Steady as she goes...

It is really important to stay focused on the good things right now, so here we go.

100 % of new cases in the province of Ontario are now caused by the delta variant.

Only 2 new cases in Guelph today, six in the entire WDG region. Guelph is almost 93 % fully vaccinated. That is outstanding. That is a wall of vaccine protection around our community. The delta variant swooped in and took over, but our vaccines still worked.

Ontario is 86 % double vaccinated. ( From this source: https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/ontario-dashboard/)

That is outstanding too. Here are some interesting numbers:

1/ The number of new cases / million among the unvaccinated is 209.

The number of new cases / million among the vaccinated is 36.9.

That's an 82 % reduction in new cases/ million associated with vaccination. Vaccines work to prevent COVID -19 infection even against the delta variant

2/ The number of cases / million in the ICU is 79.4 among the unvaccinated.

The number of cases/ million in the ICU is 2.4 among the fully vaccinated.

That's a 97 % reduction in ICU occupancy associated with full vaccination. Vaccines work to prevent serious illness and the need for assisted breathing in the ICU even against the delta variant.

That is a wall of vaccine protection around our province!

The wall remains in place even as omicron makes it's way in!

Take a look at this familiar graph:

New cases analysis by date

https://covid-19canada.com/graphs#ON

One massive thing has changed since the third wave of this pandemic when the rolling average of new daily cases was over 4300 and the number of ICU admissions were close to 800 ( April 20/21) and that is Vaccines.

Be not anxious. Wear a good quality, well fitting mask in public. Get vaccinated if you are not there yet.

Again and again, I will say it, "We've got this". The twisting, turning, upside down, right side up, always changing world of COVID-19 is dizzying. But we are still here. We are still winning. Science is still winning. That has not changed.

Anne-Marie

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For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:

https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

That is outstanding too.

OMICRON.....should we worry?

 

When I was 8 years old my father gave me advice that I have continued to follow for the last 50 years. I have an anxiety disorder. I constantly fight to stay calm and not worry. Constantly. I started worrying at the dawn of my self-awareness which was around the age of eight. My father pulled me into scripture and although he was not a religious man, more of a philosopher he was, he knew scripture.

The verse he read to me goes like this: Matt 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?". I will never forget the moment when my father gave me a reason not to worry. That did not stop me from having a major breakdown in my 30's after the death of my mother but, with constant work, I did not breakdown when he died in the midst of a run of deaths and losses in 2013.

I know, this page is politically and religiously neutral......most of the time. But there are more verses in the Christian Bible about anxiety than any other topic. And right now, more of us are suffering from mental health problems than ever before.

So, from a woman of faith who has worked on anxiety and depression all her life, here is my take on our present situation:

Don't fret. There is a new COVID-19 variant out there. It is called Omicron. It was discovered by some smart scientists in South Africa. It did not come from South Africa, it was discovered there. The South African government did the right thing by sounding the alarm and now all of Southern Africa will pay a price; not a political post so I will stop there but the only light that should be shone on Africa is the light that reveals the inequity in the world and the fact that only 10 % of the population in Africa is fully vaccinated while countries like Canada reach 80 % vaccinated. We are working on it with millions of doses being donated to various African countries but it is not enough and until the entire human population is vaccinated, variants like Omicron will continue to evolve as the virus continues to be given opportunities to replicate among populations that do not have the resources to vaccinate. We as ordinary people have the power to make that happen.

Omicron is a variant of the COVID-19 virus that has 30 more mutations than the delta variant. Will these mutations make it more transmissible.....probably? More deadly? Maybe not. All of this remains to be seen as scientist scramble to learn as much as they can about this variant. I try to imagine teams of scientists working day and night on this thing since it was discovered on November 24/21. Day and night. And, they will find the answers. When people shrug off science and vaccines, it shows a total lack of knowledge about how hard these brilliant people work and how they are working together globally. Minimizing their credibility and the power of this virus is nonsense.

But, they are there. Working tirelessly. So far the countries where cases are spreading are countries that are under-vaccinated ( 60 % or less) which makes sense. The unvaccinated remain a large group of hosts that have no defence against any variant of COVID. It remains to be seen whether or not our tremendous work to crush the delta variant will protect us from Omicron.

