Booster Clinic on Tuesday, May 24 at the Civic Center, register HERE!
COVID-19 Vaccine: Safe, Effective, FreeThe COVID-19 vaccines continue to be remarkably effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death. CDC recommends everyone ages 5 and older get a COVID-19 vaccine to help protect against COVID-19. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for individuals age 5 and older while Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for ages 18 and up.
Vaccine InformationFor information about the vaccine, safety, clinics, FAQs, and more:
Where Can I Make an Appointment?
Onondaga County Clinic Details:
After receiving your vaccine, pleaseregister for v-safe, a smartphone-based tool that provides personalized health check-ins so you can quickly tell CDC if you have any side effects or report side effects through the CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
Primary Series and Booster Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines
Two doses of Moderna (28 days apart); booster 5 months after second dose OR
Single dose of Johnson & Johnson (J&J); booster 2 months after single dose
Booster 3 months after your third dose of Pfizer (ages 12+) or Moderna (ages 18+), or 2 months after your second dose of J&J vaccine (ages 18+).
Consult with your healthcare provider for further guidance.
Booster DosesA COVID-19 booster shot is an additional dose of vaccine to help maintain a level of immunity for longer. CDC advises people to get the same booster as their initial vaccine but allows people to mix and match due to availability or preference. Learn more here about boosters and see the chart below for more details (click image for full-size version).
Second Booster Dose: As of March 29, 2022, a second booster is recommended for certain people. This second booster dose (Pfizer or Moderna vaccine only) is given at least 4 months after the first booster. Those who are eligible include:
Learn More Vaccine Q&A Flyer ENGLISH | ARABIC | SPANISH | NEPALESE | SOMALI | SWAHILI New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Program CDC COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ Pfizer Vaccine Moderna Vaccine Janssen/Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
The profound health and economic impact of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine during its first year of rollout in the US is described in detail in a new study in the peer-reviewedJournal of Medical Economics.
It is estimated that in 2021 the vaccine, the most widely used against COVID-19 in the US, prevented 8.7 million symptomatic cases of the virus, as well as 690,000 hospitalizations and more than 110,000 deaths.
The vaccine is also credited with saving more than $30 billion in healthcare costs and over $40 billion in lost productivity.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine to become available in the US and, according to estimates from the US public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control, was given to almost six in ten citizens who were fully vaccinated in 2021.
The studys authors all of whom received funding from Pfizer, either as direct employees, consultants or employees of firms paid by Pfizer used a model, real-world and trial data to estimate how many symptomatic COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths would have occurred that year if the vaccine had not been available.
They also estimated how much these cases would have cost the healthcare system and the wider economy.
Data fed into the model included information on the numbers vaccinated, the efficacy of the vaccine in different age groups, as well as the probability of catching COVID-19, developing symptoms and being hospitalised.
The effects of long COVID were also taken into account, as were the number of working days likely to have been lost due to short-term illness and the economic cost of premature deaths.
The results not only led to health benefits for millions of people, but also an estimated $30.4 billion of savings in healthcare costs and $43.7 billion of savings in productivity losses.
The analyses show that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine contributed substantial public health impact in the US in 2021, and had a deep effect on the trajectory of the pandemic. It was estimated to prevent millions of COVID-19 symptomatic cases, thousands of hospitalisations and deaths, and generated billions in societal economic value in the US in 2021, says researcher Manuela Di Fusco, of Pfizers health economics and outcomes research team.
She adds that the results, highlight the opportunity to continue widespread vaccination uptake to prevent COVID-19 related disease and generate societal benefits.
The research team lists several limitations of the study, which they say could have led to their figures being an underestimate. These include not factoring in the potential of the vaccine to reduce transmission, the severity of cases and the overall impact of long COVID.
They also acknowledge their results cant be generalized to other COVID-19 vaccine brands, indications and populations not specifically analyzed. Moreover, the model excluded the impact of the Omicron variant which emerged in the US at the end of the study period.
Reference: Di Fusco M, Marczell K, Deger KA, et al. Public health impact of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2) in the first year of rollout in the United States. J. Med. Econ.2022;25(1):605-617. doi: 10.1080/13696998.2022.2071427.
This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.
