Health

Michigan reports uptick in Legionnaires’ disease

Michigan health officials are investigating a recent uptick in cases of Legionnaires’ disease, or a severe form of pneumonia.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services noted 107 cases reported across 25 counties between July 1 and July 14, translating to a 569% surge over the same period in 2020 and a 161% increase over the same period in 2019.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE LESS EFFECTIVE AGAINST DELTA VARIANT: STUDY

People contract Legionnaires’ disease when inhaling Legionella bacteria, and while most healthy individuals don’t become infected after exposure, certain populations are at higher risk for illness like older adults, smokers and immunocompromised individuals, health officials said.

The illness is not spread person-to-person. Legionella pneumophila, a bacterium, is usually the cause of the illness, according to Mayo Clinic. It can be found in soil and water, but more commonly causes infection when it multiplies in water systems such as hot tubs and air conditioners.

“Recent weather trends including rain, flooding and warmer weather may be playing a role in the rise of reported legionellosis cases this summer,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy director for health, said in a news release posted Monday. “We want everyone to be aware of Legionnaire’s disease, especially if they may be at higher risk for illness and we ask that healthcare providers remain vigilant, and test and treat appropriately.”

US LIFE EXPECTANCY IN 2020 SAW BIGGEST DROP SINCE WWII

Wayne County had the most confirmed cases at 19, followed by Oakland County (17), City of Detroit (17) and Macomb County (15), according to the release.

Warm, standing water encourages bacterial growth in water systems, and while legionellosis cases occur more frequently in the summer and early fall, the increase in cases was higher than expected this season, officials said, while also noting the reopening of buildings may also contribute to the increase in cases. As of earlier this week, no common sources of infection had been identified.

Madeline Farber contributed to this report.

US life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest drop since WWII

U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years.

The drop spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is due mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, which health officials said is responsible for close to 74% of the overall life expectancy decline. More than 3.3 million Americans died last year, far more than any other year in U.S. history, with COVID-19 accounting for about 11% of those deaths.

Black life expectancy has not fallen so much in one year since the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression. Health officials have not tracked Hispanic life expectancy for nearly as long, but the 2020 decline was the largest recorded one-year drop.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE LESS EFFECTIVE AGAINST DELTA VARIANT: STUDY

A couple walks through a park at sunset in Kansas City, Mo on March 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

The abrupt fall is “basically catastrophic,” said Mark Hayward, a University of Texas sociology professor who studies changes in U.S. mortality.

Killers other than COVID-19 played a role. Drug overdoses pushed life expectancy down, particularly for whites. And rising homicides were a small but significant reason for the decline for Black Americans, said Elizabeth Arias, the report’s lead author.

Other problems affected Black and Hispanic people, including lack of access to quality health care, more crowded living conditions, and a greater share of the population in lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working when the pandemic was at its worst, experts said.

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live. It’s an important statistical snapshot of a country’s health that can be influenced both by sustained trends such as obesity as well as more temporary threats like pandemics or war that might not endanger those newborns in their lifetimes.

For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing. But that trend stalled in 2015, for several years, before hitting 78 years, 10 months in 2019. Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months.

Other findings in the new CDC report:

—Hispanic Americans have a longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans but had the largest decline in 2020. The three-year drop was the largest since the CDC started tracking Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago.

—Black life expectancy dropped nearly three years, to 71 years, 10 months. It has not been that low since 2000.

—White life expectancy fell by roughly 14 months to about 77 years, 7 months. That was the lowest life expectancy for that population since 2002.

—COVID-19’s role varied by race and ethnicity. The coronavirus was responsible for 90% of the decline in life expectancy among Hispanics, 68% among white people, and 59% among Black Americans.

—Life expectancy fell nearly two years for men, but about one year for women, widening a longstanding gap. The CDC estimated life expectancy of 74 years, 6 months for boys vs. 80 years, 2 months for girls.

