Tackling the latest COVID-19 topics

Jan, I heard that you are conflicted with whether or not to take the second
dose. I listen to these weekly podcasts from Mayo. This one may help some
of your wonderments, or perhaps not. Scroll down to the Utube.com and
click on it to listen.
I know you have a decision to make for yourself. If you should decide not
to take the second one, I would only encourage you to think about
contacting your Dr first, and second to let the clinic know in advance if
you aren’t interested. That way they can call up someone else to get your
dose and it doesn’t get wasted.

I love you, friend
Judy

@stolzy Some clarifications: 1. Covid vaccines were developed in a rush, and allowed to be used despite not having completed all the usual procedures because we ARE in an emergency. Thus, we have obtained vaccines within around one year, when it would have required several years. Therefore, safety concerns are greater than normal, but deemed acceptable when compared with the alternative, if you understand what I mean. 2. In Norway 23 elderly people died after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The Government is investigating the circumstances, and you can read an update here (https://www.fhi.no/en/news/2021/international-interest-about-deaths-following-coronavirus-vaccination/) as well as in reputable news outlets. To date, 343,128 doses have been administered in Norway (https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/#global), and I haven't heard that all of those people died, so I don't know where you got that "... the death rate was 100%...". In Norway, 5% of the population got at least one shot. 3. I don't have "a cuz" in Sweden, so I searched elsewhere but couldn't find news about vaccination being stopped. In the same source shown before for Norway, you can see that 553,243 doses have been administered so far, amounting to 3.7% of the population receiving at least one shot.

@jenohara Jennifer, how can I send questions to Dr. Poland? Thanks, Armando

This article explains
- How did we develop a COVID-19 vaccine so quickly? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-did-we-develop-a-covid-19-vaccine-so-quickly
With vaccine approvals underway, Medical News Today spoke with medical experts about how coronavirus vaccines were rapidly made without compromising safety.

Safety was not compromised in the development of the vaccine. Experts are watching side effects and long term efficacy closely.

@bolso1, Armando, you can submit your question to Dr. Poland here for consideration in the upcoming podcast.

Question to Dr. Poland:
In your podcasts (very clear and useful, by the way) you have explained that after being fully vaccinated we should continue to wear masks because -- among other reasons -- we can still transmit the virus, behaving much the same way asymptomatic carriers do?

I would appreciate if you could explain the way that such a transmission could happen.

To put my question in context: Today, in "The Morning" newsletter published by the New York Times, in an article about the so-called vaccine alarmism entitled "A vaccine shot? No thank you", it is stated that : ...The initial research trials of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines did not study whether a vaccinated person could get infected and infect another person. But the accumulated scientific evidence suggests the chances are very small that a vaccinated person could infect someone else with a severe case of Covid. (A mild case is effectively the common cold.) You wouldn’t know that from much of the public discussion.
“Over and over again, I see statements that in theory one could be infected and spread the virus even after being fully vaccinated,” Dr. Rebecca Wurtz of the University of Minnesota told me. “Is the ambiguous messaging contributing to ambivalent feelings about vaccination? Yes, no question.”

I think that it's important to address these issues, because there seems to be an ambivalent attitude (one needs to be vaccinated to be protected but still we need to keep our precautions because we can still get sick) that is confusing vast sectors of the population who cannot fully grasp the scientific reasons behind it, and who therefore resort to boycotting the vaccines.

Thank you and regards,

Armando

Does anyone know about taking ibuprofen for 103 fever from second vaccine? So confused.

Dr. Poland,
Why is their a one week difference between receiving the second shot of the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine? After the first Pfizer shot, one can receive the second Pfizer vaccine in three weeks and the Moderna one, four weeks after the first. Is their a specific reason for this difference, since both vaccines supposedly are identical. It may be a mute point, however, I would be interested in hearing of your interpretation, if you have one. Thank you so much, and for your weekly videos on this subject. They are simply outstanding in every sense of the word.
Joseph Greco

Hello @josephgreco and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for your question to Dr. Poland for consideration in an upcoming podcast.

@cavlover if you would like to connect with other member discussing the COVID vaccine, please feel free to join that group and relevant discussions.

COVID-19 Group: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/covid-19/