Posted: Feb 3, 2021 / 01:42 PM CST / Updated: Feb 3, 2021 / 01:42 PM CST
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Start here by checking whether you are eligible in your county based on which vaccination phase is being served and other information. In Shelby County, people over 75 are eligible, along with health care workers and some other professionals. In most other Tennessee counties, people over 70 are eligible.
Check this list of pharmacies to see where you can get the vaccine in your county. Several Walmart locations in Shelby County and a few other counties began giving the vaccine Wednesday.
Health departments in each county also have doses of the vaccine. Check here to see phone numbers for those offices, and which phase of vaccination each county is in. County health department information is listed below:
Start here to check eligibility and see complete vaccine information from the state. Adults age 65 and older, people over 16 years of age with a chronic health condition, and health care workers are eligible.
Check this list of providers across Mississippi that have COVID-19 vaccines. Addresses and phone numbers are included. This list includes locations in Alcorn, Lee, Marshall, Panola, Tate and Tippah counties.
The state is offering drive-through vaccinations at the following sites in our area, listed below. Click here to make an appointment or call (877)978-6453. This list is valid through February 5.
Arkansans who are 70 or older and those who work in education will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccination beginning on January 18.
Check this map of providers across Arkansas offering the vaccine. Addresses and phone numbers are included. Providers are listed in Crittenden, Cross, Mississippi, Poinsett and St. Francis counties.
Call the number listed for each provider to make an appointment.
Doctor speaks out over COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy safety concerns
Pregnancies present a number of challenges, and during the ongoing pandemic, there are concerns over whether the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently approved are safe for those who are pregnant. FOX 10's Danielle Miller reports.
PHOENIX - With pregnancy, there's a lot of unknowns, especially now during the pandemic, and one major question is whether current COVID-19 vaccines are safe for those who are pregnant.
Unfortunately, there is no clear right or wrong answer in this case quite yet, because there havent been nearly enough studies on pregnant women and the vaccine.
According to Dr. Cynthia Booth, OB/GYN and Chief Medical Officer for Banner Payson, pregnant women have been shown to be at higher risk of developing a more severe illness due to COVID-19.
"Whether thats the ICU, being on a ventilator or other assisted respiration, or even death," said Dr. Booth. "And of course, pregnant women can have additional things such as obesity and diabetes and that can increase their risk even further."
Dr. Booth says the World Health Organization officials were initially restrictive of the vaccine for pregnant women, due to the lack of studies. She says there are now some things to consider.
"Some things we can look towards though is the fact that the type of vaccine that it is," said Dr. Booth. "Its an mRNA vaccine, which is not a live vaccination, and it degrades quickly in the body, so we feel like this type of vaccine is safe in pregnancy."
Dr. Booth says some studies in terms of reproductive health are showing promise.
"Additionally, we are seeing some preliminary data from the dart studies, which is the developmental and reproductive toxicity studies, and there have been no what we call safety signals from those yet, and those are animal studies that help to guide us until we do have those studies in pregnancy," said Dr. Booth.
Pregnant women do fall under the high-risk category, and they will be in group 1C for vaccination.
As always, its best to talk with your doctor About any decision regarding getting the vaccination or not.
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Symptoms for coronavirus COVID-19 include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. These, of course, are similar to the common cold and flu.
Expect a common cold to start out with a sore or scratchy throat, cough, runny and/or stuffy nose. Flu symptoms are more intense and usually come on suddenly, and can include a high fever.
Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear more slowly. They usually include fever, a dry cough and noticeable shortness of breath, according to the World Health Organization. A minority of cases develop pneumonia, and the disease is especially worrisome for the elderly and those with other medical problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or heart conditions.
RELATED: Is it the flu, a cold or COVID-19? Different viruses present similar symptoms
Social distancing is not only about preventing the illness itself, but rather, slowing the rate at which people get sick.
CDC Website for COVID-19
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus
https://espanol.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html(In Spanish/En Espaol)
AZDHS Website for COVID-19
https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/index.php#novel-coronavirus-home
https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/es/covid-19/index.php#novel-coronavirus-home(In Spanish/En Espaol)
Posted: Feb 3, 2021 / 08:27 PM EST / Updated: Feb 3, 2021 / 08:27 PM EST
CHARLESTON, W.Va. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice told citizens, in order to make sure that theyre on the waiting list to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, to sign up using the state DHHRs web portal.
During our Vaccinate West Virginia town hall on Wednesday, Governor Justice assured West Virginians that they would not be taken off or moved down the list if they signed up through the states website, even if they had previously registered at the county level.
Justice also stressed that those waiting to receive their second dose of vaccine should not let the days go by, and contact the DHHR to help make sure nobody slips through the cracks.
