Tag: vaccines

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Politics

Biden Backs Suspending Patents on Covid Vaccines

Biden Backs Suspending Patents on Covid Vaccines

Global health activists who pushed for the renouncement praised the government’s decision. It is “a truly historic move that shows that President Biden is committed to being not just an American but a global leader,” said Priti Krishtel, executive director of the Drugs, Access and Knowledge Initiative.

But the activists said not doing it alone would not increase the global vaccine supply. It must be accompanied by a process called “technology transfer” in which patent holders provide technical know-how and personnel. Activists are also calling for Mr Biden to use his leverage to ensure that production grows around the globe, and not just from the drug companies that now hold the patents.

“No USTR has made such a statement,” said Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, a global advocacy group for AIDS treatment, using the abbreviation for the commercial agent. “And now the actions must match the words.”

The announcement by the United States is only one step towards a possible international agreement to suspend intellectual property rights. Negotiating the fine print of an agreement that satisfies countries around the world is a huge task. If an agreement can be reached in the World Trade Organization, it will be far from clear what would happen next.

Lisa Larrimore Ouellette, professor of patent law at Stanford Law School, suggested that the move by the Biden administration could help get the pharmaceutical industry to “do business they can live with.”

Updated

May 6, 2021, 5:52 p.m. ET

Ana Santos Rutschman, a health law expert at Saint Louis University Law School, said the pharmaceutical industry now has a clear incentive to “shift the debate to the global justice issue of access to doses that we can actually produce, rather than addressing them tremendous struggle. “The best choice for businesses, she said, might be to donate more doses of vaccine or to sell them for charitable purposes to lower-income countries in need.

The debate about relaxing intellectual property rules has been going on for months. India and South Africa proposed the derogation last fall to suspend parts of an international intellectual property agreement that addresses issues such as patents, copyrights and trade secrets. Under President Donald J. Trump, the United States rejected the effort. Other opponents were Great Britain and the European Union.

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Health

With Covid Vaccines for Teenagers and Youngsters, Timing Issues

With Covid Vaccines for Teens and Kids, Timing Matters

“In the end, this will be very good for vaccines as so much emphasis has been placed on the process, safety and verification,” said Dr. Campbell.

“I don’t think people in the past have realized how closely they look at the response to a vaccine,” said Dr. Campbell, or how much attention is paid to the timing, dose, and immune response of a new vaccine, is tested.

When it comes to the Covid vaccines, Dr. Maldonado: “We are not unduly concerned about anything about this vaccine, we are just following normal processes.”

Still, it’s possible that younger children, who usually have more robust immune systems than adults, may be more responsive to the Covid vaccines. For this reason, vaccine studies in children carefully examine dosage and immunological reactivity. Dr. Beers said, “They often start with a smaller group, give a lower vaccine dose, test the response, and work their way up to the dose necessary for an appropriate dose of immunity.”

Dr. Campbell and his colleagues in Maryland are just starting their first study of Covid vaccines in children under the age of 12. And no one should try to convince parents that the vaccines are safe and effective in this age group until the data are available: “I have no reason to believe that they are not safe and effective, but the evidence is in Pudding – I want to see the pudding. “

It makes sense to convince children of their regular vaccinations as it will protect them well if other diseases flare up after the pandemic lowered the rate of usual childhood vaccinations. Doctors are concerned about a whole list of vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, whooping cough, meningitis, HPV, and flu.

Do Covid vaccines eventually fit into the routine vaccination schedule for children, and if so, at what age? Since the new vaccines are still in an emergency approval phase: “Nobody has answers; We have to see the passage of time, ”said Dr. Maldonado.

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Politics

Vaccines, sizzling markets, massive spending

Vaccines, hot markets, big spending

United States President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during the Democratic National Committee’s “Back on Track” drive-in rally to celebrate the 100th President’s Day at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Georgia on April 29, 2021.

Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

In his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden signed $ 1.9 trillion in coronavirus relief bill, put forward a multi-trillion dollar plan to overhaul the economy, and unilaterally reversed the course of many Guidelines of his predecessor.

Biden took the reins of former President Donald Trump amid the coronavirus pandemic and a cloud of national social and political unrest.

When he took office on January 20, Biden vowed to lead the nation through an unprecedented “winter of peril” and put it on a path to unity.

As he neared his 100th full day at work, Biden stated this week that America is “leading the world again.”

Here’s a look at what happened in Biden’s first 100 days.

