Category: Covid-19

The PA Department of Health has added more groups of people to phase 1A of the vaccine rollout, making millions of Pennsylvanians eligible for the shot.

PENNSYLVANIA, USA Editor's note: The above video is from January 20.

Looking for more information on the COVID-19 vaccine?

Millions of people are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Pennsylvania.

Plenty of people are asking how they sign up to get the shot.

First, you need to go to this website.

You can take a quiz to see if you're eligible for the vaccine right now.

If it is your turn, you can head to step 2, which is a map of all the COVID-19 vaccine providers in Pennsylvania.

You can type in your address, or zoom in and find some providers near you.

Then you'll see a bunch of these dots.

All vaccine providers on the map are marked with blue dots -- whether they've received doses or not.

You can click on that dot and you'll either be re-directed to go to that facility's website to schedule an appointment to get the shot or you'll see a phone number or email to contact.

Different locations have different protocols on how to schedule, so you'll have to follow those instructions.

For instance, a Rite Aid location will take you to where you could be waiting for a bit.

Remember, just because you are eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, does not mean you will get it right away.

PA Department of Health officials say there are not currently enough doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the commonwealth to vaccinate all 3.5 million people in phase 1a.

Instead, they said that process will likely take a few weeks.

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How to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment in PA ...

When Covid-19 shut down the U.S. economy in March, Elon Musk had a rocket to launch.

The billionaires space exploration venture, SpaceX, was planning to blast a crewed spacecraft into the sky in May and wanted to stay on schedule. That meant finding a way to keep facilities safely open and limit the spread of Covid-19, a challenge when tests were in short supply.

To monitor the prevalence of the virus among SpaceX workers nationwide, Mr. Musk and the rocket companys top medical executive worked with doctors and academic researchers to build an antibody-testing program. More than 4,000 SpaceX workers volunteered for monthly blood tests.

This week the group published its findings, which suggest that a certain threshold of antibodies might provide people lasting protection against the virus. Mr. Musk is listed as a co-author of the peer-reviewed study, which appears in the journal Nature Communications.

People can have antibodies, but it doesnt mean they are going to be immune to Covid-19, said Galit Alter, a co-author of the study who is a member of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. Individuals who experienced fewer, milder Covid-19 symptoms generated fewer antibodies and were therefore less likely to meet the threshold for longer-term immunity, the study found.

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Elon Musk Got 4,000 SpaceX Workers to Join a Covid-19 Study. Heres What He Learned. - The Wall Street Journal

Austin, Texas All Austin Public Health (APH) COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites will remain closed Friday, Feb. 19 due to inclement weather. The sites have been closed since Saturday, Feb. 12 for the same reason.

APH staff have and continue to diligently monitor the vaccine to ensure it is safe and secure during the winter weather event.

We know these are challenging times as our staff, their families, and our entire community are grappling with issues caused by the weather, said APH Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard. We assure you that as soon as we can safely give the vaccine again, we will notify the public.

People with current vaccination appointments will receive a cancellation email or text.It is not known when vaccine operations will be able to resume. Anyone who receives a cancellation will be contacted by APH to reschedule. However, APH will not send out new appointments until we are confident that we can safely restart operations.

We greatly appreciate the communitys patience as we work through these unprecedented times, said Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority. While there may be several days between the time your appointment is canceled and your new appointment information is sent, it is important to remember that there is flexibility allowed between doses without losing effectiveness.

Dr. Escott reiterated: Your body works with the vaccine to make the first dose strongerover time. The second dose is a booster and a delay will not diminish its efficacy.

Both first and second doses are provided by appointment only. Pleasedo notshow up at the vaccine sites without an appointment as that will interfere with the vaccine operations.

Vaccine Sites:

Testing Sites:

As testing sites remain closed, continue to checkwww.austintexas.gov/covid-testinfofor updates.If you are experiencingsymptoms of COVID-19and are unable to get a test, continue to self-isolate for at least 10 days since symptom onset and at least 1 day following the resolution of fever and improvement of other symptoms.

COVID-19 Hotel Facility:

For additional COVID-19 information and updates, visitwww.AustinTexas.gov/COVID19.

