Other fully vaccinated individuals do not need an additional vaccine dose right now

August 12, 2021 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for both the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to allow for the use of an additional dose in certain immunocompromised individuals, specifically, solid organ transplant recipients or those who are diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss further clinical recommendations regarding immunocompromised individuals. Today’s action does not apply to people who are not immunocompromised.

“The country has entered yet another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease. After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Vaccines,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “Today’s action allows doctors to boost immunity in certain immunocompromised individuals who need extra protection from COVID-19. As we’ve previously stated, other individuals who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected and do not need an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine at this time. The FDA is actively engaged in a science-based, rigorous process with our federal partners to consider whether an additional dose may be needed in the future.”

People who are immunocompromised in a manner similar to those who have undergone solid organ transplantation have a reduced ability to fight infections and other diseases, and they are especially vulnerable to infections, including COVID-19. The FDA evaluated information on the use of a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Vaccines in these individuals and determined that the administration of third vaccine doses may increase protection in this population. These patients should be counseled to maintain physical precautions to help prevent COVID-19. In addition, close contacts of immunocompromised persons should get vaccinated, as appropriate for their health status, to provide increased protection to their loved ones.

It is recommended that immunocompromised individuals discuss monoclonal antibody treatment options with their health care provider should they contract or be exposed to COVID-19. The FDA has authorized monoclonal antibody treatments for emergency use during this public health emergency for adults and pediatric patients (ages 12 and older weighing at least 40 kilograms or about 88 pounds) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. One authorized product includes use for preventative (prophylaxis) treatment after being exposed to SARS-CoV-2; however, this product is not a substitute for vaccination.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is currently authorized for emergency use in individuals ages 12 and older, and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is authorized for emergency use in individuals ages 18 and older. Both vaccines are administered as a series of two shots: the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is administered three weeks apart, and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is administered one month apart. The authorizations for these vaccines have been amended to allow for an additional, or third, dose to be administered at least 28 days following the two-dose regimen of the same vaccine to individuals 18 years of age or older (ages 12 or older for Pfizer-BioNTech) who have undergone solid organ transplantation, or who are diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise.

The EUA amendments for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine were issued to Pfizer Inc. and ModernaTX Inc., respectively.

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.



August 13 2021 – The Health Care District of Palm Beach County is making it easy and convenient for families and children as young as 12 years old to get vaccinated. Free, walk-up COVID-19 mobile clinic vaccinations are available at the Health Care District’s mobile clinic sites listed below. Those vaccinated can receive a $10 voucher for grocery shopping courtesy of the Florida Department of Health. No appointment is needed. Individuals 12 to 17 years of age must be with a parent or a guardian to be vaccinated.

DATE TIME LOCATION 1st & 2nd DOSE VACCINE BRAND AGES
Monday – Friday, through and including August 20th 9am – 4 pm Lakeside Medical Center Parking Lot
39200 Hooker Highway
Belle Glade, FL 33430		 1st & 2nd dose Pfizer & Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson)		 12 and up   (12 to 17 Pfizer only)
  Monday – Friday, through and including August 20th   9am – 4pm Lantana Clinic Parking Lot
1250 Southwinds Drive
Lantana, FL 33462		 1st & 2nd dose Pfizer & Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson)		 12 and up

(12 to 17 Pfizer only)
Friday, August 13th  9am – 1pm Pahokee Housing Authority Padgett Island 899 Padgett Circle Pahokee, FL 33476 1st & 2nd dose Pfizer & Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson)		 12 and up

(12 to 17 Pfizer only)
Saturday, August 14th 9am – 4pm   Lakeside Medical Center Parking Lot 39200 Hooker Highway Belle Glade, FL 33430   1st & 2nd dose Pfizer & Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson)		 12 and up

(12 to 17 Pfizer only)
Thursday, August 19th 4pm – 8pm Clematis by Night 100 Block of South Clematis St.West Palm Beach, FL 33401

 1st & 2nd dose Pfizer & Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson)		 12 and up

(12 to 17 Pfizer only)
Saturday, August 21st 9am – 3pm Indian Trail Improvement District
Acreage Community Park
6701 140th Ave N
Loxahatchee, FL 33470  		 1st & 2nd dose Pfizer & Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson)		 12 and up

(12 to 17 Pfizer only)
Saturday, August 21st   9am – 4pm Community Partners of South Florida San Castle Community Center 1101 Mentone Rd. Boynton Beach, FL 33435   1st & 2nd dose Pfizer & Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson)		 12 and up

(12 to 17 Pfizer only)

To date, the Health Care District has provided over 217,000 COVID-19 vaccinations countywide. Visit

www.hcdpbc.org and click the blue COVID-19 Information Center button for updates to this schedule. 