Shahidsales S, Aledavood SA, Joudi M, Molaie F, Esmaily H, Javadinia SA. COVID-19 in cancer patients may be presented by atypical symptoms and higher mortality rate, a case-controlled study from Iran. Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2021;4(5): e1378.
CAS Google Scholar
Taghizadeh-Hesary F, Porouhan P, Soroosh D, Peyroshabany B, Javadinia SA. COVID-19 in cancer and non-cancer patients. Int J Cancer Manag. 2021;14: e110907.
Article Google Scholar
Javadinia SA, Ariamanesh M, Nabavifard M, Porouhan P, PeyroShabany B, Fazilat-Panah D, et al. Multicenter study of antibody seroprevalence against COVID-19 in patients presenting to iranian cancer centers after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer Invest. 2022;40(2):11523.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Su F. COVID-19 and cirrhosis: a combination we must strive to prevent. Gastroenterology. 2021;161(5):13713.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Marjot T, Moon AM, Cook JA, Abd-Elsalam S, Aloman C, Armstrong MJ, et al. Outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with chronic liver disease: an international registry study. J Hepatol. 2021;74(3):56777.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Iavarone M, DAmbrosio R, Soria A, Triolo M, Pugliese N, Del Poggio P, et al. High rates of 30-day mortality in patients with cirrhosis and COVID-19. J Hepatol. 2020;73(5):106371.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Ioannou GN, Liang PS, Locke E, Green P, Berry K, OHare AM, et al. Cirrhosis and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in US veterans: risk of infection, hospitalization, ventilation, and mortality. Hepatology. 2021;74(1):32235.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Ge J, Pletcher MJ, Lai JC, Harper JR, Chute CG, Haendel MA. Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: a national COVID cohort collaborative study. Gastroenterology. 2021;161(5):1487-501.e5.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Moon AM, Webb GJ, Aloman C, Armstrong MJ, Cargill T, Dhanasekaran R, et al. High mortality rates for SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with pre-existing chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: preliminary results from an international registry. J Hepatol. 2020;73(3):7058.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Fix OK, Blumberg EA, Chang KM, Chu J, Chung RT, Goacher EK, et al. American association for the study of liver diseases expert panel consensus statement: vaccines to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 infection in patients with liver disease. Hepatology. 2021;74(2):104964.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Cornberg M, Buti M, Eberhardt CS, Grossi PA, Shouval D. EASL position paper on the use of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with chronic liver diseases, hepatobiliary cancer and liver transplant recipients. J Hepatol. 2021;74(4):94451.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Ruether DF, Schaub GM, Duengelhoef PM, Haag F, Brehm TT, Fathi A, et al. SARS-CoV2-specific humoral and T-cell immune response after second vaccination in liver cirrhosis and transplant patients. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022;20(1):162-72.e9.
CAS Article Google Scholar
John BV, Deng Y, Scheinberg A, Mahmud N, Taddei TH, Kaplan D, et al. Association of BNT162b2 mRNA and mRNA-1273 vaccines with COVID-19 infection and hospitalization among patients with cirrhosis. JAMA Intern Med. 2021;181(10):130614.
CAS Article Google Scholar
John BV, Deng Y, Schwartz KB, Taddei TH, Kaplan DE, Martin P, et al. Postvaccination COVID-19 infection is associated with reduced mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Hepatology. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.32337.
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Mahmud N, Chapin SE, Kaplan DE, Serper M. Identifying patients at highest risk of remaining unvaccinated against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in a large veterans health administration cohort. Liver Transpl. 2021;27(11):16658.
Article Google Scholar
Lazarus JV, Ratzan SC, Palayew A, Gostin LO, Larson HJ, Rabin K, et al. A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Nat Med. 2021;27(2):2258.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Liu R, Zhang Y, Nicholas S, Leng A, Maitland E, Wang J. COVID-19 vaccination willingness among chinese adults under the free vaccination policy. Vaccines (Basel). 2021;9(3):292.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Marjot T, Webb GJ, Barritt AS, Gins P, Lohse AW, Moon AM, et al. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with liver disease: responding to the next big question. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021;6(3):1568.
Article Google Scholar
Cao Z, Liu Y, Cai M, Xu Y, Xiang X, Zhao G, et al. The use of NACSELD and EASL-CLIF classification systems of ACLF in the prediction of prognosis in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2020;115(12):202635.
