ALBANY Nearly 80,000 of the states original COVID-19 Excelsior passes are set to expire on June 30for e-certificates received after March 1, prompting the state Department of Health to encourage those vaccinated in New York to obtain the latest version of the app Excelsior Pass Plus.
Many of the original electronic passes issued over the past year have already expired, although the state no longer mandates that restaurants or entertainment venues require proof of vaccination to enter. In fact, requiring someone to provide a coronavirus vaccination record is so rare that it's unclear why the state is continuing to promote the Excelsior app.
One of the exceptions is the state Capitol and Legislative Office Building in Albany, where visitors still must show a proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter. But that policy has its caveats, as security officers will allow someone with an expired Excelsior app which could mean the person never received a booster shot to enter the government complex.
According to the health department, even as vaccination mandates are waning, there are no plans for the "Plus Pass" to be discontinued. They noted it also can be utilized outside of the state. As of March 1, 732,748 upgraded versions of the pass have been obtained in New York.
But roughly 20 states, all with Republican governors, have passed laws or issued executive orders prohibiting requiring someone to show proof of vaccination. In other states where the policies are allowed, some restaurants, bars and entertainment venues have continued to require patrons to show proof of vaccination to enter, although the number of businesses doing that are dwindling.
A representative for the Office of General Services, which evaluates COVID-19 restrictions for the Capitol complex in conjunction with other state offices, declined to directly respond to a question about whether the agency plans to stop requiring visitors to show proof of vaccination to get inside. The policy includes allowing visitors only to enter the Capitol or LOB through the Empire State Plaza concourse, with entrances on State Street and Washington Avenue remaining closed to visitors.
Since former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration launched the Excelsior Pass initiative last year, more than 10.8 million passes have been issued, including over 3.9 million plus passes. The original passes were only valid for a 180-day period before they were extended to a 365-day pass.
There are no major differences between the original pass and the latest version.
Individuals dont need a booster shot to obtain the "Pass Plus," which can be obtained by anyone who has had an initial completed vaccination series that's on file in the New York State Immunization Information System.
Despite receiving vaccines and booster shots, breakthrough infections still occur. Masks are still required to be worn on most public transportation across New York but not on airlines and in some in-state facilities.In a written statement, a representative for the state Department of Health said, "The state continues to urge New Yorkers to retrieve their Excelsior Pass Plus through ongoing public outreach including Excelsior Pass push notifications and social media efforts."
Local
By Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) A Massachusetts businessman convicted of fraudulently seeking more than $13 million in federal coronavirus pandemic relief loans has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.
Elijah Majak Buoi, 40, of Winchester, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $2 million and forfeiture of $2 million by a Boston federal court judge Thursday.
Buoi was convicted by a jury of four counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution in February.
Prosecutors said Buoi submitted six loan applications through the Paycheck Protection Program but misrepresented the number of employees and payroll expenses for his startup company, Sosuda Tech.
He also submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms to support his applications and was able to obtain a $2 million loan before he was arrested in June 2020.
Buois lawyer didnt respond to an email seeking comment Friday but said after the February trial that his client had been misled by a bank loan officer and made a good faith mistake in completing the tax forms.
The loan program was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act that allowed qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive forgivable loans to cover payroll, mortgages, rent, and utilities.
Prosecutors also said Friday that another Massachusetts resident was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for his involvement in a separate set of pandemic relief-related schemes.
William Cordor, 27, of Leicester, was ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution by a Worcester federal court judge on Thursday.
Cordor pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and four counts of aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors say Cordor attempted to file numerous false claims for unemployment in Nevada using stolen identities and fraudulently obtained COVID-19 loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
ITHACA, N.Y. Its anything but pleasant, but researchers from Cornell University say checking for COVID-19 using deep nostril swabs is the best way to test for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
More specifically, scientists found that nasopharyngeal swabs (where healthcare workers insert a swab far inside the nose) are more effective at detecting COVID than both saliva tests and swabs going just inside the nostril or under the tongue. Additionally, the study also notes detection rates were lower across the board among asymptomatic patients.
The study addressed the very important issue of identifying a sample type that would allow reliable detection of the virus, without significantly compromising the sensitivity of detection, says lead study author Dr. Diego Diel, associate professor in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences and director of the virology laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center, in a university release.
