Even as COVID-19 vaccinations increase across the globe, experts have wondered whether its possible to get people vaccinated more quickly if vaccines can be mixed and matched.
Evidence of vaccine supply chain issues show that potentially allowing people to use different vaccines may help people get fully vaccinated more quickly.
In an attempt to create more flexible COVID-19 vaccination programs, the United Kingdoms National Health Service (NHS) is conducting research to discover the effectiveness of combining two different vaccines.
Its called the Com-COV study, and its raising important questions, like whether this can increase or decrease vaccine effectiveness.
By using two different vaccines, there is not going to be a greater magnitude of protection against the disease, Dr. Nikhil Bhayani, infectious disease specialist with Texas Health Resources, told Healthline.
However, Bhayani emphasized that at this time, [the] use of two different vaccines is not recommended.
Bhayani also cautioned that while the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines do offer a degree of protection against COVID-19, as we see more variant strains the expectation of the vaccine protecting you from the disease could decrease. However, clinical trials will be warranted to prove this.
According to the NHS, the purpose of this 13-month trial is to see how well peoples immune systems respond once theyre primed with one type of vaccine and then boosted with another.
Researchers want to see how strong the immune system response is when the second dose is separated from the first dose by different amounts of time.
Researchers will also use blood samples from trial volunteers to monitor the effect of different dosing regimens on participants immune system responses, and look for any additional adverse reactions to these combinations of vaccines.
The two vaccines used for this study are from AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech.
However, the NHS added that if more vaccines are approved for use in the U.K. after this study starts, they may be added to the trial.
Its important to note, according to the most current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that a lack of available safety data means COVID-19 vaccines shouldnt be mixed unless theres an exceptional situation, like a shortage of the vaccine the person first received.
We use this approach to protect against pneumococcal disease, which is serious illness caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria and can include pneumonia, bloodstream infection, meningitis, among other infections, said Dr. Dana Mazo, hospital epidemiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
She explained that in some instances, one type of vaccine can increase the effectiveness of another.
There are two different types of pneumococcal vaccines that have different mechanisms of action, and in certain situations we recommend boosting one with the other, she said.
According to Bhayani, scientific data has shown that getting several vaccines at the same time does not cause any chronic health problems.
When every new vaccine is licensed, it has been tested along with the vaccines already recommended, he added.
Mazo said the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines use two different technologies to protect against COVID-19.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is an mRNA vaccine, but AstraZenecas vaccine is not.
AstraZeneca uses adenovirus vector technology, similar to Johnson & Johnson, Mazo explained. [But] both vaccines contain instructions that tell our cells to make the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
Mazo said this causes our bodies to then build an immune response against the coronavirus spike protein that helps protect us if were exposed to the virus.
She pointed out that the difference is how the two vaccines transport these instructions to our cells.
Pfizer uses mRNA coated in lipid (fatty) material to get the information into the cells, she said, while AstraZeneca uses a weakened version of an adenovirus, a common cold virus, to do the same thing. Both vaccines currently require two doses.
According to Bhayani, the altered virus in AstraZenecas vaccine cant make you sick, but it carries a gene from the coronaviruss spike protein, the portion of the virus that triggers an immune response.
As a result, the immune system manufactures antibodies that work against COVID-19, teaching the body how to respond should one become infected, he said.
It is a new approach, which is why the U.K. is proposing to do a research study to evaluate it, Mazo said.
She explained its possible that getting the information to the cells in two different ways (one via mRNA and one by adenovirus viral vector) could create a better response either in terms of stronger or longer protection.
But this approach could also compromise overall effectiveness.
This question about whether it will be better or worse is why this approach is most appropriate in the context of a study, Mazo said. Since we do not know the answers, we want to learn from it.
Without question, there are critical COVID-19 vaccine shortages.
How we resolve these issues to protect the majority of people from the pandemic and return to a more normal situation is a serious concern.
But is mixing different vaccines better than not receiving a needed second dose?
Ideally you want to give the second dose to achieve the 90 percent efficacy, Bhayani said.
