Puerto Rico Gets Only Half The Vaccine Doses It Was Expecting
Puerto Ricos vaccination efforts hit a logistical snag on Monday when the government received half the number of doses it expected, and had to scramble to adjust its distribution plan.
It was not clear why only about 16,000 doses of the vaccine reached the island on Monday, instead of 32,500, said Daniel Colón-Ramos, a professor of cellular neuroscience at Yale University and one of the chairs of a scientific panel that is monitoring the vaccination plans closely. He said the rest were now expected to arrive Tuesday and Wednesday.
The delay caused last-minute changes to the National Guards plans to deliver vaccine to the handful of locations on the island that have the ultracold medical freezers required for storing it, along with backup generators to keep them working on an island with a notoriously unstable power grid, Mr. Colón-Ramos said.
The Guards adjutant general, José J. Reyes, said that in all, 205,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are expected in the next three weeks .
The islands first recipient was scheduled to be Yahaira Alicea, a respiratory therapist who cared for Puerto Ricos first coronavirus patient back in March, an Italian woman from the Costa Luminosa cruise ship. Ms. Aliceas vaccination at Ashford Hospital started out being scheduled on Tuesday, then was moved up to Monday, with reporters invited to cover the event.
He added that he would continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Availability Of Data And Materials
Not applicable.
The formal name of the vaccine is: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2
Personal communication, Boaz Lev, January 2021.
At this stage, the vaccine has been authorized for use by people aged 16 and over. There is no prohibition against vaccinating a pregnant woman or a woman planning a pregnancy. A person with an acute illness, including a fever of 38 degrees Celsius or above, will not be vaccinated until they have recovered from that illness. According to current guidelines, the following are not authorized to receive the vaccine: people under age 16, people with a history of severe allergic reaction , and people who were confirmed as having been ill with COVID-19.
Israel did not face the issue, present in some other countries, of large numbers of healthcare workers being on vacation during the week between Christmas and New Years Day.
Foreign workers carrying for frail elderly living at home or in nursing homes were included among the health care workers who were vaccinated in the first phase of the rollout.
We recognize that several European countries have areas similar to that of Israel. The intention here is to distinguish this characteristics of Israels area primarily from those of the US, China, Canada and other large-area countries.
To some extent, these freezers were on hand prior to the pandemic. Others were purchased during 2020 in preparation for the expected need to store large quantities of the Pfizer vaccine.
A World War Ii Veteran Near Boston Was The First Veterans Affairs Patient To Receive The Coronavirus Vaccine
A 96-year-old World War II veteran in Massachusetts was the first patient at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facility to receive the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday.
The veteran, Margaret Klessens, a resident of the Veterans Affairs Bedford Healthcare System, was vaccinated just after noon, according to .
The Department of Veterans Affairs will be distributing vaccines at 37 locations across the country, giving priority to residents of long-term care facilities and health care workers.
According to an article in The Boston Globe from 2015, Ms. Klessens enlisted in the Womens Army Auxiliary Corps in 1943, when she was 19. She worked in a clerical job at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., until the end of the war.
The department selected its 37 locations based on the number of people each site could vaccinate and their ability to store the vaccine at extremely low temperatures. As supplies increase, Veterans Affairs will dole out the vaccine to additional veterans who are at risk of severe complications from the virus.
V.A. is well prepared and positioned to begin Covid-19 vaccinations, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a news release. Our ultimate goal is to offer it to all veterans and employees who want to be vaccinated.
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The Steps That Produced The Most Rapid Vaccine Rollout In History
Vaccine development is typically measured in years, not months. But as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, scientists are racing the clockand breaking recordsto develop an immunization that provides protection against the virus.
The nations scientific community also faces another obstacle: convincing the public that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, and how important it is to get a COVID-19 vaccination in the first place.
Even the most effective vaccine cant protect us or our loved ones if people are afraid to take it or will not take it, said Kathleen Mullane, director of infectious disease clinical trials at University of Chicago Medicine. We know things are moving faster than ever, but the nations scientific community has cooperated and collaborated in ways as never before and we are absolutely committed to making sure whatever is ultimately approved works and is safe. I am going to get vaccinated and am recommending vaccination for my family and friends because I believe in the safety and efficacy of these agents.
In South Dakota Covid
In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the arrival of the vaccine is feeding the impassioned debate over extending the citys already contentious mask mandate until March.
Those who have been opposed to masks all along use the vaccine to argue that there is no need to keep masks past early January, when the mandate is due to expire.
It is creating a narrative that Covid is over and the cavalry is here, said Paul TenHaken, the Republican mayor of Sioux Falls, noting city officials have to fight the misinformation by stressing that for the coming weeks the vaccine willbe available only for frontline workers and vulnerable, older residents.
