Category: Covid-19

New research from WHO and partners shows that the COVID-19 pandemic is severely affecting the quality of care given to small and sick newborns, resulting in unnecessary suffering and deaths.

A study published in the Lancet EclinicalMedicine highlights the critical importance of ensuring newborn babies have close contact with parents after birth, especially for those born too small (at low birthweight) or too soon (preterm). However, in many countries, if COVID-19 infections are confirmed or suspected, newborn babies are being routinely separated from their mothers, putting them at higher risk of death and lifelong health complications.

This is especially the case in the poorest countries where the greatest number of preterm births and infant deaths occur. According to the report, disruptions to kangaroo mother care which involves close contact between a parent, usually a mother, and a newborn baby - will worsen these risks.

Up to 125 000 babies lives could be saved with full coverage of kangaroo mother care. For babies born preterm or at low birthweight, kangaroo mother care (early, prolonged skin-to-skin contact with a parent and exclusive breastfeeding) is particularly critical. Among infants born preterm or at low birthweight, kangaroo mother care has been shown to reduce infant deaths by as much as 40%, hypothermia by more than 70%, and severe infections by 65%.

Disruptions to essential health services during COVID-19 have severely affected the quality of care provided to some of the most vulnerable babies, and this includes their right to the lifesaving contact they need with their parents, said Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at WHO. Decades of progress in reducing child deaths will be jeopardized unless we act now to protect and improve quality care services for mothers and newborns, and expand coverage of lifesaving interventions like kangaroo mother care.

WHO advises that mothers should continue to share a room with their babies from birth and be able to breastfeed and practice skin-to-skin contact even when COVID-19 infections are suspected or confirmed - and should be supported to ensure appropriate infection prevention practices.

Much more attention is needed to ensure health practitioners and policymakers globally are aware of the need to keep mothers and babies together in these critical early days, especially for babies born too small or too soon, said Queen Dube, Director of Health at the Ministry of Health in Malawi, one of the report authors. Kangaroo Mother Care is one of our most cost-effective ways to protect small and sick newborns. According to our analysis, these risks by far outweigh the small chance of a newborn baby getting severe disease from COVID-19.

Kangaroo mother care is among the best interventions to improve a premature or low birthweight babys chances of survival, especially in low-income countries, she added.

Evidence suggests that disruptions to kangaroo mother care may already be worryingly widespread. A systematic review of 20 clinical guidelines from 17 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic found that one-third recommended separation of mothers and newborns if the mother has or may have COVID-19. In a global survey of thousands of neonatal healthcare providers, published today in a related paper in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health, two-thirds of health workers in 62 countries reported they do not allow mothers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to practice routine skin to skin contact, while nearly one-quarter did not allow breastfeeding, even by uninfected caregivers.

Studies have reported mainly no symptoms or mild disease from COVID-19 in infected newborns, with low risk of neonatal death. This new study estimates that the risk of newborns catching COVID-19 would result in fewer than 2000 deaths.

However, infection during pregnancy may result in increased risk of preterm birth, which means it is even more important to ensure the right care is given to support preterm babies and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the most recent estimates, 15 million babies are born preterm (before 37 weeks) each year and 21 million are born at low birthweight (under 2.5kg). These babies face significant health risks including disabilities, developmental delays and infections, while prematurity-related complications are the leading causes of death of newborns and children under 5.

About the study

WHO authors have contributed to the following paper: Preterm care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative risk analysis of neonatal deaths averted by kangaroo mother care versus mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in The Lancet Eclinical Medicine. A related study by the COVID-19 Small and Sick Newborn Care Collaborative Group was published today in the British Medical Journal, Small and sick newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic: global survey and thematic analysis of healthcare providers voices and experiences. BMJ GH. DOI:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004347

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New research highlights risks of separating newborns from mothers during COVID-19 pandemic - World Health Organization

The vast majority of healthcare professionals in emergency departments in the U.S. accepted COVID vaccination, according to a new study, yet still support masking and social distancing.

An overwhelming majority of health care personnel in hospital emergency departments have received a vaccine against COVID-19, according to findings published in Academic Emergency Medicine, the official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. The study showed that 95 percent of health care personnel were offered vaccination against COVID-19 within the first month of prioritized distribution to this high-risk group and 86 percent accepted vaccination.

The emergency department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham participated in the study, part of the COVID-19 Evaluation of Risks in Emergency Departments Project, or COVERED Project. Nearly 1,400 health care personnel in emergency medicine in 20 geographically diverse, highvolume urban U.S. academic medical centers were surveyed in January 2021.

