The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it will roll out COVID-19 booster shots for many Americans starting in mid-September. But there's another date that many are anticipating.
As early as this coming week, according to The New York Times, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to give full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine -- the first COVID-19 vaccine expected to receive that endorsement.
The FDA's approval might seem like a minor technical move to some. But full approval of all three COVID-19 vaccines is an important step that can make a difference in reducing COVID-19 infection and mortality rates, improving health care delivery and saving lives.
Here's why:
1. The approval will empower health care professionals to address the myth of "experimental vaccines."
All three vaccines currently have what's called "emergency use authorization" (EUA), which the FDA uses as a means to quickly give people access to potentially lifesaving medicines during a national crisis. Somehow, "emergency use" has been confused with "experimental."
As physicians and epidemiologists who have treated COVID-19 patients, it's frustrating that what amounts to a rather minor, somewhat bureaucratic detail is being used by people as justification not to get a vaccine that can save their lives and the lives of the people around them. More than 358 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been safely administered in the U.S. -- and the incidence of complications as a result of the vaccines is minimal.
The good news: According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) study, three in ten unvaccinated adults say they'd be more likely to get vaccinated if the vaccines currently authorized for emergency use were to receive full approval from the FDA. So if full FDA approval is what it takes for millions of people to put away their skepticism and get vaccinated, we're all for it.
Furthermore, for those for whom FDA approval isnt the real reason but a convenient excuse, clinicians may uncover more information about what is holding individuals back from getting vaccinated.
2. Approval of the vaccines will get more kids vaccinated.
Schools across the country are open. Millions of school-age children are now learning indoors. According to another KFF study, about one-quarter of parents of kids aged 12-17 say they'll "wait and see" how the vaccine works before getting their eligible child vaccinated. One in five parents say that their child will "definitely not" get vaccinated.
A health care worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in New York, July 22, 2021.
Again, people's objections stem largely from distrust of the vaccines and concerns about side effects. To empower educators and health professionals to both counter myths surrounding side effects and confidently enact vaccine requirements in schools, it's essential that the FDA give full approval to the vaccines. While authorization may initially only apply to those 16 and over, approval could provide reassurance to parents of all children currently eligible for the shot.
3. Approval will provide us with longer-term safety data.
What's the difference between emergency use and full approval? The simple answer is that for full approval, the FDA will require an additional four months of safety data. The FDA granted the COVID-19 vaccines' emergency use authorization based on two months of safety data; with any vaccine, nearly all potential safety problems crop up almost immediately after injection, which is why the FDA deemed two months sufficient for emergency authorization. We have now accumulated at least six months of safety data about these vaccines, making them eligible for full approval.
For people with irrational fears of infertility, magnetism and other specious side effects of the vaccines, the extra data probably won't mean much. But for people who really want to know more about the true long-term consequences of the vaccines, their reported diminished effectiveness over time, and common real-life side effects such as fevers and headaches, the extra information that goes into the full approval process will be yet another way to help them overcome hesitancy and get vaccinated.
4. Approval will provide employers with greater authority to mandate vaccines.
Many employers across the country have mandated that their employees get vaccinated. A number of these mandates have been challenged in court, and so far they've been upheld as legal. But Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently noted that if the vaccines receive full FDA approval, "then the legal ability to mandate becomes a lot stronger."
No doubt many employers are waiting for full approval before enacting vaccine requirements, and the sooner they get the legal basis to do so, the better.
The idea of a workplace-based vaccine mandate may seem like a new concept, but these mandates are already common for other FDA-approved vaccines. For example, children are required to be vaccinated against diseases like measles and mumps before enrolling in public school. Travelers are required to be vaccinated against diseases like yellow fever before visiting countries where those illnesses are common. And health care workers are required to get annual flu shots to protect themselves and their patients.
5. Approval will allow the prescribing of vaccines for "off-label" use.
When physicians talk about using drugs "off label," they mean using them for purposes other than those for which they were initially approved. For example, Metformin, which is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, reduces appetite -- so it's often used to help patients who are trying to lose weight.
Off-label prescribing is legal -- but only when drugs have received full approval by the FDA. Once this happens with COVID-19 vaccines, doctors will be able to further study their use in treating a variety of other illnesses.
Off-label use includes delivering booster shots outside of the FDA's fully approved parameters -- and while booster shots weren't initially included in the COVID-19 vaccines' application for full approval, companies can request an approved product be amended to include boosters. The FDA's approval could thus make a third shot more palatable to the population.
Despite everything we know about the COVID-19 vaccines' effectiveness and their ability to prevent serious illness and hospitalizations, just 60% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against the virus, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation indicates grave consequences if Americans don't continue to get vaccinated and follow mask guidance.
Given that the delta variant has led to an uptick in infections and deaths, it's crucial that Americans use every tool at our disposal to convince every person to get vaccinated. If full FDA approval of vaccines is one of those tools, then the decision can't come fast enough.
