Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

The county says once it starts taking appointments, itll give vaccines out at the Solomon Calhoun Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. First doses will be given out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and second doses will eventually be given on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

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COVID-19: St. Johns County to take over COVID-19 vaccine rollout - ActionNewsJax.com

The COVID-19 vaccines have been touted as the beginning of the end of the deadliest pandemic in recent U.S. history. But many residents are still wondering: Are the vaccines that were developed in record time safe?

In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. Unlike many other vaccines that use a killed or weakened virus, these new COVID-19 vaccines harness a groundbreaking technology called synthetic messenger RNA mRNA for short that directs cells to produce proteins that trigger the immune system to create antibodies. Those antibodies fight the real virus if a person becomes infected.

We interviewed Dr. Ruth Berggren, an infectious disease specialist at UT Health San Antonio, to learn more about the vaccines safety. She served on a UT Health working group that examined the safety of the Pfizer vaccine and considered how it should be distributed among front-line health care workers.

She also received the vaccine herself in December and has since been feeling just fine.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lets start by talking about what we know about the safety of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for the general population.

Anything we know is clearly limited to the sizes and the distributions of the study populations for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials. With any drug and with any vaccine, there are always post-marketing findings. When you expand from populations of 30,000 to 40,000 people to 30 million to 40 million, youre going to expect that youre going to find some things that you hadnt found previously. That having been said, the safety concerns have been pretty minor.

What safety concerns have come up so far?

The biggest is the possibility of having a severe allergic reaction to one of the vaccine components and a severe allergic reaction we call anaphylaxis. Thats the allergic reaction where your throat closes up, and because of swelling back in your throat area, you cant breathe. Because the vaccine is being given in a closely-monitored medical setting, we treat people who are showing even a glimmer of an anaphylactic reaction with appropriate treatments that can include antihistamines, steroids and then even epinephrine if theres a real danger of the throat closing off.

Thats the big concern. What are people being allergic to thats causing this? The ingredients of the vaccine are publicly available in multiple places including FDA and CDC documents. Probably the most important ingredient is polyethylene glycol or PEG, which is not a weird or new compound. Polyethylene glycol is what is in the prep that people take when theyre going to go for a colonoscopy, that liquid stuff that you drink. Its been used chemically to modify drugs that we give people, such as interferon. So this is not a new thing. There are decades and decades of safety information about it, but like everything else, some people could become allergic, just like some people can become allergic to a bee sting.

Can you talk about the safety of these vaccines for people who are immunocompromised, such as people who have lupus or Type 1 diabetes?

I want to make it clear this vaccine is not harmful for people whose immune system is weakened for one reason or another. The issue is that people who are immunocompromised need to know that their response to the vaccine may not even come close to being as protective as it is for other people. If my immune system is weak and I get vaccinated, Ill probably mount some immune response, but I might not mount enough of one to fully protect me from getting infected or to fully protect me from severe disease.

We have that note of caution, and people get asked prior to being vaccinated, Are you pregnant? Are you immunocompromised?, so that they can be informed of what this vaccine could or could not do for them.

Its important for the public to know that in the Pfizer vaccine trial, people with well-controlled HIV, as well as people with controlled Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, were included. And there was no problem in people with well-controlled HIV.

Does that also apply to folks with other chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes?

Right. In fact, people who have diabetes or hypertension should be prioritized to get the vaccine. Why? Because people with diabetes and hypertension are the ones that are getting severely ill with COVID-19 and more likely to die. So those are the very people that we would put ahead of others to get vaccinated so we can make sure that theyre protected.

Can you talk about what we know about the safety of these vaccines for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding?

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine got up front with a statement recommending that pregnant women who are at risk for getting COVID-19 should not be prevented from getting the vaccine and that they should be allowed to make the decision in conjunction with their doctor. There is no evidence that the vaccine harms the fetus, but we also dont have any large-scale evidence of intentionally giving this vaccine to pregnant women to watch what happens.

It needs to be an individualized decision. If a pregnant mom is on the front lines of health care lets say she is intubating patients who have SARS-CoV-2 infection that is a high-risk situation. If you add on that that pregnant woman may have gestational diabetes or hypertension some of the risk factors for a bad COVID-19 disease outcome it would be a bad thing to prevent such a woman from getting vaccinated. She should be allowed to have access to it.

