(April 11, 2021) One new coronavirus case was reported on Nantucket Sunday, increasing to 1,441 the total number of positive tests on the island since the start of the pandemic last March.
The results also included 43 negatives. Forty-eight COVID-19 cases have been reported on the island in the past seven days, a 7.8 percent weekly positivity rate.
There have been five COVID-19 Nantucket deaths since the start of the pandemic, the most recent April 7 a woman in her mid 50s.
Health director Roberto Santamaria attributed the recent spike in cases to the probable presence on the island of more contagious coronavirus variants, and community spread.
More powerful variants of the COVID-19 virus have been recently confirmed in Massachusetts, and evidence of the U.K. variant has turned up in island sewage tested for coronavirus (Click herefor story).
We have to assume this spread is being caused by variants, Santamaria said. And now we are seeing with the nice weather and coming into the shoulder season people are getting lax in their safety measures like mask-wearing and distancing.
Recent sewage data also indicates there will be about 20 new coronavirus cases per day over the next seven days.
"We're seeing more people sicker, and more people in our emergency room now presenting with symptoms more severe than just what we'd been seeing at the drive-through testing," Nantucket Cottage Hospital president and CEO Gary Shaw said.
Click hereto read Shaw's full statement on the recent surge.
Shaw also attributed the recent spike in part to new arrivals on the island.
"We're seeing a greater number of people coming from other parts of the country for seasonal work, not knowing they are infected, getting tested and testing positive," he said.
"We are not out of the woods by any means. A good part of the country and the world are not vaccinated at a time when people really want to travel. Levels of decline have plateaued within the state. Thats a bad sign. A ramp-up in caseload is going to be coming," he continued..
"We all need to be vigilant to cross this hurdle. Its a race to get vaccines into arms. We are havinganother surge, and we need to be careful."
"Our biggest line of defense is you working together with us to help prevent the spread of this heinous virus. We are in the 24th mile of a full marathon. The end is near, but we cant quit now," Santamaria said in a recent Twitter message.
The second round of Phase 2 vaccinations began in early March, and vaccination of the general public is scheduled to begin April 19. (Click herefor story).
As of Monday, 5,256 first doses and 2,753 second doses of vaccine have been administered on Nantucket.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on March 8 issued its first set of guidelines for fully-vaccinated people.Click herefor more.
All COVID-19 testing is now being conducted at the hospital's 57 Prospect St. drive-through portico to free up additional vaccination space at the New South Road VFW. Testing hours for those with symptoms and close contacts will be held from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. Monday-Friday at the drive-through portico.
COVID-19 elective testing for asymptomatic patients (those with no symptoms) will be held from 10 a.m.-noon Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-10 a.m. Saturdays. Click hereto read more.
Hospital staff have collected 30,306 nasal swabs for testing since the start of the pandemic. In addition to the 1,441 positive tests 4.75 percent of the total number returned 28,864 have come back negative, and one is awaiting a result.
The Board of Health on Dec. 11, 2020 established a COVID-19 task force to better enforce and raise awareness of coronavirus regulations (Click herefor story).
Gov. Charlie Baker in late Februry lifted the 9:30 p.m. statewide restaurant closing time, and in early March increased capcacity limits for restaurants, theaters, museums and other indoor locations. Additional capacity increases took effect March 22 (Click herefor story).
Part-time in-class learning for Nantucket public-school students resumed Jan. 14 after being remote only since before Christmas. State officials are targetting April 5 for a full return to in-class learning for elementary-school students, and later in April for middle- and high-school students.
"I ask everyone on Nantucket to take personal responsibility and do all you can to reduce the potential for transmission in our community. That means wearing masks, staying physically distant, washing your hands, and not hosting or attending gatherings with people outside your immediate households," Shaw said recently.
"Most of all, we want our community to stay healthy, we want our economy to remain open, we want our public schools to be able to return to in-person learning. To that end, we must work together and apply the simple preventive measures that will keep this situation from spiraling out of control."
