The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated its patient care guidelines to include interleukin-6 receptor blockers, a class of medicines that are lifesaving in patients who are severely or critically ill with COVID-19, especially when administered alongside corticosteroids.
These were the findings from a prospective and a living network meta-analysis initiated by WHO, the largest such analysis on the drugs to date. Data from over 10000 patients enrolled in 27 clinical trials were considered.
These are the first drugs found to be effective against COVID-19 since corticosteroids wererecommended by WHOin September 2020.
Patients severely or critically ill with COVID-19 often suffer from an overreaction of the immune system, which can be very harmful to the patients health. Interleukin-6 blocking drugs tocilizumab and sarilumab act to suppress this overreaction.
The prospective and living network meta-analyses showed that in severely or critically ill patients, administering these drugs reduce the odds of death by 13%, compared to standard care. This means that there will be 15 fewer deaths per thousand patients, and as many as 28 fewer deaths for every thousand critically ill patients. The odds of mechanical ventilation among severe and critical patients are reduced by 28%, compared with standard care. This translates to 23 fewer patients out of a thousand needing mechanical ventilation.
Clinical trial investigators in 28 countries shared data with WHO, including pre-publication data. Researchers worldwide compiled and analyzed the data. With the support of these critical partnerships, WHO has been able to issue a rapid and trustworthy recommendation for the use of interleukin-6 receptor blockers in severe and critical COVID-19 patients.
These drugs offer hope for patients and families who are suffering from the devastating impact of severe and critical COVID-19. But IL-6 receptor blockers remain inaccessible and unaffordable for the majority of the world, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The inequitable distribution of vaccines means that people in low- and middle-income countries are most susceptible to severe forms of COVID-19. So, the greatest need for these drugs is in countries that currently have the least access. We must urgently change this.
To increase access and affordability of these life-saving products, WHO calls on manufacturers to reduce prices and make supplies available to low- and middle-income countries, especially where COVID-19 is surging.
WHO also encourages companies to agree to transparent, non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements using the C-TAP platform and the Medicines Patent Pool, or to waive exclusivity rights.
In addition, WHO has launched anexpression of interestfor prequalification of manufacturers of interleukin-6 receptor blockers. Prequalification of innovator and biosimilar products aims to expand the availability of quality-assured products and to increase access through market competition and reduce prices to meet urgent public health needs.
JERUSALEM, July 11 (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but it was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public.
The rapid spread of the Delta variant has sent vaccination rates in Israel back up as new infections have risen over the past month from single digits to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment.
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that effective immediately, adults with impaired immune systems who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could get a booster shot, with a decision pending on wider distribution.
Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE , the main suppliers in a swift Israeli vaccination rollout that began in December, said on Thursday they will ask U.S. and European regulators within weeks to authorize booster shots.
The two companies cited an increased risk of infection after six months in seeking permission for a third shot.
Drawing criticism from some scientists and officials, the companies did not share the data showing that risk, but said it would soon be made public. They also cited recent Israeli data. read more
"We are examining this issue and we still do not have a final answer," Horowitz, speaking on Kan public radio, said about a booster for the general population in Israel.
"In any case we are administering as of now a third shot to people suffering from immunodeficiency."
About half of the 46 patients presently hospitalised in Israel in severe condition are vaccinated, and the majority are from risk groups, according to the health authorities. About 5.7 million out of Israel 9.3 population has received at leas one dose.
Israel was not going to rush into any decision on booster shots for the general public, Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Health Ministry said.
"It's rather complex. We're presently seeing outbreaks largely among children and their parents who weren't necessarily vaccinated in January and February and we need to identify the (statistical) biases," Alroy-Preis told Kan.
It was still unclear, Alroy-Preis added, whether the vaccine was simply less effective against the Delta variant and if illness rates among those vaccinated in January and February were higher than for those who were inoculated later.
SUPPLY GAP
Horowitz said that separately, the health ministry would plug a Pfizer supply gap for ongoing two-dose inoculations of the general adult population by using Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) vaccines already in stock.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in broadcast remarks to his cabinet on Sunday that he has agreed with Pfizer to bring forward the next delivery of doses to Aug 1. The shipment had been widely expected to arrive in September.
