GoLocal Daily RI Vaccination Update: Many Nursing Home Workers Are Refusing To Be Vaccinated
Monday, January 18, 2021
Monday's GoLocal vaccination update provides the most up-to-date information and data on the Rhode Island vaccination program as well as emerging national and global developments.
1. RI’s New Coronavirus Problem — Nursing Home Workers Are Refusing To Be Vaccinated
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTApproximately a third or more of nursing home workers are refusing to be vaccinated.
Rhode Island's nursing homes are being hit time and time again by the coronavirus.
More than 1,200 Rhode Island nursing home residents have died. Twenty-eight of Rhode Island’s nursing homes have had 20 or more deaths.
According to Dr. Michael Fine, the disease is often carried into the nursing home facilities by workers who are low paid and live in lower-income, densely populated areas of the state — cities like Central Falls, Providence and Pawtucket.
Those three cities have consistently led the state with among the highest infection rates.
“What I am hearing is anecdotal from some of my members. On average, I am hearing that about 60% of staff have been getting the vaccine. Of those that did not get the vaccine in round 1, some said they were going to wait till the second round to get their first dose. I expect the average of 60% to go up after the second round,” said Scott Fraser, president and CEO of RIHCA.
"I am not hearing of any delays in the vaccination process. The first round for nursing homes was supposed to be completed by this weekend," said Fraser.
2. States Across the Country Continue to Struggle to Vaccinate
RI is not unique.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting, "The biggest challenges in America’s Covid-19 vaccination effort have turned out to be getting shots into the arms of the right people. As of Friday morning, some 31 million vaccine doses had been distributed nationwide, but only about 12 million had been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
"The federal government shipped those doses to states around the country, with states establishing their own criteria for who should get the vaccine first. But it has been up to local health departments, hospitals and other providers to actually manage the tangle of logistics and many have been unable to do so effectively," reported WSJ.
3. How Effective Is Just One Dose of the Vaccines?
As the Biden administration is planning on pushing out all available vaccine to get as many Americans vaccinated with their first dose, many are asking what if the impact of the first shot.
According to the BBC the single-dose efficacy is different in the two FDA-approved vaccines.
Pfizer-BioNTech
According to Pfizer data published in December 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is roughly 52% effective after the first dose. Out of 36,523 participants in the phase three trial – the final stage of testing where people either received two full doses, 21 days apart, or a placebo – who had no evidence of existing infection, 82 people in the placebo group and 39 in the vaccine group developed Covid-19 symptoms.
However, this early protection comes with some important caveats. First, the protection doesn't kick in until at least day 12 – until then, there was no difference between the two groups. Secondly, one dose is still significantly less protective than two. The latter is 95% effective at preventing the disease after a week.
Moderna
According to a document the company submitted to the FDA, the Moderna vaccine can provide 80.2% protection after one dose, compared to 95.6% after the second (in people aged 18 to 65 – it's 86.4% in those over 65). As with the Pfizer vaccine, all participants in the phase three trial received two doses of the vaccine or a placebo within a single set time period – in this case, 28 days – so it's not yet known whether the immunity from a single vaccine would continue, or drop off after this stage.
4. RI Has Utilized 44% of Vaccine
According to the CDC and updated on Friday, RI has now:
Received 108,427 doses — an increase of 24,302 over Thursday
Administered 47,548 doses (less than 3,000 administered in past 24-hours)
Of the vaccine doses received, RI has utilized 44% —a drop from 53%*
*NO CHANGE IN NUMBERS SINCE SATURDAY
5. RIDOH Continues to Refuse to Provide Information
The RI Department of Health continues to refuse to provide data as to how many Rhode Islanders need to be vaccinated.
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