There have been 1,375 coronavirus cases confirmed on Nantucket in the past six and a half months, beginning Sept. 9, 2020 with a spike linked to workers in the trades, followed by a second surge in late September tied to a church function in which a communal meal was shared.
A third spike in early November was again tied to workers in the trades, followed by significant surges related to holiday gatherings and travel at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. A moderate surge followed in early March was tied to school-break-related travel.
Prior to Sept. 9, Nantucket had one of the lowest COVID-19 rates in the state per 100,000 population, and the fewest confirmed cases of any county in Massachusetts.
The Board of Health on Oct. 6, 2020 voted to require all people on publicly-accessible property across the island to wear a mask, not just downtown and in Sconset, as was previously mandated.
It decided in mid-November against tightening restrictions to limit the total number of workers on a job site to six in an attempt to stop the spread (Click herefor story).
Nantucket Cottage Hospital does not have an intensive-care unit and only five ventilators. Shaw has said patients in need of acute respiratory care would be transferred to mainland hospitals if at all possible.
The criteria for symptomatic drive-up testing at the hospital includes at least one of the following signs or symptoms consistent with a viral respiratory syndrome: subjective/documented fever, new sore throat, new cough, new runny nose/nasal congestion, new shortness of breath, new muscle aches or anosmia (new loss of sense of smell). Close contacts of COVID-19 positive patients and pre-procedure patients can also be tested.
For more information about symptomatic and asymptomatic testing,click here.
Click hereto sign up for Above the Fold, The Inquirer and Mirrors twice-weekly newsletter, bringing you both the news and a slice of island life, curated with content created by Nantuckets only team of professionally-trained journalists.
For up-to-the-minute information on Nantuckets breaking news, boat and plane cancellations, weather alerts, sports and entertainment news, deals and promotions at island businesses and more, Sign up for Inquirer and Mirror text alerts.Click Here
'); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(""+val.title+""); if (val.poly != "" && val.polyimg != "") { $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append('"+val.ihtml+""); $("#expandable-weather-block .weather-index-alerts").show(); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body h2").css({"font-family":"'Fira Sans', sans-serif", "font-weight":"500", "padding-bottom":"10px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body p").css({"font-size":"14px", "line-height":"24px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body span.wxalertnum").css({"float":"left", "width":"40px", "height":"40px", "color":"#ffffff", "line-height":"40px", "background-color":"#888888", "border-radius":"40px", "text-align":"center", "margin-right":"12px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body b").css("font-size", "18px"); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body li").css({"font-size":"14px", "line-height":"18px", "margin-bottom":"10px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body ul").css({"margin-bottom":"24px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body pre").css({"margin-bottom":"24px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body img").css({"width":"100%", "margin-bottom":"20px", "borderWidth":"1px", "border-style":"solid", "border-color":"#aaaaaa"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).css({"borderWidth":"0", "border-bottom-width":"1px", "border-style":"dashed", "border-color":"#aaaaaa", "padding-bottom":"10px", "margin-bottom":"40px"}); }); } function parseAlertJSON(json) { console.log(json); alertCount = 0; if (Object.keys(json.alerts).length > 0) { $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body ").empty(); } $.each(json.alerts, function(key, val) { alertCount++; $("#mrd-wx-alerts .alert_count").text(alertCount); $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body ").append(''); $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(""+val.title+""); if (val.poly != "" && val.polyimg != "") { $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(''); } else if (val.fips != "" && val.fipsimg != "") { // $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(''); } $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(val.dhtml+"
Instruction
Governor Tom Wolf and the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force announced that effective tomorrow, Tuesday, April 13, all Pennsylvania adults will be eligible to schedule an appointment for the COVID -19 vaccine.
We need to maintain acceleration of the vaccine rollout, especially as case counts and hospitalization rates have increased, Gov. Wolf said. Therefore, just as President Biden has brought forward universal adult access to vaccines from May 1 to April 19, we are moving Pennsylvanias timeline of universal adult access to April 13.
