Which COVID-19 Vaccine Should One Get?
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
For updated global info & data on COVID-19, please click HERE.
For updated global data & graphs on COVID-19, please click HERE.
For COVID-19 cases and death counts in USA by state, please click HERE.
For COVID-19 cases in Florida via Florida COVID Action, please click HERE.
For COVID-19 cases in Florida, via Florida state government, please click HERE.
So far, in the U.S., 237,791,735 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed, with 77% or 183,467,709 of the doses used. Overall, 54,757,921 people or 19% of the population have been fully vaccinated. At least 117,142,879 people or 35% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
To see comparative data on vaccination progress by states, please click HERE.
To help prevent death and hospitalization associated with COVID-19, getting COVID-19 vaccinations are highly recommended. The sooner our population group reach 70%-80% of the population having been vaccinated, the sooner herd immunity will be reached.
To find the COVID-19 Vaccines near you, please click HERE.
As children between the age of 12-15 are now being considered to be vaccinated due to multiple states reported spike in children with COVID-19 cases, Pfizer has asked the FDA to expand emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents.
Remarkably low number of cases of adverse reactions have shown in all three vaccines, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, only 0.1% of the recipients have shown common side effects (dizziness, faintness, and nausea), in the video published on April 10, 2021, “Several states report adverse reactions to Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine; states report increas…” below:
As more people get vaccinated against COVID-19 every day in the US and with case numbers declining, many have started feeling optimistic that life could return to normal. But the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants around the globe could threaten that possibility if they blunt the effectiveness of available vaccines. This video reviews what we know as of April 2021 about coronavirus variants and vaccines, and implications for public health going forward, in the video published on April 7, 2021, “Coronavirus Variants and Vaccines“, below:
The way to decrease the amount of virus circulating is to get as many people vaccinated as possible, as quickly as possible, and to continue preventive measures such as mask wearing and physical distancing. Renowned virologist Shane Crotty, PhD joins us again to address the most important COVID-19 questions: Should people who’ve been vaccinated or had COVID-19 continue to wear masks and physically distance? How will each vaccine hold up to the SARS-CoV-2 variants? What does the research say about people who’ve already had COVID-19 who get a vaccine? How long will immunity last for the vaccines or COVID-19 infection? Shane Crotty is a Professor at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Crotty Lab. Prof. Crotty also has an academic appointment with the University of California San Diago, in the video published on March 25, 2021, “COVID Variants vs. Coronavirus Vaccines (AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson)+ Immunity“, below:
Vaccinations do provide protection against infections and people over age 65 has greater risk of reinfection after vaccination.
We asked Dr. Stephen Thomas, chief of Infectious Diseases at SUNY Upstate Medical University, what we need to know about the vaccines right now and what we could learn in the coming months. Watch the video for a deeper explanation about the three vaccines currently available in the U.S. — Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson. Moderna and Pfizer are messenger RNA, or mRNA vaccines and Johnson & Johnson is a viral vector vaccine. All three are designed to protect against Covid-19. According to the CDC, rather than inject the body with a weakened version of the coronavirus, these vaccines teach the body to make a protein which triggers an immune response. It’s those antibodies that our bodies produce that help keep us safe when confronted with the actual virus. Side Effects The mRNA vaccines have been administered to over 80 million people in the United States and they are safe and effective, Thomas said. Thomas was the lead principal investigator for the worldwide Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine trial. In data from the trials, Thomas noted, “The safety profile of these vaccines are all pretty similar, most people will experience some kind of pain at the site the vaccine was injected and most people say the pain is mild to moderate. Dr. Thomas also mentioned these other