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 said in a recently published guide.
“Adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions have an increased risk of severe disease caused by the virus that causes COVID-19,” the agency said in a recommendation posted on Saturday.
As of Wednesday, 338,656 people had died from COVID-19 in the United States and 19.5 million people had been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, 1,792,786 have died from the virus and more than 82 million people have tested positive; In general, this does not take into account the asymptomatic ones.
People with weakened immune systems, including some people living with HIV, may be at increased risk for a severe case of COVID-19 and may receive a vaccine, the CDC said.
But it should take note of limitations in vaccine safety data, the agency added, which is not yet available for these groups. While clinical trials have included people with HIV, safety information specific to that population is not yet available.
People living with autoimmune diseases can get a coronavirus mRNA vaccine, according to the CDC, but they should also keep in mind that no such safety data are 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 Independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the general guidelines for best practices for immunization, do not include a history of GBS as a precautionary measure for vaccination with other vaccines, the agency says.
People who have previously had Bell’s palsy, temporary weakness or facial paralysis may also get the vaccine. While studies with the COVID-19 vaccine included several 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 did not conclude that the vaccination caused these cases, says the CDC.
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People who are vaccinated against COVID-19 must continue to follow current mitigation measures, such as masking, social distancing and good hand hygiene, until experts better understand how well vaccines protect people in real life, says the CDC.
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The new guidance came weeks after the FDA granted emergency use authorization, a less stringent authorization than full FDA approval, which is used to expedite the use of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines for vaccine candidates. the Pfizer PFE,
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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 data sheets for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines include a complete list of their ingredients.
As of Monday morning, 2.1 million people in the United States had received the first doses of vaccine and 11.4 million doses had been distributed, according to a CDC report.
Public health authorities have recommended that health workers and long-term care unit residents be the first in line for vaccination. Next, there should be key front workers and adults aged 75 and over, followed by adults aged 65 to 74, people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and key workers. which were not previously included, as recommended by the CDC.
An average person in the US who does not fall into high-priority categories will probably be able to get vaccinated in the spring or summer, experts say.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective in clinical trials, while the Moderna vaccine has been 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 well vaccines protect people in real life, the CDC says.
While vaccine news sheds light on what has been a dark year for millions of people, the U.S. has recorded an average of 183,140 daily COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to a New York Times tracker; at least 1,899 people died of the disease Monday. The number of current hospitalizations reached a record 121,235 on Monday, according to the COVID follow-up project.