Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) As has been true throughout Americas COVID-19 history, every stateand every county thereinhas its own COVID-19 story, driven by local policies and behaviors.

The United States as of Nov. 26 had reached 776,349 COVID-19-related deaths and 48.2 million COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

As of Feb. 2, more Americans had been vaccinated for COVID-19 than had been infected, and though breakthrough infections are continuing to be studied by the CDC and other health organizations, vaccines have reduced the number of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.

Stacker compiled a list of the counties with highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Virginia using data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Counties are ranked by the highest vaccination rate as of Nov. 24, 2021.

Keep reading to see if your county ranks among the highest in COVID-19 vaccination rates in Virginia.

41 / 50Mark Lagola and Ben Lunsford // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 60.1% (65,713 fully vaccinated) 7.0% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 79.4% (16,798 fully vaccinated) 10.7% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 101 (110 total deaths) 40.9% less deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 7,691 (8,409 total cases) 31.7% less cases per 100k residents than Virginia

42 / 50Jscott // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 62.3% (14,790 fully vaccinated) 3.6% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 85.0% (4,619 fully vaccinated) 4.4% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 131 (31 total deaths) 23.4% less deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 8,934 (2,122 total cases) 20.6% less cases per 100k residents than Virginia

43 / 50Aplomado~commonswiki // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 63.2% (10,587 fully vaccinated) 2.2% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 99.9% (3,831 fully vaccinated) 12.4% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 292 (49 total deaths) 70.8% more deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,103 (2,364 total cases) 25.3% more cases per 100k residents than Virginia

44 / 50Nicole Glass Photography // Shutterstock

Population that is fully vaccinated: 64.6% (267,173 fully vaccinated) 0.0% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 86.4% (34,705 fully vaccinated) 2.8% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 73 (303 total deaths) 57.3% less deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 8,588 (35,514 total cases) 23.7% less cases per 100k residents than Virginia

45 / 50Idawriter // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 64.9% (305,374 fully vaccinated) 0.5% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 87.1% (42,254 fully vaccinated) 2.0% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 123 (579 total deaths) 28.1% less deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 12,059 (56,716 total cases) 7.1% more cases per 100k residents than Virginia

46 / 50Acroterion // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.1% (21,358 fully vaccinated) 2.3% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 91.5% (7,256 fully vaccinated) 2.9% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 248 (80 total deaths) 45.0% more deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 12,975 (4,193 total cases) 15.3% more cases per 100k residents than Virginia

47 / 50Alexiskferia // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.2% (7,747 fully vaccinated) 2.5% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 90.0% (2,849 fully vaccinated) 1.2% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 393 (46 total deaths) 129.8% more deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 10,034 (1,175 total cases) 10.8% less cases per 100k residents than Virginia

48 / 50Pics2018 // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 69.2% (163,858 fully vaccinated) 7.1% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 77.2% (20,287 fully vaccinated) 13.2% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 116 (275 total deaths) 32.2% less deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 8,159 (19,324 total cases) 27.5% less cases per 100k residents than Virginia

49 / 50Munich // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 70.5% (809,070 fully vaccinated) 9.1% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 84.2% (135,052 fully vaccinated) 5.3% lower vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 102 (1,176 total deaths) 40.4% less deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 8,202 (94,121 total cases) 27.1% less cases per 100k residents than Virginia

50 / 50U.S. Navy photo // Wikimedia Commons

Population that is fully vaccinated: 85.2% (80,433 fully vaccinated) 31.9% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Population over 65 that is fully vaccinated: 99.9% (15,058 fully vaccinated) 12.4% higher vaccination rate than Virginia Cumulative deaths per 100k: 263 (248 total deaths) 53.8% more deaths per 100k residents than Virginia Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,706 (12,938 total cases) 21.8% more cases per 100k residents than Virginia

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Top 10 counties with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in Virginia - 8News

Vials labelled "Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine" are seen in this illustration picture taken May 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

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Dec 2 (Reuters) - The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has sparked fears that existing COVID-19 vaccines and treatment could be less effective against it.

South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases said early epidemiological data suggested Omicron was able to evade some immunity, but existing vaccines should still protect against severe disease and death.

