PROVIDENCE Rhode Island will soon begin hosting vaccine clinics in schools with vaccination rates of less than 20 percent, Governor Dan McKee announced on Wednesday.
In a COVID-19 briefing with Rhode Island Department of Health Interim Director Dr. Jim McDonald, Education Commissioner Anglica Infante-Green and other state leaders, McKee said school clinics will first be hosted in Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket.
We have work to do here. And we encourage and ask people to help get that work done, said McKee during a press conference in the gymnasium of the Lillian Feinstein Elementary School in Providence. We need to boost our boosters. This is a preventable, treatable disease. We know a lot more today than we did a year ago.
The Sackett Recreation Center will host a vaccine clinic on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the governor said. Theres an additional 17 school clinics scheduled in the city over the next month, said acting superintendent Javier Montaez.
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We cant predict whats going to happen, said Montaez when asked if hes concerned about a COVID-19 outbreak when schools reopen on Monday, after February break.
During the week of March 7, he said, all Providence high school students will have the opportunity to get a vaccine shot during school hours. Consent forms must be signed by a parent or guardian, Montaez said.
We dont think about polio anymore because we got vaccinated. Lets not politicize health care, said Infante-Green.
While the states mask mandate was lifted two weeks ago, Providence schools said it would keep kids masked. Infante-Green did not say when she plans on lifting the mask requirement in schools. Were focused on vaccinations right now, she said.
State data shows that 90.2 percent of all Rhode Island adults have completed their primary vaccine series, but only 45.8 percent of adults have received their booster dose.
In schools, about 48 percent of eligible students (which include children 5 and older) have completed their primary vaccination series. But each school district varies on vaccinations, such as in Woonsocket public schools, where only about 32 percent of eligible students have completed their primary vaccination series compared to Central Fallss 33 percent and Providence Public School Districts 35 percent.
At the Lillian Feinstein Elementary School, only 16 percent of eligible students have completed their primary vaccination series. The majority of the schools students (5 to 11 years old) became eligible for the vaccine on Nov. 3, 2021.
In the suburbs, the vaccination rates are much higher. In Narragansett, 70 percent of eligible students have completed their primary series, and in Barrington, 79 percent of eligible students have.
Were seeing the lag, said Infante-Green. We know our kids need to be in the classroom. We tried it the other way... This is what we need to do.
In early January, Montaez sent a letter to the districts families, pleading them to get their kids vaccinated.
Please act now. Vaccination against COVID-19 is the most important step you can take to protect your familys health, read the letter.
McDonald said a person is 55 times less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 if they are vaccinated and boosted compared to someone who has not received a shot.
This is the most well studied vaccine in the history of our planet, said McDonald, adding that he and his household are all fully vaccinated and boosted.
McKee also said Wednesday that he will be pushing vaccination clinics in places of worship and with among other community partners. He said Rhode Islanders can reach out to the governors office to coordinate a clinic.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
LAKE HALLIE (WQOW) - The COVID-19 testing and vaccination site that has been held at Jacob's Well Church for the past four months will have its last day on Saturday, February 26.
The site opened in September of 2021, becoming a hub for testing and vaccinations for the northwestern Wisconsin region.
The site operated with the help of the Eau Claire City-County Health Department, the WI Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition, Eau Claire County Emergency Management, Wisconsin National Guard, AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and the Western Wisconsin Public Health Readiness Consortium.
COVID-19 testing and vaccinations will be available at Jacob's Well on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
1. In a large cohort study, infants whose mothers received the BNT162b2 vaccine during pregnancy were not significantly more likely to be born preterm.
2. There were no significant differences in infant mortality, congenital anomalies, or infant hospitalization based on maternal vaccination status.
Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)
Study Rundown: Pregnant patients were excluded from early trials of COVID-19 vaccinations, including Pfizer-BioNTechs BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. The vaccine is now recommended and routinely administered in pregnancy in part due to early studies suggesting a high degree of safety. However, this is the first large-scale study reporting neonatal outcomes for this vaccine. Nearly 17,000 Israeli infants with prenatal vaccine exposure were compared to about 7,600 infants unexposed to vaccine. Median follow-up was about 4.5 months, with a minimum of one month. There was no association between vaccine exposure and rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, or very low birth weight. There were also no significant between-group differences in rates of all-cause infant mortality, all-cause neonatal or post-neonatal hospitalizations, or phototherapy during the study period. Infants whose mothers were vaccinated during the first trimester were not significantly more likely to have congenital malformations. Non-singleton births and stillbirths were excluded from the study, which could potentially prevent detection of some risks. The inherent limitations of observational data are difficult to avoid at this stage of COVID-19 vaccination given that pregnant women were excluded from initial preauthorization trials. However, this large cohort study provides broad and compelling evidence supporting the safety of the BNT162b2 vaccine in pregnant women with respect to infant outcomes. Providers can thus be even more confident in recommending this vaccine to pregnant patients.