common side effects: • Mild to moderate headache • Mild to moderate fatigue • 30 to 40 percent of people might have muscle aches or joint pain • About ten to fifteen percent of people might develop a fever “The good news is if it’s going to happen to you, because it doesn’t happen to everyone, it happens pretty soon after you get vaccinated and once it starts it goes away within a couple of days,” Thomas said. “With Pfizer and Moderna rolling out over 80 million doses of vaccine the side effects continue to be the same as the data from the trials and we aren’t seeing any new side effects or more severe side effects,” he added. What about the variants? Work is being done in laboratories with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, testing people’s antibodies to see if the antibodies will neutralize the variants. Thomas said, “They are not as good at neutralizing those variants as they are against the predominant strain in the United States which is from China. But experiments are continuing and there is some concerning data there, which is why it’s important that we vaccinate as many people as possible, because it’s a race against the variants.” Thomas noted that the vaccines are still working at fifty to sixty-percent efficacy against the new variants. “Just to put it in context, the annual flu vaccine is about forty-five percent efficacious,” he said. How important is the two-dose vaccine time schedule? Thomas said it’s important to get these vaccines as close to the schedule as possible as they were tested in the trials. If a change is unavoidable, Thomas recommends delaying the second dose rather than getting it ahead of schedule. What is herd immunity and when will we have it? Herd immunity is achieved when enough of the population has become immune to a disease (generally through vaccinations) that it makes it difficult for that disease to spread. That would mean even those who are not immune would be protected. “Right now, about fifteen percent of the country has received at least one dose of vaccine, but that’s a far cry from the 70 to 80-percent that we are going to need to achieve herd immunity,” Thomas said. Thomas doesn’t think it’s going to be a vaccine supply issue, but more of a willingness for people to be vaccinated. “We’re vaccinating 2 million people a day, if that were to go to 3 million, and we have 320 million people in the country, we could achieve herd immunity by late summer.” in the video published on March 18, 2021, “Covid-19 vaccines: Moderna vs. Pfizer vs. Johnson & Johnson comparison“, below:
The most significant difference between Pfizer, Modern and Johnson & Johnson vaccines: Pfizer and Modern are mRNA vaccine using lipid nanoparticle as the carrier while Johnson & Johnson are viral vector vaccine using human adenovirus as the carrier. mRNA vaccine is a newer technology than the viral vector vaccine. In testing for the efficacy of Pfizer and Moderna, they looked at the ability of these two vaccines to prevent any COVID at any level of severity whereas in Johnson & Johnson trials, they looked at the ability of vaccine to prevent from moderate to severe COVID. Johnson & Johnson was tested in multiple countries (USA, Brazil, and South Africa). So all three have pretty high efficacy.
70%-80% of people need to be vaccinated before the nation would reach herd immunity. It will be more of an issue in terms of whether or not there will be enough people willing to become vaccinated rather than a supply issue.
Comparing Pfizer, Moderna, J & J vaccines for COVID-19 and which one might be better/right one for you? In the video published on April 1, 2021, “Which vaccine is BETTER for YOU? Pfizer, Modern, J & J, COVID-19“, below:
Dr. Pal’s recommendations: If given options, those who tend to have allergic reaction may be better off with Johnson & Johnson, followed by Moderna, then Pfizer. People age 16-18: only Pfizer is available; healthy 18-60 year old adults: Johnson & Johnson is a reasonable option because it is only one dose. Johnson & Johnson is also better for those who had been exposed to viral vector based vaccine when they were young (esp. Indian population); for those who are 60+ or with chronic underlying conditions, Pfizer or Moderna may be preferred for the slightly higher efficacy compared to Johnson & Johnson. Between Pfizer and Moderna, Pfizer has 4.7 cases per 1 million dose with allergic reaction while Moderna has 2.5 cases per 1 million doses with allergic reaction. Currently Johnson & Johnson is working on a nasal spray vaccine. Please get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Younger adults tend to have more reactions after the second dose of Pfizer and Moderna than older adults. These reactions tend to subside after 24-48 hours.
