Public Health Expert Calls To Repair Distrust In A COVID-19 Vaccine

Aug 01 2020

Scientists are in a sprint to find a vaccine that could stamp out the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, said on Friday he's "cautiously optimistic" that a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be ready for distribution in early 2021. But it's unclear how many people will actually get a vaccine if it's approved. Only about half of Americans said in May that they were willing to get a coronavirus vaccine.

Source: NPR

Colorado kindergarten vaccinations were up pre-pandemic, but officials worry for coming year

Aug 01 2020

More kindergarteners in Colorado were vaccinated against measles and other contagious diseases during the school year that ended in June, but state officials are worried that progress could reverse as the pandemic continues. About 91% of kindergarten students in Colorado got the vaccine protecting against measles, mumps and rubella last school year, up from about 87% the year before, said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, during a call with reporters Friday.

Source: Denver Post

A Covid-19 vaccine, amazingly, is close. Why am I so worried?

Jul 31 2020

A mere six months after identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus as the cause of Covid-19, scientists are on the precipice of a having a vaccine to fight it. Moderna and the National Institutes of Health recently announced the start of a Phase 3 clinical trial, joining several others in a constructive rivalry that could save millions of lives. It’s a truly impressive a feat and a testament to the power of basic and applied medical sciences. Under normal circumstances, vaccine approvals are measured in decades. Milestones that once took months or years have been achieved in days or weeks. If these efforts are successful, the Covid-19 vaccine could take a place alongside the Apollo missions as one of history’s greatest scientific achievements.

Source: Stat News

A coronavirus vaccine may require boosters – here's what that means

Jul 31 2020

In the global race to contain the coronavirus pandemic, there is hopeful news on the vaccine front, with a number of potential candidates being developed and some promising early results. Based on what we know so far, it currently seems likely that most potential vaccines designed to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 will require boosters, perhaps regularly. Why is this?

Source: Medical Xpress

The curious link between kids’ birthdays and their getting the flu vaccine

Jul 31 2020

Getting the influenza vaccine will be even more important for adults and children this fall because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Flu experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that “it’s likely that flu viruses and the virus that causes Covid-19 will both be spreading. In this context, getting a flu vaccine will be more important than ever.” That’s because hospitalizations for influenza can stress hospital capacity even without a pandemic. But in a disturbing trend, rates of routine childhood vaccination appear to have fallen dramatically in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s understandable: Americans have been asked to stay home and not go to their doctors’ offices unless it was absolutely necessary, though at the same time the CDC, physician groups, and medical practices urged parents to bring in their children to be vaccinated, something that can be done safely during the pandemic.

Source: Stat News

The Color of COVID: Will Vaccine Trials Reflect America’s Diversity?

Jul 31 2020

When U.S. scientists launch the first large-scale clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines this summer, Antonio Cisneros wants to make sure people like him are included. Cisneros, who is 34 and Hispanic, is part of the first wave of an expected 1.5 million volunteers willing to get the shots to help determine whether leading vaccine candidates can thwart the virus that sparked a deadly pandemic. “If I am asked to participate, I will,” said Cisneros, a Los Angeles cinematographer who has signed up for two large vaccine trial registries. “It seems part of our duty.”

Source: KHN

The Vaccine Mom Answers Questions About Vaccines

Jul 31 2020

Should parents space out their child’s vaccinations? Are vaccine-preventable diseases like measles or meningitis even in the U.S. any more? Should you take your children for well-check and vaccine visits during the pandemic? The Vaccine Mom, a molecular biologist and mother of two, answers her friend’s questions about vaccines...

Source: Shot of Prevention

Rural Colorado Shows How Vaccination Messaging Is A Science In Itself

Jul 31 2020

A vaccine against the virus behind COVID-19 offers the only certain return to normalcy. Even so, misinformation and conspiracy theories abound – and a vaccine hasn’t even been developed yet. It’s an issue people have been trying to combat for other vaccines that do exist. Colorado researchers are taking an interesting approach to bridge the gap. Back in February at the Durango Public Library, Dr. Mandy Dempsey addressed a room of 14 future vaccine ambassadors.

Source: KUNC

Beware of seductive narratives about the coronavirus

Jul 30 2020

We are caught in what students of narratives have shown to be the most seductive of them all: the fall and rise story. Once we were in the Garden of Eden; then we sinned and were kicked out and we are leading a miserable life; one day we will again bask in all the lost glories of heaven. Billions of people have found much comfort in some version of this Biblical story. Once there was a community in which we were all brothers and sisters; then came feudalism and capitalism and it enslaved us; come the revolution, we shall rebuild a stateless wonder, a new community. Billions of followers of Karl Marx believed this tale. Thousands of novels, movies and TV shows draw on the same arc.

Source: The Hill

Vaccine distribution will be ‘joint venture’ between CDC and Pentagon

Jul 30 2020

Nationwide distribution of any coronavirus vaccine will be a “joint venture” between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which typically oversees vaccine allocation, and the Department of Defense, a senior administration official said today. The Department of Defense “is handling all the logistics of getting the vaccines to the right place, at the right time, in the right condition,” the official said in a call with reporters, adding that CDC will remain in charge of tracking any side effects that emerge post-vaccination and “some of the communications through the state relationships [and] the state public health organizations.”

Source: Politico