A cabinet that will look like America

Before he took office, Biden promised to build a multifaceted cabinet that would “look like America”.

He is living up to that commitment, according to Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a president scholar and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who tracked Biden’s candidates.

The Biden administration is ahead of its recent predecessors with a greater proportion of Senate-approved women and non-white candidates at the 100-day mark than former Presidents Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush at their 300-day mark, so Brookings’ tracker.

The data was last updated on Wednesday and includes confirmations to the 15 departments in the succession line. Some departments such as US attorneys as well as military appointments are excluded.

The high-profile minority positions appointed to also reflect Biden’s commitment to diversity, Tenpas said.

“It’s not just that the numbers show he’s appointed more women and non-whites, but he’s putting them in positions they’ve never filled before,” she said.

Biden’s cabinet includes Lloyd Austin, the country’s first Black Defense secretary; Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay person to hold a cabinet position; Home Secretary Deb Haaland, first Native American cabinet secretary; Janet Yellen, the first woman to head the finance department; and Xavier Becerra, the first Latin American secretary for health and human services.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Cabinet members and immigration officers in the State Dining Room in Washington, DC on March 24, 2021.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

In the past, according to Tenpas, women and minorities have often been appointed to less visible positions, such as the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Labor.

The first 100 days are usually a tentative look at administrative deadlines, according to Tenpas. A president’s second 100-day period is often more productive in terms of Senate endorsement. This is another opportunity to examine Biden’s promise of diversity.

200 million gunshots

Biden took office amid the height of the Covid crisis, when the country reported nearly 200,000 Covid cases and more than 3,000 deaths a day.

He set an original goal of 100 million vaccine shots administered within 100 days, which aroused criticism for being too conservative. The White House hit that mark in 58 days and set a new target of 200 million shots, which was exceeded on day 92.

More than half of adults in the United States have received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention, Control and Prevention, and all are now eligible for vaccination.

But the pace of daily shots has dropped to an average of 2.6 million daily reported vaccinations in recent weeks, from a high of 3.4 million in mid-April.

Hottest performance in the market since the 1950s

Major stock market indices have risen sharply during Biden’s tenure, with the S&P 500 outperforming a president dating back at least the 1950s and the Eisenhower administration in its first 100 days.

Relying on a record level of stimuli, the index has risen 25% since election day. This is part of an ongoing rally that began in late March 2020 after the coronavirus crash and has seen few signs of slowing since then.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 23.9% over the period, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is up 26.2%.

The Biden rally took a hit when it was revealed on April 22nd that the president was planning a capital gain tax hike for the rich, with the S&P 500 and Dow each closing nearly a full percentage point. Shares quickly made up for their losses, however, and the White House brushed off a question related to investor concerns about the tax proposal.

“I’ve been doing this long enough not to comment on movements in the stock market,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a press conference on April 23, adding, “but I’ve actually seen data that comes back went up this morning. “

Under Biden, the market was somewhat volatile, at least in historical terms. The S&P 500 rose or fell 1% or more for the 31 days between election day and Biden’s 100th day, compared to five days under Trump’s early days at the White House.

Big issues, positive reviews

Given the political moment it has entered, Biden’s approval rating has been high so far. However, it is unclear whether his numbers will stay afloat as he and his party prepare for a number of important political battles that could determine the remainder of his presidency.

According to Gallup data, Biden’s approval rating is 57% after 100 days, which makes him far more popular than Trump. But that doesn’t say much: Trump’s rating at that point was – 41% – 14 points lower than any other president in Gallup’s history.

The president’s Republican predecessor maintained historically low approval ratings during his tenure and never exceeded the 50% threshold, Gallup polls show.

Compared to other presidents, Biden’s rating is less impressive. According to Gallup, he’s the third-lowest president since Dwight Eisenhower at the 100-day mark.

Americans tend to give Biden his worst marks for his dealings with China, arms, and immigration.

Still, it is noteworthy that at a time of extreme political polarization, Biden receives positive reviews. Gallup’s latest poll shows Biden with only 11% approval from Republicans but 58% approval from independents. At this point in Trump’s presidency, only 37% of Independents gave him a thumbs up, Gallup shows.

Biden’s approval appears to be largely driven by his government’s decision to focus intensely on Covid from day one.

Americans still view the coronavirus as one of the country’s most pressing issues, and multiple polls show that Biden gets top marks for his handling of the pandemic. Biden urged Congress to pass the $ 1.9 trillion Covid relief plan, which many more Americans support than oppose.