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APH Provides Update on COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination Sites - AustinTexas.gov

3 things to know:

Vaccination pace improves; weather may change that

Uptick in active cases but trends still good

Overall pandemic metrics look encouraging

After falling then flattening following a late January surge, Minnesotas COVID-19 vaccination counts ended the workweek on a rebound as overall pandemic trends remain encouraging.

Here are Minnesotas current COVID-19 statistics:

6,412 deaths (eight new)

477,287 positive cases (1,001 new), 463,454 off isolation (97 percent)

7.1 million tests, 3.4 million Minnesotans tested (about 59 percent of the population)

13.1 percent of Minnesotans vaccinated with at least one dose

The state Health Department on Friday reported about 40,000 new vaccinations, a significant jump that helped push the seven-day average to levels seen in early February. Officials noted that Minnesotas now put more than 1 million doses into arms.

About 13.1 percent of Minnesotans had received at least one dose as of Wednesday, with about 5.2 percent completely vaccinated. Roughly 39 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older have received at least one shot.

State public health leaders have emphasized over the past weeks that the relatively low flow of vaccine supplies from the federal government is the main problem holding back the pace of vaccinations.

Despite Fridays rebounding vaccination numbers, the Health Department this week warned the cold snap gripping the nation will delay vaccine shipments to Minnesota, potentially depressing vaccination counts in the short-term.

The department said about half of the 85,000 or so doses expected this week will not arrive in time as expected. The state has already postponed appointments at two community vaccination sites set for Thursday and Friday.

While Fridays vaccination numbers were positive, Minnesota at the current pace would only be able to vaccinate about 80 percent of adults by sometime in September. Getting it done by summer would require the state to administer 40,000 to 50,000 shots per day, or more.

Minnesotas currently ranked 20th among states in doses administered per 100,000 people, according to data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vaccination questions aside, Minnesotas COVID-19 numbers show the state on a steady, positive path, with key pandemic metrics continuing to improve. Known, active cases ticked above 7,000, but the overall trend is solid, hovering around late September levels.

The seven-day hospital admissions trend for people with COVID-19 has also receded to September levels.

There were 282 people with COVID-19 in Minnesota hospitals as of Thursday. It was a second consecutive day of hospitalizations below 300, the first time thats happened since the fall; 59 people needed intensive care.

Eight reported deaths on Friday raised Minnesotas toll to 6,412. Among those whove died, about 63 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.

The seven-day rolling average for deaths is down to seven deaths per day, the lowest since September.

The states recorded 477,287 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 1,001 reported Friday. About 97 percent of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point they no longer need to be isolated.

The trends offer reasons to feel encouraged, enough so that Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday proclaimed were on our way to ending the pandemic as he OKd reopening secondary schools, starting Monday. Were beating this thing.

State health officials continue to monitor new virus strains circulating in the United States, which may be more contagious. Walz and other officials have warned that they could lead to an increase in cases.

Kris Ehresmann, the states infectious disease director, reaffirmed those concerns on Tuesday, noting that Minnesotas now confirmed 40 cases of the U.K. strain here. We want to make sure were not giving a foothold to these variants.

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told MPR News on Thursday that the variants are very concerning and its unclear whether they evade immunity from vaccination or natural protection.

People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the states largest number of confirmed cases more than 90,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 47,000 among people ages 20 to 24.

The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 37,000 total cases among those ages 15 to 19 since the pandemic began.

Although less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry youth and young adults will spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.

People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they dont have symptoms.

Regionally, most parts of Minnesota are down significantly from the late November, early December spike as well as a January blip.

There has been an uptick in cases in northwestern Minnesota recently, though its unclear why just yet.

In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has hit communities of color disproportionately hard in both cases and deaths. Thats been especially true for Minnesotans of Hispanic descent for much of the pandemic.

Even as new case counts continue to fall from their late November, early December peaks, the data shows Latino people continue to be hit hard.

Distrust of the government, together with deeply rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to boost testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their personal information may be used to deport them.

Last week, Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm acknowledged the need to ensure that vaccination opportunities be spread equitably.