To reach these conclusions, the team at Cornell gained access to samples from patients in Tompkins County, New York through a collaboration with Dr. Elizabeth Plocharczyk from the Cayuga Medical Center. In all, they used four distinct sample types: sublingual swabs (under the tongue), nasopharyngeal swabs, anterior nares swabs (front of the nostril), and saliva. They collected samples from symptomatic, asymptomatic, and post-symptomatic individuals.
A comparison of the different samples revealed that nasopharyngeal samples provided the best rate of detection (92-100%). This result isnt all that shocking, considering the coronavirus replicates in the nasal turbinate, or the tissue structures in the uppermost nose area.
Front of the nostril swabs and saliva tests displayed slightly lower detection rates (92-96%) among symptomatic patients but detection rates were notably lower for these tests among asymptomatic patients (75-92%). Meanwhile, sublingual swabs proved the least accurate, with detection rates of only 40 to 60 percent among symptomatic patients and 25 to 42 percent among asymptomatic patients.
Across all considered test types, its easiest to identify COVID-19 when a patient is symptomatic (92-100% detection rate), but somewhat more difficult to detect in asymptomatic patients (75-96% detection rate). Once a patient fully recovers from COVID-19 symptoms (post-symptomatic), detection becomes much tougher.
Researchers also looked into infectivity, or the amount of infectious viral particles excreted in each of the sample types and from different patients. Sure enough, the most infectious samples came from symptomatic patients. Less than a third of the specimens from asymptomatic patients were infectious. Finally, study authors report they were unable to isolate any trace of the infectious virus from post-symptomatic patient samples.
We were surprised at the relatively short period in which infectious virus was detected, Prof. Diel adds. The data is aligned with current CDC guidelines and their decision to decrease patient isolation periods from an initial 14-day period to 10 and ultimately to five.
This study served as the foundation for the Cornell COVID-19 surveillance program testing labs and confirmed the use of anterior nares specimens as the specimen of choice, given its reasonable sensitivity and ease of collection, he concludes.
The findings appear in the journal Microbiology Spectrum.
A KC-46 Pegasus lands at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, in preparation for the Wings Over Columbus 2022 Airshow, March 24, 2022. (US Air Force/Senior Airman Jake Jacobsen)
SEATTLE: Boeings KC-46 tanker has seen a new surge of interest amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Russias invasion of Ukraine, and the company expects to announce a new international customer for the aircraft as early as the end of 2022, a Boeing official said.
All told, the company expects to sell up to 42 KC-46 tankers in addition to its current backlog, said Mike Hafer, Boeings senior manager for KC-46 business development.
Theres several countries that have always been lukewarm, that have now said, Hey, what does your line look like? he told reporters during a visit to Boeings military delivery center in Tukwila, Wash. Breaking Defense accepted airfare and hotel accommodations from Boeing as a part of the trip.
A lot of especially NATO countries are doubling some of their defense expenditures, which has increased the interest in all types of capabilities, all types of Boeing products, he said. Weve seen that replicate itself here [in the KC-46 program] as well. Russian aggression has stimulated business. But its not what I wanted to stimulate business.
Hafer added that the most imminent sale has been in the pipeline since before Russias invasion of Ukraine.
RELATED: Air Force backtracks, now says its paying for KC-46 panoramic camera fix
The COVID-19 pandemic has also increased interest in the KC-46, particularly among international militaries who are interested in using the aircraft primarily as a cargo freighterto transport supplies or respond to humanitarian contingencies.
Since early 2020, a total of six international militaries have approached Boeing about the KC-46 tanker, including some who have enquired about a freighter version without refueling gear, Hafer said. Boeing has no plans to create such a variant, said Hafer, who added that he steers potential customers to buy the KC-46 as currently configured.
The KC-46 program has been a costly and technically challenging endeavor for Boeing, and one that has left it lagging behind its closest competitor the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport in the realm of international sales.
While the MRTT has been sold to Australia, France, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea and NATO, among other pending deals, the KC-46 has only logged two international customers: Japan, which has signed on to buy a total of four tankers, and Israel, which has received US government approval to buy up to eight KC-46s.
Meanwhile, Boeing has racked up more than $5 billion in cost overruns on the program, which it is contractually obligated to pay for out of pocket. And although the Air Force recently approved the KC-46 to refuel 97 percent of US military aircraft, it will not be fully operational until 2024 at earliest.
