New viral variants of the Covid-19 coronavirus are on the way, claimedModerna scientists and executives in a Thursday virtual investor event, as reported by Barrons.
As the virus spreads, it is rapidly mutating, the companys chief scientific officer, Melissa Moore, said on the call. Some of these new viral strains appear to be even more transmissible than the original strain We already know that some of these new strains are less susceptible to neutralization by our current vaccine.
The company is constantly testing its vaccine against the new variants, she said. But that complex work lags their emergence.
The shortest time from the detection of a variant of concern to preclinical immunogenicity readout against a panel of pseudoviruses is approximately 2 to 3 months, said Guillaume Stewat-Jones, a Moderna scientist who works as associate director of antigen design and selection on their infectious disease team. And new viral variants are coming emerging constantly in real time.
While its generally acknowledged that most variants will not morph into something more fatal than the current virus, there are no guarantees.
As Maines COVID-19 cases plummet, state health officials are aiming to tamp down cases further by finding more ways to reach people who are willing to be vaccinated.
Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that while Maine is among the leaders in the United States for its vaccination rate, there is still more work to be done.
We are urging folks to get vaccinated, Shah said. The vaccines are the prime reason for the decrease in cases.
The state reported 87 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and no additional deaths, a continued decline in infections as Maines vaccination rate increases and the state continues to reopen.
With 59 percent of eligible Mainers fully vaccinated as of Sunday, high school sports and concerts are returning, and the state is looking forward to a busy tourist season. Maine is reporting the second-highest rate of people who are fully vaccinated in the United States, second only to Vermont, according to the Bloomberg News vaccine tracker.
By Sunday morning, Maine had given 715,582 people the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 698,959 had received a final dose.
But there are wide gaps in vaccinations by county. For instance, through Sunday 62.4 percent of residents of Cumberland County having received their final dose, while Piscataquis and Somerset counties reported about 20 percent lower vaccination rates, at 42.8 percent and 41.1 percent getting final doses. Six of Maines 16 counties Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Hancock and York counties have final dose immunization rates above 50 percent, while the remaining 10 counties are below 50 percent.
To try to boost vaccination in more rural areas and among populations less likely to get the vaccine, Maine health officials are working with employers to host small vaccine clinics at workplaces. Another strategy is to try to bring vaccine clinics to unconventional places, such as the MaineHealth clinic at Beckys Diner, where those who got a shot also received a $15 gift card to the diner on the Portland waterfront. Other places where clinics may crop up include breweries and concerts.
Dr. Ashish Jha, a Brown University epidemiologist, tweeted on Saturday that while it is tempting to look at vaccinations by state, theres a ton of variation within states.
Jha noted that within Massachusetts, Springfields population over age 20 had recorded 55 percent of its population receiving at least the first dose, compared to Newton, which is reporting 93 percent of its population over age 20 has gotten at least the first dose.
These are stunning differences, Jha said in a tweet. Within Massachusetts, we have communities with vaccination rates comparable to Oklahoma and communities that far exceed Vermont.
Jha noted that the differences (are) largely driven by education, income, race all related to access.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, a public health think tank, reported in a national survey on Friday that people who say they will refuse the COVID-19 vaccine under any circumstances represent 13 percent of the national population. Others may be hesitant or ambivalent about getting vaccinated, but under the right circumstances, such as easy access at the workplace, could be persuaded, health experts have said.
Maines cumulative COVID-19 cases rose to 67,738 on Sunday. Of those, 49,616 have been confirmed by testing and 18,122 are considered probable cases of COVID-19. The seven-day average of new daily cases was 108.4, while the 14-day case average was 144.5.
At the height of the pandemic in mid-January, Maine was routinely reporting daily cases above 600, while during a spring surge cases often exceeded 400 per day.
Eight hundred twenty-five people have died with COVID-19 in Maine since the pandemic began.
Youth athletes last week told the Portland Press Herald that the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions had produced an immediate psychological effect.
When the masks came off and we could see everyones faces, it was like I hadnt seen their faces in years, said Noah Dreifus, a South Portland High senior who plays as a baseball catcher. It lifted everyones spirits. Things are turning back to normal.
