Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

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LOS ANGELES Latino health care workers in Californias predominantly Latino neighborhoods are fighting to bridge the COVID-19 vaccination gap in their community.

If we do not learn right now and create better health care for our communities, and if we do not address the social determinants of health, equity and equality, this thing will happen again and again, Dr. Ilan Shapiro, a medical director at AltaMed, based in Orange County, told Yahoo News.

According to the Los Angeles Department of Health, nearly 68 percent of the countys eligible residents are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, the number of fully vaccinated Latinos countywide is smaller 55 percent, compared with 52 percent of Black residents, 71 percent of White residents, 70 percent of Native American residents and 79 percent of Asian American residents.

As the hypercontagious Omicron variant rips through regions of the U.S., the science is overwhelming that vaccinations provide the best chance, by far, of avoiding serious outcomes like hospitalization and death. California hospitals, already strained with this spike in cases, are further hampered by staffing shortages brought about by workers testing positive.

In Orange County, where Shapiro works, Latinos are the second-largest demographic but have the lowest vaccination rate: 48 percent of Latino residents have had at least one dose, compared with 69 percent of Black residents and 70 percent of white residents.

People leave a COVID-19 testing and vaccination site at a public school in Los Angeles on Jan. 5. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Medical professionals seeking to improve Latino vaccination rates have multiple hurdles. One of the most basic ones is economic.

Although the vaccine itself is available free to the public, many working-class people struggle to find time off from their jobs to both get the vaccine and then to potentially spend a day recovering from its effects.

Its the same cycle again and again and again, said Shapiro. Its actually losing a day of work, that its not that our community is not living paycheck to paycheck; they live day by day. If they do not go to their job that day, they dont get paid. Then that means that theres no food for the table.

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Loreta Ruiz, who is on the COVID-19 response team for Latino Health Access, has been working on the frontlines of getting more Latinos vaccinated. She is trying to help people overcome not only economic hurdles, but informational ones as well.

The target that were trying to approach are people who have little or no access to health care services, those who have not seen a doctor, people who have two or three jobs. Those with minimum wage, people who are monolingual. People who do not have access to technology or do not know how to use technology, and they have all these barriers that just keep adding to get access to the vaccine, said Ruiz.

One way to reduce the barriers to vaccination is to make the shots more physically accessible. Ruiz said her organization, which is based in the predominantly Latino city of Santa Ana, Calif., has partnered with local health agencies to administer vaccines through mobile clinics.

Registered nurse Sue Dillon administers a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a three-day vaccination clinic on July 29, 2021, in Wilmington, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Protesters at a rally demonstrating against the L.A. City Councils COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees and contractors on Nov. 8, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Ruiz also said one of Latino Health Accesss most effective strategies is sending out volunteers into communities most affected by the coronavirus. That model, Promotores (or Promoters in English), has the volunteers engage with residents on a more personal level, becoming a trusted source of information for them. Ruiz said it is crucial to have volunteers that are from the communities they are working with, especially when battling medical disinformation.

The issue is that you have misinformation in English, and you have misinformation in Spanish, said Shapiro. Its not like our community will one day go to Fox and actually double-check with CNN and figure out which news is actually correct. Were living day to day, and theres a lot to process in information. At the end of the day, my job is to give them the opportunity of information, and at least clear out any misinformation.

The inequities in not getting Latino immigrants, many of whom are undocumented, vaccinated reflect on a number of complex issues, Ruiz said, including a historical lack of medical resources in underserved communities and the lack of trust in government registries. This is all compounded by even fewer workplace protections afforded to undocumented people.

You will see, nowadays, that people are still not getting time off work to get vaccinated or to go to the doctor. Employers will not allow them to, and a lot of people will take [the hit] because theyre afraid of losing their job, said Ruiz.

Shapiro told Yahoo News that with the latest surge in Omicron cases, he is seeing more Latinos in the area visit his clinic to get vaccinated. Ruiz said that although theres a lot of work left to do, she feels hopeful for the future.

Ruiz also stressed that vaccinating more people, regardless of whatever sparked their initial hesitation, is needed to achieve better health outcomes.

The people who cannot afford working from home, the people who have to be on the frontlines, these are our people, these are Latinos, she said. The people that keep the U.S. economy going and have not missed one day of work since the pandemic started.