The Department of Health noted that there is ongoing appointment availability in many parts of the state even as Phase 1A and B continue and 1C begins today. With the change in eligibility, those in Phase 2 will become eligible, opening up vaccines to all. Our ongoing initiative with the Area Agencies on Aging to provide assistance to vulnerable seniors for accessing vaccine will continue, as will our other equity initiatives.
Everyone needs and should be afforded the opportunity to access the vaccine as soon as possible, Acting Sec. of Health Alison Beam said. And, this change provides earlier access for many, including college students increasing the likelihood of completion of two-dose regimens prior to leaving campus for the summer. It also means simpler, streamlined operations for vaccine providers that no longer need to check eligibility of people making appointments.
To date, Pennsylvania providers have administered more than 6 million vaccines and the state is ranked among the top 20 states for first-dose vaccinations. More than 2.4 million Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated.
Pennsylvanians can find providers on the COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Map here.
Please get vaccinated, said Sen. Art Haywood.
It is precisely the bipartisan cooperation of this Joint Task Force coupled with the tremendous work of our provider network that has allowed our Commonwealth to make rapid progress in our vaccine rollout, now expanding eligibility so that every Pennsylvanian who wants to be vaccinated has the opportunity to do so immediately, said Sen. Ryan Aument. Because we have maintained our commitment to residents within phases 1A and 1B, we can now further accelerate the rollout and protect our communities, particularly by ensuring that college students can be vaccinated before returning home to their families for the summer.
The administration, our task force, and all of our local providers have collaborated together to achieve the goal put forth by President Biden, said Rep. Bridget Kosierowski. With the number of COVID-19 positive cases continuing to rise some areas of our state, it is imperative that everyone who wants to schedule an appointment for a vaccine can have that opportunity to do so.
Im pleased we are able to speed up eligibility so that all Pennsylvanians who want a vaccine can schedule one, Rep. Tim ONeal said. Western Pennsylvania has hosted a number of vaccine clinics in recent days where supply has outstripped demand. We were able to get approval to expand eligibility at one of these clinics, but it only makes sense to open vaccinations to all. The work of the task force has shown when all parties work in a collaborative fashion, we can accomplish a lot in a short timeframe.
This further-accelerated plan will move us much closer to the goal of vaccinating Pennsylvanians as quickly and equitably as possible, Gov. Wolf said.
Given the fraught politics, many companies are not necessarily wanting to be the first in their sector to take the plunge, said Carmel Shachar, executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Still, were going to see employers start to require vaccinations if you want to come into the office, if you will have a public-facing job.
Colleges across the United States are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get COVID-19 vaccines and whether it should be a requirement or not.
BOSTON U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should or legally can require it.
Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.
But some colleges are leaving the decision to students, and others believe they can't legally require vaccinations. At Virginia Tech, officials determined that they cant because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only allowed the emergency use of the vaccines and hasn't given them its full approval.
The question looms large as more colleges plan to shift back from remote to in-person instruction. Many schools have launched vaccination blitzes to get students immunized before they leave for the summer. At some schools, the added requirement is meant to encourage holdouts and to build confidence that students and faculty will be safe on campus.
It takes away any ambiguity about whether individuals should be vaccinated, said Kenneth Henderson, the chancellor of Northeastern University in Boston. It also provides a level of confidence for the entire community that we are taking all appropriate measures.
Northeastern and other colleges requiring shots believe theyre on solid legal ground. Its not unusual for colleges to require students to be vaccinated for other types of diseases, and a California court last year upheld a flu shot requirement at the University of California system.
But legal scholars say the COVID-19 vaccines' emergency use status moves the issue to a legal gray area that's likely to be challenged in court, and some colleges may take a more cautious approach to avoid litigation.
Harvard Law professor Glenn Cohen, who teaches health law and bioethics, said there's no legal reason colleges wouldn't be allowed to require COVID-19 vaccinations. It makes no difference that the shots haven't been given full approval, he said, noting that many colleges already require students to take coronavirus tests that are approved under the same FDA emergency authorization. But theres also no federal guidance explicitly permitting vaccination mandates.