Click to read the study in JAMA Pediatrics
Relevant Reading: mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy: A systematic review
In-Depth [retrospective cohort]: Data were obtained from a database including 26.7% of the Israeli population. 24,288 live births between March and September 2021 were included. Within the group unexposed to the vaccine, 2,241 infants were exposed to a maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Stabilized inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs) were used to balance the groups with respect to baseline maternal demographics, including maternal age, parity, and socioeconomic status. Rates of early preterm birth were significantly higher in the unexposed group with a risk ratio of 0.45 (95% confidence interval 0.29-0.70), though there was no significant difference in overall preterm birth. Analysis of risk of congenital anomaly was performed in a subgroup including only infants whose mothers were vaccinated in the first trimester, yielding a risk ratio of 0.69 (0.44-1.04) for vaccine exposure. In a sensitivity analysis excluding mothers who had SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, the only change in relative outcomes observed was a significantly increased risk of jaundice requiring phototherapy in vaccine-exposed infants (1.46; 1.06-2.06).
Image: PD
2022 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved. No works may be reproduced without expressed written consent from 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. Inquire about licensing here. No article should be construed as medical advice and is not intended as such by the authors or by 2 Minute Medicine, Inc.
One by one, the political talking points about the pandemic liberals are prolonging mask mandates to exert control over people, conservatives are acting with willful indifference toward their fellow men, etc. are melting away like a spring snowstorm.
As the restrictions begin to fade, this might mean that Americans are coming to their senses. However, it probably means that the battlefields of disunity are merely shifting.
Regardless, its instructive to begin reviewing the past two years, including what has to be regarded as a genuine miracle.
But first, a clarification. Were not bold enough to declare the pandemic over.
The New York Times reports that deaths remain at an average of about 2,300 per day nationwide. But the seven-day average of new cases has fallen to about 140,000, down from 164,418 in September, and hospital workers are beginning to turn their attention to more conventional ailments again.
Utah, according to Gov. Spencer Cox, will begin treating COVID-19 like any other seasonal disease on March 31. The state will transition from an emergency posture and into a manageable risk model, he said.
Other states, including California, have dropped their mask mandates. Even in liberal San Francisco, masks are no longer required indoors.
The nation may yet see another spike due to some new variant. People will get sick and die, but for years they have gotten sick and died from influenza. With luck, this new endemic stage should feature lower case counts, continued vaccine and booster shots and perhaps the development of more effective treatments.
The worst, we hope, is over.
But if global pandemics happen only once a century, the lessons from COVID-19 may never last. Just as we viewed the influenza epidemic of 1918-20 with quaint wonder, our descendants are likely to view this generation as technologically and medically backward. Then they are likely to scream about their own constitutional rights and fight against the very medicine that could cure them.
Its human nature, apparently. It happened 100 years ago. There is little reason to believe it wont happen again.
Unless, that is, the nation becomes more unified. Unless a century from now people trust their public servants and the folks who have dedicated their lives to medicine.
And yet, we suspect people today would be surprised to read what historians write about the last two years. We believe the centerpiece of that story will have to be the lightning speed in research and production terms in which effective vaccines were produced and approved for use.
The website statnews.com has labeled it a freaking miracle. That is an apt description.
If Covid vaccines had taken as long as the mumps vaccine to develop, the world would have had to face the Delta and Omicron waves with the vast majority of people on the planet armor-less against the virus that causes Covid, said writer Helen Branswell. Instead, it took just 66 days after the SARS-2 sequence was published for scientists at the NIH to begin enrolling people in a Phase 1 clinical trial of Modernas Covid vaccine.
And despite predictable problems distributing the vaccines equitably, at least 55% of the world has now been vaccinated.
Time brings perspective. In the future, the political hyperventilations of the past two years will boil away, and the real lessons will emerge. One is that science does tend to change as new data appears. The Centers for Disease Control initially said not to wear masks, then changed, then suggested heavier masks. This wasnt sinister. It was an example of being adaptive.
