Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

In March this year, Eswatini launched the integration of COVID-19 vaccines into routine immunisation, making them readily available at the more than 200 public clinics in the tiny kingdom.

The goal was simple: make access to the jab a cakewalk for all citizens.

Seven months later, Swati people both urban and rural tell VaccinesWork that getting the jab has never been easier.

Mankayane, located in the north-eastern part of Eswatini, 42 kilometres from the country's capital city, Mbabane, is a small, rural town in the midst of an agricultural region. It's the kind of out-of-the-way place where one might expect public services to be thinner on the ground but COVID-19 vaccination is so easy to access, according to 32-year-old Bongiwe Dlamini, that you can literally stumble onto it.

Dlamini, who lives a few kilometres away from the Mankayane Government Hospital, says it took her less than 20 minutes to get vaccinated at the Public Health Unit housed inside the facility.

She had not planned to get vaccinated for COVID-19, she explains. Her sister was delivering a baby, and she had simply accompanied her to the hospital.

"While the doctors were busy with her, I got bored and I took a walk to the gate," she says. "As I walked past the gate to buy fruits, I noticed the many screening rooms by the gate and the PHU [public health unit] on the right side of the facility. I was noticed by a staff member reading the COVID-19 vaccine posters that were all over the screening rooms. She asked me if I was interested in any of the COVID-19 services.

"She then told me that I can further protect myself from effects of the virus by getting vaccinated. I laughed my lungs out when she said I will be done in less than 10 minutes. She simply walked me into the PHU where I was taken to one of the rooms, where I found a nurse who vaccinated me and I was done," she says.

Dlamini said she was inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine. "The cherry on top was that just after I was vaccinated, I received an SMS [text] that notified me that I was vaccinated, and gave me a return date," she says. Eswatini administers the Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

Nurse Tetty Dlamini of the Mankayane PHU said her team also does outreach to nearby communities, to make sure that disadvantaged people for instance, those who suffer mobility challenges aren't left out.

"Our vaccination for COVID-19 does not start and end in the facility; we also visit nearby communities. We reach our communities through conducting health road shows (mobile units designed to deliver health services) where we sensitise the community members about health issues including coronavirus, HIV and TB, among others. During health road shows and sporting activities we also conduct COVID-19 vaccination. These health road shows have made it easy for us to vaccinate the youth as well as people with disabilities," she said.

Tetty said they also liaise with bagcugcuteli (primary health motivators) to give them a list of people with mobility challenges around those particular areas where they will be conducting the road shows and sporting days.

"As part of the team is busy with the health education and providing health services, other teams, through the help of bagcugcuteli, visit the homesteads of these individuals and vaccinate them against the virus," she said.

"We also visit schools around the communities to vaccinate scholars that are eligible to get vaccinated," she added.

Each week in Mankayane, about 20 people are vaccinated in the hospital, while more than 50 people are vaccinated via outreach programmes, Nurse Dlamini explains. A further 70 booster shots are administered each week.

Even facilities not run by the government offer the jab as a public service. The Salvation Army Clinic in Mbabane, Msunduza is among them. The clinic's nursing sister, Nompumelelo Tfwala, also stated that they still offer COVID-19, together with TB screening, for all people who visit the facility.

"We are known for our outstanding health services and in order to keep our reputation it was imperative for us to heed the government call and incorporate COVID-19 vaccines in our immunisation programme," she said.

Tfwala mentioned that all vaccines including COVID-19 jabs are free here. She explained that vaccines were provided by the government, alongside COVID-19 testing kits.

"Government provides the vaccines, and we provide the resources such as human resources and storage," she says.

"We are not a huge health facility, but on a daily basis we attend to almost 100 clients, being children and adults. This means we conduct around COVID-19 screenings, since they are a requirement, of which 10% or less of those people, depending on the day, might be interested in the vaccine or have booster shots. Of late we have seen more people taking booster shots," she adds.

Tfwala also said the clinic staff also take their services out into the community: once a month they join the Municipal Council of Mbabane and provide health care services at public gatherings like flea markets.

Nomile Nxumalo from Msunduza, a township located within the capital city, Mbabane, recalled that when she took her jab in the clinic, she didn't feel any different from people who had come for other vaccinations.

"I thought I was supposed to tell the nurses at the reception that I wanted to vaccinate for COVID-19. Surprisingly, when I entered the clinic, I had all my screenings as usual, and I was asked which section I intended to visit. I told the nurse I wanted to get vaccinated, and she told me to join the immunisation queue, which wasn't long. I tried to tell her that I wanted to get the COVID jab, but she told me everything was under one roof," she said.

"It felt decent to have the vaccines within health facilities compared to them being at taxi ranks and bus stops like before. The reason I took longer to take the jab was because I didn't want to be seen by people in the vaccination spots, and there were a lot of theories about vaccines. I needed to be convinced that the vaccines were indeed effective and there were no deaths caused by them," she added.

Nxumalo lauded government for making COVID-19 part of the vaccines administered within health facilities, because it would provide the privacy people need when accessing health services.