Inside OHSUs fight to save the regions sickest COVID-19 patients - OPB
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COVID-19 cases are surging across Oregon, and many hospitals are filled to capacity. At Oregon Health and Science University, Karla Mayorga, a registered nurse, tends to a patient in the intensive care unit in Portland on Aug. 19, 2021. Every person on this unit is critically ill with COVID-19.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Nurses work together to turn a patient over. Patients must be turned and repositioned a minimum of every two hours.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Statewide there are over 230 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care--the highest number since the pandemic began.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Emily Williams, a registered nurse, disinfects her face shield after being in a patient room.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
OHSU staff members grab a quick hug in the hallway of the ICU. They say that camaraderie and a sense of public service is what keeps them going.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
COVID-19 patients require a lot of intensive care and monitoring. Patients must be turned and repositioned a minimum of every two hours.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The most critical patients are placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, which removes blood from the patient, infuses it with oxygen, right, and the oxygen-rich blood is recirculated to the patients body.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
There is no cure for COVID-19. Health care workers work to keep patients alive long enough for the infection to subside and their body can begin to recover.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Staff prepare to perform a surgical procedure in the ICU.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Its devastating, and really heartbreaking knowing people are fighting for their lives and it could have been prevented, says Erin Boni, a charge nurse, center.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
About one of every three intensive care unit hospital patients has COVID-19 in Oregon. Thats 232 people statewide.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A nurse dons PPE before she enters the room of a COVID-19 patient. Most of the patients in this ICU unit are between 20-50 years old, with a single patient in their seventies.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A medical team reviews a patient's X-rays. All but one of the patients in the ICU was unvaccinated.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Staff prepare to perform a surgical procedure on the ICU.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
There is effectively one nurse per patient as this type of care is very intensive.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Doctors and nurses use all the tools at their disposal to try to save each life a demanding effort that often requires one nurse per patient.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Staff prepare to perform a surgical procedure in the ICU.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A patient is rolled onto their stomach, which helps the back of the lungs open up more. And pretty early on, theres evidence that COVID-19 patients are less likely to die if theyre put on their stomachs periodically.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The reality of the ICU is that a lot of these patients dont make it, and a big part of being an ICU nurse is facing those deaths sometimes when no one else can be there.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Every bed on this intensive care unit at Oregon Health and Science University is critically ill with COVID-19.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
"No one ever thinks they're going to end up in the ICU," says Sarah Mo Mohkami, a registered nurse at OHSU.
Hanin Najjar / OPB
Nurses and medical staff say that one of the hardest parts of this whole experience for them is caring for people suffering and dying of a disease that is preventable with a vaccine.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
OHSU is preparing to accept more COVID-19 cases next week. Nurses may be assigned more patients to care for, or people may be put in parts of the hospital that arent normally used for ICU patients.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Julie Kleese cries after sharing her experiences as an ICU nurse at OHSU Hospital in Portland on Aug. 18, 2021.
Hanin Najjar / OPB
Julie Kleese, a registered nurse, walks out of the doors of the ICU at OHSU Hospital in Portland on Aug. 18, 2021.
Hanin Najjar / OPB
"We just need more people to get vaccinated," says Kristen Roach, a registered nurse. She says it feels like they never had time to recover emotionally from the surge in the winter. And now its happening all over again.
Hanin Najjar / OPB
Amanda Bryant, a registered nurse, tends to a patient.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
In glass-walled rooms at Oregon Health & Science University Hospitals medical intensive care unit, patients are sedated and on life support.
They are all here suffering from respiratory failure or other life-threatening complications of COVID-19. They are much younger than the people sickened by the coronavirus earlier waves middle aged, or people still in their twenties or thirties.
Among the youngest in the unit is an unvaccinated dark-haired woman in her 20s. She is on a form of life support known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO.