Another is that governments should avoid overreacting, and they should remember to hold the free exercise of religion, a constitutionally protected right, as more important than shopping. Too many jurisdictions tried to restrict church gatherings while allowing stores to remain open.
Some court decisions saved the day in that regard, including some memorable ones from the U.S. Supreme Court.
But the greatest of all lessons concerns those vaccines. It is that human beings have the potential to conquer amazing obstacles, even to fight a virus previously unknown to the world.
Whether everyone received it, and whether some people saw it as a sinister plot, will be unimportant. For many people, it kept them from getting sick and dying, and that is a miracle, indeed.
1. Engage communities to inform vaccine prioritization and planning
We are committed to getting feedback from communities, partners, organizations, businesses, and governmental entities throughout all stages of vaccine planning and implementation.
During the fall of 2020, DOH led a comprehensive engagement effort to get feedback from disproportionately impacted communities, partners, and sectors about how we should prioritize and allocate the COVID-19 vaccine. We conducted 90 interviews, focus groups, and community conversations with 568 individuals and surveyed about 18,000 people in multiple languages. Read the full report to learn more.
These engagement efforts directly informed our interim vaccine allocation and prioritization guidance. Some specific examples of how we integrated community input into vaccine prioritization:
We are continuing to integrate a pro-equity approach into vaccine allocation and distribution. This includes looking at all the different ways vaccine is distributed, including via health care systems, pharmacies, state run mass vaccination sites, community pop-up clinics, mobile clinics, local mass vaccination sites, and employer based vaccination sites. For each of these, there are opportunities to support equitable vaccine access by:
Providers who are best positioned to serve communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 include:
If you are a health care provider who serves communities who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and you are interested in enrolling to offer the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit our COVID-19 Vaccine Program Enrollment page or contact covid.vaccine@doh.wa.gov for technical assistance.
The Washington State Department of Health has an obligation to ensure equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine. We recognize that community-rooted and community-led organizations and groups are better positioned and equipped to listen, understand, and respond to the needs of their community members in the most culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate way. They are also better equipped to use a trauma-informed lens or approach to their interventions so as to not perpetuate further harm, fear, and distrust that may be exacerbated by governmental entities in times of extreme crisis, like a pandemic.
In 2020,DOH and Desautel Hege launched a new community-based outreach approach to working with community media and organizations to address inequities around COVID-19. Through this program, DOH funds community media and organizations to develop communications and perform outreach to historically excluded and underrepresented audiences. The goal is to ensure priority communities receive culturally appropriate and accessible information about COVID-19 vaccines, prevention, and safe re-opening.
Based on population health data, risk and vaccination, priority communities are identified where additional mile-deep communications can help improve health outcomes. Mile deep (as opposed to mile-wide) communications are defined as activities that go beyond traditional advertising and public education to connect deeply with a community through trusted message carriers, culturally informed communications and outreach in a way that considers access, social determinants of health, systemic racism, and historical trauma.
Community Driven Messaging Contracts
Since the fall of 2020, we have partnered with DH to support direct investments in community/ethnic media outlets and community based organizations for community-driven messaging efforts.
Community Outreach Services Contracts
Between January and April of 2021, the project contracted with 48 partners 27 paid media vendors and 21 community-based organizations.
In March 2021 the project conducted a second round of outreach to additional partners to expand the project's reach to more communities to support vaccination and prevention messaging. The second phase of implementation has expanded to 122 partners 34 paid media vendors and 88 community-based organizations.
Additionally, Washington state has the All in Washington Vaccine Equity Initiative. This initiative supports equitable vaccine access by providing funds to trusted, community-based organizations that can provide linguistically and culturally-specific vaccine education and outreach. These organizations also address access, mobility and transportation barriers. Grant funds are flexible and distributed to organizations serving regions and communities with the highest need.
For a list of recently funded organizations, please visit Vaccine Equity Initiative Grants and Grantees All In WA.
Since September 2020, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has partnered with Desautel Hege (DH) to support community-driven COVID-19 outreach & communications. This effort specifically focuses on connecting with priority communities who have been disproportionately impacted during this pandemic and experience access barriers to COVID-19 information and services. The COVID-19 Community Media Outreach Progress Report Summary, May 21, 2021 (PDF) provides an overview of these efforts as well as insights for both the project and future public health communications efforts.
