This might more appropriately be titled, Vaccine Chronicles, as the hunt for an open appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine has consumed my family for two months.
Vaccine hesitancy remains a challenge among a segment of the African American community individuals in my immediate family included based on the Tuskegee Experiment and Americas past history of racism within its health care system.
But another segment of the African American community has frantically grasped, with the rest of the world, for this lifeline that promises a return to some normalcy.
Every day, my family texts and emails about which members are eligible in the vaccines phased rollout.
Every day, weve shared with each other the latest distribution venue offered by the state, Cook County or city of Chicago.
Every day, there is the surfing of designated websites and calling of phone numbers, each of us armed with every family members pertinent information, as we fight through the busy phone lines and constant online response of No Appointments Available.
Phase 1A, of course, began Dec. 15, 2020, encompassing health care workers, nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Phase 1B, targeting those 65 and older, non-health care residential settings, and frontline essential workers, opened Jan. 25.
Phase 1B Plus opened statewide Feb. 25 targeting individuals with underlying health conditions. But in Chicago, the larger population with underlying health conditions, and non-frontline essential workers, wont be looped in until Phase 1C opens March 29.
Like so many families nationwide, mine was pummeled by the invisible and highly contagious coronavirus outbreak, declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Our 94-year-old matriarch, my mother, has essentially been a shut-in, the pandemic dictating limited contact with her seven children, and no contact at all with grandchildren who are potential asymptomatic spreaders.
My millennial son in Texas caught COVID in July, triggering three weeks of hell for his father and I, who could only worry and pray in Chicago with his grandparents, aunts and uncles. As with most COVID victims his age, he came through unscathed.
Four months later, another family member caught COVID, their descent into inability to breathe, hospitalization and ultimately being placed on a ventilator, sending our family into a traumatized tailspin. They survived.
Another family member in that persons home also caught COVID, causing again a collective holding of breath. They weathered the illness without hospitalization.
A third family member who caught COVID via this cohort also ended up hospitalized, was successfully treated and came home.
Traumatized by this COVID-19 journey, getting our family vaccinated has been priority one since December, though akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
One sibling, a doctor, got theirs in Phase 1A.
Phase 1B looped in Mom; myself as caregiver for a medically fragile son; a family member who is caregiver for another disabled relative; and two siblings who are frontline essential workers. Like many in Chicago, Cook County and statewide, we began searching for appointments immediately.
Day after day, no appointments on the list of city vaccine sites expanding over time.
Week after week, no appointments on the growing list of Cook County vaccine sites.
No appointments through Walgreens, Osco or other national pharmacies.
Until, finally, the web surfing, phone calling and putting family names on lists paid off.
Mom and I and one essential worker sibling were blessed to get appointments at Mt. Sinai Hospital one of four hospitals on the citys list. The other essential worker sibling was blessed to get one at Rush University Medical Center.
The family member who is also a caregiver was blessed to get one at North Riverside Health Center in suburban North Riverside.
Another sibling got one through a Loretto Hospital pop-up vaccine event for all ages held at Amundsen Park on the West Side on Saturday where my special-needs son, who resides between my home and his fathers home in West Side Austin, also got vaccinated.
We have a sibling with underlying conditions who initially did not trust the vaccine but has come around. We continue web surfing for that last appointment.
One of my siblings, and one other family member, have no interest in a vaccine whatsoever.
So be it. For those still searching, dont give up. It took weeks of web surfing and phone calls for our family to get this far.
The question I get most: Side effects? Theyve run the gamut.
Mom, who we were most worried about, experienced none at all. Me? My arm was beyond sore that night and the next day, with accompanying fatigue and cold symptoms diminishing over four days. A siblings arm was so painful the next day they couldnt move, chills and severe fatigue gluing her to the couch. The symptoms diminished over two days.
As I visited Mom this weekend, the two of us sitting in her living room watching Mass on TV, eating and laughing maskless, per CDC guidelines I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the stress of the hunt for an appointment and the minimal side effects were all worth it.
The Department of Health reported that 143,144 Vermonters, or 26.1 percent of all those over the age of 16, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Saturday.
