When the vaccine deployment got stuck, I answered a few questions | News

• What can you tell the population about when the vaccine will be more widely available?

Currently, only two vaccines are used under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). These are vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna. There are two more companies that are most likely to enter the US market within a few weeks of receiving the EUA. These are manufactured by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

The J & J vaccine is a single dose vaccine, and the others are given twice every 3 or 4 weeks. There are other vaccines in the process of development and testing.

A widely available problem results in one of supply and demand. Currently, there are not enough vaccines for the number of people in the priority group. The CDC (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus) lists priority groups with a step-by-step approach, where New York is currently vaccinated against groups 1A and 1B, while Pennsylvania is still vaccinated only against group 1A. I am.

According to the CDC, adding each state to the CDC group adds to the confusion. For example, according to the CDC, both states have added people aged 65-75 to Phase 1A. By doing this, the number of people eligible for vaccination far exceeds the number of doses available.

This is a lot of background information to answer the question of when a vaccine will be available, but the simple but real answer would be “no one knows”.

At this time, the federal government determines the amount of vaccine each state receives. The state government then decides how to distribute the vaccines assigned to each state fairly and equitably. Both BRMC and OGH were assigned doses of vaccine to be used according to state guidance.

Both hospitals have ordered additional vaccines and have not received an additional initial dose to date (both hospitals are limited to a second dose by state regulations). I have received the shipment).

The complexity of the distribution process is enormous, but the staff at both hospitals handle it. Both states are committed to creating additional vaccines and vaccination PODs (dispensing points) as more vaccines become available.

Knowledgeable guesses are that priority groups will be vaccinated for the next three months and the general public will not be vaccinated until late spring / early summer. Hopefully, these time frames will be shortened as more companies start producing vaccines.

• After vaccination, can I remove the mask to reduce social distance?

The simple answer is no. The more complete answer is that not all vaccinated people are immune to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Both the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine are 95% effective. This does not mean that you will get only 5% illness, which means that 5 out of 100 people will not be protected.

There are several ways to determine if it is protected using advanced laboratory testing, but it is also not widely available. The goal of widespread vaccination is to achieve “herd immunity,” which means that about 75% to 80% of the population is protected.

These vulnerable people, if infected, will not cripple the world as they saw during this pandemic.

• Can I see my grandchildren after vaccination?

There are many answers to this question based on individual scenarios, but we hope that the following provides general guidance: Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that the vaccinated person will be protected (95% protected). As with most medical decisions, the risks and benefits need to be weighed.

Children infected with COVID-19 are usually not as ill as adults. However, children of all ages died of the disease. Also, keep in mind that school-aged children often get sick, so they can actually infect unprotected people who have a COVID.

Simple advice: Do not visit if either your grandparents or grandchildren are ill.

The first vaccine begins to provide prophylaxis within weeks of vaccination, but complete prevention is only weeks after the second vaccination. Therefore, it is safer after the second dose than after the first dose than for everyone who has not been vaccinated.

• Can I visit a loved one at a nursing home?

This answer will probably remain no for some time. While many nursing homes allow limited visits that do not occur in resident rooms, the Ministry of Health in both states prohibits unlimited visits in a collective environment.

The rationale is that if an asymptomatic COVID-positive person visits a nursing home and infects a resident, that resident is likely to infect another resident, and California wildfires take the entire route. It means that it will be a destroying situation.

• Do I need to quarantine if I am out of state or exposed?

At the moment, the answer is yes. To date, no one has been vaccinated enough to make changes to travel restrictions.

Some people make jokes about presenting a vaccination card to fly or cross state boundaries. It may not be a joke in the future. The general principle to keep in mind is that the rules do not change until 75% to 80% of the population is vaccinated (herd immunity).

• Do I still need a vaccine if I get COVID-19?

Yes. The reason is that we do not know how long “innate immunity” will last. Also, we don’t know how long vaccine immunity will last, but there are data on vaccine immunity against other diseases, and how these vaccines work in the body is that vaccination immunity lasts much longer. It suggests that (months to years).

Long-term data are not available as the first anniversary of the first confirmed case in the United States was January 21, 2021.

• Will the vaccine last a lifetime or will it be needed every year?

This is a great question. The response usually means “I don’t know anything.” That is the meaning of this time. However, this question leads to a slight diversion to a “variant” or “mutation” of the virus.

As one expert recently mentioned, we are currently looking for mutations and will find many of them. We are currently hearing about British variants, South African variants, Brazilian variants, or any number of variants described by the location originally identified. It’s very common. In fact, this is standard, not the exception of virus mutations.

Many of the mutations are “minor” and the vaccine still prevents the disease (eg British variants). Perhaps there are mutations that current vaccines cannot prevent. This may require vaccine changes to prevent the disease, much like an annual flu shot.

It takes time and ongoing research to reach the point where life approaches its pre-COVID state. Until then, wear a mask, wash your hands and maintain a proper social distance.

Vaccines are safe, effective, free and will help us all return to a more “normal” life, so get them as soon as they become available.