatic infections, higher than observed in previous clinical trials, the company announced in a news release. The trial also showed that the vaccine offered strong protection for older people, who had not been as well represented in earlier studies.

The fresh data may have arrived too late to make much difference in the United States, where the vaccine is not yet authorized and unlikely to become available before May. By then, federal officials predict, there will be enough vaccine doses for all of the nations adults from the three vaccines that have already been authorized.

Even so, the better-than-expected results are a heartening turn for AstraZenecas shot, whose low cost and simple storage requirements have made it a vital piece of the drive to vaccinate the world.

The results could also help ease concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe. In an effort to boost waning public confidence, many European political leaders have gotten the injections in recent days.

The results from the U.S. trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine give strong evidence that the vaccine is both safe and highly effective, Matt Hancock, the British health secretary, said on Monday. Vaccines are our way out of this, so when you get the call, get the jab.

Regulators in Europe initiated a safety review of AstraZenecas vaccine this month after a small number of people who had recently been inoculated developed blood clots and abnormal bleeding. The trial did not turn up any sign of such problems, although some safety issues can be detected only in the real world, once a drug or vaccine has been given to millions of people.

AstraZeneca said on Monday that it would continue to analyze the new data and prepare to apply in the coming weeks for emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine has already been approved in more than 70 countries, but clearance from American regulators would bolster its global reputation.

Because the United States already has ample supply of vaccines from the three other manufacturers, however, F.D.A. regulators are unlikely to move on the accelerated timeline that they did with other vaccines.

In November, Oxford and AstraZeneca reported that the vaccine was 70 percent effective across studies in Britain and Brazil. But those results were hard to interpret. The findings looked much different in participants who received the first dose of the vaccine at a strength that was not initially planned and then got their second dose many weeks later than originally intended. There were also relatively few older people in those trials. As a result, some public health experts and U.S. health officials viewed those studies as insufficient to tell how well the vaccine worked.

This was a very big, well-powered study that I think confirms now that this vaccine is a good vaccine, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations leading infectious-disease expert. He added that it was premature to say what the vaccines role would be in the United States.

March 27, 2021, 10:33 p.m. ET

AstraZeneca has said it will release 30 million doses to the United States as soon as it receives authorization. Tens of millions of those doses are already ready to be shipped or close to it. U.S. officials have agreed to send four million of the doses to Canada and Mexico, in exchange for doses later in the future.

Two-thirds of participants in the clinical trial were given the vaccine, with doses spaced four weeks apart, and the rest received a saline placebo. Volunteers were recruited from Chile and Peru in addition to the United States.

The results announced on Monday were based on 141 Covid-19 cases that had turned up among the volunteers in the clinical trial.

None of the volunteers who got the vaccine developed severe symptoms or had to be hospitalized. Five participants who were given the placebo developed severe Covid-19 by the time the interim data were analyzed, and more cases have since turned up in that group, Menelas Pangalos, an AstraZeneca executive, said at a news conference on Monday.

Participants who received the vaccine in the trial had no increased risk of blood clots or related illnesses. And a specific search turned up no cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis blood clots in the brain that can result in dangerous bleeding that raised some of the most serious concerns in Europe.

Because of the slight battering the AstraZeneca vaccine has taken over the last few weeks and particularly in the last week or two in Europe new data showing it is safe and effective is, if youll excuse the phrase, a good shot in the arm, said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton in Britain.

The vaccine worked well across ethnicity and age groups, AstraZeneca said. And the vaccine was 80 percent effective in about 6,000 trial volunteers over age 65 findings likely to quell concerns about insufficient clinical trial data on how well the vaccine works in older people.

Even if the vaccine is not used in the United States, receiving emergency authorization from the F.D.A. whose rigorous review process is considered the global gold standard would be an important milestone for AstraZeneca.

The benefits of these results will mainly be for the rest of the world, where confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine has been eroded, said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Although it is difficult to compare vaccines tested in different clinical trials at different points in the pandemic, the new results put AstraZenecas shot in the company of other leading vaccines.

AstraZenecas vaccine can be stored for six months when refrigerated. Unlike the messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, it uses an older approach similar to that of the shot from Johnson & Johnson. A delivery vehicle a weakened version of a chimpanzee adenovirus is used to transport coronavirus genes into human cells. That is meant to train the immune system to fight off attacks from the real coronavirus.

A number of key data points that American regulators will need to scrutinize the vaccine were missing from the companys news release.