According to the state, 76,300 people have completed their vaccination, and 66,800 have received a first dose.
In Bennington County, 28.1 percent of residents have received vaccine, and in Windham County, 23.8.
So far, the state has received 271,900 doses of vaccine, 80.7 percent percent of which have been administered.
The state does not update its vaccine dashboard on Sunday or Monday.
Vermont will return to grouping segments of the population eligible for vaccines by age after the current group people with preexisting conditions is vaccinated.
Gov. Phil Scott said at his twice-weekly virus briefing on Friday that he expects to be able to announce this coming week a timeline for the remaining age bands, depending on what the state learns from the federal government about vaccine supplies. He said he hopes to outline the states exit strategy from the pandemic by the first week of April.
The last age group eligible for vaccines was Vermonters 65 and older, in addition to educators and those with certain medical conditions.
I appreciate everyones patience and I know all of us want to get to normal, he said. He added that state Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine and others have said that March is a critical month as the state completes vaccinations for the most vulnerable.
So we must continue to all we can to help ourselves by wearing a mask, keeping our distance, washing our hands and avoiding crowds when possible, he said.
Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine has received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Levine was vaccinated Friday at the University of Vermont Medical Center vaccination clinic held at the Essex fairgrounds, the state Health Department said.
Before receiving the shot, Levine reflected on what it means during the governors twice-weekly virus briefing.
Like many of you, I look forward to spending time with family and friends, to seeing my out-of-state son and his wife, and my daughter and her husband and hugging my granddaughter. And yes, hugging will be in order and will be the doctors order for all of you who follow in my footsteps.
He said while hes somewhat grateful for Zoom that allowed him to see his granddaughter, it has not come even close for missing seeing her grow from a five-month-old baby to a year-and-a-half (old) toddler.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will hold a statewide virtual town hall meeting with Vermont students this Monday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. Among the participants are Carson Gordon of Mount Anthony Union High School, and Iva Armour-Jones of Brattleboro Union High School.
The virtual event, Coping During COVID: How Students are Handling the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic, will focus on how students have experienced the social, emotional, and mental health challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanders said, I want to hear directly from Vermonts young people. This past year has been terrible for so many of us, and theres no doubt that our students are struggling. They may not be able to go to school, theyre dealing with remote and hybrid learning. They cant see their friends, and of course, some lost loved ones to this terrible virus. We cannot ignore their pain and we also owe it to them to listen to their ideas for how we move forward. I want to hear directly from these students and together discuss what can be done to boldly address their needs.
A panel of Vermont high school students will join Sanders for a discussion, followed by a question and answer session with the student attendees. Students will have an opportunity to speak about the issues that matter most to them, and ask questions about Sanders plans to help young people. A number of experts from Vermont will also join the event to provide resources and answer students questions.
Two Vermonters died of COVID-19 over the past two days, the Vermont Department of Health reported. The states death toll is now 214.
Thirty Vermonters were hospitalized with the disease as of Sunday, and one of those patients was in intensive care.
The health department reported 71 new cases of COVID-19 in Vermont on Saturday, and 175 on Sunday, for a total of 246. The new cumulative total was reported as 16,890, which is 267 higher than the total reported Friday.
All but one of Vermonts 14 counties reported new cases over the past two days. Chittenden County had 67; Orleans County had 43; Franklin County had 36; Bennington, Lamoille and Rutland counties each had 18; Addison County had 13; Washington County had nine; Caledonia, Windham and Windsor counties each had seven; Essex County had two; and Orange County had one. Grand Isle County had no new cases.
According to Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development figures, Bennington County has 43.90 active cases per 10,000 residents, above the statewide average of 35.80 cases per 10,000. Windham County is well under the state average, with 20.19 cases per 10,000.
Bennington County has reported 116 new cases over the past two weeks, and Windham County has reported 52. Chittenden County, Vermonts largest county, has had 458 over the same period.
Bennington County continues to have the highest infection rate of COVID-19 in Vermont, at 437.5 cases per 10,000 residents since the beginning of the pandemic. Chittenden County is second, at 323.7, while the rate in Windham County is 236.7.
