Showing posts with label vaccine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vaccine. Show all posts

Friday, December 8, 2023

Franklin Health Dept: Weekly Wellness Update -> It's National Influenza Vaccination Week!

Via Franklin Health Dept:

"It is National Influenza Vaccination Week! 
It can take up to two weeks to build immunity after getting the flu shot. 
Find flu and COVID-19 vaccine locations near you by visiting vaccines.gov"


Franklin Health Dept: Weekly Wellness Update -> It's National Influenza Vaccination Week!
Franklin Health Dept: Weekly Wellness Update -> It's National Influenza Vaccination Week!

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Vaccines and what they do "reduce your risk of hospitalization and death"

"Rick from Maryland is among the many readers who expressed bewilderment about becoming infected despite vaccination. “My wife and I are both in our 80s with diabetes," he wrote. "We got the new vaccine as soon as it became available. Not even two weeks later, we both tested positive. We are fine other than for a stuffy nose, but we are wondering what happened. Some of our family members are against vaccines, and they are using our experience to explain why they are not getting vaccinated.”

Rick brings up an important point: We need to be clear about what the coronavirus vaccines do and what they don’t. As with every medical intervention, health-care providers must set expectations so that people don’t view anticipated outcomes — in this case, testing positive — as failures.

The most important reason to stay up-to-date on coronavirus vaccines (and the flu vaccine and RSV vaccine, for that matter) is to reduce your risk of hospitalization and death. On this front, the coronavirus vaccine has delivered consistently strong results. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the bivalent vaccine reduced the chance of critical illness by 69 percent in the week to 59 days following the shot. The protection remained three to four months later, though it diminished to 46 percent."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/12/covid-vaccine-booster-benefits-limitations-protection/

Vaccines and what they do "reduce your risk of hospitalization and death"
Vaccines and what they do "reduce your risk of hospitalization and death"

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children have just been authorized and recommended

"NEW: Updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children have just been authorized and recommended.

This means immunizations for all three major fall and winter respiratory viruses – COVID-19, flu, and RSV – are available.

Learn more at https://t.co/S2DQV6MlBv"
Shared from ->  https://t.co/Rc34cBzbq6

Updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children have just been authorized and recommended
Updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children have just been authorized and recommended

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Boston Globe: "Cold virus season is nearly upon us. Here’s what to know about new RSV, COVID, and flu shots"

"It’s almost time for seasonal viruses to return to the forefront of everyone’s minds. But, this year, there is good news: People will have more ways to protect themselves, thanks to new vaccines and injections for RSV, influenza, and COVID.

Here is what you need to know about the multiple shots doctors recommend this season."
Continue reading the Boston Globe article (subscription may be required)
A health care worker prepared to administer a vaccine.NATHALIA ANGARITA/BLOOMBERG CREATIVE
A health care worker prepared to administer a vaccine. NATHALIA ANGARITA/BLOOMBERG CREATIVE

Thursday, April 20, 2023

CDC simplifies COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, allows older adults and immunocompromised adults to get second dose of the updated vaccine | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

Based upon the FDA actions announced in this release, the CDC has updated their guidance as well.

"Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent mRNA vaccines to simplify the vaccination schedule for most individuals. This action includes authorizing the current bivalent vaccines (original and omicron BA.4/BA.5 strains) to be used for all doses administered to individuals 6 months of age and older, including for an additional dose or doses for certain populations. The monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use in the United States."
Continue reading for the FDA details ->
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-changes-simplify-use-bivalent-mrna-covid-19-vaccines


"Following FDA regulatory action, CDC has taken steps to simplify COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and allow more flexibility for people at higher risk who want the option of added protection from additional COVID-19 vaccine doses.

CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met today to discuss these COVID-19 vaccine recommendation changes, and the associated implications and implementation. Although there was no vote at this meeting, ACIP members expressed their support for these recommendations."

Continue reading for the CDC details ->
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/s0419-covid-vaccines.html

CDC simplifies COVID-19 vaccine recommendations
CDC simplifies COVID-19 vaccine recommendations


Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Annual booster for COVID-19 proposed

"US health officials want to make COVID-19 vaccinations more like the annual flu shot.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday proposed a simplified approach for future vaccination efforts, allowing most adults and children to get a once-a-year shot to protect against the mutating virus.

This means Americans would no longer have to keep track of how many shots they’ve received or how many months it’s been since their last booster.

The proposal comes as boosters have become a hard sell. While more than 80% of the US population has had at least one vaccine dose, only 16% of those eligible have received the latest boosters authorized in August."
Continue reading the article online -> 
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/23/nation/fda-lays-out-annual-covid-19-shot-plan-similar-flu/


COVID-19 vaccinations could become an annual affair.VEEJAY VILLAFRANCA/BLOOMBERG
COVID-19 vaccinations could become an annual affair. VEEJAY VILLAFRANCA/BLOOMBERG

Monday, January 9, 2023

"significantly fewer people support requirements that children be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella than did just two years ago"

"Vaccine disinformationists have cherry-picked data to support their claims, failing to note that genetic connective tissue disorders are important risk factors for ascending aortic aneurysms (and in my husband’s case the most likely risk factor, as early genetic test results suggest).

