The vaccine requires two doses and was first administered to gorillas in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in March after cases were confirmed in a group of the zoo's large primates.
Zoetis donated more than 11,000 doses to almost 70 zoos and wildlife sanctuaries across the country as a part of an experimental vaccination effort authorized by the US Department of Agriculture.
"This is a vaccine that was developed for animals by the Zoetis company," said Scott Larsen, head veterinarian at the Denver Zoo. "By using it in animals, it's not taking away vaccines that would otherwise be distributed to people."
At the Oakland Zoo, animal vaccinations began on June 30 and the animals are "doing great post-vaccine," said Erin Harrison, a spokeswoman for the zoo.
Zookeepers have monitored the animals after they received doses to ensure they are acting normally, Harrison said. The zoo has received enough experimental vaccines for 50 animals and each animal must receive two doses three weeks apart, she said.
"We're concerned about the animals' overall populations and long-term survival on the planet," Larsen said. "There's been concern about wild populations of these animals, some of the last on earth, and what may happen when the virus gets into these animals. We're just trying to do the best we can."
Zoetis began tests for the animal vaccine when the first reports of a dog contracting Covid-19 emerged from Hong Kong last year, spokesperson Christina Lood said.
Pandemic precautions at zoos across the country protect animals, not just visitors, Larsen said.
CNN's Brisa Colon contributed to this report.
CNN
The spread of the Delta coronavirus variant in the United States has some experts questioning whether it should be time to start testing even vaccinated people for the virus.
Although health officials have said evidence shows vaccinated people are unlikely to spread the virus to others, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, says it may be important to watch to make sure the more transmissible Delta variant does not evade the effects of vaccines.
Current guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fully vaccinated people can refrain from routine testing.
I think now we should revisit this policy with the Delta variant and determine if the current recommendations hold up, Hotez wrote in an email to CNN on Wednesday.
Plus, the CDC is only reporting data on breakthrough infections that cause severe disease. That could mean scientists and health officials will not know how many vaccinated people have mild or asymptomatic infections and it will be very difficult to track whether a new variant such as Delta is causing more vaccine failure.
We need to design studies. Assuming this is underway, then the question comes, do we wait for those studies or change recommendations now and reconsider regular testing for asymptomatic vaccinated individuals? Given how disruptive this is, I would probably be inclined to wait for additional data before going backwards, Hotez wrote.
The good news is that the mRNA vaccines are still highly protective against serious illness even for Delta.
The mRNA vaccines are made by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. Johnson & Johnson has also reported evidence its vaccine is protective against Delta, also known as B.1.617.2.
Because vaccines are still highly protective, other experts argue there is no need to change guidance.
I still think that the pre-test probability of a positive COVID test in people who are vaccinated and asymptomatic is very small. So much so that you would worry about false positives, Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens Hospital in Philadelphia, told CNN on Wednesday.
Overall, data on Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant among vaccinated people are hard to come by especially when seeking cases that may be asymptomatic. As of May, the CDC transitioned from monitoring all breakthrough Covid-19 cases among vaccinated people to only tracking cases that result in hospitalization or death.
In Israel, the Ministry of Health issued a brief statement Monday saying an analysis had shown the coronavirus vaccine was somewhat less protective against severe disease than before, and linked the drop to the spread of the Delta variant of the virus.
Israel widely deployed the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The statement said that as of June 6, the vaccine provided 64% protection against all infections, including asymptomatic infection and mild disease, and a drop to 93% efficacy in preventing severe disease and hospitalizations.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he would like to see more data on the Israeli findings before deciding the Delta variant in fact eludes the protection offered by vaccines.
We need to get more granular and specific data from the Israelis, Fauci told CNNs Anderson Cooper.
While the Israelis know what theyre doing, the data is sparse, Fauci added.
The Israeli government has not yet released new data or any other background to support the findings.
We want to make sure exactly what the circumstances were of that drop from 94% protection against asymptomatic infection down to 64, Fauci said. Is that a reflection that theyre more aggressively testing everybody and anybody whos come into contact with a person who has an asymptomatic infection? I dont know.
In the United States, breakthrough cases among vaccinated people are so rare that many state health departments CNN has contacted have not collected enough data to determine any patterns or trends yet that could result in a change in testing guidance.
