Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage parts of the world, the blame game is already well underway to pinpoint why it wasnt better contained. Throughout 2020 and up to the present day, hardly a single aspect of the pandemic responsewhether mask wearing, lockdowns, vaccine production, or school openingshas been free from politicization. Among the public and experts, debates have swirled around who made the most accurate guesses about the number of COVID-19 casualties or its impact on the stock market.
Meanwhile, scientists at the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) were mapping viral proteins, Operation Warp Speed was disbursing funds to biotech companies to ramp up vaccine development, and a wide global public-private coalition was launching COVAX to ensure vaccine distribution to poorer nations. Other than NIAID director Anthony Fauci, few of those involved would be recognized by any member of the public or chattering class. But if and when COVID-19 is finally eradicated, well have these technocrats to thank.
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage parts of the world, the blame game is already well underway to pinpoint why it wasnt better contained. Throughout 2020 and up to the present day, hardly a single aspect of the pandemic responsewhether mask wearing, lockdowns, vaccine production, or school openingshas been free from politicization. Among the public and experts, debates have swirled around who made the most accurate guesses about the number of COVID-19 casualties or its impact on the stock market.
Meanwhile, scientists at the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) were mapping viral proteins, Operation Warp Speed was disbursing funds to biotech companies to ramp up vaccine development, and a wide global public-private coalition was launching COVAX to ensure vaccine distribution to poorer nations. Other than NIAID director Anthony Fauci, few of those involved would be recognized by any member of the public or chattering class. But if and when COVID-19 is finally eradicated, well have these technocrats to thank.
In Asia, they already do. From Taiwan to South Korea to Singapore, doctors, engineers, and other professionals occupy the top rungs of elected office and functional agencies. In these countries, public administration is a vocation, and revolving doors between corporate and political life are minimal. Transparency is high and corruption is low. What differentiates all three Asian statesand others with ultra-low COVID-19 death ratesis they are highly technocratic.
In technocracies, competence, public spirit, and key performance indicators are more important than cults of personality or popularity contests. Populist dilettantes such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former U.S. President Donald Trump mocked the experts on everything from Brexit to China tariffs to COVID-19, sacrificing public welfare for political gain. Their megalomaniacal hijacking of the state in times of crisis serves as a stark reminder that when its a matter of life and death, wed better trust the technocrats.
COVID-19 isnt the only hazard demonstrating that complex global challenges easily overwhelm most domestic political systems and international diplomatic mechanisms. Rising geopolitical tensions, the governance of frontier technologies like artificial intelligence, and climate change are other existential issues where global cooperation at the moment can best be described as kicking the can down the road. But crisis management is not the same as problem-solving. That requires a strong global application of the precautionary principle as well as the proactive steering of large-scale resources to solutions. If you want a better world for your children, dont hold your breath for global democratic deliberation.
There are numerous examples of 20th century interventions designed to prevent worst-case scenarios. In the latter years of World War II, then-U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt conceived of the Four Policemen to restrain military rearmament, a coalition that became embedded in the United Nations Security Council. Although the U.N. became a theater for Cold War grandstanding, it also served as a conduit for great-power dialogue. The establishment of the supranational European Union is another example of building institutions that overcompensate to prevent history from repeating itself.
Similar approaches have characterized the U.S. and U.N. response to major demographic risks. In the 1970s, fearing the security implications of a rapidly growing world population, the Ford administration began significant support for population planning policies, such as the mass distribution of contraception across the developing world. That represented a turning point in global fertility, contributing to the present plateau of the world population at almost 8 billion people rather than the 15 billion people feared at the time.
In recent decades, the precautionary principle has entered the formal and legal vernacular. In Germany, the Vorsorgeprinzip has been used to enforce strong environmental protections against pollutants. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, a slew of so-called macroprudential measures required banks to maintain higher capital adequacy ratios to guard against liquidity crises, signaling the rise of a new regulatory capitalism. And with the onset of COVID-19, smart countries moved rapidly to close borders and deploy mass testing and contact tracing. All such measures have been designed by experienced professionals, whether lawyers, engineers, doctors, or scientists.
Precautionary principle thinking gained prominence through the work of scholars like Arend Lijphart, the Dutch political scientist who sought to explain how fragile multiethnic and multilingual societies maintain stability, arguing leaders who foresaw undesirable outcomes would preemptively overcompensate through inclusive policymaking and power-sharing agreements. In the 1980s, political scientist Robert Axelrod coined the phrase shadow of the future in his seminal work The Evolution of Cooperation, using game theory tools to find alternative policies to repetitive confrontation. His contemporary, political scientist Robert Jervis, wrote the Lijphart Effect can help transform a dangerous situation into a safer one. Todays world is full of dangerous situations where shadow-of-the-future thinking should inspire preemptive overcompensation.