When disinformation profiteers leverage tragedies like Grant’s and Mr. Hamlin’s for their personal gain, they re-traumatize families, compromising our ability to interpret information and distinguish truth from lies and putting all of us at risk. The results of allowing this to continue will be disastrous. Merchants of disinformation argue that vaccines killed my husband, but they’re also at least in part responsible for the return of polio to the United States and the fact that so many children in Ohio are suffering from measles right now. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that while most of the public still supports routine childhood vaccinations, significantly fewer people support requirements that children be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella than did just two years ago. In December, Congress repealed a Covid vaccine mandate for troops even though doing so threatens military readiness and puts our nation’s security at risk."

Continue reading the article online - (gifted article hence long URL)

Céline  Gounder & Grant Wahl (via Céline Gounder)
Céline  Gounder & Grant Wahl (via Céline Gounder)

Friday, December 9, 2022

Franklin Health Department: Wellness Update - National Influenza Vaccination Week

It is National Influenza Vaccination Week. 
With flu cases on the rise stay protected and get vaccinated! 
To learn more visit: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

Sign up for notifications from the Health Dept ->   https://franklintown.regroup.com/network/franklintown/preferences/profile

If you already have an account, go to "Groups" and add "Health Dept"


Franklin Health Department: Wellness Update - National Influenza Vaccination Week
Franklin Health Department: Wellness Update - National Influenza Vaccination Week

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

"more worried about what the implications of that lack of trust in public health" (audio)

"When the coronavirus vaccines first emerged, they were shown to have 94 to 95 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.

It was a situation where the message from public health officials was fairly simple – get the shot and help prevent the spread of the disease. Vaccine mandates, passports, and other measures were all deemed smart public health policy.

But as variants of the disease began to appear and multiply, the vaccines couldn’t keep pace. Infections spread rapidly and Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, said public health messaging couldn’t keep up."
Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->

Listen to the Codcast interview upon which the article is based ->   https://on.soundcloud.com/Sj45J

Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center
Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center



Thursday, October 20, 2022

COVID Moderna booster clinic - Nov 2

Franklin Fire (@FranklinMAfire) tweeted on Tue, Oct 18, 2022:
The @TOFranklinMA Health Department is hosting a COVID-19 Moderna Booster Clinic on November 2nd at the Senior Center.  
For more information please see the flyer below. https://t.co/HlqvV94YBn


COVID Moderna booster clinic - Nov 2
COVID Moderna booster clinic - Nov 2

Sunday, September 11, 2022

MA offers in-home COVID-19 vaccinations - call to set an appointment

Massachusetts offers in-home COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone who has difficulty getting to or using a community clinic, including young children. 
Learn more: http://ow.ly/J96M50KofYY
To sign up for an in-home vaccination appointment, call (833) 983-0485.

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/MassGov/status/1568253496503291906 

MA offers in-home COVID-19 vaccinations - call to set an appointment
MA offers in-home COVID-19 vaccinations - call to set an appointment

Thursday, September 1, 2022

On the Health front: life expectancy drops again; polio returns to the US

"Life expectancy in the United States fell in 2021 for the second year in a row, reflecting the merciless toll exacted by covid-19 on the nation’s health, according to a federal report released Wednesday.

This is the biggest continuous decline in life expectancy at birth since the beginning of the Roaring Twenties. Americans can now expect to live as long as they did in 1996, according to provisional data released by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, life expectancy dropped from 77 years in 2020 to 76.1 years in 2021."
Continue reading the Washington Post article online (subscription maybe required) 

"Polio’s return to the US resulted from the confluence of a complicated set of scientific and societal factors that allowed a mutated version of the virus to start circulating in a susceptible community. This is the story of a life-saving vaccine with an unfortunate loophole that produced that version of the virus, and a calculated anti-vaccine campaign that created a vulnerable population."
Continue reading The Guardian article online (subscription maybe required)

A decline in life expectancy during the coronavirus pandemic marked the biggest continuous decline since the 1920s. (Brandon Dill for The Washington Post)
A decline in life expectancy during the coronavirus pandemic marked the biggest continuous decline since the 1920s. (Brandon Dill for The Washington Post)

Friday, August 5, 2022

Are you up to date on your vaccinations, including COVID-19 boosters?


Catch up on vaccines to protect yourself against serious illness.
Medicare dot gov logo

Stay up to date on your vaccines

It's especially important to stay up to date on your vaccines. Vaccines protect you from serious illness and can even keep you out of the hospital.

