Public Health Update from Pasadena City College Student Health Services
COVID-19 Update 7-15-2020
Below are the most recent Coronavirus updates.
An Update on the Vaccine Race
There are 4 vaccines that have started phase 3 (efficacy) trials: the viral vector vaccine from Astra Zeneca, the killed virus vaccines from Sinopharm and Sinovac, and the “repurposed” BCG vaccine being studied by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Moderna is still expected to get phase 3 trials of its messenger RNA vaccine going in July.
When a Vaccine is Available, Who Gets it First?
It will take time to make enough vaccine for everybody who needs it. Normally the CDC makes recommendations about the use of a new vaccine and state/local public health decide whether to follow those recommendations. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) routinely advises the CDC regarding implementation of new vaccines. ACIP has started discussing how underlying conditions, living environments, occupational risks, ethnicity and race should be weighed in allocating the initially limited supply of vaccine. They anticipate public meetings later this summer and involving communities being considered in its deliberations.
If We Have a Vaccine, Will People Accept It?
All the talk of accelerating vaccine production along with societal wrangling over COVID-19 is likely to make many people less confident in choosing to accept a vaccine when it is available. The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and Persons of Color) communities have experiences that support distrust of American government, society, healthcare and medical research. Dr. Phoebe Danziger, a pediatrician at University of Michigan summarizes it well in saying “sufficiently widespread vaccination will be possible only if the values and goals of a vaccine program are discussed explicitly, transparently and early, and if that discussion includes the full range of voices that have been telling us for years that trust in the American institutions and systems responsible for vaccines is broken”.
Who Will Be in those Phase 3 Trials?
The communities at increased risk of infection and death from COVID-19 will need to see their communities reflected in all phases of vaccine trials to help address the questions of safety and efficacy for their communities.
The COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) is a merger of four existing NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease) funded clinical trials networks to leverage existing infrastructure and engage communities to secure the thousands of volunteers needed for late-stage clinical trials of promising vaccines. “Centralizing our clinical research efforts into a single trials network will expand the resources and expertise needed to efficiently identify safe and effective vaccines and other prevention strategies against COVID-19” (Dr. Fauci). People interested in participating in vaccine trials can get more information at www.coronaviruspreventionnetwork.org.
Human challenge trials deliberately expose participants to infection, in order to study diseases and test vaccines or treatments. www.1daysooner.org is recruiting volunteers for COVID vaccine challenge trials. Before you dismiss this approach, you should look at the estimate of benefits and risks presented on this web site.
Basic Preventive Measures
The fundamentals:
WASH YOUR HANDS
MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING
WEAR A CLOTH FACE MASK when out in public; if you physically can’t wear a mask, wear a face shield preferably with a drape along the bottom edge
ISOLATE if you have confirmed or suspected COVID, QUARANTINE if you have had close contact with a known or suspected COVID case
Let’s add CHOOSE THE OUTDOORS OR ROOMS WITH GREAT VENTILATION when with people outside of your household
And don’t forget to GET YOUR 2020-21 INFLUENZA VACCINE when it becomes available later this summer
Quick Links to Resources
Interactive map for drive-up and walk-up testing sites, all by appointment. If you are looking for a test because you had close contact with a suspected/confirmed case or because you have symptoms, you need to quarantine/isolate:
Short URLs for home isolation instructions webpage:
Short URLs for home quarantine instructions webpage:
Director of Health and Wellness: Quinn Tang, DHSc., PA-C
Clinic Physician: Ann Walker, MD