It was reported that some women got pregnant over the course of the Pfizer vaccine trial. Can you talk about what we learned through that?

There were around 23 pregnancies that happened in spite of the fact that enrollees were instructed to take precautions to not get pregnant during the Pfizer vaccine trial. In a sense, if you want to take the silver lining or a glass-half-full attitude towards this issue, at least we know that there doesnt seem to have been a problem with fertility, which has been an issue thats been raised really by the internet not by scientists. But clearly if women unintentionally got pregnant while theyre on the Pfizer vaccine study, that would argue against there being any impact on fertility.

Moreover, there have been no adverse outcomes reported so far as the Pfizer vaccine continues to be studied. So we have an extremely limited number of pregnant women who have been vaccinated, and this is why theres not a full blown guidance for them to get it. Its simply that we lack data. However, people need to know we dont have negative data.

Can you address some of those myths youve seen circulating on the internet?

The first is that this vaccine is going to mess with my DNA and its going to change my genetic structure for the rest of my life. Heres what you need to understand about the biology of the mRNA vaccine: The mRNA is an encoded message that gets slipped into an envelope, which is made out of lipid or fatty substance. That fatty lipid envelope permits the vaccine to get onto a cell, merge with the cell membrane, and then the mRNA gets delivered into the inside of the cell in a place called the cytoplasm, if you remember from your high school biology.

Now the cytoplasm isnt just an open swimming pool. The cytoplasm is highly compartmentalized, and theres a great big separation between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. The nucleus of the cell is a highly protected area, which contains our DNA. Thats where our genetic code is, OK? The mRNA does not go into the nucleus.

What the mRNA message does, it stays in the cytoplasm and it gets directed towards the ribosomes, which are the places where proteins are made. I like to use the analogy of a 3D printer: The mRNAs has a message for your 3D printer your ribosome for what kind of protein the ribosome should make. That protein thats being encoded is the spike protein from the coronavirus.

What other concerns have you heard from people that youd like to address?

People were questioning whether there was a possibility that the spike protein could cause women to miscarry because of what they call homology (similarity in structure) between the spike protein and Syncytin-1, which is a protein that is involved in the development of the placenta.

A patient sent me a message through my chat saying, Were reading this, and could you tell us if this is a problem? Ive already told you why people shouldnt be concerned about it because people actually got pregnant while getting the coronavirus vaccine protocol from Pfizer.

Theres no reason to think that because little pieces of one protein resemble little pieces of another protein that the antibodies generated on the first protein are going to be specific to the second protein. Heres an analogy: It would be like saying, youre looking at two different types of shelter, and one is a log cabin in the wilderness and one is the White House. Lets say that you had had a smart weapon that was being targeted to destroy the log cabin or destroy the White House. What people need to know is that our immune system is super smart and its not so random that it would just start destroying anything that had the same function. Its going to be very specifically targeted to the exact size and shape of the danger signal.

marina.riker@express-news.net

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Pregnant, immunocompromised or have allergies? Heres what you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines - Houston Chronicle

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Large Numbers Of Health Care And Frontline Workers Are Refusing Covid-19 Vaccine - Forbes

Airlines are joining the fight against the coronavirus.

The long wait for a vaccine may be over, but distributing it to the 7.8 billion people around the world is the next big challenge. In the U.S., both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines require two doses that will eventually need to reach the nation's roughly 330 million people.

Even though shipping is only one part of the journey, it's a critical step. DHL and McKinsey estimate vaccinating the world will require up to 15,000 flights. In the U.S., airlines have stepped up to become a crucial part of the supply chain alongside logistics giants like UPS, FedEx and DHL.

American Airlines, Delta and United have been preparing since the summer and jumped into action hours after vaccines were approved for emergency use in the U.S.

Airlines carrying pharmaceuticals and vaccines is not a new idea, but the scale and speed at which the Covid-19 vaccines must be delivered makes it a more complicated endeavor.

Watch the video to learn how U.S. airlines are transforming to rapidly transport Covid-19 vaccines.