The biggest clashes could come in states taking a stance against vaccination requirements, he said.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis this month banned all businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination. The order raises questions about Nova Southeastern University's plan to require students and staff to get vaccinated. The colleges president said hes still confident in the plan, but he also promised to respect the laws of our state and all federal directives.
The governor of Texas, the country's second-largest state, issued a similar order.
Theres a parallel debate about whether to require vaccination for faculty and staff, an issue that employers across the nation are grappling with. At the University of Notre Dame, one of the latest schools to require student vaccinations, shots are still optional for workers. Northeastern is considering whether to extend its mandate to employees.
Even at schools making shots mandatory, there are exemptions. Federal law requires colleges to provide accommodations to students who refuse a vaccine for medical reasons, and most schools are also offering exemptions for religious reasons.
At Brown, students who forgo shots and have no valid exemption must file a petition to study remotely or take a leave of absence next fall, the schools president, Christina Paxson, told students in a letter last week.
But enforcing vaccine mandates will bring its own challenges. Cornell and Northeastern say students will be asked to show proof of vaccination, but there is no widely accepted vaccine credential. Cornell told students they can provide the card given out at their vaccination site, but card formats vary and generally seem like they would be easy to forge.
At Northeastern, officials are still deciding whether students will have to provide a medical record proving they were vaccinated or whether they will be allowed to attest to having been immunized essentially taking their word for it.
We would expect students to be honest and forthright about any attestation they make to the university, Henderson said.
Northeastern student Tyler Lee said he thinks requiring vaccinations is the right move because it will help stop the virus spread and protect the community around the downtown Boston campus. There has been some pushback from parents, but little from students, he said.
Its Northeasterns decision, said Lee, a senior who is awaiting his second shot. If I didnt like it, I would transfer. And thats what most students feel.
Ariana Palomo, an incoming freshman at Brown, said the universitys mandate sends the message that its serious about keeping students safe. She was happy and relieved when she heard about it, she said.
I know that Im going to feel so much safer on campus, said Palomo, 18. This is the next step in protecting one another and preventing more lives from being lost.
Schools expect some pushback, and Republican student groups on some campuses have opposed mandates, saying it should be a choice.
Colleges are also grappling with what to expect of international students, who may not have access to vaccines in their home countries or who may get shots that are not used in the United States. Some colleges say theyre planning to develop arrangements to make shots available for international students when they arrive.
Other colleges are using a lighter touch to promote shots, including at Dickinson State University in North Dakota, which is exempting students from a campus mask mandate two weeks after they are fully vaccinated.
Many others are hoping a word of encouragement will be enough. Campus officials at Bowdoin College in Maine said its their hope and expectation that all students will get shots. Harvard University officials strongly recommend that students get vaccinated but have stopped short of a mandate.
Some, including Dartmouth College, are waiting for shots to become more widely available before making a decision. Diana Lawrence, a spokesperson for Dartmouth, said officials cannot make a determination regarding required vaccination until vaccines are accessible for all students.
Associated Press writer Lisa Rathke in Montpelier, Vermont, and P. Solomon Banda in Jersey City, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
More From ForbesExpanding Originals Slate, Estrella Media Taps Ex-Univision And Telemundo Star Anglica Vale To Host New Dating Show","scope":{"topStory":{"title":"Expanding Originals Slate, Estrella Media Taps Ex-Univision And Telemundo Star Anglica Vale To Host New Dating Show","uri":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/veronicavillafane/2021/04/12/expanding-originals-slate-estrella-media-taps-ex-univision-and-telemundo-star-anglica-vale-to-host-new-dating-show/","date":{"monthDayYear":"Apr 12, 2021","hourMinute":"12:10","amPm":"pm","isEDT":true},"index":1}},"id":"r70fkn0dlmeo0"},{"textContent":"
Apr 12, 2021,11:53am EDT
Apr 12, 2021,11:48am EDT
Apr 12, 2021,11:44am EDT
Apr 12, 2021,11:39am EDT
Apr 12, 2021,11:37am EDT
Apr 12, 2021,11:37am EDT
In a collective display of scientific advancement, the Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson seem to be astoundingly effective at preventing severe disease and death from Covid-19. All are intramuscular, meaning they are injected into the muscle tissue. Once the vaccine materials seep into the bloodstream, they induce the creation of antibodies, which then circulate in the blood throughout the body, protecting some of the most vital organs and creating whats called systemic immunity. This immune response protects the body from serious illness and death, but the response only builds after the virus has fully entered the body.
