By Dr. Michele Dikkers, Physician at Cornerstone Family Practice and GMHC, Chair of Clayton County Board of Health
With the arrival of the vaccines, there has been a lot of excitement.
There are currently two vaccines being distributed. It appears there may be a third vaccine available soon.
As the vaccine gets distributed to the states and then to the counties, each county is doing its best to get the vaccine to as many as they can.
The vaccine is typically given in the upper arm. Once given, the recipient waits 15-30 minutes, being observed for any reactions that might be considered an allergic reaction, before going home. The most recent report from the CDC is that there have only been 10 allergic reactions in 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine given. Moderna is the vaccine being used by Clayton County. The Pfizer vaccine requires storage that is not available in Clayton County.
For both Pfizer and Moderna, a second vaccination is required. The booster dose for Pfizer is at 21 days and for Moderna, 28 days. It is important to get the second dose in order to get the full protection of the vaccine.
After receiving a vaccine, it is not unusual to develop side effects over the following 36 hours. The most common side effect is a sore arm, similar to after receiving a tetanus shot. Other side effects include fatigue, feeling tired, body aches, headaches, low grade fevers and chills. Typically the symptoms resolve within 12 hours of starting.
The side effects after the first dose are not necessarily the same after the second dose. Sometimes the side effects are worse, sometimes less. The side effects are a good sign that the body is responding to the vaccine.
Having received both my first and second dose, I can confirm that the symptoms do occur. After the first dose, I had a sore arm within hours of getting the shot. The arm stayed sore for a few days. After the second dose, I felt good, until the next morning. I awoke with a headache, fatigue and body aches. I took Tylenol and went back to bed. By the afternoon, I was feeling much better, and by supper time, all of my symptoms were gone.
Multiple questions have been out there regarding if you should or shouldn’t take Tylenol or Ibuprofen before or after receiving the injection. There is a theory that taking it before the injection may dampen or reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine, however, this is not proven. In fact, it has been proven that it does not have an effect on the vaccines given to children. The current recommendation is that if you routinely take Tylenol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen, continue to take it. If not, avoid taking it prior to the vaccination. Once you have been given
the vaccine, if you start to have symptoms, it is safe and appropriate to take either Tylenol (acetaminophen), ibuprofen or other pain relievers.
If you are concerned about the symptoms you develop after being vaccinated, call and talk with your healthcare provider.
Once you have been vaccinated, it will still be important to wear your mask, wash your hands and watch your distance. The vaccine prevents you from becoming ill if you are exposed to COVID-19, however, you may still become infected with it and be able to spread it to others. When the number of active infections becomes low, and few cases are being seen, we may then be able to get rid of masks.
Clayton County Public Health is working with the Health Care Providers of Clayton County to set up clinics across the county in the coming weeks and months to distribute the vaccine as quickly as they can. Due to limited doses of vaccines available, this process will not go as quickly as we would like, but, will occur as quickly as we are able. Multiple meetings occur every week and sometimes every day, in order to be prepared for the next step or change that may occur.
Please be patient. The goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, and we are committed to doing our best.
Be Well, Be Safe and Be Kind.
By Dr. Michele Dikkers, Physician at Cornerstone Family Practice and GMHC, Chair of Clayton County Board of Health
Hurry up and wait. We all know what that is like.
Hurry to the airport to get checked in on time and then wait in line to get through security. Push your way through the crowd to the parking lot, and then get stuck in traffic. Running late to an appointment and then have to wait 30 minutes for the doctor.
UGGGHHH…we hate it. But in the end it is worth it.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hurry up and wait, seems to have been a bit of a theme. As we watched this new disease grow in China, we waited to see if it would arrive in the States.
Once it arrived, we watched to see how it would spread.
We hurried to develop plans on how to manage the possibility of an influx of patients. How many could we treat, where would we put an excess number of patients if we had to?
We developed plans for staffing. Crammed to learn all we could from others that were treating this new disease that was like nothing the medical world had ever seen.
And we waited.
We watched what was happening in New York and Italy and anywhere that was being overwhelmed with patients, knowing we could learn from them.
Then we waited.
We continued to plan and learn. And we waited for COVID-19 to arrive in Iowa. And it did.