Here's what companies that make COVID-19 vaccines and drugs have said:

Register

MODERNA (MRNA.O)

CEO Stphane Bancel has warned that COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant. read more

The company has said a new vaccine tailored for Omicron should be available as soon as March. read more

PFIZER-BIONTECH (PFE.N)

"We think it's likely that people will have substantial protection against severe disease caused by Omicron," said BioNTech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin.

Lab tests are underway to analyze if antibodies found in the blood of people inoculated with Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine work against Omicron. read more

JOHNSON & JOHNSON (JNJ.N)

J&J said it was testing blood serum from participants in various trials to look for neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant. It was also pursuing an Omicron-specific vaccine and would progress it as needed. read more

The company, however, remains confident in the immune responses generated by its shot against other variants to date in clinical studies, said Mathai Mammen, global head of J&J arm Janssen Research & Development.

ASTRAZENECA PLC-UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (AZN.L)

AstraZeneca said it was examining the impact of Omicron on its vaccine, which is developed with Oxford University, and its antibody cocktail, adding it was hopeful its combination drug would retain efficacy. read more

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS INC (REGN.O)

Its COVID-19 antibody drug could be less effective against Omicron, Regeneron said.

Based on its study of Omicron's individual mutations, "there may be reduced neutralization activity of both vaccine-induced and monoclonal antibody conveyed immunity", Regeneron said, adding that the analysis included its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV. read more

ELI LILLY AND CO (LLY.N)

The company, which also makes monoclonal antibody treatment, is working to understand the neutralization activity of its therapies on Omicron, the company told Reuters in an e-mailed statement.

MERCK & Co Inc (MRK.N)

Merck's experimental COVID-19 drug, molnupiravir, which it is co-developing with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, should have similar activity against any new coronavirus variant, a company executive said. read more

NOVAVAX INC (NVAX.O)

May begin commercial manufacturing of a COVID-19 vaccine tailored for the Omicron coronavirus variant in January next year, while it tests whether or not its current vaccine works against the variant. read more

GILEAD SCIENCES INC (GILD.O)

Gilead has said it believes its drug - Veklury or remdesivir - will continue to be active against the Omicron variant. It plans to conduct laboratory tests to confirm its analysis.

GSK-VIR BIOTECH (GSK.L), (VIR.O)

Laboratory analysis of the COVID-19 antibody therapy GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) is developing with U.S. partner Vir Biotechnology (VIR.O) has indicated the drug is effective against the new Omicron variant, the British drugmaker said. read more

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Compilation by Manas Mishra, Oishee Majumdar and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Continued here:

Factbox: What COVID-19 vaccine and drug makers have to say about Omicron - Reuters

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, Dec. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mongolia is preparing to build on the success of its COVID-19 management policies with an ambitious new budget and progressive initiatives as part of its Vision 2050 reform agenda.

Mongolia's vaccination and booster programme has so far resulted in 66% of the total population, including 91% of adults, being doubled-vaccinated and 21% of the total population, including 35% of adults, receiving their booster. Supported by responsible public health policies, the country is seeing a steady decline in infections. Daily cases in November were down 70% from September and October, falling below 150 per day at the end of the month, with an overall case fatality rate of only 0.3%.

According to the Worldometer reference website, Mongolia ranked 39th out of 224 nations for total cases per million people as of 1 December. Furthermore, the government's decision in June to increase the number of hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients to 23,000 enabled it to hospitalise 27% of its cases, including those at risk of developing severe symptoms, helping reduce the number of fatalities.

These and other steps against COVID-19, which also include a wide ranging MNT 10 trillion (US$3.5 billion) stimulus package credited with saving over 280,000 jobs, have left Mongolia well placed to move past the challenges of the pandemic. The country now looks set to begin realising its Vision 2050 agenda, the long-term development plan introduced by new Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai. As Mongolia marks 100 years of political independence, following the 1921 Mongolian Revolution, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene has positioned Vision 2050 as a chance for Mongolia to achieve economic independence with a diversified economy, improved governance, green development, and improved quality of life among other goals.

Implementing Vision 2050's wide-ranging policies for Mongolia's economic and social development also received a boost in November with the ratification of Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene's 2022 budget, which shows a spending increase of 4 trillion MNT ($US1.4 billion) over 2021.

SOURCE Government of Mongolia

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Mongolian Government To Build On COVID-19 Vaccine And Booster Success - PRNewswire

Could this be the last weekend with a closed Queensland border?