DE BLASIO TO MANDATE COVID VACCINATIONS FOR PUBLIC HOSPITALS STAFF

More than 80% of last year’s COVID deaths were people 65 and older, CDC data shows. That actually diminished the pandemic’s toll on life expectancy at birth, which is swayed more by deaths of younger adults and children than those among seniors.

That’s why last year’s decline was just half as much as the three-year drop between 1942 and 1943 when young soldiers were dying in World War II. And it was just a fraction of the drop between 1917 and 1918 when World War I and a Spanish flu pandemic devastated younger generations.

Life expectancy bounced back after those drops, and experts believe it will this time, too. But some said it could take years.

Too many people have already died from COVID-19 this year, while variants of the coronavirus are spreading among unvaccinated Americans — many of them younger adults, some experts said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We can’t. In 2021, we can’t get back to pre-pandemic” life expectancy, said Noreen Goldman, a Princeton University researcher.

Puzzles, card games later in life may delay Alzheimer’s onset by five years, study finds

Playing puzzles, card games, reading books and engaging in other mentally stimulating activities later in life can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia by five years, researchers found.

Findings published in Neurology on July 14 analyzed nearly 2,000 patients about 80 years old on average and free of dementia at the study start. During seven years of follow-up with annual exams and cognitive tests, some 457 people about 90 years old on average developed dementia, or “impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Study participants answered questions about cognitive activity when they were kids, adults and in middle age, and also how often they read books, played board games or puzzles over the year. Respondents who were the most mentally active typically developed dementia by age 94, compared to those least mentally active who usually developed dementia by 89, or some five years sooner. The difference upheld after researchers controlled for other factors potentially confounding dementia risk like sex and education, according to a related news release.

FDA ADVISER WHO RESIGNED OVER ALZHEIMER’S DRUG SAYS ‘NO GOOD EVIDENCE’ IT WORKS

Respondents answered how often they read books, played checkers, board games, cards and puzzles, researchers said.
(iStock)

“The good news is that it’s never too late to start doing the kinds of inexpensive, accessible activities we looked at in our study,” study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said in a news release posted by the American Academy of Neurology. “Our findings suggest it may be beneficial to start doing these things, even in your 80s, to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia.”

CLEVELAND CLINIC WON’T CARRY CONTROVERSIAL ALZHEIMER’S DRUG

To confirm their findings, the team studied brain tissue of 695 people who died during the study period, and looked for markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease, like harmful plaque buildup of the amyloid and tau proteins. Researchers found no link between how active the deceased patients had been cognitively and markers of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders in their brains.

“Our study shows that people who engage in more cognitively stimulating activities may be delaying the age at which they develop dementia,” Wilson said. “It is important to note, after we accounted for late life level of cognitive activity, neither education nor early life cognitive activity were associated with the age at which a person developed Alzheimer’s dementia. Our research suggests that the link between cognitive activity and the age at which a person developed dementia is mainly driven by the activities you do later in life.”

CDC: Delta variant accounts for 83% of US cases

NEW YORK – Health officials say the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge and accounts for an estimated 83% of U.S. COVID-19 cases.

That’s a dramatic increase from the week of July 3, when the variant accounted for about 50% of genetically sequenced coronavirus cases.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks to Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on July 20, 2021. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by Stefani Reynolds / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Image)

FAUCI, WALENSKY WEIGH IN STOPPING DELTA VARIANT SPREAD AMID CALLS TO BRING BACK MASKS

“The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants is to prevent the spread of disease, and vaccination is the most powerful tool we have,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday.

The Delta variant is a mutated coronavirus that spreads more easily than other versions. It was first detected in India but now has been identified around the world.

CDC says ‘no plans to update’ school mask guidance after pediatrics group breaks from White House

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told Fox News on Tuesday that the agency has “no plans to update” mask use recommendations. The comment comes after Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier Tuesday the CDC was “carefully looking” at its guidance relating to mask use in schools after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) broke from federal health guidance, advising anyone above the age of 2 wear masks inside schools to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, “regardless of vaccination status.”

