Return W/S/S

One to One Health’s COVID Services has offered expert “translation” of the scientific literature into every day work, school, and sports behaviors for more than a year now. Critical reading of the publications is necessary to avoid scare-mongering, oversimplification, and frank misinterpretation of scientific data, data that can be lost in translation to click-bait and headlines.
Interpretation of recent scientific news is the focus of this week’s RETURN.

Each week we are asked to make predictions about where the pandemic is going, what behaviors are lower risk in the current environment, and what is going to happen next week, next month, next season. Truth be told, we read and listen to a lot of experts and do our best to keep you advised so you can stay in school, go to work, and stay healthy AND productive during this pandemic. Maybe it’s not complicated, just complex, and we will sort through it as the focus of this week’s RETURN.

Side effects are making the news— sorting out the data is the focus of this week’s RETURN.

One to One Health remains committed to translating the most current science into everyday work and school behaviors. Tips for transitioning from pre- to a partially-vaccinated community is the focus of this week’s RETURN.

If you’re not two weeks after full vaccination, keep up your skills, make time to get vaccinated, and avoid getting COVID-19. The accumulating data on the benefits of vaccination and a little pat on the back to keep up the good work with mitigation are the focus of this week’s RETURN.

The WHO has called the misinformation surrounding the pandemic an “infodemic”, with people being misled by what they have read online. Hopefully, RETURN has brought you a little truth. Statistics, and the reality that they demonstrate, are the focus of this week’s RETURN.

No matter where you live, it is too early to relax restrictions that continue to have a critical role in controlling this pandemic.

Kids are affected in many ways by the pandemic. They've missed school, adjusted to virtual learning and upset schedules, and now they're "catching" COVID-19. Coronavirus in children is the focus of RETURN Issue 28.

A good team plays all four quarters of the game. This issue of RETURN focuses on maintaining good mitigation as we get vaccines in arms.

Reported across multiple sources, the numbers and percentages are going down, and currently seem oddly plateaued to me, and people are starting to ask, “when can we change what we are doing?”
Given that these statistics occur while those of us never infected or infected last year are following mitigation strategies, our answer is “not yet, not until more of us are vaccinated.” Vaccination is, again, the focus of this week’s RETURN.

Aside from the weekly newsletter, we have a new FAQ-style list about vaccinations:

Do you or are you about to qualify for vaccination?
Vaccination is the best defense against COVID-19. Please take the time to educate yourself and understand these facts about the vaccines.
• There are currently three vaccines available in the United States.
• The vaccines are free, developed through funding from tax payer dollars.
• You won't get COVID-19 from the vaccines.
• Health professionals and scientists alike are in agreement: the best vaccine is the one in your
arm. Get the vaccine when you have the opportunity. Do not try to decide which brand is best—they all are effective.
All vaccines currently available are safer than COVID-19.
All vaccines currently available lessen the severity of or prevent COVID-19.
- If you have had COVID-19 and are out of isolation, there is no restriction or waiting period for when you can receive the vaccine, except if you have received monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 in which case you should wait 90 days from that infusion.
- If you have COVID-19 and have symptoms, you should wait to be vaccinated until recovered from illness and meet the criteria for discontinuing isolation.
- If you are infected with SARS-CoV-2 and have no symptoms of COVID-19, you should wait until your isolation period is over before getting vaccinated. One to One Health recommends waiting 3 weeks from infection to get your vaccine. The vaccine may act like a “boost” to the immune response to natural infection best in this fashion.
- If you are pregnant, you may choose to be vaccinated when it’s available to you. There is currently no evidence that antibodies formed from COVID-19 vaccination cause any problem with pregnancy, including the development of the placenta.
- If you are are trying to become pregnant now or plan to try in the future, you may receive the COVID-19 vaccine. There is no evidence that fertility problems are a side effect of COVID-19 vaccines.
- There are currently no deaths linked to vaccines for COVID-19.
- There is no information on long term side effects of the vaccines as they have been in development for about a year. None are anticipated.
- Once fully vaccinated, you may become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but studies of tens of thousands of people demonstrate that the vaccines create an immune response that helps prevent development of COVID-19, or lessens its severity.
It’s important to continue following safety protocols. Continue to wear a mask and wear it properly, maintain social distances, and wash your hands often.

The Medical Directors of COVID Services of One to One Health
2/28/2021