SEPTEMBER 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 73
PRESS HEALTH
COVID-19 ROUNDUP
LATEST PANDEMIC HEADLINES
U.S. TO BEGIN COVID-19
VACCINE BOOSTERS
The U.S. government said on Aug.
18 it plans to make Covid-19 vaccine
booster shots widely available starting
on Sept. 20 as infections rise from the
coronavirus Delta variant, citing data
indicating diminishing protection from
the vaccines over time.
U.S. officials are prepared to offer a third
shot to Americans who completed their
initial inoculation in two-dose Covid-19
vaccines made by Moderna Inc and by
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech AG at least eight
months ago, the Department of Health
and Human Services said in a statement
Initial booster doses will be given to
Americans who received the two-dose
vaccines, but U.S. health officials said
they anticipate that people who received
the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot,
the other Covid-19 vaccine approved in
the United States, will also need boosters.
The United States did not begin
administering J&J shots until March.
The booster shots initially will focus upon
healthcare workers, nursing home
residents and older people, among the
first groups to be vaccinated in late 2020
and early 2021, top U.S. health officials
said in a joint statement.
-Reuters
FDA FULLY OKS PFIZERBIONTECH
COVID-19
VACCINE
The U.S. drug regulator on Aug. 23
granted full approval to the Pfizer Inc/
BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine that had
earned emergency-use authorization in
December, making it the first to secure
such Food and Drug Administration
validation as health authorities struggle
to win over vaccine skeptics.
The FDA approved the two-dose vaccine
for use in people age 16 and older. Public
health officials hope the action will convince
more unvaccinated Americans
that Pfizer‘s shot is safe and effective.
Vaccine hesitancy among some Americans
has hindered the U.S. response to
the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While millions of people have already
safely received Covid-19 vaccines,
we recognize that for some, the FDA
approval of a vaccine may now instill
additional confidence to get vaccinated,”
said Janet Woodcock, the FDA’s acting
commissioner.
U.S. health officials also expect that
the full approval will prompt more
state and local governments, as well as
private employers, to employ vaccine
mandates.
-Reuters
NY HEALTHCARE
WORKERS ORDERED TO
GET COVID-19 VACCINE
All New York State healthcare workers
will need to be vaccinated against
Covid-19 by Sept. 27, according to a mandate
from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo
announced Aug. 16.
The vaccine mandate applies to staff
workers at state hospitals and long-term
care facilities such as nursing homes,
adult-care and other congregate care
settings.
According to data released by the state
Department of Health, 75 percent of
the state’s hospital workers, 74 percent
of the adult-care facility workers and
68 percent of the state’s nursing home
workers are fully vaccinated.
-Reuters
SCHUMER SEEKS TO
STOP DEALERS OF FAKE
COVID-19 VACCINATION
CARDS
Some shameless people will go to great
lengths to avoid getting a Covid-19 vaccine
– including spending money to buy
fake vaccination cards on the internet,
according to Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Counterfeit card makers both at home
and overseas are producing and selling
the fake vaccination documents, undermining
the national effort to vaccinate
people against the deadly Covid-19
virus. Schumer said on Aug. 15 that the
illegal enterprisers are profiting at the
expense of public health, and the time
had come for the federal government to
step up and take action.
During an Aug. 15 press conference at
his Manhattan office, Schumer urged
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), the FBI and the Department of
Health and Human Services to unite in a
national crackdown against the vaccine
card counterfeiters. He also called for
the federal government to embark on
a national campaign reminding Americans
that the counterfeit operation is
not only dangerous, but illegal.
Creating or using falsified vaccination
cards is a violation of Title 18, U.S. Code,
Section 1017, and other applicable laws,
punishable by a fine and up to five years
behind bars.
“Fake vaccination cards have been
advertised on social media, blogs and
more, and now, new signs point to a
ramp-up production of fake cards with
government logos overseas via countries
like China,” Schumer said. “That’s
why we need a federal crackdown and
an educational campaign to make clear
this is illegal, and that there is an even
easier solution for those who are looking
to buy or sell fake vaccine cards —
and it is to get the vaccine.”
-Robert Pozarycki
DELTA SPREADS ‘LIKE
WILDFIRE’ AS DOCTORS
STUDY WHETHER IT
MAKES PATIENTS SICKER
With a new wave of Covid-19 infections
fueled by the Delta variant striking
countries worldwide, disease experts
are scrambling to learn whether the
latest version of coronavirus is making
people — mainly the unvaccinated —
sicker than before.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention warned that Delta, first
identified in India and now dominant
worldwide, is “likely more severe” than
earlier versions of the virus, according
to an internal report made public on
July 30.
The agency cited research in Canada,
Singapore, and Scotland showing that
people infected with the Delta variant
were more likely to be hospitalized than
patients earlier in the pandemic.
In interviews with Reuters, disease
experts said the three research papers
suggest a greater risk from the variant,
but the study populations are limited
and the findings have not yet been
reviewed by outside experts. Doctors
treating patients infected with Delta
described a more rapid onset of Covid-19
symptoms, and in many regions an
overall increase in serious cases.
But the experts said more work is
needed to compare outcomes among
larger numbers of individuals in epidemiological
studies to sort out whether
one variant causes more severe disease
than another.
In addition, it is likely that the extraordinary
rate of Delta transmission is
also contributing to a greater number
of severe cases arriving at hospitals, the
experts said.
Delta is as contagious as chickenpox and
far more contagious than the common
cold or flu, according to the CDC report.
-Reuters
A man receives his first dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine in Valley Stream.
(REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