COVID-19 is a fine example. Risk philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb and his collaborators, complexity theorists Yaneer Bar-Yam and Joseph Norman, issued prescient early warnings in January 2020 arguing in favor of the precautionary principle owing to the interconnectedness of global epidemiological, social, and economic systems. Swedens Anders Tegnell, the countrys equivalent to Fauci, took the opposite approach, betting on a herd immunity that never arrived. Tegnell is, of course, an expert but also acted like a maverick rather than acting with the greatest protection of life in mind.
Global leaders have only begun to face the cascading spillover effects of COVID-19 in ways that massively compound existing crises. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have issued more than $2 trillion in emergency lending to cash-strapped governments. The United States, EU, China, and private creditors must consider major debt forgiveness and write-downs to prevent economic collapse in dozens of developing countries. Vaccine shortages and acute hunger have to be confronted through coalitions involving multilateral agencies like the World Food Program and philanthropic donors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Business-as-usual, Band-Aid diplomacy wont cut it. Its time for big decisions and strong management, whether a sovereign debt resolution framework or a new Green Revolution.
The global monetary system is another arena ripe for preemptive action. The U.S. dollars hegemony is gradually eroding, but unlike previous great-power transitions, the Chinese renminbi wont replace it. Bodies like the IMF and Bank for International Settlements can engineer an orderly transition toward a multicurrency global system with predictable exchange rates and greater transparency, liquidity, and efficiency among central bank digital currencies. Or the world could just wait for geopolitically motivated currency shocks, such as the 1956 Suez Crisis (during which the United States threatened to dump the pound unless the British withdrew forces from the canal zone) or when former U.S. President Richard Nixon pulled Washington from the gold standard in 1971. China dumping its $1 trillion of U.S. dollar reserves is hardly a cudgel Washington should want held over its head.
Although the United States and China are geopolitical rivals, they do not have direct territorial disputes with each other. China and its neighbors, however, have many. Needless to say, the much-discussed democratic peace theory has no relevance in Asia. Whereas U.S. deterrence has helped maintain stability, actual conflict resolution will require a technocratic peace. Rehabilitating or reunifying North Korea with South Korea will happen through a carefully scripted multistage process, not a continuation of decades of nuclear saber-rattling and preconditions.
In the South China Sea and other maritime domains, disputed islands that have already been fortified will have to be ceded to countries that have claimed themwhether China, Vietnam, or the Philippinesrather than risk uncontrolled warfare to gain them back. Designated negotiators will have to meet in secret to find outcomes where each side gives and takesand all save face. Democratic (and especially nationalist) electorates may howl at compromise, which is why only a technocratic process involving authorized envoys can slow the regions slide toward major escalation.
And then, of course, theres climate change. According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, all fossil fuel investments would have to stop this year to have any chance of keeping pace with intended greenhouse gas reduction targets. Former NASA Goddard Institute director James Hansen has called for the establishment of a planetary regime both to regulate emissions generating industrial activity as well as to undertake global scale ecological conservation projects.
Technologists, philanthropists, and far-sighted governments are also beginning to devote more research to atmospheric and oceanic geoengineering projects that could reduce solar radiation or absorb more carbon dioxide. A wide array of political leaders, civil society activists, and institutional investors have rallied around climate-focused causes, from carbon taxes to coal divestment, but the worse climate scenarios get, the more decision-makers will be forced into radical, top-down measures overseen by technocrats, not activists.
The list of humanitys great challenges is only getting longer, but leaders are still building the global governance plane while flying it. At the same time, the solutions are now widely known, and public and private stakeholders are forming partnerships to implement them, with COVAX being the most recent example. But shifting from reactive to proactivefrom knowing the worst-case scenario to overcompensating to ensure a successful responsewill require new kinds of authority that fit uncomfortably with todays sensitivities around sovereignty and the indecisiveness of democracy.
As the shadow of the future grows nearer, overcoming todays complexity will require less virtue-signaling on Twitter and more technocratic execution. Tomorrows world will be better for it.
New York and California, which were home to some of the nation's deadliest virus hotspots last year, are fully reopening in time for the summer as Sunday marks the 500th day since the first known Covid-19 death in the US.