I like the words of Dr. Isaac Bogoch. He tweets: "I hope we can approach the Omicron variant of concern with empiricism, caution, and humility, rather than some of the wild speculation we’ve seen over the past few days." Ah....a man of great wisdom. My father was a man of great wisdom too.

So here is our job as we watch and wait to see what Omicron will do: Stay calm. Do not be anxious. Get vaccinated. Wear a good quality mask in public even when those around you are vaccinated (hey, Guelph Storm fans, a small minority of you are not wearing masks during the games. Get them on). Wear a mask and keep your distance in public spaces where the vaccination status of those around you is not known. Limit indoor gathering to < 25. Keep a window open a crack to make the ventilation in the room in which you are gathering a place where the COVID-19 virus has difficulty landing in your nostrils. Make sure the vulnerable who are eligible have a third dose. Third doses are crushing COVID in eligible groups.

Should we all have access to third doses? I think so and I think we will. Let's get those kids vaccinated first. Will two or three doses protect against Omicron? Maybe. That remains to be seen but Canada is in good shape. There is a wall of protective vaccines around us. Almost 80 % of Ontario and Canada are fully vaccinated. That needs to be closer to 90 % but it is a great number.

So sit back and keep doing what you have been doing. We may have been a bit lax in the last several months. The threat of Omicron whether serious or not should remind us to get back on track.

We have got this.....too. But lets get vaccines to the world and stop the threat of variants.

Anne-Marie

Please share.

ON THIS NOTE, Lesotho is one to of the southern African countries on the list of travel bans. We ( Bracelet of Hope) fight for Lesotho. Help us do that. Help us get vaccines to this one African country. One country at a time. Ordinary people like you and me can do that and we will.

Help us as we assist in the roll out of COVID vaccines in Lesotho. If you would like to be apart of this vitally important work towards making sure that vaccines are distributed in resource poor countries like Lesotho, you can donate here:

https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/

For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:

https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

Time ​to get back to the bottom line.

Pfizer's vaccine for children arrives in Canada tomorrow. For those of you who are ready to book an appointment for your child ages 5 to 11 in Guelph Wellington Dufferin, call Public Health: 1-800-265-7293 x7006. They will contact you to book an appointment. We have anticipated the arrival of these vaccines but it may take some time before your child has an appointment. Public health is running their own clinic for these vaccines as well as family physicians and nurses from the Guelph Family Health Team. Appointments at both these clinics can be booked at the above number. Health Canada has approved these vaccines with a 21 day interval between doses. Health Canada can only authorize the use of vaccines according to the original research provided to them by, in this case, Pfizer. In the Pfizer trial, a 21 day interval was used. The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations ( NACI) can make recommendations about vaccines not only based on the original trials from Pfizer but also on real-world research which has shown a more robust response to the vaccines if they are given 8 weeks apart. Health Canada and NACI are not giving conflicting recommendations. Health Canada approves the vaccine, then NACI makes recommendations as to how it should be used. Why should your child get a vaccine? 1/These vaccines are 90.7 % effective. This means that if your child is exposed to the highly infectious delta variant, their risk of becoming infected is reduced by 90.7 %. Does this matter given that children are much less likely to develop serious illness or die from COVID-19? It does. Any risk of serious illness and death from COVID infection is not acceptable, given that these vaccines are so effective at preventing infection and do not cause any serious side effects or death. 2/ Children who are given this vaccine ( almost 3 million in the USA so far) experience fewer and more mild side effects than adults after vaccination. They may experience fatigue, mild headache and pain at the site of the injection which resolve within 24-48 hours. Most have no side effects at all. 3/ These vaccines will get our children back to a normal life and address the 'collateral harms' of the COVID-19 pandemic: prolonged schooling disruptions, social isolation, reduced access to academic and extra-curricular resources, the financial stress and economic burdens on families and the increased stress and anxiety experienced by their parents. All of these effects have had a profound impact on the mental and physical well-being of children and their families. 4/ Vaccinating our children will reduce the community spread of the virus. Children under the age of 12 now represent the group with the highest incidence of new daily cases of COVID 19 in Canada. By vaccinating these children we will help stop community spread and decrease the risk of spread to vulnerable family and friends. Dr. Michelle Forbes, Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist in London, Ont. "Ultimately not only will we help to keep kids from acute COVID-19 and its consequences, we will keep kids healthy and we will also keep them happy as they are allowed to do in-class learning and extracurricular activities," she said. "This would also help reduce new adult cases in the community resulting from children with school acquisition who go home and infect their parents and grandparents." IN OTHER WORDS: kids can go back to being kids, parents can breathe a sigh of relief, teachers can be teachers, kids can learn again in a safe school environment and families can gather without worrying about spread. The dose of the Pfizer vaccines in kids is one third the dose in adults. Even if your child is an adult sized 11 year old, this dose is still effective. The adult dose is not required. As for kids under the age of 5, Health Canada also expects submissions for vaccines for children under five from both Pfizer and Moderna, but we are not there yet. Even if we could start vaccinated millions of kids tomorrow, it will take months before these children are fully vaccinated. We still have a ways to go. Delta has not changed. It is still so easily transmitted from one person to the next especially indoors. Going back to Christmas as usual could be deadly. Limit the size of indoor gatherings. Get a third dose of a vaccine if you are vulnerable and eligible. Wear a mask and stay distanced especially at indoor public gatherings where the vaccination status of those around you is not known. Anne-Marie Please share. For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

