Our hospital system has been arranging frequent staff meetings to provide situational updates amid the pandemic. On 12/2/20, Evan Anderson (infectious disease) provided an ​an excellent update on COVID-19​/rollout of vaccines.

Key Points:

• mRNA vaccines​ have been remarkably effective, both ~95% and also effective against severe disease (>90%)
• Severe reactogenicity occurs >2%. Systemic symptoms like fatigue, myalgia, and chills are more common after 2nd dose
• Local reactions are typically more pronounced than flu vaccine but less pronounced compared to shingles vaccine (Shingrix)
• Not wise to vaccinate entire care areas at same time
• No need to check antibody titers after vaccination
• Current contraindications: Pregnant women and children due to lack of data (Pfizer vaccine may be approved for those older than 12 yrs)
• Study participants were allowed to take antipyretics

Current pandemic situation in metro Atlanta (slide from Dan Salinas)

Related blog posts:

• Hepatic Artery Thrombosis and COVID-19 Vaccine Timeline
• Operation Warp Speed Strategy