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Beware Flu and COVID Vax Mix-Ups and Other Medication Errors — Medication Safety Group Previews New Best Practices for Next Year
In 2021, COVID-19 vaccine errors were among the top medication safety issues voluntarily reported to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), the group reported.
From Dec. 14, 2020, through April 15, 2021, the most common error associated with FDA-authorized coronavirus vaccines was administration of the wrong dose — usually related to syringe malfunction or leakage, dose measurement mistakes, or administration of air in an empty syringe, according to Matthew Grissinger, BSPharm, director of Error Reporting Programs at ISMP.
Another common issue was vaccination of people not technically eligible due to age at the time: under 16 years for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and under 18 years for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
“The new concern as of today is the mix-up of flu and COVID vaccines, because CDC recommends you get the flu shot and the booster, both at the same time,” he noted, citing 20 reports in the past month of this kind of mistake. Anecdotally, he has also heard of a mix-up between epinephrine and a COVID vaccine, he added.
Anti-Vaccine Doctor Fired for Trying to Treat COVID Patients With Ivermectin
A Mississippi doctor said he was fired from his job at a local hospital after trying to treat COVID-19 patients with anti-parasite drug ivermectin.
Dr. John Witcher, an emergency room physician, said he was let go from Baptist Memorial Hospital in Yazoo City, Mississippi, for taking three COVID-19 patients off Remdesivir, an antiviral drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the virus, and instead trying to put them on ivermectin. That violated the hospital’s policy on ivermectin, which is not approved by the FDA for COVID-19.
Fauci Says Omicron-Specific Version of COVID Vaccines May Not Be Necessary
Anthony Fauci isn’t convinced COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are going to need to produce an Omicron-specific version of their vaccines.
Rather, the long-time director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggested to STAT in an interview Thursday, it’s possible the current vaccines will provide enough protection against the new variant for most vaccinated and boosted individuals.
Fauci stressed that he was hypothesizing, based on how the vaccines have held up against other SARS-CoV-2 variants. Studies will need to be done, he insisted. And manufacturers are working on and will test versions of their vaccines based on the mutation-studded Omicron spike protein.
COVID News: CDC Considers Expanding Boosters to Younger Kids
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says the agency is now considering expanding booster shots to younger kids in the coming months.
“We’re first starting to get our 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated,” she said. “We’ll look again at the 12- to 15-year-olds, of course, as with the FDA, in real time.”
But as health officials work to expand vaccine eligibility, some Americans are refusing to get their shots. Roughly two-thirds of parents of elementary school-aged children are either holding off on getting their younger kids vaccinated or refuse to do so.
Fear Keeps Some Cancer Patients From Getting COVID Vaccine
U.S. News & World Report reported:
Cancer patients are at risk for serious COVID-19 illness, but some are still afraid to get vaccinated against the virus, new research shows. Study authors surveyed nearly 200 high-risk cancer patients at the Mays Cancer Center in San Antonio, Texas. Only 56% said they’d received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, compared to the community vaccination rate of 76%.
The three most common reasons patients gave for not getting vaccinated were: “My doctor has not told me to get the vaccine,” or “I do not think it is safe for me because I have cancer,” or “I’m afraid of the side effects.”
Patients were given six options to select for declining the vaccination. Aside from the three top reasons, other options included, “I already had COVID, so I don’t think I need the vaccine” and “I want the vaccine but have not been able to schedule an appointment.”
Natural Immunity More Protective Over Time Than COVID Vaccination: Study
Immunity people enjoy after recovering from COVID-19 is better than the protection bestowed from vaccination, according to a new study from Israel.
Researchers analyzing data from the county’s health database from August to September found both COVID-19 infections and severe disease were higher among the vaccinated than those who recovered from the illness, also known as people with natural immunity.
For instance, the naturally immune had a 10.5 per 100,000 infection rate four to six months following their recovery, versus a 69.2 per 100,000 rate among the vaccinated.
The Coronavirus Can Infect Body Fat, New Research Suggests — A Clue About Obesity’s Link to Severe COVID
More than two-thirds of American adults are obese or overweight, putting them at elevated risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death. Obesity in particular may triple the risk of hospitalization from the disease. But for most of the pandemic, scientists haven’t understood why.
While obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease can independently raise the risk of severe COVID-19, scientists now have evidence that body fat may be a contributing factor.
An October study from Stanford University that has not yet been peer-reviewed found that the coronavirus can directly infect fat cells. That process, in turn, may activate a harmful cascade of inflammation that damages other organs, such as the heart or lungs.
De Blasio Gave Away Student DNA to Lab Linked to Chinese Government — FULGENT GENETICS
NY Teachers for Choice reported:
If someone told you the mayor of New York City forced all school staff and students to give their DNA specimens to a laboratory with links to the Chinese government, you would think it was the plot of a bad B-movie. Unfortunately it is the reality in NYC under Mayor Bill de Blasio and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union.
De Blasio contracted with “Fulgent Genetics” to perform COVID testing in NYC schools for the 2020 school year. The tests were mandatory and if you didn’t consent employees were placed on unpaid leave and students were kicked out of their school buildings.
However Fulgent’s primary business is not diagnostic testing. Their main business is collecting DNA specimens for their proprietary libraries.
Europe’s Medicine Agency Says Omicron Cases Appear Mild, Echoing the U.S. CDC
Europe’s medicines agency said on Thursday that reported cases of the Omicron virus variant so far appear mild. It hedged its announcement, saying that more work was being done to figure out how the variant impacts people.
Marco Cavaleri, the European Medicines Agency’s head of biological health threats and vaccines strategy, said “Cases appear to be mostly mild, however we need to gather more evidence to determine whether the spectrum of disease severity caused by Omicron is different [to] that of all the variants that have been circulating so far.”
He also said that data suggested Omicron is more contagious than the Delta variant, but that more research needs to be done to confirm if this is the case.
South Korea Reports Its Worst Virus Surge Since Pandemic; 81% Fully Vaccinated
New coronavirus infections in South Korea exceeded 7,000 for the third consecutive day on Friday, as the worst surge since the start of the pandemic overwhelmed hospitals and depleted healthcare workforce.
Around 41.5 million people, or 81% of the population of over 51 million, have been fully vaccinated, but only 10% have received booster shots.
The new rules enforced this week ban private gatherings of seven or more people in the greater capital area and require adults to verify their vaccination status at restaurants and other indoor venues. But Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said such measures haven’t yet showed an effect in slowing transmissions.
Factbox: COVID Vaccine Rollout for Children Aged 5 to 11 in the EU
The European Union rollout of the Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds should begin Dec. 13, as countries are expanding their vaccination programmes to include young children amid concerns over the infections surge in the continent and the new Omicron variant. read more
The following is a list of European Union countries with details of the vaccine rollout for children and country-specific regulations:
In Austria some provinces have been vaccinating children aged 5-11 years with a lower dose of the adult vaccine even before the EU recommendation.
Australia to Make COVID Vaccines Available for Children Ages 5 to 11
Children as young as five years old will become eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Australia beginning next month, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday.
A release from the prime minister’s office noted that the decision came after recommendations from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization were accepted by the Australian government.
Children between the ages of five and 11 years old will only receive one-third of the vaccine dose typically given to those aged 12 years and older.