We are in for quite a storm

 

We are in for quite a storm.

We thought the anti-vaccination mis-information was rough when we were vaccinating adults. Just wait until we see the plethora of terrifying rhetoric as we start to immunize kids. Stay focused. Stay away from social media rabbit holes. Trust the scientists and MD's who have carried you this far. Trust the science. I learned something about one of my patient's today. It broke my heart. Her oldest son died of the mumps at the age of 3. He was running around playing outside with other kids ( as was the custom in the 1950's ) one day and gone a week later. Viruses kill. Have you heard of anyone who has died of the mumps in the last 35 years or since 1967 when vaccines against mumps were widely available? In 1963, a star researcher at the pharmaceutical company Merck took a swab of his own daughter’s throat to begin cultivating a weakened form of the mumps virus. And just four years later, in 'record time', Merck licensed Mumpsvax as the world’s first effective vaccine against mumps. The success of the mumps vaccine did not start with research in 1963. There was a decades long search for a mumps cure that began during World War II. Researchers in the 1940s and 1950s were developing the vaccine technologies for polio and measles and it was these incremental breakthroughs in lab techniques that ultimately allowed for the swift development of the 1960s Mumpsvax. Hmmmm. This sounds familiar. Decades of research and development that allowed for the development of vaccines for polio, measles and mumps. Decades of research and development in mRNA technology THAT ALLOWED FOR THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF VACCINES FOR COVID-19. We did not pull the mRNA vaccines out of thin air. The mRNA vaccines were not rushed. They were resourced. They were built on decades of science and technology. The same science and technology that brought us vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis......the list goes on. No one should or can dispute the lifesaving effects of these vaccines. So, why are we questioning the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines? Perhaps because many of us on this planet have never had to lose a child to a deadly childhood virus. Perhaps because we have been so free of most infectious diseases for so long that we take for granted that the absence of these diseases is not because our immune systems are somehow more equipped to manage these illnesses now than they were decades ago. They are not. Perhaps because we feel a sense of unfounded resilience against these diseases because, no one has ever seen a case or been close to someone seriously effected by these viruses. Perhaps because, in today's world, everyone has google at their fingertips and Facebook at the ready which give us all this idea that we know more than highly educated scientists and physicians. Believe me. We do not. And most of all, these same social media platforms allow for the rampant spread of mis-information that makes us question our own shadows. The serious consequences of mumps include meningitis, testicular inflammation in males who have reached puberty, among whom about half experience infertility; inflammation of the ovaries or breasts in females who have reached puberty also leading to infertility in some cases and permanent deafness. Ahhh. Is that it? Is this where the conspiracy theorists got the ridiculous idea that COVID-19 vaccination causes infertility? Could very well be. The massive leaps in ideas and information are unbelievable to me. If mumps causes infertility.....vaccines against COVID-19 do too? Who knows how the infertility theories got started. We are not entitled to our health. Health is something that takes work. For some, health is a gift. A healthcare system that promotes health and treats disease is a gift. Science and technology that creates a very effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine is a gift that everyone on this planet should have access to. But, not so. It is the wealthy nations of the world that benefit the most from these vaccines and it is in these wealthy nations that mis-information about these vaccines spreads like butter. My children were never playing one minute and dying of an infectious disease the next. My children were immunized and most of yours were too. In the Pfizer vaccine trials in kids aged 5-11 there were NO serious adverse events. Amongst the 2.4 million vaccinated children in this age group in the USA, there has not been a SINGLE serious adverse event. The vaccine in this age group is 90 % effective. That's astounding. That's decades and decades of science and technology the we benefit from whether we take it for granted or not. Sixty-five hundred children have died of COVID-19 in the USA. Not one has died as a consequence of a COVID vaccine. And mark my words and the words of people in my field who are much, much smarter than I am; we will not get out of this pandemic without immunizing our children. Immunizing them not only protects them against a vicious virus but it will protect the population and it will get allow us to get this virus under control. I do not envy any parent of young or adolescent children who has had to navigate this pandemic and the non-sensical mis-information that surrounds it. The stress you have lived with is unimaginable to the rest of us. But please, don't stop now. Keep going. Get your kids immunized. Please share. Anne-Marie For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