Eswatini's COVID-19 roll-out began in April 2021. As of October 20, 2023, 36.9% (428,261) of the population and nearly 52% of the eligible population, people from 12 years old was vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data presented at a briefing by WHO Eswatini.

The statistics further show that 8.5% (98 612) were partially vaccinated while 179,458 (15.5%) had received their booster dose.

Director of Health Services within the Ministry of Health, Fortunate Bhembe, stated that the aim was to vaccinate 70% of the eligible population.

The briefing, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other partners, concerned the comprehensive post-introduction evaluation (cPIE) of Eswatini's COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.

WHO country representative Dr Susan Tembo called the cPIE a "milestone" in the national response to the pandemic.

"We are encouraged that the kingdom has built in a strong evidence-based monitoring element of the roll-out, starting with real-time data collection that provides daily updates, conducting two intra-action reviews at strategic points and right now the cPIE. Embracing the COVID-19 vaccine by Eswatini as key response measure in reducing the impact of the virus was a plausible step in the right direction," she said.

"We note with pride that this is the first ever cPIE in the region and would like to congratulate the ministry for such leadership," she concluded.

Go here to read the rest:

Getting the jab made simple in Eswatini - Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

COVID continues to be a concern for many Americans.

According to Dr. Bob Walker, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Novavax, If you plan to visit family this holiday season, especially the elderly or people with compromised immune systems, getting an updated COVID vaccine could help protect yourself and those around you.

Read more from the original source:

What you need to know about the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine - YourCentralValley.com

The number of Arizonans admitted to the hospital recently for COVID-19 is about 30% lower than it was at this time last year,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But cases are on the rise in the state.

With Thanksgiving and other holiday gatherings approaching, Dr. Kirin Raman with the Arizona Department of Health Services said Arizonans should take precautions as COVID-19 and other seasonal respiratory infections spread.

"Staying home when you're sick from work or from school, covering your coughs and sneezes, washing your hands frequently, and disinfecting those high-touch surfaces," Raman said.

Raman also pointed out anyone can order free COVID-19 test kits online atCOVIDtests.gov.

"If they havent signed up using their address for this fall season, they are eligible for eight sets of tests. If they have already, then those same individuals at those addresses can get another four sets to make sure that they have enough ahead of this holiday season," Raman said.

Raman said the best way to protect yourself and those around you this holiday season is to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine providers nationwide are listed atvaccines.gov.

Visit link:

Take precautions for COVID-19 this Thanksgiving, health ... - KJZZ

Philadelphia health officials are urging people gathering for Thanksgiving to take safety precautions against the respiratory viruses that proliferate when people spend more time indoors.

While this years sick season may be less severe in Philadelphia than in previous years, its still important for people to test for COVID, especially those planning to have dinner with people more vulnerable to the virus. Health officials also encourage people to get vaccinated.

Shara Epstein, the medical director of the division of disease control at the city health department, said she expects a more typical flu and RSV season than weve seen in the past. COVID cases will likely rise again, but to much more manageable levels, she said.

In Pennsylvania, cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and the flu have been increasing in recent weeks, though not near the levels reported during last years tripledemic, when a large spike in respiratory diseases, including COVID, flooded emergency rooms.

As of last week, COVID hospitalizations statewide had also seen a slight uptick, but have been mostly stable since cases began to rise in late summer. Those numbers, too, are well below the increase in cases seen during the tripledemic and other large COVID waves in late 2020 and early 2022.

In late October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that the winter sick season could see a moderate COVID-19 wave, with about as many hospitalizations at the peak of the season as the agency saw last year. Similarly, flu hospitalizations should be on par with recent years, though vaccine uptake will affect how many people need advanced care.

RSV infections are in line with normal seasonal patterns prior to COVID, the CDC said.

During the first couple years of COVID, we did so much that affected the transmissions of these viruses distancing, staying home, masking pretty much everywhere. We didnt see RSV and flu, really, in the first year, Epstein said. Then RSV came back last year and we saw a huge wave there were a lot of kids who hadnt gotten it in previous years. But were starting to see an evening out of all of these viruses.

Local and national health officials have urged travelers to get vaccinated for respiratory diseases before they attend a Thanksgiving event. This is the first year that vaccines are available for flu, RSV, and COVID, the CDC wrote in a press release.

The CDC recommends that everyone older than 6 months should get flu and COVID vaccines. Supply chain issues and insurance snafus with the latest COVID-19 vaccines, which are effective against the most common variants circulating, have been resolved, CDC director Mandy Cohen said during a visit to Philadelphia last month.

In Philadelphia, Epstein said that health officials havent seen huge uptake of the latest COVID-19 vaccine. But, she stressed, its important that as many people as possible get both COVID and flu vaccines.

Theres been some vaccine fatigue people have gotten so many in the last few years, she said.

People over 60 should talk to their doctors about getting an RSV vaccine. Pregnant parents should get an RSV vaccine between their 32nd and 36th weeks of pregnancy, and infants under eight months should get a preventive RSV antibody treatment.

Epstein said that supply issues have made the antibody treatments for infants harder to find this season, but that pregnant people and people over 60 should have less trouble accessing a vaccine.

