118 – Updates: COVID Vaccination in Aging (3.26.21 Edition)

In This Episode:

Dr. K provides updated information on the effectiveness and safety of COVID vaccination for older adults, including information on the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson&Johnson vaccines. She also addresses FAQs about coronavirus vaccination.

This episode covers:

• How we can tell the COVID vaccines are working
• Data on how COVID cases and deaths have fallen in nursing homes and among people aged 85+
• Current COVID mortality rates in older adults
• What the latest observational studies show, regarding vaccine effectiveness in people over age 80
• What the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial data shows, when it comes to older adults with chronic conditions
• What’s been found so far, regarding vaccine safety
• Answers to FAQs, including:
  • Should I get vaccinated against COVID?
  • Should my 90-year-old parent get the COVID vaccine?
  • How well does the vaccine work in older adults?
  • Can you get COVID if you’ve been vaccinated?
  • Should you be vaccinated if you already had COVID?
  • Which COVID vaccine is best for seniors? Which vaccine is safest?
  • Should I worry that the vaccine might harm me (or my frail older parent)?
  • When can I get vaccinated? Which vaccine should I try to get?
  • If I’ve been vaccinated, is it safe to …?
• Dr. K’s current recommendations regarding COVID vaccination and staying safe given current conditions

Related Resources:

• BHWA: COVID Vaccination for Aging Adults: What to Know & Do
• FDA (Food & Drug Administration):
  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • Johnson & Johnson FDA Briefing Data
• CDC:
  • Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination
  • First Month of COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Monitoring — United States, December 14, 2020–January 13, 2021
  • Provisional COVID-19 Death Counts by Sex, Age, and State
  • COVID-19 Case Surveillance Public Use Data
  • Nursing Home Covid-19 Data Dashboard
  • Suspected Recurrent SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Residents of a Skilled Nursing Facility During a Second COVID-19 Outbreak
  • Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Age Group
  • CDC: When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated
• New England Journal of Medicine:
  • Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine (Pfizer vaccine)
  • BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in a Nationwide Mass Vaccination Setting (Pfizer vaccine in Israel)
  • Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Moderna vaccine)
• New York Times:
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker
  • Coronavirus Variant Tracker
• Uptodate.com COVID-19 Resources & Tools (Coronavirus Resources)
  • Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection