Healthcare

The push to develop vaccines for COVID-19 was called Operation Warp Speed, but the delivery of two vaccines approved so far might be called Operation Hurry Up and Wait. The delay is especially pronounced in North Carolina, which late last week ranked 42nd in the nation in the percentage of its available vaccines that has been administered: 21.5 percent. Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said Friday that the rankings fluctuate daily because many state rates are closely bunched. But she said North Carolina’s performance is improving. “The rate of vaccinations has really picked up,” she said.

Barely a month into a mass vaccination campaign to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration unexpectedly shifted gears Tuesday to speed the delivery of shots. The move came after widespread concern over a slow start even as coronavirus cases and deaths reach new highs. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a series of major changes to increase supply of vaccines and expand the age groups eligible as well as locations where people can get shots. Lee County resident Al Gainey has been trying to get answers about when he, and his family will be vaccinated.

As of Monday about 9 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which is far below the goal of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of 2020. The slow vaccine rollout is occurring at the same time the United States is enduring record levels of infections and deaths. To accelerate vaccinations, some have proposed to delay the timing of the second dose. Critics of this approach argue that it lacks clinical evidence and may weaken the public’s confidence in vaccine effectiveness.

One way or another, millions more South Carolinians need to acquire immunity from the coronavirus before the disease is at bay. The goal is herd immunity, and it is a moving target. Jane Kelly, assistant state epidemiologist with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, said last week that community spread of the disease should stop once 70 percent of the population has acquired immunity. That’s herd immunity. But, she said, public health experts must set the bar higher — up to 85 percent — in places where infections are rampant.

Like certain celebrities, the “vaccine” does not need a first name or modifier. Data from both Pfizer and Moderna have shown their COVID-19 vaccines to be nearly 95% effective in preventing disease in people who received two doses, thus earning a green light from the Food and Drug Administration. Other vaccines in clinical trials also are showing promising results. Although vaccine doses have been distributed to all states, limited quantities will force states to prioritize those who should get the first doses.

The good news toward the end of 2020 was the emergency approval of two COVID-19 vaccines. Like certain celebrities, the “vaccine” did not need a first name or modifier. Everyone heard of the promising data coming out of Pfizer and Moderna, showing the vaccines to be about 95% effective against preventing COVID-19 in people who received two doses. Other vaccines also showed promising results, and the Food and Drug Administration has already given emergency use authorization (EUA) to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Many Americans and healthcare workers have doubts and skepticism about the first vaccines for COVID-19, despite the need for a rapid end to the pandemic surge that began to overflow hospitals before the December holidays. “The truth is that healthcare workers are not immune from vaccine hesitancy,” says Tinglong Dai, PhD, associate professor of operations management and business analytics at Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School in Baltimore. “It’s a phenomenon with real public health impacts.”

It’s a miracle of modern medicine that scientists were able to develop multiple successful vaccines against Covid-19, a disease that wasn’t even on their radar a year ago. But so far, the global effort to roll out these vaccines and distribute them to vulnerable people is off to a slow start. According to a tracker developed by OurWorldInData—a research partnership between the University of Oxford and the British non-profit Global Change Data Lab—three countries have vaccinated a higher proportion of their populations than the rest of the world: Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain.

We welcome the new year with nearly 22 million confirmed covid-19 cases and 365,000 deaths. The U.S. leads the world in total confirmed cases and deaths, while also ranking second in confirmed cases per capita and seventh in deaths per capita (for countries with a population over 10 million). The impact of covid-19 on our nation has not only been significant in absolute terms, but also significant relative to other countries. Even amid the covid-19 threat, air travel has grown steadily since the summer. In December 2020, over 26 million passengers were screened, slightly more than in November, and the highest monthly total since February 2020 before covid-19 reduced air travel.