People with certain underlying conditions can receive a COVID-19 vaccine as long as they have not had a severe allergic reaction to any of the vaccine’s ingredients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a recently published guide.
“Adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for serious illness from the virus caused by COVID-19,” the agency noted in recommendations released Saturday.
As of Wednesday, 338,656 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. and 19.5 million people have been infected, according to data added by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, 1,792,786 have died from the virus and more than 82 million people have tested positive; this, for the most part, does not take into account those who are asymptomatic.
People with weakened immune systems, including some people living with HIV, could be at high risk for a severe case of COVID-19 and may receive a vaccine, the CDC said.
But they should take note of the limitations of vaccine safety data, the agency added, which are not yet available for these groups. Although clinical trials included people with HIV, there is still no specific safety information for this population.
People living with autoimmune diseases can get a coronavirus vaccine for mRNA, according to the CDC, but they should also keep in mind that no safety data is available.
Those who have previously had Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare but potentially serious autoimmune condition, can also get the vaccine. “With few exceptions, the General Guidelines for Good Practice for Vaccination of the Independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) do not include a history of GBS as a precaution for vaccination with other vaccines,” the agency states.
People who have previously had Bell’s palsy, a temporary weakness or paralysis of the face in general, can also receive the vaccine. Although trials on the COVID-19 vaccine included some reports of Bell’s palsy, the Food and Drug Administration “does not consider them to be above the expected rate in the general population” and has not concluded that vaccination caused these cases, according to the CDC. .
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People who are vaccinated against COVID-19 still need to follow current mitigation measures, such as masking, social distancing, and good hand hygiene, until experts better understand how vaccines protect people in real life. , according to the CDC.
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The new guidance came weeks after the FDA granted the emergency use authorization, a less stringent authorization than the full FDA approval that is being used to expedite the use of COVID- treatments and vaccines. 19, to vaccinated Pfizer PFE candidates,
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and Modern MRNA,
Both vaccines require two doses and use mRNA technology, which teaches the body’s cells to create proteins that generate an immune response.
The information sheets for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines include a complete list of their ingredients.
As of Monday morning, 2.1 million people in the U.S. had received the first doses of vaccine and 11.4 million doses had been distributed, according to a CDC account.
Public health authorities have recommended that health workers and residents of long-term care facilities be the first to get the vaccine. They should then be front-line essential workers and adults aged 75 or over, followed by adults aged 65 to 74, people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and essential workers not included above, according to the CDC recommendations.
According to experts, the average person in the U.S. who does not belong to any high priority category will be able to get vaccinated in the spring or summer.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine demonstrated 95% efficacy in clinical trials, while the Moderna vaccine was approximately 94% effective. But people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 still need to practice current mitigation measures, such as masking, social distancing, and good hand hygiene, until experts better understand how vaccines protect people in life. real, according to the CDC.
As vaccine news sheds some light on what has been a dark year for millions of people, the United States has averaged 183,140 daily cases of COVID-19 over the past week, according to a New York Times tracker; at least 1,899 people died Monday from the disease. The number of current hospitalizations reached a record high of 121,235 on Monday, according to the COVID follow-up project.