So far, 342,066 people have been tested. The reported statewide seven-day average for positive tests has dipped to 1.3 percent.
The number of Vermonters reported to have recovered from COVID-19 rose by 228 since Friday, to 14,121.
Numbers for monitoring are no longer reported on the dashboard. The health department said it is continuing to internally track travelers and contacts monitored, and people who have completed monitoring.
The statistics supplied by the Vermont Department of Health at midday each day are accurate as of the end of the previous day. The information is preliminary and subject to change.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine and and is urging residents to sign up for their shots when they become eligible.
The 67-year-old received his second dose on Friday at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford. He was administered his initial shot on Feb. 16.
I view receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as part of my obligation to protect myself, members of my administration, and my family, Lamont said in a statement. As we continue our vaccine rollout, I continue to urge all of our residents to receive their vaccination once they are eligible. These vaccines are safe, effective, and they will help us get back to normal.
Currently, people age 55 and older are eligible to make vaccination appointments in Connecticut. The age threshold changes on March 22, when people 45 years and older can sign up for a shot. Lamont has said he expects Connecticut will be able to meet President Joe Bidens call to make all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccines by May 1. During an event on Friday, Lamont said he hopes to speed up the states current age-based rollout.
Give us a few days to get back to you, but I think were going to try and accelerate along the way, Lamont said during a news conference at a Danbury vaccination clinic.
More than 36,000 people have tested positive for the virus in Maine, including 206 cases announced Saturday. One new death was announced, bringing the total to 724.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Maine has risen over the past two weeks from 152 new cases per day on Feb. 25 to 172 new cases per day on March 11.
The University of New Hampshire is helping public health officials better understand how variations of the coronavirus are circulating in the public.
The university recently started genomic sequencing of the virus from samples submitted to its testing lab and samples provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Sequencing of the first several hundred samples were completed last week, and the variant first detected in the United Kingdom was found in two samples. That variant first showed up in New Hampshire last month. Patient information in such cases is forwarded to the state for further action if necessary.
More than 78,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, including 256 cases announced Saturday. Four new deaths were announced, bringing the total to 1,199.
The latest federal coronavirus relief package will be a lifeline for working parents, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Saturday.
Whitehouse, a Democrat, said the bill will send $93 million to Rhode Island child care centers.
Parents of young children have had to navigate the impossible situation of balancing full-time jobs with reduced options for child care during the pandemic, Whitehouse said in a statement. The burden has disproportionately fallen on women, many of whom have had no choice but to step back from their careers.
The funding is expected to include $36 million for child care block grants, $57 million for child care stabilization grants and $3 million for Rhode Island Head Start programs.
Oregon reported fewer coronavirus cases last week than at any point since September, capping a months-long decline in the states battle to tame coronavirus spread.
The Oregon Health Authority recorded 1,729 confirmed or presumed infections for the week ending Sunday, March 7, down an impressive 35% from the previous week.
Oregon hadnt been that low since cracking just below 2,000 weekly cases in late September.
Unfortunately, cases arent continuing their downward trajectory.
The state appears on track to surpass last weeks low when the current weeks numbers are released. Cases are rising something state officials acknowledged was possible with relaxed business restrictions and more contagious variants of the virus circulating.
Last week, ZIP codes in southern Oregon and along the coast once again recorded the most new cases.
The Oregonian/OregonLive is monitoring state coronavirus data, reporting by ZIP code the areas with the greatest weekly changes. Our analysis also highlights the areas with the most new cases in relation to population.
(Click here for an interactive map).