Of 674 physicians or advanced practice providers, 95 percent accepted vaccination, while nursing staff had lower vaccine acceptance with 78 percent of 345 nurses receiving vaccination. Some vaccine hesitancy was also found among 302 nonclinical workers surveyed, with 76 percent accepting vaccination. The primary reason for declining a COVID19 vaccine was concern about vaccine safety, expressed by 45 percent of those who declined.

Other reasons for declining a vaccination included the individuals health condition, previous diagnosis of COVID-19 and pregnancy.

Following vaccination, 87 percent of the recipients reported feeling safer on the job and that their family members also felt safer.

Interestingly, approximately 90 percent of vaccinated recipients planned to continue using the same personal protective equipment on the job and in public, including wearing masks and observing other safety precautions, said Walt Schrading, M.D., a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UAB and lead author of the study. This highlights the importance that these basic safety measures continue to play in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccinations are only one piece of the armor which allows us to protect the public and decrease transmission.

Walt Schrading, M.D., UAB emergency physician and first author of the study.The study found that vaccine hesitancy was higher among health care providers of color, mirroring that which has been reported in the public. Schrading says non-Hispanic Black health care personnel had the lowest vaccine acceptance rate at 65 percent, and it was even lower in the Black non-clinical cohort. Vaccine acceptance rates were slightly lower among female employees than among male employees. Schrading notes that continuing efforts to overcome vaccine hesitancy in high-risk populations remain important.

Acceptance across age groups remained consistent, with a slight increase in acceptance among those employees age 65 and older.

SARSCoV2, the virus responsible for COVID19, has infected more than 29 million Americans, leading to over 535,000 deaths.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports over 378,000 cases of COVID19 in U.S. health care personnel with 1,286 deaths.By summer 2020, an estimated 4.6 percent of academic emergency department health care personnel had contracted COVID19.

Project COVERED was funded by a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U01CK000480) and was supported by the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Iowa through a grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (UL1TR002537).

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Emergency department staff have high COVID-19 vaccination rates - UAB News

ITHACA, N.Y. Cornell University has changed it's COVID-19 "alert level" to yellow today after 74 positive cases have been identified throughout the student body in the last week. The "yellow" alert signifies a "low to moderate risk" for increased transmission. The last time the alert was raised was early February after a cluster of cases was discovered amongst students.

According to a statement from the university, "the increase in cases is primarily related to a lack of adherence to public health measures, including mask wearing and physical distancing, as well as student gatherings and travel outside of the region."

In a letter to the campus community, Cornell President Martha Pollack and Provost Michael Kotlikoff identified that the majority of cases have been linked to first-year students living on North Campus, Greek-life organizations, athletic teams, on- and off-campus parties and again, travel outside of the Ithaca area. The two went on to warn of repercussions should the trend in increased cases continue.

"If current trends were to continue, we would soon be forced to move to Alert Level Orange and all in-person gatherings could be prohibited; gyms and recreation centers could close; all courses could move to fully online instruction; and students could be required to stay in their rooms or apartments, except to get food or go for testing," the letter states. "After that, the only remaining recourse would be to send all students back to their permanent homes an action that no one wants to see happen."

Students are required, as part of the school's return to campus plan, to sign a "behavioral compact" promising to not engage in COVID unsafe activities or behaviors. It is unclear whether any punitive action has been taken against students in this latest cluster who have broken it.

Moreover, the letter from administrators has accused students of not only refusing to comply with the compact, but also with contact tracing providing no or false information on potential close contacts of infected individuals.

"These students may think they are protecting their friends by not identifying them as contacts, but they are, in fact, putting themselves and others at risk, including the most vulnerable among us," Pollack and Kotlikoff's letter states. "Remember: health conditions of immunocompromised individuals are not always visible. Cooperating with contact tracing makes the whole community, including your friends and loved ones, safer."

In response to the most recent uptick in infections, public health officials at the university are taking the opportunity to remind students of the following safety precautions:

For more information related to prevention and care, visit Cornell's COVID-19 website.The website also includes the university's COVID-19 tracking dashboard, which is updated Monday-Friday to include information about testing and positive cases within the campus community.

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Increase in COVID-19 cases bumps Cornell alert level to yellow - The Ithaca Voice

Michigans seven-day average of new COVID-17 cases is going up a steep pace. So is the positivity rate.

Hospitalizations for coronavirus also are beginning to climb.