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How airlines are transforming to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine and why it is especially challenging now - CNBC

As COVID-19 vaccinations become more readily available to the general public, companies will be facing a decision: In order to ensure a safer workplace, should employees be required to show proof of inoculation?

Also, would such a mandate be lawful?

Laura Rideout, an attorney with Portland law firm Preti Flahertys labor and employment practice group, said certain industries indeed may impose such requirements in order to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19. Still, an informal survey of major employers in Maine by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram found that none have any immediate plans to require their workers to be vaccinated.

Generally, employers may be allowed to mandate that their employees receive vaccinations, Rideout said, but there are a whole bunch of legal considerations that come into play.

What if the employee objects on religious grounds? Or is pregnant? Or has a disability that conflicts with the requirement? The pandemic, Rideout noted, does not nullify anti-discrimination laws.

Rideout also raises the possibility of employees rebelling against a companys hardline stance. If 75 percent of the workforce refuses to be vaccinated, that puts the company in a tricky situation.

Do they back down? That doesnt necessarily look great, Rideout said. It can have other implications if an employer has a policy on the books and doesnt enforce it and then there are problems that arise that the policy was designed to prevent.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently updated guidelines concerning the impact of COVID-19 on anti-discrimination laws, with an entire section of questions and answers focused on vaccinations.

Included in the update is a reminder that guidance from public health authorities is likely to change as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves: Therefore, employers should continue to follow the most current information on maintaining workplace safety.

A few of Maines largest employers already have policies in place regarding vaccinations, and others are still formulating their plans.

Two of the states largest health care organizations are encouraging, but not mandating, vaccines for their workers. MaineHealth requires flu vaccines, but stops short of a mandate in its stated policy to employees on COVID-19 vaccines.

While the COVID-19 vaccine has gone through the trials and steps that would normally be required of any vaccine, and it has been shown to be both safe and effective, as it is a new vaccine, MaineHealth is not requiring care team members to receive it as is the case with flu vaccination, reads the policy provided by a MaineHealth spokesman. Still, we urge all eligible care team members to educate themselves and take advantage of this opportunity to enhance their safety and that of their colleagues and patients.

Northern Light Health is encouraging all staff to get vaccinated and said it will offer to perform those vaccinations as more supply becomes available.

As you know, current supplies are limited and we are focused on those staff members who are most at risk of COVID-19 exposure at this time, said company spokesman Andy Soucier in an emailed response to a reporters question. Currently, Northern Light Health has no plans to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for staff.

Melanie Tinto, chief human resources officer at the Portland-based payment technology firm Wex Inc., said it was highly unlikely that her company would require a vaccine.

At Wex, we always respect our employees choices to make their own healthcare decisions whenever possible, she said. With that said, we will likely work to see what we can do to help our employees and their families who choose to get access to the vaccine where possible.

Central Maine Power is a subsidiary of Connecticut-based Avangrid, which operates in other states as well as Maine. That means policy is being formulated at a national level with the understanding that many decisions will be made at the state level.

We are closely following the logistics associated with vaccine distribution that are being established at the state and sometimes county levels, said CMP spokeswoman Catharine Hartnett. We are engaged in ongoing conversations as it relates to both the availability and timing of vaccine distribution, and will look to the recommendations by local and public health authorities to guide our decision-making process.

Similarly, representatives of L.L. Bean, Idexx, Hannaford Supermarkets and Bangor Savings Bank all said they are following developments but not ready to implement vaccination policies.

Rideout, the Preti Flaherty attorney, said companies are probably wise to avoid strict mandates, unless were talking about one of those critical industries where a vaccination is truly necessary for safety.

She stressed that those who do receive vaccinations should not assume they can return to their old way of doing business.

What the CDC has said is that vaccines are now one more tool that we have in our toolbox to promote safety, she said. People still need to be doing masking and social distancing. So from that regard, vaccines probably shouldnt change the way employers are approaching whatever safety protocols theyve already implemented in their workplace.

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Should workers wary of COVID-19 vaccines be forced to take one for the team? - Lewiston Sun Journal

Need to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? Our evening roundup will help you stay on top of the day's latest updates. Sign up here.