Heres a brief summary of the communities that added the most cases for the week ending Sunday, March 7:
97501 Medford
This Jackson County ZIP code added 58 cases, raising its tally to 2,507. Thats the eighth most in Oregon and 44th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97303 Salem
This Marion County ZIP code added 48 cases, raising its tally to 2,008. Thats the 14th most in Oregon and 62nd most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97526 Grants Pass
This Josephine County ZIP code added 46 cases, raising its tally to 1,057. Thats the 53rd most in Oregon and 164th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97504 Medford
This Jackson County ZIP code added 45 cases, raising its tally to 2,098. Thats the 13th most in Oregon and 74th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97420 Coos Bay
This Coos County ZIP code added 41 cases, raising its tally to 742. Thats the 77th most in Oregon and 196th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97123 Hillsboro
This Washington County ZIP code added 40 cases, raising its tally to 2,573. Thats the seventh most in Oregon and 50th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97124 Hillsboro
This Washington County ZIP code added 37 cases, raising its tally to 1,830. Thats the 17th most in Oregon and 129th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97527 Grants Pass
This Josephine County ZIP code added 35 cases, raising its tally to 1,022. Thats the 57th most in Oregon and 182nd most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97128 McMinnville
This Yamhill County ZIP code added 33 cases, raising its tally to 1,789. Thats the 18th most in Oregon and 65th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
97030 Gresham
This Multnomah County ZIP code added 32 cases, raising its tally to 2,304. Thats the 11th most in Oregon and 34th most per capita since the start of the pandemic.
Heres a brief summary of the communities with at least 20 new cases that added the most new cases per capita for the week ending Sunday, March 7:
97420 Coos Bay
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 15 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, down by about a third from the previous week.
The Coos County ZIP code added 41 new cases, increasing its total to 742.
97459 North Bend
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 15 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, down by about a quarter from the previous week.
The Coos County ZIP code added 20 new cases, increasing its total to 350.
97470 Roseburg
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 15 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, more than double from the previous week.
The Douglas County ZIP code added 29 new cases, increasing its total to 527.
97526 Grants Pass
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 13 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, up nearly double from the previous week.
The Josephine County ZIP code added 46 new cases, increasing its total to 1,057.
97501 Medford
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 13 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, down from the previous week.
The Jackson County ZIP code added 58 new cases, increasing its total to 2,507.
97303 Salem
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 12 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, up from the previous week.
The Marion County ZIP code added 48 new cases, increasing its total to 2,008.
97502 Central Point
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 10 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, up slightly from the previous week.
The Jackson County ZIP code added 30 new cases, increasing its total to 1,195.
97527 Grants Pass
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of 10 per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, up slightly from the previous week.
The Josephine County ZIP code added 35 new cases, increasing its total to 1,022.
97504 Medford
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of nine per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, down by about a third from the previous week.
The Jackson County ZIP code added 45 new cases, increasing its total to 2,098.
97128 McMinnville
This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections of nine per 10,000 people during the week ending Sunday, up from the previous week.
The Yamhill County ZIP code added 33 new cases, increasing its total to 1,789.
-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt
by: Emily Cervarich, Nexstar Media Wire
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) An increasing number of patients are now suffering from a strange condition after recovering from COVID-19. Its called parosmia, and its leaving patients with a foul smell.
Parosmia is a condition that distorts a persons sense of smell. The condition can cause one to lose the intensity of his or her smell. But more frequently, it can cause one to experience an overpowering rancid scent. It can happen either around smells that are normally pleasant or around nothing at all.
Danielle Meskunas is a mom to 11-year-old Lorelai. Danielle said her daughter had COVID back in November and like so many others, lost her sense of taste and smell. By late January, Danielle said her child started to regain her ability to smell. But, by early February, something odd started happening.
She could smell a little bit, but things didnt smell like she thought they should. She was basically saying things smelled like rotten food, like something that had been sitting in the fridge.
Meskunas took her daughter to specialists, like an ear, nose and throat doctor (ENT) and a neurologist, who oftentimes, she said, were unsure what was going on and could offer little help. One thing they did find out was it could be a life-lasting condition.
Thankfully our primary care doctor had heard of parosmia, and he said, I think this is what this is. He told us this is essentially nerve damage due to COVID and there wasnt a lot we could do. This condition can go on for months, on the bottom end of it, or it could last forever.
Nexstar affiliate 9OYS spoke with Dr. Thomas Gallaher, a medical director of infectious diseases and infection prevention. He works at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina and at UNC Lenoir in Kinston, North Carolina.
Two-thirds of up to 80% of people [with COVID] will lose their taste or smell, but it will eventually go away. Most people do get better, but some have this long COVID.
