Expert: Current vaccines should work as coronavirus mutates, but don t let down your guard
Vaccines are being studied for effectiveness, but there s been no indication they won t work against the new strains. Author: Emily Longnecker Updated: 5:54 AM EST January 30, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS There are currently two coronavirus vaccines being distributed in this country, products from Moderna and Pfizer. There s currently one in the works from Johnson and Johnson. All are aimed at fighting the spread of a virus that continues to change. That s what viruses do, right,” said Professor Thomas Duszynski, director of epidemiology education at Fairbanks School of Health at IUPUI. “They mutate, so every time a person becomes infected, there s an opportunity for a mutation to occur, and that s what we re seeing. Moderna and Pfizer both have been looking at data and they haven t found any reason to believe that their vaccines won t work against these strai
Indiana scrambles to get COVID vaccines into arms
FREE NEWSLETTERS Indiana University Health Nurse Rachael Chisom administers a COVID vaccine to hospital employee Cathy Treen at the IU Health Neuroscience Center on West 15th Street. (IBJ photo/Eric Learned)
The line stretched nearly three dozen people long, around a corner and down the hall at Indiana University Health’s vaccine clinic near Methodist Hospital.
To one side, nurses were administering shots every minute or so at six dosing stations. That’s about 1,000 shots each day, seven days a week, since the makeshift clinic opened in mid-December.
Some of those in line celebrated the vaccine as a promising development after a year of tough coping, away from evenings out for a meal or weekend fun at sports events.
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INDIANAPOLIS More than 230 nursing homes from across Indiana are signed up for a program to assist facilities in dealing with COVID-19 and its challenges. The Indiana Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network (NHCAN) Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) helps nursing homes improve COVID-19 preparedness, safety and infection control.
Indiana is among the first states to launch the program.
COVID-19 is a serious challenge for nursing homes. As of Fall 2020, nearly one-quarter of the known COVID-19 deaths in the United States have been nursing home residents and staff.
The 16-week ECHO program offers weekly calls for nursing home leaders to hear from subject matter experts and to discuss their own experiences with each other.