Second COVID-19 boosters: Do you need one, and where to get them
C. A. BridgesWelcome to today's edition of the Florida Coronavirus Watch Newsletter. Currently, COVID cases are on the decline and more than 98% of the nation's counties no longer fall under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to mask up.
As COVID cases and, consequently, COVID-related news dwindle, we have reduced the frequency of our Coronavirus Watch Newsletter to twice weekly. You can expect the newsletter in your inbox Mondays and Thursdays — or as urgent news dictates. Thank you for reading.
Here's what's happening
- Second COVID-19 vaccine booster shots have been authorized for Americans 50 and older. Second boosters are “especially important for those 65 and older and those 50 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe disease from COVID-19 as they are the most likely to benefit from receiving an additional booster dose at this time," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.
Those who got J&J's COVID vaccine should seriously consider a Pfizer or Moderna booster, experts say.
Who's eligible for the second booster, when can you get it, and where can you get it in Florida? We've got answers.
- Hours before her newborn daughter arrived, Charma Jonathas was diagnosed with COVID-19. She spent more than 100 days between two hospitals, roughly half of which she was comatose, before she could see her new baby or her other children again.
Despite nearly dying, Charma relies on her faith to uphold her decision to remain unvaccinated. “We’re not interested,” she said Jan. 26, affixed to the oxygen concentrator she still wears nightly. “We haven’t gotten any instruction from God to do it.”
TCPalm has the story for its subscribers.
- Weekly COVID-19 cases rising in Florida for the first time since January. Florida’s COVID-19 caseload is rising for the first time in months, as the so-called “stealth omicron” subvariant takes over.
The state logged 9,845 new cases between March 21 and Monday, higher than the week prior, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.
- Should you get your kids vaccinated against COVID-19? According to Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and the Florida Department of Health, no, not if your children aged 5-17 are healthy.
But according to the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and medical and public health experts across the Sunshine State you really should, and that puts local health care staffers in awkward positions when confused parents ask.
Palm Beach Post subscribers can read about the pros (saving children's lives, reducing spread, preventing long COVID and other complications for kids, protecting high-risk parents, grandparents, teachers and other people) and the cons (a small chance of reactions) here.
Meanwhile. an investigative committee of the UF Faculty Senate concluded that University of Florida administrators cut corners in the rush to hire Dr. Joseph Ladapo with tenure in the College of Medicine last fall.
- A professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida has filed a lawsuit against administrators who he claims offered conflicting and shifting demands for in-person classes at the start of the fall term, forbade him from discussing COVID-19 with his students, and ordered him to undergo a mental exam when he pushed back.
"The attack on academic faculty is appalling, and the fact that university administrators are meeting it so meekly is very concerning to me," Johnson said Wednesday.
COVID info to know
COVID-19 will be an issue for a long time to come, and we think more education is better. Here's what you need to know.
ABOUT COVID
- Your complete guide to coronavirus and COVID-19
- Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster shots: Things to know
- Where and when can I get a booster in Florida?
- This story is free for everyone: Compare the spread of COVID-19 in your area
AVOIDING COVID
- Why N95, KN95 masks are so much more effective against omicron than cloth
- Are N95 and KN95 masks reusable and how should you store them?
- Can you avoid COVID if a member in your household has it? Ways to decrease your risk
- Do I still need to wear a mask? What the new CDC COVID mask guidance means for Florida
TESTING
- Is it the flu, a cold, or COVID-19? How to know, and when to get tested
- What's the difference between at-home tests, over-the-counter rapid tests, and PCR tests?
DO YOU HAVE COVID?
- Were you exposed to coronavirus? Did you test positive? If so, here's what to do next
- Long COVID: Why aren't my symptoms going away? Why did they come back? Am I a long-hauler?
What do you want to know about COVID-19? You ask, we'll try to answer
From a reader: "Is there any evidence that young boys (ages 11-18) are experiencing fainting or heart-related issues after being vaccinated with Moderna vaccines?"
The Florida DOH's vaccine guidance frequently mentions "myocarditis," an inflammatory heart condition the CDC says can be a rare, adverse reaction to COVID-19 vaccination. DOH linked to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine to bolster its argument that adolescent boys are at particular risk of myocarditis.
But they left out some context: 1,626 people developed myocarditis out of more than 192 million. That’s 0.008%. And according to a CDC assessment of more than 900 hospitals, COVID-19-infected patients were nearly 16 times more likely to be diagnosed with myocarditis than those without the virus. (This is from this TCPalm story by Lindsey Leake and Liz Freeman.)
As for fainting, it's not uncommon for adolescents to faint after nearly all vaccinations. The CDC has a whole page about it here.
Anything you'd like to know? Ask your questions here.
Thank you for reading! We appreciate you trusting our statewide journalists to keep you safe and informed. If you are encouraged by our work and want to support your local journalists, please consider subscribing. Know someone who would benefit from this newsletter? Forward this email so they can sign up.
Chris' note of the day: Just another reminder the CoronavirusWatch newsletter is coming out on Mondays and Thursdays, for now.
Have you lost a loved one to COVID-19? Some of our papers around the state would like to help you tell their stories. If you're on the Space Coast, go here. Southwest Florida readers can go here.
Here's what else is happening with the coronavirus in Florida today.
— C. A. Bridges, cbridges@gannett.com