Information is one of the best tools we have in this fight against COVID-19, said Gov. Jay Inslee. But not every community has equal access to information. This plan helps ensure every Washingtonian is better able to stay safe and healthy by making sure our state agencies are providing information that is culturally-relevant and accessible.
In April 2020, the Washington State Department of Health Community Engagement Task Force worked with the Governor's Office to create a COVID-19 Response Language Access Plan. This created a foundation for language access that we continue to leverage for vaccine communications, education, and outreach efforts.
The Washington State Department of Health is the lead entity for distribution and allocation of vaccines. We provide guidance to prioritize populations for vaccine. We also enroll providers as vaccinators and determine weekly allocation of doses among those providers in consultation with local public health agencies. We are committed to strengthening our own efforts as well as supporting local public health agency efforts in centering communities in vaccine outreach and access.
Overall considerations for vaccine outreach
Overall considerations for vaccine access
Community-specific tools and resources
To ensure equitable and accessible outreach, education, and implementation strategies, the Department of Health is building a COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Collaborative. The Collaborative launched in February 2021 but interested partners can join at any time. Collaborative members:
Our community engagement efforts have shown us how critical it is to lead vaccine conversations with cultural humility. For us, this means understanding that historical distrust, trauma, and broken relationships are a result of systemic inequities, racism, and medical harm many historically marginalized groups have experienced. We are developing and collecting anti-racism and trauma-informed tools, training, and resources for vaccine providers and partners. If you have resources to add and share with others, please email equity@doh.wa.gov.
Resources
Should I administer extra vaccine doses to my patients?
An additional dose is for patients who completed the initial vaccine series but didn't have a strong enough immune response. A booster dose is for patients when it's likely that their immunity after the initial vaccine series waned over time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Western States Scientific Review Workgroup recommend a booster dose for everyone 12 years and older.
CDC also recommended an additional dose of mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) COVID-19 vaccines for certain immunocompromised groups. These patients may also get a booster (fourth) dose after getting the additional (third) dose.
Additional dose
People who are immunocompromised and got an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.*
See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) interim clinical considerations for a list of immunocompromising conditions.
Booster dose
People 12 years and older who got the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as their primary series.
At least five months after your second dose.**
For patients who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, at least five months after the patient's additional (third) dose.
People 18 years and older who got the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as their primary series.
At least five months after your second dose.**
*Use the same vaccine brand as the patient's initial vaccine series, if possible. If you don't have it available, the other mRNA vaccine brand may be used.
**For booster doses, patients 18 years and older can get the same or a different vaccine for their booster dose than they received for their primary series. However, people ages 17 and younger may only get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for their booster dose.
Please do not administer any doses of vaccine beyond the doses recommended by CDC, even if your patient requests it. Also, please do not administer any doses of vaccine to someone outside of the recommended age range for that vaccine or dose.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends an additional dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines only to certain immunocompromised groups, including patients who have:
You can find more information on additional doses for immunocompromised people in CDC's interim clinical considerations for COVID-19 vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup recommend a booster dose for everyone 12 years and older.
We don't know the safety or efficacy of giving someone a COVID-19 vaccine authorized or approved in the United States after they received a COVID-19 vaccine not authorized or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Although they are not authorized by the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend revaccinating patients who completed a COVID-19 vaccine series authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, CDC recommends providers offer an FDA authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine to patients who:
For more information, see the interim clinical considerations for COVID-19 vaccines.
You may have patients who completed a COVID-19 vaccine series as part of a U.S.-based clinical trial involving a COVID-19 vaccine not currently authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Do not give the patient any additional doses.
Considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing the series.
Not considered fully vaccinated.
Offer an FDA-authorized or FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine. Encourage patients to follow current prevention measures.
Check if an independent group (e.g., a data and safety monitoring board) confirmed the vaccine's efficacy.
If confirmed, your patient is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing the series. Do not give the patient any additional doses.
Not considered fully vaccinated.
Offer an FDA-authorized or FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine series. Encourage patients to follow current prevention measures.
For more information, please see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) clinical considerations for COVID-19 vaccines.
Yes, the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine is authorized for use in Washington state; however, in December 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended people choose to get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) instead of the J&J vaccine. This is due to the rare risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a condition in which a low blood platelet level interferes with the formation of blood clots, as well as the risk of Guillain-Barr Syndrome (GBS), an autoimmune disorder which can result in permanent nerve damage.
