We now can provide the Flu and the Pfizer COVID19 vaccine in the office. Please schedule with Alex . Most people have arm soreness after the first dose and body aches after the second dose (3 weeks later for Pfizer). A vaccine helps your body prevent serious and lasting infection. Consider people who suffer from shingles secondary to having had chicken pox as a child. If vaccinated, your body becomes able to keep the virus from hiding away in organs for life such as the case for chicken pox, HPV (cervical cancer) and many others. Since we know the virus moves into neural tissue and brain (this is why people lose their sense of smell) the lifetime risks of COVID19 is a gamble if you can otherwise protect them.
When will we have the vaccine for children under 12?
With 162 worldwide pediatric testing sites, the many safety checks are contributing to long timelines testing the shots in children. Pfizer results for 5- to 12-year-olds should come by the end of this month, which could mean shots are authorized for use in October. Data for younger children could come in October. Vaccine availability one month later.
Some parents are eager to vaccinate their children under 12 against Covid-19 but the Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of Pfizer vaccine does not mean it is automatically safe for young children. The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have emphasized that the safest thing for 6 month to 11 year olds, is to wait for more data to be analyzed.
|
Interested in hearing the latest from the physicians on the front lines?
Listen to this presentation:
(see second presentation below "connecting with the experts")
Need help getting PPE or masks?
Contact us! We will help you get everything you need.
|
TESTING FAQS
We have rapid testing (also called Antigen testing) for our patients and their families. This type of testing has proved to be quite accurate for the Delta Variant (the most common strain). This is due to the high viral load in the nose.
Concerned your child was exposed?
An exposure includes being in close proximity (less than 6 ft) masked or unmasked, indoors or outdoors, for 15 mins and up to 2 days before symptom onset of an infected individual. The exposure can happen up through day 6 after symptoms started in person with COVID19.
CASE 1 Vaccinated adults and children can return to school and work on day 6 if NO symptoms (see symptoms below) AND negative test (test performed day 3-5 after exposure).
- Headache
- Fever (100.4)
- Sore throat
- Runny nose, Congestion
- Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea
- Cough
- Loss of taste or smell
- Shortness of breath
CASE 2 Unvaccinated adults and children can return to work and school on day 8 after receiving a negative test result and having no symptoms (test must occur on day 5 or later)
IF any symptoms are present for vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals they need a LAB based PCR test even if the rapid test is negative.
We still run PCR tests and can decide together what is best.
|
WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH THE DELTA STRAIN?
In case you missed the memo: it’s worth your efforts to mask indoors. Vaccinated people carry and transmit the Delta strain at high levels. From an MIT study discussing what is new and different regarding the Delta Variant:
“People infected with the Delta variant were getting sick much faster after being exposed. They had viral loads more than 1,000 times higher at that point, meaning they were much more likely to spread the illness to others. This also meant they were becoming infectious earlier and more quickly.
Looking only at cases for which they could determine the exact time of exposure, researchers found that the time interval from exposure to positive PCR test ranged from three to five days, with a peak at 3.71 days. In contrast, data from the 2020 outbreak showed that it took an average of six days from exposure to positive test with a range of five to eight days and a peak at 5.61.
Not only were Delta-infected individuals testing positive two days earlier, on average, they were also way more infectious by the time their infections were detectible. And by “way more infectious,” we’re talking about viral loads that were an average of 1,260 times higher than those observed in individuals infected with the original strain of the virus.
What’s going on here? Both the higher viral loads and earlier positive tests can be explained by what the researchers describe as “higher within-host growth rate of the Delta variant.” In other words, it appears that once the Delta variant of the virus has infected an individual, it is able to reproduce more efficiently than earlier versions of the virus — something scientists had predicted based on the specific mutations within the spike protein of this variant. A virus that is able to reproduce more efficiently can make more copies of itself, more quickly. If you were to graph the growth of the virus inside two individuals — one infected with the original version of the virus, the other infected with the Delta variant — both would start at zero, but the growth line for the Delta-infected individual would rise much more steeply. Not only would that individual’s viral load reach a detectable level (positive PCR test) more quickly; it would also reach an infectious level sooner. An individual infected with the original strain of the virus would, on average, become able to transmit the virus between three and four days after exposure, in the 48 hours before developing symptoms or testing positive. In contrast, it appears that someone infected with the Delta variant may be able to infect others within a day or two of being exposed.”
