COVID-19 vaccine newsletter - April 27, 2021

  • News
  • Apr 27, 2021

What’s new?

Nationwide campaign

A coalition of 60 top hospitals and health care institutions have joined forces in a nationwide campaign to encourage adults to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Led by Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, the campaign "Get the Vaccine to Save Lives" is designed to reassure the public that vaccines are safe and effective. Getting the vaccine helps to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Visit ourshot2savelives.org to learn more, take the pledge, and encourage others to get the vaccine.

Nationwide campaign with Mayo Clinic encouraging the public to get the COVID vaccine to save lives. Poster includes a doctor wearing a mask.

Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause lifted

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to lift the temporary pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. This announcement underscores the importance that is placed on vaccine safety.

Dr. Melanie Swift, co-chair of Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 Allocation and Distribution Work Group shared, "I'm glad that we will continue to have this vaccine as an important tool to help end the pandemic. The risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) is incredibly low and on par with other risks we tolerate all the time. This decision gives patients the ability to make informed decisions, and many people really want to be able to take a one-dose vaccine."

We are fortunate to have three safe and effective vaccines that are helping get us closer to the end of this pandemic.

It is important that all eligible Minnesotans get vaccinated. All three vaccines protect you from COVID-19, but they do much more than that. They also protect your family, your friends, and your community. And, they help us get back to a place where we can do all the things we’ve missed doing during the pandemic.

More information about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is available via the Mayo News Network.

People with at least one vaccine dose: 86,106 (55.6% of total population, 71.3% of 16+ population). People with completed vaccine series: 70,046 (45.2% of total population, 58% of 16+ population).
An image of Dr. Christine Beech of the Kabara Institute, a white female wearing a mask and holding her COVID-19 vaccine card and a sticker with the quote "I got my COVID vaccine so I can spend time with my grandkids."

Updates

Olmsted County Public Health Services (OCPHS)

Olmsted County continues to make good progress on vaccinations, and we exceed the state in all age groups. The higher our vaccination percentages, the more protected we all are, and the closer we get to achieving herd immunity.

Summer is traditionally a time of travel, both domestically and abroad, and several countries may soon be opening up their borders to those fully vaccinated. When you’re fully vaccinated, you don’t need to quarantine if you’re exposed to COVID-19. This allows you to continue going to work, attending and participating in sports and activities, traveling, and gathering with family and friends.

OCPHS continues to receive regular vaccine allotments each week and offering the vaccine to essential workers, youth ages 16-17, and others as vaccine supplies allow. When OCPHS clinics have openings, individuals can register for an appointment. Clinic openings change often, and individuals should check the Olmsted County website daily for changes and updates.

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic continues to have vaccine appointments available and encourages community members who have not yet been vaccinated to do so. To request a vaccination appointment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, call 507-538-4040 or request an appointment through your Patient Online Services account.

Olmsted Medical Center (OMC)

All patients 16 years of age and older are invited to call 507-292-7300 to schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Appointments will typically be available Wednesday through Friday (depending on the amount of vaccine OMC receives) and will take place at the Rochester Northwest Clinic.

OMC will also continue to reach out to patients in the following ways.

  • A message to your OMC MyChart patient portal account.
    • If you have email notifications for messages turned on, the email will read “A new COVID-19 vaccine scheduling ticket available in OMC MyChart.”
    • If you have questions about OMC MyChart, call 507-287-2780 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday).
  • By phone or text message for individuals who do not have an OMC MyChart account.

OMC follows COVID-19 vaccination recommendations and guidelines provided by the Minnesota Department of Health and the State of Minnesota. Although vaccine is allotted each week by the State of Minnesota, it is unknown from week to week how much vaccine will be received. Please be aware that it will take time and patience to vaccinate all patients who want to be vaccinated. This is because the demand for the vaccine is much greater than the supply.

For information on other vaccination options in Olmsted County, visit the Olmsted County website.  

Education / information

Vaccine breakthrough cases

The following information comes from the CDC.

While COVID-19 vaccines are effective, no vaccine prevents illness 100% of the time. For any vaccines, there are breakthrough cases – meaning that some people may still get COVID-19. With an effectiveness of 90% or higher, a small percentage of people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will still get sick and some may be hospitalized or die from COVID-19.

It’s also possible a person could be infected just before or just after vaccination and still get sick. It typically takes about two weeks for the body to build protection after vaccination, so a person could get sick if the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection. New variants of the virus are also spreading. Current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against most variants. However, some variants might cause illness in some people after they are fully vaccinated.

If you get COVID-19 after vaccination, your symptoms might be less severe

Even though a small percentage of fully vaccinated people will get sick, vaccination will protect most people from getting sick. There also is some evidence that vaccination may make the illness less severe in people who get vaccinated but still get sick. Despite this, some fully vaccinated people will still be hospitalized and die. However, the overall risk of hospitalization and death among fully vaccinated people will be much lower than among people with similar risk factors who are not vaccinated.

Predictive modeling

Mayo Clinic researchers recently published a study that uses Mayo’s predictive modeling, which has guided Mayo experts on their response to the pandemic. The study showed trends based on the pace of vaccination nationally and how vaccination trends are crucial to the future course of the pandemic.

The article presents three scenarios, with up to 75% of the population being vaccinated. According to the Mayo computer model, 75% vaccination "would completely suppress the growth (even in the face of the recent elevated spread rates) and immediately drive cases and hospitalizations down to very low levels," the authors say. More information on this topic is available via the Mayo New Network.