At the Avera Medical Group, founded by Benedictine and Presentation nuns, sisters blessed the vaccine as it arrived Monday and it was then whisked into a deep freeze, with the first shots given out in the afternoon.
Despite some of the highest rates of infection in the country, South Dakotas Republican governor, Kristi Noem, has refused to mandate masks or any other public mitigation measures, calling them an individual responsibility.
That sentiment initially doomed a mask mandate in Sioux Falls in November, but it was eventually passed by the city council after all penalties were removed and the citys two medical centers endorsed it.
Residents opposed to extending the mask mandate packed a council meeting last week, and the mayor expects the arrival of the vaccine will inspire even more to attend this week.
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Polio Vaccine History: Timeline Of Poliomyelitis Discovery And Vaccine Invention
Polio is a serious viral infection that was globally prevalent before the 1980s. Thankfully, its groundbreaking vaccine essentially eradicated it in most parts of the world. Join Flo as we explore the history of polio as well as the scientists who discovered the polio vaccine.
Early Polio Vaccine Projects
Unfortunately, initial trials were poorly executed and caused great harm to those involved. Teams of researchers in New York and Philadelphia both administered vaccines containing active poliovirus to tens of thousands of living subjects, including children and chimpanzees. Many subjects became severely ill or paralyzed, experienced allergic reactions, and even died of polio.
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Cdc Recommends Pediatric Covid
Contact:Media Relations 639-3286
Today, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine. CDC now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible.
COVID-19 cases in children can result in hospitalizations, deaths, MIS-C and long-term complications, such as long COVID, in which symptoms can linger for months. The spread of the Delta variant resulted in a surge of COVID-19 cases in children throughout the summer. During a 6-week period in late June to mid-August, COVID-19 hospitalizations among children and adolescents increased fivefold. Vaccination, along with other preventative measures, can protect children from COVID-19 using the safe and effective vaccines already recommended for use in adolescents and adults in the United States. Similar to what was seen in adult vaccine trials, vaccination was nearly 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children aged 5-11 years. In clinical trials, vaccine side effects were mild, self-limiting, and similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children. The most common side effect was a sore arm.
The following is attributable to Dr.Walensky:
Selected Factors Contributing To Israels Success
The specific factors contributing to Israels successful early rollout include, but are not limited to, the following:
Israels small size, in terms of both area and population, its relatively young population, and its relatively warm weather in December 2020
Specific actions taken as part of the COVID-19 vaccination effort
The rapid mobilization of special government funding for vaccine purchase and distribution
Like Israel, many other high-income countries invested heavily in contracting with the pharmaceutical companies for future vaccine acquisition. Israel was also not alone in the allocation of special government funds to support vaccine delivery. However, in other countries such as the UK, the amount of such government support appears to have been limited. For example, in England many GP practices have reported that they are unable to participate in the vaccination program because the resources given to them were insufficient .
Timely contracting for a large amount of vaccines relative to Israels population
Over the course of 2020, Israel contracted with several of the pharmaceutical companies at the forefront of vaccine development. Not knowing which vaccines would prove to be effective, and when they would get regulatory authorizations, Israel distributed its risks by entering into advanced purchasing agreements for more vaccine doses than it was projected to need.
presents additional information on the cold chain preservation efforts in Israel.
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Dr Jonas Salk Announces Polio Vaccine
On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. In 1952an epidemic year for poliothere were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. For promising eventually to eradicate the disease, which is known as infant paralysis because it mainly affects children, Dr. Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time.
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Salk, born in New York City in 1914, first conducted research on viruses in the 1930s when he was a medical student at New York University, and during World War II helped develop flu vaccines. In 1947, he became head of a research laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh and in 1948 was awarded a grant to study the polio virus and develop a possible vaccine. By 1950, he had an early version of his polio vaccine.
READ MORE: How a New Polio Vaccine Faced Shortages and Setbacks
It Was So Close: Those Who Lost Loved Ones To Covid
It was so close, Ms. Smith said. It was so close.
Ms. Smith, who lives outside Peoria, Ill., also contracted the virus, but her case was mild and felt more like a sinus infection, she said. His case sent him to the hospital three times, where he was eventually placed on a ventilator and died within days.
Mr. Smith was only a year or two away from retiring from his work at Caterpillar, a manufacturer of construction equipment. The couple had planned to use the extra time to visit their five grandchildren, who were the love of his life, Ms. Smith said.
Ms. Smith has endured comments from skeptics who have said they dont trust the vaccine.