There was no immediate response from Pfizer to a request for comment.
Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Raissa Kasolowsky
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Actor and comedian Rob Schneider's tweets and re-tweets about Covid-19 vaccines and precautions got ... [+] a bunch of responses and his name trending on Twitter. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Actor and comedian Rob Schneider was trending on Twitter on Saturday. And its not because hes coming out with a new movie sequel named Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Endgame or Deuce Bigalow: Pitched Tent Perfect.
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Theres no indication that such sequels are in the works. Instead, his name seemed to be trending because he sent a series of tweets and re-tweets about the Covid-19 vaccines and other Covid-19 precautions that then got quite a lot of responses. For example, here was one of the exchanges:
Hold on a Second. Did he actually refer to the Second Amendment, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms one when telling people not to get the Covid-19 vaccines?
Its one thing to decide not to get the Covid-19 vaccine. No one is really forcing anyone to get vaccinated. Instead, there are efforts to clear up any misconceptions about the vaccine. This includes helping people really understand the facts behind the good protection offered by the vaccine and its safety record. It also involves dispelling myths such as unfounded claims that the Covid-19 vaccines are designed to alter your genes and claims that Covid-19 vaccination is a human experiment rather than an effort to stop the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of the day, if you still dont want to get the Covid-19 vaccine, thats your choice. Just remember though that every choice has its consequences. You wont be able to do everything that you may want to do. Its similar to how deciding not wearing shoes and a shirt may prevent you from getting service at a business, or a job, or a date. Or maybe the shirtless may get you a date, depending on what you have up there.
Its another thing to tell other people to not get the Covid-19 vaccine during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Such vaccination is a population intervention and not just an individual one. Getting more people vaccinated will decrease the risk of infection for everyone, both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Its totally something else to invoke the Second Amendment. Was Schneider actually suggesting that others should use the Second Amendment against Covid-19 vaccination:
Or was he somehow confusing the right to bear arms with the right to have bare arms?
Schneider didnt stop there. He sent out a number of different tweets and re-tweets that all railed against Covid-19 precautions in ways that werent exactly consistent with scientific evidence. For example, this tweet seemed to equate face mask use with child abuse:
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As another example, he re-tweeted a tweet that said the vaccine is only to prevent the infection in the person getting the vaccine, which is just not scientifically accurate. The greater the percentage of the population that is vaccinated, the lower the risk of infection for everyone, including those who are not vaccinated. This is the established principle of herd immunity.
Of course, his tweets alone didnt get his name to trend. That would have required him to send out at least a thousand tweets in one day. Instead, his tweets garnered a bunch of tweet responses and re-tweets such as:
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And this:
But not everyone may have known who Schneider is:
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After all, the Deuce Bigelow movies, his stint as the copy guy on Saturday Night Live, his role on The Hot Chick movie, and all the Adam Sandler vehicles that he acted in came before 2010:
Some offered their perspective on who Schneider is such as:
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Again Schneider is entitled to make his own choices about whether to get the Covid-19 vaccines. The key is to remember that every choice has its consequences. Everyone cant do whatever they want in life. For example, not everyone is allowed to act in Adam Sandler movies. As another example, you cant just pee anywhere you want to pee.
However, it needs to be clear that Covid-19 vaccines have gone through extensive testing and scrutiny, certainly much more than many dietary supplements and food items that are currently on the market, for example. The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is real. Its killed over four million people around the world and over 600,000 in the U.S. Its caused a lot of suffering. Currently, the only real ways to stop the spread of the virus are some combination of vaccination, social distancing measures, and face mask use.
Again, getting more people vaccinated will decrease the risk of infection for everyone, both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Delaying vaccination will just allow the Covid-19 coronaviruses to keep infecting people and keep making copies of themselves, which in turn can lead to more variants emerging:
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In 2008, Schneider acted in an Adam Sandler movie entitled You Don't Mess with the Zohan. Similarly, you dont want to mess with the Covid-19 coronavirus. It would be better to get vaccination coverage high enough to really interrupt transmission so that society can truly return to normal.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) If youre looking to catch an Orioles game anytime soon and you still want to get your Covid shot, the team has you covered.