Malcolm said the state will release data soon regarding vaccinations, race and ethnicity. Officials say theyre trying to improve the quality of data. Per state law, it's been shared voluntarily, and so may be inconsistent.

Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at theHealth Department website.

The city of Minneapolis has lifted its ban on bar counter seating just in time for the weekend.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the decision was based on public health data, showing a decrease in COVID-19 cases in the city.

Bars in the city must still require reservations, social distancing and no more than two customers can be seated together at a bar counter.

Establishments also have to lower music volume to keep patrons from talking loudly and sitting too close together.

Last week, citing vaccine progress in the state, Gov. Tim Walz loosened some pandemic-related regulations that allow bars to be open one hour longer, until 11 p.m.

Nina Moini | MPR News

COVID drives home schooling surge as public school enrollment drops: The COVID-19 crisis is driving dramatic changes in Minnesota public school enrollments, including a drop of some 17,000 students in the past year, with families delaying kindergarten and choosing options outside the public system, the state Education Department says.

Collaboration between White Earth Nation, Mahnomen Co. leads to one of highest vaccination rates in MN: Since Minnesota began distributing coronavirus vaccines late last year, Mahnomen County in northwestern Minnesota has consistently led the pack.

Michael Osterholm on how new COVID variants could change the pandemic's trajectory: As vaccinations continue, new variants of the virus are spreading. Scientists worry that the vaccine could be less effective against these mutations and that infection rates might rise again if one of these variants becomes the dominant strain.

New vaccine tool will tell Minnesotans when they can get COVID-19 shots: The tool will alert Minnesotans of their eligibility, connect them to resources to schedule an appointment and provide information on nearby vaccination opportunities. Minnesotans will still have to make their own appointment to get a shot through a vaccine provider.

You make MPR News possible. Individual donations are behind the clarity in coverage from our reporters across the state, stories that connect us, and conversations that provide perspectives. Help ensure MPR remains a resource that brings Minnesotans together.

Donate today. A gift of $17 makes a difference.

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Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Vaccinations back on the upswing, for now - Minnesota Public Radio News

Houston Health Department to resume COVID-19 vaccinations following winter storm

February 18, 2021

UPDATE (Feb. 18) - Houston Health Department-affiliated United Memorial Medical Center COVID-19 testing sites resume normal operations on Friday, February 19. Visit HoustonEmergency.org/covid19 for details.

HOUSTON- The Houston Health Department will resume COVID-19 vaccinations this weekend with 4,784 second dose appointments on Saturday and Sunday, February 20-21.

People who received their first dose from the department during the week of January 18-23 will be contacted Friday and Saturday to schedule appointments. People who do not hear from the department by Saturday afternoon should contact the COVID-19 call center at 832-393-4220.

The department will schedule additional second and first dose appointments next week.

Area Agency on Aging WaitlistThe Houston Health Departments COVID-19 vaccine waitlist remains open for people age 65 and older, people age 60 and older with chronic health conditions, and people with disabilities.

Those who qualify may call the departments Area Agency on Aging at 832-393-4301 to leave a voicemail with their name and phone number. Calls will be returned for screening and scheduling as supply is available. People only need to leave one message.

Testing SitesHouston Health Department-affiliated COVID-19 testing sites will remain closed Friday, February 19. An announcement about reopening will be provided Friday.

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Houston Health Department to resume COVID-19 vaccinations following winter storm - City of Houston

The potential effect of COVID-19-related disruptions on HIV incidence and HIV-related mortality among men who have sex with men in the USA: a modelling study  The Lancet

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The potential effect of COVID-19-related disruptions on HIV incidence and HIV-related mortality among men who have sex with men in the USA: a...

Pfizer did not confirm the authenticity of the study document. Its lead authors are Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health for Israels health ministry, and Eric Haas, a ministry researcher. In addition, the study was carried out by a team of eight Pfizer researchers, including epidemiologists Farid Khan and John McLaughlin and the companys global medical lead for covid vaccines, David Swerdlow, an infectious disease expert previously with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The research represents the first joint report by the health ministry and Pfizer since they reached an agreement earlier this year for Israel to share vaccination data in return for a steady supply of doses.