Gallaher said he and other colleagues have seen more patients coming in with this condition, but right now they dont know enough about it. Gallaher said he and other medical professionals have been taking this pandemic one step at a time, first focusing on deaths and how to slow the spread, then on treating acute symptoms.
Now that more people are recovering in mass numbers, he said the next step is research on lingering symptoms caused by the virus.
Meskunas and her daughter have found some comfort in online support groups for other sufferers. Meskunas said this could be a lifelong battle for her daughter, all because of COVID. While not life-threatening, it is life-changing for the Meskunas family, and what doctors say is a growing number of others.
Faces of lost New Yorkers projected on the Brooklyn Bridge.
March 15, 2021, 2:14 AM
7 min read
On March 14, 2020, New York City recorded its first death from the coronavirus, and in one year, that toll skyrocketed to over 30,000 lives lost -- more than 10 times the number of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
On Sunday, New Yorkers of all walks of life marked this grim anniversary with several events to honor and memorialize their fallen neighbors on some of the city's iconic locations.
Earlier in the afternoon, Lincoln Center premiered a music video featuring the Young People's Chorus of New York City performing "You'll Never Walk Alone," from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Carousel."
In the evening, candles were lit around the fountains and stayed on for 30 minutes, one minute for every thousand New Yorker deaths.
Medical workers stand outside NYU Langone Health hospital as people applaud to show their appreciation to medical staff and essential workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic on April 21, 2020 in New York City.
Later Sunday night, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hosted a memorial service that streamed live and included photos and videos of New Yorkers who died.
"Voices from across the city will join as one to stand in solidarity and demonstrate how we remain strong, hopeful and determined," de Blasio said in a statement.
The New York Philharmonic played "Dectet" as black and white images of New Yorkers killed by the virus were projected onto the Brooklyn Bridge in a memorial service called "A COVID-19 Day of Remembrance."
Faces of victims of COVID-19 are projected onto the Brooklyn Bridge during a memorial service called "A COVID-19 Day of Remembrance" on March 14, 2021 in New York City. The event, which included a virtual performance by The New York Philharmonic, marked the day the first known coronavirus fatality was confirmed in the city.
Bishop Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship choir performed and more images were projected as spiritual leaders gave remarks and prayed for the victims.
Bishop Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship choir perform as images of COVID-19 victims are projected over the Brooklyn bridge as the city commemorates a COVID-19 "Day of Remembrance" in Brooklyn, New York, on March 14, 2021.
NYC 2021 Youth Poet Laureate Serena Yang recited an original poem that reflected on the deaths.
"A city that never sleeps is a city that never forgets," she said.
Carolina Juarez Hernandez, of East Harlem, wiped away tears as she spoke about losing her father to the virus.
She and the rest of her close family members were also diagnosed with the virus last March, but her father became severely ill, was hospitalized and eventually died.
Projections are seen on the Brooklyn Bridge, as part of "A COVID-19 Day of Remembrance" dedicated to the New Yorkers lost during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in New York City, U.S. March 14, 2021.
Hernandez said she was not allowed to give her father one last hug before he passed in April.
"To this day I cannot remember when I hugged him the last time," she said.
Hernandez said that she and her family have been able to move on thanks to the support of her fellow New Yorkers and reassured people that they can get through the rest of the pandemic.
"I want anyone who has struggled to know you are never alone," she said.
Public health authorities want people to keep wearing masks and social distancing, even after they receive a vaccine. This might seem counterintuitive after all, if someone gets a vaccine, arent they protected from the coronavirus?
The answer is complicated: the vast majority of people who are vaccinated will be protected from Covid-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, vaccinated people may still be able to transmit the virus, even though they do not display any symptoms.
We know now the vaccines can protect, but what we havent had enough time to really understand is does it protect from spreading? said Avery August, professor of immunology at Cornell University.
That is because the the SARS-CoV-2 virus may still colonize the respiratory tract, even as systemic immune cells protect the overall body from the disease it causes Covid-19.
Here is how this works:
Hold on to your mask(s) for the foreseeable future. Right now, there are several unknowns, which make mask-wearing and social distancing important to protect the wider community.