But there's still a long way to go, CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen warned Saturday evening.
"We certainly have to acknowledge that we have come a long way, and we're out of the worst of it. We're not going to see the massive surges that we saw over the holidays," said Wen, who is the former health commissioner for Baltimore.
"The problem, though, is that we should really be looking at the numbers for each community instead of looking at the US as a whole because while the US as a whole is doing so much better, and there are pockets of the country that have very high vaccination rates, we also have pockets of the country that are actually undergoing massive surges right now where their hospitals are getting full again," Wen said.
While health experts agree full vaccination offers protection against some variants of Covid-19, Wen added that it's unknown whether a variant resistant to vaccines will emerge.
"We just don't know. If it's anything that we've learned during Covid-19, it's how much we need to be humble in the face of this virus," she said.
She noted that it's "certain" new variants will develop, which could make vaccines slightly ineffective, but not entirely.
"This is another reason why those who are unvaccinated should be vaccinated as soon as possible," Wen said.
Vaccination lags continue in some states
As of Sunday, 45.1% of the total US population was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, while 53.3% had received at least one dose.
Nationally, 65.4% of adults have received at least one dose, with the current pace of vaccinations at 1.2 million doses per day, according to CDC data Sunday.
Jackson, Mississippi, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told CNN on Saturday the state is so far behind in vaccinations in part because of "a dynamic of so many individuals who do not have primary health care physicians on a day-to-day basis, and this is another example of how this pandemic is highlighting the disparities in health care."
In Hinds County, where Jackson is located, 40% of the total population is at least partially vaccinated while 36% is fully inoculated, according to state data.
"If we see people who do not have primary health care physicians and we're asking them to get vaccinated, we're asking them to deviate from the norms that they have in every other fashion of their lives," Lumumba added. "People who have not been to the doctor in many years, and in some instances never, and now we're trying to encourage them to ... go get a shot in their arm."
Lumumba noted one way to encourage vaccination is "meeting people where they are," whether that's in barbershops or churches. He noted that vaccine accessibility and historical mistrust within Black and brown communities are contributing factors to the low vaccination rate in his city, whose population is about 85% Black.
Variants on the rise
Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Wyoming join Mississippi in being among the states with the lowest vaccination rates. That's a problem because experts have been warning that emerging variants could cause serious illness for the unvaccinated.
The CDC has predicted the Delta variant, which was first identified in India, could become the dominant strain in the US.
The Delta variant, along with the Gamma or P.1 variant, have been deemed variants of concern by the CDC -- meaning their danger comes from their ability to transmit more easily or cause more severe disease.
The Gamma variant, first identified in Brazil, has been detected in every US state where the CDC has variant information.
Vaccination has been shown as the best way for the US to get ahead of the variants. A recent study by Public Health England found that two doses of a coronavirus vaccine are "highly effective against hospitalization" caused by the Delta variant. The study found the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization after two doses.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy previously told CNN there isn't enough data to indicate the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine in regard to the Delta variant, but it has shown it can help prevent hospitalizations and deaths when people are infected with other strains.
"The key is get vaccinated, get both doses," Murthy said.
Steve Edwards, the CEO of CoxHealth, a system of hospitals and clinics based in Missouri, told CNN on Friday that the Delta variant is unlike others.
"We can't tell why one patient is doing poorly and one is doing well. There's just something different about how this variant is affecting the immune system of our patients," Edwards said.
He added along with low vaccination rates in Missouri, the Delta variant is playing a big role in the surge of cases at his hospitals.
"I think the Delta variant is what's fueling this," he said. "Much of the South, Midwest, much of the places that have low vaccination rates -- if confronted with the Delta variant, will see a similar kind of surge of patients as we're beginning to see right now."
Study suggests Delta variant growing faster where vaccinations lower
A new study appears to confirm that the Delta variant is growing faster in US counties with lower vaccination rates.
The Delta variant and and the Gamma variant are overtaking the Alpha -- or B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom -- as the dominant variant in the United States, according to the study by scientists at Helix.
Researchers analyzed nearly 20,000 Covid-19 tests collected since April 2021 and just under 250,000 Covid-19 sequence results of samples Helix collected since January 2021.
"In the United States, this analysis showed that the growth rate of B.1.617.2 was faster than P.1," said the research. However, growth rates of the two variants differed by the county vaccination rate.
The samples the study looked at came from 747 counties. The sequence data from the counties was compared to county vaccination rates that came from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They defined a county with a lower vaccination rate as one which had less than 28.5% of the population completely vaccinated on May 1, the others were considered counties with a higher vaccination rate.
