COVID-19 Health and Wellness Information |
As of this week, more than 51% of all U.S. adults and 40% of the entire U.S. population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That truly is an amazing achievement. If you have not received yours or have not scheduled an appointment with UHealth, please make an appointment at an alternate location.
If you have not been vaccinated by UHealth, we ask that you upload your vaccine card via MyUHealthChart. Additionally, you may have received a survey, asking if you plan to be vaccinated in the next three months. If you received the survey, please complete it. That information is essential for us to plan for the fall semester, when we hope to have a more normal classroom and social experience. We can’t stress enough how important it is to get vaccinated if you have not already done so.
Whether you have already been vaccinated, or plan to be vaccinated in the near future, allow me to remind you that we must all remain vigilant with our safety procedures. Wear a mask, remain physically distant, wash your hands frequently, and avoid large gatherings.
Those same safety measures are incorporated into our updated guidelines for research, including campus visits and any in-person meetings. For those occasions, an application must be completed before the meeting is to take place. Again, in all cases, our goal is to ensure that we are observing all safety measures.
Working together, we can reach our goal of returning to normal safely.
Roy E. Weiss, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Chair, Department of Medicine
Chief Medical Officer for COVID-19 |
WHAT IS HERD IMMUNITY?Our vaccine effort has been extremely successful so far, but does that mean we will reach herd immunity soon?
The truth is that it isn’t that simple. There isn’t a magic percentage point that we can point to and say, “if we reach that, everything goes back to how it was before the pandemic.” One reason is that herd immunity is calculated according to a virus’s transmissibility. So, based on the original strain of COVID-19, researchers said herd immunity theoretically means that 65-70% of the population has either had COVID-19 or has been vaccinated. However, if we continue to have variants like B.1.1.7 that are spread easier, that changes the equation, and the percentage needed increases.
However, what is very clear is that when we put that number aside, what we are left with is simple. More people vaccinated equals fewer people who get severe disease and less opportunity for more dangerous mutations.
So, if you want your life to be closer to what it was pre-pandemic, make sure that you and everyone you know who is eligible gets vaccinated.
BREAKTHROUGH CASESThe term “breakthrough case” refers to people who contract an illness for which they have been vaccinated. These cases happen with all diseases for which we have vaccines because no vaccine is 100% effective. So, as we vaccinate more of the population, you will likely hear more about breakthrough COVID-19 cases. Please do not let that discourage you from getting the vaccine if you have not already.
The likelihood of fully vaccinated people who still get sick with COVID-19 is extremely rare. If you get sick, the illness will be much less severe, and your chance of dying is drastically decreased.
DON’T MISS THAT SECOND DOSE If you have received or will be receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine first dose, remember that you are not fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving the second dose. Many locations schedule your second dose when you receive your first. If they have not, make sure to call and make an appointment. Here are a few more facts about your second dose:
-
Your second dose should be scheduled three weeks from your first dose for the Pfizer vaccine. For the Moderna vaccine, your second dose should be four weeks after your first.
-
Your vaccine provider should have given you a vaccine card at your first appointment; make sure to bring that with you to your second one.
-
Even if you had a side effect with your first shot, you should still get the second one unless a physician or the vaccine provider tells you that you should not.
-
The vaccines are not interchangeable. If you received the Moderna vaccine for the first dose, you cannot get Pfizer for the second.
-
You may have more side effects like headaches, fatigue, fever, or muscle aches after your second shot, but they should go away within a day or two.
LESSONS LEARNEDAs we start to envision what life might be like in the near future, what lessons have you learned from your experience of going through the COVID-19 pandemic? Here are mine, and I will add some more next week.
-
People are genuinely good and want to help do what’s good for society.
-
People of all backgrounds can come together during adversity.
-
Dealing with isolation has made us appreciate things that we have taken for granted, like:
-
Dinning in a restaurant with friends
-
Being present when a loved one is ill
-
Socialization with work friends
-
Going to see a movie or listen to a concert
Please write to me at CovidCMO@miami.edu with the subject line “Lessons Learned” so that we can share them with the community.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We will share more health and wellness news in the next edition. |
|
|
COVID-19 RESOURCES
Students, faculty, and staff on the Coral Gables and Marine campuses who are experiencing possible symptoms consistent with, or who have been potentially exposed to, COVID-19 should contact the University's COVID-19 hotline at 305-243-ONE-U, where UHealth physicians and providers are available to answer your questions and provide telemedicine services if needed.
Members of the Medical Campus should contact 305-243-8378.
For additional University of Miami COVID-19 information and resources, visit coronavirus.miami.edu.
If you are a student in distress or need counseling services, the Counseling Center provides mental health services through HIPAA-compliant teleconferencing platforms. Counselors are certified and available to help any time by calling 305-284-5511. Additional resources are also available by visiting counseling.studentaffairs.miami.edu.
If you are a faculty or staff members in need of support visit fsap.miami.edu. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