However, in dire circumstances, if there is a shortage of COVID vaccines, it would be better to get more people vaccinated with a single dose. At least some protection is better than none.
Dr. Eric Cioe-Pea, director of global health at Northwell Health in New York, believes that at this time, theres simply too little known about mixing vaccines.
We dont know if theres an advantage to mixing vaccines or a disadvantage. Further study is needed of the effects of mixing. Its not yet ready for prime time, he said.
U.K. researchers are conducting a clinical trial to learn whether mixing the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines can help increase the number of people who can be vaccinated with the needed two doses to protect against COVID-19.
Experts say theres not enough data to know whether this approach is an effective solution, and it might even reduce the protection offered by these vaccines.
The CDC currently recommends against mixing vaccines except under exceptional circumstances.
According to experts, in situations when its either mix different COVID-19 vaccines or not receive the second dose, its better to use the same vaccine in one dose until we know more.
COVID-19 cases surging in Pa. and N.J. as variants spread; Biden sets goal of 200 million vaccinations by end The Philadelphia Inquirer
On Wednesday, Mr. Draghi said that differing approaches by the regions to vaccinating people over the age of 80 was unacceptable, adding that some neglect their elderly to favor groups who claim priority based probably on some contractual power.
March 26, 2021, 12:43 a.m. ET
In Tuscany, a region usually admired for its health care system, only about 6 percent of people over the age of 80 have been fully vaccinated, prompting a public letter from leading citizens.
Inefficiency, they wrote, produces deaths.
Matteo Villa, a researcher at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies who has studied the coronavirus pandemic, said that Italys strategy of first vaccinating only health care workers had resulted in a bottleneck that made the virus more deadly.
When the delays came, he said, we still had a lot of elderly people to vaccinate.
Guido Bertolaso, the former head of Italys civil protection agency who is now in charge of the vaccine campaign in Lombardy, said the country had failed to act on emergency footing.
He blamed pharmaceutical companies not making good on their promised deliveries for Italys problems. When you plan, you must know where you get the vaccine, at what time, which amount, on a weekly basis, he said. In any case, he added, In Italy with planning, we are not very good.
Avoidable organizational and logistical problems have slowed the rollout and infuriated Italians. In Lombardy, a wealthy northern region at the center of Italys outbreak, intensive care wards are still packed with older and dying Italians, making it an emblem of Italys missteps.
Every time the phone rings, I hope its them, said Ester Bucco, 84, from Castiglione Olona, in the Lombardy region, who registered two months ago to get vaccinated but has yet to get an appointment. She walks around the house carrying her home phone and said she had started taking anti-anxiety pills to cope. I really want to see my grandchildren.
Earlier this month, Kemp announced that Georgians as young as 55 and those with certain high-risk medical conditions would be eligible to receive the vaccine. Under the wide-ranging definition of those conditions, most Georgia adults became qualified to get the shots.
One large group of Georgians now eligible to get the vaccine is college students. There are more than 340,000 students in the University System of Georgia. Several University System schools said Tuesday that they are prepared to vaccinate more students once they get additional doses.
But supply of the vaccine remains tight in parts of the state, particularly in metro Atlanta, where many residents are traveling to other parts of Georgia to make appointments in areas where theres less demand for the doses.
Anita Shetty, left, vaccinates Doris Lucas with a Pfizer vaccine while operations get underway Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Credit: Curtis Compton
Credit: Curtis Compton
In a major step, the federally supported mass vaccination site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will start working Wednesday to administer 6,000 shots a day, and it is offering evening hours to reach more people.
And state leaders hope the federal governments plans to send an additional 42,000 doses a week over the next few weeks to the stadium, the largest vaccination site in the Southeast, will ease the demand problem. Overall, Kemp said Georgia received more than 450,000 doses of vaccines this week.
About 220 active-duty military members were at the stadium Tuesday, preparing to join state and Fulton County health officials in the expanded vaccination effort.
Bethune Elementary School first-grade teacher Byron Thomas, who was at the stadium Tuesday to get a shot as part of a vaccination program for Fulton County teachers, marveled at getting the vaccine at the home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United.