COVID-19 cases are surging across Oregon, and many hospitals are filled to capacity. At Oregon Health and Science University, Karla Mayorga, a registered nurse, tends to a patient in the intensive care unit in Portland on Aug. 19, 2021. Every person on this unit is critically ill with COVID-19.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Nurses work together to turn a patient over. Patients must be turned and repositioned a minimum of every two hours.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Statewide there are over 230 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care--the highest number since the pandemic began.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Emily Williams, a registered nurse, disinfects her face shield after being in a patient room.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
OHSU staff members grab a quick hug in the hallway of the ICU. They say that camaraderie and a sense of public service is what keeps them going.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
COVID-19 patients require a lot of intensive care and monitoring. Patients must be turned and repositioned a minimum of every two hours.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The most critical patients are placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, which removes blood from the patient, infuses it with oxygen, right, and the oxygen-rich blood is recirculated to the patients body.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
There is no cure for COVID-19. Health care workers work to keep patients alive long enough for the infection to subside and their body can begin to recover.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Staff prepare to perform a surgical procedure in the ICU.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Its devastating, and really heartbreaking knowing people are fighting for their lives and it could have been prevented, says Erin Boni, a charge nurse, center.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
About one of every three intensive care unit hospital patients has COVID-19 in Oregon. Thats 232 people statewide.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A nurse dons PPE before she enters the room of a COVID-19 patient. Most of the patients in this ICU unit are between 20-50 years old, with a single patient in their seventies.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A medical team reviews a patient's X-rays. All but one of the patients in the ICU was unvaccinated.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Staff prepare to perform a surgical procedure on the ICU.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
There is effectively one nurse per patient as this type of care is very intensive.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Doctors and nurses use all the tools at their disposal to try to save each life a demanding effort that often requires one nurse per patient.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Staff prepare to perform a surgical procedure in the ICU.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A patient is rolled onto their stomach, which helps the back of the lungs open up more. And pretty early on, theres evidence that COVID-19 patients are less likely to die if theyre put on their stomachs periodically.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The reality of the ICU is that a lot of these patients dont make it, and a big part of being an ICU nurse is facing those deaths sometimes when no one else can be there.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Every bed on this intensive care unit at Oregon Health and Science University is critically ill with COVID-19.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
"No one ever thinks they're going to end up in the ICU," says Sarah Mo Mohkami, a registered nurse at OHSU.
A viral post on Reddit shows a dramatic photo of two people lying on the ground sick with COVID-19 seeking treatment. One appears curled against a wall, while another patient draped with a paper medical gown is curled up, face down.
"Everyone please be careful whether you are vaccinated or not," wrote Suzanne Lopez on Reddit where she posted the photo taken by her husband Louie. "My husband (vaccinated, but positive) has been waiting 2+ hours for monoclonal therapy and he says he has never seen people so sick. Moaning, crying, unable to move."
The Reddit thread drew hundreds of comments about the spread of COVID-19 in Florida, which has experienced a spike in cases this summer.
"I hate to see it, and I hate to say it, but we need more pictures like this showing the reality of the situation," wrote one Reddit user.
The idea that, more than one year into the pandemic, COVID-19 patients in a major city in Florida would be lying on a floor moaning for help seemed improbable. But its real, according to city and state officials.
Photo was taken at Jacksonville Regeneron site
The photo was taken at one of multiple state-supported sites that opened in August to provide monoclonal antibody treatments that help COVID-19 patients avoid hospitalization or death.
Nikki Kimbleton, a spokesperson for the city of Jacksonville, said in a written statement to PolitiFact that the volume of patients seeking the treatment more than doubled in recent days at the Jacksonville clinic, which is located at a public library. While the site provided 43 doses on Aug. 16, that rose in the following days to 97, 143 and 155.
Once the city realized the increase in patients seeking treatment, the city made sure the clinic had adequate supplies, including more wheelchairs, seats for patients waiting in line and signs directing patients to alert someone if they need assistance.
Louie Lopez, who took the photo, told PolitiFact that he was vaccinated in the spring. But about a week ago he came down with symptoms of nasal congestion and a headache and then tested positive for COVID-19. Lopez said his physician advised him to take Regeneron, so he signed up for an appointment.
Lopez told PolitiFact he saw only a couple of chairs at the appointment site. He said that while he was waiting in line for his appointment, other people arrived including the two women in the photo.
He said the woman in the yellow dress "was in the worst shape she was moaning and in pain, and it was freezing in there. They brought one of those paper gowns and covered her up. She was just laying there," Lopez said. Lopez said he didnt time the events precisely, but estimated the women were on the floor for about an hour. Later, clinic staff put the two women into wheelchairs.
City and state officials sent us a TV news report by News4Jax, which included an interview with Toma Dean, the woman lying face down on the floor.
Dean, of Fleming Island, told News4Jax, that she was not vaccinated, and said that she had been suffering with COVID-19 and pneumonia for two weeks. An emergency room doctor had advised her to get the monoclonal antibody treatment.
Dean described herself as in "very bad shape, light-headed, dizzy, shortness of breath. I couldnt stand at all." She told News4Jax that the staff at the library were excellent and scrambled to get wheelchairs. Deans voice in the TV interview showed she was still sick, but she said she felt better after the treatment. (PolitiFact was unable to reach Dean directly.)
"This is real, guys," Dean told News4Jax. "If you have it, I advise you to go get this therapy. Go take advantage of the resources out there. Get vaccinated. It may not be the first thing that you want to do, but it's better than the end result."
DeSantis has set up sites for Regeneron across Florida
In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization to Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. for Regeneron to treat mild to moderate COVID-19. The product consists of two monoclonal antibodies, which are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune systems ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses.
On Aug. 10, 2021, the FDA revised the authorization, allowing for emergency use of Regeneron as a preventive drug for people who are exposed to the virus and are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19. The agency said the treatment is not a substitute for vaccination.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has urged people to take the drug, which was used by former President Donald Trump after he became infected. Both vaccines and Regeneron are free for Floridians.
