The rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations is picking up speed. Many more people are eligible to be vaccinated now compared to a week or two ago. (You may not be able to get an appointment yet, but hopefully that will get easier soon.) In our recent article about COVID-19 vaccines, we described what mRNA vaccines are, how they work, and how effective they are. But concerns about safety may still have you
Who would have thought that a needle in the arm could bring such a huge smile to so many faces? As a pharmacist immunizer, I was blessed to be one of the first healthcare workers at St Joseph Mercy hospital in Chelsea to be vaccinated in late December. My second dose is on the calendar for later this month. I’m happy to be able to immunize other folks, too, and
Vaccinations are a routine part of preventative healthcare. Vaccinations decrease the chances that we’ll contract infectious diseases, or that we’ll suffer critical illness if we do. We’re all hoping for a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19, and there are lots of researchers working hard on that. But it’s likely to be quite some time before there’s one available and in widespread distribution. In the meantime, we still have all
Vaccination against pneumonia is an important way to protect yourself from one of the most common life-threatening infections. Pneumonia affects people of every age, but is more serious for those at both ends of the age spectrum. It’s estimated that one million people will be hospitalized in the United States this year for pneumonia. Worse, it’s likely that 50,000 of the infections will end in death. Causes of pneumonia include