A Vaccine Update in the US
The beginning stages of the vaccination plan in the United States included health care workers and nursing home residents/staff. Now, eligibility has opened to people aged 65 and up in some states. However, supply gaps have emerged as the vaccination plan enters the second month. In New York, there have been cancellations of vaccine appointments due to “sudden changes in vaccine supply.” Jack Stern, a spokesman for the state says, “The problem all along has been a lack of allocation from Washington, and now that we’ve expanded the population of those eligible, the federal government continues to fail to meet the demand.”
The approved vaccines in the United States include Pfizer Inc, BioTech, and another by Moderna Inc, all requiring “a booster three to four weeks after the first shot to maximize their effectiveness against the coronavirus.” Over 12.3 million doses have been given in the United States since December and 1.6 million people received both.
India’s Ambitious Plan for Vaccinations
India’s huge population of 1.3 billion people has worried leaders on how they will vaccinate their citizens as coronavirus infections reach 10.3 million in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, “Everyone was asking as to when the vaccine will be available. It is available now. I congratulate all the countrymen on this occasion.” The government planned to vaccinate 300,000 people on Saturday, but only reached 165,000. Still, their plan entails for millions to receive the vaccine by the spring. The vaccines administered include Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and Covaxin. But, the Covaxin manufacturer and the Indian Council of Medical Research has yet to publish fortifying data on if the vaccine works: “the manufacturer noted that clinical efficacy was ‘yet to be established.’” The vaccination plan has changed the social life of India: air and train travel has reponed and standard Covid-19 precautions (mask-wearing and social distancing) have been less enforced. Will India face a greater infection rate in the upcoming months or will their “ambitious and complex” vaccination plan diminish Covid-19 earlier than other countries?
The New Covid-19 strains
As the vaccine brings hope to people around the world for the end of the tragic coronavirus pandemic, increased skepticism has sparked as new Covid-19 strands start to emerge. Britain, one of the hardest-hit countries during the pandemic, detects a new genetic sequence of the virus scientists call “B.1.1.7.” This contagious strand has been found in over 50 countries including Denmark, France, and Argentina. Experts worry about the effects these vaccines will have on fragile healthcare systems in smaller countries with the increase of cases, and inevitably, a higher death count. The United States, suffering from the largest Covid-19 outbreak in the holiday-midst, is warned by federal health experts that “B.1.1.7 would most likely be the dominant source of infection in the country by March.” Scientists have started to identify other variants, thankfully spread to a smaller population, in South Africa and Brazil.
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