Those experiencing any issues should call the DHHRs COVID-19 Vaccine Info Line for help at 1-833-734-0965.
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But much like any other learning process, in this one repetition is key. When hit with the second injection, the immune system recognizes the onslaught, and starts to take it even more seriously. The bodys encore act, uncomfortable though it might be, is evidence that the immune system is solidifying its defenses against the virus.
By the second vaccine, its already amped up and ready to go, Jasmine Marcelin, an infectious-disease physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told me. Fortunately, side effects resolve quickly, whereas COVID-19 can bring on debilitating, months-long symptoms and has killed more than 2 million people.
When the immune system detects a virus, it will dispatch cells and molecules to memorize its features so it can be fought off more swiftly in the future. Vaccines impart these same lessons without involving the disease-causing pathogen itselfthe immunological equivalent of training wheels or water wings.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines accomplish that pedagogy via a genetic molecule called mRNA thats naturally found in human cells. Once delivered into the upper arm, the mRNA instructs the bodys own cells to produce a coronavirus protein called spikea molecule that elicits powerful, infection-fighting antibody responses in people battling COVID-19.
Read: Whats the use of a pretty good vaccine?
To ensure safe passage of mRNA into cells, the vaccine makers swathed the molecules in greasy bubbles called lipid nanoparticles. These strange, fatty spheres dont resemble anything naturally present in the body, and they trip the sensors of a cavalry of fast-acting immune cells, called innate immune cells, that patrol the body for foreign matter. Once they spot the nanoparticles, these cells dispatch molecular alarms called cytokines that recruit other immune cells to the site of injection. Marshaling these reinforcements is important, but the influx of cells and molecules makes the upper arm swollen and sore. The congregating cells spew out more cytokines still, flooding the rest of the body with signals that can seed system-wide symptoms such as fever and fatigue.
Its the bodys knee-jerk reaction to an infection, or something that looks like it, Mark Slifka, a vaccine expert and an immunologist at Oregon Health and Science University, told me. Lets spray the area down with antiviral cytokines, which also happen to be inflammatory.
The mRNA itself might also tickle a reaction out of the immune system, simply because of how unusual it looks. All of a sudden, you have a lot of new RNA that the cell didnt make, says Donna Farber, an immunologist at Columbia University, who got her second shot of Modernas vaccine last month, with very few side effects.
The provocative nature of mRNA might help explain why Modernas shot, which contains three times as much of the genetic material as Pfizers, was linked to more side effects in clinical trials.
A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unitshows that depending on where you live, the road to nationalinoculation protection against COVID-19might still be a long one. The report shows that in many locations it will take years before a majority of the adult population has received the vaccine.
While major economies in Latin America are expected to achieve widespread coverage by mid-2022, the picture looks bleaker in Asia. Most emerging economies here are expected to take until the end of next year to achieve the feat. Even in the regions advanced economies, vaccinations are starting up slower than elsewhere. Japan will only start its campaign in late February and is expected to arrive at majority immunization by mid-2022, just like South Korea and Vietnam. Only the regions city states and Taiwan are expected to have vaccinated 60-70 percent of their adult populations by the end of 2021.
Most European nations as well as the U.S., Israel and the Gulf states are on this trajectory as well, according to the EIU. Yet, problem of supply and (fair) distribution of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines could cause some delays here. Currently, the UK has been getting ahead of its European peers in vaccination speed but stands accused of being favored by AstraZeneca (whose vaccine was developed together with the University of Oxford).
In many of the worlds developing nations, the vaccination timeline is expected to extend into 2023. This includes large parts of Africa. While the cheap and easy-to-store AstraZeneca variety will be given out to poorer countries through the Covax initiative,Russia, India and China are also vying for contractsfor their vaccine varieties in what the EIU dubs a boom of vaccine diplomacy.
While the Chinese vaccine by Sinopharm has already been approved in Egypt and is also expected to go to Peru, Morocco and Hungary, another Chinese variety, Sinovac, will ship in significant volumes to Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, Turkey and the Philippines. Russias biggest contracts are with India and Vietnam, while India will ship to Brazil.
The Super Bowl is unlike any other American sporting event: A football game provides the anchor for parties, fanfare, and an eye-popping TV broadcast where the commercials and halftime show are just as much of an attraction for the more than 100 million fans who will watch.
But like everything else in the year since the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Fla., has been adapted to Covid-19 health guidelines and scaled down, despite the excitement over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers becoming the first N.F.L. team to play in the championship game in its home venue Raymond James Stadium.
While the football being played on Sunday will look largely the same as in other years, nearly everything else surrounding the Super Bowl will be different.
Super Bowl LV: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m. Eastern, CBS
Players, coaches and members of each teams staff have been tested for Covid-19 daily throughout the season, including on game days. Since the Buccaneers and the Chiefs qualified for the Super Bowl on Jan. 24, team personnel have been tested for coronavirus twice daily.