In Philadelphia, the health department is also recommending residents test for COVID-19 before going to Thanksgiving dinner. Residents can pick up free COVID tests at four resource hubs around the city. The hubs locations and hours are listed on the health departments website.

And, health officials say, if you dont feel well, stay at home to avoid infecting anyone else at your Thanksgiving table.

Read this article:

What to know about COVID and other viruses before Thanksgiving - The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Department of Health announced a new website where people 18 years or older can review vaccination records.

The website, known as the SMART Health Card, is a digital record of patients vaccinations. Their health care providers must submit the records to the Hawaii Immunization Registry.

Through the website, patients can generate a QR code for their COVID-19 vaccinations. This will allow them to save their COVID-19 vaccinations to their smartphones digital wallet.

The SMART Health Card website uses ID.me to verify the identity of a patient. ID.me requires a patient to share their social security number or individual taxpayer number, but DOH does not receive this information. Instead, DOH receives information necessary to find a patients immunization record, including patient name, date of birth, address, email address and phone number.

In order to access the SMART Health Card website, click here. For more information, visit the Frequently Asked Questions on the bottom of the website.

Anyone who is under 18 years old must contact the Immunization Registry directly to receive their vaccination record. The Immunization Registry may be contacted by calling (808) 586-4665 for Oahu or 1-888-447-1023 for neighbor islands or by emailing registryhelp@doh.hawaii.gov.

Read more:

DOH announces website for patients to access their vaccination ... - Spectrum News 1

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Quantification of COVID-19 Vaccine Coercion in India: A Survey Study - Cureus

Jeneita Bell, MD1,*; Lu Meng, PhD1,*; Kira Barbre, MPH1,2; Emily Haanschoten, MSPH1,3; Hannah E. Reses, MPH1; Minn Soe, MBBS1; Jonathan Edwards, MStat1; Jason Massey1,4; Gnanendra Reddy Tugu Yagama Reddy, MS1,2; Austin Woods1,4; Matthew J. Stuckey, PhD1; David T. Kuhar, MD1; Kayla Bolden, MPH1,5; Heather Dubendris, MSPH1,3; Emily Wong, MPH1; Theresa Rowe, DO1; Megan C. Lindley, MPH6; Elizabeth J. Kalayil, MPH1,3; Andrea Benin, MD1 (View author affiliations)

What is already known about this topic?

CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommend that health care personnel (HCP) receive an annual influenza vaccine and stay up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination.

What is added by this report?

During the 202223 influenza season, influenza vaccination coverage was 81% among HCP at acute care hospitals and 47% among those at nursing homes. Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was 17% among HCP at acute care hospitals and 23% among those at nursing homes.

What are the implications for public health practice?

There is a need to promote evidence-based strategies to improve vaccination coverage among HCP. Tailored strategies might be useful to reach all HCP with recommended vaccines to protect them and their patients from vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases.

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The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that health care personnel (HCP) receive an annual influenza vaccine and that everyone aged 6 months stay up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination. Health care facilities report vaccination of HCP against influenza and COVID-19 to CDCs National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). During JanuaryJune 2023, NHSN defined up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination as receipt of a bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccine dose or completion of a primary series within the preceding 2 months. This analysis describes influenza and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage among HCP working in acute care hospitals and nursing homes during the 202223 influenza season (October 1, 2022March 31, 2023). Influenza vaccination coverage was 81.0% among HCP at acute care hospitals and 47.1% among those working at nursing homes. Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was 17.2% among HCP working at acute care hospitals and 22.8% among those working at nursing homes. There is a need to promote evidence-based strategies to improve vaccination coverage among HCP. Tailored strategies might also be useful to reach all HCP with recommended vaccines and protect them and their patients from vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases.

Vaccination of health care personnel (HCP) is a critical strategy to minimize transmission of infection in health care settings (1,2). HCP are at high risk for work-related exposure to viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 but are less likely to transmit these infections when they are vaccinated (3). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that HCP receive an annual influenza vaccine (4). ACIP also recommends that persons aged 6 months stay up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) monitors the implementation of these recommendations by requiring health care facilities such as nursing homes and acute care hospitals to report influenza and COVID-19 vaccination coverage among HCP** to CDCs National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). This study examined influenza and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage among HCP working in acute care hospitals and nursing homes during the 202223 influenza season.

Acute care hospitals and nursing homes report data to NHSN according to surveillance protocols for influenza and COVID-19 vaccination. Acute care hospitals and nursing homes began reporting COVID-19 vaccination among HCP in 2021; nursing homes were required to report influenza vaccination among HCP for the first time during the 202223 influenza season. To assess influenza vaccination coverage, facilities are required to report an annual count of HCP working in the facility for 1 day during an influenza season (October 1March 31) and the number of HCP who 1) received influenza vaccination, 2) had a medical contraindication to influenza vaccination, 3) declined vaccination, and 4) had unknown vaccination status. The protocol for COVID-19 vaccination coverage includes parallel data fields for COVID-19; however, data collection occurs at a different cadence. Nursing homes and acute care facilities report on schedules mandated by their respective regulatory programs at CMS. Nursing homes submit COVID-19 vaccination coverage weekly; acute care facilities submit 1 week of data per month.*** Both types of facilities report COVID-19 vaccination coverage data among HCP who were eligible to work in the facility 1 day during the reporting week.