For instance, Louisiana confirmed to CNN in an email on Wednesday that state epidemiologists have an analysis of breakthrough cases currently underway but need more sequencing data to be confident in sharing state-level estimates.
However, we fully expect to see more cases, especially among unvaccinated individuals, as the proportion of Delta circulating in Louisiana increases, Kevin Litten, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Health, wrote in the email.
Similarly to other states, Arkansas has seen a significant increase in Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant, Danyelle McNeill, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Health, told CNN in an email on Tuesday.
Overall, we have seen an increase in the number of new cases in our state. Additionally, we have seen an increase in the proportion and number of samples that have been identified as the delta variant, McNeill wrote in the email.
But as of now, due to lack of variant information on all of our current cases, we are unable to attribute the increase in the number of cases to the delta variant, McNeill said. It is difficult to say if this is a causal relationship.
Its been almost 7 months since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the first emergency authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine: Pfizer-BioNTechs mRNA vaccine.
In the following months, two other COVID-19 vaccines, Modernas mRNA vaccine and Johnson & Johnsons adenovirus vector vaccine, were given emergency use authorization.
Since that first authorization, more than 182.7 million U.S. people 55 percent of the total population have received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
During the vaccination campaign, most people have received an mRNA vaccine either because it was more available or they preferred an mRNA vaccine.
In addition, a number of peer-reviewed studies have been published supporting the safety and effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines seen in the initial clinical trials.
Yet, so far the FDA has shown no indication of when it will grant full approval.
Lack of full approval, though, hasnt limited the availability of the vaccines.
Right now, any person 12 years of age or older can get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States. The country also has plenty of doses to go around.
For one, full approval might help convince people in the wait-and-see group that the vaccines are safe and effective.
Full approval may provide greater assurance that the vaccine safety and efficacy have been more fully studied, and may reduce some of the vaccine hesitancy that currently exists, said Melissa Tice, PhD, assistant professor of clinical research and leadership at George Washington University.
It could also lead to more employers and schools requiring COVID-19 vaccination for their employees and students.
Both of these might help restart the countrys stalled vaccination program.
Which could prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, something thats still happening in parts of the country more than a year into the pandemic.
Dr. Eric J. Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Translational Institute, wrote in a recent New York Times opinion article that given the months of data now available, the FDA should move quickly to grant full approval of the mRNA vaccines.
Few if any biologics (vaccines, antibodies, molecules) have had their safety and efficacy scrutinized to this degree, he wrote.
In other words, the mRNA vaccines have overwhelmingly been proved safe and effective by clinical trials, independent research and the experience of millions of people around the world who received them, he added.
The FDA has not indicated when full approval of the mRNA vaccines might happen.
However, Pfizer and BioNTech as well as Moderna have already submitted applications for full approval of their vaccines officially known as a Biologic License Application (BLA) to the FDA on May 7, 2021, and June 1, 2021, respectively.
These submissions started the clock on the FDAs regulatory review.
In the first 60 days, the agency checks the application to make sure its complete and decides which type of review will happen.
Tice said given the urgent need for the COVID-19 vaccines, the FDA will likely grant the applications priority review.
The agencys goal for this type of review is to make a decision within 6 months of submission.
That means the FDA would decide on full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by January 2022 and February 2022 for the Moderna vaccine.
This is the maximum review time frame. A decision could come sooner thanks to the work done for the EUAs.
The FDA has already reviewed the initial clinical trials data from both companies and the manufacturing aspects to grant the EUAs, said Tice, so full approval of these vaccines might happen in less than 6 months.
The FDAs emergency approval is a less rigorous review process reserved for public health emergencies of which a pandemic clearly qualifies.
There still was robust data showing the vaccines were safe since were based on clinical data involving tens of thousands of study participants, which is the same size trial as would be expected for a drug or vaccine to get full approval.
The EUAs for COVID-19 vaccines were granted based on an average of 2 months of safety follow-up data.
Tice said full review requires companies to submit longer-term data on the vaccines safety, along with additional data on how well the vaccine protects against infection and severe disease.
This will give a better picture of the benefits and risks of the vaccine.
According to a survey last month by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), about a third of unvaccinated adults said they would be more likely to get vaccinated if one of the COVID-19 vaccines received full approval from the FDA.
