No Vaccine Passports For This Age Group
Unlike Albertans 12 years of age and older, children aged five to 11 will not be subject to the provinces Restrictions Exemption Program
Kenney said one of the provinces primary concerns was the number of unvaccinated adults needing hospital and intensive care: We dont have anything like the same kind of risk for pressure on the health-care system emanating from children in this age bracket.
Alberta Kids Aged Five To 11 Can Get Covid
Parents of children aged five to 11 in Alberta can book first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for that age group starting Wednesday morning and the first appointments will open Friday.
Starting at 8 a.m., appointments can be booked through the AHS online tool or by calling 811, Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Jason Copping announced Tuesday afternoon. Alberta is scheduled to receive 394,000 pediatric Pfizer doses by the end of this week, enough for every child in this age group to get their first shot. The first shipment arrived Tuesday.
This is welcome news for many parents who will log in, I suspect, first thing morning to book their kids vaccines, Kenney said. Vaccines are the single most effective tool that weve got so we need to use them to our full advantage.
Health Canada approved the child-safe version of Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine for this age group last week.
Appointments open Friday. Vaccines will be offered at 120 Alberta Health Services clinics but parents can pre-register online to save time. A handful of pharmacies are also giving them out where AHS sites are not convenient, and children on First Nations reserves can visit a local public health clinic.
Using AHSs clinics will be the quickest way to deliver the vaccines rather than at schools, Copping said. But shots may be sent there in the future.
Video: COVID-19: Alberta to ease gathering restrictions ahead of holidays
As Omicron Surges These States And Cities Are Focused On Giving Out Free Covid Tests
In Lowell, Massachusetts, a long line of cars snakes around the local middle school. The reward at the front of the line: free rapid tests. Carol Mehigan and her niece, Chantelle, skipped the line and showed up on foot. Mehigan was beaming.
“Oh my god, this is fantastic,” she said to the volunteer who handed her the tests.
Lowell is a virus hotspot in a state that has spiking COVID numbers. Mehigan and her extended family have been playing it safe. Despite having four families under one roof, they rarely visit one another’s apartments. Nobody wants to risk giving COVID-19 to Chantelle’s newborn or Mehigan’s elderly mother.
But for Christmas they’re getting together. They’ve decided on a scaled-back gathering of 15 people. And Mehigan has a plan for exactly when she’ll be using her free rapid test.
“I’m using it by the end of the week before Christmas day,” she said.
With the holidays approaching and the omicron variant spreading quickly, there is growing demand for rapid tests and supply has not kept pace. On Tuesday, President Biden announced that the federal government will help, giving out a half-billion free rapid coronavirus tests starting in January. Several cities and states are already offering COVID tests free to their residents, handing them out at libraries and mailing them to people’s houses. But, experts say, more is needed.
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Kaiser To Offer Free Flu Shots Saturday
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. Kaiser Permanente Kern County will be holding a free flu shot clinic Saturday and following Saturday.
The clinic will be held Nov. 13 and Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kaiser Permanente Medical office located at 8800 Ming Ave.
You do not need to be a Kaiser Permanente member in order to receive a flu shot. The event is free and an appointment is not needed.
The best defense against the flu for you and the people around you is a flu shot, according to Kaiser Permanente.
Pfizer For Young People
Meanwhile, Alberta is recommending people 12 to 29 get the Pfizer vaccine because of the risk of myocarditis with the Moderna vaccines for this age group, although it is small, Hinshaw said.
Its also important to remember that myocarditis after COVID-19 infection is more common than after a vaccine, she said.
Another 253 COVID-19 cases were reported Tuesday. Ten more people have died from COVID-19, including a child under two years old. There were 475 people hospitalized for the disease with 94 patients in ICU.
Those figures have dropped drastically from the peak of 1,100 hospitalizations and 266 patients in intensive care in late September. But Copping noted that hospitals are still at about 120 per cent capacity despite cases dropping.
Heading into the holiday season, officials are still looking into whether or not there will be gathering restrictions in place later next month, Copping said.
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Kaiser Permanente Members: Flu Shots Now Available Through Participating Retail Pharmacies
From now through March 31, 2022, Kaiser Permanente members can get a flu shot at no additional cost from multiple retail locations, including Walgreens, CVS Health, and Walmart. This is in addition to the Kaiser Permanente flu clinics options that are currently available tomembers. This means that Kaiser Permanente is offering 5 easy ways to get a flu shot:
- Drive-thru clinic – Now through November 30, members can use our new, convenient way to get a flu shot. They dont even have to leave their car. An appointment is required.
- Medical center clinic Now through November 30, if a member would like to get a flu shot in a medical center, they can schedule an appointment. Flu clinics are in a designated room in each medical center.
- Walk-up clinic Now through November 30, members can schedule an appointment at one of our open-air tents.
- Saturday flu clinics Now through October 23, members can schedule a Saturday appointment at one of our outdoor, weekend flu clinics.