Read the rest here:

Calif. medical workers fight to bridge the Latino COVID-19 vaccination gap - Yahoo News

About 100,000 Ukrainian citizens have received COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.

This was discussed at a conference call chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Presidents press service.

"Volodymyr Zelensky pointed out the importance of conducting a clear explanatory campaign among citizens on the need for a booster shot. To date, almost 100,000 Ukrainians have received the third dose," the Presidents Office informs.

As noted, the vaccination rate is on the rise compared to the Christmas holiday week. According to the Health Ministry, 552,000 people got vaccinated last week, and 29.37 million shots have been administered since the start of the vaccination campaign.

In particular, 15 million Ukrainians have been vaccinated, of whom 14.28 million have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses.

In turn, Minister of Health Viktor Liashko said that mobile vaccination teams started working in rural areas, a modular vaccination center was set up at the Stanytsia Luhanska entry-exit checkpoint on the demarcation line in eastern Ukraine.

The President underscored the need to equip such a center at the Novotroitske entry-exit checkpoint in Donetsk region.

As reported, Ukraine reported 5,072 new COVID-19 cases over the past day.

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Almost 100,000 Ukrainians have received COVID-19 vaccine booster shot - Ukrinform. Ukraine and world news

1. Saratoga County announces upcoming COVID-19 vaccination schedule  The Saratogian
2. In case you missed it: COVID-19 vaccine updates - The Loop  University of Iowa Health Care
3. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Takes Multiple Actions to Expand Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine | FDA  FDA.gov
4. CDC recommends Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine boosters for children as young as 12  CNN
5. Pfizer expects updated COVID-19 vaccine data for kids under 5 by April  Reuters
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Original post:

Saratoga County announces upcoming COVID-19 vaccination schedule - The Saratogian

Noozhawk created this frequently asked questions page to revisit COVID-19-related informationand public health recommendations, and connect Santa Barbara County residents to local resources.

This news article will be updated occasionally, and the date of the most recent updatewill be noted in this introduction section.

To start with, here are some resources for finding information about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 disease, vaccination, testing, public health recommendations and guidelines, and Santa Barbara County data.

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department COVID-19 informationathttps://publichealthsbc.org/

Public Health COVID-19 vaccine information page athttps://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/

Public Health COVID-19 testing information page athttps://publichealthsbc.org/testing/

Public Health COVID-19 isolation and quarantine information page (including what to do if you test positive) athttps://publichealthsbc.org/dont-feel-well/

Santa Barbara County Community Data Dashboard athttp://sbcdashboard.org/

California COVID-19 data is athttps://covid19.ca.gov/

Read more stories in the Noozhawk Coronavirus section athttps://www.noozhawk.com/coronavirus

Sign up for Noozhawk's free, weekly email newsletter about local impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic athttps://www.noozhawk.com/subscribe

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has a list of symptoms which range from mild symptoms to severe symptoms. The symptoms may appear two-to-14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC.

People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

Fever or chills

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

New loss of taste or smell

Sore throat

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

"Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions such as heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness," according to the CDC.

If someone is showing any of these signs,seek emergency medical care immediately, the CDC says:

Trouble breathing

Persistent pain or pressure in the chest

New confusion

Inability to wake or stay awake

Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

"This list is not all possible symptoms. Please call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you," the CDC says.

People should get tested if they have COVID-19-like symptoms, says Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, an infectious diseases specialist at Cottage Health who is very involved with the countys public health response to the pandemic.

Testing is recommended for people who have a known COVID-19 exposure (close contact with someone who has tested positive).

Some people also need to be tested for work, school, travel, events, or visiting at-risk friends or family.

There are different kinds of testing, including antigen tests (used in rapid, at-home tests) and molecular/PCR testing (used at the free, public clinics and some other sites).

People who have COVID-19-like symptoms and test positive for COVID-19 with the at-home testsdo not need to take a PCR test as confirmation, she said. They should take that as confirmation they have COVID-19 and are infectious, and should isolate. (More information below on what to do if you test positive.)

As Noozhawk has reported before, there are a lot of different testing options locally, and the one you choose will depend on availability, what type of test you need, and the cost.

Publicly run sites in Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta and Santa Barbara offer free PCR testing, and have hundreds of spots available each day. Public Health is expanding the hours of these locations due to recent testing demand, and some of the locations can handle walk-ins as well as appointments.