To assess HCP vaccination coverage during the 202223 influenza season, analyses were conducted using influenza and up-to-date COVID-19 coverage data (specifically, up-to-date COVID-19 coverage data from the week ending March 26, 2023, or the last submitted week of data) reported to NHSN. NHSN defined up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination as the receipt of a bivalent booster dose or completion of a primary series within the previous 2 months (i.e., not yet eligible to receive a bivalent vaccine). Facilities reporting data for both vaccine types and employing at least five HCP were included in the analysis. Pooled mean influenza and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates were calculated as the number of HCP who had received each recommended vaccine or vaccination series divided by the number of HCP working in all facilities. HCP reported to have a medical contraindication to COVID-19 vaccination were subtracted from the denominator of the up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage calculation, to align with the measure adopted by CMSs quality reporting programs. Coverage with each vaccine was calculated for HCP working at each facility type (nursing home or acute care hospital). Results were further stratified by employment category (employee, licensed practitioner, and student or volunteer); rural-urban classification (rural or urban); county-level social vulnerability index (SVI) tertile****; facility size tertile; state; and U.S. region. Counties in a lower SVI tertile are less socially vulnerable than are those in an upper SVI tertile. All analyses were conducted using SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute). This activity was reviewed by CDC, deemed not research, and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.

Among approximately 8.4 million HCP working in 4,057 acute care hospitals, influenza vaccination coverage was 81.0% overall (Table 1); coverage was lowest (67.2%) among nonemployee licensed practitioners and was substantially higher among employees (83.1%) and nonemployee students and volunteers (85.2%). Among HCP working in acute care hospitals, influenza vaccination coverage was highest in the Midwest (84.7%) and lowest in the Pacific region (74.4%).

Among approximately 2.0 million HCP working in 13,794 nursing homes, influenza vaccination coverage was 47.1% overall; coverage was lowest among employees (46.1%) and substantially higher among nonemployee licensed practitioners (55.3%) and nonemployee students and volunteers (57.7%). Among HCP working in nursing homes, influenza vaccination coverage was highest in the Pacific region (61.1%) and lowest in the South (39.7%). Influenza vaccination coverage among HCP was similar across facility size, urban-rural status, and SVI for both nursing homes and acute care hospitals. Nursing homes in six states reported influenza vaccination coverage of 75% among HCP, whereas this level of coverage was reported in acute care hospitals in 40 states (Figure) (Supplementary Table, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/134928).

Among approximately 7.7 million HCP working in 4,057 acute care hospitals, up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was 17.2% overall (Table 2) and was highest in the Pacific region (28.9%) and lowest in the Mountain region (9.1%). No substantial differences by staff member type or urbanicity were observed.

Among approximately 1.6 million HCP working at 13,794 nursing homes, up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was 22.8% overall; coverage was highest among nonemployee licensed practitioners (28.2%) and lowest among employees (22.4%). Among HCP working in nursing homes, up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was highest among those working in the Pacific region (40.7%) and lowest among those working in the South (17.5%). Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination was also substantially higher among HCP working at nursing homes in urban (24.2%) than in rural (17.5%) areas. No substantial differences in COVID-19 vaccination coverage among HCP by facility staff size or SVI were observed at either facility type. Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was 20% among HCP working in nursing homes in 30 states but among HCP in acute care hospitals, approximately one half as many states (16) achieved this level of coverage (Supplementary Table, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/134928).

During the 202223 influenza season, fewer than one quarter of HCP working in acute care hospitals and nursing homes were up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination, and fewer than one half of HCP working in nursing homes had received influenza vaccine. Coverage varied by geographic region, health care facility type, employment category, and urbanicity. Recent reports indicate that influenza and COVID-19 vaccination coverage among HCP has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic (5). During the 201718 and 201819 influenza seasons, influenza vaccination coverage among HCP in acute care hospitals was 88.6% and 90.0%, respectively (6). From November 2021 to June 2023, CMS required all HCP at CMS-certified facilities to be vaccinated for COVID-19*****; this requirement likely contributed to COVID-19 primary series vaccination coverage reaching 94.3% among HCP in nursing homes (7) and 91.2% among those at acute care hospitals (5). The current findings suggest that factors associated with low vaccination coverage might have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and compounded by emerging concerns such as vaccine fatigue (8) and other as yet unidentified factors.

In this analysis, up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was higher among HCP working in nursing homes than among those working in acute care hospitals. CMS requires nursing homes to report weekly up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination status among HCP and publishes weekly results on a public-facing website; this might have resulted in higher coverage among HCP in nursing homes. CDC also worked with nursing homes to facilitate access to vaccination for both patients and staff members, which might have also improved coverage.