The state of Florida has ordered more than 7,000 doses in total from the federal government, said Weesam Khoury, a state health department spokesperson.
Our ruling
A photo shows two COVID-19 patients lying on the floor seeking treatment in Florida. City and state officials confirmed that the photo was taken at a state-supported site in Jacksonville where Floridians can get a free Regeneron treatment.
The photo was taken by another patient as he waited in line for his appointment during a week that saw a rapid increase in patients showing up to receive treatment. More chairs and wheelchairs and signs have since been added at the site.
This image is real. We rate this statement True.
To provide our community with important public safety information, the Huntsville Item is making this weekly update related to the coronavirus free to read. To support important local journalism like this, please consider becoming a digital subscriber.
Records from the Texas Department of Health Service estimate Walker County with 419 active cases nearly 10 times the amount of active cases that were reported at the beginning of August. Two additional deaths related to COVID-19 were also reported this week in Walker County.
School Update
Huntsville ISD reported 23 student and and five staff cases in its latest report to the state. At least one case of COVID-19 has been reported at nearly every campus within the district.
Active Student Cases
Huntsville High 1
Mance Park Middle 3
Huntsville Intermediate 4
Stewart Elementary 2
Samuel Walker Houston Elementary 5
Scott Johnson Elementary 3
Huntsville Elementary 1
Gibbs Pre-K Center 0
Multiple Campuses 4
Vaccinations lag
According to state records, 40.36% of Walker County citizens over the age of 12 have been fully vaccinated. Records also show that 48.74% have had one dose, while 64.29% of county residents over the age of 65 are fully vaccinated.
Vaccination Clinics will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Walker County Storm Shelter on Aug. 25 & 26, Sept. 1-2 and Sept. 8-9 for those needing a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Testing still available
Testing is available by appointment only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Curative testing kiosk, located at 125 Medical Park Ln. Visit curative.com to make an appointment.
We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.
Western Pennsylvanians who want a covid-19 vaccine booster likely will have the chance to get one in the coming months.
The Biden administration earlier this week recommended the extra protection for all Americans, starting as soon as Sept. 20 for those who were fully vaccinated by late January.
In Pennsylvania, that mostly includes prioritized groups working in health care, residents of long-term care facilities and those working and living in other congregate settings.
With ample vaccine supply and demand waning across the U.S., obtaining a booster looks to be much easier than it was to sign up for the first round of shots earlier this year. Then, backlogs plagued providers and pharmacies statewide and deliveries were scarce and inconsistent.
Health officials suggested a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine be given to people eight months after the second dose. The goal is to provide further protection should the effectiveness of the initial vaccination begin to wane, or prove less effective against aggressive versions of covid such as the delta variant.
RELATED: 10 things to know about covid boosters
Meanwhile, efforts continue to persuade vaccine-hesitant people to get their first dose as the fast-spreading delta variant poses increased risk to younger, healthier people who arent vaccinated.
The inalienable fact that hits us every day in health care is people getting admitted with covid and dying from covid are unvaccinated, said Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher, family medicine physician and vice chair of the Allegheny Health Network Primary Care Institute. I dont know what further proof people need to protect themselves and their vulnerable loved ones. Getting vaccinated is the answer.
The plan to open boosters up to nearly all Americans is awaiting final approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has been studying the safety and effectiveness of the third dose.
Heres what you need to know about getting a covid booster shot:
Q: When can I get a booster shot, and where do I go to get one?
For now, only adults and children older than 12 who are immunocompromised can get booster shots.
The Biden administrations announcement came about a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a third dose of the vaccine for certain people with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients and organ transplant recipients.
If the FDA green-lights the broader rollout, the booster shots will be available to already vaccinated individuals about eight months after their second dose. That means someone who got their second dose in March or April will have to wait until November or December.
People who received their second dose more recently May or later will have to wait until next year.
The boosters should be available anywhere the vaccines are being offered. That includes not only health systems such as Allegheny Health Network and UPMC but independent pharmacies, community health providers and chains such as CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid. Primary care doctors also can help patients find a vaccine or booster provider.
There is no need to obtain a booster from the same provider that provided an individuals first two doses.
Will the boosters side effects be worse than the second shot?
Health officials say more data is needed, but so far the side effects of booster shots appear to be no more severe than those experienced by recipients following their second dose. The booster is no different from the prior doses.
Its the exact same vaccine, Crawford-Faucher said.
For some, the only effect may be a sore arm. Others report mild flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, a fever and nausea that tend to subside within 24 hours.
But the reality is there are very few severe complications to these vaccines, Crawford-Faucher said.
Can I mix and match vaccine shots?
Its not advised by U.S. health officials at this point, though research continues on the issue.
The CDC maintains that vaccines should not be mixed.