The Maryland Department of Health and the Baltimore Orioles are extending their vaccination promotion through the end of the season now. That means until September 30, you can receive a voucher for two free tickets to an Os home game, so long as you get vaccinated at Camden Yards.
We are focused on helping all Marylanders step up to the plate and get vaccinated, and we are grateful to theOriolesfor their continued support, said MDH Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. By providing both COVID-19 testing and vaccinations in more community-based settingsespecially as more contagious variantsofthe virus emerge and circulatewere meeting Marylanders where they are to help put an end to this pandemic.
TheOriolesare proud to support the MarylandDepartmentofHealthin making COVID-19 testing and vaccinations more accessible, said Greg Bader,OriolesSenior Vice President, Administration & Experience. As oneofthe premier family and entertainment destinations in the region, Oriole Park is the perfect venue to support this initiative and shared goalofhelping all Marylanders get vaccinated.
An hour before each home game through the first two and a half hours, or the end of the eighth inning, you can get your shot at a rapid COVID test in the lower concourse right across from Section 26.
The vaccine is the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine, and fans must be 18-years or older to get the shot.
More than 193,000 Coloradans have missed getting their second COVID-19 vaccination shot within the recommended timeframe, leaving them significantly more vulnerable to the delta variant of the coronavirus than if they had gotten the booster.
That number is small compared to the almost 3 million people who are fully immunized in the state. With more than 3.2 million Coloradans having received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 6% remain only partially protected, according to the state health department.
But Colorados faring better than the country as a whole. Nationally, almost 11% of people who got their first vaccine dose missed getting the second within the recommended timeframe, The Washington Post reported.
These two-dose vaccines are designed to work best when people get both doses, said Beth Carlton, an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots to be given, ideally within three or four weeks of each other, respectively. The second dose for both vaccines may be given up to 42 days, or 6 weeks, after the first. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires just one dose.
Researchers have limited data on the effectiveness of the vaccines if the second dose is given later than 6 weeks after the first, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Its possible that some of the 193,493 people whove been recorded as not getting their second dose within that time period received their booster from a vaccine provider, such as Veterans Affairs, that doesnt report to Colorados immunization database or did so out of state, according to a spokesperson with the Department of Public Health and Environment.
Its unclear why people didnt get their second dose, but it is on vaccine providers to make the logistics of getting the shots accessible, Carlton said.Typically, COVID-19 vaccine providers schedule appointments for a second shot when a person gets their first, according to the state health department.
The agency said it is reaching out to people who are overdue for their second dose, including via phone calls, texts and emails.
Colorado has seen a slowdown in the pace of COVID-19 vaccines in recent months and the states incentive lottery did not spur a significant increase in people getting the shots. During the past two weeks, the state has administered fewer than 100,000 doses per week a level not seen since the shots first became available in December.
As demand has fallen, public health officials have shut down the states mass-vaccination sites, including at Ball Arena in Denver.
Getting Coloradans fully vaccinated is even more critical now that the more contagious and potentially more severe delta variant has become the dominant strain of the virus spreading in the state.
Its estimated by the states COVID-19 modeling team that 90% of new infections in Colorado involve the delta variant and only 52% of the states total population has immunity based on vaccinations and infections.
Generally, one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines is about 50% effective against symptomatic infection from the coronavirus. But with the delta variant, the efficacy drops to about 35%. By comparison, the efficacy of the vaccines increases to about 90% after the second dose, Carlton said.
Those people who have a single dose are vulnerable to getting symptomatic infection, she said, adding, The vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization for delta or alpha (variants).