Along with youth sports, children can go to summer camp without masks a significant industry in Maine, which boasts over 125. And concert venues have booked events, including Thompsons Point in Portland and Rock Row in Westbrook.
County by county as of Sunday, there had been 8,265 coronavirus cases in Androscoggin, 1,861 in Aroostook, 17,100 in Cumberland, 1,338 in Franklin, 1,350 in Hancock, 6,480 in Kennebec, 1,130 in Knox, 1,060 in Lincoln, 3,569 in Oxford, 6,151 in Penobscot, 568 in Piscataquis, 1,459 in Sagadahoc, 2,181 in Somerset, 1,020 in Waldo, 895 in Washington and 13,311 in York.
By age, 18.8 percent of patients were under 20, while 18.3 percent were in their 20s, 15.1 percent were in their 30s, 13.5 percent were in their 40s, 14.5 percent were in their 50s, 10.3 percent were in their 60s, 5.3 percent were in their 70s, and 4.2 percent were 80 or older.
The Maine CDC did not provide updated hospitalization data on Sunday, but on Saturday there were 114 people with COVID-19 in Maine hospitals.
Around the world early Sunday evening, there were 170 million known cases of COVID-19 and 3.53 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States had 33.2 million cases and 594,414 deaths.
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A North Olympic Peninsula woman in her 80s whose entire family was unvaccinated became Clallam Countys 12th COVID-19 fatality late last week as the travel-heavy Memorial Day weekend arrived.
The woman, who was being treated in a hospital intensive care unit, is the 16th person to die from the coronavirus in Jefferson and Clallam counties even as Jefferson stayed the second most vaccinated county and Clallam the third.
The woman, whose death was announced Friday, contracted it locally, Clallam County Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry said at the last of 65 public coronavirus briefings.
Berry did not know if the family has since been vaccinated, she said Saturday in a text message.
We certainly do offer vaccinations in these kinds of cases, Berry said.
Jefferson County recorded its fourth death from the coronavirus last week, a woman in her 60s who was undergoing cancer treatment.
She contracted COVID-19 the week after she received her second shot, about a week before the vaccine would have become fully effective, the first death of a partially vaccinated individual, Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke said Saturday.
He noted that an estimated 30 percent of those who survive the disease have lingering side effects. That estimate does not include undiagnosed cases equalling four to 10 times the number of cases actually reported, Locke added.
Berry reported 83,755 doses of COVID-19 vaccine distributed among Clallam Countys 77,000 residents as of Friday.
Medical officials say, and studies have shown, the vaccine is more effective than was first thought in preventing infection and transmission.
Its nearly impossible to get this virus outdoors, Berry said at Fridays briefing.
For individuals who are testing positive for COVID-19, when we do their contact tracing, we find that three-quarters of the people they come in contact with have been fully vaccinated, and the virus has stopped there.
That really shows the power of the vaccine to decrease transmission, she said.
The troubling trend is that while we are seeing less and less infection, we are seeing more and more severe infections as we move forward.
Your risk of getting severely ill if you contract this virus if you are unvaccinated is at least higher than it used to be when we first started this, Berry said.
Get vaccinated so youre protected from these more severe strains and so that we can keep getting these numbers down and keep getting our life more back to normal.
On Memorial Day 2020, Clallam had 25 cases compared to 1,345 as of Saturday, while Jefferson had 30 cases compared to 416 Saturday, or 4.8 cases a day in the two counties over the last year.
What I am worried about is people traveling, Berry said before this years holiday weekend.
In Clallam County, 55 percent of residents over 16 are fully vaccinated, and 61 percent have received their first shots.
In Jefferson County, 72 percent of residents have received their first shot, exceeding Inslees threshold.
Locke and Berry urged unvaccinated residents to wear masks indoors this holiday weekend but said its safe to go maskless outdoors.
If we see large groups of unvaccinated people gathering indoors, we are going to see outbreaks, Berry said.
Gov. Jay Inslee has pledged to allow businesses to restore 100 percent capacity occupancy by June 30, and earlier if 70 percent of the states 16 and older population has received at least their first dose of the vaccine.
Honestly, I think June 30 is a little concerning, Berry said.
