Worse yet, ivermectin can make some people sick. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, blurred vision, dizziness, increased heart rate, low blood pressure, hallucinations, confusion, loss of coordination and seizures. Some people have also gotten sick by swallowing ivermectin products intended for use on skin (e.g., lotions and creams) or for use in animals.
Long story short: if other medicines are proven to help fight COVID-19 infection, and ivermectin can make some people sick, why take the chance? If you think you have COVID-19, talk to your health care provider (or call 211 if you don’t have one).
iHealth rapid-antigen home COVID-19 tests have had a three-month extension in their expiration dates granted by the Food and Drug Administration.
Please see the attached link to determine your tests’ new expiration date. Link is here.
iHealth home tests were provided locally to non-profit organizations, churches and individuals by the Malheur County Health Department and Oregon Health Authority, and were also mailed to private residences by the federal government. If you have not received your tests from the federal government, you may request them here.
iHealth Rapid Antigen tests are authorized for non-prescription home use with self-collected anterior nasal swab samples from individuals age 15 or older who have symptoms of COVID-19 within the first seven days of symptom onset. People age 2-15 may use the test, if an adult collects the swab samples. Test results are available in 15 minutes.
Rapid antigen tests such as the iHealth test will not be accepted as proof of a negative COVID-19 test for travel.
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an order to JUUL Labs Inc. for all of their products currently marketed in the United States. As a result, the company must stop selling and distributing these products. In addition, those currently on the U.S. market must be removed, or risk enforcement action. The products include the JUUL device and four types of JUULpods: Virginia tobacco flavored pods at nicotine concentrations of 5.0% and 3.0% and menthol flavored pods at nicotine concentrations of 5.0% and 3.0%. Retailers should contact JUUL with any questions about products in their inventory.
The ban only pertains to the commercial distribution, importation and retail sales of these products, and do not restrict individual consumer possession or use – the FDA cannot and will not enforce against individual consumer possession or use of JUUL products or any other tobacco products.
After reviewing the company’s premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs), the FDA determined that the applications lacked sufficient evidence regarding the toxicological profile of the products to demonstrate that marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. In particular, some of the company’s study findings raised concerns due to insufficient and conflicting data – including regarding genotoxicity and potentially harmful chemicals leaching from the company’s proprietary e-liquid pods – that have not been adequately addressed and precluded the FDA from completing a full toxicological risk assessment of the products named in the company’s applications.
In addition to ensuring that JUUL complies with this order, as with unauthorized products generally, the FDA intends to ensure compliance by distributors and retailers. Specifically, the FDA notes that all new tobacco products on the market without the statutorily required premarket authorization are marketed unlawfully and are subject to enforcement action.
As the FDA has stated in the past, unauthorized electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products for which no application is pending, including for example, those with an MDO, are among our highest enforcement priorities. Therefore, the FDA encourages retailers to discuss products in their inventory with their suppliers including the current status of any particular tobacco product’s marketing application or marketing authorization. Manufacturers will be the best source of that information and retailers should rely on manufacturers directly to inform decisions about which products to continue selling.
There are many resources to help smokers who want to quit. Quitting all tobacco products is the best possible path to good health. Some current JUUL users who will not have access to JUUL products following this action or current smokers who want to transition away from cigarettes and cigars may decide to switch to other ENDS products that have been reviewed and authorized by the FDA based on their potential to benefit adult smokers. If you would like to talk to someone who can help you quit, call 800-QUIT-NOW.
To date, the FDA has authorized 23 ENDS products. Under the PMTA pathway, applicants must demonstrate to the agency, among other things, that permitting the marketing of the new tobacco product would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.
The FDA continues to work to complete its review of the remaining pending applications for deemed products submitted by the Sept. 9, 2020, deadline.
Join a free community-focused COVID-19 webinar – offered in English and Spanish – to learn about COVID-19 treatments. Experts from Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and Oregon Heath & Science University will discuss everything we know about available COVID-19 treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies and antiviral medication, who is eligible for these treatments and how to access them.
Click the links below to join the live webinars:
English – Thursday, June 23, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Mountain Time Call in: +1-669-254-5252, Meeting ID: 161 027 9494, Passcode: 133296
There will also be an opportunity to ask questions. An ASL interpreter will be present, and closed captioning will be provided. Both webinars will be recorded and posted to the OHA website here.
Both Moderna and Pfizer’s “Little Peds” vaccine, for children ages 6 months to 5 years, has arrived at the Malheur County Health Department, and will be available at two local clinics on Wednesday, June 22.
Walk-in Wednesday, the Health Department’s weekly walk-in vaccine clinic, opens at 9 a.m., closes for lunch, and reopens from 1-4:30 for people interested in being vaccinated. The clinic is located at 1108 SW 4th St., in Ontario. For the first time, Walk-in Wednesday will feature the vaccine for the littlest children.
The Health Department will also offer COVID-19 vaccines for everyone age 6 months and older beginning at noon Wednesday at the Vale Senior Citizen Center, 100 S. Longfellow Ave., in Vale.
COVID-19 vaccines are free, and the Health Department will provide a $25 gift card to everyone who receives a vaccine, including infants and small children.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been more than 2 million cases, 20,000 hospitalizations and 200 deaths in children under 5, due to COVID-19 in the U.S., according to Stanford Children’s Health. Vaccines continue to be effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalization, including in children without any underlying medical conditions. All of the effects of “long COVID” in children are not yet known, and vaccination helps prevent some of the known effects, including Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), and may potentially prevent post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (“long COVID) which has the potential to be very debilitating for young children. Vaccines can protect children, which can in turn reduce the risk of transmission to others.
