Weekly Missive - First Week of Feburary
Posted over 4 years ago
This announcement has 1 attachment:
Weekly Missive - First Week of February
At the health briefing this afternoon Jan 29 in Vermont, we learned that over 3000 people were vaccinated this week and the rate of vaccination is expected to increase next week. The first COVID-19 vaccination clinics have occurred! Nearly 32,600 appointments are scheduled for those >75. This is excellent news as in Vermont there were 133 new cases, 57 hospitalized, and 11 in the ICU. In Vermont, 172 people have died since the onset (1.5 % of cases), less than any other state unless you count the islands (Virgin Islands, Guam…). We have a 2% positive rate the last week of January. Yet nearly 8000 people have recovered. The counties with the highest rate of new cases over the last two weeks are Chittenden (583 and 2 deaths) and Bennington (306 cases and 1 death). The best rates are in Grand Isle with only 10,– Great job Grand Isle! .
The 860 doses of Moderna in Springfield will not need to be thrown out and will be used. The South African variant is not yet in Vermont, but it has reached South Carolina
Events:
The next Climate Council meeting is on Monday, February 8th at 8:30am. The Council will be discussing the makeup of the subcommittees that will focus on key aspects of climate action. More information can be found here.
Frontline Session 5 – Nursing – information on our website February 2, 2021 11:30 am - 12:30 pm ET Audience: RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and othe rnursing professionals Click Here to Register
Save the date Nurse Legislation Day April 23 attached file
Articles of Interest:
Dougherty, M. (2021, Jan. 25).How to sign up for the COVID vaccine: https://vtdigger.org/2021/01/25/covid-vaccine-appointments-vermont/
The state’s registration system for Covid-19 vaccination is open now.
To register, visit healthvermont.gov/myvaccine (preferred) or call 855-722-7878. You will be asked to provide your name, date of birth, address, email (if available), phone number, and health insurance information (if available, but not required). All Vermonters 75 and older are eligible… video explanation is available here: https://youtu.be/4baPyZvfiz4
Fox, M. (2021, Jan 20).Studies suggest vaccinated people protected from new Covid-19 variants. CNN
New research out this week provides reassuring evidence that people vaccinated against coronavirus will be protected against emerging new variants of the virus… A team led by Dr. Michel Nussenzweig of the Rockefeller University tested plasma taken from 20 people who got two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine as part of clinical trials.They found the vaccines produced strong antibody responses, as well as cells that keep producing new antibodies for months or years…
Different mutations in the viruses did allow some escape from some types of antibodies, but the bodies of the volunteers threw an army of different types of antibodies at the viruses, the team reported in a pre-print study. "When you start putting all these mixtures of antibodies together, what it means is that together they can take care of the variants," Nussenzweig said…. They tested antibody-rich blood serum from 44 people who had survived coronavirus infections before September. Half the people showed an antibody response that might not be expected to fight off the variant. More at:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/20/health/covid-vaccines-protect-from-variants/index.html
Fox, M., Sealy, A., & Nedelman, M.(2021, Jan 29).Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is 66% effective in global trial, but 85% effective against severe disease, company says.
Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 single-shot vaccine was shown to be 66% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease in a global Phase 3 trial, but 85% effective against severe disease, the company announced Friday. The vaccine was 72% effective against moderate and severe disease in the US… The vaccine's efficacy against moderate and severe disease ranged from one country to another: 72% in the US, 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa. This was measured starting one month after the shot…More at :https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/health/johnson-coronavirus-vaccine-results/index.html
BBC News. (2021, Jan 29).Covid-19: Novavax vaccine shows 89% efficacy in UK trials.
The new Novavax vaccine is 89% effective again the UK variant, and 95.6% effective against the original COVID 19 strain. It is only 60% effective on the South African variant. The UK has secured 60 million doses. It is not yet approved. The UK 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, 40 million of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 17 million doses of the Moderna vaccine More at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55850352
Brueck, H.(2021, Jan).When will AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine be available in the US?