Anyone with a confirmed positive test must stay away from their team for a minimum of 10 days. The Buccaneers and the Chiefs have not had a positive test in more than three weeks.
However, two Chiefs players receiver Demarcus Robinson and center Daniel Kilgore came in close contact with an infected person and must isolate for at least five days, Chiefs Coach Andy Reid confirmed Monday.
Since the beginning of August, about 15,000 N.F.L. players, coaches and staffers have received nearly 1 million tests, far more than any in other United States-based sports league. More than 700 players, coaches and staff members tested positive during that time.
Because of concerns about exposure to the coronavirus, the Buccaneers and Chiefs have departed from the normal Super Bowl itinerary. In most years, the two opposing teams would arrive in the Super Bowl city one week in advance of the game to conduct practices and scheduled interviews with media. This year, players and coaches will do those interviews via videoconferences, as was the case throughout the 2020 regular season.
To further reduce the teams chance of infection, the Chiefs are not scheduled to arrive in Tampa until Saturday. The Buccaneers wont have to drive far.
Super Bowls typically sell out their seating capacity, even for tickets that cost $10,000 or more. Attendance has never dipped below the 61,946 who attended Super Bowl I in Los Angeles in 1967 and has in some years topped 100,000.
This year, the N.F.L. will host fewer than 25,000 fans, a record low for a Super Bowl and less than half the capacity of Raymond James Stadium. The league has given 7,500 tickets to vaccinated health care workers. Another 14,500 seats will be sold to fans who wont be required to be inoculated or tested before entering the stadium, and another 2,700 fans will sit in luxury boxes. Every fan attending the game will receive a kit that includes personal protective equipment, including a KN95 mask and hand sanitizer.
The halftime musical act, The Weeknd, will perform at halftime, one of the biggest platforms for any artist. The N.F.L. has substantially reduced the number of people allowed on the field for games this season to reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, so it is unlikely that hundreds of fans will be allowed to dance in front of a stage, as has been the case in recent years.
But The Weeknd, whose name is Abel Tesfaye, has said he plans to spend $7 million of his own money to enhance the experience for the TV audience. He is the first Black performer to headline the halftime show since late 2019 when the league entered into a partnership with Roc Nation, Jay-Zs entertainment and sports company, to curate the performance. Earlier that year, many artists snubbed the N.F.L.s request in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.
Television commercials during the Super Bowl can often attract more attention than the game itself. This year, some of the broadcasts biggest sponsors, like Coca-Cola and Hyundai, have decided not to spend millions of dollars for 30-second spots.
Budweiser, the beer giant whose commercials featuring Clydesdale horses, croaking frogs and cute puppies, will donate part of its advertising budget this year to the Ad Council, a nonprofit marketing group fighting coronavirus vaccine skepticism.
Younger companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash and Vroom, which have grown during the pandemic, will still be vying for attention, though.
The Super Bowls typically glitzy parties including the annual event hosted by Commissioner Roger Goodell, where team owners, network executives and friends of the N.F.L. hobnob are not being held this year now that most bigwigs are planning to stay home.
The N.F.L. will host its annual pregame tailgate party, which this year will be broadcast on TikTok and include a performance by Miley Cyrus. The event usually attracts 10,000 fans who attend in person. In their stead, 7,500 vaccinated health care workers will be allowed at the show.
Its no secret that the US is struggling to distribute coronavirus vaccines; some states havent received enough doses, and finding an appointment on sign-up websites has been a chaotic experience. A new report in MIT Technology Review looks at why, almost a year into the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seemed totally unprepared for actually getting shots into peoples arms.
According to Technology Review, the agency knew it needed a robust, one-stop shop that could be used by patients, clinics, employers, and government officials. But instead, the CDC spent $44 million on something called the Vaccine Administration Management System -VAMS built by consulting firm Deloitte (via no-bid contracts) which was so inadequate that it has driven some states to try to patch together their own vaccine distribution systems instead.
Clinic workers in Connecticut, Virginia, and other states say the system is notorious for randomly canceled appointments, unreliable registration, and problems that lock staff out of the dashboard theyre supposed to use to log records. The CDC acknowledges there are multiple flaws its working to fix, although it attributes some of the problems to user error.
And its not just a matter of elderly people not being tech-savvy enough to navigate the site (although that is a huge issue); many doctors offices who tried to use VAMS have mostly given up. Courtney Rowe of Connecticut Childrens Medical Center told Technology Review that she had become de facto tech support for many patients trying to set up appointments:
It wont work on Internet Explorer; it only works in Chrome. The Next button is all the way down and to the right, so if youre on a cell phone, you literally cant see it, says Rowe. In the first round, people using VAMS mostly had advanced degrees. If youre 75 and someone asks you to log into VAMS, there is zero way itll happen without help.
