New vaccine, new information, teachers, patience and a milestone :(

 

Yes we did, and not in a good way! We got to half a million dead even before the predicted March 1st date. So sad, and so unnecessary. We also hit another milestone, a much better one, almost 70 million vaccines given and 20 million people have received both shots. The Janssen branch of Johnson and Johnson’s new Covid vaccine was approved on Friday and will be rolling out around the middle of next week. Exciting news, more on that later. As far as the two currently available mRNA vaccines here is the answer to some of the questions that people have. Are there some people who should NOT get these two vaccines? Yes. People who have had a history of anaphylaxis (severe life threatening allergic reaction) to previous vaccinations or who are allergic to PEG (Polyethylene glycol) or Polysorbate. The anaphylaxis rate so far with the Pfizer vaccine is 1 in 90,000 and with the Moderna 1 in 400,000. Who needs to be watched for 30 minutes instead of 15 after the Covid vaccine? People with a history of anaphylaxis of any kind including to different foods and nuts. Can I get other vaccines at the same time as the Covid vaccine? No. Because of the lack of data at the moment the recommendation is that you wait at least 2 weeks before and after other vaccines. The only exception would be vaccines that have to be given in an emergency like Rabies or Tetanus. If I have had confirmed Covid-19 should I get the shot? Definitely not immediately. If you wait 2 months we will have better data to advise you on the optimal time period. If I received convalescent plasma or monoclonal antibodies should I get the vaccine? No, you should wait 3 months. So before we talk about the new vaccine let’s talk about our beloved teachers. Some are in a panic because they have not yet received their vaccine and have to return to the classroom on Monday. I think teachers can feel safe going back to class irrespective of their vaccine status. Why? because Covid-19 is different from the flu. Teachers think of their students as a hot bed of flu infection not so with Covid. Secondly, the kinds of precautions that have been put in place for the teacher and student’s safety way exceeds anything we have had in the past. For one thing everyone will have on a mask. Teachers, return to the classroom and do what you are good at, while following all the protocols and ...its going to be OK. I know it is stressful. You may feel this is not what you signed up for but you will feel better once you are back in your element. Wear a face shield if it makes you feel better but it probably is not necessary. When Covid first hit, nurses and hospital workers felt the same way. Bus drivers and grocery workers felt the same way. At that time there wasn’t even a vaccine on the horizon. But if no one was willing to do their jobs where would we be? At some point we must all step up, take appropriate precautions and do our jobs. Our communities depend on us. Right now we all need patience, soon everyone in the country will have access to the vaccine and my guess is it will happen in the next 8 weeks. There is always one more thing to panic about: do you remember when people thought there wouldn’t be enough toilet paper? This too shall pass, just do what you are supposed to. Which brings me back to the new vaccine: It is made with the kind of technology that we are used to. It is made with a weak adenovirus like many of the other vaccines you have had before. It is 66% effective at preventing Covid symptoms, 90% effective at avoiding hospitalizations and 100% at preventing death. It has also been shown to be 74% effective at preventing transmission (which none of the others have yet). Advantages: 1, Needs only one shot 2, Doesn’t have to be frozen 3, Prevents asymptomatic transmission 4, Will be more widely available. It is possible that later it will be shown that 2 shots will bring the efficacy up to 90+% but the one shot sounds good to me! Thanks to all of you who read my emails and send me messages that encourage me to keep writing them. Stay safe, finally there really is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Remember to take your vitamin C, D and zinc, Wash your hands and wear a mask. Stay socially distant. Prevention is ALWAYS better than cure. ‌

Can you mix and match vaccines? Do your own Covid test at home.