In fact, coronavirus transmission in Michigan is growing faster than anywhere else in the country.

Pandemic isnt over, Michigan officials warn, as COVID-19 numbers surge

Whats up with that?

Heres a look at the factor cited by experts.

1. Spread of COVID-19 variants.

Perhaps the biggest driver of the increases are the emergence of the new COVID-19 variants, which are more contagious than the dominant strain of coronavirus.

Along with Florida, Michigan has one of the highest numbers of identified cases of the B.1.1.7 strain that first emerged in the United Kingdom. That variant has been identified in 725 cases in 31 Michigan counties.

Just a reminder, this variant is more transmissible, so someone who is infected of COVID-19 will transmit that virus more easily to to others, Dr. Sarah Lyon-Callo, director of the MDHHS Bureau of Epidemiology and Population Health, said in a March 17 press briefing.

2. Easing of restrictions on restaurants, gyms and movie theaters in recent weeks.

Among the 50 states, Michigan had among the lowest transmission rates through January and most of February, and experts say a big reason for that was more restrictions.

Whitmer eased restrictions on gyms and movie theaters in January and allowed restaurants to resume in-person dining on Feb. 1. The coronavirus case numbers and positivity rate started rising about the third week of February.

Lifting of restaurant restrictions typically results in a rise in case rates, concluded a recent by the federal Centers for Disease Control. Thats because coronavirus spreads most easily in indoor settings where people arent wearing masks.

3. Resumption of high school sports and other extracurricular activities.

Lyon-Callo said the number of outbreaks related to schools -- particularly high schools -- has jumped up, but most of that involves extracurricular activities vs. exposure in the classroom.

The classroom environment itself has not been a strong signal for outbreaks, she said. It tends to be more the activities associated with schools, including sports but not only sports.

The states latest report school-related outbreaks listed 53 new clusters in K-12 schools, infecting 253 students and staff. That compares to 17 new clusters infecting 68 people listed in the Feb. 15 report.

4. People are leaving their homes more.

The Michigan Department of Transportation and companies that analyze cellphone data are seeing increases in mobility, Lyon-Callo said.

That data suggests the percentage of time people are spending at home has decreased, and mobility is now near pre-pandemic levels, she said.

.That is showing return towards baseline mobility patterns, particularly for non-essential visits, Lyon-Callo said.

5. Lack of testing.

Lyon-Callo and other public-health official continue to express concern that more people arent getting tested for coronavirus.

We have plateaued in terms of the number of diagnostic tests performed in the state each day, Lyon-Callo said. Its important that we increase our testing rate, particularly as cases are increasing. Thats important for public health response, in terms of ensuring that we identify cases so we can conduct contact tracing and understand where outbreaks are occurring.

6. COVID fatigue.

Another major factor is COVID fatigue, said Dr. Liam Sullivan, an infectious disease specialist for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

I think people are just really, really tired of COVID-19 right now, and theyre especially tired of the COVID-related guidelines and restrictions, Sullivan said. Theres a segment of the population whos saying, I dont care any more and others who are just not paying as much attention to what theyre doing, intentional or unintentional.

If you have this combination of people who stop taking the proper precautions and these variants circulating that are clearly more contagious, that is a recipe for another surge in infections, Sullivan added.

The good news, Lyon-Callo and others say, is that case increases are concentrated for now among those age 50 and younger.

Those who are 10 to 19 have the highest case rate, and their case rate is increasing faster than that of other age groups, she said.

Thats significant because younger people are much, much more likely to have mild cases of coronavirus, she said. Its also significant that cases are not increasing among those age 70 and older, a group much more at risk of hospitalization or death if they catch the virus.

Were delighted to see that (case rates among senior citizens) are not increasing, and that I think shows a positive impact of the vaccination efforts, Lyon-Callo said.

More than 60% of Michigan residents age 65 and older have gotten at least one dose of COVID vaccine.

Read more on MLive:

Michigans coronavirus numbers are going up, but will vaccinations blunt the impact?

COVID brides and industry professionals consider how the pandemic could change future weddings

COVID-19 pandemic still teaching Michigan schools lessons a year later

9 things we got totally wrong about COVID-19 a year ago

Excerpt from:

6 reasons that Michigans COVID-19 numbers are surging - MLive.com

Starting next week, Caltrain will offer free train rides to and from COVID-19 vaccination sites for people living or working in San Francisco, Santa Clara or San Mateo counties.

The agency said that fare payment to vaccination sites will not be required until further notice, starting Monday, March 22.