For children 5-11 years old in the U.S., there has been only one vaccine option available. For children under 5, there are two. The three-dose Pfizer BioNTech vaccine can be given to children 6 months to four years. It is three micrograms per dose. The second dose is given three to eight weeks after the first, and the third dose is given more than eight weeks after the second. The two-dose Moderna vaccine is recommended for children 6 months to 5 years old at a dose of 25 micrograms. The doses are given four to eight weeks apart. Children who are moderately to severely immunocompromised may need additional doses, similar to teens and adults.
The most common side effects parents can expect for their child are a sore arm, headache, fever, and fatigue. Children 6 months to 23 months may be fussy or more sleepy. Symptoms usually occur one to two days after vaccination and are mostly mild and resolve after a few days. parents should contact their primary care provider if they have any specific concerns about side effects from a shot.
Parents who prefer to have their child vaccinated by their own pediatrician are encouraged to call the pediatrician’s office to ensure the vaccine is available, and to schedule an appointment.
Children age 6 months to 5 years may now receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon, after a flurry of weekend activity to approve Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccine. While children could begin to receive the vaccine as early as today (Monday, June 20, 2022), most providers won’t have vaccine in their office, so please contact your provider before taking your child to get a vaccine. Some providers will receive vaccine shipments today, while others won’t have their shipments until later this week, or even after that.
Approval of the vaccine followed the usual protocol, with an FDA committee finding that the benefits of either the two-dose Moderna COVID-19 vaccine series for infants age 6 months through 5 years, or the three-dose Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for infants and children 6 months through 4 years of age substantially outweigh any known or likely risks. Later, the full FDA endorsed the recommendation, and over the weekend, it was endorsed by the CDC, and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, on which Oregon relies for such decisions.
Having your child vaccinated against COVID-19 will help keep them from becoming severely ill with the virus, and help keep them from spreading it to others.
Parents with questions are encouraged to talk to their child’s health care provider to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine and the importance of keeping children up-to-date with all the recommended vaccinations.
Some tips for parents of young children being vaccinated are here.
Oregon Health Authority held its monthly media availability today, providing an update on COVID-19 in Oregon and the status of state and federal reviews taking place through this weekend for vaccines for children under 5 years of age.
Dean Sidelinger, M.D. MSEd, health officer and state epidemiologist at OHA, highlighted the latest data trends, showing that hospitalizations for COVID-19-positive patients in Oregon have hit the peak projected by current modeling and that Oregon still continues to have a high level of community spread.
Sidelinger also provided an update on the next steps in federal and state reviews for authorizing Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years of age. He noted that in Oregon, children under 4 were the most hospitalized age group during last winter’s Omicron wave.
Sidelinger was joined by Dawn Nolt, M.D., professor of pediatrics (infectious diseases) in the OHSU School of Medicine, who explained vaccine safety and what Emergency Use Authorization means for this age group, including reduced risk of severe disease.
Nolt emphasized that — as a pediatrician, an infectious disease doctor and parent — her key advice is that children get vaccinated as soon as they can. “Vaccines protect small children, but also protect entire family units, as children can get and spread the coronavirus.”
If you feel at all sick, it’s important that you stay home, isolate away from others in your household and wear a mask in common areas. If your symptoms are moderate to severe, contact your primary care physician and ask about testing and possible treatments. If you receive a test that will take a few days before you find out results, isolate at home while you wait. For more information, call the COVID-19 Response Hotline at 866-917-8881. After you feel better, get vaccinated! Next Wednesday, there are two opportunities for vaccination from the Malheur County Health Department. Come to our office at 1108 SW 4th St., between 9 a.m. and noon, or 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., no appointment needed, and ask for your vaccine, or a booster. Or, from noon to 5 p.m., we’ll have a team in Vale at the Vale Senior Citizen Center, 100 Longfellow, ready to vaccinate you or a loved one.
As early as next week, parents and caregivers may be able to get their youngest children vaccinated against COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee met today, June 15, and recommended approval of emergency use for Moderna and Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna’s application is for vaccinating kids ages 6 months through 5 years, and Pfizer’s is for kids ages 6 months through 4 years.
“The vaccine is an important tool to protect them from the virus. It prevents kids from getting very sick and from spreading it others, both at home, in school and at day care,” said Dr. Kim Bonner, epidemic intelligence service officer for acute and communicable disease prevention with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read on for answers to common questions about vaccinating this age group.
Vaccine side effects, such as headaches, fevers and chills, are a sign our immune system is building protection against the virus we are being vaccinated against.
When we receive an mRNA vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer), the vaccine tells our cells to build copies of the spike protein found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19. It’s impossible for these spike protein copies to infect us with COVID-19. But our body sees a protein it doesn’t recognize and launches an immune response to build antibodies. Even if those antibodies do not prevent infection, they, along with memory –B and –T cells, can respond immediately and reduce the length and severity of illness. People who are not vaccinated were 17 times more likely to die from COVID-19 in March than those who received a primary vaccine series plus a booster dose.
Severe adverse events from vaccination are rare.
Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that may occur within minutes after receiving any vaccination. For COVID-19 vaccinations, it has occurred at a rate of about five cases per 1 million vaccinations.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is inflammation of the outer lining of the heart. These reactions are rare and happen most often in teenagers or young adult males, usually within one week of receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer or Moderna). CDC data show myocarditis occurs less often after a booster dose than the second dose in a primary vaccine series. Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath and a fast-beating, fluttering or pounding heart. Most patients respond well to treatment of their symptoms and feel better within a few days.
Malheur County Health Department 