Happy November, all!
Pediatric vaccine news flash! As many of you know, on November 2nd, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to recommend all children ages 5 through 11 get a low-dose COVID-19 vaccine. You can read more about this and more in Dr. Sky Pittson’s excellent piece below.
As he points out, while The Village Doctor does not have supply of the vaccine, there are many larger institutional and community entities that do. I thought I might explain why we have elected to ask these same larger institutions to continue to provide COVID vaccine to our patients. Although the storage requirements for the vaccine have been reduced, the vaccine still comes in multi-dose vials which expire 12 hours after the first puncture. This would mean that we would have to create vaccine clinic days in order to efficiently administer the vaccine. In addition, there are documentation and reporting requirements which also include using state databases that have proven previously finicky and time consuming. All of this at a time when we’re starting to see the usual coughs and colds. I hope you can see why we’ve chosen to prioritize our time and efforts accordingly. Of course, should you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact me, or Dana Sanderson, my business manager, directly.
Otherwise, stay warm, stay healthy, and keep exercising so we can be ready for that Thanksgiving dinner.
In health,
Eric Weiss, MD, November 6, 2021
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WHAT IS A CGM AND SHOULD I TRY ONE IF I DON’T HAVE DIABETES?
A CGM, or continuous glucose monitor, is a slim glucose sensor applied to the belly or arm, with a very small needle (described by Dexcom, one of the companies that makes them, as “soft and flexible like a kitten’s whisker”) to continuously measure glucose levels in the interstitial fluid of the tissue just below the skin. Newer monitors can now send data wirelessly to an app on your phone… Read more
HOW TO GET YOUR 5-11 YEAR OLD CHILD THE PFIZER COVID VACCINE
On November 2nd, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to recommend all children ages 5 through 11 get a low-dose COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech. Hours later, CDC director Rochelle Wolensky issued the final approval making 28 million children eligible for the vaccine which will soon be available across the country at hospitals, clinics, vaccination events, and pharmacies. President Biden issued a statement calling it “a turning point in our battle against COVID-19,” and he said the federal government has purchased enough vaccine “for every child in America.” While the vaccine for children 5-11 years old is one-third the dose of that given to those 12 yrs and older, the timing is the same as other Pfizer vaccines: 2 doses, given 3 weeks apart. Here is a local guide to getting the pediatric vaccine... Read more
Fun! As we all continue to explore, and perhaps play with, “social media”, let me give a quick shout out to our friend and colleague, Dr. Pam Mehta who has just launched her YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8tbUlujk1s_TNp1oZ0wGbA
Who knows, perhaps TVD won’t be far behind? #tiktokdoc 🙄
*****
Yours, in health and resilience,
Eric and the TVD MD team…