Article Google Scholar
Cui X, Wang P, Wei Z. Emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as of June 2021. Drug Discov Ther. 2021;15(4):2224.
CAS Article Google Scholar
90% of Chinese people vaccinated against COVID-19. Aviliable at http://en.nhc.gov.cn/2022-01/17/c_85646.html. Accessed on 5 Feb, 2022; published online.
Shroff H, Satapathy SK, Crawford JM, Todd NJ, VanWagner LB. Liver injury following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: a multicenter case series. J Hepatol. 2022;76(1):2114.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Bril F. Autoimmune hepatitis developing after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine: one or even several swallows do not make a summer. J Hepatol. 2021;75(5):12567.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Cao Z, Gui H, Sheng Z, Xin H, Xie Q. Letter to the editor: exacerbation of autoimmune hepatitis after COVID-19 vaccination. Hepatology. 2022;75(3):7579.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Ai J, Wang J, Liu D, Xiang H, Guo Y, Lv J, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in patients with chronic liver diseases (CHESS-NMCID 2101): a multicenter study. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2021.12.022.
Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Wang J, Hou Z, Liu J, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (CHESS2101): a multicenter study. J Hepatol. 2021;75(2):43941.
CAS Article Google Scholar
He T, Zhou Y, Xu P, Ling N, Chen M, Huang T, et al. Safety and antibody response to inactivated COVID-19 vaccine in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Liver Int. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.15173.
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Singh S, Khan A. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 among patients with preexisting liver disease in the united states: a multicenter research network study. Gastroenterology. 2020;159(2):768-71.e3.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Bajaj JS, Garcia-Tsao G, Biggins SW, Kamath PS, Wong F, McGeorge S, et al. Comparison of mortality risk in patients with cirrhosis and COVID-19 compared with patients with cirrhosis alone and COVID-19 alone: multicentre matched cohort. Gut. 2021;70(3):5316.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Sarin SK, Choudhury A, Lau GK, Zheng MH, Ji D, Abd-Elsalam S, et al. Pre-existing liver disease is associated with poor outcome in patients with SARS CoV2 infection; the APCOLIS Study (APASL COVID-19 Liver Injury Spectrum Study). Hepatol Int. 2020;14(5):690700.
Article Google Scholar
Wu J, Li Q, Silver Tarimo C, Wang M, Gu J, Wei W, et al. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among chinese population: a large-scale national study. Front Immunol. 2021;12: 781161.
Article Google Scholar
Velardo F, Watson V, Arwidson P, Alla F, Luchini S, Schwarzinger M, et al. Regional differences in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in December 2020: a natural experiment in the french working-age population. Vaccines. 2021;9(11):1364.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Valckx S, Crvecoeur J, Verelst F, Vranckx M, Hendrickx G, Hens N, et al. Individual factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in between and during pandemic waves (July-December 2020). Vaccine. 2022;40(1):15161.
CAS Article Google Scholar
Joudi M, Moradi Binabaj M, Porouhan P, PeyroShabany B, Tabasi M, Fazilat-Panah D, et al. A cohort study on the immunogenicity and safety of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (BBIBP-CorV) in patients with breast cancer; does trastuzumab interfere with the outcome? Front Endocrinol. 2022;13:798975. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.798975.
Article Google Scholar
The national average indicates that about 50% of deaths were preventable.
May 16, 2022, 6:10 PM
5 min read
COVID-19 vaccines could have prevented at least 318,000 virus-related deaths between January 2021 and April 2022, a new analysis found.
The analysis used real-world data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The New York Times and was done by researchers from Brown School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Microsoft AI for Health.
Their findings suggest that at least "every second person" who died from COVID since vaccines became available might have been saved by getting the shot.
"At a time when many in the U.S. have given up on vaccinations, these numbers are a stark reminder of the effectiveness of vaccines in fighting this pandemic," said Stefanie Friedhoff, associate professor of the practice in health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health, and a co-author of the analysis. "We must continue to invest in getting more Americans vaccinated and boosted to save more lives."
Although the national average indicated that approximately 50% of deaths were preventable, researchers said there were large differences among states -- ranging from 25% to 74% vaccine-preventable deaths.
People receive COVID-19 vaccines at a mass vaccination site at Lumen Field Event Center in Seattle, March 13, 2021.