This report identified low up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage among HCP in both acute care hospitals and nursing homes and low influenza vaccination coverage among HCP in nursing homes, both important threats to patient health and safety that need to be addressed. Implementation of vaccination recommendations for HCP has been a long-standing challenge for the public health and health care sectors. In an effort to improve vaccination coverage among HCP, health care facilities and federal and state governments have implemented interventions including jurisdiction-wide and facility-wide vaccination mandates (7,9). Mandates for HCP to receive influenza vaccination have been in place since before the COVID-19 pandemic and might contribute to the high vaccination rates reported to NHSN. However, such mandates might not be easily enforceable among nonemployee HCP in acute care hospitals, among whom coverage with both vaccines was lower than that among employees. Compared to influenza vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines are newer, and availability can be more sporadic; therefore, facilities do not have as much experience promoting vaccination and might not have the ability to conduct mass vaccination events. This might have contributed to lower COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Further, given the variations in vaccination coverage by region and urbanicity, campaign strategies tailored by region and focusing on rural areas might have the potential to increase vaccination coverage.

The findings in this report are subject to at least four limitations. First, influenza vaccination and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates were reported separately using different definitions of total HCP working within the facility. Whether the same personnel are represented in seasonal influenza vaccination coverage counts and weekly COVID-19 vaccination counts is unknown. This nuance limits the direct comparability of coverage with the two vaccines; therefore, statistical comparisons of vaccination coverage were not conducted. Second, this report includes data reported by facilities on behalf of HCP, which could have resulted in underestimates of vaccination acquired outside the health care facility, particularly by HCP not employed directly by the reporting facility. Third, vaccination coverage could not be stratified by recent history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. CDC recommendations state that persons may consider delaying an updated vaccine by 3 months after infection. Therefore, some persons might not have considered themselves eligible for vaccination, leading to an underestimate of COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Finally, this analysis was conducted using aggregate data reported to NHSN at the facility level. Therefore, vaccination coverage could not be stratified by person-level covariates that might have enabled an assessment of potential differences, such as age, race, and ethnicity.

Closely monitoring influenza and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage among HCP might help facilitate evaluation of effective implementation of vaccination promotion strategies. Studies are needed to identify additional factors associated with low vaccination coverage and approaches to improve coverage among HCP, with particular attention to geographic region, health care facility type, and employment category. Understanding these factors and promoting evidence-based strategies to increase vaccination coverage among HCP, such as making vaccines free and accessible at work (10), might allow for targeted interventions to improve coverage during future respiratory virus seasons. HCP should receive annual influenza vaccines and remain up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination to protect themselves and their patients from vaccine-preventable diseases.

1Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC; 2Goldbelt C6, Chesapeake, Virginia; 3Lantana Consulting Group, East Thetford, Vermont; 4Chenega Enterprise Systems & Solutions, LLC, Chesapeake, Virginia; 5CACI International, Inc, Reston, Virginia; 6Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC.

Abbreviation: HCP=health care personnel. * Each facility reported summary influenza vaccination data among HCP working in the facility for 1 day during October 1, 2022March 31, 2023. Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was reported to National Healthcare Safety Network each week; data from the week ending March 26, 2023, or the last submitted week of data, were used for analysis. Facility size was calculated separately for acute care hospitals and nursing homes and was based on the tertile distribution of the total number of staff members per facility. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/urban_rural.htm https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/index.html ** South: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; Mountain: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming; Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington; Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

* Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was defined by the National Healthcare Safety Network during the study period as the receipt of a bivalent booster dose, completion of a primary series, or receipt of a monovalent booster dose within the previous 2 months.

Each facility reported summary influenza vaccination data among health care personnel working in the facility for 1 day during October 1, 2022March 31, 2023. Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network each week; data from the week ending March 26, 2023, or the last week of submitted data, were used for analysis.

Abbreviations: HCP=health care personnel. * COVID-19 up-to-date coverage was defined by National Healthcare Safety Network during the study period as the receipt of a bivalent booster dose or completion of a primary series or receipt of a monovalent booster dose within the previous 2 months. Each facility reported summary influenza vaccination data among HCP working in the facility for 1 day during October 1, 2022March 31, 2023. Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination coverage was reported to National Healthcare Safety Network each week; data from the week ending March 26, 2023, or the last submitted week of data, were used for analysis. Facility size was calculated separately for acute care hospitals and nursing homes and was based on the tertile distribution of the total number of staff members per facility. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/urban_rural.htm ** https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/index.html South: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; Mountain: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming; Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington; Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Suggested citation for this article: Bell J, Meng L, Barbre K, et al. Influenza and Up-to-Date COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel National Healthcare Safety Network, United States, 202223 Influenza Season. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:12371243. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7245a5.

MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of the date of publication.

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Original post:

Influenza and Up-to-Date COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage - CDC

CLAIM

Americans are dropping dead from COVID-19 vaccines; vaccines impair fertility, pregnancy, infant survival

DETAILS

Flawed reasoning: The claim that COVID-19 vaccines have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. is based on flawed calculations using VAERS death reports, which on their own are insufficient to establish causality. Factually inaccurate: Contrary to Thorps claims, available evidence indicates that COVID-19 vaccines dont harm fertility or increase the risk of pregnancy complications. Inadequate support: While U.S. infant mortality increased in 2022 compared to 2021, respiratory infections and maternal healthcare inequities are much more likely contributors to this trend than COVID-19 vaccines.