We cared for patients with the tools that we had and waited for treatments to come. And they did…dexamethasone, remdesivir and convalescent plasma.
We’ve been waiting for vaccines, and now they are here!
We have been hurrying up and waiting again. Staff at public health and local medical facilities have been meeting for weeks, going through multiple scenarios of how, who, where and when to administer vaccines. Multiple meetings weekly have been occurring. Finalization of plans have been held up awaiting direction from the state as to who can be vaccinated, when and how many vaccines are available to each county.
The preparation has been worth it. Each time a call comes down from public health giving the next direction, they have been ready.
Last week the state gave the go ahead to start vaccinating those 65 years and older, as well as other essential workers in a step-wise fashion. Now we wait for vaccine.
As providers in Clayton County, our goal is to vaccinate as many people as we can, as soon as we can. The limiting factor at this time is the availability of the vaccine.
So, we will hurry up and wait.
We will hurry up and plan vaccination clinics, and then wait for vaccines.
So, be patient. Know that as soon as we have supplies, we will vaccinate. If you have signed up on a wait list, trust you will be contacted when clinics can be scheduled. Due to packaging and the limited doses, vaccination will be by appointment only. Appointments will be made as vaccine is available.
It will happen. It is happening.
In the meantime, even if you have been vaccinated, remember to Wear a mask, Wash your hands and Watch your distance.
Be patient as we hurry up and wait.
Be safe, Be well and Be kind, because to quote a friend, “It truly is the right thing to do”.
By Dr. Michele Dikkers, Physician at Cornerstone Family Practice and GMHC, Chair of Clayton County Board of Health
Happy New Year!
We made it. 2020 is behind us. But what awaits us in 2021? We may not know, but we will find out. Like it or not here it comes.
One thing we know is that after waiting and waiting, the vaccine is finally here.
This may be a good time for a refresher regarding the vaccines. Currently, there are 2 vaccines that have been approved for the prevention of COVID-19, one from Pfizer and the other by Moderna.
The Pfizer trial included 40,000 volunteers, the Moderna study included 30,000. Of the volunteers that developed COVID-19 after being vaccinated, only 5% of them had received the vaccine, the other 95% that became ill with COVID-19, had received the placebo, or the non-vaccine injection.
Side effects of receiving the vaccine may occur in some that receive it and could include soreness at the site of the injection, redness at the injection site, fever, chills, fatigue and headache. The side effects are listed as only lasting 24 hours. They are considered a normal reaction.
The technology for these first two vaccines was developed in 1990 and its use as a vaccine, studied for the past 10-15 years.
The distribution of the vaccine being done in phases.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)) developed a plan for distribution, based on risk, in order to be efficient and to ensure equity in distribution. At this time they have made recommendations for the first 3 phases. Each state is then able to use the recommendations to decide on how to role out the vaccination process in their state.
Phase 1a includes health care workers and nursing home/long term care facility residents. Who will be included in Phase 1b, in Iowa, was just announced by The Iowa Infectious Disease Advisory Council (IDAC). They have announced that it should include those over the age of 75 and some groups of essential workers in certain situations. Current direction by the IDAC is that all of Phase 1a needs to be completed before Phase 1b can start.
As our state continues working feverishly to finish up vaccinating Phase 1a, be assured that Clayton County has been doing their part. Our county received enough vaccine to finish Phase 1a. Our county has frequent meetings with the state and with the multiple health organizations in our county. This has allowed Clayton County to collaborate and efficiently disperse the doses.
Many counties in Iowa have finished vaccinating Phase 1a. Now we wait. We wait until the state lets us know when we can move forward.
In the meantime, the health care providers in your community are working diligently making plans to vaccinate the citizens of Clayton County. They are waiting for word from the state and the next delivery of vaccines. As soon as they get the word that Phase 1b can start, it will happen.
Be patient. We are all anxious. We are all excited and ready to help make it happen. Your turn to help and be vaccinated, will happen.
It is important to remember that wearing masks, washing your hands and watching your distance, will need to continue until the country sees a significant drop in cases. So, hang in there. Summer is just around the corner.
We truly are in this together.
Be safe, be well and be kind.