Top Texas officials again urged health care providers to administer more coronavirus vaccines Tuesday, the same day the state reported that the proportion of Texans whose coronavirus tests come back positive has hit levels not seen since a summer wave of cases that overwhelmed some hospitals.

The state reported Tuesday that 163,700 Texans had been vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine. About 1.2 million doses have been allocated to providers across the state through the first three weeks since their arrival, according to the Department of State Health Services.

"A significant portion of vaccines distributed across Texas might be sitting on hospital shelves as opposed to being given to vulnerable Texans," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a tweet Tuesday evening.

That tweet came after health officials asked providers that received doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to immediately vaccinate all eligible Texans, including people 65 and older and those who are at least 16 with a qualifying medical condition. That renewed push echoed a statement Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas DSHS, sent to providers last week directing them to administer their entire allotment with all deliberate speed.

"Dr. Hellerstedt put out that statement today to make it clear to all providers that people over the age of 65 and people with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of severe disease of death from COVID-19 are eligible to receive vaccine now," said spokesperson Douglas Loveday. "Vaccine supply remains limited but more vaccine will be delivered to providers each week. It will take time to vaccinate everyone in those priority groups."

Texas officials' push for providers to administer more vaccines comes as Texas seven-day average COVID-19 positivity rate has remained above 15% for one week, according to data the state released Tuesday. And that sustained rise in the rate comes one day after the state reported a record number of Texans hospitalized with the virus.

We can expect an increasing surge in case numbers over the coming weeks as a result, and not far behind the surge in cases will be a surge in hospitalizations and potential fatalities, said Angela Clendenin, an epidemiologist and biostatistician at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health.

Clendenin said the rising positivity rate is likely in part due to a greater number of tests among people who are asymptomatic and those who have only mild symptoms.

On Tuesday, the state reported that 17.15% of molecular coronavirus tests came back as confirmed cases over the last seven days. The seven-day average positivity rate has remained above 15% since Dec. 22.

Abbott in May said that a sustained positivity rate above 10% was cause for alarm.

If the positivity test rate is more than 10%, thats one of those red flags that we begin to look at, Abbott said at a May 5 press briefing.

But in recent months, Abbott has repeatedly sworn off any new shutdowns. Instead, he has pointed to a statewide mask mandate that remains in effect and certain occupancy reductions that are triggered when the proportion of a regions COVID-19 patients exceeds 15% of hospital capacity for seven days. A Texas Tribune analysis found those restrictions did little to ease burdened health care systems in areas hit hardest by the virus.

Gov. Abbott continues to rely on the data-driven hospitalization metrics used by doctors and medical experts to help inform and guide the states ongoing efforts to mitigate COVID-19, said spokesperson Renae Eze. As some communities experience a rise in hospitalizations, the state of Texas is working closely with local officials to quickly provide the resources needed to address these spikes and keep Texans safe, including surging medical personnel and supplies.

In September, the Texas DSHS began publishing a new version of the states positivity rate. It takes into account the date a test was administered, not when it was reported. That change in reporting revealed that the share of people receiving positive test results was higher in the spring than originally disclosed.

Texas rising positivity rate is the latest in a series of metrics that has worried public health experts, particularly in the midst of the holiday season which could exacerbate an already spreading virus.

On Monday, the state reported more Texans were hospitalized with the virus than at any point during the pandemic. And earlier this month, the states stock of available intensive care beds sank to its lowest point yet. There were 11,775 people in hospitals on Tuesday and 653 available ICU beds.

Two weeks ago, Texas began vaccinating front-line health care workers and nursing home residents and staff, marking a significant first step in the fight against the coronavirus. But experts estimate that it will take between six and nine months for the COVID-19 vaccine to be widely available.

It is more important than ever, where we find ourselves today, to remain extra vigilant about physical distancing, mask wearing, good hand hygiene, and avoiding non-essential travel and gatherings with others outside of our households until the vaccine becomes widely available and a significant number of people become vaccinated, Clendenin said.