It was unclear, for example, how up to date the data are. If the analysis was conducted on data from a month or two ago, it is possible that a more current look would present a different picture of the vaccines effectiveness and safety. The company will provide the F.D.A. with a more comprehensive, recent set of data than what AstraZeneca disclosed on Monday.

AstraZenecas relationship with U.S. authorities has been fraught since last year, when senior health officials believed the company was not forthright about the design of its clinical trials, its results and safety issues. That skepticism carried over to last week, when senior officials at a number of federal health agencies had grown even more suspicious.

An analysis by the independent safety monitoring board helping to oversee the U.S. trial was delayed several times because the board had to ask for revised reports from those handling trial data on behalf of the company, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

It is often the case that such boards can request new or clarifying analyses of data from the trial, an AstraZeneca spokeswoman said. This would enable them to ensure the robustness of their determinations.

Still, the holdup with the data again tested American officials trust in the company. Suspicion intensified so much last week that some government officials and vaccine experts were speculating about whether the company was sitting on its results or working to frame them in a more flattering light.

In fact, the company did not yet have its results until this past weekend, Dr. Pangalos said.

Sharon LaFraniere contributed reporting. Alain Delaqurire contributed research.

See the original post:

AstraZenecas Covid-19 Vaccine Is Found to Be 79% Effective in U.S. Study - The New York Times

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been hailed as the worlds vaccine its inexpensive to produce and doesnt need super-cold storage like the mRNA vaccines do. Its been approved in countries around the globe, from the U.K. to Mexico to Australia.

At first, clinical trial data indicated that the vaccine had an efficacy of nearly 80 percent, though a small study of about 2,000 people showed it to be considerably less effective against the variant first identified in South Africa. But that hasnt been seen as a reason to keep the vaccine from the rest of the world. And so far, tens of millions of doses have been administered.

Nevertheless, the vaccine has still not been approved in the U.S. This week, on the verge of submitting their vaccine for FDA approval, AstraZeneca committed essentially a communications faux pas that could shake the publics confidence in the shot. And, unfortunately, its not the first public relations scandal AstraZeneca has gotten itself into since the pandemic began.

On this weeks episode of PODCAST-19, we explore AstraZenecas missteps and what to make of them with Maggie Koerth, FiveThirtyEights senior science writer. You can find the transcript below.

Anna Rothschild: Maggie, what the heck is going on with AstraZeneca?

Maggie Koerth: What the heck isnt going on with AstraZeneca? So, this is still a little confusing. And I think part of what is making it confusing is the communication around it. So what seems to be going on is that AstraZeneca had this big press conference; they released efficacy data that was based on data from one period of time. So they came out and said, You know, were going to have an efficacy of 79 percent. Thats great. But then the Data [and] Safety Monitoring Board, which is the regulator in charge of all of this, is saying that if you add in this extra time period that they have data for, but that they just kind of left out in the public announcement, youre actually going to get an efficacy of closer to 69 to 75 percent.

Anna Rothschild: Basically, when you do a clinical trial, right, you have this, like, impartial board called the Data [and] Safety Monitoring Board that sees your data before even, like, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company sees the data. In this case, pretty much back in February, the Data Safety [and] Monitoring Board found that there was an efficacy rate in the most recent clinical trials at AstraZeneca of like 79 percent. But there were these, like, additional potential cases of COVID that they kind of wanted AstraZeneca to look into. So, AstraZeneca kind of looked into some of them. And by March, that number dropped to 75 percent. But there were still, according to this [Washington] Post article I read, like 33 potential cases of COVID that could bring that number down to 69 percent. And basically, like, the regulatory board (again, which is not related to AstraZeneca at all they are an impartial board) told AstraZeneca these numbers, but were like, Listen, you really got to check this out because these numbers could change. And then AstraZeneca just decided to go with the February numbers, knowing that there was this potential change in what could occur. Then this regulatory board did a thing that is you almost never hear this happen in public health: Like, they basically, like, wrote to AstraZeneca that they were very disappointed in them and that this had the potential to mislead them and then freakin ccd Dr. Fauci on it.

Maggie Koerth: Oh, I didnt know they ccd him on it. Oh, wow. Oh my gosh. Thats thats some thats some like, please see my previous email.

Anna Rothschild: I know!

Maggie Koerth: And what is absolutely driving me completely bonkers is that were having this whole thing over a less than 10 percent difference in efficacy. Like, theres this massive loss of trust involved in this communication. These are really weird things to be happening. And its less than 10 percent difference.