The probability that well fully hit 70 percent by June 30 is low. Were likely to still see transmission on June 30.
Locke said the problem with the 70 percent herd-immunity threshold is that on any given day, Jefferson County includes more than residents, one reason hes keeping his mask mandate in effect for people entering businesses.
Exposure is really about the likelihood of how much infection is circulating in the community and how much is moving within the community from travelers and visitors, he said.
I dont want businesses to have to battle visitors, Locke said, adding that its impractical to have them screen all customers to determine if they are vaccinated.
I dont know where the state will be in another month, but I think its possible that 70 percent of 16 and older will have their initial vaccinations.
What worries Locke is the spread of variants, which vaccines are effective in fighting. If variants make incursions among those who are unvaccinated, then a higher-percentage herd immunity may be needed to reopen the economy.
The math says the immunity level has to be in the 80 to 85 percent range to stop transmission of the current UK-type COVID variants, Locke said.
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at [emailprotected].
Sometimes runners take running for granted. You wake up, brush your teeth, eat a quick breakfast (fueling, you will say), run and then go about your day. This occurs day after day, week after week, and month after month without much thought to it. It is no different for the runner than the drive to work; it is just something you do.
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Instruction
'It's just a shame to waste it': Some of AZ's COVID-19 vaccine supply will expire in June AZCentral.com
The Associated Press checks out some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. This one is bogus, even though it was shared widely on social media. Here are the facts:
CLAIM: Video shows parents in Toronto being blocked by police as children were given the COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for ice cream, without parental permission.
THE FACTS: Posts online are falsely claiming that a video showing protesters outside a vaccine pop-up clinic at Toronto City Hall were in fact parents trying to stop health professionals and police from vaccinating their children.
The city of Toronto and the University Health Network held a pop-up vaccination event on May 23 at City Hall, where 2,500 doses of vaccine were administered, along with free ice cream, to those 12 years of age and older, according to the University Health Network.
Canada became the first country to approve the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds on May 5, a decision that was criticized by anti-vaccine advocates.
In videos online, protesters can be seen at Nathan Phillips Square outside City Hall speaking out against vaccinating children at the clinic.
This is our children and we will not back down, one woman could be heard yelling in the video at police.
Posts online shared the video to falsely claim it showed children being vaccinated against their parents wishes. A pop up vaccine clinic in Canada that is offering kids free ice cream in exchange for a vaccine, no parental permission required. Police are guarding the front to stop parents from intervening, one tweet said.
Another post claimed that the video showed parents being barred from a school campus where children were being vaccinated without parental consent.
Gillian Howard, a spokesperson for the University Health Network, said clinic staff did not see children being vaccinated without a family member present. Anyone receiving vaccination would have been taken through the consent process by clinical staff and if there was any indication that someone whatever their age didnt understand the consent process, they would not be vaccinated, she wrote in an email.
Only a handful of demonstrators took part in the protest. Howard said that police were present due to threats to the clinic.
Under Ontarios Health Care Consent Act, there is no minimum age to provide consent for vaccination, according to Toronto Public Health spokesperson Dr. Vinita Dubey. Rather, it is up to the healthcare providers to ensure that they obtain informed consent prior to immunization.
This means the healthcare provider administering the vaccine has to deem the youth capable of understanding their decision, Dubey said. If the individual is incapable of consenting to receiving the vaccine, they would need consent from their substitute decision-maker, such as their parent or legal guardian.
Beatrice Dupuy
A box of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines is seen at the Forem vaccination centre in Pamplona, Spain, April 22, 2021. REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
South Korea will get 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine this week mainly to innoculate military personnel, after the United States almost doubled a pledge made earlier this month, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on Sunday.
South Korea has reported a lower death toll than many comparable developed countries from COVID-19, but the government has come under criticism for a comparatively slow rollout of vaccines. Less than 11 percent of its 52 million people have so far received a first dose.
U.S. President Joe Biden, at his first summit with President Moon Jae-in earlier this month, promised to supply 550,000 shots for South Korean troops. read more
Kim said thatoffer had now been increased to 1 million doses, and the shots will arrive this week. He thanked the Biden administration for its commitment to the alliance. The J&J vaccine requires a single dose, rather than the two-shot regimen of most other COVID-19 vaccines.
