Tag: COVID-19 vaccine

All about your coronavirus vaccine card (and what to do if you lose it)

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There are various ways to document that you received a coronavirus vaccine. Some people have snapped selfies proudly displaying the Band-Aid on their upper arm. Some vaccination sites are handing out stickers. But the official form of documentation is the small white vaccination record card issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which you receive after your first shot.

“You do want to make sure you keep it safe,” says Kelly Moore, deputy director of the Immunization Action Coalition. “You do want to make a copy of it and keep that on file, not because it’s the only record, but because it’s the one that you control.”

Here’s what Moore and other experts say you need to know about the cards and what you should do after receiving one. Continue reading.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: April 16, 2021

A Message on Daunte Wright 

The Governor and First Lady are praying for Daunte Wright’s family and loved ones as Minnesota mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement. The death of Daunte Wright is a tragedy. He was a young man, a father, a friend, and a son. We must take meaningful action to fight systemic injustice, pursue bold police accountability reforms, and make lasting change.

In these challenging times, the Governor’s duty is to preserve the First Amendment right of peaceful protests while protecting public safety. We must ensure communities have the space they deserve to grieve and call for change.

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: April 16, 2021”

Woman blames Trump for anti-vaxxer friend’s COVID-19 death: ‘He could have saved so many lives’

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After a West Virginia woman died from COVID-19, her best friend blames former president Donald Trump’s refusal to enthusiastically embrace vaccinations.

The former president got his shot in private before leaving office and has offered meager approval since leaving the White House, and Anastacia Kelley feels certain her college roommate would have gotten one for herself if Trump had gotten his in the public eye, reported The Daily Beast.

“Absolutely, without a doubt,” Kelly told the website. “If he had come out and even taken a picture of himself getting it, he could have saved many lives.” Continue reading.

Johnson & Johnson vaccine suspension – a doctor explains what this means for you

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A panel of experts met on April 14, 2021, to review evidence on blood clots that have been reported in seven people after they received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on immunization. It delayed voting on a recommendation to the CDC so that members can further evaluate risk and data. The clotting, which resulted in one woman’s death, led the CDC and FDA on April 13, 2021, to pause use of the J&J vaccine. Dr. William Petri, an infectious disease physician and immunologist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, answers questions to help put this development in context.

What is this potential side effect of the J&J vaccine for COVID-19?

The potential side effect is a blood clot in the veins that drain blood from the brain. This is called central venous sinus thrombosis. In the vaccine-associated cases of this, platelets in blood, which are important for making clots, have been lower than normal. This same side effect has been seen in the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that also uses an adenovirus to deliver the coronavirus spike glycoprotein. In the case of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the clotting disorder has been linked to antibodies against platelet factor 4 (PF4) that are apparently induced by the adenovirus backbone of the vaccine. This antibody causes the clotting disorder by activating platelets to clot. 

Continue reading “Johnson & Johnson vaccine suspension – a doctor explains what this means for you”

‘They didn’t like me’: Trump attacks Pfizer in conspiratorial rant after FDA pauses Johnson & Johnson vaccine

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This Tuesday, the Biden administration recommended a “pause” in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after reports of extremely rare blood clots in six people out of approximately 6.8 million doses that have been administered.

Former President Donald Trump took the opportunity to jump on the news, releasing a statement saying the Biden administration “did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world” in calling for the pause, adding that doing so would cause the “reputation” of the vaccine to be “permanently damaged.” 

“The people who have already taken the vaccine will be up in arms, and perhaps all of this was done for politics or perhaps it’s the FDA’s love for Pfizer,” Trump said.  Continue reading.

Biden eyes bigger US role in global vaccination efforts

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The Biden administration is taking initial steps toward an expanded role in global COVID-19 vaccination efforts, while stopping short of sharing excess doses on a wide scale.

The federal government has been amassing doses, growing its supply into what will likely become a surplus as the rest of the world struggles with shortages.

In fact, the U.S. has purchased enough vaccines to immunize every adult in the country three times over. Aid groups now say it’s past time to start giving away the surplus. Continue reading.

FDA expects J&J vaccine pause to last “a matter of days”

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The U.S. FDA on Tuesday recommended an immediate halt of the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, citing cases of a rare blood clot disorder that six women developed within two weeks of receiving the shot.

The latest: Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said at a briefing that she expects the pause to only last “a matter of days,” as health officials investigate the data surrounding the “extremely rare” blood clots.

Driving the news: The FDA’s recommendation was issued “out of an abundance of caution” and to prepare health providers to recognize and treat patients appropriately, since these types of blood clots require a different kind of treatment. Continue reading.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: April 9, 2021

Governor Walz Launches Industry-Focused COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach Campaign

Campaign kicks off with food service industry workers

Gov. Walz at COVID Vaccination Center

As a part of the broader statewide ‘Roll Up Your Sleeves, MN’ campaign to make sure all Minnesotans have access to the COVID-19 vaccine,  Governor Walz launched an outreach effort focused on connecting workers in critical industries to the resources they need to get vaccinated. In the coming weeks, workers in priority frontline sectors will be vaccinated at community vaccination sites.

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: April 9, 2021”

Biden to announce all US adults will be eligible for coronavirus vaccine by April 19

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President Biden plans to announce Tuesday that he is moving up his target for all American adults to become eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by almost two weeks to April 19, according to a White House official.

Biden is also expected to announce that the United States has administered 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, the official confirmed, putting the president on track to meet or exceed his goal of administering 200 million doses in his first 100 days in office.

CNN first reported Biden’s planned announcements on Tuesday. The president is scheduled to visit a vaccination site at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday afternoon before returning to the White House to give remarks on the state of vaccinations. Continue reading.

White Evangelical Resistance Is Obstacle in Vaccination Effort

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Millions of white evangelical adults in the U.S. do not intend to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Tenets of faith and mistrust of science play a role; so does politics.

Stephanie Nana, an evangelical Christian in Edmond, Okla., refused to get a Covid-19 vaccine because she believed it contained “aborted cell tissue.”

Nathan French, who leads a nondenominational ministry in Tacoma, Wash., said he received a divine message that God was the ultimate healer and deliverer: “The vaccine is not the savior.”

Lauri Armstrong, a Bible-believing nutritionist outside of Dallas, said she did not need the vaccine because God designed the body to heal itself, if given the right nutrients. More than that, she said, “It would be God’s will if I am here or if I am not here.” Continue reading.