The Greene County Democrat

Tag: Md

  • CDC and FDA approve second COVID-19
    booster for those over 50 years old

    If you are boosted you are 21 times less likely to die from COVID-19

    On March 30, 2022, the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) issued an advisory stating, “In order to maintain the highest level of protection from vaccinations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for individuals age 50 and older and certain immunocompromised individuals. 

    The ADPH issued this advisory because, “Protection offered by COVID-19 vaccine decreases over time, and cautions that even in times of low community transmission, the risk for older and immunocompromised persons to become severely ill with COVID-19 is not zero.” 

    The FDA previously authorized a single booster dose for certain immunocompromised individuals following completion of a three-dose primary vaccination series. This action will now make a second booster dose of these vaccines available to other populations at higher risk for severe disease, hospitalization and death. Emerging evidence suggests that a second booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine improves protection against severe COVID-19 and is not associated with new safety concerns.

    In a recent briefing, sponsored by Ethnic Media Services (EMS), experts stated that two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 cases have decreased dramatically and 95% of Americans have some immunity either for having been vaccinated or previously infected with the virus.

    However, experts from the Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention (CDC), warned that because it’s unpredictable to know when the next variant or the next pandemic is coming, vaccination remains the most important preventive measure for all age groups.

    Dr. Shannon Stokley DrPH, Co-Lead of the CDC Vaccine Task Force said at the EMS briefing that:

    “We’ve given more than 559 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and that’s three times the amount of vaccine that’s usually given in a flu season. A good majority of that has been mRNA vaccines that have been proven safe and effective at preventing complications from COVID-19, including severe disease, hospitalization, and death.”

    “Currently there are multiple manufacturers that are conducting clinical trials to assess the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine among children younger than five years of age. Once complete, those manufacturers must submit an application to the US Food and Drug Administration. The FDA will then review the data and if there’s good evidence of safety and effectiveness, they will authorize the vaccine under emergency use for children in this age group.”

    “If you’re boosted, you are 21 times less likely to die from COVID-19. So, vaccination remains the most effective and safest way to prevent COVID-19.”

    “Over time you’ll have waning immunity and that is why we’ve been recommending a booster dose of vaccine. What we’re really concerned about there is preventing hospitalization and death. And these vaccines are very good at preventing these severe outcomes.”

    Dr. John T. Brooks, MD, CDC Senior Medical Adviser, added to the EMS briefing the following:

    “BA2 variant represents 35% of circulating variants nationally… There is no evidence that BA2 variant results in more severe disease, nor does it appear to be more likely to evade immune protection. But it does have increased transmission in comparison to the related BA1 variant that circulated in the US peaking during January of 2021.”

    “We’re watching the signals in Western Europe and the UK and then also in parts of Asia. The situation in the US has an important difference from those: we have very high levels of immunity in this country, 95% of Americans have some evidence of either having been vaccinated or previously infected with COVID. We think that’s very high compared to some other places in the world.”

    “We live in one world, and we’re only as safe as a plane ride away. It’s important that we protect everyone in our world community. Untreated COVID-19 infection is the source of new variants. People who are not vaccinated and become infected can become the source of new variants to emerge. These are good reasons to want to provide the vaccine to everyone possible.”

    “This pandemic is not over and we have to be prepared to take care of ourselves and to take care of others. Should there be a resurgence? or should there be another pandemic coming after this one? History has shown us over and over this is not the last one. My message here is to be prepared for the future.”

    Persons in Greene County interested in more information or to make an appointment for a vaccination or a booster, may call the Greene County Public Health Department at 205-372-9316; or the Greene County Physicians Clinic at 205-372-3388, Ext. 4.

  • Newswire: People facing new ways of life as Corvid 19 has changed everything

    By Hamil R. Harris

    Bishop T. D. Jakes stands before about 30 people in his Potter’s House sanctuary that seats 8,200 in Dallas.


    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Rev. Grainger Browning, pastor of the Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, Md., is used to preaching to two packed sanctuaries every Sunday. But on Sunday, March 22, Browning and a skeletal staff preached to a mostly empty sanctuary while his members watched on the Internet.
    “I feel like a spiritual first responder,” Browning said. “It’s called Live from the Church. We try to duplicate church as much as we can. We have members of the praise team and a skeletal staff.”
    Browning’s situation is one example of a new reality for churches around the nation. Even the 8,200-seat sanctuary of Bishop T. D. Jakes’ Potter’s House in Dallas has been virtually empty. As the Coronavirus spread around the nation and world and as state governments and health experts increasingly issue stay at home orders and suggest social distancing, life as usual has become non-existent.
    Members of the Class of 2020 are still hoping for their proms, commencement exercises and celebrations that are normal milestones for generations past.
    In sports, there are no NBA basketball games, NCAA tournaments or baseball Spring training. And in terms of mass gatherings, going to the movies, eating out, and even worshipping God in church pews has been forbidden for a season. Even weddings and funerals have been curtailed.
    As a result of the Corvid 19 virus, this lethal strain of the Corona flu, America is a stranger to herself with frightened and helpless citizens “sheltering in place” behind locked doors in a society where toilet paper has become priceless as indicated by the empty shelves in grocery stores.
    “People are losing it. My brother drives a bread truck and he said that his colleague was robbed, said Sean Brown, 39, a financial manager in Severn, Md. “They took his entire bread truck.”
    As of this writing, March 22, America had nearly 30,000 people diagnosed with COVID 19, which means America is now number three in the world in terms of a disease that has now killed more than 13,000 around the globe. This is despite glaring headlines and weekly White House briefings that produced more arguments than solutions.
    “If ever there is a time to practice humanity — it is now,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a tweet on Sunday. “The time to show kindness, to show compassion. New Yorkers are tough — but we are also the most courageous community that you have ever seen.”
    On Sunday, Sean Brown, the financial manager, a husband and father of two, watched a taped worship service from the University Park Church of Christ. Despite the change, he still has hope through his faith. “It is important to remember who is in control. God is still in control.”
    COVID 19 has ushered in an era of “social distancing.” And yet it is easy to find examples of hope in cities and towns and communities across America in terms of faith, family and every aspect of life.
    On Twitter, there was a video of a group of Cuban doctors of color in White lab coats and masks arriving in Italy and being greeted by people waiting in the international airport. As restaurants closed, many soup kitchens that regularly feed the homeless, such as Miriam’s Kitchen in Northwest Washington, DC, kept their doors open. But among the most notable changes are the churches which quickly adjusted their empty sanctuaries to computer screens and conference calls.
    Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune, Chief Operating Officer for the National Council of Churches, said despite the Corona Virus “Most churches are using creatives to remain connected. They are using zoom, video conferencing, prayer calls. My home church in New York is having prayer callers at 6 am.”
    With Easter two weeks away, Browning said that he will have Lenten services every morning between six and seven AM that will be rebroadcast “people can start their day,” but Browning added, “I really missing the people it is like being away from your wife.”
    “My concern is for the people. There is concern about people dying but I don’t think I hear a heart for the people who survive. They literally don’t know how they are going to eat.”
    Browning of Ebenezer in Maryland said he is really concerned about conducting funerals when there is a restriction. “Right now, can’t have more than ten people. I can’t imagine having a love one dying and there are only 10 people there.”
    Even medical doctors are taken aback by the new realities. “We had our church by telephone conference,” said Tracey Burney, a retired urologist who attends Bethany CME Church in Clearwater, Florida. “Being a physician, we are always ready for the worst. But I have never seen anything like this in my wildest dreams.”