Health experts are urging people who have already had COVID-19 to get vaccinated.
Their recommendation comes after Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who contracted COVID-19 in March 2020, stated he does not plan on getting vaccinated against the disease.
Until they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalized or getting very sick, I just made my own personal decision that Im not getting vaccinated because Ive already had the disease and I have natural immunity, he told a WABC radio show in New York.
That statement goes against the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which advises that people should be vaccinated regardless of whether they have already had COVID-19.
Experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. Even if you have already recovered from COVID-19, it is possible although rare that you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 again, the CDC guidance states.
Dr. Julie Parsonnet, an expert in adult infectious diseases at Stanford University in California, says Pauls comments suggest a lack of understanding about the immune system.
I think its a bad message and I think it reflects a lack of understanding of how immunity works. Usually the first exposure to an infection is sort of like a taste test. Your immune system sees it and it responds, but it doesnt build up very strong memory responses and you dont have the circulating cells that allow you to respond very quickly to infection, Parsonnet told Healthline.
We know that some people who have COVID dont mount an immune response at all. We also know that some people get reinfected and that some people who have gotten reinfected have gotten quite sick. Yes, he (Senator Paul) will have some immunity, but there is good data that you will have better immunity if you get a vaccine, she added.
Dr. William Schaffner is an expert in infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. He says the recommendation for people who have already had COVID-19 to still get vaccinated is based on two factors.
The first is that the antibody levels after vaccination are much higher than the antibody levels after natural infection. And higher antibody levels are usually associated with a longer duration of protection, Schaffner told Healthline.
The second is, to use Tony Faucis word, higher antibody levels provide a greater cushion of protection against some of the variants. Obviously, those are not sufficient reasons for Dr. Paul, he added.
President Joe Biden has announced a goal of having 70 percent of adults in the United States vaccinated with at least one shot by July 4.
But that leaves almost a third of the population unvaccinated, meaning the coronavirus could still have a chance to mutate.
Parsonnet says comments like those from Paul are damaging. She argues there needs to be a more united approach against COVID-19.
When I think about COVID-19, I think we are actually fighting a war, she said. We have a global war. Its sort of like that movie Independence Day when the aliens land on Earth. Well, the aliens have landed and theres this virus that is killing off people, and the worst thing you can do when there is an enemy that youre all fighting is for you to shoot each other.
We need to think about this in a much more were in this together way and lets figure out how we pull together to fight the enemy, Parsonnet said. The enemy is not the Democrats and its not the Republicans. The enemys a virus and we need to deal with it.
(WXYZ) There's a major push both nationally and locally to get 70% of Americans vaccinated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July 4.
On the national front, President Joe Biden said his administration is ramping up efforts by keeping some sites open 24 hours on Fridays, and arranging for daycare centers to offer free childcare for parents getting vaccinated.
Meanwhile, in Michigan, vaccinations appear to be at a standstill. The state's vaccination tracker hasn't moved from 59.1% of residents over the age of 16 with at least one dose.
Now, several cities are looking to increase vaccinations with incentives.
In Royal Oak, if you get the vaccine, you also get Royal Oak Downtown Dollars, a $10 voucher you can redeem at certain businesses.
"This is for everyone and anyone," Carrie O'Neill, the co-owner of The Rock on Third, said. "We hope that all our customers take advantage of it."
In downtown Royal Oak, you can get a shot at a clinic at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market on Friday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and then get the gift card.
Corporations are also chipping in to get the U.S. to reach its vaccine goal.
Kroger is in the process of giving away five $1 million prizes and free groceries for a year. DoorDash is offering $2 million in gift cards for vaccine recipients. If you like beer, Anheuser-Busch plans to offer the biggest beer giveaway ever, and Krispy Kreme is giving away $1.5 million for free.
When it comes to a lottery incentive in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said that Michigan law precludes her office from offering lottery incentives like what we've seen in Ohio, but they are looking to see if there are other ways to encourage people to get vaccinated.
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Even if you end up putting your COVID-19 vaccination card through the wash, fret not you can still access your records.
With more than half of all Californians at least partially vaccinated, that means millions of those little easy-to-lose papers are floating around.
What if you lose yours? There are a couple of ways to access your records if you were vaccinated in L.A. County.
