YOUR BEST LIFE
Staying Healthy this Winter
Interview by Renee Roberson
What you need to know about COVID-19 and flu vaccines With the winter months upon us, we asked Dr. Walter Meadors, a physician with Piedmont HealthCare, for some advice on COVID-19 and flu vaccines. Below are his responses about the current recommend guidelines. Q: What is the status on recommended boosters for Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines? A: In late October 2021, the CDC and FDA recommended booster vaccination injections in order to bolster waning immunity and protection six months after receiving the second shot of Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccine for the following: • People aged 65 and older, those aged 18 and older with significant medical conditions (Cancer, chronic kidney, liver, lung and heart disease and diabetes for example), • Those 18 and older who reside in long term care settings, and those 18 and older who have increased COVID-19 risks related to work (first responders, education staff, correction institution staff, transit and postal workers for example) or live in institutional settings such as prison and detention facilities as well as dormitory settings. All people aged 18 and older who have received the J&J vaccine should receive a booster injection 2 months after their first shot. In future schedules the J&J vaccine will be offered as a two shot series. Q: Do you recommend getting a booster that is different from the first vaccine you had? (Example: Having your first two doses of Moderna, and then getting a booster shot for Pfizer). A: The FDA and CDC have approved mixing or matching booster vaccination for any U.S. authorized vaccine. There is no definite recommendation as to which vaccine one should obtain. Some things to consider: changing vaccines if you had a significant side effect from your primary vaccination; consider using either Moderna or Pfizer if you received J&J vaccine as it may significantly increase your immunity. Q: Which vaccines have been approved for administration to children ages 5-12 years? What should parents consider before deciding on the vaccine for their child?
A: At this time Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine is the only one that has received an Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA for children aged 5-11. The dose is 1/3 the adult dose and has been reformulated for use in children to minimize any possibility of dosing errors. The Pfizer mRNA vaccine certainly is the Rolls-Royce of vaccines for children in terms of ingredients, side effects, safety, and effectiveness. It is perhaps the most “pure,” by that I mean it is not live, contains no thimerosal, mercury, aluminum, fetal cells, egg products, gelatin, latex preservatives, or pork products. The volume of the shot is tiny, and it hardly stings at all. Some parents may have a difficult time deciding to get their children vaccinated for COVID. Most pediatricians and infectious disease experts recommend vaccination. While childhood infections tend to be mild, there have been over 600 U.S. pediatric deaths caused by COVID as well as thousands of hospitalizations and increasing awareness of long COVID in children. For comparison, there were 199 US pediatric deaths due to influenza in the respiratory season of 2019-2020. Side effects were similar or less than the 12-17 age group and there were no reported cases of myocarditis in the study population. Q: Is the flu shot also still recommended this fall/winter for residents, and will it be safe to have it administered around the same time as booster vaccines for COVID-19? A: Influenza vaccination is recommended for all eligible people this season. The CDC states that both COVID and influenza vaccines may be administered simultaneously without any waiting period. It is anticipated that flu will be a much bigger factor in this respiratory season in contrast to last year. You will recall that last year we were utilizing many mitigation strategies in order to deal with COVID which included social distancing, decreased socializing, consistent mask usage, frequent hand washing and staying home when sick. As a result, there were only seven flu related deaths last season compared with 186 deaths the previous year with a dramatic decrease in reported cases. Please do not neglect influenza vaccination as we combat “vaccine fatigue.”
www.LNCurrents.com | DECEMBER 2021
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