CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 06/29/2021

READ THIS FIRST: Harrison County COVID-19 hospitalization remains below 2 percent

FROM CDC VIA HOPKINS:

mRNA VACCINES & MYOCARDITIS/PERICARDITIS The US CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is meeting this week as part of ongoing evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine safety and efficacy data. A major portion of this week’s meeting addressed emerging data regarding the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis—inflammation of the heart muscle and lining around the heart, respectively—following vaccination. Researchers presented data collected from several systems the CDC uses to monitor for adverse events after vaccination.

The data indicate there is a “likely association” between the mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, and elevated risk of myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescents and younger adults, although the risk appears to be very low. The rates of myocarditis/pericarditis are higher in males than females, and the conditions are more common after the second dose of the vaccine. The analysis estimates the overall rate of myocarditis/pericarditis to be 12.6 cases per million second doses of the vaccines in individuals aged 12-39 years old. The conditions tend to present within approximately 5 days, and while most of the affected individuals were hospitalized, symptoms were generally mild and most recovered quickly. To our knowledge, neither condition has resulted in death among recently vaccinated individuals.

Importantly, the available data indicate that the benefits of vaccination still far outweigh the risks of myocarditis/pericarditis. Even for males aged 12-17 years—the group with the lowest COVID-19 risk and highest myocarditis/pericarditis risk—risk and benefit calculations* estimate that 1 million second doses of the mRNA vaccines would prevent 5,700 COVID-19 cases, 215 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths, compared to 56-69 cases of myocarditis/pericarditis. A group of prominent public health and healthcare organizations—including HHS, CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics—issued a statement emphasizing the rarity of myocarditis/pericarditis following vaccination and encouraging all eligible individuals to get vaccinated. The US FDA is expected to update associated information for the mRNA vaccines, and the CDC continues to recommend SARS-CoV-2 vaccination to all eligible age groups.

From Hopkins :

Nearly All US COVID-19 Deaths Now Preventable (CIDRAP) For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest in March of 2020 in the United States, nearly all of the deaths recorded in recent weeks were preventable, occurring in unvaccinated Americans. According to an Associated Press analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data from May, only about 150 of the more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in May were in fully vaccinated people, or less than 1%. This translates to 5 deaths per day attributed to fully vaccinated Americans experiencing breakthrough infections, and roughly 300 deaths per day in the unvaccinated.

2. Israel, Counting on Herd Immunity, Declines to Reimpose Most Restrictions As Delta Variant Spreads (Washington Post) As the surging delta coronavirus variant forces countries around the world to reinstate restrictions, Israel’s new government is standing pat, expressing faith that the country’s high vaccination rate is shielding people from the variant’s worst effects. The number of positive cases is rising, but few people are becoming seriously ill. Officials decided Sunday night that a spike in positive cases did not warrant a return to lockdown or significant restrictions, other than reinstating an indoor mask mandate dropped just two weeks ago.

22 states altered telemedicine laws during COVID-19 pandemic

AND LAST BUT NOT LEASED:

If two vegans are arguing, can you still call it a ‘beef’????