Passengers who wish to ride free must notify a conductor when they board the train and show proof of the vaccine appointment or a vaccination card.

"By offering free rides to and from vaccinations, we hope to remove cost barriers so that everyone across the three counties we serve has access to the vaccine," Michelle Bouchard, Caltrain chief operating officer of rail, said.

Caltrain joins other regional transit systems like AC Transit, BART, SamTrans and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) in offering free rides to vaccination sites as part of the Bay Area Healthy Transit Plan.

For a full list of agencies offering free rides to vaccination sites, click here.

Passengers on Caltrain must adhere to safety precautions such as wearing a face covering and social distancing while riding the train or at stations.

Link:

Caltrain to Provide Free Rides to COVID-19 Vaccination Sites - NBC Bay Area

I know people are tired of the pandemic, I see a light at the end of the tunnel, but were just not quite there yet. We are still vaccinating a lot of people in South Carolina, but we dont have the supply yet, Eckard said. All of the things mean we need to continue being very vigilant, wear our masks, dont do sleep overs, try to be careful about how close you are to other people, and if we do that, well continue to see our numbers decrease.

More here:

Doctor says threat of COVID-19 isnt over, after spike in cases at schools - Live 5 News WCSC

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said lingering effects he has felt after experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 last year are not painful, theyre just weird.

In a call with reporters Friday, Kaine described initially not feeling as if he had been infected with the virus but instead experienced a blizzard of allergic reactions when he and his wife, Anne Holton, Virginias former secretary of education, first began feeling symptoms last March.

The two-term senator and Holton did not get tested, citing the national testing shortage at the time, but later said they tested positive for coronavirus antibodies in May 2020.

Kaine said during that time last year he developed a rash that would appear and go away after roughly 15 minutes. On Friday, he explained the rash has been replaced with a tingling sensation he feels on parts of his body multiple times a day.

The Democratic senator stressed any lingering symptoms hes feeling are not debilitating and probably neurological, likening it to how some patients, including Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, have reported losing their sense of smell or taste after contracting the virus.

Im going to state at the outset. My lingering effects are things Im experiencing, not things Im suffering, Kaine told 8News on Friday. Theyre not debilitating, they dont keep me from work.

Kaine noted several people who have had the virus are dealing with far more serious health concerns, including chronic respiratory and heart issues. He said this highlights the lasting health risks COVID-19 poises and the need to address the impact it will have even after people are vaccinated.

And for many people its getting in their way in a significant degree and we have to both do the research through the NIH to kind of figure out the long effect, but we also have to have a health care system that can deal with people who have consequences that are significant, Kaine added.

Kaine initially shared his experience during Thursdays Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing with the nations top federal officials on the pandemic.

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Sen. Tim Kaine says hes dealing with lingering effects of COVID-19 - WAVY.com

A study found two cases of coronavirus co-infection, but the frequency and health impacts of double infections are still unknown.

New COVID-19 strains have emerged during the coronavirus pandemic, including those first identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. Now, several media outlets are reporting that people can contract more than one coronavirus variant at the same time. The reports cite a Brazilian study posted in January.

Is it possible to be infected with two variants of COVID-19 at the same time, and what does that mean for the severity of symptoms? Thats what people are trying to figure out.

THE QUESTION

Can you contract more than one strain of COVID-19 at the same time?

WHY WE ARE VERIFYING

The claim comes from a Brazilian study in which scientists found two instances of COVID-19 co-infection among samples taken from people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Both people recovered. The study was published as a pre-print article and has not been peer reviewed.

THE ANSWER

Yes, it is possible to contract more than one strain of COVID-19 simultaneously. But according to Dr. Saralyn Mark and the CDC, health officials dont know yet whether double infection could impact vaccine efficacy or severe coronavirus disease. In addition, there are no widespread reports of co-infection.

WHAT WE FOUND

Dr. Saralyn Mark, former senior medical advisor at the White House and current lead COVID-19 spokesperson for the American Medical Womens Association, said that while having more than one COVID-19 strain at the same time is a possibility, the effect on vaccine efficacy or severe disease is yet to be known.

Theres even some thought that perhaps a hybrid strain could be emerging from these variants, but we dont know yet the implications of that, or if they make the virus more transmissible, lethal or less susceptible to vaccines and treatment, she said.

Dr. Mark explained that if weve learned something this year, its that anything is possible with the novel coronavirus and the best way to prevent contracting it is to follow current public health guidelines.

As the virus moves from one individual to another, it finds a potential opportunity to mutate. So we need to be on guard, she said.