Anna Rothschild: I think that thats kind of the most galling thing, too. Theres just something so weird going on about the fact that they really wanted to release the 79 percent number, when in fact, it might have been 75 percent effective. And the difference between those numbers is fairly small.

Quick side note here: We recorded this episode on Wednesday afternoon. That night, AstraZeneca released an update saying that after a review, theyve now determined that their vaccine has a 76 percent efficacy against symptomatic COVID, and 100 percent efficacy against hospitalizations and deaths.

Maggie Koerth: It just seems like theres been a lot of this stuff all the way along with AstraZeneca.

Anna Rothschild: Well, lets talk about some of these other scandals.

Maggie Koerth: So, what I kind of have seen in going back and looking through a lot of this stuff is this pattern of, like, both choosing the more optimistic thing to talk to the press about, and also this pattern of just kind of methodological sloppiness. They wanted to combine all of these different studies that they had been doing all over the world that were done differently, with different doses and in different ways into one big meta-analysis. Thats not a thing like, we dont do that.

Anna Rothschild: Didnt they also give some study participants a half dose of the vaccine accidentally at some point?

Maggie Koerth: Yeah. When they were releasing some of their data, you had, like, this result, where like, oh, a half dose, and then a full dose gets you a better effectiveness rate than two full doses. And so the press kind of got curious about that. And like, What even made you try this? And it turned out that what made them try that was a complete and utter accident that happened when one of their contractors was giving the wrong dose out in one trial.

Anna Rothschild: Jeez.

Maggie Koerth: Its not like they were hiding it from the regulators. Like, the regulators knew. But they had not made it clear in the public-facing data. So you just had this, like, weird hanging question that then they had to explain that that made them look like they were hiding things. The PR failure has also been going on for quite a while.

Anna Rothschild: Oh, absolutely. I dont know if you remember, like, earlier on in their clinical trials there were, like, one or two cases of this, like, super-rare paralytic condition called transverse myelitis, which we talked about on PODCAST-19 before, and basically, like, the trials were stopped. The crazy thing, though, is that the way that the FDA found out about the case of transverse myelitis was the same way the public found out, which was through a leaked story to, I think, STAT News.

Maggie Koerth: Oh, god, Id forgotten about that.

Anna Rothschild: It was later found that there was no link between the vaccine and transverse myelitis. This is actually just, like, a thing that these two people in these very large studies happened to develop that, in all likelihood, had nothing to do with the vaccine whatsoever. But the fact that it was communicated so poorly just makes you go, Wait, are you hiding something?

Maggie Koerth: Right. And you also have things that are, like, not scandals per se, but like, do you remember what was going on with, like, the whole, This doesnt work in old people thing?

Anna Rothschild: Oh, yeah. I mean, I think what happened was that AstraZeneca, like, they didnt do an excellent job of recruiting enough older people in the study, people over 65 in their study. And so that kind of got misconstrued by the public. And I think, famously, [by] Emmanuel Macron.

Maggie Koerth: Right.

Anna Rothschild: By interpreting that as, Oh, this vaccine doesnt work in people over 65, thats not necessarily the case.

Maggie Koerth: It seems to be working right in people over 65 in the U.K., for instance.

Anna Rothschild: Exactly, exactly. In reality, we just didnt have enough data to say whether the vaccine worked in people over 65 at the time.

Maggie Koerth: Right? So its another one of those cases of where, like, its not that theyre evil. Its just that theyre, like, walking into walls repeatedly.

Anna Rothschild: Another quick side note: In their Wednesday night press release, AstraZeneca said their vaccine has an 85 percent efficacy in people 65 and older.

Maggie Koerth: And I think, like, some of the communication around this has also been its not all on AstraZeneca. Like, you get into, like, the blood-clotting thing. And that communication has been bad from, like, everybody basically.

Anna Rothschild: Well, lets talk about that. What did happen with the blood clots?

Maggie Koerth: So, there are at least 21 countries that put a temporary pause on using the AstraZeneca vaccine. So, what is going on is that there are at least 30 cases of not just blood clots, but severe blood clotting, and a syndrome of different symptoms. You know, some people are having head-to-toe blood clots, some people are having these low platelet counts. Nobody knows whether this is tied to the vaccine. Nobody knows why it would be heavily centered in Germany, where theres been at least 13 cases. But its the kind of thing that if youre a vaccine safety expert, youre looking at this information and youre thinking, Lets, lets hold up a minute and find out whats going on. But if youre a public health person, youre looking at this exact same information and youre going, But its just 30 cases, and theres been tens of millions of doses of this stuff given out. So youre still way more likely to die from COVID. So lets prioritize getting people vaccinated. Its really just this clash between how two different expert groups prioritize the same thing.

