January 7, 2021

Vaccine campaigns

The vaccines are starting to roll out more quickly. It has seemed frustratingly slow, but also to be expected due to the holidays, along with the planning and implementation needed for such an extensive plan.

Washington State released its ambitious plan, already behind schedule, due to the fact not all health care workers are immunized yet. I am optimistic that things will start picking up speed soon. The limiting factors seem to be the supply of vaccine and the organization needed. Details are still being worked on but it looks promising.

More vaccines being approved will help speed up the process because they can help supply. We are learning more about the real world side effects of the vaccines. Allergic reactions do seem more common than with the flu vaccine, as well as other side effects like fatigue and sore arms. The CDC has updated recommendations about people with history of allergic reactions getting the vaccine. Still, serious reactions are rare and have been managed with epinephrine. Sore arms and fatigue have been variable from person to person.

If only things were simpler, like when New York City vaccinated 6 million people in just a few weeks during a smallpox outbreak in 1947. No appointments needed, people stood in line, shots were given with no documentation necessary in charts or Electronic Medical records. This was an amazing feat that avoided a major outbreak. I loved reading about the process in this old journal that describes the outbreak.

That is an example of what can happen when we work together and we have smart and capable people as leaders. I am hoping we can move forward to get immunizations happening, If only we could give 6 million doses over a weekend, like they did in New York. That would be success.

Until then, wash your hands, cover your nose, keep safe six, and campaign for vaccines.

And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for readin

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/washington-state-releases-new-covid-19-vaccination-tiers-timeline-through-april/

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/90501

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/nyregion/nyc-smallpox-vaccine.html

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.37.11.1376