Who would have believed it would be used like this, said Thomas, 53, who lives in Lithia Springs.
Officials hope to vaccinate 210,000 people during the expanded operation period, which is scheduled to conclude on May 19. Officials said the site will be open most days and as late as 10 p.m. two nights a week, likely Mondays and Wednesdays. The later hours are primarily to help people with trouble getting child care to set up appointments during the day.
The goal is to vaccinate people, particularly African Americans and Latinos, who may have trouble traveling to other sites. Officials said theyll work on various outreach efforts to those communities. Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts noted vaccination rates for those groups are disproportionately lower than other segments of Georgias population.
We must work to reverse that trend and reach everyone, Pitts said.
The military members, nearly all from Fort Stewarts 3rd Infantry Division, will help with vaccinations. Vaccination pods will be operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Fultons health department.
Its a unique mission, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Chadwick said. Its an important mission, and we couldnt be happier to be here.
Meanwhile, doses continue to be available in South Georgia. Health officials said a state-run vaccination site in Albany closed last week because of limited demand it was averaging less than 100 appointments a day and the supplies were redistributed to other clinics.
Another state-operated vaccination site in Savannah had booked so few appointments when it opened last week that officials opened it up for drive-up appointments to help increase vaccinations.
We cannot afford to have vaccines sitting in the freezers, whether its in metro Atlanta or in rural Georgia, Kemp said.
The states expansion comes as Georgia continues to struggle to vaccinate more residents. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Georgia is vaccinating people at one of the nations slowest paces.
Kemp has criticized news coverage of the vaccination rate, citing higher rates of vaccination for higher-risk Georgians, and he cited CDC statistics that showed Georgia received far fewer doses of the vaccine per capita than other states.
Walgreens employee Taylor Truelove rushes a new supply of the Pfizer vaccine into St. Philip AME Church during a vaccination event earlier this month. (STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION)
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Georgia health officials are in a race against the clock to vaccinate as many people as possible before coronavirus variants take hold that could be more contagious and, potentially, reinfect people who have recovered from the disease.
The state recently detected its first case of a particularly worrisome variant first found in Brazil, and health officials have reported dozens of other cases of variants that originated in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Complicating the effort is a vaccination sign-up system that can be confusing for some Georgians.
Barbara Barnhart of Tucker, a retired flight attendant, got her second dose last month, and she now spends a few hours a week helping others navigate the various vaccine sites. Shes picked up tips over the past few weeks, such as checking early with pharmacies that open slots at 7 a.m.
By now, shes helped about 50 relatives and friends and dozens of others who have asked for help on a Georgia Vaccine Hunters Facebook group. She welcomed the governors announcement and urged Georgians to sign up as quickly as possible.
I dont want any more people to get sick, she said. I just want us to get back to normal life, and I believe this is going to make a difference in how quickly we can get there.
Georgia earlier this month expanded from Phase 1a+ of its distribution plan for COVID-19 vaccines to include anyone over age 55 and anyone who has a medical condition that is deemed high risk by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Thursday, the pool will expand to anyone 16 and over.
You may want to look for appointments in more than one county, especially if you live in metro Atlanta. Any Georgia resident can receive a vaccine at any available site in the state.
For state and county vaccination appointments, check these two websites first:
If you have a doctor or doctor group that you normally see for annual checkups, check its website; some are now offering vaccination appointments to more patients.
The massive COVID-19 vaccination site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is open for appointments and will start administering the vaccine Wednesday. The site will have the capacity to administer 6,000 vaccines a day, seven days a week. They will include evening appointments as late as 10 p.m. two nights a week.
Please be considerate: If you sign up for more than one appointment, cancel any that you are not going to use. Otherwise, you might keep someone else from getting an appointment or cause a dose to go to waste.
Crowd sourcing: Because the process is potentially confusing, unofficial groups and individuals are using Facebook and other social media to help people find appointments. One example is the Georgia Vaccine Hunters Facebook group, which numbers more than 7,000 members.
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been hailed as the worlds vaccine its inexpensive to produce and doesnt need super-cold storage like the mRNA vaccines do. Its been approved in countries around the globe, from the U.K. to Mexico to Australia.