HOLLANDALE, MISSISSIPPI - APRIL 27: Barbara Belton gets a shot of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccination ... [+] from medical workers with Delta Health Center in this rural Delta community on April 27, 2021 in Hollandale, Mississippi. So far, an estimated 23 percent of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 amid the state Department of Health reporting a total of 638 new cases and three deaths since last Friday. Mississippi, with its pockets of entrenched poverty, has been working to vaccinate residents in remote areas who may not have access to the internet or to transportation. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Until just yesterday, Mississippi had been consistently clocking the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rate in the United States (it just jumped from 50th to 49th, with Alabama taking its place at #50). As of July 7, 2o21, only 47.1% of adults in Mississippi had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, with only 33.2% being fully vaccinated. This is in comparison to the national average of 48% of adults being fully vaccinated. Even in Madison County, Mississippi, which has the highest vaccination rate in the state, only 45% of adults are fully vaccinated. This is in stark comparison to New England states such as Vermont and Massachusetts, which have surpassed 60% fully vaccinated adults and over 70% having received at least one dose.
On July 7th, Mississippi reported their highest number of daily new Covid-19 infections in four months. And the new highly transmissible Delta variant is likely responsible for close to 80% of these new infections.
HOLLANDALE, MISSISSIPPI - APRIL 27: Medical workers with Delta Health Center wait to vaccinate ... [+] people at a pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinic in this rural Delta community on April 27, 2021 in Hollandale, Mississippi. So far, an estimated 23 percent of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 amid the state Department of Health reporting a total of 638 new cases and three deaths since last Friday. Mississippi, with its pockets of entrenched poverty, has been working to vaccinate residents in remote areas who may not have access to the internet or to transportation. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
But while states including Mississippi and Alabama have, by far, the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates, Mississippi has the highest childhood vaccination rate in the country, specifically with respect to the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. Since 2014, many states and counties, including tony areas of California and Washington state, began to see plummeting rates of MMR vaccinations in school-aged children, leading to pockets of measles outbreaks, a highly contagious, preventable, and potentially deadly or life-altering viral illness. Infants and children with measles infections can develop meningitis, brain infections, permanent deafness, permanent neurologic injury, and lung infections. The false notion that the MMR vaccine and other childhood vaccinations were linked to the development of autism spectrum disorders in children led many parents down a dangerous rabbit hole of false information online, and many of these parents sought personal belief exemptions to enter school without their children being fully vaccinated. In more recent years, some states have removed this option, leaving only medical exemptions as a means of parents foregoing vaccines for their children.
Doctor with stethoscope holding a newborn baby which is sick with measles
Mississippi (and West Virginia) were the only two states that allowed for medical exemptions only for childhood vaccinations, as opposed to others that allowed for both personal belief and religious exemptions. As of 2014, four states allowed for both personal belief and medical exemptions, 28 states allowed for religious and medical exemptions, and 16 states allowed for personal belief, religious, and medical exemptions. In order to maintain herd immunity to prevent measles outbreaks, anywhere between 92 and 95% of the population needs to be immunized. In Mississippi, this rate has been about 99%. Since 2014, when measles outbreaks started to climb, many states dropped religious and personal belief exemptions as options to avoid vaccines, but this only applied to children entering kindergarten. Those children who had entered kindergarten in earlier years without being fully vaccinated did not need to catch up on vaccine delays until they enter middle school. This has left schools with low overall vaccination rates due to older elementary school students remaining un-vaccinated until sixth or seventh grade. Mississippi, on the other hand, maintained high vaccination rates in nearly all school-aged children in the state.
The polar opposite has occurred when it comes to Covid-19 vaccinations in the state with the highest MMR vaccination rate they are having trouble crossing the 50% vaccinated threshhold in their adult population. The difference between these extremes seems directly tied to policy and politics. While the policies regarding Covid-19 vaccination requirements are in flux, especially as all vaccines remain under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), policies regarding vaccine requirements for places of employment, schools and travel remain to be determined.
Nurse gives students a vaccination in school during coronavirus pandemic
The controversies in the Covid-19 vaccination effort have been largely politically-based, bereft with conspiracy theories ranging from vaccines causing infertility to their ability to surreptitiously insert magnets and microchips. Controversies and conspiracies on MMR vaccines were different, yet no less heated. But if the state with the lowest (or now second lowest) Covid-19 vaccination rate can have the highest childhood MMR vaccination rate, based on stricter public policy, not conspiracy theory, more stringent requirements for Covid-19 vaccinations, once fully FDA-authorized, may be even the least vaccinated states ticket out of this pandemic.