“CDC has no plans to update any guidance regarding masks,” Kristen Nordlund, CDC spokeswoman, told Fox News.

The CDC has advised masks should be worn indoors by all individuals ages 2 and older who are not fully vaccinated against coronavirus. The CDC stated that those who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, including while participating in extracurricular activities or while eating. However, it noted that based on the needs of the community, a school may opt to make mask use universally required regardless of vaccination status.

“[Parents] should do what has been locally asked for,” Fauci told CBS co-hosts, calling the AAP’s masking recommendations “the extra step of caution.”

FAUCI SUPPORTS MEDICAL GROUP’S CALL TO MASK 3-YEAR-OLDS AND OLDER IN SCHOOL: ‘REASONABLE THING TO DO’

WORLD IS ‘MOVING FURTHER AWAY’ FROM END OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC: WHO OFFICIAL

“That is a bit different from the CDC guidelines but right now the CDC is carefully looking at that and hopefully we’ll have some now concordance of the recommendations,” Fauci added, citing the “high degree of infection dynamics” behind the pediatric group’s recommendations.

A spokesperson for AAP reiterated to Fox News that the group’s universal masking recommendation stems from reasons like a “significant portion of the student population not eligible for vaccination, to protect unvaccinated students and reduce transmission, [ease] potential difficulty in monitoring or enforcing mask policies, potential low vaccine uptake in the community and continued concerns for variants more easily spread among children, adolescents and adults.”

COVID-19 cases are rising across all 50 states due to the highly transmissible Delta variant, and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky last week warned that the outbreak in the U.S. is becoming “a pandemic of the unvaccinated” because nearly all hospital admissions and deaths are among those who hadn’t been immunized.

GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Currently, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been authorized for use in kids ages 12 and up. The companies said they plan to request for emergency use authorization in kids ages 5-11 in the fall.

If the U.S. manages to suppress the pandemic over time, Fauci believes schools will not require COVID-19 vaccination, adding, “but if we go into this year and the next year, and we see we still have a problem with this, it very well might be required.”

Fox News’ Greg Norman, Alexandria Hein and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

World is ‘moving further away’ from end of COVID-19 pandemic: WHO official

A top scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the world is shifting further away from the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to factors like viral variants, social mixing, the flouting of public health measures and vaccine inequities.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, epidemiologist and WHO COVID-19 technical lead, noted an 11.5% increase in global cases over the last week, with a 1% increase in deaths. Europe saw a 21% uptick in infections last week, while the Western Pacific experienced a nearly 30% increase, for instance. Though data reflects a slight dip in the African region, Kerkhove warned Africa is experiencing a high level of cases and an approximate 60% increase in deaths.

The highly transmissible Delta variant is the latest of four such viral variants of concern under surveillance. The variant, detected in at least 111 countries, has also been blamed for COVID-19 cases rising across the U.S. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Friday warned that the outbreak in the U.S. is becoming “a pandemic of the unvaccinated” because nearly all hospital admissions and deaths are among those who hadn’t been immunized.

WHO SAYS IT WILL FIX MULTIPLE ‘UNINTENDED ERRORS’ IN REPORT WITH CHINA ON COVID-19 ORIGINS: REPORT

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, epidemiologist and WHO COVID-19 technical lead, noted an 11.5% increase in global cases over the last week, with a 1% increase in deaths.
(Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS)

COMMON CHOLESTEROL DRUG MAY REDUCE COVID-19 SEVERITY, STUDY FINDS

“In the context of virus variants, increased social mobility, social mixing, inappropriate use of public health and social measures and inequitable vaccine distribution, we’re in a very dangerous situation,” Kerkhove said. “It’s becoming more and more challenging and we’re moving further away from the end of this pandemic than we should be at this point in time.”