At first, clinical trial data indicated that the vaccine had an efficacy of nearly 80 percent, though a small study of about 2,000 people showed it to be considerably less effective against the variant first identified in South Africa. But that hasnt been seen as a reason to keep the vaccine from the rest of the world. And so far, tens of millions of doses have been administered.
Nevertheless, the vaccine has still not been approved in the U.S. This week, on the verge of submitting their vaccine for FDA approval, AstraZeneca committed essentially a communications faux pas that could shake the publics confidence in the shot. And, unfortunately, its not the first public relations scandal AstraZeneca has gotten itself into since the pandemic began.
On this weeks episode of PODCAST-19, we explore AstraZenecas missteps and what to make of them with Maggie Koerth, FiveThirtyEights senior science writer. You can find the transcript below.
Anna Rothschild: Maggie, what the heck is going on with AstraZeneca?
Maggie Koerth: What the heck isnt going on with AstraZeneca? So, this is still a little confusing. And I think part of what is making it confusing is the communication around it. So what seems to be going on is that AstraZeneca had this big press conference; they released efficacy data that was based on data from one period of time. So they came out and said, You know, were going to have an efficacy of 79 percent. Thats great. But then the Data [and] Safety Monitoring Board, which is the regulator in charge of all of this, is saying that if you add in this extra time period that they have data for, but that they just kind of left out in the public announcement, youre actually going to get an efficacy of closer to 69 to 75 percent.
Anna Rothschild: Basically, when you do a clinical trial, right, you have this, like, impartial board called the Data [and] Safety Monitoring Board that sees your data before even, like, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company sees the data. In this case, pretty much back in February, the Data Safety [and] Monitoring Board found that there was an efficacy rate in the most recent clinical trials at AstraZeneca of like 79 percent. But there were these, like, additional potential cases of COVID that they kind of wanted AstraZeneca to look into. So, AstraZeneca kind of looked into some of them. And by March, that number dropped to 75 percent. But there were still, according to this [Washington] Post article I read, like 33 potential cases of COVID that could bring that number down to 69 percent. And basically, like, the regulatory board (again, which is not related to AstraZeneca at all they are an impartial board) told AstraZeneca these numbers, but were like, Listen, you really got to check this out because these numbers could change. And then AstraZeneca just decided to go with the February numbers, knowing that there was this potential change in what could occur. Then this regulatory board did a thing that is you almost never hear this happen in public health: Like, they basically, like, wrote to AstraZeneca that they were very disappointed in them and that this had the potential to mislead them and then freakin ccd Dr. Fauci on it.
Maggie Koerth: Oh, I didnt know they ccd him on it. Oh, wow. Oh my gosh. Thats thats some thats some like, please see my previous email.
Anna Rothschild: I know!
Maggie Koerth: And what is absolutely driving me completely bonkers is that were having this whole thing over a less than 10 percent difference in efficacy. Like, theres this massive loss of trust involved in this communication. These are really weird things to be happening. And its less than 10 percent difference.
Anna Rothschild: I think that thats kind of the most galling thing, too. Theres just something so weird going on about the fact that they really wanted to release the 79 percent number, when in fact, it might have been 75 percent effective. And the difference between those numbers is fairly small.
Quick side note here: We recorded this episode on Wednesday afternoon. That night, AstraZeneca released an update saying that after a review, theyve now determined that their vaccine has a 76 percent efficacy against symptomatic COVID, and 100 percent efficacy against hospitalizations and deaths.
Maggie Koerth: It just seems like theres been a lot of this stuff all the way along with AstraZeneca.
Anna Rothschild: Well, lets talk about some of these other scandals.
Maggie Koerth: So, what I kind of have seen in going back and looking through a lot of this stuff is this pattern of, like, both choosing the more optimistic thing to talk to the press about, and also this pattern of just kind of methodological sloppiness. They wanted to combine all of these different studies that they had been doing all over the world that were done differently, with different doses and in different ways into one big meta-analysis. Thats not a thing like, we dont do that.
Anna Rothschild: Didnt they also give some study participants a half dose of the vaccine accidentally at some point?
