COVID-19 Health and Wellness Information |
Cases in the county, state, and U.S. overall are trending downward. This is excellent news. However, there are still states like Colorado, Vermont, and Michigan that are experiencing a more than 25% increase. This is important because even though we are all tired of this pandemic, it is not over yet. We must remain vigilant about masking indoors, washing our hands, and avoiding crowds, especially if most people are unmasked.
Also, if any of your friends or family are unvaccinated, please talk to them about how important it is to take this step. Relay your experience with being vaccinated and try to alleviate their fears or answer their questions. Unfortunately, we’ll need to combat the human psyche. As cases and deaths go down, so will the rate of new vaccinations.
Feel free to share these newsletters if you think it will help. And, as always, I am here to answer any vaccine questions you may have.
Roy E. Weiss, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Chair, Department of Medicine
Chief Medical Officer for COVID-19 |
BOOSTER UPDATES The FDA met about booster shots for the Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines this week. Just a short time ago, an FDA advisory panel endorsed booster shots for those who received Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. The panel voted unanimously that the booster dose was safe and effective to be given at least two months after the initial dose. On Thursday, the FDA committee voted unanimously that the data submitted by Moderna supports administering booster shots six months after the second shot to people over age 65, people aged 18 to 64 who are at risk of severe COVID-19 illness, and people 18 to 64 who live or work in situations where they are at increased risk. These are the same populations who were approved for the Pfizer booster.
It's important to note that this is the recommendation by an FDA panel and not full approval or an EUA-Emergency Use Authorization. However, these are the first steps toward what will likely be approved boosters for both Moderna and J&J.
REPLACING YOUR VACCINE CARDIt is becoming more common for organizations and jurisdictions to require vaccine verification, particularly outside the state. However, some may have lost the card that was given to them when they were vaccinated. The CDC does not keep vaccination records, so you can’t request it from them. Instead, they recommend reaching out to your vaccination provider to get a replacement card. If you can’t contact your provider, contact your state health department’s immunization information system (IIS). Vaccination providers are required to report COVID-19 vaccinations to their IIS and related systems. Learn more from the
CDC. If you are a UHealth patient, you can print out your shot records by accessing MyUHealthChart.
RELIABLE INFORMATION One byproduct of the pandemic is increased public interest in reading clinical studies. While this seems innocuous enough, harm can be done when inaccurate information is picked up by media and shared on social media.
For example, you may have seen references to preprints. These are research papers that have not been peer-reviewed, thoroughly vetted, and checked for errors. One such preprint reported that one in 1,000 people who get vaccinated develop myocarditis. This turned out to be a significant miscalculation and the authors withdrew the paper, but not before that data was shared widely and fueled vaccine hesitancy.
So, please be very cautious about the information you share and ensure that it is accurate. Misinformation may be even more contagious than COVID-19.
HEALTH CARE WORKERSAs this pandemic continues, health care workers are becoming burnt out and leaving the industry. At the same time, there has been a decline in people entering the fields of nursing, medical technology, therapy, and other medical careers. This will put an even greater strain on our health care system and the professionals still in the field. So, as I have said before, if you know a health care worker either at home or on campus, make sure you tell them just how vital they are.
HOW FAR WE’VE COMEI took a look back at the September and October newsletters from last year, and they are a great reminder of how far we have come. We did not have vaccines yet, so we were in search of volunteers for vaccine trials. We celebrated changing the curfew to midnight. And, we asked that everyone not travel or gather for the holidays because it was just too risky.
This year, however, we do have a vaccine—we have three of them—and we don’t have a curfew. And, many people are going to be joining their families for the holidays all across the country for the first time in two years.
Even though we still must be careful, think of last year and how much has changed. Be safe and be well, and next year will be even better. |
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We will share more health and wellness news in the next edition. |
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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. |
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