Opinion | Speed Up Covid-19 Vaccinations and Reduce Red Tape – The New York Times

Simpler schemas are less likely to be gamed by the privileged. The C.D.C. has recommended that everyone over 65 be eligible for vaccination, and that requires nothing more than an ID or a declaration required for proof were not going to get overrun by 20-year-olds showing up pretending they are 65.

While the exact order of vaccine recipients may vary by state, most will likely put medical workers and residents of long-term care facilities first. If you want to understand how this decision is getting made, this article will help.

Life will return to normal only when society as a wholegains enough protection against the coronavirus. Once countries authorize a vaccine, theyll only be able to vaccinate a few percent of their citizens at most in the first couple months. The unvaccinated majority will still remain vulnerable to getting infected. A growing number of coronavirus vaccines are showing robust protection against becoming sick. But its also possible for people to spread the virus without even knowing theyre infected because they experience only mild symptoms or none at all. Scientists dont yet know if the vaccines also block the transmission of the coronavirus. So for the time being, even vaccinated people will need to wear masks, avoid indoor crowds, and so on. Once enough people get vaccinated, it will become very difficult for the coronavirus to find vulnerable people to infect. Depending on how quickly we as a society achieve that goal, life might start approaching something like normal by the fall 2021.

Yes, but not forever. The two vaccines that will potentially get authorized this month clearly protect people from getting sick with Covid-19. But the clinical trials that delivered these results were not designed to determine whether vaccinated people could still spread the coronavirus without developing symptoms. That remains a possibility. We know that people who are naturally infected by the coronavirus can spread it while theyre not experiencing any cough or other symptoms. Researcherswill be intensely studying this question as the vaccines roll out. In the meantime, even vaccinated people will need to think of themselves as possible spreaders.

The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is delivered as a shot in the arm, like other typical vaccines. The injection wont be any different from ones youve gotten before. Tens of thousands of people have already received the vaccines, and none of them have reported any serious health problems. But some of them have felt short-lived discomfort, including aches and flu-like symptoms that typically last a day. Its possible that people may need to plan to take a day off work or school after the second shot. While these experiences arent pleasant, they are a good sign: they are the result of your own immune system encountering the vaccine and mounting a potent response that will provide long-lasting immunity.

No. The vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer use a genetic molecule to prime the immune system. That molecule, known as mRNA, is eventually destroyed by the body. The mRNA is packaged in an oily bubble that can fuse to a cell, allowing the molecule to slip in. The cell uses the mRNA to make proteins from the coronavirus, which can stimulate the immune system. At any moment, each of our cells may contain hundreds of thousands of mRNA molecules, which they produce in order to make proteins of their own. Once those proteins are made, our cells then shred the mRNA with special enzymes. The mRNA molecules our cells make can only survive a matter of minutes. The mRNA in vaccines is engineered to withstand the cell's enzymes a bit longer, so that the cells can make extra virus proteins and prompt a stronger immune response. But the mRNA can only last for a few days at most before they are destroyed.

That doesnt mean we should ignore equity concerns, but we should address them by proactively working to provide access. As Mr. Biden emphasized in his speech on Friday, data shows that African-Americans and Hispanics the people working at low-wage jobs that keep society running and allow the rest of us to just stay at home have been suffering and dying disproportionately at younger ages. To ensure equity, we should go to those populations, rather than expecting them to compete with others to navigate the barriers weve set up a competition they are most likely to lose to those more privileged who have the time, experience and resources for jumping over such hurdles.

We can set up vaccination clinics in neighborhoods or workplaces with many African-Americans or Latinos, and set a lower age limit, say 40 or 50 the exact number can be calculated based on vaccine availability. Simple schema like grouping days or hours by the first letter of peoples last name can avoid overcrowding. Lines can be added for the elderly to help them get through more rapidly.

There is also an important technical concern about distribution. The two vaccines authorized in the United States, by Moderna and Pfizer, must be transported or kept in deep freezers or refrigerators, and used shortly after being thawed. They are transported in cumbersome containers for example, the Pfizer vaccine is shipped in boxes of 4,875 doses, divided into pizza boxes of 195 vials, all of which is topped with 50 pounds of dry ice. Under those circumstances, vaccination is most efficient if the vaccine is distributed in large numbers, inoculating people in at neighborhood locations rather than having to go back and forth in batches to meet strict eligibility priority.

For workplaces, it makes sense to vaccinate everyone whos there whos eligible, perhaps with only age as a criterion, simply because if were there, it makes sense to just roll it out rather than attempting to go back again in some future. Hospital? Yes, vaccinate everyone, perhaps only subject to an age limit. Food warehouse, or grocery store? Yep, vaccinate them all, again perhaps only with an age cutoff. Plus, many essential workers live in multigenerational households, and vaccinating them will prevent their bringing the disease home to their more vulnerable relatives.

Given all this, we need a national mobilization, as Mr. Biden called for. The National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency can be directed to set up tents, especially in poorer neighborhoods, retirement communities, public housing and parking lots. Schools many of which are closed and have parking lots and playgrounds can be turned into vaccination clinics. Drive-through vaccination spots can be opened up around the country, all public health clinics mobilized, pharmacies involved.

Health care workers are overwhelmed, and in short supply everywhere. Thats why we should mobilize everyone we can. All states should do what some have done, authorizing professionals like podiatrists, dentists, dental hygienists, veterinarians, advanced emergency medical technicians, emergency medical technicians with intramuscular epinephrine administration training and any paramedic to help administer the vaccine. We should immediately direct more funding to this effort, not just rely on volunteers who have valiantly shown up.

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Opinion | Speed Up Covid-19 Vaccinations and Reduce Red Tape - The New York Times