Talk with your doctor about which vaccines may be right for you, many of which Medicare covers: 

  • COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. Staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines (including getting all recommended boosters when eligible) will keep you best protected from severe COVID-19 illness.
  • One flu shot per flu season. The CDC recommends getting your flu shot by the end of October to stay protected throughout flu season.
  • Two different pneumococcal shots. Medicare covers the first shot at any time and a different, second shot if it's given at least one year after the first shot.

Visit Medicare.gov to see what other vaccines Medicare covers, and talk with your doctor about staying up to date on your vaccines.

Sincerely,

The Medicare Team

Thursday, August 4, 2022

Weekly Wellness Update - Franklin's COVID-19 Booster Clinic

August is Immunization Month. 

Sign up for Franklin's COVID-19 Booster Clinic: (open to those 12 and older)   https://home.color.com/vaccine/walk-up/franklin/august-2022-pfizer-booster-clinic

COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic for Ages 12+ on August 10, 2022
COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic for Ages 12+ on August 10, 2022

Saturday, July 30, 2022

COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic for Ages 12+ on August 10, 2022

The Franklin Health Department is hosting a free COVID-19 Booster Clinic for ages 12 and up on Wednesday, August 10th from 3-6 PM at the Franklin Senior Center. 

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed.

Register today via the link -> https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/franklin

COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic for Ages 12+ on August 10, 2022
COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic for Ages 12+ on August 10, 2022

Thursday, July 21, 2022

COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic Ages 12+ - August 10, 2022

COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic Ages 12+ - August 10, 2022

The Franklin Health Department is hosting a free COVID-19 Booster Clinic for ages 12 and up on Wednesday, August 10th from 3-6pm at the Franklin Senior Center. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed.

Register today: https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/franklin

Questions? Contact the Franklin Health Department here: https://www.franklinma.gov/health-department

COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic Ages 12+ - August 10, 2022
COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinic Ages 12+ - August 10, 2022

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

“Vaccines remain our single most important tool to protect people against serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths"

"The White House COVID-19 response team held a news conference Tuesday in which officials focused on the threat posed by the rise of the highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant, what people can do to protect themselves, and what steps the government is taking.

Here are some key takeaways from the remarks by White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and the nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is President Biden’s chief medical adviser."

Continue reading the article in the Boston Globe (subscription may be required) ->

Maria Garcia looks away as Sarah DiPerri, RN (right) administers a Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccine at Park Avenue Healthcare in Arlington on Nov. 9, 2021. JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF
Maria Garcia looks away as Sarah DiPerri, RN (right) administers a Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccine at Park Avenue Healthcare in Arlington on Nov. 9, 2021.JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Talk with your family about getting the little ones vaccinated against COVID-19


Medicare dot gov logo
Who should get vaccinated against COVID-19?

Talk with your family about getting the little ones vaccinated. In case you missed it, CDC now recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 6 months and older, and boosters for everyone 5 years and older.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing children from getting seriously sick.

Learn More

If your loved ones have questions, you can share these 6 important things to know about COVID-19 vaccinations for children. Visit CDC.gov for more information on COVID-19 vaccines and dosage for children and teens.

Sincerely,

The Medicare Team

Saturday, May 14, 2022

"It's possible that in the near future, a MAJORITY of people dying of COVID may be vaccinated"

Dr Thrasher (PhD at Northwestern Univ) created a Twitter thread that is share worthy:
"So today I want to write a thread I've been nervous to write. In January and February, according to CDC data, 42% of ppl who died of COVID were vaccinated. 
It's possible that in the near future, a MAJORITY of people dying of COVID may be vaccinated. 2. How can this be?..."

You can download a copy of the thread PDF ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Uo1qYm3dhbznhWaTwUhHmQ88QDsbjQU/view?usp=sharing

Or read the embedded copy here

1 million dead from COVID
1 million dead from COVID

Sunday, April 24, 2022

FM #782 - Health Director Cathleen Liberty - 04/19/22 (audio)

FM #782 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 782 in the series. 


This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Health Director Cathleen Liberty  April 19, 2022. We had our conversation via virtual conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.


The recording runs about 28 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Cathleen. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-782-health-director-cathleen-liberty-04-19-22



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Health Dept page  https://www.franklinma.gov/health-department


Health Dept - COVID reporting dashboard -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/health-department/webforms/covid-19-dashboard-portal 


Board of Health page  https://www.franklinma.gov/health-department


Sign up for Health alerts via Regroup -> https://franklintown.regroup.com/signup 


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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. 


This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

  • If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

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Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

 

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/  or www.franklin.news 


If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com


The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.


I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

 

Health Director Cathleen Liberty
Health Director Cathleen Liberty