Previously, in April 2021, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) briefly paused the use of the J&J vaccine amid reports of thrombosis, but soon cleared usage with approval from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
No, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) does not recommend titer testing before vaccination
You should use the same vaccine brand to administer additional doses to immunocompromised patients. However, if you don't have the same brand available, the other mRNA vaccine brand may be used.
For booster doses, patients 18 years and older can get the same or a different vaccine brand than they received for their primary series. However, people ages 17 and younger may only get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for their booster dose because it's currently the only vaccine authorized for this age group.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended the following age groups to receive vaccine:
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are recommended over the J&J vaccine due to the rare risk of TTS (Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome), a condition in which a low blood platelet level interferes with the formation of blood clots, and GBS (Guillain-Barr Syndrome), an autoimmune disorder which can result in permanent nerve damage.
Yes. You can vaccinate people ages 5 and over with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Youth who are 5 to 17 years of age may need consent from a parent or guardian to get the vaccine, unless they are legally emancipated.
If you have questions about what you can accept as parental consent, please consult your legal counsel. If your office or organization already has guidance on this for other vaccines, you may wish to consult those as well. You can use this sample consent for minor vaccination as a starting point.
Yes, data show that COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for people who are pregnant, lactating, or planning to get pregnant. Some studies show that a vaccinated parent can even pass antibodies against COVID-19 along to their baby through pregnancy and lactation. Unvaccinated pregnant people who get COVID-19 are at increased risk of severe complications like preterm birth or stillbirth. In addition, people who get COVID-19 while pregnant are two to three times more likely to need advanced life support and a breathing tube.
You can read more about the recommendation from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and refer to resources on this list from ACOG. You can also use these talking points on reproductive health to answer patient questions.
Generally, the COVID-19 vaccines should not be given to anyone who is under the authorized age or has a history of severe allergic reactions to an ingredient or previous dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine should not be given to anyone:
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should not be given to anyone:
See the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) interim clinical considerations for COVID-19 vaccines for more information.
The COVID-19 vaccines should not be given to people with a known history of severe allergic reaction, such as anaphylaxis, to any ingredient or a previous dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.
People who have had a severe allergic reaction to other vaccines or injectable therapies may still be able to receive this vaccine. However, providers should do a risk assessment and counsel them about the potential risks. If the patient decides to get the vaccine, providers should observe them for 30 minutes to monitor for any immediate reactions. People who report having mild or childhood allergic reactions to medications or vaccines may still get the vaccine.
See the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) interim clinical considerations for COVID-19 vaccines for more information.
People who currently have COVID-19 should wait to get vaccinated until they feel better and their isolation period is finished if possible. People recently infected with COVID-19 can choose to wait up to 90 days after their illness passes before getting vaccinated.
People who were recently exposed to COVID-19 should also wait to get the vaccine until after their quarantine period, if they are able to safely quarantine away from other people. If there is a high risk they could infect others, they may be vaccinated during their quarantine period to prevent spreading the disease. Providers should take steps to ensure the environment is safe to protect others during the vaccination.
Yes, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends anyone who previously had COVID-19 to get the vaccine. A history of having COVID-19 doesn't affect the recommendation.
Yes. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) changed their recommendations on May 12, 2021. You can now administer COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines to patients without waiting 14 days.
Yes, you can still get a COVID-19 test after recently getting vaccinated. It will not affect the results of a SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification or antigen test.
No, patients do not need to reschedule their screening mammogram if they were recently vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccine may cause swollen lymph nodes, or unilateral lymphadenopathy, after administration and in some cases, it will be important to ensure further evaluation. You should:
You can read more about the recommendation from the Society of Breast Imaging.
Some research teams are focusing on the ACE2 receptor, a protein found on the surface of the cells of many species. The coronaviruss spiky protrusions allow it to bind to these receptors, like a key in a lock, and enter cells.
In 2020, a group of scientists compared the ACE2 receptors of hundreds of vertebrates, mostly mammals, with those of humans to determine which species the virus might infect. (The ACE2 receptors of birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians are not similar enough to ours to raise concern.)
The predictions have been very good so far, Harris A. Lewin, a biologist at the University of California, Davis, and an author of the study, said in an email. The scientists predicted, for instance, that white-tailed deer were at high risk for infection.