West Virginia, Wyoming, Tennessee, Kentucky and Oklahoma lead the list of states where the most lives could have been saved by COVID-19 vaccines, while states with higher vaccination rates, such as Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Vermont and Hawaii, showed the lowest numbers of vaccine-preventable deaths.
"This compelling data illustrates the trajectory of 50 states with 50 different fates during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the important role of vaccines in protecting lives in each state," added Thomas Tsai, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor in health policy and management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The study comes just as the nation surpasses 1 million lives confirmed lost to COVID-19.
A medical worker prepares a syringe with a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in in Chicago, April 6, 2021.
"It is really painful as a scientist, a physician and a public health official to see the overwhelming data that showed the difference between vaccinated versus unvaccinated and boosted when it comes to hospitalizations and deaths," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser, said during an interview with CNN last week. "You have this disparity of morbidity and mortality, that staring you right in the face and it's amazing -- 1 million deaths."
To date, more than 220 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, 100 million of whom have received their first COVID-19 booster, according to CDC data. However, about 92 million eligible Americans -- about half of those currently eligible -- have yet to receive their first booster shot.
"Certainly, we could have prevented at least a few 100,000 of those deaths of people who were eligible to be vaccinated, gotten vaccinated," Fauci said. "I just wish people would look at the data and believe the data it's not made up. It's real."
In a new analysis, KFF researchers find that COVID-19 vaccination rates among nursing home staff increased by 25 percentage points nationally (63% to 88%) from when the Biden administration announced the vaccine mandate for health care workers in August 2021 to after vaccination deadlines passed in March 2022.
Researchers analyzed nursing home-level data from the federal government covering some 14,700 nursing homes, or about 97 percent of all nursing homes in the U.S. They conclude that while a number of factors may have been at work, it appears that the mandate contributed to the increases in staff vaccination rates.
As of March 2022, 12 percent of nursing homes nationally reported that 100 percent of their staff were fully vaccinated, while 39 percent reported staff vaccination rates of over 90 percent but less than 100 percent. The remaining 49 percent of nursing homes reported that fewer than 90 percent of their staff had been fully vaccinated.
While the federal mandate does not explicitly require booster shots, the national booster rate for nursing home staff was 44 percent as of March 2022.
Some nursing home operators warned that requiring health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 could contribute to staffing shortages. Data suggest that the vaccine mandate has not exacerbated such shortages, however.
KFF analysts find that 28 percent of nursing homes in the U.S. reported staffing shortages as of March 2022, down slightly from the peak in January 2022 where nearly one in every three nursing homes reported a shortage.
Staff shortages in nursing homes are a longstanding problem that predates the pandemic. In a separate analysis also released today, KFF analysts summarize federal and state standards related to nursing home staffing prior to COVID-19 and identify changes that states have made to minimum staffing requirements during the pandemic. They also examine state legislative and regulatory actions since the onset of the pandemic that directly affect worker wages and training requirements.
The Biden administration has announced plans to propose new federal minimum staffing adequacy regulations in the next year, and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine recently recommended minimum staffing levels as part of its comprehensive report on ways to improve nursing home quality.
Conditions and COVID-19 precautions in nursing homes remain a subject of heightened public interest since over one in five COVID-19 deaths during the pandemic has been in a long-term care facility. While the vaccine mandate remains in effect, litigation challenging the new rule is ongoing. Although cases in Texas and Florida were dismissed after the Supreme Court allowed the rule to take effect, cases in Missouri and Louisiana are still pending.
2 hours ago
3 hours ago
4 hours ago
5 hours ago
8 hours ago
11 hours ago
14 hours ago
19 hours ago
20 hours ago
22 hours ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
+1 day ago
The original version of this story incorrectly stated the vaccinated mother's name was Chelsea Lexington, rather than Chelsea from the city of Lexington. The story has been corrected to reflect this.
The nonprofit and nonpartisan Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky is reminding mothers-to-be in the Bluegrass State that being vaccinated against COVID-19 is one of many ways to better ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy.
Vice president for communications Ashley Brauer said all available data shows vaccination is safe for pregnant women and their children, and the goal of the campaign is to give mothers the facts they need to make an informed decision.
