Corona Virus Update 4/15/21

 Better numbers today. 

2% positivity rate and hospitalizations down 13, to 505

I want to share this from one of the State’s epidemiologist on the reuse of N95s. This epidemiologist has been very helpful over the past year in helping me understand the latest information on the virus and frankly, has been very patient with me. 

“Thanks for your question. We should not have assumed that everyone understands what “source control” means.

Source control means the respiratory protection is meant to prevent spread of potentially infectious particles from the wearer’s nose and mouth. Thus, source control controls infection from spreading from the source.

The other use of respiratory protection (and when extended use is no longer recommended when supplies are adequate) is for personal protection. This use protects the wearer from potential infectious particles outside the mask.

Basically, if there are enough N95 to switch out after each encounter with a patient with COVID-19 (or those in quarantine after an exposure), you should discard the N95 after wearing it for protective purposes. This is because of potential exposure of the outside surface of the N95 to infectious particles.

If you don’t have a patient encounter with someone known to have COVID-19 (or quarantining), then you can keep that N95 on until you complete and encounter with an infectious patient where your N95 might encounter infectious particles.”

My comment-

In short, it’s OK to wear the same N95 when caring for various patients who DO NOT have Covid or are not in quarantine, but when caring for Covid or quarantined patients, the N95 should be discarded after each encounter. 

Key messages & updates from the state. 
• As of Wednesday night, 1,617,983 doses of vaccine had been administered. This includes 1,037,446 individuals who had initiated a series and 2,550,660 individuals who had completed a series.
• `More than 75% of Connecticut residents 75 and over and more than 50% of residents 45+ are now fully vaccinated.
• 55% of all Connecticut residents eligible to receive the vaccine (16+) have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
J&J vaccine pause
• CDC and the FDA are recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID- 19 vaccine to allow researchers at both agencies time to better understand a small number of reported cases of women developing an extremely rare clotting disorder after receiving the vaccine.
o More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine had been administered prior to the pause o Six cases of the rare blood clots had been reported in the U.S., none in CT
o All six cases occurred in women between the ages of 18 and 48, within six to 13 days of
receiving the vaccine.
• The purpose of the pause in the vaccine’s use is to determine if there is any association, and the
strength of the possible association, between the vaccine, the health of the six affected women, and the clotting disorder. Having this information will help screen patients in the future.
• We do not yet know if these 6 extremely rare cases were caused by or related to the J&J vaccine
• What we DO know is the risk of contracting COVID-19, getting very sick and possibly ending up
in the hospital or dying, is much higher than the risk of a severe adverse reaction to the
vaccine.
• And, we also know that getting the vaccine WILL protect you from contracting and getting very
sick with COVID-19.
• The fact that the FDA and CDC identified this after just 6 cases – and paused use of J&J to investigate and ensure the vaccine’s safety – shows that the system is working as it should.
• The great majority of people who have received the J&J vaccine have not experienced any
harmful side effects.
• According to CDC, if you received your shot over a month ago your risk is very low and you
don’t need to take any specific action. If you have concerns, consult your doctor.
• If you received the J&J vaccine within the last month and develop any of the following
symptoms within three weeks of receiving your shot, you should contact your doctor or seek medical treatment: severe headache, blurred vision, fainting, seizures, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath.
• Common post-vaccine symptoms - mild fever, mild headache, fatigue and joint or muscle pain - are routine and typically go away within two to three days.

• DPH has worked with vaccine providers to switch from J&J vaccine to one of the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, which has resulted in little disruption to the State’s vaccine program.
• The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are continuing to be administered and continue to show very strong safety and efficacy.
• As of this week, more than 67 million people have safely received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and are fully vaccinated. This greater experience with the Pfizer and Moderna shots provides more data on their safety and more reason to be confident about their continued use

Be well and thank you for all you do. 

John