But some predictions proved entirely wrong: The paper identified farmed mink as a species of very low concern and then in April 2020 the virus raged through mink farms.
Indeed, ACE2 offers only a snapshot of susceptibility. Viral infection and immunity is much more complex than just a virus binding to a cell, Kaitlin Sawatzki, a virologist at Tufts University, said in an email.
And of the worlds nearly 6,000 mammalian species, scientists have sequenced the ACE2 receptors of just a few hundred of them, creating a biased data set. These sequenced species include model organisms used in experiments, species that carry other diseases, and charismatic zoo denizens, not necessarily the animals that people are most likely to encounter.
If a pandemic were to have arisen from a squirrel, we would be like, God, whats wrong with us? We didnt even measure the basic biology of a squirrel, Dr. Han said.
LONDON The coronavirus forced Christopher Riley, a 53-year-old with blood cancer who lives in London, to strike a balance in the pursuit of normalcy. He would grab flowers from the buckets next to the entrance of a supermarket, but keep it quick. He went to Tate Modern, but on an early weekday morning. He would cook for friends, but only a small group who had all taken Covid tests.
Those accommodations allowed Mr. Riley to maintain something of a normal life as the virus roared through Britain, even though his condition meant that his immune system was compromised.
But now, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that he was scrapping the coronavirus restrictions in England, Mr. Riley and other vulnerable people are afraid that even scaled-back activities will be too risky, leaving them further isolated even as the country opens up for most people.
Now I cant see how we can move forward into a sort of normality, he said, adding that the new approach will push him more into his house. There is nothing there to protect us.
A return to regular life was at the heart of Mr. Johnsons decision to roll back the remainder of Englands legally enforceable coronavirus restrictions, in what has been described as an effort to live with the virus. People who are infected will no longer have to isolate and most testing will no longer be free.
We must chart a course back towards normality as rapidly as possible, Mr. Johnson said during a news conference on Monday.
For Clare Dawson, that path had just been interrupted.
If there was someone walking around the streets whom you knew might kill you, would you go out? said Ms. Dawson, 41, who lives in London and has a chronic lung disease that puts her at greater risk of severe consequences from Covid-19.
Gemma Peters, the chief executive of Blood Cancer U.K., a charity that funds research into blood cancer, said that after the prime ministers announcement, its hotline was overwhelmed with calls from cancer patients asking what the new rules meant for them and whether it would be safe for them to go out.
We cant answer all the calls, Ms. Peters said. People use language like, Society doesnt care if I die, and I think that is the feeling that they are kind of collateral damage.
The British government said in a news conference that it would continue to protect the most vulnerable with targeted vaccinations and treatments, and that free tests would still be available for vulnerable people, but it acknowledged that lifting the remaining legal curbs would most likely cause a rise in cases.
Keeping free testing for the vulnerable? Thats too late, said Trishna Bharadia, 42, who has multiple sclerosis and has been largely isolating at home in Buckinghamshire, England, for the past two years. The aim should be to prevent the vulnerable from getting Covid in the first place.
Ms. Bharadia said she and her family watched Mr. Johnsons news conference on Monday in the living room from where they have watched virtual weddings, funerals, and birthday parties they havent been able to attend for the past two years.
We can only live with the virus if those protection measures continue, said Ms. Bharadia. Just because I have a health condition it doesnt mean that I matter less.
Still, the trend for fewer restrictions seems clear. On Tuesday, Scotland which is part of Britain but sets its own Covid policies also moved to roll back its legal coronavirus restrictions. Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister there, announced plans to lift mask mandates in March and said the countrys Covid certification scheme, which requires people to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test in order to attend large events, would end this month.
And the British government has also withdrawn its guidance in England for staff and students at most schools and nurseries to test twice a week, even if they do not have symptoms. Infected children, just like the adults, will also no longer be legally required to self-isolate, but will be advised to do so.
Experts warned that this could lead children who have a weak immune system or live with vulnerable family members to be excluded from school.
Ceinwen Giles, 47, who developed an immune deficiency after her cancer treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, said that her 12-year-old daughter would continue to go to school, but is anxious about the likelihood that she may be sitting next to children who might be infected.
This is how we have to live, said Ms. Giles, who is also joint chief executive of Shine Cancer Support, a charity for young adults with cancer. And no one seems to care.