|
BACK TO SCHOOL FOOD IDEAS |
The goal is to pack nutrients, vitamins, and minerals into every bite. You are supporting the growth of your child’s brain, bones, immune system and so much more. Protein and high fiber foods work out best for sustained energy through the day. My son loves turkey, spinach, mustard, cheese rolls and he doesn’t miss the bread one bit!
Other tips
1. Pack fresh veggies and fruits. Always taste them to make sure they have not spoiled. Our favorites in the house: cucumber, carrot, prepackaged guacamole, prepackaged hummus, cooked edamame, sliced apple with cinnamon, melon, clementine, berries, etc.
2. Dried Snacks are a great alternative when you are busy. Try seaweed, dried flavored chickpeas, dried coconut chips, dried onion chips, Almonds (1 ounce or less), peanut (1 ounce or less), Freeze dried berries, dried okra, dried broccoli, cheese bites (1 ounce or less), Flaxseed veggie tortilla chips from Trader Joe’s, kashi cereal (1-2 ounces), harvest snaps etc
3. Purchase smaller containers that contain 2 ounces or less. Children do not need as many calories as typically found in single-serving packaging.
4. At home make sure your child understands the major food groups and eats a veggie, fruit, protein, dairy and grain for each meal. See myplate.gov for more. Print this image for your children to color in. Then show the image to them at every meal until they learn how to eat a balanced plate every time.
You are only as healthy as the food you put in your body. This is definitely something worth working on! You are what you eat in every way.
|
The below Student Symptom Tree is used by almost all schools and was recently updated.
It Can Be Found on AskDrVivi.com
|
|
Check out Doc Talks Episode 16: Hormones and Pediatric development with Dr. Nikta Forghani.
1. What constitutes early puberty?
2. What constitutes delayed puberty?
3. When growth hormone is indicated for short stature or delayed growth?
|
Preparing for Back To School |
If an infected child is masked, it reduces the risk of transmission to others to less than 1%.
1.Teach your child to mask well.
HappyMasks make some high end and well fitting masks and Goldsheep has some that loop around the head which makes it easy to keep around their neck while eating etc.
2. Ask your school to post and educate parents on symptoms that are not allowed in the classroom:
- Headache
- Fever (100.4)
- Sore throat
- Runny nose, Congestion
- Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea
- Cough
- Loss of taste or smell
- Shortness of breath
3.Review school guidelines:
|
Check out the most recent conference:
Other links of interest:
|
The Justice Department released an opinion stating that federal law does not prohibit businesses from requiring vaccines even if the vaccines have only been granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration and have not received full regulatory approval. On August 5th, California public health department has order that will require workers in health care settings in California to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 30, 2021. |
CDC now FIRMLY RECOMMENDS COVID-19 vaccinations for people who are preconception, pregnant, or breastfeeding.
Pregnant people are at increased risk of getting very sick with COVID-19.
Pregnant people who contract COVID-19 are more likely to be hospitalized and require critical care, including ventilation and admission to the intensive care unit.
COVID-19 during pregnancy increases risk of preterm birth – the birth of a baby before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Every few months, tens of thousands of pregnant women get vaccinated to protect themselves and their baby. Vsafe is tracking vaccinated pregnant women over this past year.
According to the CDC, only about 23% of pregnant individuals have received one or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Based on new evidence about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is strengthening its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. The increased circulation of the highly contagious Delta variant, low vaccine uptake among pregnant people, and increased risk of severe illness and pregnancy complications related to COVID-19 infection among pregnant people make vaccination for this population more urgent than ever.
The latest information from the CDC aligns with recent guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), the two leading organizations representing specialists in obstetric care, who recently recommended that all pregnant individuals be vaccinated against COVID-19.
How you can help: Spread the word to pregnant individuals.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html
|
|