So if you got Moderna, get a Moderna booster. If you got Pfizer, find a Pfizer booster, which in Pennsylvania is not a problem, Crawford-Faucher said.
That recommendation, however, is not a hard stop, Crawford-Faucher said.
The CDC acknowledges that if the mRNA vaccine product given for the first two doses is not available or is unknown, either mRNA covid-19 vaccine product may be administered.
If someone came to me and for whatever reason needed the booster that day, I have Pfizer (to offer), they got Moderna I would offer it to them, she said.
She would not, however, offer an mRNA-based vaccine such as Pfizer or Moderna to someone whos only had a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which uses a different technology.
So what if I got a Johnson & Johnson vaccine?
The short answer: Hang tight.
There is no recommendation for any booster for J&J. Were sure its coming, we just dont know exactly when, she said. We dont have the final word on whether you should be boosted with J&J or whether you should be boosted with an mRNA vaccine.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a joint statement with other health authorities asserting the anticipation that booster shots will likely be needed for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Administration of the J&J vaccine did not begin in the U.S. until March 2021, and we expect more data on J&J in the next few weeks, the statement says. With those data in hand, we will keep the public informed with a timely plan for J&J booster shots as well.
Can my children get booster shots?
For now, only children age 12 and over with weakened immune systems are authorized to get a covid vaccine booster.
That could change in the near future, with reports of U.S. health officials exploring the safety of expanding vaccine and booster eligibility to children as young as eight months old.
Will I need ID? Should I bring my vaccination card?
President Biden assured the American public that no one will be denied a booster vaccine for not having an ID.
But local health care officials do recommend bringing photo ID and proof of vaccination when possible to help the process go more smoothly.
We are asking people to bring their (vaccination) cards with them, Crawford-Faucher said.
In some cases, providers will be able to use ID to look up an individuals vaccine history.
Providers will try to work with people who are unable to provide ID or their vaccination cards.
How much will it cost? What if Im uninsured?
Like the initial vaccine doses, the covid-19 booster shots will be free to everyone, regardless of insurance or the lack thereof.
There is no out-of-pocket cost, Crawford-Faucher said.
Can I get vaccinated for the flu at the same time as getting a booster shot?
Yes and health officials say it could be efficient to schedule both at the same time.
It is safe to get any vaccine with a covid vaccine, Crawford-Faucher said.
Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com or via Twitter .
DENVER The chief education officer in one El Paso County school district said Thursday they will not be reporting cases of the novel coronavirus to local public health authorities, which they are obligated to do under state law, as the risks of quarantine far outweigh the risks of disease among children.
In a letter addressed to families, District 49 Chief Education Officer Peter Hilts said the community saw first-hand the damaging effects of an overzealous quarantine regimen, that ultimately led to widespread displacement into online learning, despite aggressive masking, tracing and quarantine protocols.
After 18 months of the pandemic, Hilts wrote, It is our judgement, backed by months of student and community observation and interaction, with corresponding experiential data, that the risks of quarantine far outweigh the risks of the disease. That is why we will not facilitate voluntary reporting and contact tracing that are designed to direct healthy individuals into quarantine and isolation.
But during a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Jared Polis said schools must report COVID-19 cases to local public health agencies.
That is the law and that is unambiguous, Polis said.
Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, expanded on that point during news conference a day later, saying, State statute and state regulations outline that cases of reportable conditions, as well as suspected and confirmed outbreaks, are required to be reported by law.
Hilts, however, argued that the guidance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is not unambiguous.
He cited text from the CDPHE's Practical Guide for Operationalizing CDCs School Guidance which previously stated schools and child care facilities were encouraged to report single cases of COVID-19 of which they become aware.
The CDPHEs website has since been updated with the following text: Per 6 CCR 1009-1, schools and child care facilities are also required to report single cases of which they become aware to public health, even if testing was performed elsewhere. Schools are able to disclose this information to public health without prior written consent under FERPAs health or safety emergency exception, because a person with COVID-19 represents a potential threat to the health and safety of others at the school. This is true even if there is not an outbreak.
The updated guidance says schools and child care providers are required to report all outbreaks to the local public health agency of CDPHE within four hours.
State law requires that diseases such as smallpox, the plague, and others shall be reported by the physician or other health care provider and by other persons either treating or having knowledge of a reportable disease, including, but not limited to persons in charge of schools (including school nursing staff), licensed day care centers, or any other person providing testing and/or counseling.
Herlihy told Chalkbeat Colorado on Thursday she hoped Hilts' decision was a misunderstanding as, We would want to ensure they recognize the requirements in the statute and what their obligations are.
From his part, Hilts wrote the district is continuing to work closely with El Paso County Public Health and will discuss with local public health officials next steps should an outbreak occur.
Further, Hilts said, once vaccines become available for kids younger than 12, the district will host mobile vaccination clinics just as they have done for people 12 and up.