Their ability to protect the human body from Covid-19 illness is truly incredible, but the SARS-CoV-2 virus still has an entryway into the body left unprotected by the vaccines: the nose and mouth. Those two gateways, and their ability to transmit the virus, are what mask mandates all about. Face coverings have been shown to impede the spread of the aerosol virus, protecting their wearers and those around them from infecting each other.
But what if a new, intranasal vaccine existed?
With a spritz up the nose, such a vaccine would travel through the upper respiratory tract, encouraging the body to produce protective antibodies there. If successful, this immune response would both neutralize the virus on its way in before making a person sick, and it would ensure that no live virus escapes when they exhale, cough or sneeze. While early data on efforts to promote mucosal immunity is promising, companies are still in early-stage clinical trials and a marketable, intranasal Covid-19 vaccine may be a year out.
For real control of the pandemic, what we want to do is not just prevent serious disease and deathas good as that is in itselfbut we want to be able to break the chains of transmission, says Michael Russell, a mucosal immunologist with the University of Buffalo.
The existing vaccines achieve systemic immunity by spurring the production of antibodies called immunoglobulin G, or IgG and killer T cells. These cells and proteins are highly effective at neutralizing the virus before seriously damaging our key organs. But to prevent the virus from entering into the body in the first place, scientists likely need to target the mucosal system. The moist tissue lining the nasal and mouth are part of the mucosal system, which stretches from there all the way through the gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts. Here, a different class of antibodies exude from the mucosa to neutralize viruses and other intruders. The mucosal system secretes specialized antibodies called Immunoglobulin A or IgA. When faced with an intruding virus or bacterium, the mucosa releases IgA to neutralize it.
If a Covid-19 vaccine can create a strong mucosal immune response, the body may be better equipped to stop the virus before it makes its way to essential organs, like the heart and lungs. Plus, secretory IgA antibodies in the mouth and nose are more potent against SARS-CoV-2 than the IgG antibodies induced by intramuscular vaccines, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine in January. Proponents of intranasal vaccines are hopeful that boosting secretory IgA in this way would be a step up from the protection offered by the existing vaccines.
For the body to create the secretory IgA antibodies necessary to neutralize incoming virus, many scientists think a vaccine needs to be applied along the natural route of infection. This means administering the vaccine through the nose via a nasal spray and letting it travel through the mucosa.
Injected Covid-19 vaccines dont appear to elicit much of an antibody response in the mucosa, says Michal Tal, an immunologist at Stanford University and team lead of the Stanford Saliva Studyan effort to track antibodies that are secreted in saliva from people who have been vaccinated. Many people who have been naturally infected with Covid-19 seem to create a mucosal immune response early in the infection, but for those relying on a vaccine to build their immunity, an intranasal vaccine may provide a necessary IgA supplement to their systemic immunity.
To protect the nose from being a site where infection can get in and infection can get back out, you really have to have IgA there, Tal says.
Globally, five intranasal vaccine candidates are currently undergoing clinical trials, according to the World Health Organization. Scot Roberts, chief scientific officer of Altimmune, the only U.S. company with an intranasal vaccine in clinical trials, is betting that such an intranasal vaccine will be the best way to stop viral transmission while also protecting the body from disease. You can only get this mucosal antibody response when you do intranasal administration, because it's a very localized immunity, he says.
Recent research indicates that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may reduce viral load and asymptomatic transmission. A study by the CDC published last month shows that health care workers in eight U.S. locations saw a 90 percent reduction in Covid-19 transmission rates after being fully vaccinated with one of the mRNA vaccines. Another study, by Israeli researchers and published in Nature Medicine in March, indicates that the Pfizer vaccine significantly reduced viral load 12 to 37 days after vaccinationa key indicator of diminished transmission.