Michael Irvin, 33 of Hartford, receives his COVID-19 vaccination from Joanne Kombert, RN, during a community outreach event where the City of Hartford, Footwear with Care and Hartford HealthCare teamed up to provide Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccinations and new sneakers to community members experiencing homelessness at Bushnell Park Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in Hartford. (Kassi Jackson/Kassi Jackson)
Since the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials began, people being treated for cancer and those who have survived the disease have been largely excluded.
Two prominent cancer organizations are now insisting this must change.
In a joint statement, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Friends of Cancer Research (FCR) announced that individuals with active cancer or a history of cancer must be made eligible for COVID-19 vaccine trials unless there is a safety justification for exclusion.
Weve learned that patients with cancer are especially vulnerable to severe illness, hospitalization, or death due to COVID-19, Dr. Everett E. Vokes, president of ASCO, said in the joint statement.
However, since clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines have largely excluded patients with cancer, we still have a long way to go to better understand how safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are for patients in active treatment, he added.
Dr. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer of ASCO and a medical breast cancer oncologist for 30 years, told Healthline that there is a great need to learn more about how cancer and the novel coronavirus interact.
Early in the development of the vaccines, it, of course, made sense to try to get healthy population to start within these trials, Gralow said.
But once you have positive signals, once you have locked that in, it is supercritical to adjust eligibility in subsequent trials or expand cohorts to more vulnerable and underserved populations, including those who are not healthy, she added.
Gralow said that because these trials to date enrolled narrower, more homogenous patient populations, many of the most vulnerable and underserved people dont know if the vaccines are safe or effective for them.
She said ASCO has begun to collect data over the past couple of months on people with cancer and the COVID-19 vaccines.
The vast majority, including patients with solid tumors, have good immune responses to the vaccines, Gralow said. But we are finding high-risk populations, including in hematological malignancies: B cell malignancies, lymphoma, multiple myeloma. Some of them have a response, but they are generally at lower levels.
People with blood cancers who are being treated with the drug Rituxan have particularly low response rates to the vaccine, according to Gralow.
Its not zero. But its low, she said. We are also seeing this with CAR-T cell immunotherapies and stem cell transplants. But in regular chemo, we have not seen any big problems.
Gralow noted that ASCOs statement is simply a continuation of the organizations outreach this past year to underserved populations.
We are using this statement mainly to remind people that we need to be inclusive, we need to make sure we are adding various underserved racial populations, for example, and older populations to clinical trials, and others who have been underrepresented, she said.
Dr. Erin Reid, a hematologist and professor of medicine at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health (UCSD), agrees with the ASCO/FCR position.
Formally studying the safety and benefits of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in individuals with cancer is desirable on many fronts, and I agree with the ASCO/Friends of Cancer Research joint statement, she said.
Reid said UCSD and many other institutions have been participating in the CCC-19 registry, which follows outcomes in people with cancer who developed COVID-19.
There is probably a lot of variability between different individuals with cancer and response to vaccines even among people who received the same treatment for the same cancer, Reid said. Bottom line: Some immune protection is better than none.
Vaccination of someone who is immunocompromised is likely to provide reduced severity of COVID-19 if that person is exposed to SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination, Reid concluded, but the degree of protection compared to someone with a normal immune system is not known.
An analysis published in the journal The Lancet reports that immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines are more robust in the non-cancer population but that there is still some degree of response among people with cancer.
In people with cancer, one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine yields poor efficacy. Immunogenicity increased significantly in patients with solid cancer within 2 weeks of a vaccine boost at day 21 after the first dose. These data support prioritization of patients with cancer for an early (day 21) second dose of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Gralow says that ASCO and FCR continue to look at other ways to embrace inclusiveness and keep reaching out to cancer patients and others who are not properly represented.
We have much to learn about each different group, and COVID has only magnified the problems with access to clinical trials and healthcare in general, Gralow said.
For people whove fought cancer, the uncertainty is more than an annoyance.
Alec Kupelian, 26, an operations specialist at Teen Cancer America who lives in Portland, Oregon, had a sarcoma tumor that required 11 months of chemotherapy plus radiation.