The chief education officer also wrote they continue to encourage proper hygiene, rigorous school cleaning schedules, and ask that everyone who is not feeling well stay home until they feel better.
Additionally, Hilts said the district has detected and responded to individual positive cases by following common-sense measures without sending healthy individuals into unnecessary and disruptive quarantines.
Far from ignoring science or safety, we have determined that overreacting to the possibility of transmission has been bad for learning, bad for mental health, and ultimately far worse for our students than the low-level medical risk of a virus that rarely causes any significant issues for children, he wrote in the letter, urging families to stay informed and attentive to conditions in the community.
Data from El Paso County Public Health shows kids ages 0-19 account for only 157 COVID-19 hospitalizations, compared to 295 hospitalizations for those in the 20-29 age group; 355 for people aged 30-39; and 427 hospitalizations for adults 40-49. Hospitalizations only go up from there.
Only two deaths have been reported in El Paso County since the pandemic arrived here on March 5 in the 0-19 age group, the data shows.
Local public health data is on par with data from the rest of the country.
An estimate from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows less than 2% of COVID-19 cases among kids result in hospitalizations. Mortality rates for kids due to COVID-19 are even more rare the pediatric group reports less than 0.03% of all child COVID-19 cases have resulted in death.
Still, public health officials across the country are warning about the steep increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations among children.
ABC News reported Tuesday hospitalization rates among children are 4.6 times higher than they were just five weeks ago, putting pediatric hospitalizations on the same level with those seen last year.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told ABC News last week more cases in children will eventually lead to more hospitalizations.
As of Aug. 12, the AAP reported a continuing substantial increase in COVID-19 cases among children, saying it had now recorded over 121,000 cases of the virus among kids a 5% increase from two weeks ago.
Since the pandemic began, children accounted for 14.4% of all weekly COVID-19 cases. As of Aug. 12, children represented 18% of all weekly cases, the group said.
COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of 12 are expected to receive Emergency Use Authorization by midwinter, US health officials said in mid-July.
About 60% of U.S. kids ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
HAMILTON The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is continuing to rise in Ravalli County.
Ravalli County Public Health Director Tiffany Webber says the department is seeing the expected secondary spike with daily increase in reported positive cases."
Webber notes 25 cases were reported Thursday and an additional 35 cases had been reported to the health department as of 4 p.m. on Friday.
Ravalli County Public Health is continuing to trace confirmed positive cases in an effort to identify contacts. However, Webber says that due to the increase of cases, delays will occur in contact calls.
People who are sick or know they have been exposed to someone who is sick are advised to stay home.
Handwashing, physical distancing and masking is still the best practice to keep individuals healthy, a news release reads. Vaccine is our best chance for reaching community immunity and decreasing individual severity of illness.
The Montana COVID-`19 tracking website shows 3,458 cases have been confirmed in Ravalli County including 3,349 recoveries and 51 deaths.
A total of 18,381 people are fully immunized against COVID-19 in Ravalli County representing 48% of the eligible population.
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Gov. Greg Abbott tested positive Tuesday for COVID-19, according to his office.
Abbott, who is fully vaccinated, is not experiencing any symptoms and is isolating at the Governor's Mansion, spokesperson Mark Miner said in a statement. He is getting Regeneron's monoclonal antibody treatment.
Public health officials have noted that while breakthrough cases like Abbott's are occurring, vaccines are still proven to be effective at reducing the severity of the virus.
All people 12 and older are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. Children ages 12-17 can get the Pfizer vaccine, but COVID-19 vaccines are not mandatory for Texas students.
State and local health officials say that vaccine supply is healthy enough to meet demand across much of Texas. Most chain pharmacies and many independent ones have a ready supply of the vaccine, which is administered free and mainly on a walk-in basis. Many private doctors' offices also have it. And you can check current lists of large vaccine hubs that are still operating here.Public health departments also have vaccines. You can register with the Texas Public Health Vaccine Scheduler either online or by phone. And businesses or civic organizations can set up their vaccine clinics to offer it to employers, visitors, customers or members.
Yes. Medical experts recommend that people who have had COVID-19 should still get the vaccine. If someones treatment included monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, they should talk to their doctor before scheduling a vaccine appointment. The CDC recommends that people who received those treatments should wait 90 days before getting the vaccine.
Yes. Health experts and public officials widely agree that the vaccine is safe. The three currently approved vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson reported their vaccines are 95%, 94% and 72% effective, respectively, at protecting people from serious illness. While no vaccine is without side effects, clinical trials for Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson show serious reactions are rare.
"The Governor has been testing daily, and today was the first positive test result," Miner said. "Governor Abbott is in constant communication with his staff, agency heads, and government officials to ensure that state government continues to operate smoothly and efficiently."
Miner added that "everyone that the Governor has been in close contact with today" has been informed of his positive test. The first lady, Cecilia Abbott, tested negative.