If current daily vaccination rates are a guide, Queensland is about six days away from hitting the Premier's border-opening target of 80 per cent of people aged 16 and overbeing fully vaccinated.

The take-out: This could be the last weekend with the COVID curtain at Coolangatta.

Nothing seems to be diverting Annastacia Palaszczuk from lifting the border gates when the statewide mark is hit in time for the school holidays,even though at 80 per cent there are many who will be unprotected when COVID-19 arrives.

By Friday77.7 per cent of the Queensland population aged 16 and over were double-vaccinated 3,195,634 people out of a cohort of 4,112,707. It means almost a million people are not fully protected against COVID-19.

And that's just in the 16+ group. Just half of 12 to 15-year-olds have been fully vaccinated and children aged 11 and under are not yet part of the rollout.

There is also still a serious discrepancy in vaccination rates across the state. While the Brisbane City Council area is already above 80 per cent double dose for16+, Isaac Regional Council area hasn't hit 50 per cent.

Health MinisterYvette D'ath is particularly worried about the fate of First Nations Queenslanders, revealing just 33 per cent have had their first dose.

When the hard border comes down, authorities are convinced COVID-19 will come across, and quickly. Both the Acting Chief Health Officer and the Health Minister said as much yesterday.

South Australia is the perfect test case for Queensland. Like the Sunshine State, it had enjoyed long periods without a case of community transmission. Then,on November 23, just shy of 80 per cent double-dose, it opened its borders to New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.

There were jubilant scenes at Adelaide Airport as families and friends reunited and travellers streamed over the border by road. The first case of COVID arrived 24 hours later.

A week later, South Australia was dealing with its first cluster, sparked by a school reunion where former premier Jay Weatherill became infected.

MsD'ath also points to Victoria, where thousands of people have been infected in the latest outbreak, and more importantly, 538 have died.

The pace of vaccination has slowed in Queensland through the month of November, even with the enticement of an open border within close reach, but it doesn't appear to be driven by vaccine hesitancy.

The Melbourne Institute surveys the Australian population every two weeks to gauge vaccine hesitancy and in their latest results only 6.1 per cent of Queenslanders declared they were "not willing to be vaccinated". Five per cent said "don't know", for a combined 11.1 per cent hesitancy.

It is the highest result in the nation, but it has fallen dramatically and steadily from a high in May of 43.3 per cent(25 per centnot willing; 18.3 per centdon't know).

Oddly, while hesitancy is falling, and vaccination rates rise, the number of protesters turning up to so-called freedom rallies has increased.

You might remember the images of a man riding a horse through a protest on the NSW-Queensland border at Tweed Heads in August. The crowd that day was estimated at about 1,000. Last weekend, a rally at Kurrawa Beach drew 2,500 protesters.

Perhaps the impending deadline for vaccine mandates is galvanising opposition, or maybe protest groups are becoming more organised.

The events seem to be unifying disparate groups;anti-vaxxers, anti-lockdowners, COVID sceptics, sovereign citizens, libertariansand others.

Whenever you get large, organised groups of people you attract politicians courting their vote, especially with a federal election in sight.

One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts physically attended the Kurrawa rally, Liberal Democrats Senate hopeful Campbell Newman was at a rally against mandatory vaccines on the Sunshine Coast the next day, and United Australia Party founder Clive Palmer has been using his considerable advertising spend to cheer from the sidelines.

By the time Scott Morrison pulls the trigger on a full federal election which must be held before the end of May COVID-19 will have arrived in Queensland, barring some sort of miracle.

Modelling commissioned by the state government predicts the peak of infections will happen around August, but by the time the polls close we will have an insight into two things: how big an impact COVID-19 is likely to have on Queensland and how politically influential the anti-vaccine/freedom rally movement has become.

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With Queensland about to open its border, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is waning but protests are getting bigger - ABC News

Protection from COVID-19 comes from either contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus and recovering or getting vaccinated.

Research has shown that those who have contracted SARS-CoV-2 have 85% protection against symptomatic disease 6 months after infection.

Meanwhile, as the authors of the recent study explain, vaccination has been reported to be 5095% effective at various time points.

Over time, the immune systems response to SARS-CoV-2 diminishes, meaning those who have recovered from the virus or received vaccination may be less protected as time progresses.

In a recent study, researchers from Israel and the United States conducted a study to investigate whether protection against infection waned over time following a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine.

