Who does not need the COVID-19 vaccine?

Eight months have passed since the first dose of the Salt Lake City (KTVX) –COVID-19 vaccine was given to healthcare professionals nationwide. Since then, the vaccine has been available to anyone over the age of 12.

If you haven’t been vaccinated with COVID-19, you may be wondering. Who doesn’t need an injection?

Dr. Tamara Sheffield, Health Care Director for Community Health and Prevention at Intermountain Healthcare, talked to Nexstar’s KTVX about some cases where he was not eligible for vaccination or needed to be delayed.

Who should be vaccinated with COVID-19?

“Therefore, it is very rare for an individual to be vaccinated,” Sheffield explains. “The main reason for not being vaccinated, or so-called contraindications, is if you have an allergic reaction to that particular COVID vaccine.”

Sheffield states that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be given even if there is an allergic reaction after the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

“As long as you’re in a supervised medical environment, this is the only time you can mix a series if you’re allergic,” Sheffield explains.

Besides allergies, Sheffield says there are some other conditions that can delay COVID-19 vaccination. If you are currently infected with COVID-19, health officials are advised to wait for a shot, rather than potentially infecting others.

In addition, if you are receiving treatments such as monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 infections, Shefield says you need to wait 90 days to prevent the treatment from interfering with the vaccine.

Explain that if you are currently receiving cancer treatment, Shefield may want to wait for you to be shot. Instead, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about when to get the vaccine.

What about pregnant women?

When the COVID-19 vaccine was first generally available, pregnant women were advised to consult a doctor before receiving an injection. This is “because I didn’t have enough experience,” explains Sheffield.

“Now, millions of pregnant women have a great deal of experience vaccination,” says Sheffield. “And we have seen that for babies there is no increase in any of the bad consequences we may be worried about.”

Shefield goes on to describe her infection with COVID-19 during pregnancy as a “really dangerous situation.”

“We want to make sure they are protected from it,” Sheffield explains. “In fact, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology states that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the potential side effects and risks.”

Vaccine side effects are common, but health officials are concerned about fever, a side effect of pregnant women.

“I don’t want pregnant people to have a fever,” Shefield told ABC4.com. If you are pregnant and experience a fever after getting COVID-19, she recommends treating the fever by lowering it. “You have to be safe with it.”

What if I’m taking medicine?

Shefield explains that if a drug affects the immune system, such as a monoclonal antibody, you should talk to your doctor about when to vaccinate.

“It’s really rare for someone to have something that prevents vaccination,” says Sheffield. “All they need to do is talk to their doctor about the right time.”

When should I talk to my doctor about the side effects of the vaccine?

“Of some of the things we have seen, there are very rare cases where they are more common in vaccinated individuals than expected in the general public,” Sheffield said. ..

She said that people who have had myocarditis pericarditis (an inflammatory reaction that occurs in some muscles of the heart) can be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine unless they are still symptomatic. Explains. These symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath.

If she suffers from myocarditis after the first dose, Sheffield says she should not take a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

“It’s one of the situations and it’s treatable,” Sheffield explains.

With the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Sheffield says there was a case Guillain-Barré Syndrome.. This is a rare syndrome in which the immune system attacks nerves.

“I’ve seen them in several other vaccines,” Sheffield said. “There we are talking about a few cases per million individuals who experience progressive numbness and tingling, which usually starts with the feet and hands and rises into the body and can cause paralysis.”

“It’s an immune response,” she adds. According to Sheffield, this is usually temporary and will resolve again over time.

If you have had Guillain-Barré syndrome in the past, Shefield recommends that you get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

If the vaccine has not been fully approved by the FDA, is it safe for me to get it?

All three vaccines have been approved by the FDA for an emergency permit. Pfizer and Moderna have begun the process of getting full approval.

Sheffield explains that one of the biggest differences between emergency permits and approvals is time.

“Once approved, we need at least two months’ worth of data to verify, and you don’t have to rely on anything else for someone,” says Sheffield. “And you need to go through continuous inspections to get approval. You need six months’ worth of data.”

At this point, Sheffield states that the appropriate steps have been completed and full approval may soon be obtained.

“The data was overwhelmingly good at first, even with approval, and the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, and that’s why. [the FDA] Go ahead and give approval when you approve. “

How about a blood clot report?

Sheffield Increasing number of cases of thrombosis in patients vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson, who tend to be young women between the ages of 20 and 30.

Locally, Shefield says he has never seen a case different from what is seen nationwide.

“It’s a very rare event, but we’ve been vaccinated so many that we see occasional cases,” says Sheffield. “An important part of this is that it is treatable. You need to be aware of your symptoms and ensure that you have the care and the anticoagulants you need.”

Were there any deaths associated with the COVID-19 vaccine?

“First, no deaths from the vaccine have been reported,” explains Sheffield. “The question is, are we seeing vaccinated people dying from COVID? Yes, that’s true.”

Sheffield continues saying that this is expected.

“When first approved, there were no deaths in these study participants, but … we knew that some individuals would still develop COVID. If the protection rate is 90%, vaccination The risk is reduced by a factor of 10 compared to those who have not been vaccinated, but there is still a risk of developing the condition, but the risk of hospitalization and death after vaccination is much lower. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be zero. “

If a vaccinated person tests positive for the virus, authorities call it a “breakthrough” case. According to Shefield, one age group sees more groundbreaking cases than others.

“60-75% of these breakthrough cases are people over the age of 65,” she explains. “Repeat, your immune system may not work well, you may be old, you have comorbidities, you are more susceptible to symptoms, and you have other illnesses that require hospitalization. Is an individual. “

Sheffield says that all deaths or hospitalizations of vaccinated individuals are recorded, regardless of the cause of death. For example, if you were vaccinated and died in a car accident, it will be recorded. She adds that most of the reported deaths are “not necessarily associated with COVID disease.”

“Mainly those who see hospitalizations and deaths are unvaccinated individuals. They are the people we are trying to protect,” says Sheffield. “This delta mutant is highly infectious, can colonize even if vaccinated, and can be infected with a virus that can infect others.”

Shefield explains that it is important to wear a mask in public, as there are still many unvaccinated people. And if you can get vaccinated, you should.

“If you’re going to send your children to school, get them vaccinated for children over the age of 12, so they haven’t spread the disease among them,” she adds.

Sheffield is calling on the public to help reduce the number of hospitalized patients, reflecting the sentiment of many other healthcare professionals.