Maggie Koerth: Yeah. When they were releasing some of their data, you had, like, this result, where like, oh, a half dose, and then a full dose gets you a better effectiveness rate than two full doses. And so the press kind of got curious about that. And like, What even made you try this? And it turned out that what made them try that was a complete and utter accident that happened when one of their contractors was giving the wrong dose out in one trial.
Anna Rothschild: Jeez.
Maggie Koerth: Its not like they were hiding it from the regulators. Like, the regulators knew. But they had not made it clear in the public-facing data. So you just had this, like, weird hanging question that then they had to explain that that made them look like they were hiding things. The PR failure has also been going on for quite a while.
Anna Rothschild: Oh, absolutely. I dont know if you remember, like, earlier on in their clinical trials there were, like, one or two cases of this, like, super-rare paralytic condition called transverse myelitis, which we talked about on PODCAST-19 before, and basically, like, the trials were stopped. The crazy thing, though, is that the way that the FDA found out about the case of transverse myelitis was the same way the public found out, which was through a leaked story to, I think, STAT News.
Maggie Koerth: Oh, god, Id forgotten about that.
Anna Rothschild: It was later found that there was no link between the vaccine and transverse myelitis. This is actually just, like, a thing that these two people in these very large studies happened to develop that, in all likelihood, had nothing to do with the vaccine whatsoever. But the fact that it was communicated so poorly just makes you go, Wait, are you hiding something?
Maggie Koerth: Right. And you also have things that are, like, not scandals per se, but like, do you remember what was going on with, like, the whole, This doesnt work in old people thing?
Anna Rothschild: Oh, yeah. I mean, I think what happened was that AstraZeneca, like, they didnt do an excellent job of recruiting enough older people in the study, people over 65 in their study. And so that kind of got misconstrued by the public. And I think, famously, [by] Emmanuel Macron.
Maggie Koerth: Right.
Anna Rothschild: By interpreting that as, Oh, this vaccine doesnt work in people over 65, thats not necessarily the case.
Maggie Koerth: It seems to be working right in people over 65 in the U.K., for instance.
Anna Rothschild: Exactly, exactly. In reality, we just didnt have enough data to say whether the vaccine worked in people over 65 at the time.
Maggie Koerth: Right? So its another one of those cases of where, like, its not that theyre evil. Its just that theyre, like, walking into walls repeatedly.
Anna Rothschild: Another quick side note: In their Wednesday night press release, AstraZeneca said their vaccine has an 85 percent efficacy in people 65 and older.
Maggie Koerth: And I think, like, some of the communication around this has also been its not all on AstraZeneca. Like, you get into, like, the blood-clotting thing. And that communication has been bad from, like, everybody basically.
Anna Rothschild: Well, lets talk about that. What did happen with the blood clots?
Maggie Koerth: So, there are at least 21 countries that put a temporary pause on using the AstraZeneca vaccine. So, what is going on is that there are at least 30 cases of not just blood clots, but severe blood clotting, and a syndrome of different symptoms. You know, some people are having head-to-toe blood clots, some people are having these low platelet counts. Nobody knows whether this is tied to the vaccine. Nobody knows why it would be heavily centered in Germany, where theres been at least 13 cases. But its the kind of thing that if youre a vaccine safety expert, youre looking at this information and youre thinking, Lets, lets hold up a minute and find out whats going on. But if youre a public health person, youre looking at this exact same information and youre going, But its just 30 cases, and theres been tens of millions of doses of this stuff given out. So youre still way more likely to die from COVID. So lets prioritize getting people vaccinated. Its really just this clash between how two different expert groups prioritize the same thing.
Anna Rothschild: Basically, like, the European Medicines Agency has said that the benefits of the vaccine continue to, like, far outweigh the risks.
Maggie Koerth: What Im struggling with now, looking at, like, this whole big history of things, is like, where this leaves us. Part of me is looking at this and kind of having the Fauci reaction, right, of like, I think this is a good vaccine. Just like what are they doing?
Anna Rothschild: So, Maggie, does the U.S. need this vaccine?