 

Whoa. This is what happens when you walk 5 km in the first wet, snow fall of the year with a wool toque on. Straight hair. A 'curly hair' girls dream!

Our numbers are going up. In the last week the 7 day rolling average has increased from 476 to 573. Take a look at this graph: https://covid-19canada.com/graphs#ON Scroll down to New Cases Analysis by Date. There's our fourth wave. Is it becoming a 5th wave? Not yet. Still looks like a blip to me. Which way will we go? That's up to us. If we follow in the footsteps of some European countries like the Netherlands where there were 19,000 new cases yesterday or Austria where there were 12,000, we will have a fifth wave. Here is their graph for new daily cases. https://www.google.com/search?q=new+covid+19+cases+in+austria&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA952CA952&oq=new+case+in+Austria&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i10i22i30.7493j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Austria has just set a national mandate for the unvaccinated: They are back into lockdown. Projections suggest we could be in a fifth wave by January but here is our sweet spot. In Austria, only 60 % of the population is fully vaccinated and, like other European countries, they completely opened up in the summer. Now that people are gathering indoors, 60 % was not enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and a surge into a 5th wave. So far, 88 per cent of eligible Ontarians have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 85 per cent have fully vaccinated ( in the vaccine eligible). Many vulnerable populations are receiving booster shots and the province will likely offer a third dose to everyone in the new year. More on that later. We can avoid a 5th wave. We can keep our numbers hovering under 600 and not head to 1,000 new cases a day in the coming weeks. We can keep the number of people with COVID-19 in hospital and the ICU under 300 and not overwhelm our healthcare system. https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data/hospitalizations Waning immunity might be part of the reason our numbers are climbing but of the 500 to 600 new cases a day, 100 or so are in kids who are not vaccinated and vaccines are about to be offered to them. Kids are not getting seriously ill with COVID-19 and that's a blessing. Waning immunity, unvaccinated kids and some breakthrough infections in the fully vaccinated, all reasons for an uptick in numbers. But, very few fully vaccinated folks are getting seriously ill either. Take a look at this graph and scroll down to the ICU pie chart. Thirteen fully vaccinated in the ICU out of 13 million fully vaccinated people. Sixty-four non-vaccinated in the ICU which is still an incredibly low number out of the 13 million people in Ontario that are fully vaccinated. https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data/hospitalizations The answer? Keep masks on in public. Keep indoor gatherings small. Gather indoors with fully vaccinated people. Make sure the vulnerable people in your gathering have received a third dose. Keep two windows preferably on the opposite side of the room slightly ajar. Yeah, that makes the room colder but we are Canadian. We own big sweaters and lovely scarves. On the weekend, I am heading to the 21st birthday party of a young man I delivered. I am old. He will turn 21 on November 21st in 2021. They call that a champaign birthday and they are very rare. We will celebrate.....with fully vaccinated people, with under 25 gathered, with the people over 70 boostered up and I will sneak a couple of windows open. Maybe I should warn them about that. We can do this, all winter long. We can do this until our children under 12 are fully vaccinated and until as many people that need to have a booster, have a booster. NO FIFTH WAVE. WE'VE GOT THIS. Please share. Anne-Marie We are assisting in the roll out of COVID vaccines in Lesotho. If you would like to be apart of this vitally important work towards making sure that vaccines are distributed in resource poor countries like Lesotho, you can donate here: https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/ For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

