Trustworthy and accurate health info for moms like me! Monday updates
On Friday, the CDC recommended that all adults, especially those over 50 years old or living in long-term care facilities, get a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine if they haven’t already. What does this new recommendation mean, and how will it impact the course of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Late last week, an independent advisory committee to the FDA voted in favor of booster shots of Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccines for some groups. If you got the Moderna or J&J COVID-19 vaccine, is it time to schedule your booster dose?
Last week, I wrote that there wasn’t enough data yet to support booster doses for people who received Moderna or Janssen vaccine. That may be changing soon, and possibly as soon as this week.
The FDA has scheduled a 2-day meeting of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee – the same independent advisory group to the FDA that reviewed initial data on COVID-19 vaccines – on Thursday, October 14 and Friday, October 15 to discuss booster doses of Moderna and Janssen vaccines. Should you rush on out and schedule an appointment for a Moderna or Janssen booster dose this weekend? Not necessarily; it means that the companies have submitted enough data to justify convening a meeting to discuss it.
Still, this pandemic is evolving quickly and it’s entirely possible to have insufficient evidence one week and compelling evidence a few weeks later. I look forward to seeing whatever data the FDA shares later this week.
Stay healthy,
😷 Dr. B
Last week, the CDC recommended booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for some groups of people. Are you in one of those groups? Do you need a booster dose? Read on for more details.
But first, if you’re age 12 years or older and you aren’t fully vaccinated against COVID-19, then you, yes you, need a COVID shot. The COVID vaccines available in the United States are safe and effective, and they’re the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones from COVID-19. Run, don’t walk to get a COVID shot if you’re not fully vaccinated.
Last month, the CDC recommended double masking as one of several options to improve how your mask fits your face. If you’re one of many people who are now double masking, a new research letter recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine includes helpful insights into how to double mask more effectively.
Last night, after two scientific meetings and a lengthy discussion of the risks and benefits, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended lifting the temporary “pause” on use of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine. After watching their public meetings and reviewing the data they discussed, I agree with lifting the pause and believe that the FDA’s and CDC’s actions illustrate how seriously they take vaccine safety.
As I’ve said before, physicians make decisions by balancing potential risks against potential benefits. Nothing is without risk; even choosing not to act has risks. In this instance, use of the vaccine was initially paused in order to examine risks of a rare blood clotting disorder among young women after receiving the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine. However, the vaccine is highly effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, and the pause carried its own risk of less COVID-19 vaccine available in the U.S., fewer opportunities to vaccinate people against COVID-19 and ultimately, more cases of COVID-19 infection resulting from less vaccination. Read on for an explanation of why the benefits of vaccination (and risks of further pausing vaccination) outweigh the risks from the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
Earlier today, the U.S. CDC and FDA jointly recommended a temporary “pause” on use of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. due to reports of a rare clotting disorder among young women who had recently received the J&J vaccine. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet tomorrow, April 14 to further review the data on this condition. Read on for what you need to know about this emerging situation.
Welcome back! I hope you spent your spring breaks similarly to how I spent mine: mostly inside, but with my mask on when I went out, because there’s still a pandemic going on.
The CDC recently shared encouraging information: unless someone in your household is sick, cleaning your home with regular household cleaners is enough to remove the virus that causes COVID-19. This may come as a surprise to those of you that have been scrubbing your home and everything you bring into it for the past year, but it’s very consistent with available information about the virus. Read on for an explanation.
Here we go again! The sun is shining, the days are getting longer, and it’s time to… keep wearing our face masks!
It’s been a very, very long year, and I’d love to have a “normal” spring and summer as much as anyone, but the COVID-19 pandemic still is not over. According to the CDC, new COVID-19 cases have been consistently increasing over the last few days, for the first time since January. Although we’ve been making remarkable progress with COVID-19 vaccination, as of this writing less than 1 in 6 of the U.S. population (16%) is fully vaccinated. Experts predict that at least 70% of the population will need to be immune to COVID-19 to achieve “herd immunity”, but we are still nowhere near that threshold.
I still feel confident that we will get there, but please don’t jump the gun before we do. Don’t forget that despite predictions that the virus would go away in warm weather, the second U.S. wave of COVID-19 peaked last summer. Please, don’t contribute to a fourth wave. Keep wearing your masks, keep social distancing, and get your COVID-19 vaccine when you’re eligible. It’s up to every one of us to fight this pandemic together. Don’t be the weak link that breaks our chain of protection.
COVID-19 cases are on the decline worldwide and in the U.S., and the CDC recently recommended that fully vaccinated people may spend time with other fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask, and may refrain from quarantine under certain circumstances. Many of us are finally starting to feel like the end of the pandemic may be in sight – just in time for Spring Break! If you’re making Spring Break plans, then read on for my thoughts on how to keep it safe.