Maggie Koerth: I mean, we are contracted for enough vaccine to vaccinate everybody in the U.S. by July. So we dont actually need AstraZeneca to get the job done here. But it is needed in a lot of other places. Its the one that, you know, became part of, like, the international Lets get everybody vaccinated effort, right? So, like, all of the contracts for how we are going to get vaccine to people in developing countries are tied to AstraZeneca.
Anna Rothschild: One of the things that this has brought up for me that I do think is a positive, I guess, is the fact that, like, this Data [and] Safety Monitoring Board did exactly what it was supposed to do. And that they clearly were working in the publics best interest to correct this mistake from AstraZeneca. And, for me at least, I find that pretty comforting, because it means that our system is working, right. Like, we have these independent boards for a reason. And theyre working to inform the public, they looped in the federal government, and its the process in action, which is great.
Maggie Koerth: Yeah, that has been good all the way through. I mean, like, Pfizer, Moderna did not know they had 95 percent accuracy before the independent review boards did. That should be giving us a lot of faith. That should be making us feel better.
Anna Rothschild: Well, so this, this brings us to the big question, which is, Would you take the AstraZeneca vaccine, knowing what you do now?
Maggie Koerth: Um, I have been pretty vocal about the idea that I would absolutely take J&J.
Anna Rothschild: Same.
Maggie Koerth: Even though the efficacy from the clinical trials is lower than Moderna and Pfizer. So this is not just a, like, Oh, I need perfection. I need the best. I feel like I can judge what is the best. Like, that is not what Im saying. I personally, probably would be a little hesitant about AstraZeneca at this point.
Anna Rothschild: Me too. Im going to need to hear from multiple independent scientists that they trust it before I go out of my way to get this one. You know, in all likelihood its safe and effective, but theyve just had so many communication errors!
Maggie Koerth: And when you have a pattern of that, I mean, like its effectively no different than if my kid comes down and tells me that she cleaned her room and has stuffed everything under her bed the last five times shes said that. At a certain point, Im not going to trust the room is clean.
Anna Rothschild: Thats a great analogy. Well, I think we should end it there. Maggie, thank you so much for chatting with me about this. Its always a pleasure to, you know, just gab and talk about major pharmaceutical companies and
Maggie Koerth: Girl stuff.
Anna Rothschild: Yeah, exactly!
One correction on todays episode: For some reason, Maggie and I repeatedly said that the independent, impartial board was called the Data Safety Monitoring Board. Its actually the Data and Safety Monitoring Board. I do not know how we got that stuck in our heads.
Thats it for this episode of PODCAST-19. If you have a question youd like us to answer on the show, email us a voice memo at askpodcast19@gmail.com. Thats ask podcast one nine at gmail dot com. Im Anna Rothschild. Our producer is Sinduja Srinivasan. Chadwick Matlin is our executive producer. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
All Veterans, their spouses and caregivers can soon get COVID-19 vaccinations from VA under the SAVE LIVES Act signed into law March 24.
For the latest information, Stay Informed here.
Covered individuals can receive a vaccine from VA due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency.Under the bill, covered individuals are:
VA must prioritize the vaccination of (1) Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) Veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and (3) caregivers accompanying such prioritized Veterans. Additionally, vaccines furnished abroad are authorized to be furnished in a geographic location other than a state regardless of whether vaccines are needed for the treatment of Veterans with a service-connected disability. This includes those participating in a VA rehabilitation program.
To learn how to get COVID-19 vaccine from VA, visithttps://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/84404/veterans-designated-caregivers-can-get-covid-19-vaccine-va/.
Find answers to general VA COVID-19 vaccine questions athttps://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/.
To receive ongoing updates about VAs COVID-19 vaccine efforts and to indicate your interest in getting the vaccine once youre eligible, visithttps://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/stay-informed.
Read the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet athttps://www.fda.gov/media/144638/download.
View the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet athttps://www.fda.gov/media/144413/download.
Read the Janssen COVID-19 fact sheet athttps://www.fda.gov/media/146305/download.
Army Veteran Dolores Rivera received her first Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile clinic in Hobbs, New Mexico, March 19, 2021. VA photo by Reynaldo Leal.