According to the CDC, viruses constantly change through mutation, and not all variants can be harmful or consistent. Sometimes they disappear, the website said.

The CDC also clarifies that studies so far suggest these COVID-19 variants are recognized by vaccine antibodies but more testing is underway to determine any resistance to treatment or detection by available tests.

Dr. Mark emphasized that people should not be alarmed by these new strains, but continue to follow public health protocols and get a vaccine as soon as it is offered to them.

Continue reading here:

VERIFY: You can contract more than one COVID-19 variant at the same time - ABC10.com KXTV

Small, dark purple spots show inflammatory cells invading the heart of a patient who died of COVID-19.

By Emma YasinskiMar. 17, 2021 , 12:00 AM

Sciences COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Three-quarters of people who died of COVID-19 harbored the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their hearts, according to the most detailed study of cardiac tissue to date. Those people were also more likely than patients without cardiac invasion to experience abnormal heart rhythms before they died. The study offers insight into how the disease may damage the heartand how certain treatments may help.

The finding paints a really nice picture of the connection between the virus and heart problems, says Joseph Maleszewski, a cardiovascular pathologist at the Mayo Clinic who was not involved with the study.

Scientists have ample evidence of heart damage in COVID-19 patients. Some people, for example, show elevated levels of troponins, molecules released in the blood when the heart is injured. Others have experienced inflammation of the sac surrounding the heartand inflammation of the heart itself. But its been unclear whether these problems were caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus attacking the heart directly, or the damage is due to an overactive immune response.

Part of the problem is that previous studies are mixed about whether SARS-CoV-2 can invade heart tissue. Many that havent found the virus use real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), says James Stone, a cardiovascular pathologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. RT-PCR works by detecting viral RNA in tissue, then making many DNA copies of it. Once theres enough DNA, a molecule called a fluorescent tag can stick to it and shine to reveal its presence. But Stone says that heart tissue is often processed and preserved using chemicals like paraffin, which can break down the RNA and prevent detection to begin with.

So he and his team used another approach: in situ hybridization and NanoString transcriptomic profiling. Like RT-PCR, these techniques use special molecules to attach to and detect pieces of viral RNA, but they do so without having to make DNA copies first. The approach can identify viral RNA even after its broken into smaller pieces. The scientists also analyzed about 1000 pieces of heart tissuemore than 20 samples from each of the 41 patients they looked at. Thats double the number of samples per patient in most studies, Stone says.

SARS-CoV-2 was present in 30 of the hearts, the team reports today in Modern Pathology. And only those patients experienced new atrial fibrillations, fast and irregular heart rhythms, or early or extra heartbeats, compared with the other patients in the studya correlation Stone calls pretty phenomenal.

Still, its unclear whether the virus attacked the heart directly in these cases. Most of the infected cardiac cells were immune cells, which SARS-CoV-2 could have invaded elsewhere in the body before they traveled to the heart. Its also unclear whether the virusrather than the immune cells themselvesis causing the problems.

Regardless, the study may help explain why the steroid dexamethasone is so helpful to some patients. The drug was one of the first found to prevent deaths from severe COVID-19. It reduces inflammation, so it may have curbed the presence of SARS-CoV-2harboring immune cells in the heart, Stone says. Only 50% of the patients treated with dexamethasone had the virus in their hearts, compared with 90% of patients who were not on the drug.

But compared with large clinical trials, the number of patients in this new study is small, making it impossible to say that one drug protects the heart better than another, says Nicholas Hendren, a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Still, Maleszewski says the new findings are a call to action. Scientists need to probe more cardiac tissue, he argues, not just to see how COVID-19 kills patients, but to figure out how it hurts the hearts of those that survive. The disease may, for example, create scar tissue that can cause cardiac problems down the line. Were starting to understand what COVID-19 does to patients when they have it, he says. Whats not clear is what happens later on.

More:

Many people who die of COVID-19 have the virus in their hearts - Science Magazine

This is the final article in a three-part series on Oregons COVID-19 response, as we enter the pandemics second year. Part one looks at the double-edged sword of Oregons COVID-19 success. Part two asks if Oregons COVID-19 pivot was enough to address racial inequities.

COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Oregon is generally on the upswing, and the state plans to extend eligibility to the next large chunk of Oregonians at the end of March. In addition, state officials announced this week that Oregon will follow the Biden administrations timeline and open vaccination eligibility to all Oregonians by May 1.

