‘Vaccine Hunter’ also appears in the US, waiting for a vaccine that is about to expire

In the United States, the country that is the biggest victim of Corona 19, there are 4.25 million vaccinations per day nationwide. Initially, the speed did not increase, but according to Bloomberg statistics, a total of 35 million injections were put into the arms of Americans on the 3rd (local time).

As vaccination, which began in December last year, is on the way, unexpected problems are emerging one after another. In Korea, where full-scale vaccination begins at the end of this month, we have reviewed three current concerns in the United States that are worth referencing.

Pfizer and Modena vaccines must be stored in the refrigerator or frozen. In particular, once the vial is opened at room temperature, it cannot be left for long. One Pfizer vial contains 5 doses, and a modder or vial contains 10 doses. However, depending on the use, the amount of each time comes out. In addition, the person who has scheduled the vaccination does not appear, or when the vaccination deadline is over, vaccines are inevitably left. Strictly all are subject to destruction.

According to NBC, more than 1,100 people have so far been thrown away in North Carolina alone. Then, on the 2nd, Mandy Cohen, the state health minister, said, “If you don’t find additional people to be vaccinated first, give the vaccine to anyone around you.”

But’who is around’ is the problem. In fact, there are places that camp at each inoculation site and give injections to so-called’vaccine hunters’, waiting for the remaining vaccines, while others inoculate only essential personnel by contacting the surrounding police and fire departments. There are also places where the vaccination agency is responsible for it.

NBC said, “There are regulations on the disposal of vaccines for children left behind at the CDC, but there are no adult vaccines,” he pointed out that a standard for the COVID-19 vaccine is still needed.

Pfizer and Modena vaccines should be administered twice, at least 3 and 4 weeks apart. Then, in order to increase the number of inoculations, it was argued that the timing of the second vaccination after the first vaccination was delayed a little more. Even if it’s hit once, it works to some extent. In fact, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia in the UK, the Guardian reported on the 3rd that a single dose of Pfizer vaccine showed 90% immunity maintenance effect for 21 days.

However, Anthony Pouch, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, opposes this. In an interview with the Washington Post on the 2nd, he said, “There is a problem that the effect is less effective if you do not get a second dose, but there is a risk that paradoxically more mutations can be chosen when the optimal effect is not achieved.” Therefore, local media reported that it means that the vaccine can be neutralized by creating a’escape mutation’ that avoids the drug effect in a situation where the effect is poor.

Although the data are not yet complete, analysis of the initial vaccination status revealed distinct results by race and income level.

According to the New York Times (NYT), in Philadelphia, with 44% of the black population, in the first week of vaccination, only 12% of those who received the vaccine were black. In addition, the inoculation centers in low-income areas often have white residents from nearby wealthy villages, rather than local residents, to receive the vaccine, NYT reported.

There is not enough time to wait in line to get an injection, but the black community’s deep-seated distrust of vaccines is also playing a role in this situation. For this reason, 1980s professional basketball star Karim Abdul Javab suggested in a NYT column that NBA players such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry should first be vaccinated against COVID-19. Of course, they are not subject to vaccination first, but it is a story that through this, the’black people under 35′, which are currently the lowest inoculation rate, can be led to the inoculation center.

In 1956, Elvis Presley publicly vaccinated the polio vaccine on TV. Four years later, the incidence of polio fell by 90%. Although there may be a dispute about’celebrity preference’, he stressed that it is worth considering in a situation where the number of black deaths from Corona 19 is significantly higher than that of other groups.

Washington = Correspondent Pilkyu Kim [email protected]