However, Boeing is still likely to come out ahead on total sales due to the large volume of the US Air Force program of record, which includes 179 KC-46s. The Air Force is currently considering whether to buy additional KC-46s or open a competition for a so-called KC-Y or bridge tanker that would continue to replace the services legacy tanker force.
RELATED: US KC-46 tankers operating on NATOs eastern front
In May, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service could instead continue to buy the KC-46, and that a KC-Y competition is not as certain as officials previously believed. That could add as many 160 KC-46s to Boeings backlog.
However, Rep. Jerry Carl, R-Ala., plans to submit an amendment to the fiscal 2023 defense policy bill that would force the Air Force to hold a KC-Y competition, Politico reported earlier this week. That could open the door for US sales of the MRTT, which would be manufactured and assembled by Lockheed Martin in Alabama and Georgia.
FILE - This undated, colorized electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, indicated in yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, indicated in blue/pink, cultured in the lab. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Thursday, April 21, 2022, scientists reported a U.K. patient with a severely weakened immune system had COVID-19 for almost a year and a half, underscoring the importance of protecting vulnerable people from the coronavirus. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)
I have spent what seems like the last few decades wearing a mask, being careful about handwashing, avoiding crowds when possible. I have been vaccinated and boosted and all but screamed to the heavens to keep me safe from COVID-19. Then, one day I went to a store and forgot my mask. This occurred long after masks were no longer required, so I figured: What could a quick unmasked trip in the store hurt?
Yep, you guessed it. Three days later, I woke up with a headache that made me feel as though my head was going to explode. This was followed by the greatest bout of exhaustion Ive ever felt. All I wanted to do was sleep.
Its times like this that I find myself reevaluating my life and its goals goals which now are simply to make it from today to tomorrow without sleeping through 20 of the 24 hours in a day. If it werent for my birds and dogs, Id have no reason to get up and, quite frankly, dont know if I would.
COVID has a way of bringing you down to reality if, by any chance, you thought you could still conquer life in your old age. At least, thats what it did to me. I was just recovering from heart issues when COVID struck. All the progress Id made disappeared in seconds. I went right back to feeling like a total invalid. There were days when it felt as though my whole body needed more rest than there were hours in the day.
Surprisingly, my dogs didnt mind this so long as they got fed and got their treats. After that, they were very happy to climb back in bed with me and spend the day sleeping in the sunshine. I looked at them and noted how they did not try to fight the naps but instead just eased right into them. They are apparently much more able to listen to their bodies and do what their bodies want than I am. If it is quiet and there is sun and a soft bed well, they clearly feel no shame in taking full advantage of that. Humans, on the other hand, tend to feel guilty about being lazy, even if that laziness is caused by illness. No matter how I tried, I could not shake the feeling that my dogs handled life way better than I did or that my parents and grandparents were looking at me and shaking their heads mournfully at what a wimp Id become. They would have never given in to the sleepiness, even if it meant working in a mental fog.
All my dogs are rescues. This means they have learned how to sway with the punches life throws and come back up swinging, ready to challenge life to be better. And for them, it got a lot better. They live in a home with regular meals, soft beds they are welcomed to use and treats on a regular basis. They get love and affection from any and all who enter my house, including my parrots, who routinely throw their food on the floor to watch the dogs eat it. Or at least attempt to eat it. The look on my dogs faces when they have a mouthful of birdseed they dont know what to do with is priceless.
As I continue on the healing end of things oh God, I hope this is the healing end of things I realize that my rescue dogs are my greatest teachers on how to handle what old age is throwing at me. Eat a lot, sleep a lot in the sun and dont get excited unless you actually hear the treat bag being opened.
I have the distinct impression that if I simply followed these rules of a rescued dog, life would seem more pleasant and joyful. Not knowing what will happen tomorrow turns out to be a good thing. Assuming that meals will be on time and the pillows will always be soft seems an excellent way of maintaining a decent outlook on life.
If you have never had a rescue dog in your home, you dont know what true resilience is and how little it takes to actually make them happy. Its a good lesson for all of us as we continue to crawl through the morass of a life chased by COVID-19. Dont sweat it. It doesnt help if you do.
Elise Patkotak is an Alaska columnist and author. Her book Coming Into the City is available at AlaskaBooksandCalendars.com and at local bookstores.
The views expressed here are the writers and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in Utah and the rest of the country, Summit County is one of five places in the state with a high coronavirus transmission risk.
