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NOVEMBER 2020

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Eight Things You Should Know About Upcoming Vaccines for Covid-19

By: Dr. Leslee B. Cochrane
Executive Medical Director

Dr. Leslee Cochrane - Hospice of the Valleys

Many people are asking about when an effective vaccine will be available for Covid-19. Operation Warp Speed launched near the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic with the state goal of producing an delivering 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines with the initial doses available by January 2021. There are currently several vaccines in the final stages of clinical trials that show great promise and it seems likely that we should have one or more vaccines available before the end of 2020.

In response to numerous questions and concerns regarding the development of Covid-19 vaccinations, the CDC recently published an update titled "8 Things to Know about Vaccine Planning"[i] which are summarized below. The availability of a safe and effective vaccine would significantly aid our efforts to eradicate the Covid-19 pandemic.

  1. The Safety of Covid-19 Vaccines is a top priority. - Before approval, vaccines must first pass through a vigorous multi-stage clinical trial process overseen by the FDA. Once the FDA has determined that a vaccine is safe and effective, vaccines undergo additional evaluation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which will review all available data before making vaccine recommendations to the CDC. Once the vaccine is approved for use there is an extensive ongoing safety monitoring system in place to detect any adverse reactions, which may not have been detected during the clinical trials.
  2. Multiple different Vaccines are currently under development. In order to make an effective vaccine available as soon as possible there are currently multiple different vaccines in the development pipeline. Having multiple vaccines under development at the same time ensures that even if one vaccine is found to be unsafe or ineffective, there are still multiple other vaccines moving toward production.
  3. In order to expedite their availability, the FDA may issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) the initial vaccines. In order to determine the effectiveness of a treatment, test or device the FDA requires extensive testing. During an emergency, the FDA may issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to allow the use of a treatment device or test, which has been shown to be safe when there are few or no other options currently available. The EUA allows the treatment, test or device to be used while other potentially more effective options can be developed.
  4. Limited supplies of multiple Covid-19 Vaccines are already in production and will be available before the end of 2020 ready to be released once approved. Following approval, the supply of available vaccine(s) will rapidly ramp up for more widespread distribution.
  5. During initial vaccine distribution, those groups at higher risk will be prioritized to receive the vaccine first.
  6. Initially, Covid-19 vaccinations may not be recommended for children. Current studies demonstrate that most children are at very low risk for experiencing serious complications from Covid-19.
  7. Cost will not be a barrier to receiving the vaccine. The vaccine will be made available at no charge and insurance will cover any costs associated with administering the shot. People without insurance will be able to receive the vaccine at no cost.
  8. Because vaccine development and distribution is a dynamic process, ongoing planning continues to ensure that the distribution of a safe and effective vaccine will be made available as soon as possible.

Although we do not yet know just how effective the new vaccines will be, every effort has been taken to ensure that they will be safe. I might also add that it would be highly advisable to take a flu shot this year (check with your doctor prior as always) to reduce your risk of the flu and thereby help to ensure that our healthcare system will have the capacity to care for those with Covid-19 until the pandemic has run its course.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/8-things.html

Making the Holidays Whole

By: Dr. Lynn Euzenas
Director of Spiritual Care & Bereavement Services

Dr. Lynn Euzenas - Hospice of the ValleysDear Friends:

As the calendar pages turn from October to November, we begin thinking of the "holiday season." But in 2020, the "holiday season" looks and feels unlike any we have ever experienced before. There is a collective unsettled feeling about the November elections, the economy, the disruption of "normal" life since the pandemic in March, and newly spiking Corona Virus cluster world-wide. So many are finding it hard to know just what the right decisions about holiday plans could be.

This morning's Wall Street Journal wrote of "the collective exhaustion known as pandemic fatigue...Hospital staff world-wide are demoralized after seven months of virus-fighting triage. The war time rhetoric that world leader initially used to rally support is gone. Family members who willingly sealed themselves off during spring lockdown are suddenly finding it hard to resist the urge to reunite."1

As we wonder if it's safe to travel to be with family for the holidays, I think many of us can resonate with the concept of pandemic fatigue. I've heard so many lately speak of a mystifying tiredness, discouragement, and lingering sadness. One friend mused, "I have no right to feel so burnt out, I'm healthy and well, but I can hardly get done what's on my short list!" I think it's important that we do not lose sight of how much adjustment we have all had to make over the past eight months. We have shifted to working at home, working and home schooling our kids without childcare, removing ourselves from social and community gatherings such as shopping or attending public worship, and endured restrictions on visiting our loved ones in facilities or by self-restriction to protect each other from COVID infection. We have denied ourselves handshakes, and hugs, and other warm greetings of closeness.

It is a time to give ourselves the gift of gentleness. To "give ourselves a break" when we feel the voice of our inner critic, (or the voice of many and assorted outer critics!) telling us that we are not living up to our standards or the standards of others. It's a time to cast aside our bent to perfectionism in all things. Times are hard. For all of us. And yes, "coping with the holidays" this year is a whole new ballgame. It will take planning and wisdom and getting back to basics: the heart of who we are.

At Mass General Hospital in Boston, in the COVID ward, a message was found scrawled on a white board in a patient's room, in vibrant green erasable marker. It said, "Also highly contagious is Kindness, Patience, Love, Enthusiasm and a positive attitude, don't wait to catch it-Be a Carrier!"

Perhaps those words are the best advice for coping with the holidays in 2020: whatever you decide is best for you and yours, unleash a pandemic of patience, love, and joy. Give the never-ending gift of being profoundly, compassionately, and tenderly human. This is the gift our world so hungers for in this dry and weary time. This is the gift which will truly make our holidays whole.

Dr. Lynn

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