Anna Rothschild: Basically, like, the European Medicines Agency has said that the benefits of the vaccine continue to, like, far outweigh the risks.

Maggie Koerth: What Im struggling with now, looking at, like, this whole big history of things, is like, where this leaves us. Part of me is looking at this and kind of having the Fauci reaction, right, of like, I think this is a good vaccine. Just like what are they doing?

Anna Rothschild: So, Maggie, does the U.S. need this vaccine?

Maggie Koerth: I mean, we are contracted for enough vaccine to vaccinate everybody in the U.S. by July. So we dont actually need AstraZeneca to get the job done here. But it is needed in a lot of other places. Its the one that, you know, became part of, like, the international Lets get everybody vaccinated effort, right? So, like, all of the contracts for how we are going to get vaccine to people in developing countries are tied to AstraZeneca.

Anna Rothschild: One of the things that this has brought up for me that I do think is a positive, I guess, is the fact that, like, this Data [and] Safety Monitoring Board did exactly what it was supposed to do. And that they clearly were working in the publics best interest to correct this mistake from AstraZeneca. And, for me at least, I find that pretty comforting, because it means that our system is working, right. Like, we have these independent boards for a reason. And theyre working to inform the public, they looped in the federal government, and its the process in action, which is great.

Maggie Koerth: Yeah, that has been good all the way through. I mean, like, Pfizer, Moderna did not know they had 95 percent accuracy before the independent review boards did. That should be giving us a lot of faith. That should be making us feel better.

Anna Rothschild: Well, so this, this brings us to the big question, which is, Would you take the AstraZeneca vaccine, knowing what you do now?

Maggie Koerth: Um, I have been pretty vocal about the idea that I would absolutely take J&J.

Anna Rothschild: Same.

Maggie Koerth: Even though the efficacy from the clinical trials is lower than Moderna and Pfizer. So this is not just a, like, Oh, I need perfection. I need the best. I feel like I can judge what is the best. Like, that is not what Im saying. I personally, probably would be a little hesitant about AstraZeneca at this point.

Anna Rothschild: Me too. Im going to need to hear from multiple independent scientists that they trust it before I go out of my way to get this one. You know, in all likelihood its safe and effective, but theyve just had so many communication errors!

Maggie Koerth: And when you have a pattern of that, I mean, like its effectively no different than if my kid comes down and tells me that she cleaned her room and has stuffed everything under her bed the last five times shes said that. At a certain point, Im not going to trust the room is clean.

Anna Rothschild: Thats a great analogy. Well, I think we should end it there. Maggie, thank you so much for chatting with me about this. Its always a pleasure to, you know, just gab and talk about major pharmaceutical companies and

Maggie Koerth: Girl stuff.

Anna Rothschild: Yeah, exactly!

One correction on todays episode: For some reason, Maggie and I repeatedly said that the independent, impartial board was called the Data Safety Monitoring Board. Its actually the Data and Safety Monitoring Board. I do not know how we got that stuck in our heads.

Thats it for this episode of PODCAST-19. If you have a question youd like us to answer on the show, email us a voice memo at askpodcast19@gmail.com. Thats ask podcast one nine at gmail dot com. Im Anna Rothschild. Our producer is Sinduja Srinivasan. Chadwick Matlin is our executive producer. Thanks for listening. See you next time.

Link:

What The Heck Is Going On With AstraZenecas COVID-19 Vaccine? - FiveThirtyEight

All Veterans, their spouses and caregivers can soon get COVID-19 vaccinations from VA under the SAVE LIVES Act signed into law March 24.

For the latest information, Stay Informed here.

Covered individuals can receive a vaccine from VA due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency.Under the bill, covered individuals are:

VA must prioritize the vaccination of (1) Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) Veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and (3) caregivers accompanying such prioritized Veterans. Additionally, vaccines furnished abroad are authorized to be furnished in a geographic location other than a state regardless of whether vaccines are needed for the treatment of Veterans with a service-connected disability. This includes those participating in a VA rehabilitation program.

To learn how to get COVID-19 vaccine from VA, visithttps://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/84404/veterans-designated-caregivers-can-get-covid-19-vaccine-va/.

Find answers to general VA COVID-19 vaccine questions athttps://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/.