"The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the Kentucky Association of Health Plans have partnered on this educational campaign with a goal to really increase knowledge," said Brauer, "and really encourage pregnant women to have a conversation with their doctors so that they can learn more and decide what's right for them."
Brauer says science-based information, including a series of video testimonials from medical professionals and mothers who were vaccinated while pregnant, are available online at Healthy-KY.org.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now - or might become pregnant in the future.
In a testimonial video, vaccinated mother Chelsea (from Lexington) said she chose to be part of the campaign to encourage expectant mothers to make the same decision she did.
"Getting pregnant during a pandemic is one thing I will never forget," said Chelsea. "My decision to get the COVID-19 vaccine was about the safety and protection of my child. My advice to you would be to go and talk to your doctor to see if the shot is the right thing for you."
Katherine Kington North - director of external affairs for the Kentucky Association of Health Plans - said while the decision is ultimately up to each mother-to-be, the benefits of vaccination are clear.
"It is so important because only 31% of pregnant women in the U.S. are vaccinated for COVID," said Kington North. "And unvaccinated pregnant women are 40% more likely to develop serious complications from COVID. So empowering pregnant women to have a deeper conversation about the vaccine."
When given to a pregnant woman, the COVID-19 vaccine works in the muscle where the vaccine is injected, and does not cross to the baby directly. But antibodies are received through the placenta or through breast milk after birth, providing some protection to the baby against the novel coronavirus during the first six months of life.
South Dakota is among the states hardest hit by the lack of baby formula in stores. There is debate about the underlying factors, but one health expert said there are steps new parents can take in the meantime.
Supply-chain disruptions and a recent product recall have been connected to the empty store shelves parents have encountered.
Dr. Esther Chung, a pediatrician at the University of Washington, said panic buys are also at play, and stores are having a hard time keeping up with demand. She cautioned some people might try to stretch the formula they have by diluting it, and strongly advised against it.
"We would say that's not safe," Chung stated. "Particularly for young infants, because it wouldn't give them the proper nutrition, and it could cause health problems."
Chung pointed out a possible solution is to look for alternative brands sold under a store's name, with ingredients often similar to name brands. According to Datasembly, South Dakota had an out-of-stock rate of more than 50% in late April.
Other experts suggest calling your pediatrician for recommendations on available products. Industry officials noted smaller stores and pharmacies might have more consistent supplies. And Chung added for older infants, parents can get a little creative with pured food.
"The other thing that people have tried is taking pured foods that they've made at home and put them in little ice-cube trays" Chung suggested. "That way, they can freeze these little mini-meals and pull them out for later use."
She stressed it is still important for parents to follow pediatric guidelines in not introducing solid food to babies until they're four to six months old. She also discouraged trying to buy formula products through eBay or similar resale platforms, citing safety concerns.
Nurses from across Wisconsin converged on the state Capitol building Thursday, as part of a rally demanding fairer wages and safer staffing ratios as the pandemic continues.
A report from the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) indicates medical facilities across the state are struggling to fill vacant health care positions, as the strain from the COVID-19 pandemic has driven nurses out of the health care industry.
Carolyn Miller, a registered nurse from Eau Claire, said at a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday, the issues plaguing the health care system affect workers at every level.
"Radiology techs, lab technicians, CNAs, unit clerks, EMTs and paramedics," Miller outlined. "All jobs and livelihoods have been slashed in the name of for-profit health care and without regard to patient outcome."
Thursday's event was part of a national series of protests organized under the banner of the National Nurses March, which culminated with a separate march on Congress in the nation's capital. Among other demands, participating nurses are pushing hospitals to ensure fair pay, increased safety standards for health care workers and better caregiver-to-patient ratios.
According to the WHA report, Wisconsin's population is steadily aging, and the health care demand the aging population creates will persist for at least the next two decades.
Adina Sharafinski, a registered nurse who specializes in hospice and end-of-life care, said she has had to endure grueling work conditions at prior jobs to ensure her patients were cared for.
"All of us have one thing in common: you guys are all going to come and see me someday," Sharafinski noted. "There is no avoiding it. And every single one of you deserves to die in peace, in dignity and in comfort."
The report said in 2015, Wisconsin had no counties with more than 40% of the population over age 60. By 2040, about one-fifth of Wisconsin's 72 counties will cross the threshold.