The comments follow the eighth meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee last week, which noted “governments are making increasingly divergent policy decisions that address narrow national needs which inhibit a harmonized approach to the global response,” per a WHO release.

“The Committee noted that, despite national, regional, and global efforts, the pandemic is nowhere near finished,” adding that the current state of the pandemic still needs “a coordinated international response.”

GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Nearly a quarter of the global population, or 24.7%, has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with over three billion doses administered, the WHO reported as of July 13. Nearly 30 million doses are administered worldwide daily, and 1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose, figures show.

Common cholesterol drug may reduce COVID-19 severity, study finds

Coronavirus patients taking statins prior to hospitalization substantially reduced their odds of in-hospital death and severe COVID-19, researchers found, confirming earlier findings. Statin drugs are frequently used to lower blood cholesterol levels and prevent cardiovascular disease.

A team of scientists from University of California San Diego School of Medicine published findings in PLOS ONE last week, analyzing anonymized records on over 10,500 hospitalized COVID-19 patients admitted across 104 U.S. hospitals between January-September 2020 and enrolled in the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Registry.

At the start of the pandemic, researchers speculated statins could act against COVID-19 through their “known anti-inflammatory effects and binding capabilities, which could potentially stop progression of the virus,” Lori Daniels, MD, lead study author, professor and director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at UC San Diego Health, wrote in a news release. Statins upregulate the ACE-2 receptor to convert angiotensin and control blood pressure, however ACE-2 is also a doorway for the virus causing COVID-19. Medications for cholesterol and high blood pressure help stabilize underlying diseases, and likely boost patients’ odds of recovering from COVID-19 disease, study authors said.

AN AVOCADO A DAY COULD LOWER ‘BAD’ CHOLESTEROL LEVELS, STUDY SUGGESTS

CDC PANEL TO WEIGH COVID-19 BOOSTER SHOTS IN IMMUNOCOMPROMISED PATIENTS

Patients were 66 years old on average, and most patients (71%) had high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, or both. Over 80% of all patients taking statins were also taking at least one drug to treat high blood pressure, and patients taking either class of medication or both were typically older, female and had a number of health issues.

Results indicated patients taking a statin alone saw a 46% lower odds of death, and about 25% lower risk of developing severe COVID, versus patients on neither class of medication. Patients taking both a statin and anti-hypertensive dropped risk of death by 40%.

GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“As with any observational study, we cannot say for certain that the associations we describe between statin use and reduced severity of COVID-19 infection are definitely due to the statins themselves; however, we can now say with very strong evidence that they may play a role in substantially lowering a patient’s risk of death from COVID-19,” Daniels said. “We hope that our research findings are an incentive for patients to continue with their medication.”

Use of an anti-hypertensive drug alone was linked to a “smaller albeit still substantial 27% lower odds [of death],” the team found. Of the total 10,540 hospitalized patients, 21% died, 39% had a severe outcome, nearly one-third were sent to the ICU and 19% needed mechanical ventilation.

Daniels noted that most benefits were seen among patients with a history of cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure, linked to a 32% lower risk of death.

Masks recommended inside schools for anyone over age of 2: American Academy of Pediatrics

The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its guidance for the upcoming school year on Monday, now recommending that anyone above the age of 2 wear masks inside schools to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, “regardless of vaccination status.”

The decision comes as COVID-19 cases are climbing across the U.S. due to the highly transmissible Delta variant.

“We need to prioritize getting children back into schools alongside their friends and their teachers — and we all play a role in making sure it happens safely,” Sonja O’Leary, the chair of the AAP Council on School Health, said in a statement. “The pandemic has taken a heartbreaking toll on children, and it’s not just their education that has suffered but their mental, emotional and physical health.

Kindergarten students participate in a classroom activity on the first day of in-person learning at Maurice Sendak Elementary School in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 13. (AP)

WHERE TO FIND COVID VACCINES

“Combining layers of protection that include vaccinations, masking and clean hands hygiene will make in-person learning safe and possible for everyone,” she added.