Local businesses and organizations interested in hosting the Health Care District’s mobile vaccination clinic for their employees and clients can visit www.hcdpbc.org, click the purple “Mobile Clinic Vaccination & Community Event Request” button and submit the completed form for review and approval.

The Health Care District provides COVID-19 vaccinations to patients during regular doctors’ office visits at all of the nine C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinic sites across the county, which are located in areas of need. Appointments can be made by calling 561-642-1000.

About the Health Care District 

The Health Care District of Palm Beach County provides primary medical care and dental services for adults and children at the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics, a coordinated and lifesaving Trauma System that includes two FAA-certified Trauma Hawk air ambulances, registered nurses in nearly 170 public schools, short and long-term skilled nursing at the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riviera Beach, and acute care at its teaching hospital, Lakeside Medical Center, which is accredited by The Joint Commission and serves the rural Glades’ communities.

About the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H80CS25684 for Health Center Cluster in the award amount of $7,111,563.  Of the total project, 81.9% is financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. The C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics were granted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) deeming status effective January 1, 2021.



August 13, 2021 – Golisano Children’s Hospital’s Mobile Pediatric Vaccination Clinic will be making stops around Southwest Florida next week to vaccinate children 12 years-old and older for COVID-19.
The Mobile Pediatric Vaccination Clinic is walk-up only, and there is no cost for the COVID-19 vaccine, which will be Pfizer.

The mobile clinic will be at the following locations next week:

• Monday, August 16, 5-7 p.m., Waters Edge Church, 2213 Country Club Blvd., Cape Coral

• Tuesday, August 17, 4-6:30 p.m., Suncoast Estates, 2241 Case Lane, North Fort Myers *This stop is primarily for 2nd doses, however, 1st doses will be provided to those who would like them. Anyone who receives a 1st dose at this location may have to attend another site for their 2nd dose.

• Friday, August 20, 12-4p.m., Pink Shell Beach Resort, 275 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach

A parent or authorized guardian must accompany a minor for vaccination. The second dose will be set for the same location or one nearby.
Anyone 12 years old and older can also receive their COVID-19 vaccine at no cost at Lee Health’s Community Vaccination Clinic, located at Gulf Coast Medical Center. For more information, visit www.leehealth.org.

About Lee Health
Since the opening of the first hospital in 1916, Lee Health has been a health care leader in Southwest Florida, constantly evolving to meet the needs of the community. A non-profit, integrated health care services organization, Lee Health is committed to the well-being of every individual served, focused on healthy living and maintaining good health. Staffed by caring people, inspiring health, services are conveniently located throughout the community in four acute care hospitals, two specialty hospitals, outpatient centers, walk-in medical centers, primary care and specialty physician practices and other services across the continuum of care. Learn more at www.LeeHealth.org.



Thursday, August 12, 2021 – Racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality — deaths related to pregnancy or childbirth — in the United States may be larger than previously reported, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. By re-examining information on death certificates from 2016 and 2017, researchers found that the maternal mortality rate among non-Hispanic Black women was 3.5 times higher than among non-Hispanic white women. Previously, standard analyses had indicated a 2.5-times-higher death rate for Black women.

The new analysis also revealed that these disparities were concentrated among a few causes of death. Postpartum cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) and the blood pressure disorders preeclampsia and eclampsia were leading causes of maternal death for Black women, with mortality rates five times higher than those for white women. Pregnant and postpartum Black women were two to three times more likely than white women to die of hemorrhage (severe bleeding) or embolisms (blood vessel blockages).

The study was funded by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and led by Marian MacDorman, Ph.D., of the Maryland Population Research Center at the University of Maryland. It appears in the American Journal of Public Health.

“These sobering findings highlight the urgent need to address racial and ethnic disparities in maternal deaths,” said NICHD Director Diana W. Bianchi, M.D. “Accurate data are essential to guide efforts to reduce maternal deaths, many of which are preventable, and to improve the equity of healthcare for women during and after pregnancy.”

U.S. maternal mortality statistics(link is external) are determined from death certificates completed by a physician, coroner or medical examiner and reported to state vital records offices. Information about the cause of death is translated into medical codes, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compile into national datasets. In 2003, states began adding a checkbox to the certificates to indicate whether a woman was pregnant or postpartum at the time of death. However, validation studies revealed frequent checkbox errors and found that maternal deaths often are coded to poorly defined causes.