March 25, at 6:30 PM ET:
For the latest information, Stay Informed here.
March 25, at 7:10 PM ET:
Title changed from All Veterans, their spouses, caregivers can get COVID-19 vaccinations from VA to SAVE LIVES Act allows VA to soon provide COVID-19 vaccinations to all Veterans, their spouses and caregivers
The word soon was added to the sentence All Veterans, their spouses and caregivers can soon get COVID-19 vaccinations from VA under the SAVE LIVES Act signed into law March 24.
Sentence with link added: UPDATE March 25th, 6:30pm: For the latest information, Stay Informed here.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered devastating consequences for human life and the global economy. Maritime and air transport are two essential activities that underpin global trade and mobility and are key to a sustainable socio-economic recovery.
More than 80% of global trade by volume is moved by maritime transport. The global economy depends on the worlds 2 million seafarers who operate the global fleet of merchant ships. Seafarers have been severely impacted by the travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic. As of January 2021, it is estimated that some400,000 seafarersare stranded onboard commercial vessels, long past the expiry of their contracts and unable to be repatriated.Asimilar number of seafarersurgently need to join ships to replace them.
Passenger air transport carried about 5.7 billion passengers in 2019 while airfreight represents 35% of the value of goods shipped in all modes combined. The total number of licensed aviation professionals, which include pilots, air traffic controllers and licensed maintenance technicians, was 887,000 in 2019, according to ICAO personnel statistics. Application of stringent public health rules to air crew, including quarantine, has resulted in hindered connectivity, operational complexity and significant cost.
Maritime and air transport rely on seafarers and aircrew. They are key workers required to travel across borders at all times, which may result in the need for them to present proof of a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for entry in some countries. This is despite WHO recommendation that, at the present time, countries should not introduce requirements of proof of vaccination for international travel as a condition of entry, as there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficacy of vaccination in reducing transmission and limited availability of vaccines1. For shipping and air transport to continue to operate safely, the safe cross border movement of seafarers and aircrew must be facilitated. We reiterate our call upon countries that have not done so to designate seafarers and aircrew as key workers.
With this statement, our organizations also call on governments to prioritize seafarers and aircrew in their national COVID-19 vaccination programmes, together with other essential workers, in accordance with the advice from the WHO SAGE Roadmap for prioritizing the use of COVID-19 vaccines in the context of limited supply published in November 20202. Seafarers and aircrew need to be protected through vaccination as soon as possible, to facilitate their safe movement across borders. We also call on governments to identify and prepare for the challenges of COVID-19 vaccination of seafarers and aircrew, particularly for seafarers spending long periods of time away from their home country.
Our organizations fully support the timely development of an international harmonized framework for vaccination certificates, to facilitate international travel for seafarers and aircrew.
In December 2020, WHO established a Smart Vaccination Certificate working group to ensure that digitalized versions of vaccine certificates are interoperable3, and the UN Crisis Management Team for COVID-19, under the leadership of WHO, recognized that all countries should consider seafarers and aircrew, who are required to travel across borders during the pandemic, for essential allocation of vaccines.
We invite governments and other stakeholders to bring the contents of this joint statement to the attention of the competent authorities and all parties concerned.
While some companies have been working on smartphone apps or other systems to create digital proof of vaccination, right now the paper CDC card is about all the proof you get.That's why Staples and Office Depot want to help you keep your paper card in good condition. The two companies are offering free laminations of completed Covid-19 vaccination cards.
A spokesperson for Staples told CNN that the service is available at all Staples locations in the US and currently does not yet have an end date.
The CDC suggests taking a picture of your vaccination card as a backup copy if you need the information.
Posted: Mar 25, 2021 / 04:29 PM HST / Updated: Mar 26, 2021 / 05:29 AM HST
HONOLULU (KHON2) Beginning Monday, March 29, Hawaii residents age 60 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Hawaii Department of Health made the announcement on Thursday, March 25.