"The growth curve for B.1.617.2, which is more transmissible but against which vaccines are highly effective, shows faster growth in counties with lower vaccination rates," said the study. "In contrast, P.1, which is less transmissible but against which vaccines have somewhat less efficacy, has a higher prevalence in counties with higher vaccination rates."
The study is scheduled to be published as a preprint in the coming days.
CNN's Virginia Langmaid, Susannah Cullinane and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
Please check out the new Kansas Vaccine website, www.KansasVaccine.gov. It has information including the Vaccine Phase Chart by Population and Weekly Updates.
The COVID-19 vaccine initially is available in very limited doses -- but will scale up in production rapidly, allowing for enough supply to vaccinate all. Planning efforts are based on three phases of availability:
A last-minute change approved in the Ohio House would prevent employers, both public and private, from requiring that employees be vaccinated if the shot hasn't received full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
That would apply to all three COVID-19 vaccines, which received emergency use authorization. The change would also prevent employers from treating employees differently based on vaccination status.
The amendment was added to Senate Bill 111, whichallocates $422 million in federal COVID-19 stimulus funds to local governments, with a 57-38 vote split largely along party lines.
The change came afterHouse Bill 248, which included a number of provisions to prevent requiring vaccines, was presumed dead. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Manufacturers Association came out against the bill.
More: Ohio business groups speak against GOP vaccination bill, say issue is employer 'freedom'
Ohio Senate President Matt Huffmanalso opposed that bill, saying that government should not impose mandates on private businesses.
That proposalgained international attention after an Ohio doctor shared conspiracy theories about vaccines magnetizing people. But the language added Thursday afternoon was closer to House Bill 350, introduced by Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, who also wanted to ban vaccine passports.
More: GOP-invited Ohio doctor Sherri Tenpenny falsely tells Ohio lawmakers COVID-19 shots 'magnetize' people, create 5G 'interfaces'
"The vaccine has been scientifically vetted and is currently saving lives," said Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and physician. "This amendment would be harmful to our health and our communities.
The Ohio House approved Senate Bill 111 in a 60-34 vote, sending the bill to the Ohio Senate to review the changes. If passed, DeWine could line-item veto the change.
DeWine has consistently said he opposes legislation that discourages vaccination or prevents businesses from keeping their employees safe.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This video is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) The UC Davis MIND Institute has launched a new COVID-19 vaccine clinic, custom-designed for individuals with autism, Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
The typical COVID-19 vaccine clinic often a large, noisy space can be overwhelming for children with these conditions, who often face anxiety and challenges with sensory overload. The new MIND Institute clinic offers the opposite experience.
This clinic really focuses on quality rather than quantity, explained Scott Akins, director of UC Davis Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics and director of clinical programs at the MIND Institute. We want to provide an inclusive, supportive experience for families, so were vaccinating three families per hour, which allows us to have three quiet rooms, an uncrowded waiting area and staff fully dedicated to each patient.
13-year-old Freddie Miller plays with a pop-it toy before receiving his first COVID-19 shot, with the sensory machine in the background.
The COVID-19 clinic is open one day per week (Thursday or Friday), from 9 a.m. 3 p.m. Its available for all individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions and their family members, ages 12 and older, regardless of health care provider or insurance status.
The clinic is being funded in part through a $68,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the MIND Institutes Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Its unique because child life specialists, trained in helping children with neurodevelopmental conditions cope with medical procedures, are involved at every step of the vaccination process.
Its really important that as child life specialists, we look at the development of the child, because you may have a 20-year-old whos developmentally less mature, so we want to be able to prep them in a way that is matched to what they understand and need, said Erin Roseborough, a child life specialist at the MIND Institute.
She and her colleagues contact the family of each patient who has an appointment beforehand to find out what the childs needs and interests are. They also share information about what to expect, so that there are no surprises.
We develop an individualized coping plan with the family ahead of their arrival, explained Veronica Tuss, another child life specialist at the MIND Institute. We provide preparation materials such as a social story, which is a step-by-step description, with photos, of what to expect at each stage of the appointment, starting in the parking lot.
Scott Akins
Patients receive the COVID-19 vaccine in a room equipped with a comfortable chair and a large sensory machine that contains a calming tube of bubbles and can utilize lights, aromatherapy and a projector that displays images on the ceiling. Other sensory items available include squeeze balls and pop-it toys, and a big selection of unique bandages shaped like doughnuts, tacos, ninjas and more.
