Trustworthy and accurate health info for moms like me! Monday updates
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.
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.
And welcome back! It’s been (checks blog) three months since my last post! Wow! I have no real excuses other than being busy. But, this past week brought some great news for public health that I just had to post about: a third COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use in the United States!
According to the CDC, over 59 million Americans – nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults – have gotten at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 30 million have gotten 2 doses. That is amazing progress for vaccines that weren’t even available 3 months ago! Still, if you’re one of the majority who haven’t yet started the COVID-19 vaccine, you may be wondering which one is best for you, especially now that there’s another option available.
First and foremost, I stand by my earlier recommendation to get whatever COVID-19 vaccine your doctor, employer, clinic, or pharmacy has in stock. The best COVID-19 vaccine for you is whatever vaccine you can most easily get. But if you’re in the enviable position of being able to choose between more than 1 vaccine, then read on for my thoughts.
COVID-19 vaccines are out, but how soon will you get able to get yours? According to the CDC, 13 million doses have shipped and 4.2 million Americans have been vaccinated so far. However, 24 million healthcare workers and long-term care residents are eligible in Phase 1a, 49 million frontline essential workers persons age 75 and older in Phase 1b, and 129 people with high-risk medical conditions, age 65 million or older or other essential workers are eligible in Phase 1c before healthy young and middle-aged non-essential workers will be eligible. Don’t like those numbers? Here’s my advice if you want to get yourself to the front of the COVID-19 vaccine line.
As we head into what is historically one of the biggest party nights of the year, please hang in there, stay home and socially distance this New Year’s Eve. This pandemic has lasted for what feels like forever and I know how hard it is to skip beloved traditions. But as COVID-19 cases continue to spike all over the United States, it’s critical to stay home and avoid public or private gatherings, even if they’re allowed in your local area.
Please, for your health, for your loved ones’ health and for your community’s health, stay home this New Year’s Eve. I’m not even going to talk about ways to celebrate safely if you do choose to go out – the things that work best are the things I’ve talked about a million times over. If you’re determined to go out, then check out the CDC’s guide to New Year’s Eve during COVID-19.
Instead of partying this New Year’s, check in with yourself. It’s been a long, difficult, stressful year. Get sleep. Drink water. Bundle up and head outside for some air and some exercise. Do the things that make you happy, whatever that may be (as long as it’s socially distant). Reach out to a counselor if you need one. Check out guidance on what helps this season and call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or the National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) if you need help.
Take care of yourselves,
🥂 Dr. B
Sorry for not posting last week; it was a pretty big week for public health! The first doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the United States, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a second COVID-19 vaccine for use in the U.S. There are now two COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. If you’re one of the lucky few eligible to get COVID-19 vaccine during Phase 1a – or when it’s time for your priority group – which COVID-19 vaccine should you get? Read on for my thoughts.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will meet this Thursday to discuss Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Next Thursday, they will meet again to discuss Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. It is very likely that at least one COVID-19 vaccine will be available this month, and probably two. Should you get a COVID-19 vaccine, and if so, how long will it be until you can get one? Read on for my thoughts.