"We plan to administer the vaccines largely on military-related personnel, including reserve forces and the civil defence corps, after airlifting them directly from the United States using military planes," Kim told an intra-agency meeting.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said the 1 million doses would be used in June, including on some people on overseas business or diplomatic missions.
"The United States made a very exceptional decision even as there are many countries hoping for its vaccine support, which I think reflected special considerations for us in light of the value of the alliance," she told a separate briefing.
South Korea aims to reach herd immunity through vaccination by November, but its rollout has become uncertain amid global shortages and shipment delays.
The country has ordered 6 million doses of the J&J vaccine, which was given approval in April. Those shots are expected to arrive in the second half of the year half, Jeong said.
Inoculations using Moderna's (MRNA.O) vaccine will also begin in June, following the arrival of the first 55,000 doses of that shot, she added.
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My younger sister and I have a lot in common.
We are both long-winded and gesture dramatically when we speak. Were patient listeners and inveterate advice-givers. We tilt toward skepticism, and cling stubbornly to our beliefs.
And that has brought us to a rare impasse, on the issue of COVID-19 vaccines.
I have been celebrating since February, when I got my first shot of the Moderna vaccine at a San Fernando Valley park. My sister Anita in Cleveland has spent the months since then worrying about me.
Ever since COVID-19 vaccines became a reality, shes been poring over articles and social media posts about hypothetical harms that most scientists debunk. That left her determined to shun the vaccine and afraid for me to get my next shot.
I love my sister the way she is, she emailed me three months ago. And I shudder to think of you having some long-term reaction to this vaccine that could have been avoided. While you are well, I say stay well!
She followed up with research on natural immune boosters, such as vitamin D. I added that to my health regimen, but refused to even consider skipping my final dose of the vaccine.
I appreciate the sentiment and respect your skepticism, I wrote back. But living here in Los Angeles, Im more likely to die of COVID than to wind up with some weird vaccine reaction.
At that point, I hadnt done the math to know if that was actually true. But my fear of needing a ventilator to breathe was stronger than whatever apprehension I felt about the vaccines.
For my sister, that ratio was reversed. She worried that the new COVID vaccines might turn out, in the long run, to be as dangerous as the disease.
Our email exchange launched a back-and-forth that lasted for months. It was fractious and frustrating at times, because we are tethered to separate echo chambers that amplify our individual views.
But our dialogue also led to heartfelt discussions that have confirmed our sisterly bond and educated me about the battle that health experts face, as they try to crack the code that will get shots into the arms of vaccine-hesitant folks.
Ive tried, and failed, to convince my sister with stories of lives lost to COVID-19 and the debilitating symptoms that persist for many whove weathered the disease.
Sandy Banks at her home in Los Angeles. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Shes responded with examples that influence her thinking, including a post featuring a young Black doctor who says that people of African descent naturally have stronger immune systems, and suggests the novel vaccines might disrupt that.
It didnt help my pro-vaccination campaign when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was temporarily pulled from the market in April after rare and dangerous blood clots were documented in a handful of people among the millions whod received the vaccines.
My sister and I drew different conclusions from the same set of facts.
To me, the government reaction was a reassuring example of transparency in action: Use of the vaccine was quickly suspended and the problem publicly dissected by medical experts, who deemed it statistically insignificant and allowed vaccinations to resume while studies continue.
But my sister saw the episode as a warning sign; a reflection of potential hazards yet to be detected because of the rush to bring the vaccines to market.
There are still so many unknown factors, she told me. And I could not argue with that.
It turns out that after a year of living with COVID-19 fears, my sister and I are both looking for the kind of certainty a promise of good health that neither science nor statistics can provide.
**
More than 60% of Los Angeles County residents over 16 have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. And now that teenagers are able to get theirs, we are inching toward the 80% threshold that county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer considers a measure of the herd immunity needed to stanch the spread of COVID-19.
In fact, Ferrer predicts that such immunity in Los Angeles could be only two months away if, that is, we can persuade another few million locals to get inoculated.