After being vaccinated, patients spend a 15-minute observation period in a quiet room. This area is really important for our patients, noted Akins. Many children are dysregulated immediately after a blood draw or a vaccine.
Child life specialists set the room up specifically to cater to each patients interests. One recent patient was into art, so we had drawing supplies all set up for her and ready to go, and she colored the whole time, said Roseborough.
Video games are also available, which was great news for 13-year-old Freddie Miller, who received his first Pfizer shot last week.
I was kind of nervous getting the shot, said Miller, who has autism and enjoyed playing with a yellow, pineapple-shaped pop-it toy while sitting in the vaccine chair. Its just a little bit of a pinch. It wasnt that bad.
Millers mom, Syerra Logan, was glad she brought him to the MIND Institute for his first vaccine dose. I wanted a more controlled environment that wasnt so chaotic for him. The loud noises can really trigger some of his anxieties and so I wanted to bring him here where itd be a little more quiet and neutral, she explained.
Miller picked out some applesauce for a snack while he played video games after the shot.
Patients can choose from a fun selection of bandages after their shot.
Logan, who is an ambulatory care administrative supervisor at UC Davis Health, was thrilled with the outcome. It went amazing! He got a little bit nervous right before we started, but the rest of the process has been smooth, she said. Its a relief to know hes a bit more protected, especially when were going out, and Im excited to get him the second one just to protect us a little bit more.
Vaccination helps protect against COVID-19, and early research indicates that the vaccines may also help people from spreading the virus to others. The vaccine can also help keep people from getting seriously sick if they do contract COVID-19.
Many families asked the question, Have other individuals with autism or other neurodevelopmental disabilities had this vaccine and is this vaccine safe for people with my healthcare condition? said Akins. That was a really common concern, and now six months into vaccinating, we do know that is it safe for all individuals, including those with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Learn more about how to make an appointment at the MIND Institute vaccine clinic. You can also call 916-703-5555.
The UC Davis MIND Institute in Sacramento, Calif. was founded in 1998 as a unique interdisciplinary research center where families, community leaders, researchers, clinicians and volunteers work together toward a common goal: researching causes, treatments and potential prevention of neurodevelopmental disabilities. The institute has major research efforts in autism, fragile X syndrome, chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Down syndrome. More information about the institute and its Distinguished Lecturer Series, including previous presentations in this series, is available on the Web at mindinstitute.ucdavis.edu.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) The CDC reports the second dose of the COVID 19 vaccine is having heart issues in some patients. Most are men, between the ages of 12-30 and doctors say the condition is extremely rare, often correcting itself without treatment.
Dr. Sunal Makadia, Cardiologist at LifeBridge Health said, there have been very few cases of myocarditis or pericarditis; inflammation of the heart muscle associated with the vaccine. Its about 12 in a million chance of that happening.
16-year-old Noah Hier was one of the unlucky ones who was pulled from sleep due to these side effects. I woke up at 2 am with chest pain, he told CBS.
Most of the effects have been linked to Pfizer, and again, the second dose. Side effects can vary and can happen to anyone, according to Makadia. Within a week or two weeks after the second dose people can experience fever. Fatigue, chest discomfort, sharp chest pain that gets worse when they take deep breaths. They can feel heart arrhythmias or palpitations, like a fluttering or racing. Said Dr. Makadia.
You might need to take it easy. Makadia said most of the time its going away on its own. It might take some time and there are certainly restrictions on exercise and activity.
Hier said he is not regretting the vaccine. His younger brother was also vaccinated after his scare. This experience was much better than getting Covid, Hier said.
Dr. Makadia said the CDC has not reported any deaths due to these vaccine complications.
The City of El Pasos COVID Response Team and El Paso Animal Services team up to host El Pasos first-ever, large-scale, drive-thru clinic for pets and people.
On Sunday, June 27, the City of El Paso will be offering free pet vaccinations and microchips to hundreds of pets while pet owners will also have an opportunity to receive free COVID-19 vaccines.
This unique large-scale clinic aims at making it easier for owners to keep their pets, and themselves, healthy and safe. The clinic will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 301 George Perry Boulevard.
This is a first-come, first-served event and services are limited to the first 500 pets and their owners. Pets must remain in the vehicle; all dogs must be on a leash and cats must be placed in a secure carrier while visiting the drive-thru clinic.
Residents planning to get their COVID-19 vaccine are asked to please wear a face mask, be prepared to show form of identification, wear clothing that allows staff to easily access your upper arm and bring your vaccination record card if you are getting your second vaccine.
