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Covid-19 vaccine
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2021-09-07
Thoughts on Covid-19 Vaccine and Blood Clots: Social Media Screenshots
As someone who has studied the history of disease and epidemics, I know that disease causes widespread fear and panic. The uncertainties and unknowns of disease cause people to question themselves, others, and even medical professionals. Sometimes, questioning and being skeptical is what saves lives. For example, questioning Dr. Rush's treatment methods in the yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia or questioning miasma theory during the outbreaks of cholera in London. Recently, there have been cases of blood clots as a result of the Covid-19 vaccine. This is a screenshot of what WHO has to say about the blood clots and a comment from myself. While I would love to get the vaccine, and I was originally hopeful about getting it, I'm too scared and unsure what to do. Although WHO says cases of blood clots are rare, there are still many people like myself who are skeptical and only want to make the right decision for their own health and life. With talk of possible mandated vaccines, I am uncertain about what the future will look like for me and others like me. -
2021-03-12
Finally Eligible to be Vaccinated
I am on Twitter. I have used Twitter as a news source since before the pandemic broke in early 2020. This is a screen shot of how I learned my husband (who has pre-existing medical conditions & is 43 years old) & I ( 38 years old) would be eligible to get vaccinated. I will never forget this moment. I felt elated, joyful, & relieved. It was like a cloud that I didn’t even know was looming over me had lifted. -
2021-03-02
'Persistent gap' nationwide in COVID plans for people with disabilities, advocates say
This story resonated with me. While I was able to get the Covid-19 shot because I am a teacher, my disabled husband is not covered in any Tiers for the shot. We have no idea when he might be able to get the Covid-19 vaccine and it is scary for us. Why on earth would they not consider such a vulnerable population as a priority for the Covid-19 vaccine. -
2021-01-27
Covid-19 Vaccines Mean an End to Isolation at a Retirement Home
Retirement home residents have started to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. For many, this means they can visit loved ones in different care units and see family. However, high COVID-19 rates are keeping some retirement and other care homes from letting their residents visit or have visitors. -
2021-01-16
My Experience with the COVID-19 Vaccine
Through my job, I was privileged enough to be able to receive both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. My first dose went fine, and I had no ill effects besides a pretty sore arm for about a day. I had heard the second dose was a little more brutal and consequently I was slightly nervous when the day came. As a pharmacy intern and pharmacy major, I am a proponent of the vaccine (and all vaccines) and was excited to receive it. Also, as a college student I am ready for life to go back to as normal as possible. Virtual education is undeniably more difficult, and I saw the vaccine as a step in the “normal” direction. My boyfriend drove me up for the second dose and as I had heard helped, I took two ibuprofen tablets before going in. The first thing I noticed that was different was the shot itself. Quite honestly, the second shot HURT. The first one was just a pinch and analogous to a normal vaccine. The second shot was immediately more painful, and my arm was bleeding. The pain quickly passed as I sat for the 15 minutes of observation afterwards. I felt okay, went home, and proceeded throughout my day normally. I was relieved that it had gone well…until that night. As I tried to go to bed that night, I noticed my stomach was not feeling well but I figured I would feel better in the morning. Shortly after, I began to shake violently. I had such bad chills and could not go to sleep because I was shaking so badly. My muscles began to ache as time went on, but I could not control them. In the morning I noticed I had bruises. The arm I got vaccinated in throbbed and I began to feel very nauseous. These symptoms went on for hours and I did not fall into a restless sleep until 3am. The next few days I gradually felt better, but I barely left my bed. Luckily, the semester had yet to start so I could afford to have some lazy days. I felt so fatigued and just off. The arm in which I had been vaccinated remained bruised and painful for just over a week and my lymph nodes became quite inflamed. All of these symptoms are normal after receiving the vaccine, according to a pamphlet about the Pfizer vaccine given to me during my first dose. After two weeks I felt completely normal, but I wish I would have known what to expect after the second dose. I do not want my story to make people afraid of the vaccine because if I could go back, I would still receive both doses. The symptoms I experienced were no joke though, and I was not expecting to be hit as hard as I was. No vaccine has ever impacted me like that, and it was a rude awakening for my immune system. I have since come to find out that I am not alone in my symptoms and that about 70% of people have similar symptoms after receiving the vaccine. I am slightly concerned about the long-term effects of the vaccine because obviously these effects have not been studied. However, I am thankful I had the opportunity to receive the vaccine, and I am also thankful I had this opportunity to share my experience with it to hopefully help others feel more prepared should they choose to receive it. -
12/07/2020
Opposition questions Yukon vaccine plan, after learning territory left out of 1st batch
The first batch of COVID vaccine of nearly 250,000 doses will be available before the end of the year, but none will go to the territories. The North lacks the freezers required to store the Pfizer vaccine, which the company says requires a freezer at –80 C to –60 C or in a thermal container at –90 C to –60 C. -
12/10/2020
Moderna vaccine to be available to 75% of 'eligible population' in N.W.T in early 2021
The Northwest Territories government expects the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 to be available to 75 per cent of the territory's "eligible population" in "early 2021," according to a media advisory issued Thursday afternoon. -
2020-09-28
"Vaccine Chaos is Looming"
As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches its one year anniversary, many are hoping that a vaccine will soon become available at their local pharmacy, clinic, or hospital. Unfortunately, this is very unlikely to be the case, as several problems will inhibit vaccine distribution . In an article for The Atlantic Monthly that was published on September 28, 2020, journalist Sarah Zhang provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the logistical problems associated with manufacturing prospective COVID-19 vaccines and distributing them across the United States. Zhang begins the article by noting that while some vaccine candidates have progressed very far in clinical trials, the ones that have are also the most difficult to distribute and deploy in the field. This is due to a variety of reasons, the most prominent being the method used to manufacture the vaccine (i.e mRNA encoding), which is a new, experimental method used to manufacture vaccines rapidly. While this technology has sped up vaccine production, it has come at the expense of convenience, as the prospective vaccines by Pfizer and BioNTech require specialized storage containers to maintain the dosage vials at extremely cold temperatures (-94 Fahrenheit). According to Zhang, this need for extreme refrigeration presents a logistical bottleneck for the distribution and deployment of prospective vaccines. Indeed, according to Zhang, federal, state, and local health departments are making plans for what will most likely be the most ambitious logistical operation in medical history. Logistical problems will be further compounded by issues concerning the lack of preservatives in some vaccines (to speed up production) and the difficulty of delivering dosages to rural areas relative to urban cities. Furthermore, incomplete electronic medical registries in some local areas will make it difficult for health officials to know who exactly needs the vaccine and who should be prioritized when they first become available. In sum, the rapid production methods used by some prospective COVID-19 vaccines will make them more difficult to distribute and deploy in the field. The need to store some in extremely cold temperatures will raise the costs of transportation and make it extremely difficult to deliver dosages to people living in hard to reach areas of the United States. Furthermore, the incomplete electronic medical registries of some local areas will make it more difficult to know if patients are taking the appropriate number of vaccine doses, which are needed to be completely effective. To paraphrase Zhang, these issues will make the first COVID-19 vaccines to be released to be insignificant, as they will not be widely distributed.