About half of the unvaccinated wait-and-see group said the same. This group which made up about 10 percent of adults surveyed includes a large number of Black and Hispanic adults and younger adults.
Many incentives have been offered to encourage this on-the-fence group to get vaccinated, including million-dollar lotteries, free doughnuts, and free beer, with mixed success.
The KFF survey also found that around 6 percent of adults say they will only get vaccinated if required, such as by an employer or school, or to travel.
For them, the nudge toward vaccination might have to come from mandates.
Even without full FDA approval of the COVID-19 vaccines, some employers have already started requiring vaccination for employees.
For example, Morgan Stanley is barring workers who are not fully vaccinated from most of its New York offices.
Also, health system Houston Methodist in Texas imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees. More than 150 workers resigned or were terminated as a result of this new policy, although that was a small fraction of the more than 20,000 workers who complied.
A group of employees challenged the mandate in court, but a judge dismissed their lawsuit.
This court decision, and federal law, supports the right of employers to require employees to be vaccinated.
However, some employers may be waiting for the FDA to grant full approval before setting up their own vaccine mandate.
This includes the U.S. military, which has encouraged, but not required, its active-duty members to get vaccinated.
Partial vaccination rates in the military range from 58 percent for the Marine Corps to 77 percent for the Navy.
However, the military has suggested that once the vaccine is fully approved, it may make vaccination a medical readiness requirement for service members.
Even if federal employment law allows for vaccine mandates, businesses in certain states may have a harder time requiring their employees to be vaccinated.
Many states have introduced or passed laws restricting the use of employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates or proof of vaccination.
Hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States have already set up policies requiring students or employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Full FDA approval may lead to additional schools setting requirements, with a broader scope of who has to be vaccinated.
More uncertain is whether K-12 schools will have COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Each state decides which immunizations are required for students to attend a public or private school, as well as whether religious or other exemptions are allowed.
However, the COVID-19 vaccines are currently only approved in the United States for people 12 years and older. Younger children may not have access to the vaccines until early fall.
Some experts think mandates wont happen, if at all, until after the FDA fully approves the vaccines for children and teenagers.
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, director of the ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, and colleagues wrote in JAMA that longer-term safety and strong support from healthcare professionals and the public would be needed before school mandates are put in place.
In the meantime, they think incentives might work better at encouraging parents to vaccinate their children.
The best way to curb the spread of the virus and return to in person living and learning is to get the vaccine. Those able should be required to have it on campus.
Grace Smith
Student, Kyleigh Harm, receives the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Iowa Memorial Union at the University of Iowa on Wednesday, April 21, 2021.
As the pandemic continues on with the spread of the new Delta variant, Iowas regent universities should require the vaccine. Of course, there should be exceptions in cases where it is a danger, or there are religious exemptions. However, the majority of students returning to campus who are able to receive one should have the vaccine.
The state has been limited in ways to mitigate the spread of the virus. Early this year, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation banning COVID-19 vaccine passports in Iowa.
This bill stated that COVID-19 vaccine status cannot be put on state-issued or political ID cards. Businesses and government entities are also not allowed to require COVID-19 vaccines upon entry. However, it is up to employers discretion whether to require vaccines for employees. Healthcare facilities are also exempt from these guidelines.
Across the country, hundreds of schools have required the COVID-19 vaccine to return on campus, with health and religious exemptions in place. However, the only school in Iowa requiring the vaccine is Grinnell College.
Although there is nothing concrete barring Iowas regent universities from requiring vaccines, Iowas public universities have decided not to require vaccines for those returning to campus.
The safest way for us to return to in-person learning is for people able to receive the vaccine to have it.
Even with more people getting vaccinated, we are still seeing the spread of the virus. It is the best way for us to protect against the spread, especially with the new Delta variant. The Delta variant is between 40 and 60 percent more contractable than the Alpha variant found in Britain. The Alpha variant is already 30 to 50 percent more easily contractible than the original strain of the virus.
Although there is not a lot of research regarding the vaccines effectiveness against the Delta variant, a study in England found the Pfizer vaccines effectiveness did not reduce very much when the person only received one dose. The same results are expected for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Clearly, the best protection against the coronavirus is receiving full doses of one of the vaccines.