Abbott addressed the diagnosis in a video posted to his Twitter account about two and a half hours after his office's announcement. He reiterated he was not feeling any symptoms and suggested one reason for that may be the fact he is vaccinated. Abbott got his first shot late last year, and the vaccine is known to prevent serious cases.
Abbott's positive test comes as the coronavirus pandemic is ripping through Texas again, with daily new cases and hospitalizations reaching levels not seen since the last wave in the winter. The governor has received national attention for his refusal to allow local governments and school districts to mandate masks or vaccines.
Abbott has kept up public appearances in recent days. He spoke Monday night at what he called a "standing room only event" in Collin County, later tweeting photos of him addressing a maskless crowd. His campaign tweeted video of him mingling with the crowd, taking photos.
The Collin County event was organized by the Heritage Ranch Republican Club. Mark Reid, chair of the Collin County Republican Party, attended and said Abbott "was friendly and energetic with no sign of the virus."
"I dont know the incubation period between being exposed to the virus, exhibiting symptoms, and being contagious, so I dont know if people that attended are at risk for contracting the virus from the event," Reid wrote in an email. "I expect that many will be tested and will self-quarantine.
Less than three hours before his diagnosis was announced Tuesday afternoon, Abbott tweeted pictures of a meeting with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. The musician's team said in a statement Tuesday evening that "Jimmie and family have tested negative and are doing fine."
Abbott received a dose of the vaccine on camera late last year in Austin, hoping to set an example. Texans have lagged nationally in getting the vaccine. As of Sunday, 45.2% of Texans were fully vaccinated.
Pandemic indicators in Texas have been sharply rising. The state reported 5,343 new cases Monday and 11,791 hospitalizations Sunday. The seven-day average of the positivity rate the ratio of cases to tests was 17.8% on Sunday. That was a slight dip but still well above the 10% threshold that Abbott has identified as dangerous.
Republicans like House Speaker Dade Phelan said they were praying for Abbott's recovery Tuesday afternoon. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement he has "been in touch with Gov. Abbott and I stand ready to assist him in any way possible."
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said in Washington Post Live interview that Abbott's case "raises the question about getting the booster vaccine," which the federal government is set to make a recommendation on Wednesday. NBC News reported Tuesday that Abbott "has told people he received a third booster dose of a vaccine," though Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze told The Texas Tribune she is "not aware of any booster."
Meanwhile, some Democrats wished Abbott well and also used his diagnosis to reinforce their criticism of his pandemic leadership. Among the Democrats responding was Julin Castro, the former presidential candidate, U.S. housing secretary and San Antonio mayor.
"Governor Abbott has put his own Republican primary politics before the public health since day one," Castro tweeted, sharing the video of Abbott at the Collin County gathering. "I hope he recovers quickly. I also hope he will act more responsibly on behalf of Texas children and families."
State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, said on Twitter that he was praying Abbott's diagnosis "will cause him to rescind the order stopping schools from requiring masks." The state has spent recent days battling school districts in court over their decisions to require masks in defiance of Abbott's order prohibiting them from doing so.
In addition to his travel outside Austin, Abbott has been a presence at the Capitol, where a second special session is underway to pass the governor's agenda, including his priority elections bill. However, legislating mostly remains at a standstill due to the continued Democratic quorum break in the House over the elections legislation.
Abbott was scheduled to be in Houston on Wednesday to speak to the Houston Region Business Coalition. The group said Tuesday evening that the event is postponed.
The antibody treatment that Abbott is receiving a cocktail made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is one that Abbott has increasingly promoted. Hoping to prevent hospitalizations and reserve hospital capacity for the most serious cases, Texas recently opened nine antibody infusion centers throughout the state that use the Regeneron antibodies.
It was not exactly clear why Abbott was receiving the Regeneron treatment if he was not experiencing symptoms. The Regeneron antibodies are recommended to treat "mild to moderate COVID-19" in people 12 years and older who have tested positive and "are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19."
The governor's spokesperson, Eze, said it is "recommended that you begin Regeneron within 10 days of testing positive and before you start experiencing symptoms." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides somewhat different guidance, saying the treatment should be "administered as soon as possible after a positive viral test for COVID-19 and within 10 days of symptom onset."
James Barragn contributed reporting.
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(THE CONVERSATION) Ive spent the past 11 yearsresearching and writing aboutthe controversy over how to diagnose and treat Lyme disease, one of the most contentious medical issues in the United States. Lyme is a tick-borne bacterial infection, and disagreement about it hinges on whether it can persist beyond standard antibiotic treatment in the form of chronic Lyme disease.
SinceLymes discoveryin Lyme, Connecticut, in 1982, the physicians who treat it have fallen into opposing camps: the mainstream and the self-described Lyme-literate. The mainstream camp argues that, in most cases, Lyme disease is easily diagnosed and treated and that chronic Lyme disease is a medically unexplained illness. The Lyme-literate camp argues that diagnostic testing is unreliable and that chronic Lyme disease should be treated with extended antibiotics.