Take a deep breath before diving into this infuriating report about how broken government systems are contributing to the mess around vaccine distribution.
What is a spike protein?
Think of the virus as a ball with lollipops sticking outthose lollipops are the spike proteins. These spike proteins allow the virus to attach to and ultimately infect our cells. And both vaccines have the mRNA of that protein encased in a nanoparticle.
The idea is, you get injected with that and the RNA gets into your cells. Your cells don't realize that this piece of mRNA is from the coronavirus, so they just begin producing the protein that it encodesthe coronavirus spike protein.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are taking the genetic material for the spike protein and putting it in a lipid nanoparticle that gets injected. Your cells start producing the protein and the immune system says, Wait a minute, that's not one of our proteins. That's something foreign. And the cells produce antibodies, so if you get exposed to the real virus later the immune system is already up and running.
The other vaccines by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are very similar, but they have taken another virus called an adenovirus and they've clipped out part of the viruss genome and replaced it with the spike protein gene from the coronavirus. That virus can replicate in the host, so your body starts to make those coronavirus spike proteins. And again, the immune system registers this and starts to mount a response.
Is this approach to vaccination new?
Both are new technologies. The adenovirus approach has been played with for quite a while, but this is the first time its come to fruition. The mRNA technique is really new. This is quite a departure from what we know as the standard technique.
The polio vaccine is a good example of the traditional approach. There are two different kinds of polio vaccine: an attenuated, or live, version, and the killed, or inactivated, version. Those two standard approaches have existed since the 1700s when the smallpox vaccine was developed. Both make use of the actual virus particle. The inactivated polio virus vaccine uses a virus that has been killed by formaldehyde. The live attenuated vaccine is a mutated version of the virus. It is close enough that your body develops the correct response, but it does not cause disease.
Just recently we've started thinking about using just bits and pieces of the virus rather than the whole thing.
Do we have a sense for how long the vaccines will be effective?
Not yet. That's one of the big problems with the flu vaccinethats why we get the flu vaccine every year. The flu virus mutates fairly rapidly, and the vaccine you get this year may not be a good match for what the flu looks like next year.
All the evidence out there so farjust nine months insuggests that this coronavirus is not mutating particularly quickly. It seems to be fairly stable.
Vaccine researchers also don't know how long the human immune response will last. Some vaccines only require one dose and you're good to go for life. But others, like the tetanus vaccine, require boosters because your immune system sort of drops off over time. And there's really no way to know how long the immune response to the coronavirus vaccine will last until its been time-tested.
What was your reaction when you read that the vaccines were more than 90 percent effective?
Preliminary results suggest that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine may be 95 percent effective. And AstraZeneca has reported that its vaccine may be 90 percent effective, although there are some concerns about their data. That's remarkable. Those are the numbers you see with the polio, measles and chickenpox vaccines, which are the real rock stars of the vaccine world. If those numbers hold up, I think that would be much better than anyone was expecting.
What kind of achievement would it be to produce a vaccine in less than a year?
Its incredible. I study HIV, and our struggle to find a vaccine for HIV underscores how difficult it can be. HIV was discovered in 1983 and we still don't have a vaccine. Of course, they are two completely different beasts, but that gives you some context.
On one hand, we've got a 40-year project looking for a vaccine and theres no end in sight for that one. On the other, we could have a vaccine rollout 18 months after the first case was reported. That is pretty remarkable.
Why is it so difficult to develop a vaccine for HIV?
There are a couple of reasons. First, HIV mutates really rapidly, including the main proteins that are on the surface that our immune system would recognize. And second, for reasons that aren't well understood, our immune system just doesn't make great antibodies to the HIV proteins.
If you get infected with coronavirus, it appears that your body makes really good antibodies that can bind to the virus and prevent it from infecting your cells. With HIV, your body's going to make all sorts of antibodies but, for whatever reason, they don't protect you from becoming infected.
The virus that causes COVID-19 could gain a permanent place in the population without global vaccination, warns the U.S. governments top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Weve got to get the whole world vaccinated, Fauci told reporters Monday during the International AIDS Societys COVID-19 conference. If we dont get a global effort, without a doubt, this is not going to go away.
Vaccine supply greatly lags demand, and access has been uneven around the world. Recent results on two candidate vaccines suggest they may work less well against some virus variants, especially one first detected in South Africa, but they are still extremely good at preventing serious illness or death, Fauci said.
The impact of vaccines on the pandemic depends not just on how well they work but how quickly and completely theyre distributed, he added. Vaccines and public health measures such as wearing masks, keeping social distance, avoiding crowds and washing hands are the best way to prevent more cases and further mutations of the virus, he and other experts at the conference said.
