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Pfizer and BioNTech recently released research which found that the new booster generates a strong immune response against the Omicron-19 variant. Better late than never I suppose—I have already gotten mine. But hopefully the research will prove to those skeptical against getting vaccinated at all.
Make your appointment now by calling 646-4931 or 646-5050 to get your flu shot and COVID19 booster vaccination. Alliance on Aging has teamed up with the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) to provide them at The HUB which is located at 236 Monterey Street in Salinas. Bus passes and Taxi vouchers are available if transportation or parking is an issue please ask about them when you call. They will be provided from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2.
Sadly, many senior citizens have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is causing hospitalizations across the country to soar as the highly contagious delta variant spreads rapidly. The U.S. can now boast that is has a much higher share of seniors without full vaccine protection than many other wealthy countries, which means that we will likely see a disproportionate number of deaths of senior Americans compared to other developed countries. In contrast, unvaccinated seniors in Britain, Canada and Spain are very rare. Even London, which has higher rates of vaccine hesitancy among seniors than the rest of Britain, is far ahead of the United States in its vaccination rates. Thankfully, California is doing much better than other states. Low elderly vaccination rates in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana and Nevada have coincided with surging rates of hospitalizations and deaths. Next on the list are likely to be Colorado, Kansas and North Dakota which have not yet experienced severe Delta outbreaks but has low senior vaccination rates.
At last, the FDA has approved both the Pfizer and the BioNTech vaccines. They are no longer approved only for experimental use which will shoot down one of the last excuses that anti-vaxers have been using as an excuse not to get vaccinated. This is where the rubber meets the road and those not getting vaccinated are going to have to try and come up with another excuse for doing what the majority of Americans have done—get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Shortly after the approval, the Pentagon announced that it would require all active-duty military to be vaccinated (only 64% now are) and President Biden put the pressure on private companies to do the same. “Today I’m calling on more companies in the private sector to step up with vaccine requirements that will reach millions to do that,†he said. Johnson & Johnson and Moderna are expected to submit paperwork to get full approval by the end of the year. This is definitely great news as hospitalizations from COVID-19 are surging as the Delta variant continues to spread.
The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is expected to get full FDA approval next week, something that health officials are hoping will convince more non-vaxxers to get vaccinated. However, many non-vaxxers have a wide litany of excuses as to why they refuse to get vaccinated, and I am skeptical that there will be a huge influx of new vaccinations following the approval. According to a June poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 30% of non-vaccinated Americans said they would be more likely to get vaccinated when the vaccine goes from emergency use to full-approval. And although that’s not a big number, it does remain likely that more employers, both public and private, may require workers to get vaccinated. Only 60% of Americans that are eligible to be vaccinated have actually gotten one.
There were just 53 new cases of coronavirus reported in Monterey County today, bringing the total to 42,628 cases, with one new death reported.  Moderna announced today that the first children have been vaccinated in their KidCOVE study, which is testing the effectiveness of the vaccine on children from 6 months of age to 11 years old. Moderna is running a separate trial on children 12-17. Currently, the drug company only allows the vaccine to be given to people 18 and older. Nationally, the numbers are not looking that good. There were 57,083 new cases, significantly higher than the 38,034 reported the day prior. That brings the grand total to 29.486 million and deaths rose by 1.114 to 535,997. In California, there were 2,554 new cases for a total of 3.626 million, while deaths rose by 75 to 55,621. The number of cases are still significant so please stay home and stay safe as much as possible.
been able to get vaccinated yet. They are touting that they can get you vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine for just $30. It’s not true.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has arrested three people and charged them with conspiracy to commit fraud. But it’s not over. These scams are very common so stay on the alert.
Thanks to Monterey Bay Aquarium for allowing the use of their extra cold freezers to store incoming COVID-19 vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored in industrial freezers, and now the Monterey Bay area has access to one of these freezers. “We have started to see the vaccines arrive and we really see that as really our only pathway out of the pandemic,†said Andrea Rosenberg, Natividad Hospital Operations & Support Services and Assistant Administrator. “So, there’s a lot of hope and excitement at the hospital with the arrival of these vaccines,†she continued.
Each year’s vaccine introduces three to four inactive strains of influenza, which spur your body to create antibodies against the actual virus. In a four-year study from New Zealand, flu shots reduced influenza admissions by 82%! Unfortunately, the vaccine is less effective in older people, so if you are 65 or older make sure that you ask your doctor about a Fluzone High-Dose vaccine, which is four times stronger. Ordway on Alvarado Street, CVS, Rite Aid or even Safeway pharmacy has plenty of doses—and hopefully the coronavirus vaccine is coming soon as well.
Many businesses are irritated that Monterey County health officer Dr. Ed. Moreno issued a stay-at-home order effective on Monday even though the ICU bed capacity had not fallen below 15% in the Bay Area, which would have required a shutdown. It turns out he was only a few days early—ICU beds in the Bay Area fell to just 12.9% today meaning the entire Bay Area is now locked down. There were 286 new cases of coronavirus reported in Monterey County today, bringing the total to 18,507. There were 15 new hospitalizations, and two more deaths. Nationwide, there were 202K new cases, bringing the total to 16.891 million, while deaths rose by 3,620 to 305,934. The number of new cases was up by 60% over yesterday. In California, the numbers were bleak. There were 37,474 new cases (up 47% from yesterday) bringing the grand total to 1.663 million so far. Deaths more than doubled from yesterday’s 161 to today’s 354. These numbers are disturbing, please stay at home as much as possible.