Still, the current vaccines havent proven to completely block transmission. Part of the reason why, Tal says, is because transmission can stem from different parts of the respiratory tract for different individuals. Some infected individuals, vaccinated or not, may not spread the virus unless theyre in close contact with others. Tal says scientists think this kind of spread originates from virus living in the nose. But other people, who act as superspreaders, may carry and spread aerosols of highly infectious virus from the lungs or the nose or both. Intramuscular vaccines can neutralize the virus in the lungs, but without mucosal immunity conferred through an intranasal vaccine, scientists say no way likely exists to fully stop transmission from the nose.
Tal adds that she was a little surprised to learn that most of the original Covid-19 candidates under Operation Warp speed were to be administered intramuscularly, despite dealing with a mucosal pathogen. But during that point in the pandemic, when death and hospitalization rates were skyrocketing, creating a formula to prevent death was paramount.
From a public health perspective, the most important key mission is to bring down deaths and hospitalizations, Tal says. So, you want to go with an intramuscular formulation where you know you're going to get really great circulating antibodies, which intranasal may not be as optimal for.
Now that more than 175 million doses of vaccine have been distributed in the U.S., scientists are looking to do more. Blocking transmission is especially important in attempts to rein in emerging viral variants. After entering the body, genetic mutations in the virus sometimes help it become more infectious or successful at evading immune responses. When this happens, the new version of the virus replicates and eventually becomes a new variant. However, if the virus is unable to breach the mucosal and systemic immune systems, it cannot live and replicate in the nasal passages or body. And if transmission is blocked, it becomes more difficult for variants to spread through a population.
Intranasal and oral vaccines are not novel concepts. Intranasal flu vaccines like FluMist, developed by AstraZeneca, were used for decades in the U.S. In the last decade, however, they became variably effective against the circulating flu strains, causing the CDC to revoke its recommendation for their use for several years. Previous intranasal flu vaccines introduce some weakened virus and allow it to replicate in the respiratory tract to create an immune response. Roberts says his companys Covid vaccine, AdCOVID, will be safer because it introduces a larger amount of vaccine and the viral vector isnt able to replicate in the body and make someone sick.
History offers a precedent to a second wave of vaccines adding a layer of protection for public health. The initial Salk polio vaccine, for instance, was first introduced as a shot. Though it was effective at preventing illness, the shot didnt stop infection. The poliovirus mostly affects the intestines, which are lined with mucus. So, scientists, including Albert Sabin, developed an oral vaccine that, when swallowed, came in direct contact with the gut mucosa to boost the mucosal immunity and stop infection and transmission. A Covid-19 intranasal vaccine would directly affect the mucosa in the same way.
That polio story is completely analogous to what we're doing, except we're doing it in the respiratory tract, Roberts says.
One of the major remaining unknowns about an intranasal vaccine is how well it will mount a lasting immune response. Russell says that the mucosal immune must constantly contend with our microbiota and the everything we eat and inhale in ways that the rest of the body does not. Thus, its possible that the mucosal systems memory of, and response to, the virus may diminish more quickly than the systemic immune response will.
Roberts predicts AdCOVID will be available in early 2022. In regions of the world where many people have been vaccinated, it may serve as a sort of seasonal re-vaccination. Roberts says that, like the flu, Covid-19 may become a seasonal illness. For people with a systemic immune response, either from intramuscular vaccination or natural infection, the intranasal vaccine could act as a booster to support their mucosal immunity and protect against variants.
As pharmaceutical companies develop second generation vaccines and think about vaccine boosters, Tal says they have renewed opportunity to devise ways to boost mucosal immunity.
Obviously, we've got to get out of the current situation we find ourselves in, but also provide a better preparedness to deal with the virus becoming endemic in the human population, Russell adds. It seems very likely that we will not totally eliminate this virus, we're going to have to live with it forever in [the] future.