They found that 90 days following a second Pfizer dose, individuals were at an increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. The findings appear in the BMJ.

Israel was one of the first countries to successfully roll out a vaccination campaign in the population, so we were also among the first to observe the waning effect of the vaccination as time elapsed since the initial two shots of the vaccine, Dr. Ariel Israel, Ph.D., one of the studys authors, told Medical News Today.

Our study is an observational study, designed to evaluate whether protection provided by the Pfizer vaccine wanes with time by comparing the rate of positive [reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2] in people vaccinated at different time intervals before the test.

We observed that after the excellent protection offered by the vaccine in the initial 3 months, there was a gradual increase in the infection rate, Dr. Israel explained.

The researchers gathered medical records from Leumit Health Services, a large healthcare provider in Israel that serves 700,000 people throughout the country.

For their analysis, they used health records from those aged 18 years and above who underwent a SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test between May 15, 2021, and September 17, 2021, after receiving two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The team performed tests at least 3 weeks following their second vaccination. They divided participants into three age groups to reflect different stages of the vaccine rollout:

They also divided the time between the second vaccination and RT-PCR tests into 30-day intervals after the initial 90 days, with the last category denoted as 180 days or more since the second vaccination. Altogether, the researchers analyzed health records from 83,057 individuals.

Their analyses accounted for potential confounding risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, and existing health conditions.

Among those the researchers studied, 9.6%, or 7,973 individuals, had a positive test result. The average time between the second vaccine dose and an RT-PCR test was 164 days.

The team found that the more time elapsed since the second vaccine, the more likely people were to contract SARS-CoV-2.

While 1.3% of participants received a positive test result 2189 days after their second vaccine, the same was true for 2.4% of people after 90119 days, 4.6% after 120149 days, 10.3% after 150179 days, and 15.5% after 180 days.

These results translated into a 2.37-fold higher chance of contracting the virus after 90 days from the second vaccination and a 2.82-fold higher likelihood after 150 days or more.

They also found that two injections 21 days apart provided more protection than one and that immune system changes relating to age influenced the immune response to the vaccines.

Dr. Israel explained that the reasons for waning immune protection are beyond the scope of their study. However, he suggested some possible mechanisms:

The most likely explanation is that antibodies, as well as cells of the immune system that produce antibodies or kill cells [with the infection], have a limited lifetime, so their numbers decrease gradually after the initial response triggered by the vaccine.

[Fewer] antibodies in the blood, and [fewer] cells able to kill the virus mean that the virus is more likely to evade the immune system in the first stages of infection, and this is probably why we observe an increased rate of positive PCR in individuals vaccinated earlier, he added.

The researchers concluded that SARS-CoV-2 immunity following a second Pfizer vaccine wanes after the initial 90 days and that a third vaccine, or booster dose, may be warranted for immunocompromised individuals.

They also note several limitations to their study. Due to its observational study design, they say that they possibly did not account for all contributing factors, which may have skewed their results.

For example, they note they only included individuals who chose to request an RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and that some may have had different thresholds for requesting a test.

They also noted that individuals vaccinated earlier might have had different physical distancing habits than those vaccinated later, which could have significantly influenced their level of risk.

Moreover, the researchers note that RT-PCR tests were not followed up with blood tests, meaning they cannot be sure that immunity had indeed waned.

In light of these results, public health authorities in Israel have recommended a booster shot for all age groups, and we have observed a subsequent dramatic reduction in COVID-19 incidence immediately following the rollout of the booster shot, said Dr. Israel.

It is too early to say for certain how long the protection would last following the booster shot. We are continuing to monitor the infection rate and will report our data in case we observe a reduction in the protection provided by the booster, he concluded.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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How quickly does protection wane after the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine? - Medical News Today

Patients queue to get vaccinated against COVID-19, in Aristotelous Square, in the center of the Greek city of Thessaloniki on November 26, 2021. Sakis Mitroldis /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Patients queue to get vaccinated against COVID-19, in Aristotelous Square, in the center of the Greek city of Thessaloniki on November 26, 2021.

Facing a surge in coronavirus infections and stalled vaccination drives, two nations in the European Union are giving their citizens an ultimatum: take the COVID-19 vaccine or face the financial consequences.

Greece announced Tuesday that everyone 60 and older must be vaccinated by mid-January or face monthly fines of 100 euros (roughly $114).

