More than 1,000 Montage Health COVID-19 vaccine appointments fill up in 39 minutes – KSBW Monterey

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SHOULD BE RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM THEIR EMPLOYERS ABOUT THE CLINICS. # THE PFIZER AND MODERNA COVID-19 VACCINES ARE NOW BEING ROLLED OUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. ACTION NEWS 8 ANCHOR LAUREN SEAVER SPOKE WITH TWO LOCAL INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERTS LAST WEEK…. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT THE VACCINES DO AND HOW LONG THEY WILL PROTECT YOU. . COVID-19 VACCINES ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS, FIRST RESPONDERS, AND THOSE LIVING IN NURSING HOMES. SO THE QUESTION MOST OF US MAY BE ASKING…WHEN IS IT MY TURN? BUT THERE ARE A FEW áOTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COVID-19 VACCINE, WE WANT TO ASK THE EXPERTS. FIRST, WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT DO? Dr. Blum: 22.19 It was very effective from preventing people from getting ill from coronavirus infection. That’s what that 95% efficacy was…of all the vaccine recipients, virtually none of them got severely ill. And in the very small number that did get ill, they all had very mild disease. The next thing that we’d like to know is whether we’re all vaccinated, will that prevent the virus from being spread in the community person to person. We just don’t know that yet. 51 -32 WHICH IS WHY HEALTH EXPERTS SAY WE áWILL STILL BE WEARING MASKS, WASHING HANDS, AND PRACTICING PHYSICAL DISTANCING… EVEN áAFTER BEING VACCINATED… UNTIL THEY CAN GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHETHER THE VACCINE NOT ONLY PREVENTS DISEASE… BUT ALSO PREVENTS TRANSMISSION. SO ONCE YOU GET A COVID VACCINE…HOW LONG WILL IT PROTECT YOU? Dr. Radner: 09.27 We just don’t know. There’s a lot of literature coming out that even if antibodies wain, your immune system, memory t cells, memory b cells, they can rapidly make antibodies, you may have protection for a very long time. 42 (butt to) 09.47 Our hope is that you’re going to have immunity for a very long time and our hope is that the virus doesn’t mutate significantly. The likelihood is that every few years you may need a booster. We just don’t have the answers to those questions. 00 -28 IF YOU’VE HAD COVID- 19–DO YOU STILL NEED TO GET VACCINATED? YES. DR. RADNER SAYS THE RECOMMENDATION, IS WAITING THREE MONTHS TO 90 DAYS áAFTER INFECTION, TO GET A COVID VACCINE. RIGHT NOW, THE PFIZER AND MODERNA VACCINES ARE áONLY AVAILABLE FOR THOSE 16 AND OLDER. CLINICAL TRIALS ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY FOR CHILDREN 12 AND OLDER… AND DR. BLUM BELIEVES ONCE DOSING IS FIGURED OUT, THE VACCINE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 12. ANOTHER QUESTION IS THE SAFETY OF THE VACCINE IN PREGNANT WOMEN… Dr. Blum 20.26 The recommendation is that women discuss it with their health care provider. 31 It is not an absolute ‘dont get it’ and in fact the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology have said on balance there’s a benefit to getting the vaccine that outweighs any theoretical risk because we do know that pregnant women are at risk for getting more severe covid-19 and they’re also at risk for having preterm labor from covid-19. 21.01 -35 LASTLY, WE ALL WANT TO KNOW…HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO BE VACCINATED TO REACH HERD IMMUNITY. Dr. Radner: 15.06 Some infections like measles require 98% of the population has to be immune. Other infections are considerably lower. We just don’t know with COVID- 19. Most of the infectious disease people that I follow are saying probably around 70% of