COVID-19 Vaccine Resources

• California Department of Public Health (CDPH), 5/12, California to Open Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccination Appointments for 12-15 Age Group. Following FDA Authorization, Federal and State Safety Review Experts Recommend the Vaccine as Safe and Effective at Protecting Young People 12+. READ MORE

• Associated Press (AP), 5/4, US parents excited over prospects of virus shots for children. After more than a year of fretting over her 13-year son with a rare liver disease, Heather Ousley broke into tears when she learned that he and millions of other youngsters could soon be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. READ MORE

• The Atlantic, 5/4/21, The Era of Mass Vaccinations Is Ending. To reach the remaining holdouts, America’s approach to vaccine distribution is going hyperlocal. READ MORE

• NPR KPCC, 5/1/21, COVID ‘Doesn’t Discriminate by Age’: Serious Cases on the Rise In Younger Adults. After spending much of the past year tending to elderly patients, doctors are seeing a clear demographic shift: young and middle-aged adults make up a growing share of the patients in COVID-19 hospital wards. READ MORE

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Key Things to Know about COVID-19 Vaccines, 4/27/21, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. READ MORE

• Beckers Hospital Review, 4/22/21, Daily vaccination rate has dropped 11% in last week. The pace of daily COVID-19 vaccinations in the U.S. has slowed significantly in the last week for the first time since February, The Washington Post reported April 21. READ MORE

• Endpoints News, 4/21/21, As fears mount over J&J and As­traZeneca, No­vavax en­ters a shaky spot­light. As concerns rise around the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, global attention is increasingly turning to the little, 33-year-old, productless, bankruptcy-flirting biotech that could: Novavax. READ MORE

• Voice of OC, 4/19/21, Orange County and State Health Officials Gearing Up for more Neighborhood Vaccination Clinics to Hardest Hit Areas. Orange County’s public health officials, hospitals and community clinics are gearing up to vaccinate more residents as state and local officials are pushing to host more coronavirus vaccination clinics in neighborhoods most impacted by the virus.  READ MORE

• ABC7.com, 4/16/21, 50% of Californians 16 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. California on Friday reached an encouraging milestone in the pandemic, with officials announcing that half of residents 16 and older have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. READ MORE

• CDPH , 4/13/21, State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts. Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including updated data and tiers for reducing COVID-19 in the state under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. READ MORE

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4/13/21, Joint CDC and FDA Statement on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine. As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. READ MORE

• CHOC Children’s Hospital Media, 4/13/21, COVID-19 Update from a Pediatric Infectious Disease Doctor, Dr. Singh, on educational messages for teachers, community leaders, and the community. SEE VIDEO

• CDC, Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine, 4/12/21, COVID-19 vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19. READ MORE

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4/2/21, When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated, COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic. READ MORE

• Becker’s Hospital Review, 4/2/21, Fully vaccinated people can travel: CDC revises guidelines. Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can travel "at low risk to themselves," both within the U.S. and internationally, but must still continue social distancing and mask-wearing, according to new CDC guidance. READ MORE

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations and FAQs, 4/1/21, The COVID-19 vaccine is our best hope for ending the current pandemic. While the goal will be to administer vaccine to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, vaccine supply will be limited initially. As a new vaccine, there are many questions that pediatricians and patients/families have. Below are answers to some of the most common questions. READ MORE

• CNN News, 4/1/21, Ongoing trial shows Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine remains highly effective after six months. Protection likely lasts even longer than that, vaccine experts say, but they say having data showing good protection six months after people were vaccinated is good news.
  
  The vaccine remains more than 91% effective against disease with any symptoms for six months, the companies said in a statement. And it appeared to be fully effective against the worrying B.1.351 variant of the virus, which is the dominant strain circulating in South Africa and which researchers feared had evolved to evade the protection of vaccines, the companies said. READ MORE

• NPR News, 3/25/21, Few Facts, Millions of Clicks: Fearmongering Vaccine Stories Go Viral Online.  The odds of dying after getting a COVID-19 vaccine are virtually nonexistent. According to recent data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, you're three times more likely to get struck by lightning. READ MORE

• Cal OES News, 3/25/21, State Expands Vaccine Eligibility to 50+ Californians Starting April 1 and All Individuals 16+ on April 15 Based on Expected Supply Increases. Starting April 1, individuals aged 50+ will be eligible to make an appointment, and individuals 16+ will be eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated starting on April 15. READ MORE

• CDPH Fact Sheet, 3/11/21, Vaccines for People with High-Risk Medical Conditions or Disabilities. On March 15, people with certain significant, high-risk medical conditions or disabilities will become eligible for vaccines statewide, to help save the lives of people who are at high-risk of death and severe complications from COVID-19. READ MORE

• CDC, 3/8/21, CDC issues first Set of Guidelines on How Fully Vaccinated People Can Visit Safely with Others. Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its first set of recommendations on activities that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely resume. READ MORE

News and Information Archive

• Herd Immunity is Only Possible with a Vaccine by Bernadette Boden-Ablala, MPH, DrPH; Dan M. Cooper MD; Clayton Chau, MD, PhD; Casey Dorman, PhD
  • There has been much debate around the concept of herd immunity since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a public health term, the idea of herd immunity is that if enough people are protected against an infection because they have been exposed and developed antibodies, transmission of the infection slows and ultimately new outbreaks are halted because much of the population is no longer susceptible. Some people suggest that COVID-19 can best be controlled by allowing the virus to run its course and achieve enough numbers of infected persons to reach herd immunity. We suggest that there is some confusion about the use of this term and that there are strong reasons for not pursuing that approach. READ MORE

• Trust the Truth: Not the Myths by Casey Dorman, PhD (Updated 4/27/21)
  • Vaccines are not being given to children and adolescents because they have not yet been tested with that age, not because they have been found to be dangerous to children and adolescents. READ MORE