These people who say, Im not getting it all I can say is, Why? Have you lost your mind? she said. Have you not seen how many people have died? This is real.
The news of people receiving the vaccine was also bittersweet for Petrice Brown of Charleston, S.C., whose husband, Keith, was an emergency medical technician. He died from the virus in September.
He would have been first in line, Ms. Brown said. And you know why? Because he would have done whatever he could do to not get the virus, so he could continue to work. He filled in if people were sick.
She said she was relieved to have work as a distraction from all the media attention to the vaccines arrival.
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Australia And New Zealand Plan To Ease Travel Restrictions
The New Zealand government intends to establish a travel bubble with Australia in the first quarter of next year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday.
The arrangement would allow people to travel freely between Australia and New Zealand without needing to quarantine for two weeks on arrival. Passengers arriving from New Zealand are already exempt from quarantine requirements in Australia.
The travel bubble was pending confirmation from Australian officials, Ms. Ardern said during a news conference, and would be contingent on no significant changes in the circumstances of either country.
New Zealand, population about five million, has managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic, with 2,096 cases and 25 lives lost, according to a New York Times database. In Australia, which has a population of about 25.5 million, 28,031 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, while 908 have died.
The governments of New Zealand and Australia announced in May that they had reached a formal agreement to form a travel bubble as soon as it was safe to do so. But surges in new cases, most notably in Victoria, Australia, left the plans suspended.
Heres what else to know in coronavirus news from around the world:
Jennifer Jett, Ben Dooley and Monika Pronczuk contributed reporting.
They Spread The Virus Now Universities Are Also Rolling Out The Vaccine
Colleges have been hot spots for spreading the coronavirus since students returned to campus this fall. Now, with universities and their health care centers playing a crucial role in distributing the vaccine, many are relishing a chance to redeem themselves.
The Covid-19 vaccine is about to be here, crowed an email sent early Monday morning to students, faculty and staff of the University of Florida, calling it a true testament to the power of science.
The email announced that the universitys medical system in Jacksonville would be among the first in the country to receive doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Ten thousand doses arrived on Monday, with another 10,000 expected on Tuesday, said Dr. Leon L. Haley Jr., chief executive officer of UF Health Jacksonville and dean of the College of Medicine.
He expects more doses of both Pfizers and Modernas vaccines to follow in the coming weeks.
American universities have been the source of significant coronavirus spread, with more than 397,000 cases since the pandemic began, according to New York Times tracking data. And deaths in communities that are home to colleges have risen faster than in the rest of the nation.
Distribution of the vaccine to universities depended to some degree on their ability to store it at subfreezing temperatures. The University of Kentucky purchased four negative-80-degree freezers to store the vaccine when it is available for faculty and students on campus, as well as the wider community.
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The Schedule From 2011 To Present
Annual updates to both the childhood and adult immunization schedules offer guidance to healthcare providers in the form of new recommendations, changes to existing recommendations, or clarifications to assist with interpretation of the schedule in certain circumstances. The schedules are reviewed by committees of experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Important changes to the schedule:
- New vaccines: meningococcal serogroup B vaccine
- Additional recommendations for existing vaccines: HPV , intranasal influenza vaccine
- Discontinuation of vaccine: intranasal influenza vaccine
2020 | Recommended Vaccines
* Given in combination as DTaP** Given in combination as MMR
Biden Lays Out Plan For When Fda Green Lights Covid Vaccines For Children
The two Pfizer vaccine doses would be exactly the same as what are given to adults, three weeks apart, FDA officials said.
If it is greenlighted by the CDC, the vaccine’s rollout may differ from state to state. The FDA authorization applies everywhere across the U.S. and territories, but some sites or pharmacies might not give the shots to younger teens, depending on state rules and regulations.
On the FDA’s website, the agency’s acting commissioner, Dr. Janet Woodcock, said the authorization was “a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The action, Woodcock wrote, “allows for a younger population to be protected from Covid-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic.”
The administration also plans to send vaccines directly to pediatricians’ offices, where parents may feel more comfortable discussing their children’s shots. The vaccinations will also be available at other sites, such as community centers.
In late March, Pfizer said Phase 3 clinical trial data showed that its Covid-19 vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing the illness in children 12 to 15 years old.
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Efficient Distribution Of Vaccinations
A method for efficient vaccination approach, via vaccinating a small fraction population called acquaintance immunization has been developed by Cohen et al. An alternative method based on identifying and vaccinating mainly spreaders has been developed by Liu et al. These are both based on the idea that people with a strong social network are at risk for accidentally infecting the many people they come into contact with and will have other highly connected people among their contacts.