Miller added the pandemic exposed long-standing issues within the American health care system, and contended it needs to be reformed to ensure nurses and other front line medical workers have safer and fairer working standards.
"We lack so much infrastructure, and we aren't heard," Miller observed. "It is time for us to be respected, and it is time for administrators to sit down, stop talking and let us have what we need to do our jobs."
According to the state's Department of Health Services, nearly 90% of hospital beds are currently in use, and COVID-19 hospitalizations are charting upward for the first time since the Omicron surge peaked mid-January.
Coloradans will have more protections against so-called surprise medical bills after the General Assembly passed House Bill 1284.
Adam Fox, interim executive director for the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, said patients were being billed even after their insurance company had paid for services.
In many cases they were being charged, often for thousands of dollars, for procedures performed by team members who were working at an in-network hospital, but were not in-network providers.
"Providers can be out-of-network at an in-network facility," said Fox. "And that's what creates this mess that consumers were running into, before these bills were passed."
Patients have often been billed for the difference, or balance, between what the insurer covered and the total bill, which can include costly services performed by out-of-network providers such as radiologists or other specialists.
HB 1284 aligns Colorado state law with the recently passed federal "No Surprises Act."
Fox said the vast majority of Coloradans should have protections against surprise billing after the measure is signed by Gov. Jared Polis.
Under the new law, if a health provider wants to ask a patient to consent to out-of-network care, at a higher cost, they have to provide paperwork at least 72 hours in advance. Fox added that you don't have to sign a waiver in order to receive the care you've already scheduled.
"If you are presented paperwork that is trying to get you to consent to out-of-network care," said Fox, "you are not obligated to sign that."
Fox said Coloradans also will have more robust protections in place against being charged for out-of-network services if they ever have to visit an emergency room.
"Unless somebody is truly stabilized after an emergency, and able to be transferred with non-medical transit and able to also consent to out-of-network care," said Fox, "then they can't be balanced billed, period."
Why do I have to complete a CAPTCHA?
Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property.
If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware.
If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices.
Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Firefox Add-ons Store.
With the potential for a fall and winter surge in COVID-19 infections and variants following Omicron in circulation, now is not the time to let your guard down, said Dr. Carol Epling, executive director of Duke Employee Occupational Health & Wellness (EOHW).
Staying up to date on vaccines, including boosters, is among the most effective ways to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, or death as a result of an unpredictable virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended asecond COVID-19 boosterfor certain people.
While the CDC rates thecommunity level of COVID-19 as low for Durham County, COVID-19 cases in North Carolina have been slowly rising since March with17,092 new casesin the first week of May. That mirrors the national picture, as case counts haverisen across the countrywith an average of 78,238 new cases per day.
The pandemic is not yet over, Epling said. We are still seeing levels of COVID circulating. We are still seeing hospitalized patients, although fortunately lower in numbers. Things are better, thanks mainly to vaccinations and the immunity thats built up in some communities. But its not over yet.
Working@Duke talked with Dr. Epling about boosters, masks and how we can stay safe moving forward.
The boosters are simply an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine meant to energize the antibodies already in a vaccinated persons immune system.
The idea for the booster is to provide additional stimulation of your immune system, to wake it up again, Epling said. The reason were getting these doses is that theyre showing to be quite effective to prevent severe symptoms, hospitalizations and death.
Epling explained that so far, the COVID-19 vaccine formulas that became available in late 2020 and early 2021 and are still used in the first and second rounds of boosters are still effective in preventing severe illness in people who contract the newest variants of COVID-19.
Thesecond booster is availableto anyone 50-years-or-older, anyone 12-or-older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, and anyone who got a primary dose and a booster of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Epling encourages anyone who falls into those categories even those with a healthy immune system to strongly consider getting the second booster, as long as its been four months since they got their first booster.
She said thesecond boosteris especially important for people who have chronic medical conditions that could increase the risk of facing severe illness from COVID-19, and for people who are planning activities such as traveling or attending events with large numbers of people which could increase the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Epling said that getting the second booster a few weeks ahead of a trip or large event will help ensure your immune system is ready to fight off any potential infection.
When it comes to the second booster, you need to think about your own personal risk, whats right for you and the best timing for you given what may be coming up in your life, Epling said.
Epling said worries about what could happen with variants in the fall shouldnt preventsomeones decision to get a second booster now.