The AAP says its new guidance regarding wearing masks in schools applies to students, teachers and staff.

It said it recommended universal masking “because a significant portion of the student population is not yet eligible for vaccines, and masking is proven to reduce transmission of the virus and to protect those who are not vaccinated.”

“Many schools will not have a system to monitor vaccine status of students, teachers and staff, and some communities overall have low vaccination uptake where the virus may be circulating more prominently,” it added.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Amongst other recommendations, the AAP is advising that “adequate and timely COVID-19 testing resources must be available and accessible” and that “strategies should be revised and adapted depending on the level of viral transmission and test positivity rate throughout the community and schools.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its own guidance issued earlier this month, says it “recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk.”

Virus surge fears, UK leader’s quarantine, mar ‘Freedom Day’

LONDON – Corks popped, beats boomed out and giddy revelers rushed onto dancefloors when England’s nightclubs reopened Monday as the country lifted most remaining coronavirus restrictions after more than a year of lockdowns, mask mandates and other pandemic-related curbs on freedom.

For clubbers and nightclub owners, the moment lived up to its media-given moniker, “Freedom Day.” But the big step out of lockdown was met with nervousness by many Britons and concern from scientists, who say the U.K. is entering uncharted waters by opening up when confirmed cases are not falling but soaring.

As of Monday, face masks were no longer legally required in England, work-from-home guidance ended and, with social distancing rules shelved, no limits existed on the number of people attending theater performances or big events.

COVID-19 INFECTS ABOUT 100 VACCINATED CREWMEMBERS ON HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH: REPORT

Nightclubs were allowed to open for the first time in almost 18 months, and from London to Liverpool, thousands of people danced the night away at “Freedom Day” parties starting at midnight.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” clubgoer Lorna Feeney said at Bar Fibre in the northern England city of Leeds. “That’s my life, my soul — I love dancing.”

At The Piano Works in London, patrons packed the area around the cordoned-off dance floor on Sunday as a host led a countdown to midnight.

Once a ceremonial ribbon was cut, the crowd ran toward the dance floor as confetti canons went off and a disco ball spun above. Soon, unmasked clubgoers dancing to a live band’s rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” filled the floor.

WHERE TO FIND COVID VACCINES: HOW TO SEARCH FOR PROVIDERS AND FIND AVAILABILITY

One of the people attending The Piano Works party, Mark Troy, called the return of nightclubs “a most joyous occasion.”

But while entertainment businesses and ravers are jubilant, many others are deeply worried about scrapping restrictions at a time when COVID-19 cases are on a rapid upswing because of the highly infectious delta variant first identified in India. Cases topped 50,000 per day last week for the first time since January. Deaths remain far lower than in the winter thanks to vaccines, but have risen from less than 10 a day in June to about 40 a day in the past week.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has dialed down talk of freedom in recent weeks, urged the public to exercise “prudence and respect for other people and the risks that the disease continues to present.”

In a reminder of how volatile the situation is, the prime minister was spending “Freedom Day” in quarantine. Johnson and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak are both self-isolating for 10 days after contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

Johnson initially said he would take daily tests instead of self-isolating — an option not offered to most people — but U-turned amid public outrage.

The prime minister is among hundreds of thousands of Britons who have been told to quarantine because they have been near someone who tested positive. The situation is causing staff shortages for businesses including restaurants, car manufacturers and public transport.

Globally, the World Health Organization says cases and deaths are climbing after a period of decline, spurred by the delta variant. Like the U.K., Israel and the Netherlands both opened up widely after vaccinating most of their people, but had to reimpose some restrictions after new infection surges. The Dutch prime minister admitted that lifting restrictions too early “was a mistake.”