In England and Wales, only 16.8 percent of people who died of Covid from October to December last year did not have a pre-existing health condition, according to the British government. For people who have a weaker immune system because of a disease or a treatment, Covid-19 can be more deadly, and vaccines often offer less protection.
Whether or not their condition forced them to take health precautions even before the pandemic, in the last two years many clinically vulnerable people have been forced into nearly total isolation, and even more so as mandates and restrictions have dropped around them. In the United States, many immuncompromised and higher-risk people have also felt left behind by the flurry of lifted restrictions.
You feel different again, said Ms. Dawson, adding that the new approach from the government had made her feel more alone in the face of the virus and forced to adopt her own precautions, stripped of the equalizing effect of rules.
Ultimately, people with health conditions understand the desire for life to return to normal, and say they are not asking for draconian restrictions.
Instead, they say that modest restrictions like mask mandates in transportation and supermarkets, and isolation requirements for infected people would make a big difference for the more vulnerable without causing a major disruption to everyone else.
The mask is just such a small thing, said Mr. Riley, 53. I cant wrap my head around how its such an issue for people.
Megan Specia contributed reporting.
Poland will remove most coronavirus restrictions from the start of next month, the government said Wednesday, citing rapidly falling numbers of new cases and patients in hospital.
Kicking in from March 1, there will be no limits on the number of customers in stores, restaurants, cultural venues and public transport. Entertainment venues like discos and nightclubs will reopen as well.
Unfortunately, [this] chapter of the pandemic is not closed yet. But we can see that the Omicron variants mortality and hospitalizations are much lower, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference, as Warsaw followed similar easing moves by other European countries in response to the relatively mild impact of the latest viral variant.
Poland recorded 20,456 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, a drop of 29 percent from a week earlier. The number of fatal cases, at 360, down 4 percent on the week.
Basic restrictions remain in force, Morawiecki said, encouraging those who have not been vaccinated yet to get a jab. Poland has so far vaccinated nearly 67% of adult population, according to latest data from the ministry of health.
Poles will still have to wear facemasks in indoor spaces as well as on public transport. Anyone with a confirmed infection will need to isolate for a week. Quarantine for people living with an infected person is also a week long unless they are vaccinated.
A weeklong quarantine has also been retained for people arriving in Poland from the Schengen visa-free travel zone unless they hold a valid vaccination certificate, are recovered from COVID-19, or produce a negative test not older than 48 hours. All visitors from outside of the Schengen area must take a test up to 24 hours before arrival or go into quarantine for a week. Testing is obligatory even for those vaccinated and those who recovered from COVID-19.
Oregon health officials reported 1,160 new coronavirus cases Wednesday and 35 deaths connected to COVID-19, along with an 18-bed drop in hospitalizations.
The decline in the number of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients statewide continues the trend of hospitalizations falling faster than anticipated by forecasts the state relies on to set some of its COVID-19 policy.
The Oregon Health Authority, which sets and repeals masking rules, used an older forecast to set March 31 as the cut-off date for lifting the public indoor mask mandate, allowing for an earlier date if hospitalizations fall to pre-omicron levels earlier than anticipated.
The data indicate hospitalizations are on track to fall to the threshold set by the state, 400 occupied beds, far sooner than the end of next month.
Since the omicron peak Jan. 27, hospitalizations have fallen an average of about 20 beds per day. Oregon is now 179 patients away from the 400 threshold.
Where the new cases are by county: Baker (2), Benton (19), Clackamas (78), Clatsop (6), Columbia (23), Coos (17), Crook (13), Curry (24), Deschutes (69), Douglas (42), Gilliam (1), Harney (3), Hood River (5), Jackson (118), Jefferson (24), Josephine (13), Klamath (11), Lake (3), Lane (87), Lincoln (14), Linn (38), Malheur (17), Marion (107), Morrow (4), Multnomah (166), Polk (27), Tillamook (12), Umatilla (22), Union (19), Wallowa (2), Wasco (26), Washington (120) and Yamhill (28).
Who died: The state did not immediately release details about those who died.
Hospitalizations: 579 people with confirmed coronavirus infections are hospitalized, down 18 from Tuesday. That includes 110 people in intensive care, up one from Tuesday.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 690,481 confirmed or presumed infections and 6,519 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 7,352,004 vaccine doses administered, fully vaccinating 2,859,242 people and partially vaccinating 295,130 people.
To see more data and trends, visit https://projects.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/
Fedor Zarkhin
503-294-7674; fzarkhin@oregonian.com