- NEW! Retail pharmacies Between now and March 31, 2022, members can get a flu shot at no additional cost from select retailers including Walgreens, CVS, Safeway, and more. All they need is their photo ID and Member ID Card. If they forget their physical Member ID Card, they can use their digital ID card in the KP app.
Members can find information about the flu shot and where they can get one at kp.org/flu. Like previous years, flu shots will be offered at any primary or specialty care appointment.
The Drive Up Clinic For Flu Shots Insures Social Distancing Safety Set Up By Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara At Mission College
Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara is providing free flu shots to members at a drive-up clinic this year, thanks to a partnership with Mission College.
Two large parking lots on the Mission College campus have been transformed into a drive-up flu clinic, which is providing more than 2,000 adult and pediatric vaccinations daily.
“Providing high quality, accessible health care is at the core of what Kaiser Permanente stands for and represents,” said Chris Boyd, Senior Vice President and Area Manager at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara. “This partnership with Mission College is vitally important this year as we work to provide our members with an easy, fast and safe way to obtain their flu vaccination without having to come inside of a medical center.”
Recommended Reading: Cvs Minute Clinic Cost Of Flu Shot
Worksite Flu Shot Clinics
Worksite flu shot clinic scheduling requests for the 2021 season are now being accepted. Flu clinics are available* to employers for all their employees, both Kaiser Permanente members and non-members, on a fee-for-service basis billed to the employer outside the scope of covered health plan benefits.*Not available for small group accounts.
Scheduling Lead Time
A six week lead time is required to schedule worksite flu vaccinations. Flu clinic dates fill up fast especially events in October-November. Talk with your groups soon to gather a few date options.
Vaccine Mandates Are Not New To American History From Smallpox To Covid Here’s What Public Health Learned
COVID-19 vaccine mandates are becoming a reality throughout the U.S. in states that set deadlines for residents to get their shots.
All Washington, D.C., health workers had to have their first dose by Thursday, and schoolteachers, staff and early-child care workers must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1. In California, teachers and school employees, including custodians, aides and bus drivers, must get vaccinated by Oct. 15 or face weekly testing.
In New York, tens of thousands of health care workers at hospitals and nursing homes were required to get vaccinated by Monday or risk losing their jobs.
The mandates, which followed President Joe Biden’s decision to require all federal employees get the shot, are divisive. Even as some states enact them, others have banned them. But government-required vaccination and the backlash against it is not new to American history.
Vaccine mandates have been around since as long as we had vaccines, said Tegan Kehoe, a medical historian and museum professional at Paul S. Russell Museum of Medical History.
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Schedule Your Flu Shot Today
Youve got good times ahead. Enjoy them flu free by scheduling your flu shot appointment.
Dinner dates. Back to school. Lots and lots of hugs. The COVID-19 vaccine makes moments like these much safer. But it doesnt make us any safer from the yearly flu virus. The flu shot is a safe, effective way to protect what you love. Even better, its oh-so simple to get one.
Kaiser Permanente offers appointments easy ways for you to get a flu shot:
You will always be offered a flu shot at any primary or specialty care appointment.
Your health and safety are our top priority and we want to make sure that you get the care you need while staying safe. Were taking the following precautions to ensure your safety in our facilities:
Everyone, ages 2 and up, must wear a mask at all times in our medical centers, and social distancing protocols are in place. We thoroughly sanitize all surfaces in our facilities especially in the Pharmacy, Laboratory, and Radiology departments, plus all reception desks and waiting rooms.
If you have any questions about where you can receive a flu shot or how we are keeping our facilities and members safe, please call our 24/7 appointments and advice line 1-800-777-7904 .
To Schedule An Appointment:
| CareFirst Instructions | Kaiser Instructions |
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Coronavirus Faq: Remind Me How Do You Define Mild Moderate And Severe Covid
Each week, we answer frequently asked questions about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you’d like us to consider for a future post, email us at with the subject line: “Weekly Coronavirus Questions.” See an archive of our FAQs here.
I hear a lot of talk in the news these days about the omicron variant and the kind of disease it might cause: mild, moderate, severe. Could you explain those terms?
As the omicron variant spreads around the globe, everyone wants to know: Will it cause mainly mild disease? Moderate? Severe?
Early studies suggest that many people could have asymptomatic or mild cases rather than severe, in part because many more people are now vaccinated or have had previous disease. There’s not yet enough data for a definitive answer.
And then there’s the question of what exactly “mild,” “moderate” and “severe” mean vis-a-vis COVID.
It turns out that question isn’t so easy to answer. That’s because doctors and patients have different concerns when assessing COVID.
Doctors think in terms of how your lungs and other organs are doing and what treatments might be required.
“SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus that causes COVID, and the designations refer largely to how well a patient’s lungs are able to oxygenate and what treatment is necessary to keep the illness from progressing,” says Stanford University infectious disease physician Dr. Abraar Karan.
