Fauci: Children Likely to Receive COVID-19 Vaccines in Early 2022

Mar 04 2021

Children under age 12 years will "very likely" be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday. Some vaccine companies have already begun clinical trials to assess whether their shots are safe and effective in children, and the results will be available sometime this year. "If you project realistically when we'll get enough data to be able to say that elementary school children will be able to be vaccinated, I would think that would be, at the earliest, the end of the year, and very likely, the first quarter of 2022," Fauci said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Source: MedScape

Before You’re Down & Out, Get Shingles Vaccines

Mar 04 2021

It’s been a rough couple of years for me on both a physical and mental level. I suspect that I am not alone in my struggle, as we are ALL reeling from the stress caused by the pandemic. This is the tale of how my stress-suppressed immune system triggered a case of shingles that nearly ruined my holiday. In early spring 2019, I had a ski accident, tearing all the ligaments in my leg plus my knee. The accident led to months of physical therapy, a surgery and a long recovery period. As late fall arrived, it was time for my annual check-up, and so I hobbled in on my crutches and asked the provider (not my regular nurse practitioner) for a shingles vaccine. However, as flu season was coming he wisely recommended the flu vaccine and suggested I come back the next month for the shingles vaccine. He was not willing to co-administer the vaccines, much to my chagrin. I was frustrated because having been under a significant degree of physical stress, I had an inkling that I was about to become one of the 1 in 3 people who will experience a case of shingles.

Source: Shot of Prevention

Doctors work to decrease vaccine hesitancy by focusing on all the positives they offer

Mar 04 2021

COLORADO, USA — As more vaccines become available, doctors are stepping up their messaging to make sure everyone knows they’re safe and effective. Health experts across the globe view the vaccines as our way out of the pandemic. But misinformation, hesitancy, and rhetoric underselling the importance of getting vaccinated have created challenges.

Source: 9 News

No Flu Season Will Affect Next Year's Vaccine Prep

Mar 04 2021

There were minor outbreaks in Bangladesh, India, in Southeast Asia, in Western Africa, and in Europe, but that was about it. That left the WHO team with a dilemma as they developed the 2021/22 vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere: Should they keep the strains in the vaccine the same — assuming the ones in circulation before the pandemic will come back once it is over — or change it to reflect what they were seeing in small numbers around the world? The team would have preferred to have more data to guide the difficult decision, McCauley explained. But in the end, they opted to stay the course. Three of the four strains in the 2021/22 vaccine will remain the same as last year's Southern Hemisphere version. They changed just one — an H3 influenza A strain — to what was found in circulation.

Source: MedScape

Opinion: Anti-vaccine extremism is akin to domestic terrorism

Mar 04 2021

Vaccines don’t stop viruses. Vaccinations do. This common public health saying means a vaccine does no good if we can’t get it into people’s arms. Insufficient supplies, natural disasters and bureaucratic mistakes have slowed efforts, but the overall goal of vaccinating a large majority of the U.S. population may ultimately be hampered by the anti-vaccine movement unless steps are taken to limit its impact. Otherwise, America may witness more scenes like the one in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, when a mob of anti-vaccine protesters stormed Dodger Stadium, one of the nation’s largest vaccination centers.

Source: WP

Up to 18 US states haven’t prioritized Covid vaccines for homeless, study finds

Mar 04 2021

As many as 18 states in the US have not specifically prioritized the homeless community in their plans for distributing Covid-19 vaccines, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizing the population as particularly high risk when it comes to the virus, a study has found. Research conducted by the National Academy for State Health Policy, a non-partisan forum of policymakers, focused on people living in homeless shelters and found that the phased distribution plans in such states as Maryland, Illinois and Minnesota did not explicitly name that community as a priority population.

Source: The Guardian

One and Done: Why People Are Eager for Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

Mar 04 2021

In North Dakota this week, health officials are sending their first Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines to pharmacies and urgent care clinics, where people who don’t necessarily have a regular doctor can get the single jab. In Missouri, doses are going to community health centers and rural hospitals. And in North Carolina, health providers are using it to inoculate meatpacking, farm and grocery workers. Since Johnson & Johnson revealed data showing that its vaccine, while highly protective, had a slightly lower efficacy rate than the first shots produced by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, health officials have feared the new shot might be viewed by some Americans as the inferior choice.

Source: NYT

Accidentally Trashed, Thawed Or Expired: Reports Of COVID Vaccine 'Spoilage' Grow

Mar 04 2021

As the speed of COVID vaccinations picks up, so do the reports of doses going to waste. And it's more than just a handful at the end of the day because of a few appointment cancellations. Health officials are trying to address the problems that lead to waste, but without slowing down the roll out of the lifesaving vaccinations. The incidents include the 335 discarded doses in Lee County, North Carolina that were damaged in shipping, and recent problems in Tennessee, where nearly 5,000 doses went to waste in the month of February, prompting additional federal oversight.

Source: NPR

Vaccine Shipments Present a Security Challenge Worthy of a James Bond Film

Mar 04 2021

In the coming months, billions of doses of coronavirus vaccines will be dispatched via truck, plane, ship, and rail to hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies around the world. With that cargo worth tens of billions of dollars—and some individual shipments valued as high as $70 million—one thing is certain: Crooks will try to steal some of it. For freight haulers, the vaccine rollout poses “the biggest security challenge in a generation,” says Thorsten Neumann, chief executive officer of the European arm of the Transported Asset Protection Association, an industry group representing companies that carry precious goods.

Source: Bloomberg

Merck will help make Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine as rivals team up to help Biden accelerate shots

Mar 04 2021

President Biden announced Tuesday that pharmaceutical giant Merck will help make Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine — an unusual pact between fierce rivals that is among several steps intended to boost supply as Biden pushes toward having enough shots for every adult by the end of May. Biden hailed the development as an example of industry coming together for the common good, in keeping with his frequent calls for a stronger emergency footing to combat the pandemic.

Source: WP