Amid Covid Booster Debate, West Virginia to Check Immunity of Vaccinated Nursing Home Residents (August 3, 2021)
Physician’s Weekly reports West Virginia raced ahead of the country last winter to get people in nursing homes vaccinated against covid-19, but with cases and hospitalizations on the rise again, state officials want to know whether immunity levels are falling for residents who had their shots.
Starting in August, the state plans to begin measuring the levels of disease-fighting antibodies in the blood of vaccinated nursing home residents, which could help indicate whether they need a booster shot. The process will be voluntary and the data will be shared with federal health agencies evaluating the need for boosters.
David Wohl, MD, professor of medicine and director of UNC’s vaccine clinics pointed out that even if the West Virginia initiative shows antibody levels have dropped, states can’t provide booster shots until the federal government authorizes them. “You do not do a test unless there is something you can do with the information that you get from the test,” he said in the report.
Wohl said he anticipates that booster shots are likely to be needed eventually and that higher-risk populations — such as those who are immunocompromised or those in nursing homes — would likely be first to get them.
How Long Until NC Reaches Biden’s 70% goal? Maybe Not Until Halloween – and That’s an Improvement (August 3, 2021)
A CBS17.com data analysis found that even if the pace of vaccinations continues, it might be Halloween before 70 percent of North Carolina adults get at least one shot. North Carolina is one of 30 states that has yet to reach that benchmark, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 61 percent of those 18 and older having received a shot.
David Wohl, MD, recognized that a lot of vaccine goals were made before Delta. “And the Delta variant is a game changer,” he said, with a better target in mind.
“The goal is we should just get all of us vaccinated,” he said. “And it really just doesn’t make any sense. There’s really not great reasons anymore for not getting vaccinated.”
Parent Group, Wake County GOP At Odds Over Masks in Schools (August 1, 2021)
A WRAL.com report recognizes that as thousands of Wake County students prepare to head back to school this month, parents are debating whether or not masks should be part of their back-to-school supply list.
Health officials worry that cases are only going to increase as students return to packed classrooms, unvaccinated. Classroom COVID cases could become commonplace, especially with the surging numbers and extra-contagious Delta variant.
“I think the best way to try to handle these school outbreaks, which are going to be inevitable, is to try to reduce their frequency,” said David Wohl, MD, in the report. The best way to minimize spread? Wearing a mask, he says.
NC To Give Out $100 Gift Cards in New COVID-19 Vaccine Incentive (August 4, 2021)
The state will pay people $100, at least in some counties, to get their first COVID-19 vaccine shot, WRAL.com reports.
Gov. Roy Cooper mentioned the plan during an unrelated afternoon press conference, then the state’s Department of Health and Human Services followed up with more details. The $100 gift cards, a boost from an ongoing program providing people with $25 gift cards, will be available starting Wednesday.
David Wohl, MD, says he’s noticed what has been motivating people to get vaccinated lately, and it has more to do with fear and less to do with incentives.
“I don’t think you’re going to be swayed by the incentives we’re talking about,” Wohl said in the report. “If we don’t see that motivate people, million dollar jackpots, it really does beg, ‘what will it take?’ It’s more fear that’s motivating people to do this rather than protecting their neighbors or not infecting their grandparents.”