Class-action lawsuits,protests,congressional hearingsandstateandfederalinvestigations have followed.
Few scientific issues are as polarizing, which is why the current debate over how to reopen schools during the COVID-19 pandemic reminds me of the Lyme wars. The school reopening debate has often been framed as one betweendisgruntled parents and obstinate teachers unionsand school administrators. But it has alsodivided scientistsand pittedDemocrats against Republicans.
As schools reopen, concerns over a delta-driven surge in cases, vaccine ineligibility for children younger than 12 and varying opinions about mask use in school settings loom large. I believe that the Lyme controversy offers four lessons on how parents, school districts, elected officials and scientists can find common ground and a path forward in the 2021-2022 school year.
1. Bring divided stakeholders face to face
After nearly 40 years of controversy over how to diagnose and treat Lyme disease, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established theTick-Borne Diseases Working Groupin 2016. It brought together physicians from Lymes opposing camps, as well as patient advocates, scientists and governmental officials, for in-person and online public meetings. Until 2022, when its congressional authorization ends, the groups task is to develop reports acrossdiverse viewsto guide federal decision-making on tick-borne prevention, treatment and research.
For school reopening, I believe that the formation of working groups at the district, city, county or state level would create space for real-time dialogue and constructive collaboration among divided stakeholders.
2. Find neutral zones of engagement
Within controversial terrain, whether its Lyme or COVID-19, some issues are less volatile than others. Unlike Lyme diagnosis and treatment, for example, Lyme prevention is remarkably uncontroversial. For this reason, prevention is one area where individuals across Lymes divide have been willing to collaborate.
For school reopening, a focus on less controversial aspects, such as decreasing community transmission, framing mitigation measures as tools that keep schools open and ensuring that schools are the last to close and first to reopen could help foster collaboration.
3. Seek out experts across disciplines
Multidimensional problems like Lyme disease and school reopening during COVID-19 require multidisciplinary solutions. As a tick-borne disease that affects many parts of the human body, Lyme disease requires expertise from a range of medical specialties such as infectious disease, cardiology and neurology in addition to expertise from entomologists and ecologists.
To tackle school reopening, partnered action among epidemiologists, virologists, aerosol engineers, occupational and environmental health specialists, pediatricians, infectious disease physicians, educators and social scientists would build bridges to common ground.
Over the past year and a half, disagreement about school reopening has led to accusations of epistemic trespassing or stepping outside of ones area of expertise and calls to stay in your lane. But widening the lane to include multiple perspectives and building coalitions across lanes could lead to a more complete understanding of school reopening.
4. Keep an eye on how evidence is used
For Lyme patients, physicians and scientists in the U.S., hopes of the controversys resolution were pinned on the outcome of four randomized controlled trials that studied whether Lyme patients benefit from longer courses of antibiotics. In the end, however, both sides used evidence from the trials toreinforce their original stanceandmake opposing claimsto scientific truth.
Something similar has been at play in the school reopening debate. Like Lyme, both sides, leading with phrases such as The evidence is clear or the The science says, have drawn on a range of scientific and medical evidence to makedifferent evidence-based claimsabout school reopening. As sociologist Steven Epstein inhis work on AIDS activismobserves, Uncertainty is often not just the cause of scientific controversy but its consequence.
In our intensely divided times, middle-ground solutions require too much compromise. But I believe that learning from Lyme disease and finding common ground through our differences will help communities get to the other side of another pandemic school year.
BOSTON (SHNS) In the week between Aug. 7 and Aug. 14, almost 2,700 fully vaccinated people became infected with COVID-19 in Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health said Tuesday.
There have been a cumulative 12,641 breakthrough infections reported out of 4,415,936 fully vaccinated people as of Aug. 14, DPH said Tuesday meaning that 0.29 percent of all fully vaccinated people have subsequently been infected with the coronavirus, up from 0.23 percent of the immunized population a week ago and 0.18 percent two weeks ago.
In the week from Aug. 7 to Aug. 14, DPH counted 2,672 new breakthrough infections, about a 20 percent increase over the 2,232 breakthrough infections reported the previous week. A total of 496 people with breakthrough infections, or 0.01 percent of all vaccinated people, have been hospitalized and 124 fully vaccinated people, or 0.003 percent of people who have gotten vaccinated, have died of COVID-19, DPH said.
In its most recent weekly report, DPH reported 51 new hospitalizations and 18 new deaths among fully vaccinated people. The 2,672 newly-reported breakthrough cases represent nearly 40 percent of the states recent one-week total of new cases, based on the seven-day average of 995.1 new cases each day that DPH lists for Aug. 14, the end of the seven-day period covered in DPHs latest breakthrough infection report.
As it did last week, DPH cautioned Tuesday that there are probably more breakthrough infections and hospitalizations among fully vaccinated people than it counts and can report.
