Vaccination and Spring Break
Top of Mind – Vaccination and Spring Break
Greetings Friends! I know it’s been a while. February was crazy busy though March holds glimmers of hope!
Vaccination
Safety
Rates of anaphylaxis as reported to VAERS/CDC in Dec/Feb were -
• 47 following Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, for a reporting rate of 4.7 cases/million doses administered, and 19 following Moderna vaccine, for a reporting rate of 2.5 cases/million doses administered
• These rates are extremely low and align with clinical trial findings
• Remember, all vaccine administration sites MUST have emergency response capabilities
• Most reactions occur shortly after vaccination
Vaccine Types
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved by the FDA Saturday. This is great news as its availability will speed up vaccination progress. Efficacy is lower for this vaccine, but it will protect the majority who receive it and will progress us towards herd immunity.
Other Vaccine Stuff
People who have a history of COVID-19 infection may only need one dose of the vaccine. Be watching for guidance from CDC.
Vaccine Questions/Concerns
“I don’t trust it.”
Safety data is being published by CDC and others regularly. Over 44 million doses have been administered, the rate of anaphylaxis is 0.00036%. Perspective – ~3% of the population is allergic to bees, which is about 10 million people. If a person allergic to bees is stung a second time, the chance of having an anaphylactic reaction is 25-65% or 2.5-6.3 million people.
“The technology is too new.”
The technology used to create the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines is not new. It’s been around for more than 10 years.
“I don’t need it. I won’t die from COVID-19 because I’m young and healthy.”
1) The ENTIRE goal of a mass vaccination program is to protect enough people so that EVERYONE is protected. We MUST reach herd immunity (70%+ of the population with immunity) to stop COVID-19 and stop the emergence of variance.
2) Even if your risk is low, by vaccinating you protect everyone around you – your parents and grandparents, people you expose without knowing it, babies, parents, teachers…
Feel free to IM any vaccine-related questions and I will build the next post around those.
Spring Break
No one wants to hear this, but now is not the time to travel for spring break. EVEN IF YOU ARE VACCINATED. But why? There are variants circulating in many parts of the country not completely covered by the vaccine. We want to stop these variants in their tracks. Traveling facilitates the spread of variants.
If you do travel, consider the following –
• Wear TWO masks in all situations involving large gatherings (airports), when you cannot avoid being in close proximity to strangers, or on conveyances (buses, trains, etc.)
• Once you arrive at your destination, stay at your destination and with those you traveled with
• Consider obtaining a negative COVID-19 test within two days of travel and once returning from travel
• Review testing requirements if traveling internationally
Cases
We’re flattening now. We really need to be under 100 cases per 100,000 people over the last 7 days. CDC considers our national activity “extremely high”. In sum, stay the course. We are making the strongest progress since the beginning of the pandemic, but indicators are showing the deceleration is slowing.
Stay safe and healthy!
Links:
• https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776557...
• https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2101765...
• https://www.statnews.com/.../new-data-shed-light-on.../
• https://www.nytimes.com/.../covid-vaccine-questions.html...
• https://www.cdc.gov/corona.../2019-ncov/travelers/index.html