After months of research, development and testing, the COVID-19 vaccine has become a reality. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted in favor of emergency authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine followed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) voting to recommend the vaccine for people 16 and older. A second vaccine, manufactured by the company Moderna, is expected to be authorized this week. With the Pfizer injection getting the green light, the vaccine will be able to make its way to Wright County, though local experts emphasize it will be a while before its widely available.
A bit of background on the vaccines. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines. Messenger RNA vaccines work by instructing cells in the body how to make a protein that triggers an immune response, according to the CDC. They note, “the goal for each of the two vaccines is to teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19.” The CDC adds that the vaccines cannot give you COVID as they do not contain the live virus.
Iowa Specialty Hospital (ISH) doctor, Michael McLoughlin, said he is confident that these vaccines are safe, despite their relatively quick development. “Even though the development has been remarkably fast, these vaccines will have gone through the same steps as a vaccine would in normal circumstances,” McLoughlin confirmed. “Many of the steps have been done simultaneously or more quickly than usual, but there are still many opportunities for serious side effects to be detected along the way.” He went on to affirm his confidence in the FDA committees who review the vaccines.
The doctor also noted that in the case of both vaccines, tens of thousands of people were enrolled in the trials with very positive results. “They have proven to be much more effective than we even could have hoped,” he said. Both vaccines are showing approximately 95% efficacy, and in the trials, they “virtually eliminated severe illness,” added McLoughlin.
Though the trial results have been very promising, McLoughlin does add a few notes of caution. He says that people should expect some side effects or “transient symptoms.” Though the vaccine is safe, he notes people may develop fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, headache and fever from the vaccines. McLoughlin adds, “they aren’t permanent, and they aren’t because the vaccine gave a person COVID. It’s simply that when the immune system gets ramped up while learning how to recognize an infection from a vaccine, it can sometimes cause symptoms that are similar to a natural infection.”
Another noteworthy point about both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are that they require two doses separated by three or four weeks depending on the manufacturer. They are also required to be kept cold. McLoughlin explained the Pfizer vaccine in fact needs to be stored at temperatures around -94 degrees Fahrenheit and thus will require special storage that most rural areas may not have access to. The Moderna vaccine doesn’t need to be as cold and can be kept at fridge temps for 30 days, which McLoughlin says probably means our area will end up with more of that particular vaccine. McLoughlin and other local healthcare officials say that vaccinating will likely start in the county soon for certain groups. This could mean some people in the county will be vaccinated as early as next week. “Health care workers with direct patient care responsibilities and residents of long-term care facilities are likely to be the first people vaccinated,” said McLoughlin. He expects things to move fairly quickly after both vaccines get the okay from the FDA and noted that the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has said that 172,000 doses will be in Iowa by the end of the year.
Sandy McGrath with Wright County Public Health said on Monday the county will be receiving 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine when that one is approved for emergency use by the FDA. She too estimates that those 200 will be in the county by next week. She added that IDPH is in charge of who gets what when. All vaccines in the county will be received and distributed through county public health. McGrath said that public health will have a structured plan for who gets each of the 200 vaccines, starting with healthcare workers.
She adds that besides the above-mentioned groups, she predicts groups like educators, jails and prisons and industries with close proximity workers will be higher up on priority lists. Though only time will tell, McGrath said she thinks that the vaccine will be widely available by later spring. She emphasized that Wright County Public Health has plans for widescale distribution in place when that date should come.
The hospital is also preparing for the vaccine. ISH Chief Quality Officer Cindy Hunter said, “We are currently working very close with Wright County Public Health. At this time, our role will be to vaccinate our employees when it is distributed.”
Hunter adds that there are of course challenges when it comes to planning for the future when the future is uncertain. “Currently our biggest challenge is planning for the unknown,” she said. “We are making the best decisions we can based on all the information that is coming from CDC, IDPH and our local Public Health.”
Though the next several months look promising, McLoughlin says people need to remember that COVID is still out there now. He even adds, “It’s important to recognize that some people will get COVID after having received the vaccine. Again, this will not be because the vaccine caused it, but will be either because the person was exposed before the full protection from the vaccine took hold or because 95% effectiveness still isn’t going to be 100%.”
McLoughlin also says there are a couple groups that he would recommend not getting the vaccine, even when it becomes widely available. These include pregnant women and children under 16 as the vaccine has not yet been adequately studied in these groups. He adds, “For those who have already had COVID or have other unique health situations, it may be more complicated and would be best to ask your own provider.”
Despite his notes of caution, McLoughlin remains optimistic about the vaccine and said he’ll recommend it and plans to get it himself. “My takeaway from all of this is as follows: life (and medicine) are full of risk vs. benefit decisions that we don’t know the precise outcome of, but must use the best information we have available. With the FDA giving an emergency authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine, I have enough confidence that the benefits will outweigh the risks of vaccination that I will personally receive it even as a relatively young and healthy adult. For older adults, it will be an even easier decision.”
Keep checking the Monitor in upcoming weeks for more local vaccine coverage.