The county in May was the first to have its designation increased from low to medium as cases reached the double digits nearly every day. As of Friday, 15 of Utahs 29 counties were rated as having medium to high transmission risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions COVID database. Salt Lake and Tooele counties were in the top risk category with Summit County on Thursday with Grand and San Juan counties also receiving a high designation on Friday.
There were 250 confirmed COVID cases in the county between May 16 and May 31, according to the Summit County Health Departments COVID dashboard. The data also shows 116 additional cases 103 of which were reported in the unvaccinated population between June 1 and June 7.
Phil Bondurant, the countys health director, speculated the higher number of unvaccinated cases may be because those who are sick are likely experiencing severe symptoms, which leads to more COVID tests being administered.
He said individuals who are vaccinated often report mild, allergy-like symptoms that some people dont associate with the virus. In certain cases, an individual may choose to self-isolate or take other precautions, but those who dont suspect theyre sick may continue the cycle of spread and contribute to the uptick, Bondurant said.
Cases have been increasing on the West Coast over the last few months and he compared it to the rise in cases the East Coast experienced in late April. However, Bondurant said, the case numbers locally may be skewed because at-home testing kits can be inaccurate and its hard for health officials to gauge who is using them. Summit County is also testing at higher rates than the rest of Utah following the closure of state testing sites at the end of March.
The good news is hospitalization rates, which are considered an important metric in the fight against COVID, appear to be stable and indicate the countys situation is still manageable, the health director said. There have been nine hospitalizations with one person in the intensive care unit in the last 30 days and one COVID-related death has been reported since March, according to the Health Department.
Approximately 47% of people living in Summit County who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have received a booster shot as of Friday. Close to 88% of residents have completed their vaccination series and 100% have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Bondurant said several factors play a role in why the county hasnt been able to reach the 50% mark. First, many people may be waiting to receive their booster in the fall when they anticipate theyll have the highest level of protection against COVID or they consider themselves at a lower risk during the summer. Others may expect theyre going to catch the virus either way and dont want to go through the inconvenience of the shot, according to the health director.
Bondurant admits hed like to see the booster number higher and said the Health Department is continuing messaging about the importance of the vaccine, while also recognizing its a personal choice.
Its likely a COVID vaccine similar to a seasonal flu shot, or one combining the two, will be offered sometime soon, he said. Until then, the CDC recommends a second booster for adults over 50 and people 12 and older who are moderately immunocompromised.
Everybody is aware and everyone knows what COVID is and how to protect yourself, the risks, those different things, Bondurant said. People know where [the booster and vaccine is] available so at this point we continue to take those appointments and help people make the decision thats best for them and their families.
With summer here and tourists likely on their way, Summit County health officials urge Parkites and visitors to follow precautions to limit their exposure to COVID. Individuals who are unsure if they have contracted the virus are also encouraged to get tested. Testing is available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays in Coalville and Tuesdays in Kamas as well as 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays in Park City.
The member countries of the World Trade Organization on Friday reached a limited agreement to ease intellectual property protections on coronavirus vaccines, aiming to boost the supply for poorer countries.
The measure would make it easier for manufacturers in developing countries to override patents on the vaccines and export them for sale in other lower-income countries.
But the agreement, the outgrowth of an ambitious patent waiver proposed nearly two years ago, is arriving far too late and is far too modest in scope to meaningfully affect global vaccine supply, experts said.
This doesnt really move us beyond the status quo in any significant way, said Mihir Mankad, a researcher who advises Doctors Without Borders in the United States on global health advocacy and policy issues.
A key limitation is timing. Production of Covid-19 vaccines by the major drug companies that invented them is now far outpacing demand. The primary obstacles suppressing vaccination rates in lower-income countries are challenges with distribution and getting shots in arms, not with supply itself.
The agreement does not apply to coronavirus tests and treatments, which experts said were the more urgent priorities at this point in the pandemic, and could see their global supply increased significantly by a relaxing of intellectual property protections.
In October 2020, with wealthy countries locking up orders for the Covid vaccines that would soon become available, India and South Africa drafted an ambitious waiver of intellectual property rights under the W.T.O.s agreement on trade-related intellectual property rights, known as TRIPS.
A year ago, with poorer countries still facing severe vaccine shortages, the Biden administration came out in support of the proposal. The move was a significant departure from decades of U.S.-led opposition to easing intellectual property rules on medicines.
Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative, heralded Fridays deal as a concrete and meaningful outcome to get more safe and effective vaccines to those who need it most.
But experts said the proposal was weakened significantly over months of negotiations. They said they did not expect the final agreement to encourage manufacturers in developing countries to start producing Covid vaccines, in part because it does not address the trade secrets and manufacturing know-how that many producers would need.
The drug industry, which argues that robust intellectual property protections are crucial to innovation, has fiercely opposed the effort under the W.T.O. throughout the negotiations.
The industrys main lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, sharply criticized Fridays agreement. Stephen J. Ubl, the groups head, called it one in a series of political stunts and said it wont help protect people against the virus. He noted that the industry had already produced more than 13 billion Covid vaccine doses.
James Love, who leads Knowledge Ecology International, a nonprofit focused on intellectual property in medicine, said Fridays agreement falls far short of a patent waiver, as the proposal before the W.T.O. was originally envisioned.
It may read to some people like its some magical new flexibility, he said. But the agreement is limited to taking the most awkward way to do exports and making it less awkward, he said.
Fridays agreement clarifies and expands existing mechanisms allowing for compulsory licensing, in which governments override intellectual property restrictions to allow manufacture of medications, typically in emergency situations. But compulsory licensing has not been easy in the past.
Its just politically really, really difficult, and the countries that do try to do it are faced with a lot of pressure, said Melissa Barber, a researcher who studies access to medicines at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Maybe this will make it easier, but I think those power dynamics arent going to change.
Trudeau tweeted "I'll be following public health guidelines and isolating. I feel okay, but that's because I got my shots. So, if you haven't, get vaccinated -- and if you can, get boosted. Let's protect our healthcare system, each other, and ourselves."
Trudeau also tested positive in January, as did two of his children.
US President Joe Biden is not considered to have been in close contact with Trudeau, a White House official said, despite the fact the leaders had a bilateral meeting Thursday in Los Angeles. Neither wore masks, and they were sitting in close proximity.
CNN's Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.
Cyclist Aleksandr Vlasov was leading the Tour de Suisse before a positive coronavirus test forced him to abandon the race a fate shared by many other riders. Vlasov is seen here in March, at the Paris-Nice race. Francois Mori/AP hide caption
Cyclist Aleksandr Vlasov was leading the Tour de Suisse before a positive coronavirus test forced him to abandon the race a fate shared by many other riders. Vlasov is seen here in March, at the Paris-Nice race.
Two races that are supposed to be tune-up events for the Tour de France are instead raising worries about COVID-19's impact on cycling's biggest event, with dozens of riders forced to withdraw because of positive tests.
"It's just crazy," Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas said at the Tour de Suisse on Friday. "Kind of thought all of this was behind us now."
Around 30 riders abandoned the Tour de Suisse on Friday alone, including race leader Aleksandr Vlasov of the Bora-Hansgrohe team who was coming off of winning Thursday's stage. Several teams withdrew their entire squads.
The sudden exits were the talk of the bus ride to the start of Friday's stage, Thomas said: "This rider out; that rider out; this team; whole team; another whole team."
"Despite all precautions, corona has crept into the team again," Dutch team Jumbo-Visma, which withdrew Thursday, said via Twitter.
In addition to Vlasov, the departures include some of cycling's most well-known names, such as Adam Yates, Rui Costa, Marc Hirschi, Rigoberto Urn and Tom Pidcock.
"It's a bloodbath!" the French news outlet Ouest France declared, as news of the positive tests spread.
"Everyone has the jitters," sports director Philippe Mauduit of the team Groupama-FDJ told Ouest France. His team is crossing its fingers, he said, adding that he's now seeing more people wear masks.
Thomas said he'll keep riding in the Tour de Suisse, but it's not a certainty that the race will finish as planned: Organizers said they are "monitoring further developments and will assess the situation together again on Saturday morning."
The abrupt exits are another reminder that the pandemic isn't over and similar scenes are playing out on a smaller scale at the Tour of Slovenia, where defending Tour de France champion Tadej Pogaar won Friday's stage despite losing two teammates to positive coronavirus tests.
The 2022 Tour de France is slated to begin in Copenhagen on July 1, further expanding the footprint of a race that sprawls from the north to the south of France in this year's route.
At least one team official has called for the organizers of the French race to reimpose a tight bubble and other COVID-19 protocols, according to Cycling Weekly.