To receive ongoing updates about VAs COVID-19 vaccine efforts and to indicate your interest in getting the vaccine once youre eligible, visithttps://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/stay-informed.

Read the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet athttps://www.fda.gov/media/144638/download.

View the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet athttps://www.fda.gov/media/144413/download.

Read the Janssen COVID-19 fact sheet athttps://www.fda.gov/media/146305/download.

Army Veteran Dolores Rivera received her first Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile clinic in Hobbs, New Mexico, March 19, 2021. VA photo by Reynaldo Leal.

March 25, at 6:30 PM ET:

For the latest information, Stay Informed here.

March 25, at 7:10 PM ET:

Title changed from All Veterans, their spouses, caregivers can get COVID-19 vaccinations from VA to SAVE LIVES Act allows VA to soon provide COVID-19 vaccinations to all Veterans, their spouses and caregivers

The word soon was added to the sentence All Veterans, their spouses and caregivers can soon get COVID-19 vaccinations from VA under the SAVE LIVES Act signed into law March 24.

Sentence with link added: UPDATE March 25th, 6:30pm: For the latest information, Stay Informed here.

The rest is here:

SAVE LIVES Act allows VA to soon provide COVID-19 vaccinations to all Veterans, their spouses and caregivers - VAntage Point - VAntage Point Blog

While some companies have been working on smartphone apps or other systems to create digital proof of vaccination, right now the paper CDC card is about all the proof you get.That's why Staples and Office Depot want to help you keep your paper card in good condition. The two companies are offering free laminations of completed Covid-19 vaccination cards.

A spokesperson for Staples told CNN that the service is available at all Staples locations in the US and currently does not yet have an end date.

The CDC suggests taking a picture of your vaccination card as a backup copy if you need the information.

Read more:

Staples and Office Depot want to help you prove your Covid-19 vaccination - CNN

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered devastating consequences for human life and the global economy. Maritime and air transport are two essential activities that underpin global trade and mobility and are key to a sustainable socio-economic recovery.

More than 80% of global trade by volume is moved by maritime transport. The global economy depends on the worlds 2 million seafarers who operate the global fleet of merchant ships. Seafarers have been severely impacted by the travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic. As of January 2021, it is estimated that some400,000 seafarersare stranded onboard commercial vessels, long past the expiry of their contracts and unable to be repatriated.Asimilar number of seafarersurgently need to join ships to replace them.

Passenger air transport carried about 5.7 billion passengers in 2019 while airfreight represents 35% of the value of goods shipped in all modes combined. The total number of licensed aviation professionals, which include pilots, air traffic controllers and licensed maintenance technicians, was 887,000 in 2019, according to ICAO personnel statistics. Application of stringent public health rules to air crew, including quarantine, has resulted in hindered connectivity, operational complexity and significant cost.

Maritime and air transport rely on seafarers and aircrew. They are key workers required to travel across borders at all times, which may result in the need for them to present proof of a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for entry in some countries. This is despite WHO recommendation that, at the present time, countries should not introduce requirements of proof of vaccination for international travel as a condition of entry, as there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficacy of vaccination in reducing transmission and limited availability of vaccines1. For shipping and air transport to continue to operate safely, the safe cross border movement of seafarers and aircrew must be facilitated. We reiterate our call upon countries that have not done so to designate seafarers and aircrew as key workers.

With this statement, our organizations also call on governments to prioritize seafarers and aircrew in their national COVID-19 vaccination programmes, together with other essential workers, in accordance with the advice from the WHO SAGE Roadmap for prioritizing the use of COVID-19 vaccines in the context of limited supply published in November 20202. Seafarers and aircrew need to be protected through vaccination as soon as possible, to facilitate their safe movement across borders. We also call on governments to identify and prepare for the challenges of COVID-19 vaccination of seafarers and aircrew, particularly for seafarers spending long periods of time away from their home country.

Our organizations fully support the timely development of an international harmonized framework for vaccination certificates, to facilitate international travel for seafarers and aircrew.

In December 2020, WHO established a Smart Vaccination Certificate working group to ensure that digitalized versions of vaccine certificates are interoperable3, and the UN Crisis Management Team for COVID-19, under the leadership of WHO, recognized that all countries should consider seafarers and aircrew, who are required to travel across borders during the pandemic, for essential allocation of vaccines.

We invite governments and other stakeholders to bring the contents of this joint statement to the attention of the competent authorities and all parties concerned.

See original here:

Joint Statement on prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination for seafarers and aircrew - World Health Organization