December 31, 2020
As you may already know, COVID-19 vaccines are currently making their way around the world and Bristol House is working closely with CVS Pharmacy to further plan for the vaccination of our residents and staff.
We are hoping to receive more information over the next several days.
The scheduling will be admittedly difficult as the vaccination teams will be held by fairly strict guidelines to ensure all front-line healthcare workers and senior community residents are able to be vaccinated during phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccination
program.
- Vaccinations will be given to the senior living communities by pharmacy staff.
- The vaccine is made up of two doses and the second dose will be administered 21 to 28 days after the first dose.
PLEASE NOTE: Residents who will be moving into Bristol House after the first vaccination day will then receive their first dose of the vaccine on the second vaccination day. Those residents will then receive their second dose of the vaccine on the third
vaccination day.
Please know that all COVID-19 vaccines have been tested during trials with tens of thousands of people to be sure they properly meet all safety standards and effectively defend against COVID-19 for people of all races, ethnicities, and ages, along with
seniors over 65 years of age. There have been no serious safety concerns reported. The commonly occurring side effects included pain at the site of injection and symptoms such as chills and a fever.
The CDC did release facts pertaining to the vaccines and the vaccination process as written below:
The COVID-19 vaccines do not give you COVID-19
No COVID-19 vaccines that are being developed currently in the United States contain the live virus which causes COVID-19. The intended use for each vaccine is to train our immune systems how to recognize and defend against the virus that causes COVID-19 should it enter our system. This process can sometimes cause symptoms, like a fever for example. This is normal and are a signal that the body is building its’ immunity to the virus.
The immune building process usually takes a few weeks after vaccination. This means that it is possible for someone to be infected with COVID-19 before or shortly after vaccination and fall ill. This can happen due to the fact the vaccine has not had enough time to build protection yet.
The COVID-19 vaccines do not cause you to test positive during COVID-19 tests
Should your body develop an immune response, which is the intended goal of the vaccine, there may still be a possibility you could test positive on some antibody tests. An Antibody test is used to determine if you’ve had a previous infection and if it left
you with any level of protection against the virus for the future. Currently, experts are still researching how the COVID-19 vaccination may affect antibody testing results.
People who have had COVID-19 could still benefit from getting vaccinated
Due to the various health risks associated with COVID-19 that can be severe or even fatal, paired with the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is a possibility, individuals are being advised to get vaccinated even if they have previously contracted COVID-19.
Currently, experts are still unsure of how long someone is protected from re-infection from COVID-19 after previously having it. The immunity a person may gain from having an infection, which is referred to as natural immunity, can vary from person to person. Some former evidence suggests natural immunity does not last a long period of time.
Receiving the vaccine can help prevent contracting COVID-19
Many people who contract COVID-19 experience a mild illness, while others may experience the illness more severely and even die. There is not a way to know how COVID-19 will affect someone, even if you are not considered to be at an increased risk
for complications. If you do fall ill, you may also spread the virus to others around you. The COVID-19 vaccination will help protect your body by creating and enforcing the response of antibodies while not having to experience the illness itself.
Receiving an mRNA vaccine will not alter your DNA
What mRNA stands for is, messenger ribonucleic acid, and can be described best as a manual for how to create a protein or just a piece of a protein. mRNA cannot alter the genetic make-up (DNA) of a person. The mRNA in the COVID-19 vaccine does not
penetrate the nucleus of our cells, which is where our DNA are stored. What this means is that the mRNA does not affect or interact with our DNA at all. COVID-19 vaccines instead, use mRNA to work with our body’s natural defenses to safely defend our systems and develop immunity to the disease.