The Loudoun County Health Department has announced that as of today every Loudoun resident 16 years of age and older may sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.
The expansion of vaccination opportunities earlier than expected is a result of the efficient vaccination of people who were in the Phase 1 priority groups over the past three and half months,stated Loudoun County Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend. As we begin making appointments for people in the general population, we will continue to prioritize vaccination for anyone in groups who are at greater risk of exposure and illness and for spreading the virus.
All health districts in Virginia are scheduled to advance to Phase 2 of the states vaccination plan no later than April 18.
According to the county health department, since April 1, Loudoun has vaccinated on average more than 4,100 people a day at the countys COVID-19 vaccination site at the Dulles Town Center.And, they said, their capacity is still limited by supplywith more vaccine doses, they could vaccinate more people each day.
The announcement also came after plumbing problems reportedly closed the Dulles Town Center vaccination site on Saturday, April 10, causing the vaccination appointments for that day to be canceled. According to the county, those people are being contacted to reschedule.
It also comes only a week after the county opened up vaccination appointments to Phase 1c, the last people in the Phase 1 priority group. The first Phase 1 vaccine doses began at the end of December.
Anyone under 18 receiving the vaccine must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at their vaccination appointment, or they will be turned away.
To pre-register and be put on the list for an appointment, go to vaccinate.virginia.govor call 1-877-829-4682. People seeking COVID-19 vaccination can also look for appointments at pharmacies and other locations in the region by visitingvaccinefinder.org. That is a separate sign up, since those organizations do not coordinate their registrations with the Health Department.
Even for fully vaccinated people, state and federal health officials continue to encourage COVID-19 precautions such as avoiding crowds, maintaining six feet of separation from others, frequent hand washing and wearing a mask.
Related
Duke University in North Carolina has announced that it will require students to have a COVID-19 vaccine when they return this fall. And the list of campuses with such policies is growing.
Rutgers University in New Jersey was the first, and since then more than a dozen residential colleges have followed. The University of Notre Dame; two Ivy League universities, Brown and Cornell; and Northeastern University in Massachusetts are among those requiring the vaccine for the fall. Cleveland State University will do so for all students living on campus.
As vaccines become more widely available, it's likely that many more colleges will add their own mandates. Thirty-seven states are now vaccinating all people ages 16 and up, and by April 19, all states in the U.S. will join them.
"Vaccinations are an important tool for making the fall semester safe," says Antonio Calcado, who leads Rutgers' COVID-19 task force. "We felt that just simply encouraging would not have the same effect as a requirement."
Colleges have struggled to control outbreaks on campus. Residential campuses are social spaces where viruses can (and did) spread through dorms, off-campus housing and parties. And campuses aren't insulated from their communities; there is research to suggest that spread of the coronavirus among students led to nearby deaths in nursing homes.
"This is not new"
Colleges have long required vaccinations for infectious diseases. In a survey of about 100 four-year institutions representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C., nearly all required at least one vaccine for enrollment. The MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, was required at 87.5% of campuses surveyed.
"This is not new," explains Calcado. "We have a whole portal for uploading your vaccine history and all those types of things. So that's already in place. And actually, this one just adds another vaccine to what's in place today."
When it comes to enforcement, colleges will most often use a registration hold, barring students from signing up for classes until they have met the requirement. But at some schools, not having proof of vaccination can prevent you from living in campus housing. In some rare cases, students could face expulsion.
Colleges are not new to disease outbreaks either, and in many cases those outbreaks led to vaccination campaigns on campus. In 2015, after an outbreak of meningitis on the campus of the University of Oregon in which a freshman student died, the university set up mass vaccination sites. For that campaign, the school used adhesive bandages with the school's "O" logo to advertise the vaccine to students.
Is it legal?
"Most universities have the power to require vaccines," explains Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. "But it does depend on what the college can do generally on vaccines and what they've done in the past."
