Eddie Stenehjem, MD
“We’re doing great,” Intermountain infectious diseases specialist Eddie Stenehjem, MD, said Friday in a Facebook Live update on the pandemic in Utah. “This is a time to be optimistic. Our cases have plateaued at a much lower level. Our hospitalization numbers have improved. We certainly still have some very sick people in our ICUs and Medical/Surgical units with COVID-19, but at much lower levels than back in November and December.”
He added that test positivity rates are down, and Utah has among the highest rates in the nation for eligible people who’ve received the vaccine. But Dr. Stenehjem warned many states around the country are seeing case counts going up and variants are spreading, so it’s important to be careful for a while longer. Variants are also increasing rapidly in Utah.
“If we can hold on and get vaccinations farther down the road, we might be in a really good spot in a month or so,” he said.
A few notable updates related to COVID-19 vaccines:
- mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) are protective in healthcare workers. The CDC studied the impact of mRNA vaccines on symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and found a 90% reduction of cases in healthcare workers in the U.S. vaccinated with two doses, and an 80% reduction of cases in those who received one dose. Study participants included 450 healthcare workers from Utah.
- Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine continues to provide protection six months after vaccination. Pfizer announced 91% protection against symptomatic COVID-19 infection, 100% protection against severe disease, and 100% protection against the South African variant seven days after vaccination with the second dose through six months.
- Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12, the company announced in a press release last week. There were 18 cases among placebo recipients and none among the vaccine recipients in the trial of 2,260 adolescents ages 12 to 15. The trial data has been submitted to the FDA, which may approve use of the vaccine for anyone 12 and older by the end of the summer. The results haven’t yet been published or peer-reviewed. Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers are currently enrolling younger children in vaccine trials, but approval of vaccine for children younger than 12 will likely not be available until 2022.
- “People who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine can travel safely within the United States,” the CDC announced Friday. The updated guidance lifts certain testing and self-quarantine requirements andrecommends precautions like wearing a mask and avoiding crowds. Health officials continue to discourage nonessential travel. Intermountain’s travel guidelines remain unchanged for now.
- Antibodies to COVID-19 have been found in the umbilical cord and breast milk of pregnant women who receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which suggests that vaccinating pregnant women provides some protection for their babies as well. The study of 131 pregnant women published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology didn’t find any safety issues, consistent with larger safety monitoring of pregnant women conducted by the CDC.