This expedited schedule points to growing confidence in the federal governments ability to deliver more vaccines. It indicates that well be able to vaccinate people more quickly.

The faster we vaccinate, the faster we start to approach herd immunity and some sense of day-to-day normalcy.

But it also means were likely going to hit to a point of inflection earlier one that would surely warm the cockles of 19th century British economist Alfred Marshalls heart. Its the point at which the supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses is greater than the demand even though not everyone is vaccinated.

At that point (and ideally before) the state will have to shift gears and try to convince those who are hesitant to sign up for their shots.

Total weekly vaccine doses earmarked for Oregon by the federal government

There had been some reservations on the part of Oregon officials to go along with the new federal vaccination timeline because of lingering uncertainty about vaccine supply.

While generally increasing over the past few months, vaccine allocations to Oregon by the federal government have been inconsistent. Things peaked at about 210,000 doses at the beginning of March, when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine first shipped to states, but since then allocations have been around 10,000-25,000 doses lower per week.

Its not like theres vaccine sitting there that could have gone out. Were basically chewing through that vaccine within the week that we get it, said Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen.

Allen told OPB this week he expects the number of doses delivered to the state to double by May 1.

Right now were kind of stuck with a strategy thats lets put 15,000 doses in one place, he said. Its a lot better to put 15 doses in a thousand places so that people have ready access to multiple choices in their own neighborhood.

He said that will start happening as more vaccine doses arrive.

Oregon is currently vaccinating people at the 36th-slowest rate in the country, but Allen says the state has plenty of capacity to vaccinate more people. The problem remains the supply from the federal government. Oregon ranks 34th by population in doses delivered to the state.

We have the capacity to do at least 300,000 first doses a week. Right now were receiving about 150,000 first doses a week, and thats increasing toward 200,000. So we have ample capacity to be able to get shots in peoples arms, Allen said.

As of Wednesday, just over half a million Oregonians had been fully vaccinated.

Total doses delivered to each state per 1,000 population

If the target plan to open vaccinations to all Oregonians sticks, May and June are going to be an all-out vaccine blitz.

But probably sometime in July or August the rush of willing vaccinatees will start to trickle off. And at that point Oregon will be faced with what could be the next big vaccine obstacle: not enough arms for all the available doses of vaccine.

Thats exactly whats in the future. Right now, demand exceeds supply. But whenever that changes and there is less demand than there is supply, then vaccine hesitancy can be the real issue, said Creighton University sociologist Kevin Estep, who studies public health issues, including vaccine refusal.

Polling over the last year in the United States suggests a large portion of the population is unlikely to get vaccinated for COVID-19. That number is nearly 25% of adults according to a new poll out this month from Monmouth University.

Because kids and teens under the age of 16 havent been approved for the vaccines yet, Oregon is going to need more than 90% of its adults to become immune to COVID-19 to achieve herd immunity and perhaps an even higher percentage considering the new variants, which can be more contagious. We will have some buffer because of people who have natural immunity from catching and surviving COVID-19, but not nearly as much as other states that have had much higher case rates. The rest will need to be vaccinated.

Vaccine hesitancy for COVID-19 is a new kind of phenomenon different in many ways from vaccine refusal connected to other diseases. Although there is some overlap, this isnt your typical anti-vaccine crowd.

The categories of people the surveys are telling us that are most hesitant about COVID vaccines are not really the same demographic that are hesitant about other vaccines, Estep said. These people have been vaccinated. They received many other vaccinations. Theyre not against vaccination. They may even get the flu vaccine.

The Monmouth Poll suggests Republicans are far more likely 36% versus 6% for Democrats to say they dont want the vaccine. And 14% of people of color say they wont get vaccinated against coronavirus.

About 18% of Oregonians are registered Republicans. About 25% are people of color, who have been hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic compared to white Oregonians. On top of this, Oregon has the reputation of being a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment.

The vaccine hesitant group is humongous, right? And so theres plenty of room to do good work, good public or health communication work, Estep said.

A sizable chunk of these groups will need to be convinced to get vaccinated if the state wants to lift social distancing restrictions and mask mandates without putting people at risk.

There will be many competing forces at work this summer as Oregon reaches that supply and demand inflection point. One will be the powerful lure and social pressure to get back to normal after more than a year of pandemic. Estep says this will pull against the hesitancy so many Americans feel when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccines.

Which way the tug of war goes? I think we dont have enough information to tell yet.

Continued here:

The supply and demand conundrum of Oregons COVID-19 vaccines - OPB News