MISINFORMATION and how to identify it!

 

MISINFORMATION and how to identify it!

This article contains misinformation and mis-leading information: https://www.theepochtimes.com/researchers-call-for-halt-on-covid-19-vaccines-for-pregnant-women-after-re-analysis-of-cdc-study_4081606.html The article quotes two scientists who are concerned that the COVID-19 vaccine should not be recommended to pregnant women. They make some pretty big assertions about the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women after COVID- 19 vaccination. Here is a quote from the article: " spontaneous abortions occurred in 81.9 percent to 91.2 percent of the women who were vaccinated before 20 weeks of gestation." That's a massive assertion. Huge. In my little practise in the last 6 months, among vaccinated pregnant women, there was one miscarriage and 10 who are now 20 or more weeks gestation. The risk of miscarriage in woman before COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccines existed was 25 %. In the last 6 months these women appear to be beating the odds. None of my colleagues have seen a rate of 80 to 90 %, Clues that might suggest mis-information: 1/ If what you are reading seems way off and extreme and makes you feel terrified it is probably mis-information. 2/ When judging whether or not an article contains mis-information, look at the journal/ newspaper it is published in. The Epoch times is a far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement. Since 2016, the Falun Gong-backed newspaper has used aggressive Facebook tactics and right-wing misinformation to create an anti-China, pro-Trump media empire. One of it's focuses now is to spread mis-information about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. 3/ Next, look up the experts that are quoted in the article. One is Dr. Simon Thornley, a senior lecturer in the University of Auckland’s Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, New Zealand. He has been discredited by his scientific community for his anti-vax, anti-public health restriction stance. If an expert has been discredited, turn the page. Look up the expert being quoted and make sure their reputation is sound. 4/ Now go to a reputable journal that reviews the same information. In this case, we are being led to believe that pregnant women who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, have an 80- 90% chance of having a miscarriage. Now google, " What are the chances of having a miscarriage after a COVID-19 vaccine?' There is one link that pops up right away from the New England Journal of Medicine: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2114466 The New England Journal of Medicine is arguably one of the most respected scientific journals in the world. Only top notch research and peer reviewed research gets published there. And there conclusions: "Our study found no evidence of an increased risk for early pregnancy loss after Covid-19 vaccination and adds to the findings from other reports supporting Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy." It's distressing, isn't it? The spread of misinformation that terrifies pregnant women and keeps them from getting a life saving vaccine. One article in a questionable newspaper makes you believe something totally different than the truth we get from science. And remember, science is not the truth, science uncovers the truth using a tried and true scientific method. If an expert makes a statement, make sure it is backed up by science. The hard part is, how can a lay person know which journals are reputable? Look up, "What are the top medical journal?" https://www.google.com/search?q=what+are+the+top+medical+journals&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA952CA952&oq=what+are+the+top+medical+journals&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30j0i390l3.11137j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 And Bingo....there they are. Notice the New England Journal of Medicine is number 1 on the list. There is no two ways around it. Science is proving that these vaccines are safe with extremely rare risks of serious medical concerns in any population of people. They are among the most effective vaccines made. They will get us out of this pandemic. Vaccines and the continued wearing of an effective mask. More on that later. Anne-Marie Please share. One thousand km's on my bike this season. That's a lot of stress burned off on the road. Activity outside is key to our mental health.