More Covid vaccine news: Can you mix and match? When will your local pharmacy have the Covid vaccines? Can you do your own Covid test at home? The Federal Government says it will begin shipping COVID-19 vaccine to pharmacies starting February 11. Most Americans are said to live within 5 miles of a pharmacy. The goal is to eventually ship vaccine directly to some 40,000 pharmacy sites across the United States. Have you ever wondered if you could mix and match the vaccines? Some people think this may create stronger immunity. Well there is an interesting study being done in England to see if you can mix and match the vaccines and see how far apart the two vaccines should be given. The study has different groups who will receive the Pfizer/Biotech (PF) vaccine and AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines. Here is what the different groups will get. Group 1: 2 doses of the AZ 28 days apart Group 2: 2 doses of AZ 12 weeks apart Group 3: 2 doses of PF 28 days apart Group 4: 2 doses of PF 12 weeks apart Group 5: 1 dose of AZ then PF 28 days later Group 6: 1 dose of AZ followed by PF 12 weeks later Group 7: 1 dose of PF then AZ 28 days later Group 8: 1 dose of PF then AZ 12 weeks apart The study will run for a year but early results will be shared and may shake up the whole vaccine program if there are any major findings before that. The Biden administration has signed a $230 million deal with Ellume, an Australian-based diagnostics company, to buy 8.5 million at-home coronavirus testing kits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Ellume test last month. Other at-home tests are available, but the Ellume test doesn't require a doctor's prescription and can deliver results by smart phone in 15 minutes. Ellume currently manufactures its kits in Australia. The deal will allow Ellume to open a factory in the United States and make 19 million rapid tests each month by the end of the year. 8.5 million kits are promised to the government. The Ellume kit uses a sterile nasal swab, a processing fluid, and a testing strip that can be used at home. The testing materials connect to a smartphone that can provide results via Bluetooth in 15 minutes or less, the company says. The kits will cost about $30 and be sold in drug stores and online, Ellume says.

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Why bother getting vaccinated for Covid-19 if the efficacy is only 66%?

What is the purpose of vaccination? I get a lot of questions about Covid vaccines and I try to put out information as often as I have time to. I hope you find this helpful. There seems to be a misconception about the purpose of the Covid vaccines. First let’s look at a vaccine you are familiar with, the flu vaccine. In this day and age no one thinks that getting the flu vaccine will eradicate influenza. There is a clear understanding that even if you get the shot, you can still get the flu but if you do, it will be less severe. We  humans have learned to co-exist with the influenza virus every winter and we will have to do the same with Covid. The Covid vaccine will not stop you from catching the corona virus or stop you from passing it on to someone else, but it will stop you from getting a severe case of Covid-19 or dying. Which is  basically what you want. Vaccinating everyone in the country will not eradicate the Covid corona virus but it will certainly make it a lot more manageable. Now the good news: ALL the Covid vaccines are 100% effective at reducing the severity of the disease and stopping deaths. This is fabulous news, this is what we want. If we have to have a minor ‘cold’ for a week so be it. So when people ask about the difference in efficacy of this vaccine of 95% vs that vaccine 88% or even 65% that’s not what they should be focusing on. That is not what makes one vaccine ‘better’ than the other. The best vaccine for you, right now, is the one you can get your hands on. In the spring we may have more time (and more choices) to be picky. The idea of a ‘one shot’ vaccine is a nice one but is more likely to materialize as an annual shot like the flu vaccine, it has to change with the variants as well. Other interesting covid facts: Older people have less side effects from the current vaccines than younger people. Why? It is thought that younger people have a more active immune system which sometimes kicks into high gear and creates more allergic reactions. In Germany, people over 65 are not going to receive the vaccine. Their strategy apparently is to create herd immunity in the younger crowd and thus help ‘protect’ the seniors. They say there is limited data that it works in seniors and they don’t want to ‘waste’ the (AstraZeneca) vaccine. Speaking of the AZ shot the first injection of the AZ vaccine has now been shown to give 10 to 12 weeks immunity. Therefore in the UK they are focusing on getting the first shot into everyone and the interval to take the second shot has been extended. Johnson and Johnson have now applied to the FDA for Emergency Use Approval (EUA) if they get approved as fast as the other two we could have a third shot available in March. The more the merrier! It is unclear what is holding up the AZ vaccine in this country. There is a study going on in Washington state at a university, on Luvox (Fluvoxamine). A race course doctor in California noted that taking Luvox at the beginning of getting Covid prevented hospitalizations and serious disease. He had heard this from somewhere else and so tried it on patients from the racecourse community who were willing to take it. There were 200 people in all, none of the people who took the drug had to be hospitalized. 3 who chose not to had to be hospitalized and 1 died. Fluvoxamine is an SSRI antidepressant. Interesting huh?

Remember to take vitamin C, D and zinc and call early if you get a positive Covid test so we can work on keeping you OUT of the hospital. Until the next time be safe and be well.  ‌