KEY TAKE AWAY

Ample evidence from safety surveillance and published studies continue to show that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and that their benefits outweigh their risks. The vaccines are also safe before and during pregnancy, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people who are pregnant or willing to conceive receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

A Facebook post and a tweet sharing links to Thorps interview were viewed more than 30,000 and 26,000 times, respectively.

COVID-19 vaccine safety has been a central target of misinformation since the beginning of the pandemic. None of these claims is new, and this is also not the first time that Thorp made such claims, which Health Feedback debunked on several occasions.

In Newmans interview, Thorp combined many of the false and unsupported claims he made previously to produce a wider conspiratorial narrative. The interview conveniently concluded with Thorp promoting The Wellness Company, of which he is part of the Chief Medical Team. This company markets supplements that purportedly protect against the spike protein, as well as unproven COVID-19 treatments including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

Below, we will analyze the central claims made during the interview in detail.

[P]eople who were just rapidly pushing these things are now dying of strange cardiac events at young ages

Newman introduced the interview with this statement accompanied by a photo of late actor Matthew Perry that he posted on Twitter in May 2021. In it, Perrywho advocated for COVID-19 vaccinationwore a T-shirt with the message Could I be any more vaccinated?, paraphrasing a catchphrase of his character in the popular sitcom Friends.

While Newman didnt explicitly state that it was the COVID-19 vaccine that caused Perrys death, the implication was clear by presenting Perry as an example of vaccinated people dying in supposedly strange circumstances.

Blamingwithout any evidenceCOVID-19 vaccines for celebrities death has become an anti-vaccine trend, and Perry was no exception. However, this theory has no basis in fact, as Poynter and USA TODAY explained.

According to Los Angeles Times, Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles on 28 October 2023. Perry had a history of serious health complications, and neither the family nor medical authorities made any statement suggesting a potential link between his death and COVID-19 vaccines.

At the time of writing, the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as Deferred, which means that an autopsy was conducted, but the cause of death is still under investigation. Without knowing the cause of death, any attempt to link Perrys death to COVID-19 vaccines is baseless speculation.

While COVID-19 vaccines have been associated with some serious adverse events, including a few deaths, the belief that any event that occurs following vaccination is necessarily caused by the vaccine is incorrect. Many factors can cause or contribute to increase the risk of a person dying without the need for COVID-19 vaccines playing any role in it, particularly when vaccination hasnt been associated with an increased risk of death, as we will explain below.

Your government and your healthcare systems have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, probably 350,000 or 400,000 from the vaccine alone

Thorp didnt cite any source to support his claim. However, other frequent spreaders of misinformation have mentioned this exact figure before, suggesting that the claim originates from the same source.

In a Substack article published in October 2022, epidemiologist and former science adviser at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Paul Alexander claimed COVID-19 vaccines caused 350,000 U.S. deaths.

During an Expert Panel Discussion on COVID-19 and Medical Freedom hosted by Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano in March 2022, entrepreneur Steve Kirsch had also claimed that COVID-19 vaccines had killed 410,000 Americans.

Kirsch and Alexanders figures were both based on death reports recorded in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). According to Kirsch, the number of reports following COVID-19 vaccination was 10,000, while Alexander referred to almost 35,000 deaths. Both argued that deaths were largely underreported. Thus, they multiplied the number of death reports by a factor that supposedly corrected for this underreporting41 in the case of Kirsch and 100 in the case of Alexander. This is how they arrived at their respective estimates of 350,000 (35,000 x 100) and 410,000 (10,000 x 41) deaths.

However, these calculations are incorrect for several reasons, as Health Feedback explained in a review addressing Kirschs claim.

For starters, the VAERS database records any event that occurred following vaccination, regardless of its cause. Therefore, the fact that a death is reported to VAERS doesnt necessarily imply that the vaccine caused it. While VAERS is a helpful tool for identifying unusual patterns that could sign vaccine side effects, determining whether the vaccine caused the event requires much further investigation than just looking at the total number of reports.

In addition, there is no evidence supporting the idea that post-vaccination deaths are vastly underreported as Kirsch and Alexander claimed. COVID-19 vaccines have much stricter reporting requirements compared to previous vaccines, for which only those deaths associated with certain adverse events require reporting. In contrast, healthcare professionals are required to report all deaths occurring after COVID-19 vaccination, even if the cause seems unrelated to the vaccine.

Therefore, the claim that COVID-19 vaccines caused hundreds of thousands of deaths is based on flawed analyses and incorrect assumptions.

This claim is also inconsistent with evidence from published studies, which didnt find that vaccinated people are more likely to die compared to unvaccinated people[1]. On the contrary, COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease, and studies have observed lower mortality rates in vaccinated people compared to unvaccinated people[2,3].

Its proven that the COVID-19 vaccine is declining fertility rates in both male and female

Throughout the entire pandemic, Thorp has been a prominent promotor of the persistent narrative that COVID-19 vaccines impair fertility and pregnancy, which Health Feedback debunked on multiple occasions. During the interview with Rogan, Thorp repeated the same claims, adding that the spike protein is a lethal bioweapon that is hijacking the cellular machinery.