Earlier this month, Austria said it would require its entire adult population to be vaccinated by Feb. 1. Those who refuse are set to pay up to 3,600 euros, or just over $4,000, in fines.

"It's not a punishment," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told his cabinet in a televised meeting. "I would say it is the price for health. It is also an act of justice for the vaccinated. It's not right that they are deprived of health care services because others stubbornly refuse to do the obvious."

Greece is the first EU country to target an age group with a vaccination mandate. Citing government data, Mitsotakis said about 83% of older Greeks are vaccinated. Those who are not more than 500,000 people are more likely to get seriously ill and die. Greece recorded more than 7,500 infections, hundreds of hospitalizations and 88 deaths on Tuesday alone, according to Greece's National Organization for Public Health.

The monthly fine for refusing the vaccine is substantial for retirees. The average pension is 730 euros a month.

Both Greece and Austria turned to compulsory vaccinations after a series of measures including banning the unvaccinated from indoor venues failed. Both countries have anti-vaccination movements, fueled by conspiracy theories, religion and anti-authoritarianism. In Austria, an unvaccinated far-right politician has promoted the use of the horse deworming drug ivermectin to treat COVID-19. His party joined thousands who took to the streets to protest lockdown measures and the vaccine mandate.

"Society should be sticking together, taking care of each other, in times like these but instead we are splitting into two worlds, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated," said Christine Bertl, a biochemist from Vienna who supports the mandatory vaccination effort. "And the unvaccinated think only about themselves."

Bertl added that they are refusing vaccines procured by the EU that could have gone to nations who cannot afford them.

More than 61% of Greeks and 67% of Austrians are vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, though those numbers could soon increase. Some reports show that mandates are pushing the unvaccinated to get their shots.

The vaccine mandates come as the world scrambles to respond to the new omicron variant. Scientists say omicron appears to be highly transmissible, though researchers still have limited information about the variant. Infections have already appeared in several EU nations, including Austria. Mitsotakis say he expects the variant will likely reach Greece as well.

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Greece will mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for anyone over 60, or make them pay fines - NPR

A video shared widely on social media flashes through dozens of news clips of athletes who reportedly collapsed and, in some cases, died of heart problems.

Set to ominous music, it implies that the incidents were linked to COVID-19 vaccines. "24-year-old hockey player dies after collapsing on ice in cardiac arrest 80% of league is vaccinated," read one headline, which we found had been pulled from a website called Team Tucker Carlson.

The video was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

It was posted on a website called The HighWire, which is associated with the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network. The videos caption further ties the incidents to the vaccines with a question and a series of leading hashtags: "They are at the peak of health, and the top of their profession. So, why are dozens of amatuer and professional athletes around the world inexplicably collapsing on the field, with heart-related issues, in just the past few months? #CollapsingAthletes #Covidvaccine #Myocarditis #TheHighWire."

But there is no evidence COVID-19 vaccines led the athletes in the video to collapse. We reviewed the news reports mentioned in the video and spoke with a number of sports cardiologists, and we found the claim connecting the two is unfounded.

"To date, I am not aware of a single COVID vaccine-related cardiac complication in the professional sports," said Matthew Martinez, a sports cardiologist who works with the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer and who is the director of sports cardiology at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey.

The same goes for Jonathan Kim, an associate professor of medicine and chief of sports cardiology at Emory University in Atlanta. "I am not aware of any reports that vaccines in athletes are causing cardiac issues," he said. He called the HighWire video "a classic example of disinformation."

The video mentions Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen, 29, who, according to his team director, wasnt vaccinated for COVID-19 when he collapsed June 12. So the vaccine couldnt have been the reason he collapsed.

It also includes a clip about Keyontae Johnson, 22, a college basketball player who collapsed on Dec. 12, 2020, days before the COVID-19 vaccine was given to people in the U.S. His collapse also wasnt related to the COVID-19 illness, according to a Feb. 3, 2021, statement from his family.

Dutch speed skater Kjeld Nuis, 32, who is also included, did have a heart problem in July 2021 a week after he received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to news coverage at the time. Nuis posted on Instagram later that month saying that he was fine and that he was at training camp. He did not say whether his COVID-19 vaccination contributed to his heart problem or whether it was linked to his athletic activity. Nuis had tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2020.

A young athlete experiencing cardiac arrest is not common, but its also not unprecedented. And there are different reasons an athlete might collapse.