The county website athttps://publichealthsbc.org/testing/ updates the testing locations, hours, and sign-up information frequently.

Testing is also available at doctor's offices, urgent care clinics, and private clinics, and testing pop-ups that may or may not charge an out-of-pocket cost for the test.

Several school districts have contracted with local testing providers and have free testing available for their students and staff.

At-home, rapid tests have been in short supply recently, but are typically sold at local pharmacies and other stores. Public Health and school districts expect to start getting regular shipments of these tests to provide to community members, for free.

Santa Barbara County's Public Health Department did a one-day giveaway of 14,000 at-home rapid test kits in early January and plans to make more available once they start getting shipments from the federal government.

All the isolation and quarantine recommendations for the public are on this page: https://publichealthsbc.org/dont-feel-well/

There are different guidelines for healthcare workers, Public Health says.

In general, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should stay home and avoid other people for at least five days.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health page also has recommendations for people who have been exposed to someone who tested positive, or suspect they may have COVID-19.

Read more about that here:https://publichealthsbc.org/dont-feel-well/

Public Health officials and medical professionals are recommending that people think about wearing more protectivemasks, such as N95 and KN95 masks and surgical masks, rather than cloth masks, for better protection during the current surge in cases.

Santa Barbara County suggests wearing surgical masks, double-masking with a surgical mask and cloth mask on the outside of it, or N95/KN95 mask if available. Public Health officials also recommended double-masking during the 2020/21 winter surge in cases.

This winter's surge involves a more contagious variant of the novel coronavirus and the county is reporting never-before-seen numbers of new positive casesas of mid-January.

The state and county public health departments have mask mandates in effect, but have not indicated any other pandemic-era restrictions will be implemented during the current surge in novel coronavirus cases.

Instead, individual institutions are deciding whether to close or change their service models.

Some libraries and museums have closed, events have been canceled or moved to virtual formats, and some colleges have pushed classes online at the beginning of their winter terms, including UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College.

As of January 2022, there is a local and statewide mask mandate in effect for public, indoor spaces. Vaccinated and unvaccinated people are required to wear face coverings to reduce the risk of spreading the virus in these spaces.

California's color-coded tier of restrictions was eliminated in June 2021, but there is avaccination-or-test requirements for 'mega events' more than 500 people indoors.

There are also vaccination mandates for certain workplaces, including healthcare facilities, and vaccination-or-test requirements for visitors to healthcare facilities and skilled nursing homes.

You can view the county's health officer orders here.

COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots of the vaccines are widely available in Santa Barbara County and the rest of California.

Visit the Public Health Department vaccine pageas a starting spot to find providers (pharmacies, doctor's offices, county-run pop-up clinics) and a time that works for you.

Vaccination opportunities are also available on the state's MyTurn page, where you can directly book appointments for some providers.

The graphic explains which COVID-19 vaccines are approved and available for each age group in the United States.

The pediatric Pfizer vaccine is a smaller dose, and the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has been holding vaccination clinics at schools and other youth-focused organizations since kids became eligible to get shots in November.

The CDC recommends adults receive the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines over the Johnson & Johnson vaccinebecause of concerns of rare blood clots called thrombosis, with thrombocytopenia syndrome found in some individuals who received the shot from Johnson & Johnson.

People 16 and older are eligible to receive booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccines, depending on the timing of their primary vaccine series.

"Mix and match" boosters have been approved, which means you can receive the booster dose of your choice. The CDC recommends Pfizer and Moderna boosters over Johnson & Johnson booster shots.

According to MyTurn, the California online vaccination sign-up portal, booster eligibility as of January 2022 is:

Ages 12-17:A booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine is available to people who received their second dose of Pfizer at least five months ago.

Age 18 and older:May receive a booster dose of their choice if the minimum time has passed since completing their primary vaccine series:

Pfizer - Received second dose at least 5 months ago.

Moderna - Received second dose at least 5 months ago.

Johnson & Johnson - Received single dose at least 2 months ago.

People vaccinated for COVID-19 outside the United States may be eligible for booster doses, according to the CDC. More information is available here.

The Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus appears to bemore contagious than the Delta variant, which became the dominant strain in California in summer 2020 due to its contagiousness.

Santa Barbara County has been reporting record-breaking numbers of new cases in January 2022.

