Marin County’s public well being officer is encouraging residents contemplating a COVID-19 vaccination to take motion.
“We recommend that anyone 6 months or older who has not received their 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine get it now,” Santora stated Wednesday. “It’s possible that by this fall there will be limited access to vaccines due to evolving policies at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Santora’s suggestion comes after Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. introduced on Might 27, in a 58-second video clip on the social media website X, that the CDC would not be recommending the COVID vaccine for wholesome youngsters or pregnant ladies.
“A statement like that creates confusion and undermines trust in vaccine safety and efficacy,” Santora stated.
Usually, a committee throughout the CDC, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), makes suggestions to the CDC director about who ought to obtain vaccines. The director almost at all times follows their steerage. The CDC at the moment has no director.
“Kennedy has sidestepped that,” the well being officer stated.
As of Tuesday, the CDC hadn’t amended its on-line suggestion that wholesome youngsters 6 months to 17 years previous be administered the vaccine. The change, nonetheless, got here Wednesday morning.
“They just changed the CDC website,” Santora stated. “Wow, that is in real time. Now they say routine vaccines are only recommended for individuals 18 years and older who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised.”
Below the brand new steerage, youngsters 6 months and older might obtain COVID-19 vaccinations, if dad and mom’ selections are “informed by the clinical judgment of a health care provider.”
Concerning Kennedy’s pronouncement that the vaccines would not be really helpful for pregnant ladies, Santora stated, “Again, Kennedy is not following the standard process and procedures within the CDC. In the CDC guidance, pregnancy is identified as a risk factor. So pregnancy would be considered a condition that would make someone eligible for COVID vaccine.”
Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, a distinguished member of the ACIP, resigned from the committee on Tuesday in protest. Santora stated Panagiotakopoulos offered knowledge displaying that unvaccinated pregnant ladies who contract COVID-19 usually tend to require hospitalization and that their infants’ well being suffers as effectively. From delivery to six months, infants are believed to face a threat of hospitalization akin to adults ages 65 to 74.
“There’s a strong recommendation that pregnant women do get vaccinated because it provides protection to the infant,” Santora stated.
The general public well being officer stated the general public’s alternative relating to vaccination might also be restricted by the Meals and Drug Administration. The FDA authorizes up to date variations of the vaccine developed to raised match the most recent COVID-19 variants.
Santora stated the Moderna vaccine developed to be used this fall has been authorised by the FDA just for people 12 years and older. Dr. Martin Makary, who heads the FDA, appeared along with Kennedy within the Might 27 video clip.
Santora stated the modifications within the CDC suggestion and the FDA authorization might have an effect on the willingness of insurance coverage corporations to pay for the vaccines.
Kaiser Permanente didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Santora stated low-income Marin residents should go to native pharmacies to obtain their vaccinations following reductions in federal funding for buy of the vaccine.
Colleges don’t require that youngsters get vaccinated for COVID-19. Nonetheless, Santora is anxious that Kennedy, a vocal vaccine skeptic, might push for diminished use of vaccinations for different ailments.
“RFK and his colleagues have been very clear about believing that children are receiving more vaccines than they should be receiving,” Santora stated. “This may mark the beginning of major changes in federal policies that could affect access to childhood vaccines that have significantly reduced hospitalizations and mortality from vaccine preventable diseases.”
Santora stated that testing of Marin County wastewater signifies that the presence of COVID-19 within the county is at the moment low. Through the week ending Might 24, there have been two COVID-19 sufferers hospitalized in Marin County. The final surge of COVID-19 circumstances in Marin got here in August 2024. At present about 31% of the county’s residents are updated with their COVID-19 vaccinations.
“It’s been a delightful six months,” stated Dr. John Swartzberg, medical professor emeritus of infectious ailments and vaccinology on the College of California at Berkeley. “We can’t be very sure about what this virus is going to do, but there are very good infectious disease epidemiologists who argue that we will see a summer surge.”
Stated Santora: “People forget until they get sick with it. They underestimate their risk. Based on previous patterns I expect to see an increase in infections.”
Bay Space Information Group contributed to this report.
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