France has reported the most COVID-19 cases in Europe, with more than 30 million. This month, transmission rates have been rising across Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, although the agency notes that death rates have continued to fall.
You may have heard of several side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. But appendicitis probably isnt one of them.
While appendicitis has been documented after the COVID-19 vaccine, its still unclear whether its an adverse vaccine effect. Research into this topic has returned mixed results.
Below, well cover more about appendicitis, its potential connection with the COVID-19 vaccine, and its known COVID-19 vaccine side effects. Keep reading to discover more.
Appendicitis happens when your appendix becomes inflamed. Your appendix is a hollow pouch attached to your large intestine. Its in the lower right-hand area of your abdomen.
When the opening of the appendix becomes blocked, it can lead to appendicitis. Some things that can cause blockages include:
Sometimes the exact cause of appendicitis is unknown. Regardless, blocking the opening of the appendix leads to a buildup of bacteria and inflammation. This causes symptoms like:
Appendicitis is a medical emergency. If its not treated promptly, the appendix can burst, causing severe and potentially life threatening complications like peritonitis and abscess formation.
Appendicitis has been reported after COVID-19 vaccination. One possible mechanism for this could be enlarged or swollen lymph nodes in the body following vaccination.
Research on this topic is conflicting. Some data indicate appendicitis may be a potential adverse effect of vaccination, while others note that the risk of appendicitis after vaccination is no higher than in the general population.
Appendicitis was noted in the large-scale clinical trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Out of 43,448 trial participants, 8 in the vaccine group and 4 in the placebo group experienced appendicitis.
These cases were considered unrelated to vaccination. This is because they didnt happen more frequently than is expected within the general population.
A 2021 study looked into the adverse effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in over 1.7 million people in Israel. Researchers used a matched group of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals for each adverse effect.
The adverse effect with the strongest association with vaccination was myocarditis. But researchers also found an increased risk of swollen lymph nodes and appendicitis.
Another 2021 study looked into appendicitis after COVID-19 vaccination using a World Health Organization (WHO) database. At the time of the study, researchers estimated that 1.82 billion vaccine doses had been given worldwide.
From the database, researchers were able to find 334 unique reports of appendicitis after vaccination. Most of these were associated with mRNA vaccines and occurred 0 to 4 days after vaccination.
The researchers found that the number of appendicitis cases after vaccination was slightly higher than expected. They concluded that appendicitis was a possible adverse effect of COVID-19 vaccination but that more research was needed.
A 2021 study disagreed with the findings above. In this study, researchers in the United States evaluated vaccine safety data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink for 23 adverse effects.
A total of 11,845,128 mRNA vaccine doses given to 6.2 million people were included in the study. Researchers found that the incidence of appendicitis in people getting an mRNA vaccine was not significantly higher than expected.
A 2022 study looked into appendicitis and COVID-19 vaccination in a large cohort of people in Denmark. Researchers compared over 4 million people vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine to an unvaccinated reference group.
It was found that appendicitis occurred at about 8 cases per 100,000 vaccinated people. When this rate was compared with the rate of appendicitis in the unvaccinated reference group, no significant difference was found.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are:
These side effects are a sign that your immune system is building a response to the vaccine. Vaccine side effects typically go away on their own within a few days. In the meantime, you can help to ease them by:
If your side effects dont go away within a few days or begin to get worse, contact a doctor.
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19. As such, the CDC currently recommends COVID-19 vaccines and boosters for everyone ages 5 and older.
Vaccination is particularly essential for people at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness. This includes, but isnt limited to, individuals who are immunocompromised and those with medical conditions like:
Getting immunity through vaccination is also safer than getting immunity by having COVID-19. Contracting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can cause severe illness in some people and lead to long-term health issues, including long COVID.
While any treatment, medication, or vaccine comes with risks, the risks of serious complications due to COVID-19 are extremely low. This includes appendicitis.
For example, according to the CDC, anaphylaxis occurs in only 5 out of every 1 million vaccine doses. Further, out of over 55 million vaccine doses given to people under age 18, only 647 cases of myocarditis have been confirmed.
While appendicitis has been reported following the COVID-19 vaccine, its not entirely clear whether its an actual adverse effect of vaccination. Research results have been mixed on this topic, and more research is needed overall.
Regardless, appendicitis after vaccination has happened very rarely.
Overall, the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the potential risks. If you have concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, discuss them with a doctor.