But the number of vaccines administered each day in Los Angeles has dropped by almost 50% from its high in April.
That requires us to address the resistance of multitudes of vaccine-hesitant people. And we cant do that unless were willing to listen and stop reflexively demonizing them.
Weve tended to lump the so-called anti-vaxxers into a few rigid categories: they are science-denying willful idiots, or addled conspiracy theorists, or selfish right-wingers protecting their freedom to spread disease.
But the truth is more complicated. Wading through the weeds with my sister has forced me to accept that and to recognize how hard it is to change minds when youre moving through uncharted territory.
Ferrer wasnt surprised when I told her about my standoff with my sister. In fact, she understands the reluctance of people to commit to vaccines that were introduced less than six months ago.
This is a new disease and these are new vaccines, with emergency use authorizations, she said. We have a lot of information on how safe and effective it is. But what hasnt been studied is what it can do five or 10 years from now.
So its totally reasonable for some people to say, This is brand new and its hard for me to really feel comfortable with it.
Her department closely monitors reported side effects, with daily reports from across the country and around the world. We have vast networks studying that, she said. They check every day for red flags, and we havent really found anything that might be cause for alarm.
They also spend lots of time trying to understand people like my sister not so that they can talk them into anything, but to share information in a way that might increase their confidence in the vaccines.
You cant start by saying Were right, and youre wrong; you have no legitimate reasons, she said. We start with, Tell me what youre scared of; what your worries are. And we try to give them opportunities to learn more.
But Ferrer has also had to accept the prospect that a significant percentage of residents may not agree to be vaccinated particularly if the number of COVID-19 infections continues to shrink.
Its harder now because we have way fewer cases, and [unvaccinated] people dont feel so afraid. They think they can wait, and not get it right now, she said.
**
My sister and I were on the same page, 2,300 miles apart, when COVID-19 first struck more than a year ago. Ohio and California shut down within a few days of each other in March 2020.
We both dutifully masked whenever we left home, suffered through the anxiety of crowded store aisles, and panicked if anyone breached six feet. What she missed most was visiting the library; what I missed was drinking with friends.
But she became less worried as Clevelands restrictions eased and no one she knew had contracted COVID-19 while I continued collecting virus horror stories and watching the death toll in Los Angeles climb.
Anita Banks at her home in Ohio. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Still, Ive come to understand the mash-up of forces driving my sisters choice: her affinity for natural remedies, her experience in Cleveland, her distrust of government and the medical establishment and, perhaps most important, the support and influence of her cadre of like-minded friends.
In my world, everyone I know was excited by the prospect of a COVID-19 vaccine long before one existed. We considered it the ticket out of isolation and back to normal life.
I remember the flurry of messages that filled my inbox when vaccine sign-ups began, with tips from colleagues and friends on how to navigate the clumsy appointment system and which vaccination venues had the least odious wait times.
On my NextDoor feed, the usual litany of neighborhood complaints suddenly gave way to smiley-face emojis and VACCINATED!!! posts. And my friends proudly sported Im Vaccinated stickers, making it feel as much like a civic duty as voting.
But my sisters experience has been markedly different. Her social media feeds are crowded with conspiracy theories, reminders of the mercenary leanings of Big Pharma, and testimonials from people who say they were harmed by the vaccine.
And then there are the warning videos sent from friends, which flash no longer available when she tries to click on them. She cant help but wonder whether those missing links are the rantings of charlatans or the cry of sincere whistleblowers hoping to spare the public from extreme harm.
Last month my sisters social network landed her in unfamiliar territory: a crowded gymnasium in a rural Ohio town, filled with maskless white people cheering a Trump acolyte who railed against masks, abortions and open borders.
My sister and the friend who invited her were virtually the only Black people there. It felt very odd being the only people in the room wearing masks, she told me. After listening to a speaker disparaging their use, she took her mask off briefly before thinking better of it and putting it back on.
Shed come to hear the keynote speaker, a physician her friend had long admired for her stance on the value of natural health care and threats posed by medical interventions. That doctor has been traveling the country, urging people to avoid the COVID-19 vaccines.
My sister felt comfortable when a Black doctor led a prayer to open the event. But he was followed by white right-wing politicians, who called themselves patriots.