More information about the COVID-19 vaccine is available atwww.EPCovidVaccine.com.
Dogs will receive a parvo/distemper vaccination, while cats will receive a feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia (FVRCP) vaccination, both will also be given a microchip. Pets must be six-weeks-old or older to receive vaccines. No other pet vaccinations will be available at this drive-thru event.
Additionally, thanks to a generous donation from Best Friends Animal Society, free pet food will also be given to families while supplies last.
Organizers add that as temperatures are expected to rise later in the day, attendees are encouraged to bring plenty of water for their pets and themselves to stay cool.
WHAT: Drive-Thru Pet Clinic and COVID-19 Vaccination Event
WHEN:8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 27, 2021
WHERE:301 George Perry Blvd.
Among the many COVID-19 vaccine myths circulating on social media, one of the more persistent false rumors is that the vaccine causes infertility, according to leading doctors.
Rumors about vaccines impacting fertility have been rampant and difficult to overcome, Susan Bailey, M.D., immediate past president of the American Medical Association, told lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Doctors play a critical role as vaccination ambassadors,Bailey testified Tuesday during a hearing to address vaccine hesitancy.
"Physicians need to be part empathetic counselors, part research scientists and part myth busters," she said.
But in their efforts to debunk vaccine myths, doctors are trying to combat a deluge of misinformation and false stories rampantly spreading on social media platforms like Facebook, which fuel fears about the COVID-19 vaccine.
"The AMA believes that social media networksneed to have some responsibility for spreading false information and we need to be able to counter that with factual information from trusted sources. If we completely bow out of social media and dont participate, we are ceding that territory to those are who are willing to spread misinformation," Bailey said.
RELATED:Survey finds vaccine hesitancy among rural healthcare workers
The United States has fully vaccinated 150 million people against COVID-19, but the nation is expected to fall short of President Bidens goal of getting at least one shot into the arms of 70% of U.S. adults by the Fourth of July.
Vaccination rates across the country continue to slow as health officials sound the alarm about the contagious delta variant.
"Its so important that we keep pushing because the rapid spread of the delta variant in India is showing that this pandemic is not over and the threat it poses is still very real," said Sen.Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of theHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
"Too many people with genuine concerns are being misled by false information and we need to address the misinformation and make sure that people with questions are getting reliable answers," Murray said. "Facts, science and experts are an essential part of that work but educating people to get vaccinated is notjust about getting the facts right, its about trust."
Professor andtheologian Curtis Chang told lawmakers that social media can be a critical tool for health officials to get their message out to vaccine-hesitant Americans.
RELATED:Congress grills Facebook, tech CEOs over COVID-19 misinformation
"I encourage efforts by thegovernment to fund more outreach through social media and targeted advertising. Social media is the battlefield right now for vaccine trust efforts," he said.
And social media can be a big influencer for a key demographic that continues to be one of the most resistant to the vaccinewhite evangelical Christians, Chang said.
"The pathway to ending the pandemic runs through the evangelical church. At the national level, white evangelicals comprise the single largest vaccine-hesitant demographic. At the state level, a map of the states with the lowest vaccination rates corresponds tightly with a map of the Bible Belt," said Chang, who is onfaculty at the Duke Divinity School and co-founder of Christians And The Vaccine.
To the extent that public health has engaged faith communities, it has overwhelmingly been with minority faith communities, and those efforts have been remarkably effective, he said.
"This focus has not matched attention to the largest and most vaccine-hesitant community. As a person of color, I need public health to focus on white evangelicals, what they decide affects my community," he told lawmakers.
A key lesson learned during the past few months of putting shots in arms is reaching people where they are, whether thats at town halls, churches,consulates oronline, testified Michelle Nichols, M.D., associate dean of clinical affairs at Morehouse School of Medicine.
RELATED:There's a lot of misinformation about COVID-19 out there. Here are doctors' ideas on how to 'fight back'
As one of four historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) medical schools, Morehouse focused its vaccine outreach to communities of color by forming partnerships with trusted, local organizations and rolling out a mobile traveling vaccination program, Nichols said.Morehouse has been able to boost vaccinations among minority communitiesmore than 75% of vaccine recipients were African American compared to only approximately 9% nationally based on recent CDC data, she said.
To reach the Hispanic community, Morehouse tapped its bilingual Spanish-speaking students, nurses, and providers to vaccinate and educate.
Patients tend to trust people who look like them and have similar backgrounds and experiences, she said.