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We are closely monitoring current and projected vaccination numbers, appointment availability and most importantly the amount of vaccine allocated to the people of Hawaii, State Health director Dr. Elizabeth Char said in Thursdays news release.Our analysis of these indicators tells us it is time to expand vaccine eligibility to more people.
Registration opportunities for those 60 and older will soon be available through links posted here and from healthcare providers around the state.
Some essential workers in the 1C group like construction workers, bank, finance and retail workers will still have to wait for their sign-up date, however.
We were waiting for the 1C vaccinations to happen and when it did happen, it was like our legs were cut out from under us, especially now when in just the last week we had two projects shut down because of COVID exposure, said Mel Silva, Hawaii Bricklayers Union, Local 1 business manager.
He said, there could be up to 150 workers at one job site and just one exposure could put them and their families in jeopardy even with COVID-19 procedures.
The vaccination would help us get more safe on the job site and keep job sites open.
Health officials say they understand the concerns but the change to opening to people age 60 and above stems from assessing risk levels.
Our whole our whole approach to this is not only to vaccinate as many people as possible, but to protect the people who are at highest risk, said Baehr.
He said, people will have to wait a bit longer until more supply of the vaccines come in.
The only reason we have not flown the doors open to construction workers and banking, finance and retail and anybody else even people in younger age groups is supply, said Brooks Baehr with the Department of Health. We still have people who might be in Phase 1A or 1B theres always going to be this overlapping phase.
The Department of Health has yet to set a date on when construction, bank, finance and retail workers will be able to register to get vaccinated. These groups say they are trying to be patient for now.
From the beginning, we were waiting for our time, and like I said, its the anxiety for these guys and their families at home, said Silva.
Vaccines have currently been reserved for those 65 and older, healthcare workers, individuals with chronic medical conditions that put them at high risk if infected with the virus, frontline essential workers in Phase 1b and certain essential workers in Phase 1c.
Gov. Newsom says the state will extend COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on April 1 to everyone aged 50 and older, then to everyone aged 16 and older on April 15.
CALIFORNIA, USA California Gov. Gavin Newsomsaid the state will extend COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on April 1 to everyone aged 50 and older, then to everyone aged 16 and older on April 15. Newsom made the announcement Thursday, saying vaccine supply is expected to quickly skyrocket.
The state has been receiving roughly 1.8 million doses a week, but the state anticipates receiving 2.5 million weekly doses by early April, then more than 3 million per week by the end of that month.
"With vaccine supply increasing and by expanding eligibility to more Californians, the light at the end of the tunnel continues to get brighter," Newsom said.
Opening the floodgates to vaccine eligibility is concerning for some.
"We have to make sure that we can help those who are already struggling to be able to find an appointment," said San Diegan Gavin Tong, who created San Diego Vaccine Angels, a volunteer-driven service that helps others San Diegans eligible for the shot -- but who are having difficulty navigating the online process -- book their appointments.
"It's been crazy how this has snowballed into a big grassroots effort," Tong told News 8.
Even though it launched less than a week ago, San Diego Vaccine Angels already has more than 30 tech-savvy volunteers, who have helped arrange 50 appointments and counting.
"There is no secret or trick... it's a lot of perseverance," Tong added. "There's an element of luck.
COVID-19 vaccine eligibility has been slowly expanding in the state in recent weeks. Most recently, eligibility was extended to people aged 16 and over with serious underlying health conditions that put them at risk of severe illness or death from COVID. An array of essential workers are already eligible for vaccines, such as teachers and food workers. Health care workers were the first to be given access to the vaccine, and everyone in the state aged 65 and over is already eligible.
Thursday's announcement means everyone in the state aged 16 and up will be eligible for the shots in mid-April. However, given the state's vast population, it will still take months to provide the vaccines to everyone who wants one.
Newsom said the state will have the capacity to administer 4 million shots per week by the end of April.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's health and human services director, said the announcement means "we are even closer to putting this pandemic behind us."
"However, we are not there yet," he said. "It will take time to vaccinate all eligible Californians. During this time, we must not let our guard down. It is important that we remain vigilant, continue to wear masks and follow public health guidance."
WATCH: Online tool helps San Diegans track down vaccine appointments