I started looking around for the exits then, she said, chuckling at the memory. I was like, Which way do I go to get out of here!
But once the program began, we felt welcome, she said. The doctors message aligned with my sisters mind-set, and the people were very nice.
**
I imagine some version of our philosophical disconnect is going on in families and communities across the country, especially as the pool of people eligible for vaccines expands.
Our experience illustrates how deep, untidy and idiosyncratic vaccine resistance may be.
And thats created a conundrum for government and health officials, who are trying to keep COVID-19 in check by vaccinating as many people as possible as soon as possible in an era when Just trust science! isnt good enough.
In Long Beach, theyre trying to counter amorphous resistance by giving newly vaccinated people free tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific and a chance to win a Nintendo Switch gaming console a ploy intended to persuade unvaccinated young men to roll up their sleeves. In Los Angeles, those getting vaccinated have a chance to win Lakers season tickets.
In Cleveland, dropping your resistance to the vaccine can make you a millionaire. The state of Ohio is using federal coronavirus relief funds to pay for five weekly lotteries that will each net one newly vaccinated winner a million-dollar prize.
And California announced on Thursday a grab bag of incentives, including grocery gift cards to those who complete their inoculations, and the chance for 10 vaccinated residents to win $1.5 million apiece.
Ferrer thinks the offerings might attract some people who have been procrastinating, but its not going to move the needle with those who are really resistant.
My sister is one of those who wont be incentivized. I could not trade my convictions on how to stay healthy for a million dollars, she insists.
Its not that shes a hard-core anti-vaxxer. I know I probably had [vaccines] as a child that allowed me to grow to where I am today and to be healthy, she acknowledges. She is the only one of my three siblings who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Sandy Banks, left, and her sister Anita as children with their mother. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
But to her, these vaccines feel rushed into being. And she wont be pressured into taking the needle before shes completed her research even though many of us might consider her sources questionable.
Shes tuned to a steady stream of videos of doctors and nurses of every race who believe the vaccines have not been tested enough. They talk about alarming potential long-term effects, she said, and it sounds like there may be some plausibility.
In that, I see her process as being not so different from mine: were both gravitating toward analyses that confirm our existing beliefs. Psychologists call that confirmation bias; its a coping mechanism by anxious brains, desperate to turn ambiguity into truth.
Ive come to realize that an atmosphere this intense can magnify the influence of what you read, hear or see. I had to acknowledge that when, a few weeks ago, I suddenly began to imagine that every new ache or pain I felt might be a side effect from the shot I got months ago.
If I could be primed so easily by our conversations to blame my maladies on a vaccine I trust, imagine how strong my sisters mind-set must be, after months of wading through all manner of warnings about COVID-19 vaccines.
So weve finally reached a truce: she wont send me scary videos demonizing the vaccines, and I wont try to debunk what I consider crazy stuff.
I understand that her choice is not something for Big Sister to fix. And Im heartened that despite how pushy Ive been, she is still willing to listen to me.
I do not want to send any info you do not want to receive, but please send me any you think may be of interest, she wrote.
Good to know you have researched this subject; I hope your conclusions are more right than mine! because many are receiving the vaccine, including others I care deeply about.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A tray full of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School on the first day of vaccination for children over the age of 12 in East Palo Alto on May 15, 2021. Recent federal guidance says people can safely get vaccines for other illnesses at the same time they get a COVID-19 vaccine. Photo by Daniela Beltran B.
Health officers in nine Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley announced Friday that they support recent federal guidance approving people to get vaccines for other illnesses at the same time they get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously recommended that people wait at least 14 days after getting the COVID-19 vaccine to get vaccinated against other preventable illnesses.
With more and more real-world evidence of the vaccines' safety and efficacy, the CDC updated that guidance on May 14.
The Association of Bay Area Health Officials -- which includes officials from the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Solano and the city of Berkeley -- said Friday that it will support that guidance going forward.
"We know a lot of people have delayed getting care and regular immunizations during the pandemic. This new guidance will make it easier for people to catch up on any immunizations they're due for when they get a COVID-19 vaccine at their provider's office," Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano said.