In the current study, researchers re-examined death certificates from 2016 and 2017, carefully evaluating the text on the death certificates that describes in detail the factors that led to death. This allowed the researchers to identify deaths that could be clearly confirmed as maternal ones. In most cases, they also were able to determine the primary cause of death, reducing the percentage of deaths attributed to poorly defined causes from 43% in standard datasets to 2.5% among their set of confirmed maternal deaths.

In their analysis, embolisms and preeclampsia/eclampsia tied for the leading overall cause of maternal death across all racial and ethnic groups during pregnancy or within six weeks after pregnancy. These were followed by postpartum cardiomyopathy, hemorrhage and complications from obstetric surgeries such as cesarean sections. Rankings were similar among white and Hispanic women. For Black women, preeclampsia/eclampsia was the leading cause of maternal death, followed by postpartum cardiomyopathy, embolism and hemorrhage. Ectopic pregnancy was the fifth leading cause of maternal death for Black women but was not a leading cause for white or Hispanic women.

Late maternal deaths — those occurring between six weeks and one year postpartum — were 3.5 times more likely among Black women than white women. Postpartum cardiomyopathy was the leading overall cause of late maternal deaths, with Black women having a six-times-higher risk than white women.

“We conclude that the prominence of cardiovascular conditions among the leading causes of maternal deaths, particularly for Black women, highlights the importance of increased vigilance to improve early diagnosis and treatment of these complications,” said Dr. MacDorman.

The study was funded by NICHD under award number R21HD095236. A summary of the findings was presented at the Population Association of America Annual Meeting in May 2021.

About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): NICHD leads research and training to understand human development, improve reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and optimize abilities for all. For more information, visit https://www.nichd.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

References

MacDorman MF, Thoma M, Declercq E, and Howell EA. Racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality in the United States using enhanced vital records, 2016-2017. American Journal of Public Health DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306375 (2021).



To support the changing needs of children, teens, and adults suffering from grief, loss, or trauma in the Community.

August 12, 2021 – One in twelve of Florida’s children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the time they reach 18 years of age.  In Broward County alone, that is more than 30,000 children grieving the death of a loved one. When this tragedy is exasperated by trauma, the lifelong effects are overwhelming.

Tomorrow’s Rainbow, located on a 2.5 acre mini-ranch in Coconut Creek, Florida has been an oasis for grieving children since 2005. The non-profit has helped more than 5,000 grieving children and teens through peer support groups, miniature (and large) horse interactions, and therapeutic art and play for children ages 3 – 18 along with their adult caregivers – all at no cost. “Grieving families are typically financially devastated,” says Abby Mosher, Founder and Executive Director.  “It’s important that our services are accessible to all.”

Sixteen years after Tomorrow’s Rainbow emerged as the first and only stand-alone children’s grief center in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, the charity began to notice a significant increase in the number of families that were seeking out bereavement services who also had experienced trauma. “Referring these children out for individual counseling no longer made sense.  Especially when we our expertise included Equine Assisted Psychotherapy – a highly effective approach to healing trauma,” stated Mosher.

Tomorrow’s Rainbow did not let a global pandemic get in the way of expanding its mission. Covid-19 only reinforced the agency’s commitment to grow.  “How could we ignore a mental health crisis?” asked Mosher.  “For such a long time, Tomorrow’s Rainbow was one of our community’s best kept secrets.  That’s about to change.”

A rebranding and marketing campaign titled “Rebranding Hope” was made possible with financial support from the Children’s Services Council of Broward County. Armed with a fresh new logo and mission statement: Nurturing emotional wellness and resiliency for children, teens, and families experiencing grief, loss, or trauma, the local nonprofit is now able to promote Tomorrow’s Rainbow as the alternative to traditional 4 wall therapy. Services are highly effective, and because they are naturally outdoors, they follow CDC safety guidelines.

Tomorrow’s Rainbow is our community’s premier outdoor resource for solution-focused, experiential therapeutic services specializing in The Global Standard for Equine Assisted Psychotherapy & Personal Development, Eagala model.

Tomorrow’s Rainbow can be found on the social media:

Facebook @TomorrowsRainbowInc Twitter @TRainbowInc

Instagram @Tomorrows.Rainbow

About Tomorrow’s Rainbow: Tomorrow’s Rainbow is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. It is a special place for children and teens that are healing from grief, loss or trauma.  Located in Coconut Creek, Florida, the Tomorrow’s Rainbow Ranch is a unique setting for equine-assisted grief and trauma support, offered FREE of charge to children, teens and their families including the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Deerfield Beach High School tragedies and those experiencing trauma as a result of Covid-19. Tomorrow’s Rainbow is celebrating 16 years as our community’s premier resource for hope and resiliency. Please Contact Abby Mosher, Founder/Executive Director at 954.978.2390 or www.TomorrowsRainbow.org.