And social media campaigns play a large role in these efforts if its targeted the right way, she said.
Nichols provided these tips: Provide information and education to dispel myths and misinformation and to educate on vaccines through panel discussions, town halls, media, PSAs, social media, Q&As and pamphlets. The material needs to be multi-lingual, multi-media and at appropriate educational levels."
Members of the T2D Healthline community share what it was like getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
If you live with a chronic condition like type 2 diabetes, its likely that you have questions about COVID-19 vaccines and how they may affect you.
Some people with type 2 diabetes worry that the vaccine will cause a spike in blood sugar levels. Others have concerns about the potential side effects.
However, its important to remember that if you live with a condition like type 2 diabetes, you may also be at a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 complications.
The overwhelming consensus among doctors is that the COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from COVID-19.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting a COVID-19 vaccine is recommended and safe for most people living with chronic conditions.
If you have specific questions about how the vaccine may affect you or interact with other drugs you are taking, it is a great idea to speak with your doctor.
If your doctor has already suggested that you get the vaccine but youre still feeling unsure, it can help to hear from others who know how you are feeling firsthand.
The T2D Healthline community understands what you are going through and is here to help. Heres what seven members had to say about their experiences getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
I got the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, one and done. So far, not one side effect. My blood sugar was lower afterward, but that may also be a result of fasting beforehand. Anjanette Brown
Ive had no side effects whatsoever. My blood sugar did not go up. No soreness in my arm. No headache. Susie51
I had a sore arm. I got my second shot yesterday and still only had a sore arm like the first shot. Korie C.
I had absolutely no problems with anything except that it raised my blood sugar by about 20 points, but it is back to normal today. I had no fever, pain, or other typical side effects. My arm was a tiny bit sore. Nothing bad. I slept like a baby last night though! Best sleep Ive had in ages! Sherry
I closely monitored my blood sugar, and Im happy to report no changes whatsoever. Moderna ROCKS! Luella T.
My wife, my brother, my neighbor and I have all gotten our vaccines; no one had any side effects. Jim333
I got my COVID-19 vaccine! I have had some arm, knee, and foot pain but nothing bad. I felt tired after getting my first shot.
The only thing that happened after my second shot was a sore arm for a few days then that was gone! There were no other side effects from the second shot. For me, getting the Pfizer vaccine was a very good experience. Debbie A.
Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful and challenging for everyone. For people living with a chronic condition, and those with loved ones living with chronic conditions, this stress and anxiety has been magnified.
Deciding to get a COVID-19 vaccine may feel like a big deal, but it doesnt need to feel scary. The COVID-19 vaccines currently available have been granted emergency use authorization by the FDA.
Doctors agree that the vaccines are safe and effective and that their benefits far outweigh the risk of side effects.
Getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do as individuals to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities.
Elinor Hills is an associate editor at Healthline. Shes passionate about the intersection of emotional well-being and physical health as well as how individuals form connections through shared medical experiences. Outside of work, she enjoys yoga, photography, drawing, and spending way too much of her time running.
For months, local, state and federal officials have been consumed with how to persuade Americans who are wary of the COVID-19 vaccine to get the shot anyway. The conversation has focused in large part on specific demographic groups and how to overcome certain cultural factors to get the vaccines into peoples arms. Experts worried about low turnout among women, who reported significantly more vaccination hesitancy than men prior to the vaccine rollout. And public health officials warned that non-Hispanic Black Americans would be more hesitant than other racial groups because of the historical abuses and exclusion theyve experienced at the hands of medical professionals and researchers.
But the data on actual gender differences in vaccination rates veered in an unexpected direction, leaving an entire group of vaccine-hesitant Americans largely untargeted: men.
As of Monday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that nearly 9.5 million more women than men have been vaccinated in the U.S., and in the 42 states that collect gender data, a greater share of women are getting the vaccine as well. The magnitude of the gender gap varies from state to state but has hovered just below 10 percentage points on average over the past month.
According to experts and the latest research, the reasons why we are seeing this persistent gap are complicated. On the surface, its a matter of which groups were targeted early on, but when we look deeper, other behavioral and ideological divides between women and men appear to be at play. These four hypotheses may explain the imbalance.
The simplest explanation for the vaccine gender gap is that women got a head start. Among older Americans, who had early access to the vaccine, women outnumber men: The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that women make up about 55 percent of all adults age 65 and over. And in specific occupational groups with early access in most states, women also outnumber men among child-care workers and health-care practitioners, for example, women constitute about 95 percent and 74 percent, respectively.