First, scientists do not know how Covid-19 vaccines may protect against asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (as explained above). There are promising signs but research remains incomplete. Researchers also do not know how long Covid-19 vaccines may protect people from the virus.
Scientists will also be closely watching how evolutionary changes in the virus, or variants, impact the effectiveness of vaccines. Researchers have already found efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was reduced in South Africa, where the B1351 variant is present.
However, the most important factor may be the extent to which eligible adults accept the vaccine. Children are able to spread the disease, but not eligible for the vaccine; some people may be too immune-compromised to take it; and others may face bureaucratic barriers to vaccination.
Think of mask-wearing and social distancing as a continuum of risk-mitigation strategies, which are in place while scientists conduct research, more and more people get vaccinated, and the prevalence of Covid-19 goes down.
For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people can gather indoors, without masks, with other fully vaccinated people. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive their last vaccine. Those same people then need to be conscientious about social distancing and mask-wearing in public, as they could potentially transmit the disease in the wider community.
The hope is that as more and more of the public is vaccinated, fewer people will have severe cases of Covid-19, and the pressure on the health system will decline with the prevalence of the disease.
Hopefully we can get a majority of the population vaccinated, said Dr Bruce Y Lee, a professor of health policy at the City University of New Yorks School of Public Health. Thats when we can start talking about moving toward normal.
Studies on the extent to which vaccines protect against transmission are continuing, and promising, but incomplete. It is unlikely the vaccines will provide complete, or sterilizing, protection. Only a handful of vaccines are able to make that claim, including for example the smallpox vaccine. However, if a vaccine significantly reduced transmission, it would be very good news for the worlds ability to contain the virus.
Under normal circumstances, these kinds of questions might have been answered in years-long vaccine clinical trials. In this emergency situation, stopping the disease was a more important goal, and available vaccines do that very effectively.
We would probably know as more and more people get vaccinated, somewhere near the middle of September, said August.
Importantly though, vaccines do not necessarily need to provide complete protection to help fight the pandemic. If everyone is vaccinated then there is less virus around, said August.
What is the source of virus?
COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and may different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people. This occurred with MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, and now with the virus that causes COVID-19.
The first case of coronavirus was reported in December 2019 in the Wuhan city of China as a pneumonia outbreak. Later, its root was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus. The outbreak of coronavirus infection soon spread to other provinces of the country, forcing the govt to lockdown dozen of cities with millions of people. Within weeks, the coronavirus spread outside of the country to other nations like South Korea, Iran, Italy, United States, India, Pakistan among others. The number of positive cases of novel coronavirus infection is increasing day-by-day all across the globe. Countries around the world have taken strict decisions to close the entry of foreigners, schools, colleges, gyms, clubs, cinema halls, malls and other public places to stop the spread of Covid-19. The novel coronavirus also knocked down the global financial markets with billions of dollars being wiped off in a matter of a few weeks.
Find out which groups are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, the phase you fall under, where you can get vaccinated, and answers to frequently asked questions.
Questions about the vaccine? Contact the Division of Public Health Vaccine Call Center at 1-833-643-1715. The call center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Or email Vaccine@delaware.gov
General questions about coronavirus? Call 2-1-1 or for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, please text your ZIP code to 898-211. For those with specific health-related questions, email us at DPHCall@delaware.gov.
Stat: 30 percentAccording to the Pew Research Center, 30% of Americans dont intend to get a coronavirus vaccination.
Story: Theres a light appearing at the end of a long tunnel in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic: the emergence of effective vaccines to prevent its spread. Yet, even with a solution in sight, public trust is still a hurdlewith an infodemic of misinformation occurring alongside the pandemic. In this episode, we discuss the facts about the science of the vaccinesand the importance of communicating accurate information to the publicwith Dr. Rebecca Wurtz, infectious disease physician and associate professor at the University of Minnesotas Division of Health Policy and Management.
Growing Share of Americans Say They Intend to Get a Coronavirus VaccineOr Already Have
Science Matters: Notes from the President
Why We Must Rebuild Trust in Science
As Pandemic Continues, More in U.S. and Europe Feel Major Impact on Their Lives
Conversations on Science
The Infodemic