Even with schooling being mostly online last year, Iowa City saw concerning spikes in COVID-19 cases. Now that we are to return to in-person learning, it is a public health concern not to require vaccines for those who can take them. With the return of a normal semester, things like football games could end up being hot spots for contracting and spreading the virus.
Additionally, Iowa still has a long way to go with vaccinating Iowans. As of July 1, only 48 percent of Iowans have been fully vaccinated. Out of not even half of Iowans vaccinated, 56 percent of those vaccinated are ages 18 to 64.
We have seen how the virus has disproportionately ravaged minority communities across the country, as well. At one point, 17.3 percent of COVID-19 cases came from Hispanic or Latino populations, despite making up only 6 percent of Iowas population. Similarly, at this time, Black Iowans who make up only 4 percent of the states population accounted for 9.2 percent of positive cases.
Requiring the COVID-19 vaccine is essential in protecting minority and at-risk populations not just on campus, but within the Iowa City community, as well. We have experienced a lot of loss because of the pandemic. There is no reason high risk areas such as universities should not be mandating the vaccine for those who can take it.
Vaccine requirements are also nothing new to Iowas regent universities.
Iowas two state universities require proof of two Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccinations. If this is allowed, they should also require COVID-19 vaccines for those able, as well.
It is a privilege to be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine for many people. Vulnerable people deserve to feel safe on campus, and vaccine requirements are the best way to limit the spread.
Columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) We still have a long way to go until most Nevadans are fully vaccinated. But that may be tough, as some are adamant about not getting vaccinated or decided not to continue with the second dose.
More than 150,00 in Clark County have not completed the second dose.
Its an issue across the country and here in Nevada.
As health officials continue to encourage people to get vaccinated, some residents are skipping out on their second dose because they feel like the first one is enough, or the side effects scared them.
Its a topic that is causing a lot of division.
But for those like Kevin Zimmerman, who tried to get the vaccine, they say they are done after just one.
I had the heat on in the apartment, the blanket over me, sweatshirt on and I am still shivering for four days. And I was like, I cant do it for four more days, Zimmerman said.
I just didnt get the second dose. I guess I am half vaccinated, he said.
Zimmerman said the side effects from the first dose in March were too severe for him to go through it again.But, he is disabled and falls under a vulnerable group that could be susceptible to the virus and the new Delta variant.
He now has regrets.
I should have just done it and gotten it over with, Zimmerman said. If I got sick, I got sick.
Summerlin resident Valerie Matlock is concerned about a second dose for her daughter due to her bad reaction.
She got Moderna and it immediately took her out. She came home and was shaking, Matlock said.
Matlock understands the risks of not being fully protected, and is relying on the first dose.
I am not willing to risk her getting the second dose and she not waking up, Matlock said.
Health officials say you are protected against the Delta variant only if you are fully vaccinated. And the two doses of Pfizer or Moderna are vital.
Dr. Marc J. Khan of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine explains how it works.
So the first dose of the vaccine primes the immune system or gets it ready for the infection, Khan said. The second dose is a booster. Magnifies the immunes response to provide much more protection against the viral infection.
If you are behind on your second vaccine, health officials say you can still get your second dose. There is not a cut-off but the sooner the better.
And a reminder to those of you who have been vaccinated: The first winner in the Vax Nevada Days campaign will be announced on Thursday.
Remember, the raffle is a vaccine incentive program to reward those whove received or will receive at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. Eligible adult Nevadans can qualify for cash prizes, while minors can win college savings plans, state parks passes and more.
Winners will be randomly selected each week for eight weeks. The grand prize winner will be announced in late August.
Variants, Misinformation, and 'Brain Drain' The COVID-19 Vaccine Experience in Brazil, India, and Africa The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox answers questions during the governor's COVID-19 briefing at the Utah Capitol on Thursday, July 1, 2021.
| July 6, 2021, 10:42 p.m.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared a statistical victory in the war against the COVID-19 pandemic by saying Tuesday that 70% of Utahs adult population had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the Fourth of July.
Getting there, though, required some explanation and isnt entirely reflected on the Utah Department of Healths public data website.
Cox, in a tweet thread posted Tuesday morning, wrote that UDOH had reported 65.2% of Utahns 18 or older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine a total of 1,482,091 who had received at least one dose.