In the U.S., many areas abandoned face coverings when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated people didn’t need to wear them in most settings. Some states and cities are now trying to decide what to do as cases rise again.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

British officials have repeatedly expressed confidence that the U.K.’s vaccine rollout — 68.3% of adults, or just over half of the total population, has received two doses — will keep the threat to public health at bay. But leading international scientists described England’s move as a threat to the whole world, and 1,200 scientists backed a letter to British medical journal The Lancet criticizing the Conservative government’s decision.

“I can’t think of any realistic good scenario to come out of this strategy, I’m afraid,” said Julian Tang, a clinical virologist at the University of Leicester. “I think it’s really a degree of how bad it’s going to be.”

Tang said nightclubs in particular are potent spreading grounds, because they increase close physical contact among a core customer base — people 18 to 25 — that hasn’t yet been fully vaccinated.

“That’s the perfect mixing vessel for the virus to spread and to even generate new variants,” he said.

The government wants nightclubs and other crowded venues to check whether customers have been vaccinated, have a negative test result or have recovered from the disease.

There is no legal requirement for them to do so, however, and most say they won’t. Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said many owners accuse the government of “passing the buck” to businesses.

CAN BUSINESSES ASK PROOF OF COVID-19 VACCINATION? EXPERTS EXPLAIN HIPAA

“Either mandate it or don’t mandate it,” Kill said. “This is putting an inordinate amount of pressure on us.”

Johnson’s decision to scrap the legal requirement for face masks in indoor public spaces — while recommending people keep them on — has also sowed confusion.

Some retailers said they would encourage customers to keep their masks on, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan said they remain mandatory on the capital’s subways and buses — though police can no longer be called in to enforce the rule.

Khan said Monday that more than 90% of passengers appeared to be wearing masks, “and what I think that shows is that people are carrying on their great habits.”

But many believe implementing such policies will be tricky without legal backing.

Psychologist Robert West, who sits on a science panel that advises the government, said telling people to be careful without giving them thorough knowledge of risks was “like putting someone out on the road without having taught them to drive.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The end of restrictions in England is a critical moment in Britain’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 128,000 people nationwide, the highest death toll in Europe after Russia. Other parts of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are taking slightly more cautious steps out of lockdown and keeping mask requirements for now.

At London’s Egg nightclub, clubber Alex Clark acknowledged feeling “a bit of apprehension and uncertainty.”

Fellow clubgoer Kevin Ally felt no such qualms.

“There’s zero concern,” he said. “The only concern is why we haven’t been here for a year and a half. It’s been a very long time since we’ve been out.

“It’s good to be back, and we’re here to dance.”

Where to find COVID vaccines: How to search for providers and find availability

America is nearing the major milestone of 50% full COVID-19 vaccinations, and finding a shot has never been easier.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made vaccines widely available in April with the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program partnering with nearly two dozen national pharmacies and independent pharmacy networks.

MODERNA’S COVID-19 VACCINE TRIAL IN PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD ‘REASSURE’ PUBLIC, EXPERT SAYS

Vaccines are available at CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens, as well as major retail chains including Kroger, Walmart and Albertsons. Individuals can find the most convenient location and available appointments using the federal tool at Vaccines.gov. Getting the jab is free for everyone.

The CDC also notes a number of resources available to help parents and individuals manage how they can get a vaccine, including transport via Uber and Lyft and child care from the YMCA and KinderCare.

EU LIKELY TO DECIDE ON MODERNA COVID-19 VACCINE FOR KIDS NEXT WEEK

Some areas are providing vaccines at special locations: New York City has used the Jacob Javits Center to distribute vaccines, and it can be found at some travel centers, including train stations and airports such as San Francisco International Airport and LAX.

In most cases, vaccine sites at travel hubs will use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so individuals do not need to return for the second shot.

Veterans and their families can even get the shot at their VA medical center.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

However, vaccines may not be widely available at local hospitals or doctors’ offices in some areas, so checking the government website is the best way to ensure an appointment.

Health

Footer

Public File Info