While the virus SARS-CoV-2 does hijack the cell machinery to make more viral particles during infection, this is not how vaccines work.

COVID-19 vaccines instruct cells to produce the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The immune system then recognizes this protein as foreign and learns how to respond to it in the case of future infection. But the protein produced following vaccination isnt produced endlessly in the body. Instead, it is eventually broken down, as any other protein in the body.

Available evidence from safety surveillance and scientific studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and they dont suggest that the small amounts of spike protein induced by vaccination are toxic or harmful.

Contrary to Thorps assertions, there is also no evidence suggesting that COVID-19 vaccines impact fertility in either men or women. Studies show no differences in the ability to conceive between vaccinated and unvaccinated couples[4,5] or between vaccinated and unvaccinated women[6,7].

Researchers also observed no changes in mens sperm quality before and after vaccination[8-10]. In contrast, several studies have reported a decrease in sperm counts and quality following a SARS-CoV-2 infection[11-13].

The effect of COVID-19 vaccines on menstrual cycles has also been evaluated in several large studies[14-16]. The results consistently show a slight increase in cycle length of less than one day. However, cycle length can vary greatly from one person to another, from cycle to cycle, and through life depending on factors such as weight and age. Since changes in cycle length of less than eight days are considered within the normal range of variation, a one-day increase is highly unlikely to have an effect on a persons health.

Infant mortality rate trended up over 3% from the last year for the first time in 20 years; Theyre now pushing four vaccines in pregnancy, this is outrageous, this is why these babies are dying

On 1 November 2023, the U.S. National Vital Statistics System at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a rapid release on 2022 infant mortality in the U.S.

CDC estimates showed that infant mortality rose 3%, from 5.44 per 1,000 live births (19,928 infant deaths) in 2021 to 5.6 (20,538 infant deaths) in 2022. This is indeed the first year-to-year increase in the last two decades after a decline of 22% since 2002.

The causes of death that increased the most were maternal complications and bacterial meningitis. Although the report noted an increase in infant mortality across all racial and ethnic groups, this increase was more pronounced in Native Americans. This group, together with Black infants, faced the highest risk, highlighting inequities in maternal healthcare.

Thorp interpreted CDC data as evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause pregnancy complications that ultimately led to more infants dying.

However, there is no evidence whatsoever that supports this claim. In fact, some of Thorps claims verged on conspiracy theory. For example, he suggested that by recommending COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy, public health authorities deliberately went after women.

First of all, it is important to bear in mind that the CDC data are provisional, so the figures may vary slightly when final data for 2022 becomes available. Danielle Ely, a health statistician and lead author of the report, told Associated Press that researchers still couldnt establish whether the rise was a one-year statistical blip or indicated an actual change in trend.

That said, the data shows a significant and concerning increase in infant mortality. However, theres no scientific basis for attributing this increase to COVID-19 vaccines.

Although the initial vaccine clinical trials didnt evaluate the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women, later studies showed no safety issues[17-20]. Instead, they observed multiple benefits.

Pregnant women are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant women[21,22]. In turn, having COVID-19 is associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complications, including preterm birth, stillbirth, newborn mortality, and newborn admission to neonatal intensive care[23,24], along with a higher risk of maternal mortality[24].

Therefore, COVID-19 vaccination not only protects pregnant women against illness but also helps improve pregnancy outcomes for both the mother and the baby[25,26]. For this reason, the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that pregnant women get vaccinated against COVID-19.

But what then is the possible cause for the increase in infant mortality?

Eric Eichenwald, a neonatologist at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, explained to STAT News that experts at this point can only speculate as to why a statistic that generally has been falling for decades rose sharply in 2022. But he pointed to the surge of respiratory infections, including flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), last year as potential contributors to at least part of this increase.

In a statement on the CDCs infant mortality report, March of Dimesa U.S. nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and infantsalso cited RSV, COVID-19, and flu infections among possible reasons for the increase.

In summary, while it is accurate that the CDC report showed an increase in infant mortality in 2022, no evidence suggests that COVID-19 vaccines contributed to it. Instead, inequities in maternal healthcare and the surge of respiratory infections following the pandemic are much more likely culprits.

My Cycle Story proves theres a shedding event

My Cycle Story, to which Thorp is a contributor, is an online survey that aimed to evaluate the alleged effect of exposure to the spike protein on womens reproductive health.

One of the analyses involved responses on menstrual cycle data from almost 3,500 unvaccinated women with no prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on these data, the authors reported that 70% of the respondents had irregular periods after being in close proximity with a vaccinated individual, allegedly suggesting a shedding effect.

In an earlier review covering this analysis, Health Feedback explained that this survey isnt equipped to determine the cause of the observed effects, as the authors acknowledged. Therefore, the analysis alone cant demonstrate that the menstrual irregularities reported are due to shedding from vaccinated individuals and not from other factors.

Newman not only left Thorps claim unchallenged but gave it added emphasis by citing a study by researchers at the University of Colorado, published in ImmunoHorizons in May 2023[27]. This study found that vaccinated people have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in their nose and mouth that can spread to unvaccinated, uninfected children within the household, likely through respiratory droplets.