However, Cox wrote, that doesnt include doses administered by federal agencies specifically, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, federal corrections facilities or Indian Health Services. Those agencies account for another 114,908 doses to adults in Utah, he wrote.
Add the federal tally to the states data, Cox said, and you get 1,596,999 adults in Utah who have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Divide that by the number of Utah adults 2,274,774, according to Coxs tweet and you come to a total vaccination rate of 70.2%.
This is truly a milestone worth celebrating! Cox wrote in one of the 20 tweets in his Tuesday thread.
However, Cox added, were not out of the woods yet. Unfortunately, the pandemic is not over.
Cox said he is still very concerned about the recent rise in cases and hospitalizations. He also noted that some parts of Utah, including many of our rural areas and communities of color, are still below the 70% mark.
The percentage of Utahns who are eligible to be vaccinated who have received a dose, according to UDOH, is 61.4% as of Tuesday. That factors in children ages 12-17, who are eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. That group has one of the lowest rates of getting the vaccine; according to UDOH, only 36.5% of Utahns between 12 and 18 have received at least one dose.
Not quite half of Utahs entire population 49.6% has received at least one dose of a vaccine, UDOHs data showed as of Tuesday. That includes children 11 and under, who are not eligible to be vaccinated yet. And Utah, it is often noted, has a larger population of children, 29% according to U.S. Census Bureau figures, than the national average of 22.3%.
Utahs goal of a 70% vaccination rate by Independence Day mirrored the pledge made in May by President Joe Biden to hit the same rate nationwide. On Sunday, July 4, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said only 67% of adults nationwide had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Theres nothing magical about that 70% threshold, Cox said Thursday at his COVID-19 media briefing, where he first mentioned adding the federal data to the states numbers. We would rather have 99%, 100% of adults in Utah vaccinated, because thats how were going to reduce deaths and reduce hospitalizations.
Dr. Kevin Izard has heard it all when it comes to theories about why Blacks are hesitant to getvaccinated against COVID-19.
The one that makes him chuckle is the vaccine contains microchips to track people. He said it would easier for Dr. Evilto hack the banking system than to make a chip small enough to be injected into someones bloodstream.
And why would somebody go through all the trouble to track you anyway when they can track you on your cellphone so much easier? asked Izard, chairof family medicine at St. Josephs Hospital and former president of the Cream City Medical Society
Jokes aside,Izard said vaccine hesitancy is understandable, anditcuts across racial and political lines. The main indicator of whether people get the shot is political party and where one lives, he noted.
But in some cases, vaccine hesitancy stems from a distrust in the government. That is true for the Black community, given this country's history with medical research, Izard said.Blacks, he added, already doubt thatgovernment institutionshave their best intentions at heart, a notion amplified by the BlackLives Matter movement.
Whether its the education system, the medical system, the political system, or the legal system or the courts, Black people dont feel that these institutions havebeen set up to be fair to them, Izard said.
But vaccine hesitancyimpedes the push to reach herd immunity a point at which enough of the population is immune to the coronavirus, either fromhaving been vaccinated or recoveredfrom the disease,thatthe viruscan no longer spread. Most experts pegged this number at 80%.
We are trying to get to that point because the number of delta variant cases are increasing, Izard said. The variantsare becoming the dominant strains and tend to be more contagious and more infectious than the previous versions. We're trying torace here to get as many people vaccinated as we can.
More: State health officials track fast-spreading Delta variant of COVID-19 in Wisconsin
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Currently, 47.2%ofWisconsinresidents are fully vaccinated.
In Wisconsin,the percentage of Blacks who are fully vaccinated isbehind other racial groups. Only 27% of Blacks are fully vaccinated, compared with32% of Hispanics, 51% of Asians, 43% of American Indians and 46% of Whites, according to a Journal Sentinel analysis of Wisconsin Department of Health Services data.
Nationally,only 8.8% of Black Americans are fully vaccinated.
There will be some who will not get the vaccine no matter what, while others are hesitant out of caution, Izard said.
Then there aresome who are choosing not to getvaccinated based on erroneous orunsubstantiated information circulating on the web.
Getting the shot is a personal decision, but it has far-reaching implications and can affect those around you, Izard said. But whatever the decision, he added, it must be based on correct information.