Theres probably no need to wait that long, Epling said. If youre eligible now, its a long time until the fall. We hope that in the fall, there will be a new version of the vaccine that will give us a boost thats more specific to the most recent circulating strains. Thats the hope. So I would expect were all going to be looking at another round of boosters when theres a new vaccine product available to us.
Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 should still consider getting a second booster.
Epling said that, even if a bout with COVID was recent within the past few weeks or months getting a second booster can still be beneficial. Community members need to be sure theyre out of theCDC-recommended 10-day isolation periodbefore getting the second booster. Ultimately, Epling said, decisions about if and when someone should get the second booster are best made in consultation with a regular health care provider.
If you become eligible, but youve faced a COVID illness, what I recommend is that a person talk with their health care provider to really think together about their personal health condition, risk factors, and what theyre thinking of doing in terms of activities over the coming months, Epling said.
Epling said that COVID-19 boosters seem to provide their best antibody boost for around three or fourmonths, meaning its likely that people who may be particularly vulnerable to severe infections will need to get boosters again in the future.
As new strains emerge, its possible that the current vaccines will need to be refined in order to provide effective protection, Epling said.
As we move into the fall, we may have new versions of boosters which target newer strains of COVID, she said. There will be additional doses of the COVID vaccine that well be needing to consider, we just dont know what they are just yet.
Duke students, staff and faculty members who are eligible for the second COVID-19 booster can get the Pfizer booster at no cost at several Duke locations. Walk-ins are available Monday through Friday at Duke Clinic 1J and on Fridays at Duke Raleigh Hospital. Boosters are available with an appointmenton Wednesdays and Thursdays at the newly-opened Duke vaccination clinic at 1400 Morreene Rd. in Durham.
Find more information on vaccination clinic locations or to make an appointment, visitDukes COVID-19 vaccination website.
While masking regulations have been relaxed in many situations, Epling said there are certain situations when its still wise to mask up.
She singled out air travel, public transportation and any situation where large gatherings of people congregate in crowded and poorly ventilated spaces as instances where wearing a mask is smart.
When were in small places with crowds of individuals, like on buses, trains, airplanes, or in the airport when youre boarding, theres poor airflow and youre right beside everybody, Epling said. Its a good idea to mask at that point.
She pointed out that its important to respect peoples decision to wear a mask. People who are immunocompromised or otherwise vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19, or people who have close contact with vulnerable loved ones, often choose to wear masks. Likewise, people who are showing symptoms, or who may have been exposed, often choose to wear masks to protect those around them.
You just dont ever know why someone is choosing to wear a mask, Epling said. It could be for their own protection, or it could be for your protection. So we need to give them the respect, and even gratitude, for what theyre doing.
Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographsthroughour story idea formor writeworking@duke.edu.
The City of Detroit now offers COVID-19 Test to Treat program
The City of Detroit is partnering with the State of Michigan to expand services to treat residents with COVID-19. Detroiters who test positive for COVID-19 at a city testing site can be evaluated and receive antiviral medication. The services are free.
Providing the Test to Treat program is directly in line with our goal of ensuring that Detroiters have easy access to all of the life-saving COVID-19 tools available to keep them safe and protected from severe illness or hospitalization, said Denise Fair Razo, Detroit Health Departments Chief Public Health Officer. Test to Treat is a free, one-stop-shop that will continue to help keep Detroiters safe.
The Test to Treatprogram provides residents with a fast and easy way to get lifesaving treatment for COVID-19. In this program, people can get tested at Test to Treat sites across the nation. If they test positive and medication is appropriate, they can receive antiviral pills at the visit. If other treatments are needed, referrals will be made to local partners. Oral medications are 90% effective at preventing severe illness due to COVID-19 but are only effective if treatment begins within five days of illness onset.
Understanding available treatment options to manage COVID-19 if you test positive is important in preventing symptoms from getting worse, said Dr. Robert Dunne, Detroit Health Department Acting Medical Director. This is one more tool in helping us reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths by quickly getting people the treatment they need.
The Test to Treat program is currently available at:
Appointments only by calling 313-230-0505.
The Test to Treat is a nationwide program. Find other Test to Treat locationshere.
For more information about COVID-19 including testing and vaccination sites in Detroit, call 313-876-4444 or detroitmi.gov/health