In the first two weeks of January, the county reported 13,019 new positive cases, which represents 20.5% of the total cases reported during the entire pandemic.

Even though thehospitalization rate seems lower for people infected with the Omicron variantcompared to previous variants of the virus, the county is reporting far more cases than ever before.

If you multiply a small percentage by a very large number, you still come up with a scenario where hospitals are strained, and not just to take care of COVID-19 patients but also to take care of other diseases,Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said on Jan. 11.

We want to hear from you. Send your COVID-19-related questions to [emailprotected] and let us know how we can provide helpful, useful reporting to the Santa Barbara County community.

Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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Where to Find COVID-19 Vaccines, Testing, Isolation Rules, Booster Providers and More - Noozhawk

As COVID-19 case counts continue to rise across Canada, it is clear that were far from out of the woods with this pandemic. While much is still unknown about the Omicron variant, it seems very likely that existing vaccines will offer protection against severe cases of COVID-19, and Canada is rapidly administering booster shots in an effort to help to bolster immunity.

While vaccination coverage against COVID-19 is relatively high (76.49 per cent of the total population is fully vaccinated at the time of writing), there remains a substantial group of Canadians who are either unvaccinated, or only partially vaccinated against COVID-19.

At this point in the pandemic (more than six months after most Canadian adults became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine), should we declare this level of vaccination coverage as the vaccine ceiling? Our research suggests the answer is no.

As defined by the World Health Organizations Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), the term vaccine hesitancy is used to describe a delay or refusal of vaccination, despite availability of vaccination services. The range of reasons why some Canadians remain unvaccinated is wide, including (but not limited to) concerns about personal freedom, health concerns and the belief that COVID-19 is not as serious a health threat as its made out to be.

Much of the existing research on vaccine hesitancy has focused on identifying personal or demographic factors associated with vaccine hesitancy, such as age, gender and socio-economic status. Our research investigated the role of timing in vaccine uptake.

Given the unique nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and its vaccines, not all Canadians gained access to a vaccine at the same time and many around the world are still waiting for access. As a result, people had to start thinking about their vaccine decisions in hypothetical or future contexts. Because of this, we sought to understand how thinking about COVID-19 vaccine availability along different timelines might influence a persons vaccine decisions.

In December 2020 (just prior to broad vaccine availability in Canada), we asked Canadian survey respondents about their impending vaccine decisions. Each participant was presented with one variation of the question:

If a coronavirus vaccine was available to you (today, or in one month, or in six months, or in one year), would you get vaccinated, or not?

In analyzing results from this experiment, we found that the proportion of most enthusiastic participants (those who selected Yes, as soon as possible as a response) increased substantially as the proposed date of vaccine availability became more distant.

Even more interesting was our finding that the proportion of hesitant people decreased as the proposed date of vaccination moved further into the future. The proportion who responded that they would Wait some time before vaccination, and the proportion who responded, No, I would not get a coronavirus vaccine, both decreased as vaccine availability became more distant in time.

This has important implications for Canadian policy-makers. While the swift uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine might be the ideal scenario for squashing case counts, these findings suggest that those who are hesitant arent necessarily going to refuse the vaccine altogether.

This finding may also be useful for countries that are much further behind on mass vaccination efforts, as it suggests a delayed vaccine rollout might encounter less hesitancy and have faster uptake.

We also asked open-ended questions about what Canadians would wait for, before getting the vaccine. What we found is that many Canadians who said they were waiting for some time to pass were couching their true concerns (for example, waiting for a certain number of other people to be successfully vaccinated first) within the more broad category of timing.

It may be useful to remember this finding when having conversations with folks who might be vaccine hesitant. Offering space for people to elaborate on their vaccine concerns might help bypass default responses and reveal alternative reasoning that has the potential to be addressed.

In some cases, these concerns might even be addressed with empathetic listening, by input from trusted experts or from evidence that speaks to the values and beliefs of those who have questions.

Read more: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy can be overcome through relatable stories and accessible information

As recent Omicron surges remind us, vaccination alone is not a silver bullet in the fight against COVID-19. However, it remains an important tool in mitigating the spread and severity of the disease, and the United Nations Foundation still positions vaccine equity as our best exit strategy for the pandemic.

It seems nearly certain that there will remain a group of Canadians who choose to never receive a COVID-19 vaccine. However, our findings suggest that it is unwise to assume that all Canadians who have not yet been vaccinated will never do so. They may just be waiting.