But there is also more appetite for the kind of government spending the government has proposed. For example, fifty-five percent of respondents in a recent NBC News poll said the government should do more to solve problems and meet people’s needs, compared with 41 percent who said they are doing too much.

Even before the White House detailed Biden’s latest spending plan – a $ 1.8 trillion package to support children, students and families – nearly two-thirds of respondents in a Monmouth University survey said they support the idea .

Experts say it makes sense that Biden’s economic proposals – presented in their highest and most ambitious form – seem to resonate with Americans. But those plans will change drastically once lawmakers get their agenda under control, and it’s unclear what Congress can get through.

Democrats have a slim majority in the House of Representatives and a wafer-thin advantage in the Senate. The Senate filibuster rules require 60 votes for many laws to pass, and the Democrats’ ability to bypass this hurdle through budget voting can only be used sparingly.

Biden has repeatedly said he is looking for bipartisan input while stressing that inaction is not an option on his agenda. However, there is little evidence that Republicans will support Biden’s plans in their current form.

In addition, some moderate to conservative Democrats such as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin are already expressing skepticism about the surge in spending.

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Health

Celebrities Are Endorsing Covid Vaccines. Does It Assist?

Celebrities Are Endorsing Covid Vaccines. Does It Help?

Pelé, Dolly Parton and the Dalai Lama have little in common: for a few days in March, they became the latest celebrity case studies on the health benefits of Covid-19 vaccines.

“I just want to tell all the cowards out there, don’t be such a squat,” said Ms. Parton, 75, in a video she posted on Twitter after receiving her vaccine in Tennessee. “Go out there and get your shot.”

This is hardly the first time public figures have thrown their popularity behind efforts to change the behavior of ordinary people. In medicine, celebrities tend to repeat or amplify messages that health officials are trying to get public, regardless of whether it is a vaccine or other medical treatment. In 18th century Russia, Catherine the Great was vaccinated as part of her campaign to promote the nationwide introduction of the practice against smallpox. Almost 200 years later, behind the scenes on the Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis Presley received the polio vaccine to reach teenagers at risk.

But do the star-studded endorsements really work? Not necessarily. Epidemiologists say there are many reservations and potential pitfalls – and little scientific evidence that the endorsements actually boost vaccine uptake.

“Very few people give celebrities the weight of knowledge, good or bad,” said René F. Najera, epidemiologist and editor of the History of Vaccines website, a project by the College of Physicians in Philadelphia.

“There is some shift there with social media and social influence in the younger age groups,” he added. “But for the most part we still listen more to our colleagues than to a figurehead.”

As vaccination campaigns accelerate around the world, watching high profile endorsements has become one of the newest – and some of the weirdest – online rituals of the Covid era.

To keep track of the phenomenon, New York Magazine kept a list of newly vaccinated celebrities over the winter, including Christie Brinkley (“Piece of Cake”), Whoopi Goldberg (“I Didn’t Feel It”) and Mandy Patinkin (“One”) few advantages of getting older ”). Journalists in India have done the same for Bollywood movie stars.

In Europe, images of male politicians photographed shirtless have spawned a number of memes. An Oregon epidemiologist, Dr. Esther Choo joked on Twitter that French Health Minister Olivier Véran was running a public relations campaign she called “Operation Smolder”.

Such posts are noteworthy because they instantly enable millions of people to see the raw mechanics of immunization – needles and everything – at a time when skepticism about Covid vaccines has been persistent in the US and beyond. For example, the rapid-fire testimonials from Pelé, Ms. Parton and the Dalai Lama in March reached a combined total of more than 30 million followers and led to hundreds of thousands of engagements on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. In April, singer Ciara hosted an NBC star-studded vaccination promotion special with performances by former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, and others.

“These types of endorsements could be especially important when trust in government / official sources is quite low,” said Tracy Epton, a psychologist at the University of Manchester in the UK who has studied public health interventions during the coronavirus pandemic , in an email.

Updated

April 30, 2021, 9:52 p.m. ET

That was the case in the 1950s when Elvis Presley agreed to receive the polio vaccine to help the National Polio Foundation reach a demographic of teenagers “difficult to raise and use by traditional means to be inspired, ”said Stephen E. Mawdsley. Lecturer in Modern American History at the University of Bristol in the UK.

“I think Elvis helped make the vaccination look ‘cool’ and not just the job in charge,” said Dr. Mawdsley.