The cooperation is part of a wider effort by Pfizer to track how its vaccine, named Comirnaty, works in large populations. The company told MIT Technology Review earlier this week that it is studying the vaccines real-world effectiveness at several locations worldwide, including Israel, and particularly looking at real-world data from Israel to understand any potential impact of the vaccine to protect against covid-19 arising from emerging variants. Pfizers vaccine, like one from Moderna, another mRNA vaccine authorized for use in the US and Europe, uses two injections of messenger RNA carrying information about the virus to train peoples immune system to recognize and combat the infection.

The new findings are broadly consistent with separate announcements in recent days from two of Israels large health organizations, Maccabi Healthcare Services and Clalit Health Services, which together care for 80% of Israelis.

On February 14, Ran Balicer, chief of innovation and research at Clalit, the largest Israeli HMO, said that evidence collected on 1.2 million members shows unequivocally that Pfizers coronavirus vaccine is extremely effective in the real world a week after the second dose.

Other analyses suggest that serious infections and deaths have fallen among older Israelis, who got the vaccine first, but not among those younger than 44 who have not been vaccinated.

The Israeli report describes observations made during three weeks in January and February when researchers were able to compare health records of unvaccinated people and people who had gotten their second shot more than a week before. They then compared the groups for five covid-19 outcomes: infection, symptoms, hospitalizations, critical hospitalization, and death. The unpublished study says the vaccine was around 93% effective in preventing symptomatic covid-19. Pfizer and its partner, the German biotechnology firm BioNTech, had found 95% effectiveness in their clinical trials carried out in 2020. The country-wide study was also able to show that hospitalizations and deaths dropped by similar amounts in the vaccinated group.

Because Israel tests people fairly comprehensively, the researchers were also able to estimate that the vaccine was 89.4% effective in preventing any detectable infection at all, including asymptomatic infections.

That finding, which is new, suggests that the vaccine could strongly suppress transmission of the virus between people and could help bring the outbreak to an end, a possibility Pfizer and the Israeli researchers say they are closely watching. Israel provides a unique opportunity to observe the nation-wide impact of an increasing prevalence of immunity on Sars-Cov-2 transmission, the authors wrote. Eric Topol, a doctor at Scripps Research in California, who reviewed the document, says that the blocking of infections here speaks to the vaccines impact on asymptomatic transmission, which weve been unsure about.

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A leaked report shows Pfizers vaccine is conquering covid-19 in its largest real-world test - MIT Technology Review

New evidence from China is affirming what epidemiologists have long suspected: The coronavirus likely began spreading unnoticed around the Wuhan area in November 2019, before it exploded in multiple different locations throughout the city in December.

Chinese authorities have identified 174 confirmed Covid-19 cases around the city from December 2019, said World Health Organization researchers, enough to suggest there were many more mild, asymptomatic or otherwise undetected cases than previously thought.

Many of the 174 cases had no known connection to the market that was initially considered the source of the outbreak, according to information gathered by WHO investigators during the four-week mission to China to examine the origins of the virus. Chinese authorities declined to give the WHO team raw data on these cases and potential earlier ones, team members said.

In examining 13 genetic sequences of the virus from December, Chinese authorities found similar sequences among those linked to the market, but slight differences in those of people without any link to it, according to the WHO investigators. The two sets likely began to diverge between mid-November and early December, but could possibly indicate infections as far back as September, said Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist on the WHO team.

This, and other evidence, suggest the coronavirus might have jumped to humans sometime during or shortly before the second half of November, she said, sickening too few people to attract attention until it led to an explosive outbreak in Wuhan. By December, the virus was spreading much more widely, both among people who had a link to the market, as well as others with no tie.

Read more from the original source:

Covid-19 Was Spreading in China Before First Confirmed Cases, Fresh Evidence Suggests - The Wall Street Journal

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) On Friday, 10 On Your Side met with Gov. Ralph Northam while he was at Fort Monroe in Hampton.

10 On Your Sides Andy Fox asked Northam some of the pressing questions, including why it took so long to launch a statewide vaccination registration system, and why some health districts still dont have directors during a pandemic.

And finally, the question that many Americans are also wondering: When can the masks come off?