Do you have a question about COVID-19 vaccines? Email us at ca-vaccination@theconversation.com and vaccine experts will answer questions in upcoming articles.

Originally posted here:

'Never' or just 'not yet?' How timing affects COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy - The Conversation CA

CLAIM

Danish researchers [...] found protection against Omicron turned negative three months after the second dose

DETAILS

Misrepresents source: The study by researchers in Denmark didnt conclude that vaccination made people more prone to infection. On the contrary, their results showed that COVID-19 vaccination reduces peoples risk of infection, although the protection wanes over time and that a booster shot helps to reinforce COVID-19 immunity.

KEY TAKE AWAY

Scientific studies have shown that COVID-19 vaccination provides people with a high level of protection against severe illness and death, even in the face of the Omicron variant. Vaccination can also reduce a persons risk of infection to some extent, although this protection is less effective against the Omicron variant compared to earlier reported variants. However, a booster dose can help to bolster waning immunity.

REVIEW A Substack article written by journalist Alex Berenson claimed that vaccinated people are at higher risk of Omicron, citing a study conducted by researchers in Denmark. The article received more than 2,500 user engagements on Facebook, including more than 1,100 shares. The same claim was also made by U.S. Senator Rand Paul on Fox News, as can be seen in this TikTok video that was shared more than 106,000 times.

The study in question is a preprint, which is a study that hasnt been peer-reviewed by other scientists yet, authored by a team of researchers at Statens Serum Institut. Its aims were to examine the level of protection from vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against Omicron infection and track the waning of vaccine effectiveness over time[1]. The researchers used Danish nationwide registries to extract data on COVID-19 PCR test results and vaccination status for Danish residents aged 12 and above.

Health Feedback reached out to the preprints authors for comment. The first author, medical statistician and epidemiologist Christian Holm Hansen, refuted the claim, stating that the Interpretation that our research is evidence of anything but a protective vaccine effect is misrepresentative. [see his full comments below]

He also explained why vaccine effectiveness (VE) was observed to be negative in the study, citing the presence of bias in the VE estimates, saying that Such biases are quite common in VE estimation from observational studies based on population data, unlike in phase III clinical trials. Indeed, a preprint published by scientists in Ontario, Canada, which also examined vaccine effectiveness in an observational study and detected negative vaccine effectiveness[2], was found to have been influenced by behavioural and methodological issues, such as the timing of the observational study, the way in which vaccine passports altered individual risk and changes in access to COVID-19 testing. That preprint is currently being revised.

Hansen offered several reasons for how bias could occur in a study. For example, he pointed out that vaccinated individuals tend to get tested more often than unvaccinated people. Another reason could have to do with the fact that Omicron cases by and large were detected in international travelers, most of whom were vaccinated. We expect therefore that there was an overrepresentation of vaccinated people among the first generations of Omicron cases identified in Denmark, not because the vaccines werent protective, but because the variant hadnt spread far enough into the general population, including into the unvaccinated population, to make for comparable infection rates, he said.

Indeed, the preprint concluded in favor of vaccination, not against it:

Our study contributes to emerging evidence that BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 primary vaccine protection against Omicron decreases quickly over time with booster vaccination offering a significant increase in protection. In light of the exponential rise in Omicron cases, these findings highlight the need for massive rollout of vaccinations and booster vaccinations.

Berenson also claimed that there was the real terror [of] antibody-dependent enhancement from vaccination. Antibody-dependent enhancement, or ADE for short, occurs when antibodies against a virus improve the virus ability to cause infection, rather than impede it. Contrary to the impression given in Berensons article, ADE can arise as a result of antibodies from a previous infection or vaccination, as we see in cases of dengue fever. The phenomenon isnt exclusive to vaccination.

Antibody-dependent enhancement manifests as severe illness. If vaccination made people more prone to severe illness, we would have seen a higher incidence of severe COVID-19 in vaccinated people compared to unvaccinated people. Instead, we observe the opposite: vaccinated people are less likely to develop severe COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated people[3-5]. This is evidence that vaccination isnt leading to ADE.

