covid vaccine

Local Covid Update as of 7-15-2021

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The Delta variant of Covid-19 is responsible for a dramatic increase in Oklahoma’s cases of and hospitalizations for Covid-19.  The cause of more than half of all new Covid-19 infections in the state, this variant is 4 times more contagious than the previous strains and causes more severe disease, especially in younger patients and in pregnant women.  Nationwide, new cases have risen 109% in the past 14 days and deaths are up 17%.

            67% of fully vaccinated persons, whether they received the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson and Johnson vaccine, are safe from infection with all known variants, leaving 33% susceptible to reinfection.  Fortunately, the fully vaccinated who develop Covid-19 infection almost always experience mild disease lasting 5-10 days and rarely end up in the hospital.

            Let’s look at the numbers for Oklahoma.

·       In the past 14 days, there has been a 53% increase in Covid-19 related hospitalizations.

·       2,688 new cases were reported in the past week, a 56.7% increase from the week of June 27-July 3.

·       11 deaths were reported in the past week.

·       The average age of cases was 40 years, much lower than during last winter’s spike, and 67% of the cases were in patients younger than 50.

·       As of July 12th, 45.7 % of Oklahomans had received at least 1 dose of the vaccine, and 39% were fully vaccinated.

·       As of July 12th, in the 12-17 year-old age group, 17.1% had received at least 1 dose of the vaccine, and 12.7% were fully vaccinated.

·       As much as 95% of new cases are occurring in unvaccinated persons.

Next, some Tulsa information:

·       Local hospitals are seeing increased numbers of emergency department visits, admissions, ICU admissions, and ventilator use involving Covid-19 patients.

·       The number of inpatients in Tulsa has increased fourfold in the past 6 weeks.

Clearly, Oklahoma has a long way to go to reach herd immunity, estimated to occur when about

72% of the population is fully vaccinated.  Until then, the Delta variant, and perhaps new ones yet to come, will continue to develop and spread.  For all our sakes, we all need to get fully vaccinated and encourage our unvaccinated friends and family to do the same.

 

Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People

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Updated Mar. 8, 2021

Key Points

This is the first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. This guidance will be updated and expanded based on the level of community spread of SARS-CoV-2, the proportion of the population that is fully vaccinated, and the rapidly evolving science on COVID-19 vaccines.

For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 ≥2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or ≥2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen ).†

The following recommendations apply to non-healthcare settings. For related information for healthcare settings, visit Updated Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations in Response to COVID-19 Vaccination.

Fully vaccinated people can:

  • Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing

  • Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing

  • Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic

For now, fully vaccinated people should continue to:

  • Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing

  • Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease

  • Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households

  • Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings

  • Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

  • Follow guidance issued by individual employers

  • Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations

    Visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html for full guidelines.

Johnson and Johnson Vaccine Approved

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On February 28, 2021, the CDC approved the third vaccine for use against Covid-19.  This vaccine, widely known as the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccine, is being produced by Jansen Biotech.

Unlike the previously released Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the J&J vaccine requires only a single dose and can be safely stored using routine refrigeration for several months.  The J&J vaccine relies upon more traditional technology than the first two vaccines, using a harmless viral vector to deliver a piece of DNA of the signature spike protein of Covid-19 that then triggers an immune response.

All three authorized Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective against disease, hospitalization and death.  The J&J vaccine trial in the United States found the vaccine to be 75% effective in preventing moderate to severe/critical Covid-19 within the first 30 days after infection, with side effects similar to or even less than the other vaccines.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has expressed concern about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was developed, tested and is produced from an abortion-derived cell line.  These cells, which are grown from the original cells obtained years ago, have been used for a variety of biomedical research projects.  No additional abortions were needed to produce the vaccine.  For some this may be a reason to choose another vaccine option.

Recent evidence suggests that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may be less effective against the spreading South African variant but all three vaccines appear to be effective against the equally-concerning Brazilian variant.  

The CDC, however, strongly recommends that patients receive whichever vaccine is available to them.  The sooner we reach herd immunity the better, both for individuals who do not become infected and to help prevent the development of new strains of Covid-19 that may be more contagious and/or more deadly. 

For more information, check these links:

https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/542182-new-study-warns-pfizer-and-moderna-covid-19  

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/09/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/  

What to Do Once You’ve Been Vaccinated

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As the date of your vaccination approaches, you need to be more careful and vigilant than ever.  Covid-19 is a respiratory virus carried in the air that is easily transmissible when we are around other people.  That’s why we need to practice the 3 W’s—Watch our distance, Wash our hands and Wear a mask.   And we should continue to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people even when the 3 W’s are employed.

Each of us are exposed every time we encounter another person, even if we stay entirely at home and a caregiver or family member who lives with us goes to the store, work, & etc.  Those outside contacts can lead to spread in the home, no matter how careful the “at home” persons are.  Some of my “at home” patients have still contracted Covid-19.  

The two available vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, are equally effective and are both unlikely to cause significant side effects.  Everyone receiving vaccines must wait a minimum of 15 minutes afterwards in order to be monitored for any problems.  Immunity begins to develop within one week after your first immunization and reaches about 50% after three weeks.  Two weeks after your second shot immunity should reach 95%.

Once you have been fully vaccinated*, about two weeks after your second dose of vaccines, your life shouldn’t change very much.  At first, most other people will have not yet been vaccinated, and while the vaccines are 95% effective, 1 in 20 vaccinated persons can still contract the disease.  With nearly 25% test positivity in Oklahoma, there is still considerable risk of acquiring Covid-19, even for the fully vaccinated, so even the vaccinated need to remain careful.

However, it will be safer for you to go to the grocery or hardware store, the post office and other stores where social distancing is practiced and people are wearing masks.  Small group activities in which you know that all the participants have been vaccinated will clearly be safer.  But being in large groups and traveling will remain risky until the US population reaches herd immunity, which will require at least half of the population to be immunized and much of the rest to have recovered from the disease.

Once herd immunity is reached, it will be much safer to do such things as eat in a restaurant, ride a bus, attend religious services and attend parties, weddings and funerals.  Families will be able to gather in ways that were impossible in 2020.  But it is unknown how soon we will attain herd immunity. Until that time, I will continue practice the 3 W’s.  

*People such as health care and other frontline workers who work in high-risk-of-exposure occupations can significantly decrease their risk if immunized.  This is why these workers are among the first Americans to be offered the vaccine.