Newman misrepresented these results as evidence of vaccine shedding. But Ross Kedl, lead author of the study, told AFP that this phenomenon is unrelated to shedding and that the study was being manipulated for something so far off base.

Indeed, Thorp and Newmans claims are both inaccurate because shedding is a phenomenon that can only occur with vaccines that use live, weakened viruses to generate immunity. Some of these vaccine-derived viruses may still retain the ability to multiply and potentially pass from the vaccinated person to others.

But COVID-19 vaccines dont contain live viruses, only small parts of it that have no capacity to replicate. Therefore, there is no biological mechanism by which COVID-19 vaccines could plausibly cause shedding, as Health Feedback explained in earlier reviews. On the other hand, if confirmed, antibody transfer would prove useful to the recipient host, Kedl said. It is worth noting that the study suggested antibody transfer not only from vaccinated individuals, but also from individuals who had a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Thorps claims linking COVID-19 vaccines with death, infertility, pregnancy complications, and infant survival are based on speculation and flawed analyses. All available evidence continues to show that COVID-19 vaccines protect against severe illness and dont increase the risk of death or cause infertility. COVID-19 vaccines havent been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes but instead they help reduce the risk of pregnancy complications due to COVID-19 infection for both the mother and the baby. Therefore, vaccination is safe and recommended for pregnant women.

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James Thorp spreads false claims that COVID-19 vaccines harm fertility, pregnancy, infant survival in The Sentinel ... - Health Feedback

Suffolk County reported the following information related to COVID-19 on November 7, 2023

According to CDC, hospital admission rates and the percentage of COVID-19 deaths among all deaths are now the primary surveillance metrics.

COVID-19 Hospitalizations for the week ending October 28, 2023

Daily Hospitalization Summary for Suffolk County From November 3, 2023

NOTE: HOSPITALS ARE NO LONGER REPORTING DATA TO NYSDOH ON WEEKENDS OR HOLIDAYS.

Fatalities 11/6/23

COVID-19 Case Tracker November 4, 2023

Note: As of May 11, 2023, COVID-19 Community Levels (CCLs) and COVID-19 Community Transmission Levels are no longer calculatable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

* As of 4/4/22, HHS no longer requires entities conducting COVID testing to report negative or indeterminate antigen test results. This may impact the number and interpretation of total test results reported to the state and also impacts calculation of test percent positivity. Because of this, as of 4/5/22, test percent positivity is calculated using PCR tests only. Reporting of total new daily cases (positive results) and cases per 100k will continue to include PCR and antigen tests.

COVID-19 Vaccination Information

Last updated 5/12/23

Vaccination Clinics

As of September 12, 2023, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services is not authorized to offer COVID-19 vaccines to ALL Suffolk County residents.

The department will offer the updated vaccine to only uninsured and underinsured patients through New York State's Vaccines for Children program and Vaccines for Adults program, also known as the Bridge Access Program.

Those with insurance that covers the COVID-19 vaccine are encouraged to receive their vaccines at their local pharmacies, health care providers offices, or local federally qualified health centers.

The department has ordered the updated COVID-19 vaccine and will announce when the vaccine becomes available.

FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

New York State Links

CDC COVID Data Tracker Rates of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations by vaccination status

For additional information or explanation of data, click on the links provided in throughout this page.

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COVID-19 update 11-07-23 - Suffolk County Government (.gov)

Trending on Billboard

Nicki Minaj faced quite a bit of backlash in 2021 for sharing her stance against the coronavirus vaccine. Now, more than two years later, shes still not walking back.

In one of the rappers biggest controversies to date, Minaj was accused of spreading misinformation back when the government first started rolling out preventative shots about a year and a half deep into the global pandemic. Revealing at the time that she wouldnt be attending that years Met Gala because she hadnt been vaccinated, which was required of guests, the Barbie World artist also tweeted that a cousins friend in Trinidad had become impotent after the COVID-19 vaccine allegedly caused his testicles to swell.

Her tweets earned concerned responses from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Trinidad & Tobago Health Minister and even the Philadelphia Health Department, each of them debunking her claim and emphasizing that there was no scientific basis to the side effects supposedly made by her cousins friend. She became the butt of late-night jokes and even went toe to toe with both the White House and Piers Morgan over the controversy. But in a new interview, Minaj had no regrets to share.

Im one of those people who doesnt go with a crowd, she told Vogue in her December cover story published Thursday (Nov. 9). I like to make my own assessment of everything without help from everyone.

Every time I talk about politics, people get mad, Minaj added. Im sorry, but I am not going to be told who I should get on social media and campaign for. Theres a lot we dont know thats going on in the government, and I dont think it changes whether you lean to the left or right.

The interview comes one month ahead of Minajs upcoming album, Pink Friday 2, which was originally scheduled to arrive Oct. 20 before being pushed back to Nov. 17. In late October, the Queen of Rap announced that the project would be postponed once more to Dec. 8, her 41st birthday.

See Nicki Minajs Vogue cover and photos below:

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Nicki Minaj Looks Back on Her COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Controversy: I Like to Make My Own Assessment - Billboard