Healthvana, an online medical data resource, has teamed with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to provide a digitized version of your COVID-19 vaccination record that you can access from any internet-connected device and take with you wherever you go.
IPhone users can download the record to their Apple Wallet.
If you were vaccinated in Los Angeles County, you should be contacted by Healthvana via text or email. (To reassure users worried about scams, the Department of Public Healths website has details about what the message should say.)
It may take a few weeks after your vaccination for Healthvana to get in touch with you, said Chief Executive Ramin Bastani, since the platform is aggregating data from hundreds of vaccination sites across the county.
If you dont want to wait, you can contact Healthvana directly and get your data within a few days.
Note that this is not a vaccine passport a concept that has been much discussed over the past few months. Healthvanas records are just for you. The digital record includes only the date and location where you were vaccinated, and not personal information like your birthdate, meaning it cant be considered a valid legal form of identification.
The California Immunization Registry, a state-run program, allows anyone vaccinated in California to access their vaccination records digitally.
Two to three weeks after you receive your final COVID-19 vaccine dose, your data will be available through CAIR. Once you complete the request form, it can take another 14 days for records to become available.
There is no option to replace your original card, but CAIR can provide a new physical copy of your records.
Its still a good idea to keep your physical vaccination card safe, even if you have a digital version.
Free lamination services have been offered at office-supply stores, but experts dont recommend it. If you want to keep your card safe, put it in a plastic holder like an ID card sleeve instead.
You can take a digital version with you anywhere, but its probably best to leave the physical copy at home. Just like you dont carry your birth certificate everywhere, leave the card at home in a safe place.
For more information on how you can digitally access your COVID-19 vaccination records, go to the L.A. County public health website, Healthvana or the California Immunization Registry.
Seattle Children's hospital is looking for kids as young as 6 months old to participate in the next COIVID-19 vaccine trial. Volunteers will be randomly selected.
SEATTLE Seattle Children's hospital is about the begin the next phase of COVID-19 vaccine trials. The hospital will begin trials on children between 5 and 11 years old next week. Seattle Children's is looking for children as young as 6 months old to participate throughout the summer.
"Many of them are really excited about it," said Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Dr. Janet Englund, who is helping lead the trial at Seattle Children's. "They want to know what research is; they want to know how they can help."
Kids will receive either a dose of the Pfizer vaccine or a placebo. The study will look at safety, side effects and whether kids develop antibodies like those 12 and older.
Englund said the trial has seen a flood of volunteers. Staff at Seattle Children's have been preparing kids and families for what to expect.
"We spend hours talking with families and children before they come in," explained Englund.
She added that children must consent to be in the trial, in addition to their parents.
Nationwide, Englund said 3,000 kids ages 5 to 11 will participate. She said the number was determined between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the pharmaceutical companies. She said Seattle Children's is one of dozens of hospitals in the trial.
"This is not the ultimate study," explained Englund. "The study has been done with 50,000 adults. This is a study that's called a bridging study. We're trying to get as many children involved as we can. But this will be a small study."
The hospital will also start trials this summer for kids between the ages of 2 and 5 years old and as young as 6 months old. The hospital is looking for kids to participate. Volunteers will be randomly selected.
Englund doesn't expect a vaccine to be approved by the fall when kids return to school. She thinks trial results should be completed in the next four to six months.
"Potentially, it could be done and go to the FDA possibly before the end of 2021. I think that's what everybody would like," said Englund.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNNs New Day Thursday, that while the Covid-19 prognosis is good for the United States, vaccinations need to continue.
The prognosis is good, if the patient continues to do what the patient is doing, and that is continuing as a country, if you want to make that metaphor go, continue to get vaccinated, Fauci said, adding that the declining numbers of cases are very encouraging.
Reaching President Bidens goal of having 70% of US adults with at least one shot by July 4 is something that he wants to happen and potentially surpass which is why there are actions now to reach as many people as possible.
Whatever it takes, make it extremely easy for people to get vaccinated, give incentives, do whatever you can do to get people to get vaccinated, thats what we really need to do, John, he said.
When asked about concerns about upticks in cases following Memorial Day and as fewer people wear masks, Fauci said that it wouldnt be uniform throughout the country because of differing levels of vaccination.
If you have a very high percentage of people vaccinated, youre not going to see a substantial blip you may see a little bit, not anything that even resembles a surge, he said.
