CDC Recommends Nursing Homes and Health Care Workers Get COVID-19 Vaccines First
A U.S. advisory panel says the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine should be given to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. The Advisory [Committee] on Immunization Practices advises the Centers for Disease Control and voted Tuesday that, with initial doses expected to be scarce, frontline health workers are a top priority. […]
Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines Produce ‘Significantly Noticeable’ Side Effects
The chief scientist for the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS) program aimed at facilitating development of COVID-19 vaccines confirmed on Dec. 1, 2020 that 10-15 percent of the volunteers, who participated in clinical trials to test the safety and effectiveness of experimental vaccines developed by Pfizer, Inc. (in partnership with BioNTech SE) and Moderna, […]
DC Bill B23-0171 Allowing Children 11 Years and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances
Opinion | On Oct. 7, 2020, during a hastily scheduled virtual meeting,1 four District of Columbia Council members making up the Health Committee2 amended and unanimously passed a minor consent bill, B23-0171.3 The bill would not only permit children aged 11 years and older to give consent for doctors and other vaccine administrators to give them […]
ACIP Updates Influenza Vaccine Guidelines for Seniors
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new updates for influenza vaccines for 2020–2021 “flu season,” primarily for Fluzone and Fluad vaccines. In November 2019, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed inactivated injectable Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent (HD-IIV4) for use in persons aged […]
Virginia Health Commissioner Wants to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine
Virginia’s Commissioner of Health Dr. Norman Oliver, MD said on Aug. 21, 2020 that he intends to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for all residents of Virginia as soon as a vaccine is available. “[Coronavirus] is killing people now, we don’t have a treatment for it and if we develop a vaccine that can prevent it from […]
Pharmacists, Pharmacy Interns Given Green Light to Vaccinate Children
Under an amendment to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP), pharmacists and pharmacy interns in the United States are now permitted to administer vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to children over three years of age.1 Currently, there are 28 states that allow pharmacists to administer vaccinations to […]