We are assisting in the roll out of COVID vaccines in Lesotho. If you would like to be apart of this vitally important work towards making sure that vaccines are distributed in resource poor countries like Lesotho, you can donate here:

https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/

For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:

https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

DON'T MESS WITH MY FERTILITY

 

DON'T MESS WITH MY FERTILITY!

Hmmmmm......do periods change after COVID-19 vaccinations and do COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility? Is it safe to be vaccinated if I am pregnant? I am almost 58 and well past menopause, thank God. Many young women and pregnant women are fearful of being vaccinated against COVID-19. When I am faced with someone's fear the first thing I do is listen and try to imagine being in their reality. I go a bit deeper than that when someone is suffering. I immerse myself in their reality. So, if I was 27 years old and planning on having children at some point......give me a second. Let me sit with the memory of being a 27 year old with new born baby. I so loved that time of my life. Let me go back to being a 14 year old in high school. I have a clear memory of running down one of the stairwells at Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute. I loved high school. I felt this swell of hope and excitement....it felt like I had taken my first step towards independence and my own future. I had that same feeling while running down the steps, 5 months pregnant with my first child 12 years later in a house we had just purchased but couldn't really afford. Now I am immersed. If I was a woman in my teens or a woman of childbearing age, how would I feel about getting vaccinated? Let's talk through some of the false information out there. 1/ COVID vaccines change my periods which may lead to major health issues in reproductive stage of my life. Changes to periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding are not yet listed as a consequence of vaccination but family doctors, nurse practitioners and obstetricians/gynecologist's are hearing from patients who have experienced these events shortly after vaccination. More than 30 000 reports of these events had been made to the United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) yellow card surveillance system for adverse drug reactions by September 2021, across all COVID-19 vaccines currently offered. Periods return to normal in most people with their next period but I have talked to a few who state it takes a few cycles to return to normal. The link between vaccination and changes in menstrual cycles is plausible and under scientific review. Here's an interesting fact, other vaccinations have been linked to a change in menstrual cycle; the HPV ( Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine or Gardasil in this country, has also been associated with a change in cycles. Millions of people have received this vaccine. It is part of the series of vaccines given to students in grade 7 and 8. The HPV vaccines prevent cervical cancer in people with a cervix and other serious cancers in all genders. These vaccines have saved lives. It is believed that the menstrual cycle can be affected by the stimulation of the immune system not just from vaccination but from many viral infections. Get this, in one study of menstruating women, one quarter of those infected with COVID-19 experienced significant changes in their periods. These changes in menstrual cycles are likely to be the result of the immune response to vaccination or viral infection rather than a specific component of a vaccine. 2/ Because the COVID vaccine has caused a change in my menstrual cycle, I may become infertile. If the vaccines cause infertility and changes in periods, than if I get pregnant, I am putting my baby at risk if I get vaccinated. What a huge leap that is. That line of thinking is even hard to follow. That's just totally messed up. I am particularly passionate ( I will use this word rather than less professional words) about this 'way out their' piece of mis-information. It has caused so many to avoid getting the COVID-19 vaccines. The result has been that many pregnant women and young adults have succumb to the virus, developing serious illness. Some have died. There are now hundreds of scientific trials that show these vaccines are safe in pregnancy. Here is one of them but I could site more if needed. This is from a coalition of groups under the National Institute of Health in the US: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8352848/ On the other hand, there is a large and growing body of evidence that shows how serious COVID- 19 infection in pregnancy. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/pregnant-people.html There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility. This is interesting; in clinical trials, unplanned pregnancies occurred at similar rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Fertile couples often have unplanned pregnancies. These trials suggest that fertility is not affected by COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2211 In Summary, COVID-19 vaccines may cause changes in menstrual cycles which revert to normal within a few months. Studies are ongoing in this area. Viral infection and other vaccines also cause these changes. There is no relationship between changes in menstrual cycles after COVID-19 vaccination and infertility. The Gardasil vaccine can briefly change your period. It has been given to millions of young people.... I am seeing a baby boom amongst this group now. No fertility issues here. COVID -19 vaccines are safe in pregnancy. COVID infection is not.