Hes in remission and remains actively involved in cancer causes.
Hes angry that people with cancer have not yet been allowed to enter vaccine trials.
There is nothing scarier than uncertainty, Kupelian told Healthline. My experience with cancer has left me with strong anxieties. Cancer patients need to be allowed in COVID-19 vaccine trials. We need to know how the vaccines are working for us.
When Lakeisha Brown knocks on doors to talk about the coronavirus vaccines, she anticipates tough conversations. Oftentimes, folks are confused or scared of the jab. They have plenty of questions but few opportunities to get answers.
I try not to be pushy, Brown said. Im not here to make your mind up for you. Im here to help you along the way.
Most people are grateful that she cares enough to reach out, and they welcome the pamphlets she provides dispelling myths and rumors about the vaccines. Shes often walking the blocks of impoverished neighborhoods that have been overlooked or abandoned by the health care system.
Once, while canvassing in Colfax in Grant Parish, a homeowner sicced his dogs on her. She escaped unscathed but wasnt fazed by the encounter. She said she's used to the polarizing reactions vaccines now elicit. Its the reason why her job is important.
Since April, Louisiana has trained nearly 300 canvassers to go door to door in hard-to-reach communities to get public health information about the coronavirus vaccines directly in the hands of residents. The targeted outreach is paired with pop-up vaccination sites and is one component of the states sprawling campaign to boost inoculation rates.
Canvassing garnered renewed attention last week after President Joe Biden highlighted the work as an essential tool in the nations vaccination drive. His comments came as Louisiana braced itself for a startling and avoidable surge in coronavirus cases, fueled by lackluster vaccination rates and made worse by an aggressive new strain of the virus known as the delta variant.
We need to go to community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood and, oftentimes, door to door literally knocking on doors to get help to the remaining people protected from the virus, Biden said Tuesday.
Louisiana began its experiment in vaccine canvassing months ago as the centerpiece of its Bring Back Louisiana campaign. The operation modeled itself after the get-out-to-vote campaigns that materialize ahead of elections, with the goal of mobilizing residents to attend pop-up vaccination sites at nearby churches and community centers.
The program kicked off with a pilot in each of the states nine public health regions and focused on ZIP codes with lagging vaccination rates that ranked poorly on a social vulnerability index, a tool used by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to predict health outcomes. In a state like Louisiana, where well-being is often divided along racial lines, that primarily consisted of Black communities.
To recruit canvassers, the Health Department has relied on partners with relationships within the targeted communities. That has included groups like Together Louisiana, a faith-based organization with statewide contacts, and the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, which boasts of its ability to turn out more than a quarter-million Black voters. The vaccine champions, as officials call them, are paid $15 an hour for their labor.
Most of the people I come in contact with Im familiar with in some way, said Brown, whose canvassing has centered around Alexandria. I live in the community. I am the community. They trust talking to me.
Before theyre deployed, canvassers undergo a rigorous module that prepares them with facts about the vaccine and tips on how to have constructive conversations that avoid defensive reactions. The training is administered under a contract with the Louisiana Public Health Institute, which developed the course alongside research from LSU and Tulane University on COVID-19 health disparities and community engagement.
The campaigns overarching goal is to get shots in arms, but the canvassers' main priority is getting facts into the hands of the public. Theyre taught to respect any questions that may arise and to engage in nonjudgmental conversations about the vaccine. Pressuring someone into getting the jab is explicitly off limits.
Work for the yes but respect the no and have faith that the no will turn into a yes, said Benjamin Nugent-Peterson, an organizer with Together Louisiana, reciting a mantra offered by one of his canvassers.
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Oftentimes, getting to that "yes" requires canvassers to make multiple passes through a community. This one woman told me, I keep seeing you, and every time I see you, I learn something different,' Brown said. She was like, You actually care, so Im going to go for it.'
The strategy is resource-intensive, but state officials argue its important that their public health strategy have an on-the-ground presence that meets Louisianans where they are, even if does make minimal gains in vaccinations.
No one is under the pretense that canvassing is some silver bullet, said Aly Neel, a Health Department spokesperson. But community engagement, in and of itself, is important.