Michael Emery, co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Sports Cardiology Center, said that dehydration, heat stroke and genetic heart conditions, among other factors, can lead to collapse.

The COVID-19 disease and vaccine have, very rarely, led to heart problems. The virus or the vaccine can inflame the heart muscle, called the myocardium, or the heart muscle sac, called the pericardium, Martinez explained. That can lead to chest pressure, breathlessness and, in some cases, long-term damage to the myocardium or pericardium. Myocarditis and pericarditis in general are rare, but when they do occur, theyre often caused by viral infections, according to the Myocarditis Foundation and the Cleveland Clinic.

Among athletes, heart problems are rare even after having COVID-19 itself. In a study that Martinez co-published in March in the American Medical Associations journal JAMA, fewer than 1% of athletes who had COVID-19 were found to have inflammatory heart disease. Martinez said he hasnt identified any athletes who had the COVID-19 disease and a heart-related complication and then died.

Having a heart problem from the COVID-19 disease or vaccine is "super rare," according to Emery. And it is "way more rare from a vaccine than it is from a native infection from COVID-19."

The videos caption asks why dozens of athletes are collapsing "in just the past few months." But sports cardiologists arent seeing a sudden rise in athletes collapsing. "We have no data to suggest that the frequency of sudden cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death in athletes is higher now than it was in the past," said Emery.

Our ruling

A video shows news clips of athletes collapsing to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines cause heart problems in otherwise healthy athletes. The video makes an assumption and offers no proof. Athletes in the video did not all collapse from COVID-19 vaccines, and leading sports cardiologists we reached out to said they havent seen athletes collapse after getting vaccinated for COVID-19.

We rate this claim False.

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There's no proof COVID-19 vaccines are causing healthy athletes to collapse - PolitiFact

Gov. Gavin Newsom takes questions during a press conference on COVID-19 vaccination and housing for homeless veterans at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.

Sarah Reingewirtz | MediaNews Group | Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

The person in California who tested positive for the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 was fully vaccinated, has mild symptoms and is improving, officials said Wednesday.

The patient was otherwise healthy when they returned to the San Francisco Bay Area from traveling in South Africa on Nov. 22, developed symptoms three days later and tested positive for Covid on Nov. 29, according to public health officials in California.

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco received the patient's sample around 3 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday and completed the sequencing in about five hours, lab director Dr. Charles Chiu told reporters at a press conference Wednesday with San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a separate briefing Wednesday, said the patient is between 18 and 49 and had not received a booster shot because they were not six months out from their original vaccination course.

"This individual has not been hospitalized," Newsom said. "The individuals that this individual has come into contact with have not tested positive yet to our knowledge, and we are hopeful of full recovery and expect nothing less based on what we've learned."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that all U.S. adults get a booster six months after their original Pfizer or Moderna two-dose course, and two months after their single J&J shot.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, California's Health and Human Services secretary, said the fact that the patient is improving underscores the importance of vaccination.

"We have been talking for months about the fact that vaccinations do one really, really important thing protect against severe disease, against hospitalization and death," Ghaly told reporters at the briefing with Newsom. "The evidence that an individual with omicron identified by sequencing actually has mild symptoms, is improving, I think is a testimony to the importance of the vaccinations."

Ghaly said there's still a lot to learn about the variant but encouraged Californians to get vaccinated and get a booster shot if eligible.

White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters Wednesday that the profile of the omicron variant suggests its mutations could reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines currently on the market, but more data is needed.

"The molecular profile of the kinds of mutations that you see [in omicron] would suggest that it might be more transmissible and that it might elude some of the protection of vaccines," Fauci said Wednesday. "But we don't know that now."

The CEOs of Moderna and Pfizer have said it will take about two weeks to determine omicron's impact on the effectiveness of the current vaccines.

"I don't think that the result will be the vaccines don't protect," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC on Monday. "I think the result could be, which we don't know yet, the vaccines protect less."

Bourla said Pfizer can develop a new vaccine within 100 days. The company was able to quickly create vaccines for the beta and delta Covid variants but ended up not using them because the original vaccine remained effective against the mutations, he said.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the vaccine maker can roll out a higher-dosage booster shot quickly but that it could take until early 2022 to develop and ship a vaccine that specifically targets omicron.