Here are five common misconceptions and concerns about the vaccine, and what Izard says people should know about them.
Track COVID and the vaccine in Wisconsin: Track the latest data on cases, deaths and our pace on vaccines
Wisconsin vaccine FAQ: Who's eligible, where to get it and what's next
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It's true that the vaccineswere given emergency-use authorization, Izard said.
When Trump announced Operation Warp Speed in May 2020, the aim was to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible. Normally, it takes two or three years, or more, for vaccines or any medicines to go through FDA approvalto ensure safety and effectiveness before comingto market. But the government wanted to do this in a matter of months, sosome things were abridged and combined, he said.
The medications were approved based on the initial studies, Izard said. And the initial studies as reviewed by the CDC and the FDA appeared to [show] the medications were safe and appeared to be very effective. So, it was approved in an emergency fashion.
The groundwork for the COVID-19 vaccine goes back almost two decades when a similar virus emerged in 2003, Izard said. COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 resembles another virus with a similar name SARS-CoV-1. That virus was also a novel virus, meaning humans may not have been exposed to it before.
Concerns that the SARS-CoV-1 could cause a pandemic prompted work to begin on a vaccine in 2003, Izard said. Fortunately, that pandemicdidn't happen, but efforts at a vaccine laid the groundwork for SARS-CoV-2, the current novel coronavirus.
They didnt start from ground zero, Izard said.They actually have been working on this for 18 years or more.
Things did move a lot faster under Operation Warp Speed. Normally, Izard said, time is needed to recruit participants in studies and trials, then to do a study to ensure the vaccine is safe, and then do another study on its effectiveness.
What they did is they combined a bunch of these things, Izard said. They did both the safety and efficacy studies togetherso that it didnt take a whole lot of time to figure out if it was safe and effective.
More: After getting placebo in vaccine trial, medical reporter opts for the real thing -- and wrestles with his decision
In the past, some vaccines used fetal stem cells, but Izard said that is not the case anymore.Because of the advances in DNA technology, living cells are no longer needed
The Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine were developed from a new technology using mRNA, a code which teaches human cells how to make aspecific protein in this case, the"spike protein"found on the coronavirus. That triggers an immune response inside the human body.
With mRNA, basically what they are doing is mixing the ingredients in a test tube," Izard said. "Once they know the genetic code, they dont need to have any kind of living organism attached to it. There are no stem cells or anything involved in [the COVID-19 vaccine].
Side effects are to be expected with any medications or vaccines, Izard said. That's the case with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which has seen rare cases of blood clots.
To help track any side effects, Izard said people who get the shots are urged to report any complications they may have. But ofall the people who are fully vaccinated 153million people so far with either the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer or Moderna shots,major side effects are too rare to dissuade people from getting the shot.
Ill put it in these terms: You are more likely to be struck by lightning twice than to get that rare blood clot people got from the Johnson vaccine. Its less than 1 in a million, Izard said.
Also, there haven'tbeen any major side effects with the Moderna and Pfizervaccines that use mRNA technology, Izard said. So far, side effects have been mostly associated with Johnson & Johnson'sand AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, he noted.AstraZeneca is not being used in U.S.
People should weigh the risk of getting COVID-19 versus getting the shot, he said.
"If your risk from complications from COVID-19 infection outweighs your risk for complications from the vaccine, than you should get the vaccine,especially if you are African American or Hispanic, Izard said.
The long-term side effects from COVIDincludeloss of smell or taste and in young people, heart and lung problems.
Conversely, common side effects from the shotare pain, redness and swelling at the injection site. Others could include fatigue, chills, and fever throughout the body, but these tend to go away, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These are well-documented things that happened at a relatively high rate compared to the extremely rare rate of the side effects of the vaccine," Izard said.
More: That second shot of COVID-19 vaccine can cause a headache and then some, but it works
More: COVID-19 vaccine side effects are more likely to happen after the second shot. Here's what I experienced when I got mine.
More: A Wisconsin mom gave birth in a COVID-19 coma before slipping to the brink of death
Peopleoften conflatedthe flu, influenza and COVID, but they couldn't be more different, Izard noted.
"COVID is more contagious and more deadlythan theflu.Soyoucantreally treat themexactly thesame," he said.