My concern is, is in those states in which you have relatively few compared to others people vaccinated, when youre below 50% of the people being vaccinated, thats when youre going to have a problem," he added.
Having about 50% of adults fully vaccinated and about 62% of adults having received at least one dose across the US as a whole means as a nation, I feel fairly certain youre not going to see the kind of surges weve seen in the past, Fauci said, but added what I am concerned about are those states in which the level of vaccination is low, that you may continue to see higher levels of cases as we get into the summer.
CHICAGO (CBS) Whether youve chosen to be vaccinated or not, its clear we all have our reasons why.
But if youre not in a hurry to get your first dose, would money change your mind?
As CBS 2s Marie Saavedra reported, Gov. JB Pritzker made a brief mention this week that a vaccine lottery is coming to Illinois. So we crossed state lines to where its already happening, to find out where they get the money and whos winning big.
In Ohio, the Vax-A-Million campaign represents the next phase of vaccine incentives. Beyond your health, a shot in the arm can earn you cash.
The Ohio campaign is five weeks of prizes for vaccinated residents who enter online. A tweet from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine shows Jonathan Carlyle looking exuberant after learning he was this weeks million-dollar winner.
There is a student winner too. This time its Zoie Vincent, whose shots earned her a four-year full ride scholarship to any state college.
Its an idea with enough popularity that our state wants in.
The General Assembly has also paved the way for Illinois to join the bipartisan coalition of states utilizing vaccine lotteries to encourage more residents to get vaccinated, Gov. Pritzker said.
Pritzker announced Tuesday that Illinois be one of at least nine states offering lottery prizes for the people protected from COVID-19.
The best thing we can do, of course, to protect ourselves and our loved ones is to have as many people vaccinated as possible, Pritzker said. So be on the lookout for announcements on this front very soon.
The first and biggest question is how the state will pay for it. The Governors office didnt say, but Ohio and several other states are using federal COVID response money theyve received, or state funds that were already available for vaccine outreach.
But does it work? Ohio says yes.
After it announced the lottery in mid-May, the two weeks that followed saw the weekly average number of shots given jump up 77 percent or more than 100,000 people newly vaccinated. And those are numbers Illinois is willing to gamble on.
According to published reports, Illinois set aside $7 million in prize money for a vaccine lottery, and $3 million in scholarships for minors who get vaccinated.
What well be waiting to hear from the state and the Illinois Lottery is the structure. Will this be several weeks of drawings, and it that cash from federal funds?
Well be sure to follow it.
MADISON - Wisconsin lawmakers are advancinga slate of bills that would barbusiness owners, university leaders or government officials from requiring the COVID-19 vaccination or treating unvaccinated people differently.
An Assembly committee heard hours of testimony on the five proposals,one of which Gov. Tony Evers suggested Tuesday he would not sign into law.
The bill, Assembly Bill 299, wouldforbidany government official or business owner from requiring any person to provide proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccinationas a condition of receiving services, accessing buildings, participating in events or for any business transaction.
Vaccination rules are being considered by someWisconsin collegesto ensure COVID-19 spread is contained on campus, and by hospital officialsto ensure patients and health care workers stay healthy.
"Over the course of the last year we've almost normalized asking people their own personal medical decisions surrounding COVID," bill author Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, said. "That has never been a normal part of society."
Track COVID and the vaccine in Wisconsin:See the latest data on cases, deaths and administered doses
Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, questioned what the purpose of such rules are given a new law that prevents businesses from being held liable if someone on their grounds gets sick.
Evers on Tuesday said, "its a reasonable request of businesses to make those requests."
"If youre a health care institution, you may want to ask those questions, Evers said. I do believe in some instances its a reasonable request so thats my starting point. Ill take a look at the bill when its finally put in front of me.
The Wisconsin Medical Society, which represents doctors, says the rules help ensure patients and workersin hospitals don't get sick.
"Those whose lives are most endangered by COVID-19 the elderly and patients with compromised immune systems or other conditions deserve to have access to health care services in facilities where precautions have been taken against easily-spread viruses like SARS-CoV-2," Mark Grapentine, chief policy and advocacy officer, said in written testimony against the bill.
Grapentine said employers could use the rules to "create a safe working environment for employees and members of the public who interact at a workplace."