That's because it's not just federal law that colleges need to navigate there are also state laws and the regulatory power that certain colleges possess to make requirements more generally. This can be easier for private colleges than for public ones, though some university systems, including the University of California, have power dictated by the state constitution.
Of course these types of mandates aren't new, and their legality has been challenged and upheld for nearly a century. In 1925, a student sued the University of California saying he met all the requirements to attend the school except for having a required smallpox vaccination. The judge upheld the mandate. A 2015 law in California requiring vaccines among schoolchildren has also withstood legal challenges.
But current COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration under an emergency use authorization, or EUA, which introduces a "new situation" for colleges, says Reiss. "We've never had the vaccine for the entire population authorized under EUA before." So legal arguments have a little asterisk, she says, until vaccines are officially approved by the FDA, which could come as early as this summer.
"There almost certainly are going to be legal challenges because the anti-vaccine movement is already preparing for them," says Reiss. "The main arguments will include the EUA question and the fact that these vaccines are early [in use]."
Most colleges offer some exemptions to their policies, primarily for medical or religious reasons, though Reiss says that "under previous jurisprudence, you don't have to give a religious exemption. Because a vaccine mandate is not targeted at religion, it's generally applicable."
But she adds, the U.S. Supreme Court has already signaled that it's going to be more protective of religious freedom than in the past. So, she says, this is an area of uncertainty going forward.
In December, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance that said no current law would prevent employers from requiring vaccines or needing proof of vaccination from their employees.
According to an issue brief from the American Council on Education, which represents colleges, "the legal right of institutions to require COVID-19 vaccination for students seems likely to be upheld as vaccine availability increases." The brief also includes alternatives to mandates, including offering students incentives to be vaccinated and making online learning options available for those who are not getting the shot.
International students
One lingering question is what to do about international students. For students in countries without vaccine availability, says Calcado of Rutgers, that's a bit easier. "We can get them vaccinated. We do it ourselves. That's not a problem." The main challenge, he adds, comes with students who have been vaccinated with something that hasn't been approved in the U.S., like the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is widely used in the United Kingdom and is the subject of concerns about health risks.
Alternatives to a mandate
Even with large portions of their student bodies vaccinated, campuses are likely to keep many of the elements that have come to define COVID-19 college: masking, frequent coronavirus testing and social distancing. Even with a vaccination requirement for the fall, Rutgers has said it will continue to test all students and faculty members until public health officials advise otherwise.
The University of California San Diego plans to have campus student housing back at 100% capacity by its fall quarter. Students without the vaccine will be required to continue weekly asymptomatic testing, currently the norm on campus. Students and faculty members who are fully vaccinated in the fall will not be required to complete this testing, though wastewater testing for the virus will continue.
"I often refer to these as soft mandates," explains Reiss, who studies vaccine requirements at colleges. "You can choose not to vaccinate, but there are going to be some consequences. That incentivizes vaccination."
Getting current students vaccinated
As vaccine eligibility has opened up to include college-age adults, campuses have become vaccination sites. In an interview on WBEZ's Reset, Robert Jones, chancellor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says there is an "ongoing discussion" about vaccine requirements.
In the meantime, he said, the university is focused on getting the vaccine to current students. "The important thing for us, at this university and across the whole University of Illinois system, is to make sure that we get all of our students vaccinated before they depart at the end of this semester."
Other campuses are restricted by current eligibility rules. Out-of-state students in Vermont, who represent a majority of enrollment at the University of Vermont, are not able to be vaccinated until April 30. New Hampshire will expand eligibility to out-of-state residents, including college students, starting April 19.
In addition to becoming a distribution site for the vaccine, Rutgers University will also begin a mass communication campaign to educate the student body and the surrounding community about the importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
"We're having students do videos," says Calcado. Administrators are working with the university's student government to design messages that resonate. "We need to take out the noise and concentrate on what the science says. The message is: What are the facts? What do we know?"
Calcado says it's not just current or prospective students he has in mind for this. "When our students go back to their communities, to their families," he says, "you know they're armed with good information."
The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective. Heres what the numbers really mean. The Philadelphia Inquirer