Mandi Cai contributed to this story.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Texas officials worry about COVID-19 vaccines as numbers worsen - The Texas Tribune

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Only four million people in the U.S. have received a Covid-19 vaccine thus far, well below the initial estimate of 20 million. Its all part of a federal rollout that has received bipartisan criticism, including from Utah Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) who called it inexcusable. Elizabeth Rosenthal of Kaiser Health News spoke to NBCs Joshua Johnson about what can be done to improve the distribution plan, which she says has been a nightmare.Jan. 3, 2021

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Why the slow Covid-19 vaccine rollout has been called inexcusable and a nightmare - MSNBC

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) --An Oregon health care worker has been hospitalized after having a severe allergic reaction to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The Oregon Health Authority says the employee at Wallowa Memorial Hospital experienced anaphylaxis after receiving a first dose of the vaccine this week.

The health authority said vaccines for COVID-19 can cause mild to moderate side effects in some people. This can include pain and swelling on the arm and sometimes fever, chills, tiredness and headache.

In rare cases, some people have experienced severe allergic reactions.

Health officials will continue to track adverse reactions. So far, 38,698 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Oregon since the week of Dec. 13.

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Health care worker hospitalized after allergic reaction to COVID-19 vaccine - KEZI TV

COLLIER COUNTY

Vaccine rollout will continue for the first weekend of 2021 in Southwest Florida, but to get a vaccine in Collier County, you need an appointment, and the county is completely booked.

Florida Department of Health in Collier County says, if you do not have an appointment, do not jump in any of the lines for vaccinations.

DOH-Collier now has a feature to allow people eligible for the vaccine to join a waitlist. You can find the waitlist button by visiting the eventbrite registration page. When you click register, you will see a list of sold-out dates in addition to a red button that says Join Waitlist.

As much as Tony Cimorelli and his wife would like to get back on cruises and put the coronavirus behind them, they think the method of first-come, first-serve in Lee County was chaotic. Seeing the lines to get the COVID-19 vaccine there didnt sit well with them.

There are a lot of people out there, Cimorelli said. They are too close together.

The couple waited and hoped an appointment option would come along.

Theres no way that we are going to go down there and stand in line for 18 hours to get a shot, Cimorelli said.

People 65 and older can make appointments in Collier County, but the county is booked for the near future, and the Cimorellis missed the boat.

No we can wait in the lines if we wanted to, but like I say, why do that when there are other alternatives available, Cimorelli said.

That doesnt mean all hope is lost. Cimorelli now sits in the virtual line. He and his wife are on Collier Countys vaccination waitlist.

Hey, we are in north Cape, and we are willing to travel down to Collier to get it, Cimorelli said. Because we travel a lot, weve done over 100 cruises, and we wanna get back on the ships.

We reached out to DOH-Collier about the new waitlist option and are waiting to hear back. For more information in Collier County, visit the Florida Department of Health in Collier County website.

Cimorelli said he doesnt know how far down he and his wife are on the wait list, but he says its safer than standing in line all night.

We can hopefully get out a little bit more, Cimorelli said. Weve been sequestered in our little community here for nine months, so were ready to get out.

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Collier County offers waitlist for COVID-19 vaccine while appointments are all booked - Wink News

The state is focused on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and by the end of this week, thousands of nursing home residents are expected to receive their first dose.

The distribution at nursing homes in the state is steady and throughout this week, the flow of vaccines will increase.

Another COVID-19 vaccine candidate was just approved in Britain and Dr. David Banach, an epidemiologist at UConn Health, is helping make sense of the emerging science as more vaccines are approved.

At least 200 nursing homes are expecting their first batch of shots by the end of this week.

So far, more than 55,000 vaccines have been distributed throughout the state.

Despite some slower than expected results nationwide, Gov. Ned Lamont said COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Connecticut has been moving along smoothly.

Connecticut is rolling out vaccines in phases. Currently, we're in 1A so healthcare personnel, long-term care facility residents and first responders are first in line.

"We will be working to expand and we're working now to expand the number of providers who will be able to give vaccinations. We'll be bringing retail pharmacies into the mix, more types of providers as we expand the eligible population for vaccines," said Dept. of Public Health Acting Commissioner Deidre Gifford.

The state's Vaccine Advisory Board is set to recommend who should get their shots next this week.

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Thousands of Conn. Nursing Home Residents to Get COVID-19 Vaccine This Week - NBC Connecticut