"Health care facilities face special challenges in treating patients while minimizing the potential spread of disease," he said. "Vaccinations are helping to prevent further spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so it follows that health care employers should be allowed to have the option to inquire about vaccination status before allowing access to their facilities."
Two lawmakers compared the rulesto Cold War-era Russia or Nazi Germany.
"In whose world would you ever think you would need papers in the United States?" Felzkowski said. "That kind of sounds like... Russia and the Cold War. This to me is beyond unbelievable but theres been a lot of things in this last year that seem a little unbelievable."
"Or Germany back in the '40s," Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, said.
Contact Molly Beckat molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.
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The coronavirus pandemic in Florida is an evolving news story so some information in this article could be out of date. To stay connected wiAlerts th our comprehensive coverage of COVID-19 in Florida,sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter.
The Florida Department of Health reported 1,234 new COVID-19 cases and 55newly verified deaths Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, 8,352,245 Florida residents have been fully vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccine.
What's the difference, anyway?: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson
Bob Nevens hoped to retire at Houston Methodist, where the 47-year-old had served for a decade as director of corporate risk. Instead,Nevens was fired on April 29 after he refused to have a COVID-19 vaccine injected into his arm.
Nevenshospital in the Houston area was among the first in the nation to require the vaccine and remains one of a handful doing so. Houston Methodist set an early deadline for its 1,255 executives and managers and Nevens was one of only two managers who failed to step up. Other workers have until June 7 to comply.
Nevens has a list of concerns: the vaccines were made quickly, the FDA authorized them for emergency use, and the long-term side effects may not be known. | Read more
Vaccination dataprovided by Johns Hopkins University and state health departments. Click on the map below for county-by-county details.
(Mobile and app users:Click here for an optimal user experience)
Here's a breakdown of the latest numbers in Florida according to an automated graphic that uses data provided byJohns Hopkins University.
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Florida reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 10,483 new cases. That's down 42.8% from the previous week's tally of 18,331 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Florida ranked 16th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 20.4% from the week before, with 140,886 cases reported. | Read more
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said Tuesday that he hasn't been able to taste or smell since he tested positive for COVID-19 back in late December.
Herbstreittweeted on Tuesday: "Been 5 months since I tested positive for Covid. Still cant taste or smell. Anyone else experience this?? Did it ever come back?? Havent tasted a meal since late December. After 5 months...is this my new normal or will taste and smell come back???" | Read more
The World Health Organization has created a new system to name COVID-19 variants, getting away from place-based names that can be hard to pronounce, difficult to rememberandstigmatizing to a country.
The new system,which was announcedMonday,is based on the letters of the Greek alphabet.The United Kingdom variant, called by scientists B.1.1.7, will now be Alpha. B.1.351, the South Africa variant will be Beta, and the B.1.617.2 variant discovered in India will now be known as Delta. | Read more
A syringe with a dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is displayed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital in Tokyo, Japan March 5, 2021. Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool via REUTERS
Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi in parliament on Thursday said he is working to supply COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan this month, Kyodo news agency reported.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday said Japan will donate about 30 million vaccine doses to other countries and regions through the COVAX programme. read more
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Over 10% of Korean population receive first vaccine
As of Saturday midnight, 10.5 percent of Korea's population, or 5,399,015 people, had received one dose of a covid-19 vaccine.AstraZeneca vaccines were given to 3,268,001 people, while 2,131,014 received Pfizer's.As of Saturday, 4.2percent, or 2,143,293 people, had been fully vaccinated.According to the covid-19 Vaccination Task Force, 163,457 people got their first shots Saturday.The country hit a record number of vaccinations for a single day with 657,192 on Thursday, the first day vaccinations for people aged 65 to 74 began. Some 542,227 got shots on the second day, Friday.The number of vaccinations decreased to 171,989 on Saturday, partly due to the closure or shorter operating hours of medical institutions on the weekend.The government plans to inoculate 13 million by the end of June and 36 million by the end of September, and reach herd immunity no later than November.Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back into the 400s on Sunday for the first time in 20 days, although fewer tests are conducted over the weekend.The country reported 480 new covid-19 cases, including 464 local infections, raising the total caseload to 139,910, the KDCA said.There were six additional virus deaths, raising the death toll to 1,957.