"The higher dose could be done right away but it will be months before the omicron-specific variant is ready to ship in massive quantities," Bancel told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's Covid technical lead, said Wednesday that reports from South Africa indicate some patients infected with omicron show mild symptoms but in other cases the disease has become more severe. Van Kerkhove said studies are looking at those hospitalized to see whether they have the omicron variant.

"It is certainly possible that one of the scenarios is that the virus, as it continues to evolve, may still have a fitness advantage, meaning that it can become more transmissible than delta. We'll have to see," she said. "But we don't know quite yet about the severity."

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First U.S. omicron patient was fully vaccinated and has mild Covid symptoms, officials say - CNBC

On December 15, 2020, a group of 13 healthcare workers in Seattle become the first people in Washington to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The group of doctors, nurses, paramedics, medical assistants, and other healthcare providers receives the Pfizer vaccine at the University of Washington Medical Center. The vaccines are part of an initial shipment of 3,900 doses that had been shipped to Seattle the day before from Gerald Ford International Airport outside Grand Rapids, Michigan. Cheers, tears, and rounds of applause greeted the 13 healthcare workers who rolled up their sleeves to receive the state's first vaccine doses.

Shipping the Precious Cargo

The first reported coronavirus case in the U.S., confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on January 21, 2020, was transmitted unknowingly by a Washington resident who returned from Wuhan, China, on January 15, 2020. The first known death in the U.S. from COVID-19 occurred in Kirkland on February 26, 2020. As the country began to prepare for the long-awaited distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, frontline healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities were given priority. In the U.S., the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was granted approval first, with the Moderna vaccine expected to receive regulatory approval by the end of 2020.

Washington's coronavirus vaccine response was authorized by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup. The workgroup was made up of vaccine experts from Washington, California, Oregon, and Nevada who had been meeting regularly to review and analyze the data, making sure the vaccines were safe and effective.

The preparation and shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Michigan were covered extensively by local and national media. The boxes were prepared for shipment on Sunday, December 13, 2020, kept ultra-cold in freezers registering minus-69 degree Fahrenheit. The first shipment of 3,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine earmarked for Seattle was loaded onto a FedEx truck at Pfizer's Michigan plant and transported to Gerald Ford International Airport near Grand Rapids for the flight to Seattle.

The Lucky 13

The vaccine supply arrived on Monday, December 14, 2020, and distribution began on December 15, 2020. The selection process adhered to the guidelines established by the CDC. The first priority groups were healthcare personnel and those in long-term nursing facilities, followed by essential workers such as police, firefighters, transportation workers, and teachers.The third phase was to include high-risk adults and those over the age of 65.

"These guidelines helped University of Washington Medicine decide how to rollout their first round of COVID-19 vaccines. 'Provide vaccines to all healthcare workers in that first phase, specifically healthcare workers that are patient-facing,' explained Dr. Shireesha Dhanireddy, Director of Harborview Infectious Diseases Clinic" (Lafferty).

Thirteen individuals received the state's first vaccine. They were:

An Emotional Turning Point

Emotions were high on December 15 as each of the 13 received the vaccine. First in line was Amy Fry, a COVID intensive care nurse, followed by emergency room nurse Emily Agudo. Fry was in turn tearful and joyful after receiving her vaccine. "I feel excited. For the first time in a while, I feel hope" (Boiko-Weyrauch).

Representing the state's first responders was paramedic Alan Goto, a 22-year veteran of the Seattle Fire Department. Goto had spent the previous eight months on the department's Mobile Assessment Team, going into long-term care facilities and adult homes to test patients and staff for the virus. As he waited to receive his shot, Goto spoke of his role as a public servant and the responsibilities that came with it: "[Since we] have chosen to dedicate ourselves to protecting our community, getting vaccinated is the most relevant thing we can do in this moment to fulfill our commitment to serving the public" (Derrick).

Receiving the vaccine was emotional for oncology nurse Allison Miller, but for another reason. Miller had given birth in February, a month before the state lock-down began on March 23, 2020. "It's been a really isolating time for me because keeping a newborn safe during all these unknowns ... it's just held a lot of weight for me" (Bunin). The vaccine had given her hope that she could introduce her newborn son to family members he had not yet met.

Next Steps

After the vaccine was injected into the upper arm, each individual was asked to remain nearby for 15 minutes for observation. Clinical nurse specialist Kaitlyn Drew outlined the protocol: "We just have them sit and relax in a chair; we have some juice and water back there for them if they need it" (Boiko-Weyrauch).