Take home message: Please get vaccinated. Vaccines are safe in women in the reproductive stage of their lives, before, during and after pregnancy. Signing off for the weekend. Here's a picture of me at the Tsepong HIV/AIDS clinic in Lesotho, Africa ( 2006) when periods and fertility were still a part of my life!! Anne-Marie Please share. We are assisting in the roll out of COVID vaccines in Lesotho. If you would like to be apart of this vitally important work towards making sure that vaccines are distributed in resource poor countries like Lesotho, you can donate here: https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/ For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

Booster doses!

 

We need an update!

Booster dose( third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine) eligibility

At this time, third doses will or have been offered to the following groups.

1/ Residents in long-term care homes, retirement homes, elder care lodges, assisted-living facilities and chronic care hospitals. There has to be a minimum of 5 months since the second dose of vaccine. Public health is administering doses to these people in their place of residence.

2/ All Ontarians aged 70 and older (including those born in 1951 who will turn 70 in 2021). You must be a minimum of six months following your second dose. Public health is currently calling residents to book an appointment as they become eligible. You may also book an appointment online at this link:

https://wdgpublichealth.inputhealth.com/ebooking#new

3/ Healthcare workers- the list of eligible workers is long. Check it out here:

https://wdgpublichealth.ca/your-health/covid-19-information-public/covid-19-vaccine-information/booster-dose-eligibility

4/ First Nation, Inuit and Metis adults

5/ Individuals who received two doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine or 1 dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine ( both viral vector vaccines). You must be at minimum, six months since your second dose. People who received an Astrazeneca vaccine followed by either a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine are not yet eligible for a third dose.

For groups outlined in 2, 3, 4 and 5, book your third dose online using this link but please make you meet the eligibility criteria.

https://wdgpublichealth.inputhealth.com/ebooking#new

People who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are also eligible for a third dose. You need a signed referral from from your doctor. Take this from with you to the public health vaccine clinic. You need a minimum of 2 months since your second dose. You can find a complete list of people who qualify under this group at this link:

https://wdgpublichealth.ca/your-health/covid-19-information-public/covid-19-vaccine-information/booster-dose-eligibility

Why is a booster dose necessary at this time? People over the age of 70 or people who have illnesses/ take medications that suppress their immune systems may not have mounted a strong enough immune response to the first two vaccines leaving them at risk for COVID-19 infection. The evidence shows that these groups mount a robust immune response after a third dose.

Will the rest of the population require a third dose? The antibodies produced against COVID-19 start to decrease 6 months after the second dose. But, in healthy people, the immune system is still able to 'recognize' and attack the virus well after 6 months. A third dose will likely be recommended in younger, healthy people at some point in the new year in an age related sequence much like the system used for the first two vaccines.

Vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 have been approved for use in the USA and children started receiving the Pfizer vaccine this week. It is anticipated that Health Canada will approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children 5 to 11 years of age by the end of this month with the administration of these vaccines starting as early as the end of December. We will learn much more about how and where these vaccines will be given in the coming weeks.

Should your child receive the vaccine? Two answers; yes and definitely. I will review the reasons why in upcoming posts. The Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective in kids as proven by a trial in 4,000 children. That is large enough to prove efficacy and safety. Post-marketing studies or studies done that involve children who are now receiving the vaccine in the USA will help to reassure parents. Millions will have been vaccinated by the time these vaccines are offered to children in Canada.

We have lots of time to ask questions about COVID vaccinations in kids. Our next 'Finding the Balance during COVID-19' webinar on November 23rd will focus on this topic.

Stay tuned. Lot's more to come.

Anne-Marie

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We are assisting in the roll out of COVID vaccines in Lesotho. If you would like to be apart of this vitally important work towards making sure that vaccines are distributed in resource poor countries like Lesotho, you can donate here:

https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/

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https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/