It is two years since first COVID-19 vaccine became available, latest CDC news, tips
Two year anniversary of COVID-19 vaccine
December 2022 marked two years since the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered in the U.S. Although too many lives have been lost to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, vaccination has helped prevent millions of hospitalizations and saved millions of lives.
Stay up to date on your vaccines to protect yourselves, your loved ones, and your community against COVID-19. Get an updated bivalent booster at least 2 months after completing your primary series or last booster. If you’ve had COVID-19, you may delay getting your booster by 3 months since your symptoms ended.
==To find COVID-19 vaccine locations near you, visit vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233.
SELF TESTING: *
==The Lyons Library has free COVID test boxes in their lobby.
==The US government is offering four free boxes of COVID home tests to all households.
==Most boxes obtained last year have had their Expiration Date / shelf-life “extended,” by 15 to 21 months. Go to this FTD page to see more information about SELF TESTING and KITS.
Reminder, what to do if you test Positive for COVID-19 – see our ARTICLE
New subvariant rose to 41% *
The most recent Omicron sublineage, XBB.1.5, is on the rise across the United States. Projections can be uncertain when a variant is just beginning to spread, and CDC is continuing to investigate the ways in which XBB.1.5 may be different from other Omicron lineages.
As of January 2023, it is estimated to be 40% of the cases. “It is the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet,” WHO official Maria Van Kerkhove said. Health experts are advising the public to stay informed but not alarmed as they work to learn more. *
Over the month of December, the percentage of new Covid-19 infections in the United States caused by XBB.1.5 rose from an estimated 4% to 41%.
Statistics
In Boulder County, Colorado, community level is Medium.
In Larimer County, Colorado, community level is Low.
The southern/middle part of the state has the highest number of cases.
In the US, between November and January 2023, the new weekly cases total 470,699, with an upward trend.
New deaths weekly is 2,731, which remains steady.
Hospitalizations are new 5,752 daily average, with a steady number.
(current hospitalizations 21,033;more people are hospitalized for flu)
Updated Vaccinations — 15.4% of people 5 years old and up.
NURSING HOMES vaccination numbers have gone up from 17% in November to 47% January 2, 2023 (based on 15,000 certified facilities).
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Recommendations to avoid COVID infection:
If you are at high risk of getting very sick, wear a high-quality mask or respirator (e.g., N95) when indoors in public.
If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk for getting very sick, consider self-testing to detect infection before contact, and consider wearing a high-quality mask when indoors with them.
Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, including recommended booster doses.
Maintain ventilation improvements.
Avoid contact with people who have suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
Follow recommendations for isolation if you have suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
Follow the recommendations for what to do if you are exposed to someone with COVID-19.
People may choose to mask at any time.
People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a high-quality mask or respirator when indoors in public.
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This year, for most recent data, go to:
CDC uses COVID-19 Community Levels to determine the disease’s impact on counties and recommend prevention measures.
CDC also tracks cases, laboratory tests, vaccinations, deaths, and other pandemic data and provides them on our COVID Data Tracker.
Taking the flu and COVID shot together
Studies conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that it is safe to get both a flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit.
A CDC study published last summer showed people who got a flu vaccine and a COVID-19 booster vaccine at the same time were slightly more likely to have reactions including fatigue, headache, and muscle ache than people who only got a COVID-19 booster vaccine, but these reactions were mostly mild and went away quickly. The findings of this study are similar to safety data from clinical trials that did not find any safety concerns with giving both vaccines at the same time.
How are they monitoring the safety of the old and new vaccine
To make sure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, CDC expanded and strengthened the country’s ability to monitor vaccine safety. CDC created new web-based platforms to gather information and give CDC scientists information about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in real time.
As a result, vaccine safety experts can monitor and detect issues that may not have been seen during the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. If any vaccine safety issues—also called adverse events— are reported, CDC scientists can quickly study them and determine if there is a safety concern with a particular vaccine.
* This information was provided by the CDC, with a few short additions from WHO and the White House COVID advisory medical staff, from January 2023. Plus information on how to get test kits has been added.