Not exactly what you think of when you hear the word “mild.”
So what’s a patient to do?
Biden Pivots To Home Tests To Confront Omicron Surge
Tags:
Posted December 21, 2021 5:00 p.m. ESTUpdated December 21, 2021 5:03 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON Fighting the omicron variant surging through the country, President Joe Biden announced the government will provide 500 million free rapid home-testing kits, increase support for hospitals under strain and redouble vaccination and boosting efforts.
At the White House on Tuesday, Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are not yet fully understood by scientists. Yet his message was clear that the winter holidays could be close to normal for the vaccinated while potentially dangerous for the unvaccinated.
His pleas are not political, he emphasized. He noted that former President Donald Trump has gotten his booster shot, and he said it’s Americans’ patriotic duty to get vaccinated.
Its the only responsible thing to do, the president said. “Omicron is serious and potentially deadly business for unvaccinated people.
Biden chastised social media and people on cable TV who have made misleading statements to discourage people from getting vaccinated.
I know youre tired, and I know youre frustrated. We all want this to be over. But were still in it, Biden said. We also have more tools than we had before. Were ready, well get through this.
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Flu Shot Strategy: Get Yours Early In The Season
Get set for 2020’s mega-campaign against the flu amid the COVID-19 pandemic:immunization drives in the parking lots of churches and supermarkets, curbside inoculations outside doctors’ offices, socially distanced vaccine appointments held indoors, with breaks in between for disinfecting.
These are just some of the ways heath providers say they will give tens of millions of flu shots this fall arguably the most important U.S. effort to prevent influenza’s spread among Americans in a century.
Flu shots will be in stock at doctors’ offices, pharmacies and supermarkets by early September. And though what’s normally thought of as flu season in North Americadoesn’t really begin until October and peaks between December and February, because of changes wrought by COVID-19, now is the time to start thinking about when, how and where you’ll get immunized against the fluthis year.
“If you usually get the shot at the office but you’re working from home, for example, you’ll need a new plan, says Lori Uscher-Pines, a senior policy researcher with the Rand Corp. “And if you usually drop in to the pharmacy or the supermarket for your shot while you’re out and about anyway, you’ll need a new plan this year if, these days, you’re just not ‘out and about.’ “
But do make a plan.”No year is a good year to get the flu, but this year with COVID-19 also raging it’s especially bad,” says , an epidemiologist in the Influenza Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Find A Flu Shot Clinic Near You In Northern California
Flu season is almost upon us, but the best way to protect yourself is already here. Throughout Northern California, Kaiser Permanente is offering no-cost flu shots to members at their facilities.
When it comes to making time for a flu shot, you have quick, convenient options to choose from. Many Kaiser Permanente locations offer walk-in vaccinations so theres no appointment necessary. Just pop by before or after work, or on your lunch hour. Some flu shot clinics will even be open evenings and weekends.
Coming in soon? You can also get your shot at your next doctor appointment.
To get information on the flu shot clinic nearest you, visit kp.org/mydoctor/flu, or call our recorded flu hotline anytime day or night at 1-800-573-5811.
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Your Partner In Health
Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara, San Jose and the Central Coast is your partner in health. From Santa Clara down to Gilroy Mountain View to Milpitas, Downtown San Jose to Santa Cruz County, Kaiser Permanente is there for all of your health care needs. From choosing your own doctor, to an unmatched number of services, to technology to keep you connected anywhere at any time, Kaiser Permanente is your choice for high quality, affordable health care right here in your community. Learn more about KP with this informative video.
The video is also available in other languages:
Protozoal And Helminthic Infections
Recommendations Regarding PCP
Preventing Exposure
Although a possible cause of PCP is reactivation of latent infection among immunocompromised persons, cases of person-to-person transmission of PCP have been reported . Generally, standard precautions should be used for patients with PCP , but researchers have reported patients with PCP being isolated and contact precautions being used if evidence existed of person-to-person transmission in the institution . This subject remains controversial, and until further data are published, HSCT recipients should avoid exposure to persons with PCP .
Preventing Disease and Disease Recurrence
Physicians should prescribe PCP prophylaxis for allogeneic recipients throughout all periods of immunocompromise after engraftment. Prophylaxis should be administered from engraftment until 6 months after HSCT for all patients, and > 6 months after HSCT for the duration of immunosuppression for those who a) are receiving immunosuppressive therapy , or b) have chronic GVHD . However, PCP prophylaxis can be initiated before engraftment if engraftment is delayed . Researchers report an additional 1- to 2-week course of PCP prophylaxis before HSCT .
Recurrent PCP among HSCT recipients is rare however, patients with continued immunosuppression should remain on PCP prophylaxis until their immunosuppression is resolved . The regimen recommended for preventing toxoplasmosis recurrence among HSCT recipients will also prevent PCP recurrence.
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