At the end of the week, the state's Department of Health hoped to receive another 62,400 doses for distribution to 17 sites in 13 counties. By the end of December 2020, another 222,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were expected. Moderna was prepared to deliver some additional 183,000 doses once FDA approval was granted.

As of December 2020, Washington had 414,000 people in healthcare and in nursing homes who were given priority status to receive the vaccine. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, about 200,000 coronavirus cases in Washington were confirmed and more than 2,800 people had died from COVID-19.

HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, "After Two People Die in Kirkland in the First Reported Deaths from COVID-19 in the United States, Governor Jay Inslee Declares a State of Emergency on February 20, 2020" (by Jim Kershner); http://www.historylink.org accessed November 30, 2021;Anthony Derrick, "Paramedic Alan Goto Becomes First Seattle Fire Department Member to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine," press release, Office of the Mayor, City of Seattle, December 16, 2020 (https://durkan.seattle.gov/2020/12/paramedic-alan-goto-becomes-first-seattle-fire-department-member-to-receive-covid-19-vaccine/);Steve Bunin, "Meet the First Medical Professional to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine in Washington," KING 5 TV, December 15, 2020 (https://www.king5.com/video/news/local/meet-the-13-frontline-workers-who-received-the-first-doses-of-covid-19-vaccine-in-washington/281-db56028a-205d-4440-bd3c-3ae1b61b33ef);Kaila Lafferty, "Enormously Complicated: Seattle Plans for COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout," KING 5 TV, December 10, 2020 (https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/its-going-to-be-enormously-complicated-seattle-plans-for-covid-19-vaccine-rollout/281-b06e60de-3bca-45bb-a9a9-6f3da5917673);Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, "Excitement and Hope: First Seattle Health Care Workers Vaccinated Against Covid-19," KUOW Radio, December 15, 2020 (https://www.kuow.org/stories/first-seattle-health-care-workers-vaccinated-against-covid-19); "Coronavirus: Seattle Healthcare Workers Receive First Vaccinations in State," KIRO 7 TV, December 15, 2020 (https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/states-first-coronavirus-vaccinations-be-given-seattle-healthcare-workers-tuesday/ESWHMQOGJBAENAAZ5473LEPAAU/);"Coronavirus Daily News Updates, Dec. 15 2020," The Seattle Times, December 15, 2020 (www.seattletimes.com);"UW Medicine Gives its First Covid-19 Vaccinations," UW Medicine Newsroom, December 15, 2020 (https://newsroom.uw.edu/postscript/uw-medicine-gives-its-first-covid-19-vaccinations);Gene Johnson, "I Feel Hope: Nurse Among 1st to Get Vaccine in Washington," Associated Press, December 16, 2020 (https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2020-12-15/first-covid-19-vaccines-being-administered-in-washington).

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First COVID-19 vaccine administered in Washington is given to 13 healthcare workers on December 15, 2020. - HistoryLink.org

Overall, the group identified 12 cases of myopericarditis in vaccinated study participants. Three of those cases came after the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, seven cases came after the second dose and the other two cases came after a single-dose vaccine. Meanwhile, there were five cases of myopericarditis reported in the control group.

The age-adjusted incidence rate of myopericarditis among men was higher in the vaccinated group than in the studys control group. This was not, however, the case among women.

Previous research has demonstrated that there are slightly higher rates of myopericarditis of any cause in men than in women, the authors wrote. One proposed potential mechanism for this difference in incidence is that the higher levels of estradiol in women may confer a cardioprotective effect. If COVID-19 vaccination is a causative factor in the development of myopericarditis in some people, the same mechanisms may be making men more susceptible than women after COVID-19 vaccination.

The team did note that this was not a randomized controlled trial. Also, using study subjects as their own controls likely kept selection bias to a minimum, but it does mean that all patients were two years old after they had been vaccinated.

Even with these limitations in mind, the authors said their work reaffirms the apparent increase in the diagnosis of myopericarditis in men (particularly aged 25 to 44 years) after COVID-19 vaccination.

They concluded, however, by highlighting the continued importance of these vaccines.

The benefits of COVID-19 vaccination to individual and public health outweigh the very small risks of myopericarditis diagnosed after vaccination, they concluded.

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New data on the link between COVID-19 vaccines and myopericarditis - Cardiovascular Business