During the 2019-2020 flu season, there were 36,175 cases of the flu in Wisconsin and 183 deaths, including three children, according to the Wisconsin department of health services.
To date, there havebeen 7,315 COVID-19 deaths in the stateand nearly 613,000 cases.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
Gov. Jim Justice was all smiles Tuesday as he announced that more than one million West Virginians have been partially vaccinated. (Photo Provided)
CHARLESTON More than a million West Virginians have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, contributing to the continual decrease in active cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Gov. Jim Justice said on Tuesday.
According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, 1,005,135 eligible West Virginians age 12 and older have at least one dose of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as of Tuesday, making up 64.5 percent of all eligible residents.
I congratulate everyone who has played a role in getting us to this point, but we still have more work to do, Justice said during his COVID-19 briefing from the Capitol. West Virginia, youve done a whale of a job.
Seniors age 65 and older account for a majority of those who are partially vaccinated. More than 87 percent of the 65-and-older population have the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Of those age 50 and older, the percentage for partial vaccination is more than 79 percent. Justice said state health officials are pushing to get the partial vaccine rate for those age 65 and older to 90 percent and for those age 50 and up to 85 percent.
Were going to get there, and were going to surpass it, Justice said.
Justice continued to call on eligible children and young adults to get vaccinated, but the governor pushed back on criticism that the state was not doing all it could to push for vaccinations for young people.
You may have a whole lot of people on the outside who are throwing mud at us and saying why do this, Justice said. Id say kiss my butt, anybody who would sit and think in any way that West Virginia is having trouble now getting 12- to 35-year-olds there. For the most part, those people are not in danger like our older people have been.
Active COVID-19 cases in the state were 1,093, accounting for only 0.06 percent of state residents with an active COVID-19 infection as of Tuesday. Active cases have dropped 19 percent in seven days, from 1,356 active cases last Tuesday. Only Mineral and Mingo counties were in the yellow category on the County Alert System map one step down from green in the five-color alert system map.
Hospitalizations have dropped to 66 cases in West Virginia, with 25 of those in ICU beds and seven on ventilators. There were only four new deaths since Fridays DHHR update prior to the July Fourth weekend. The Delta variant, also known as the India variant, has remained as 12 cases since last Tuesday.
The only way weve gotten there is we all kept pulling the rope, we call kept pushing these folks and pushing them and pushing them to get there, Justice said. Its extremely important you get your second shot the effectiveness of these vaccines is off-the-chart good.
The next drawing from West Virginias vaccine incentive lottery is today with announcements coming throughout the day. More than 330,000 partially vaccinated residents have registered for the drawing today, with the cut-off for each weeks drawing on the Sunday before. West Virginia have four more opportunities to win prizes between now and Wednesday, Aug. 4, including $1 million, college scholarships and custom pick-up trucks.
Eligible West Virginians can go to governor.wv.gov to register for next weeks drawing.
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Attendees of Glencoes popular Thursday farmers market will have the chance to receive more than just fresh produce and artisan goods.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will host two COVID-19 vaccine clinics at the market, according to information from the village of Glencoe.
Officials will be administering first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday, July 15, and on Thursday, Aug. 5, respectively.
IDPH officials are expecting that the pop-up clinics will serve 50 individuals.
The Glencoe Farmers Market runs from 3-6 p.m. and is held on Greeley Avenue and 11th Street in the downtown area.
Glencoe is pacing well above county, state and national levels in vaccination rate.
As of publication time, 70.4 percent of Glencoe residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Cook County data. That percentage equates to 6,143 residents with at least one dose.
County data shows that 5,185 Glencoe residents, or 59.4 percent, are fully vaccinated.
In Cook County, 2.67 million vaccine doses have been administered, according to data from the state. That total represents 52.8 percent of the population. Just over 1.3 million Cook County residents are fully vaccinated.
Illinois has administered 12.7 million vaccine doses, its data shows. Just below 50 percent of Illinois residents are fully vaccinated, as 48.8 percent have received both doses.
The United States has administered 331 million vaccination doses. One hundred and fifty-seven million U.S. residents, or 47.9 percent, are fully vaccinated.
For more information on the pop-up clinic, and to register, visit IDPHs online portal.
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