In summary, claims that the preprint is evidence the vaccines make people more prone to illness are inaccurate and misrepresent the researchers findings. Scientific evidence so far indicates that COVID-19 vaccination continues to provide people with a high level of protection against severe illness and death, even in the face of the Omicron variant. Vaccination can also reduce a persons risk of infection to some extent, although this protection is less effective against the Omicron variant compared to earlier reported variants. However, a booster dose can help to bolster waning immunity. SCIENTISTS FEEDBACK Christian Holm Hansen, Medical Statistician and Epidemiologist, Statens Serum Institut:Interpretation that our research is evidence of anything but a protective vaccine effect is misrepresentative.

The aims of the study were to:(a) determine whether there was any evidence of vaccine protection against Omicron infection after a primary vaccination series and booster vaccination with either the BNT162b2 (Pfizer) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccines.(b) investigate evidence of waning vaccine effectiveness over time.

So what did we see?Our study provides evidence of protection against infection with the Omicron variant after completion of a primary vaccination series with the BNT162b2 (Pfizer) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccines in the first months after primary vaccination. However, the VE is significantly lower than that against Delta infection and declines rapidly over just a few months. The VE is re-established upon revaccination with the BNT162b2 vaccine.

To expand a little more on this, the protection is strongest in the months immediately after vaccination with an estimated vaccine effectiveness of around 55% for the Pfizer vaccine. A vaccine effectiveness of 55% broadly means that you are 55% less likely to get infected if youre vaccinated than if youre not.

Regarding negative vaccine effectiveness:The research shows early results from the first 20 days of Omicron in Denmark. The fact that the estimated VE is negative during the last period suggests that there is bias in the comparison between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated population. We also make this point in the discussion.

If a study estimate is biased it means that it is measuring something different from what was intended. The VE estimate may be biased if the infection rates in the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations are impacted by effects other than the vaccines.

Such biases are quite common in VE estimation from observational studies based on population data (unlike a phase 3 randomised trial which is the gold standard).

There are a number of reasons why the VE estimate might be negative.

On that basis it is reasonable to expect that the vaccine effectiveness estimates presented in our study are too low.

To conclude, the vaccines protective effect may be low against infection with Omicron after four months, but it is most unlikely to be negative!

I should also point out that our research is not yet peer-reviewed. This is the process where other scientists, epidemiologists assess the work for its rigour and robustness.

Here is the original post:

No, a study from Denmark didn't find that COVID-19 vaccines make people more prone to infection; biases in the study likely led to underestimated...

When the first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Rumbek, the capital of Lakes State in South Sudan, WHO State Polio Officer Dr Jiel Jiel was prepared. In support of the Ministry of Health, and in collaboration with partners, he had been working for weeks to help coordinate the vaccine rollout, using skills gained from working to eradicate polio.

He explains, For the COVID-19 rollout, the implementing partner turned to us, as they know we have experience in delivering vaccines. The expertise from the top to the bottom of the polio team was utilised.

In countries where the polio programme has a large footprint, staff provided exceptional support to the initial stages of COVID-19 pandemic response. Since then, polio teams have been assisting with COVID-19 vaccination. Their contributions including to vaccine logistics, social mobilization, surveillance, training and data management demonstrate their wide skillset and their ability to help make progress on broader health priorities.

In the African Region, over 500 polio eradication staff assisted with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in 2021. 39% of that workforce reported spending between 20 50% of their time on COVID-19 vaccination efforts, whilst 37% reported dedicating more than 50% of their time. Staff balanced this work with resumed polio vaccination campaigns, which were paused to protect against possible spread of COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic.

Their efforts demonstrate the potential for the polio workforce and assets to contribute in the long term to strengthening health systems and building back better. The polio transition process aims to leverage the skills, relationships and reach of the polio workforce in an integrated manner to make progress on a range of health priorities - especially essential immunization, vaccine-preventable disease surveillance and emergency response. The indispensable work of the polio workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that sustaining this network is a good investment for national and global health priorities.

Dr Eshetu Wassie, a National Polio Officer in Ethiopia, explains that the polio workforce is well positioned to assist with reaching health goals.

The polio experience has helped to bring the WHO workforce together, as COVID-19 required a multisectoral response. This was easier to organize through the polio platform, which was used to bringing partners together.

Polio staff have undertaken a wide range of tasks. In Nigeria, ensuring the availability of both COVID-19 and polio vaccines has reduced the number of visits families need to make to health facilities, whilst in Cameroon, polio staff have developed communications and advocacy materials to promote COVID-19 vaccine uptake. In many countries, the polio workforce have supported the collection of data on Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) for COVID-19, and have used their experiences in polio eradication to help coordinate effective rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in different contexts.