More countries are approving different COVID-19 vaccines to try to control the pandemic, and the drug makers are touting varying levels of protection. That’s led to a belief that some vaccines are better than others. AstraZeneca vials are sitting unused in France and Germany, and it’s reported people are cancelling their appointments in favor of getting a Pfizer shot. Health experts say people should take whichever vaccine is available. So who is right? In the video published on March 3, 2021, “Are some COVID-19 vaccines better than others? Inside Story“, below:
How it works. mRNA vaccine (Pfizer, Moderna), DNA & Viral vector vaccines (Johnson & Johnson (J&J, JNJ), Oxford-AstraZeneca, Inovio, Sputnik V); protein/peptide vaccine (Novavax, EpiVacCorona), conventional inactivated (CoronaVac of Sinovac, Covaxin). Mechanism of each type of coronavirus vaccines explained. Vaccine-induced immune response as compared to natural immunity, in the video published on Jan 27, 2021, “All Types of COVID-19 Vaccines, How They Work, Animation“, below:
UVA Critical Care and Infectious Disease physician, Taison Bell, says he was excited about the availability of the one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from J&J. He explains how the vaccine works and addresses concerns that people may have about the vaccine’s efficacy numbers, in the video published on March 25, 2021, “Infectious Disease Doctor Calls J&J COVID-19 Vaccine “A Game Changer”“, below:
Mayo Clinic Insights: Dr. Swift discusses what an adenovirus is and how the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine works. For more up to date information about COVID-19, visit https://mayocl.in/3aUioXa in the video published on March 25, 2021, “Mayo Clinic Insights: How the the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine works“, below:
With a valuable third vaccine offering protection in the battle against COVID-19, Onisis Stefas, PharmD, Northwell’s chief pharmacy officer, discusses how the J&J vaccine works, its efficacy and what it means for relieving the pandemic, in the video published on March 29, 2021 “Ep. 21: Breaking down the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 20-Minute Health Talk“, below:
Dr. Dean Blumberg, Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, explains how the new Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine works and answers common questions, including why it’s different from other coronavirus vaccines, how side effects compare to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and more, in the video published on March 2, 2021, “Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine: Effectiveness, Side Effects and Differences Between Vaccines“, below:
How To Figure Out Which Covid Vaccine Is Right For You? The Dr. Oz Show is an American daytime television talk series. Each episode has segments on health, wellness and medical information, including true crime stories and celebrity interviews, in the video published on March 4, 2021, “How To Figure Out Which Covid Vaccine Is Right For Your?” below:
Long flight ahead? Sitting all day at the office? You may be at risk for developing a blood clot in your veins. On The Doctors, Pfizer’s Chief Medical Officer Freda Lewis-Hall, M.D. details the risk factors and talks tips to help prevent blood clots, in the video published on Feb 9, 2015, “Blood Clots – Know Your Risk and Get Your Blood Pumping“, by clicking: Blood Clots – Know Your Risks and Get Your Blood Pumping – YouTube
Johns Hopkins University Professor of Nursing Jason Farley discusses the risk of blood clots in Covid-19 patients, vaccine supply and demand, and the risk of increasing infections as states begin to reopen. He speaks on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” The Bloomberg School of Public Health is supported by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, in the video published on March 12, 2021, “Covid-19 Blood Clot Risk Rises With Age: Johns Hopkins“, below:
Since there seems to be increased risk of blood clot associated with COVID-19, please view these posts below:
Be sure to consult your physician regarding the use of any food or supplements or exercises for the purpose of preventing blood clots.
Blood-thinning foods, drinks, and supplements
According to the post above, the natural blood thinners that would help to reduce the chance of blood clots are:
- turmeric
- ginger
- cayenne peppers
- vitamin E (food containing vitamin E: almonds, safflower oil, sunflower oil, sunflower seeds, wheat germ oil, whole grains)
- garlic
- cassia cinnamon
- ginkgo biloba
- grape seed extract
- dong quai
- feverfew
- bromelain
Videos below are ways to help prevent blood clots from occurring:
The video is published on Aug 23, 2019, “How To Stop a Blood Clot Before It Starts“, below:
This video is published on April 15, 2015, “How Do I Prevent Blood Clots?” below:
In the video published on Jan 28, 2016, “Blood Clots: How to Prevent Them from Happening to You“, below:
To help prevent death and hospitalization associated with COVID-19, getting COVID-19 vaccinations are highly recommended. The sooner our population group reach 70%-80% of the population having been vaccinated, the sooner herd immunity will be reached.
To find the COVID-19 Vaccines near you, please click HERE.
Please continue wearing mask or face covering and observe physical social distancing.
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
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