There are 10 healthdistricts in Virginiawhere the director isforcedto dodouble duty and manage multiple departments.That includes Dr.Demetria Lindsay,who isdistrict health director for Virginia Beach and Norfolk.

There are nine other directors just like Lindsay. Hampton and Newport News share a district health director, as do Portsmouth and the Western Tidewater Health District, which covers 1,500 square miles.

This pandemicis the likes we have never seen in decades,so we have been stretched thin, the governor said when 10 On Your Side inquired about the shortage of directors.

Some critics argue everything appears thin,from vaccinations to leadership at the top of some health districts.

We asked thegovernor why,during the worst global health crisis of our lifetime, do we have so many health districts without their own director? Does it look like we are not prepared?

Well,wevemade a lot ofmodifications. Wearein a very good place now compared to a year ago. We still have alot of work to do, Northam acknowledged.

And why donthealth districts,especially larger urbanones, havetheir own leadership?

The governor did not give a why when asked by 10 On Your Side.

10 On Your Side also pressed Northamabout therocky start to the statewide pre-registration vaccination website that crashed the morning it was launched. People in droves complained to WAVY.com.

As the site crashed, those residents also couldnt get their answers because Virginialaunched a help hotlinethe day after they launched the pre-registrationsite.

What about those issues?

We have had over300,000who havesuccessfully enrolled,and wehave transferred information from those who haveenrolledpreviouslythroughthehealthdepartmentinto the new system, Northam said.

So, is therelight at the end of the long, dark COVID-19 tunnel?

We havebeen at this a year. Numbersshowwe are moving in the right direction.Our positivity rates are going down, our number of vaccinations are going up, he said.

What about thisquestion: When does he think the masks can comeoff?

Hopefully, byearlyor mid-summer, we willhave folksvaccinatedand getto the herd immunity that we need to put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror, he said.

But when will we be able to not wear masks anymore?

As theGovernor walkedaway to the next meeting, he declined to say.

Ill call you and let you know, Andy.In themeantime,keep it on.he told Andy Fox.

Read more:

Gov. Northam takes questions on COVID-19 issues including about when he thinks masks can come off - WAVY.com

CODOGNO, Italy (Reuters) - A year ago, Laura Ricevuti and Annalisa Malara, both doctors at Codogno hospital in Italy, had a hunch that something was different about a patient in the intensive care ward.

Their decision to take matters into their own hands wound up triggering a national emergency - they had identified the first case of COVID-19 in the area that would become Europes first lockdown zone.

A previously healthy 38-year-old man, now known as Mattia, his first name, or patient one, had gone to the hospital with a high fever, cough and shortness of breath on Feb. 18, 2020. He refused to be admitted so was given antibiotics and went home.

He returned that evening in worse shape and was put on oxygen. Two days later, Mattias wife told doctors that a few weeks earlier he had gone to dinner with a colleague who had been in China.

But Mattia did not fit national criteria for mandatory coronavirus testing because he had not been in China personally.

I had to explain many times why I wanted to perform it (a COVID swab) anyway, said Malara, 39.

Doctor Malara and myself decided to break protocol, Ricevuti recalled. They performed the nasal swab and sent it to a lab in Milan.

At 9:30 p.m. the phone rang. The test was positive.

We couldnt believe it. We thought this was a far away problem that had to do with China, but it was already here with us, and not just from that February 20th but probably from much earlier, Ricevuti, 44, said.

In the days that followed, Codogno, a town of 15,000 residents, became the capital of the first red zone in Europe to be locked down.

In the beginning I hoped - we all hoped - that the virus would be limited to a few people, said Malara. But after a few hours a lot of people came to the emergency room with the same symptoms and after a few days it was clear that it had spread into the population.

Since then 95,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Italy, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world.

Both women are still treating COVID-19 patients.

This is our mission. We cannot really retreat, Ricevuti said. Day-by-day we go forward, facing the difficulties and the changes that life presents us ... you need a lot of physical and mental strength.

Additional reporting by Emily Roe, Eleanor Biles and Philip Pullella in Rome; Writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Janet Lawrence

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Italian doctors remember night that ushered in Europe's first COVID-19 lockdown - Reuters