In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the polio workforce in Somalia helped to rollout COVID-19 vaccines throughout 2021. Mohamud Shire, a Senior Polio Eradication Officer in Somalia, explains, Some of the polio volunteers worked as vaccinators, whilst others were social mobilizers. Regional and District Polio Officers were supervisors of the vaccine rollout. And it helped that communities know and trust us.

In the South East Asian Region, the integrated immunization and surveillance networks used their experience of introducing new vaccines, including Inactivated Polio Vaccine, to help ensure a smooth rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines. In India and Nepal, support provided by the network has included capacity building, campaign monitoring and contributing to guideline development. In Bangladesh, polio and measles campaign microplans were used to conduct a successful pilot of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. In Indonesia and Myanmar network support included dissemination of guidelines and cold chain monitoring.

With populations in low-income countries around the world still un- or under-vaccinated against COVID-19, and health systems under severe strain, the continued support of the polio network is likely to be critical to recover from the pandemic. Looking ahead, Dr Jiel Jiel underlines the importance of transitioning and sustaining the polio workforce in polio-free contexts so that they can contribute to health systems recovery, If we were not present, it would be more difficult for the health system to reach the vaccine coverage that is desired.

WHO staff have built up our skills, we have institutional memory and you can rely on us to produce results.

Continued here:

Polio team's support for COVID-19 vaccination demonstrates their value for global health - World - ReliefWeb

Starting next month students and families in the Detroit public school community district will be able to roll up their sleeves and get the COVID vaccine at school.

"I've been advocating for this for a while and finally weve been authorized to do so, says DPSCD superintendent Doctor Nikolai Vitti.

Full-time and contracted nurses at DPSCD will be able to administer the COVID vaccine.

Were going to start off in a couple of schools and ramp up where at least 50% of our schools have the vaccine, says Vitti.

I think thats an excellent idea, says Donna Thornton who is a former principal for DPSCD.

Thornton says some parents dont have transportation to get them to vaccine sites, so having the shot in schools will help. Thorton also says it will also offset parents who are hesitant.

"Again I speak from experience they trust the nurses at the school, so if they are trusting the nurses at the school with their health currently, they will be more apt to get the vaccine from that particular nurse," says Thornton.

Natalia Russell is the current principal at Catherine C. Blackwell Institute in Detroit agrees.

"9 times out of 10 every trust whats going on in the school your home away from home so you have a sense of security confidence and comfortability with your neighborhood school, says Russell.

Its all about equity and access, says Marci Oliver.

Oliver has two boys attending DPSCD schools. They're both vaccinated and she is hopeful more of their classmates will get the shot so they can return to face to face learning, because she says virtual school isnt working.

"I think its been very clear that it has impacted our students ability to score well to do well to compete academically so if this has the ability to keep those doors open, I would definitely support it, says Oliver.

Dr. Vitti says as an extra layer of protection the district will also be requiring all parents sign a consent form allowing non-invasive COVID testing if they refuse, they children will have to remain going to school online.

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COVID-19 vaccine will soon be administered at DPSCD - WXYZ

Shreveport The Center of Excellence for Emerging Threats (CEVT) continues to provide lifesaving testing and vaccines at theLouisiana State Fairgroundssite located at 3710 Hudson Avenue, Monday through Saturday, 10AM 5PM. Gates close at 4:30PM.This large-scale community clinic will be open on Martin Luther King Jr. DayMonday, January 17.

RegardingBoosters, the FDA recommends:

All vaccinations and/or testing takes place without an individual needing to leave the vehicle.

No appointments are needed for first or second doses of the vaccine.

Individuals should provide ID and insurance information when they arrive at any LSUHS vaccine distribution site. Those that are without insurance are still eligible to receive the vaccine.While pre-registration is encouraged for those ages 18 and up,it is not required to receive the vaccine. To preregister, go to the LSU Health Shreveport website atwww.lsuhs.edu.

LSUHS COVID-19TESTING & VACCINATIONSITE

Louisiana State Fairgrounds3701 Hudson Avenue, Shreveport

LSUHS COVID-19VACCINATIONSITES

Clear Horizon Apartments 4305 Illinois Ave,Shreveport

Webster ParishPublic Health Unit 1200 Homer Road, Minden

Peaceful Rest Baptist Church 8200 St. Vincent Avenue, Shreveport

Sunday, January 1612 PM 3 PM;1stor 2nddoses of vaccine, and booster shots are available.

Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC)6220 E. Texas St, Bossier City

Wednesday, January 191 PM 4 PM;1stor 2nddoses of vaccine, and booster shots are available.

BilBerry Recreational Center 1902 Alabama Avenue, Shreveport

Saturday, January 229 AM 12 PM;1stor 2nddoses of vaccine, and booster shots are available.

Valencia Recreation Center 1800 Viking Dr, Shreveport

Saturday, January 2212:30 PM 3:30 PM;1stor 2nddoses of vaccine, and booster shots are available.

Williams Memorial CME7288 Greenwood Road, Shreveport

Saturday, January 221 PM 4 PM;1stor 2nddoses of vaccine, and booster shots are available.

Original post:

LSU Health Shreveport COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Schedule - Bossier Press-Tribune Online

Even with all the restrictions the UI faces with COVID-19 policies, we need to focus on incentivizing vaccines and booster shots.

As students return to classes, cases of COVID-19 are on the rise. To keep students, employees, and the community safe, the University of Iowa needs to prioritize incentivizing vaccines and safety measures.

During the pandemic, Iowas government has consistently failed to take action to stop the spread of the virus. State lawmakers and Gov. Kim Reynolds attempted to ban mask mandates in schools, but it was blocked by a judge. The state Legislature has banned government agencies and businesses from requiring vaccines as a condition of service. These restrictions have limited the amount of action the state Board of Regents can take.

Although the university is encouraging masking and vaccines like last semester, other schools have put more measures into place to slow the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the virus. These measures include adaptations such as starting the first two weeks of classes online.

The UIs Campaign to Organize Graduate Students, or COGS, has called for the UI to implement more COVID mitigations. COGS pointed out on its social media accounts that UI has the least number of policies in place to combat COVID-19 in the Big Ten. At minimum, every other school has implemented mask mandates.

So far, the UI has announced plans to hand out free test kits and upgrade the masks supplied in buildings. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is also offered at Student Health.

Although the Regents have made it difficult to take precautions, mitigating the spread of the virus should still be a priority for the UI by working to incentivize vaccines, masking, and creating a consistent COVID-19 absence policy.

The daily average of COVID-19 cases in Iowa has already surpassed the bleak record set in November of 2020. As of Jan. 16, the daily average for new cases is 5,344, and Johnson County has the third-highest daily average for COVID-19 cases in the state. Things could worsen, as the omicron-fueled wave is predicted to peak in Iowa by the end of February.

Earlier in the month, hospitals were already overwhelmed by cases with ICUs full of mostly unvaccinated Iowans. The best protection we have against the virus is getting the vaccine and booster shots, and the UI needs to do a better job incentivizing these.

About a quarter of the states population has received a booster shot. At this point in the pandemic, getting a booster after six months of being fully vaccinated is crucial in maximizing your protection against the virus.

Experts have been recommending people get their booster shot after six months of initially being fully vaccinated. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Ragon Institute, MIT, and Harvard found people who receive a booster shot have a greater ability to neutralize the omicron variant.

One way the UI could work toward this is by looking into how effective handing out Downtown Iowa City gift cards to those who showed their vaccine card at the beginning of the fall semester. A similar initiative could possibly be reinstated.

Purdue University incentivized students to get vaccinated by entering vaccinated students into a drawing for a year of in-state tuition. Other schools have created similar incentive programs.

There should also be consistent policies and procedures for sick students and staff. As of right now, the Office of the Registrar has no definitive absence policy for COVID-19. You are expected to self-report if you test positive. If youre experiencing symptoms, then youre directed to isolate and get tested.

The UI should make it clear students do not need to worry about unexcused absences when trying to look out for their own health and the health of others.

The Board of Regents has stated they want students to have as normal of a campus experience as possible. We should not be sacrificing safety for normalcy.

We are all tired of cycling through waves of high and low COVID-19 transmission. While the UI has very few COVID-19 mitigations in place compared to other schools, the least it can do is incentive vaccines to help increase vaccination rates on campus and protect the community.

Columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.

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Opinion | The UI needs to incentivize COVID-19 safety measures - UI The Daily Iowan