The UK now has three different COVID-19 vaccines in use to fight the pandemic... AstraZeneca's two-shot vaccine is still missing from the US vaccine arsenal. Developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, it's been authorized for use across the UK since December 30, and it's also been cleared to go into arms in India, Mexico, Argentina, and several more countries…but it is not FDA approved for the US. https://www.businessinsider.com/when-will-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-be-approved-in-us-2021-1
Lasek, A. (2021, Jan 29).Nurses union to FDA: Mask decontamination never should have been OK'd .McKnights.
The Food and Drug Administration never should have authorized the use of decontamination systems to facilitate the reuse of N95 respirators, according to an expert with National Nurses United.
In an email to Inside Health Policy, Jane Thomason, the union’s lead industrial hygienist, said that the “reuse of N95 respirators and other single-use PPE is not safe,” and that a review of the current research has shown that no decontamination method is safe or effective.“The FDA should never have issued emergency use authorizations for N95 decontamination methods” … President Joe Biden has promised to use the Defense Production Act to increase respirator supply and believes that this is a better solution to ongoing supply shortages….It’s a plea nurses have been making for months. In September, the American Nurses Association asked the White House to invoke the DPA for N95 masks after a nationwide survey found “unacceptable” reuse levels. One in three nurses remained short on supplies, and more than half were being asked to reuse devices meant for single use. More at https://www.mcknights.com/news/clinical-news/nurses-union-to-fda-mask-decontamination-never-should-have-been-okd/
Hale,C.(2021,Jan 25).FDA rolls back N95 mask reuse to 4 decontamination cycles.
The FDA rolled back its emergency authorizations for N95 respirator decontamination systems, cutting down the number of times the agency said each mask could be safely reused. During the early stages of the pandemic, when supplies of personal protective equipment and N95 filters were at a minimum, the FDA allowed masks to be reprocessed up to 20 times…. More at: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/fda-rolls-back-n95-mask-reuse-to-4-decontamination-cycles
DailyNurse.(2021,Jan). Share This: 7 Ways to Support Nurses in 2021
This article gives great advice on how to support nurses during the pandemic, from following recommended guideline such as wearing a mask, to finding out what groups are doing in your area, and advocacy to legislators. I particularly liked the one “If you know a nurse or health care worker, consider asking them if they need assistance with running errands, child care, or other tasks”. If no one is there to care for their children who might be attending school from home, or younger: no one is coming in to care for you. More at: https://dailynurse.com/share-this-7-ways-to-support-nurses-in-2021/
Johnson, C.Y.(2021, Jan).Companies scramble to expand coronavirus vaccine supply. Washington Post
Production of the vaccine authorized in the United States is accelerating, even as companies with experimental vaccines nearing the end of trials struggle to meet ambitious manufacturing targets.
That means the United States should have 200 million doses each from the companies with authorized shots, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — enough to guarantee that more than 70 percent of adults will be able to get the two-shot vaccination by the end of July. That is comparable to the share of adults some polls suggest will be willing to roll up their sleeves. More at https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/14/covid-vaccine-supply/
Federal Legislative News
If you missed it watch Senator Patrick Leahy be sworn in as Senate President https://youtu.be/JBWn7SnPLTc
Though the pro tem position is largely ceremonial, Leahy could soon find himself presiding over the expected Senate trial of former President Donald Trump.
For Vermont, Leahy said he would make sure any coronavirus relief bill gave states with small populations a minimum level of funding. He did the same with last year’s CARES Act, which provided Vermont $1.25 billion — more per capita than any state other than Wyoming.
“I want to bring Republicans and Democrats together,” Leahy said, noting that Republican Gov. Phil Scott called him Jan. 6, congratulating him on the Democrats taking the Senate and his new role as Appropriations chair (Norton, 2021).
Senator, Bernie Sanders now assumes a powerful position as chair of the Senate Budget Committee, which manages spending priorities.
Norton, K.(2021, Jan 20). With Biden in the White House, Leahy and Sanders take center stage in U.S. Senate. VTDigger.
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VTNurses