Seems logical enough, except that those early restrictions on who could get the vaccine are gone now. The numbers remain imbalanced, however, so other factors must be contributing to the disparity as well.
COVID-19 isnt the only health matter that men are less likely to be proactive about. Compared with women, they tend to see a doctor less often and use harmful substances like alcohol and illicit drugs more often; men also tend to eat less fiber and fruit, and they are even less likely to use sunscreen when compared to women. According to Dr. Jonathan Metzl, director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University, mens shorter lifespans are the result of the cumulative effects of poor health decisions, not physiology. Theres no real biological reason that men die earlier, said Metzl. The things that make you a successful, cool, tough man in America are also inversely related to health and longevity.
Researchers are nearly unanimous in their assertion that traditional masculinity the idea that men should be self-reliant, physically tough and emotionally stoic is a risk factor for mens health. James Mahalik, an expert on masculinity and health outcomes at Boston College, studies how traditional masculinity gets in the way of health-promoting behaviors. His labs research on mask-wearing indicates that men who conform to traditional masculine norms have lower levels of empathy toward people who are vulnerable to COVID-19, and they are less likely to trust the scientific community. Mahalik suspects the same is true for their views about the vaccine.
My conversation with Mahalik led me to ask other scholars about potential differences in how men and women evaluate medical evidence. Jennifer Reich, a sociologist at the University of Colorado Denver who has studied vaccination behavior for more than a decade, told me that women were more used to making decisions about their own health and the health of their families than men were. Women are accustomed to seeking out health care in the form of reproductive health from a young age on a biannual or annual basis, so much so that women are more primed to be thinking about preventing illness in a way that men tend not to participate in until theyre about 50, she said.
According to Reich, women are typically held responsible for the health of others in ways that men are not: Women know that if members of their family become sick, theyre the ones who will be responsible for caregiving. Although vaccine distributors dont track the gender of people who schedule vaccine appointments for family members, sociologists are concerned that women are taking on the brunt of this work an extension of what has been called womens second shift. Womens greater responsibility for maintaining not just their own health but the health of others makes Reich suspect that women are more likely to be in contact with health services and seek out health-related information. Social expectations that women care for others and vigilantly monitor their reproductive health demand it of them.
Scheduling a doctors appointment or putting on sunscreen is relatively uncontroversial; getting the COVID-19 vaccine is not. According to national polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 29 percent of Republicans reported that they would definitely not get the vaccine compared with just 5 percent of Democrats. This divergence could partially explain the vaccine gender gap when we consider gender differences in political leaning. Women are more likely than men to say they lean toward the Democratic party, while men are more likely than women to say they identify as Republicans or independents.
I think its government control, Calvin Lambert, a 65-year-old carpenter living in western Virginia, said when I reached him on the phone. First youll be taking the vaccine that the government tells you to get, and next youll only be allowed so much money per month.
I spoke with six other men around the country who identified as conservatives, and they echoed Lamberts concerns and had more to add. All of them worried about the role of the vaccine in facilitating the rise of socialism, and two of them falsely believed that COVID-19 vaccines contain government-controlled tracking devices. Jos Rodrguez, a community-outreach worker who partners with hospitals and churches to run vaccine clinics in western Virginia, said that misinformation was a major barrier in persuading men to get vaccinated. His concerns fall in line with research on gender differences in susceptibility to COVID-19 misinformation: Early in the pandemic, men particularly those who identified as conservatives were more likely than women to subscribe to COVID-19 conspiracy theories. The researchers have yet to collect data for 2021, so we dont know whether this is still the case.
Appealing to traditional masculinity, such as framing the vaccine as a way to strengthen the body against the virus, could be one way of closing the gap. That approach may reinforce ideologies that are known to be harmful to mens health on the whole, but it might be worth the trade-off. You have to recognize where people are coming from, said Metzl.
And states appear to be making an effort to do just that. Several have announced new vaccination initiatives, offering things like hunting and fishing licenses, free beer and even custom rifles to those who get the jab. Although not directed explicitly at men, many of these incentives have strong cultural associations with traditional masculinity.
But beyond appealing to masculinity, one of the best ways to increase inoculation rates among those who are hesitant could be making vaccine information readily available in the places where trust already exists, such as churches or barber shops. Reich put it this way: Often there are other community leaders, brokers of trust or allies that are influential to people beyond doctors. In many ways the solutions really have to educate and empower people in the community to understand information in ways that are accessible.