Louisianas vaccination rate continues to lag the nation, with just 39% of its population or 1.8 million people having received at least one dose, ranking ahead of only Mississippi. Meanwhile, around 55% of the United States population has received at least one dose.
As the pilot programs wound down, the state began tweaking its outreach formula. It began distributing information about nearby vaccination sites into its canvassing material, even if the pop-up event wasnt specifically sponsored by the Health Department. And while door-to-door outreach made sense for dense, urban areas, it didnt quite translate for sprawling, rural communities.
We learned that we couldnt force this model on every place, Neel said. We couldnt have a rigid, cookie-cutter approach. We had to be nimble.
In Bush, out in rural St. Tammany Parish, a crew of volunteer firefighters opted to set up an information table outside the local Piggly Wiggly instead canvassing door to door. Scott Brewer, the areas fire chief, said his staff also weaved conversations about vaccine resources into their everyday work.
You get a little fender bender, and while we wait for the police to show up, instead of sitting there staring at each other, we said, Hey. Were doing a vaccination drive. Got any questions? Heres the info,' Brewer said.
Recently, the Health Department has begun to experiment with mobile vaccination sites, pairing canvassers with vans manned by Louisiana Army National Guard troops ready to offer doses on demand. That idea emerged after attendance at pop-up vaccination sites, which occurred after canvassing had taken place, was lower than expected.
We found that a lot of people who would say they would get a vaccine simply wouldnt show up, said Dr. David Holcombe, the states regional medical director based in Alexandria. Thats not to condemn them. People have complicated lives.
The feedback canvassers gathered from residents on the ground also helped the Health Department craft alternate strategies to break down barriers to getting vaccinated. It launched a vaccine hotline, for example, with extended hours so residents who lacked internet access or were too busy during the workday could easily schedule an appointment or ask questions of a medical professional. The hotline has since fielded more than 5,000 calls and scheduled 2,300 appointments.
The canvassing effort is continuously evolving as new information emerges about the coronavirus, the vaccines and shifting public attitudes. It remains the heartbeat of the states outreach efforts, officials said, even as the state promotes other strategies, like $2.3 million vaccine lottery.
Even if we dont see outstanding results on the front end, were building a better way to do this, Nugent-Peterson said. Theres no lack of challenges, but theres still a lot to be encouraged by.
Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that President BidenJoe BidenCalifornia event center drops plans to host Gaetz, Greene's 'America First' tour Xi, Kim vow to strengthen North Korea and China's friendship, cooperation Sunday shows preview: Biden defends troop withdrawal in Afghanistan; COVID-19 impacting unvaccinated pockets MORE should require all military members to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In an interview with Greta Van Susteren set to air on Sunday, Panetta said it was a matter of national security.
I frankly think the president ought to issue an order requiring everybody in the military to get a COVID-19 shot, period. That's an issue involving our national security, Panetta, who served under the Obama administration, said. The last damn thing you need is to have those in the military that are our warriors unable to respond to a mission because they've gotten COVID-19. There's no excuse for that.
When I was in the Army, I got every shot required by the military, shots in both arms as well as everywhere else. There is no reason we should not require a COVID-19 shot for everyone in the military, period, he continued.
More thanhalf of all service members are at least partially vaccinated as of late June.
The Navy reported a 77 percent vaccination rate for active-duty sailors, while 70 percent of troops in the Army are vaccinated, as are 61 percent in the Air Force and 58 percent in the Marine Corps.
However, thousands of military members have still not gotten the vaccine.
Thevaccines are under an emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Therefore, the Pentagon cannot legallyrequire that all military members get the vaccine, althoughBiden could grant an exception to this rule.
In an interview with NBCs Craig Melvin in April,Biden did not rule out the possibility of requiring all service members to get the vaccine once the FDA fully approves it but said it would be a tough call.
I dont know. Im going to leave that to the military, Biden said.
Im not saying I wont. I think youre going to see more and more of them getting it. And I think its going to be a tough call as to whether or not they should be required to have to get it in the military because youre in such close proximity with other military personnel, he later added.