There is evidence to suggest that celebrities who advocate certain medical behavior can produce tangible results. After Katie Couric had a colonoscopy live on the “Today” show in 2000, the number of colorectal screenings in the United States rose for about nine months.

In Indonesia, researchers in a pre-coronavirus experiment found that 46 celebrities who agreed to tweet or retweet pro-immunization messages were more popular than similar ones from non-celebrities. This was especially true when the celebrities got the message across in their own voices rather than quoting someone else, researchers found.

“Your voice matters,” said Vivi Alatas, an economist in Indonesia and co-author of this study. “It’s not just their ability to reach followers.”

For the most part, however, the science linking celebrities to behavior change is difficult.

One reason for this is that people generally view those on their own personal networks, rather than celebrities, as the best sources for advice on changing their own behavior, said Dr. Najera.

He cited a 2018 study that found few gun owners in the U.S. rated celebrities as effective communicators for keeping guns safe. The owners were far more likely to trust law enforcement officers, active duty military personnel, hunting or outdoor groups, and family members.

Dr. Najera and other researchers have convened focus groups of Americans to find out what made them agree – or not – to be vaccinated against Covid-19. He said the main finding so far has been that admission rates or hesitation often matched the vaccination behavior of a particular person’s racial, ethnic, or socio-economic peer group.

Ho Phi Huynh, a professor of psychology at Texas A&M University in San Antonio, said that celebrity vaccine endorsements tend to have a “spectrum of activity,” as the degree of star admiration varies widely from fan to fan. Some see a celebrity only as entertainment, said Dr. Huynh, while others form bonds with her that can make up for a lack of authentic relationships in their own lives.

“Back to Dolly, if people perceive her as a ‘typically liberal’ celebrity, there might be little leverage for a large faction in the country,” he said.

In Indonesia, it took just a few hours this winter for a mega-celebrity to undercut their own vaccine certification.

The government had selected the entertainer Raffi Ahmad, 34, as one of the first in the country to receive a Covid shot in January. “Don’t be afraid of vaccines,” he told his Instagram followers, who at the time were nearly 50 million, nearly a fifth of the country’s population.

That night he was seen parting without a mask and accused of breaking the public’s trust.

“Please, you can do better,” Sinna Sherina Munaf, an Indonesian musician, told Ahmad and her nearly 11 million followers on Twitter. “Your followers are counting on you.”

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Health

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 94 % efficient at stopping hospitalization in older adults, a examine finds.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 94 percent effective at preventing hospitalization in older adults, a study finds.

Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines prevent 94 percent hospitalization of fully vaccinated adults aged 65 and over, according to a small study published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The results, which are in line with clinical trial results, are the first real evidence from the US that the vaccines protect against severe Covid-19. Older adults are at the highest risk of being hospitalized and dying from the disease. More than 573,000 people have died from the virus across the country, according to a New York Times database. As of Wednesday, 142.7 million people had received at least one dose of one of three federally approved vaccines, including about 98 million people who were fully vaccinated.

“These results are encouraging and welcome news for two-thirds of people 65 and older who are already fully vaccinated,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, in a statement. “Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective and these real world results confirm the benefits of clinical trials preventing hospitalizations among the most vulnerable.”

The study is based on data from 417 patients enrolled in 24 hospitals in 14 states between January 1 and March 26. About half were 75 years or older.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots three to four weeks apart. Older adults who were partially vaccinated – that is, received a dose of the vaccine more than two weeks earlier – were 64 percent less likely to be hospitalized with the coronavirus than unvaccinated seniors, the researchers reported.

The vaccines did not reduce hospitalization rates in people who received their first dose less than two weeks earlier. It takes time for the body to build an effective immune response, and people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the last dose in the series.

“This also underscores the persistent risk of serious illness shortly after vaccination, before a protective immune response has been achieved, and increases the need for vaccinated adults to continue physical distancing and prevention behaviors,” the scientists wrote.

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World News

Australia prioritizes Olympic-bound athletes for vaccines.

Australia prioritizes Olympic-bound athletes for vaccines.

Australia will accelerate vaccinations for athletes and support workers participating in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, the government said on Tuesday.

The contingent of around 2,000 people can be vaccinated in the second highest priority group in the country, at the same time as people aged 70 and over, rescue workers and people with existing diseases and disabilities.

Amid the sluggish introduction of the vaccine in the country, the announcement sparked some backlash. Critics have had problems with athletes receiving preferential treatment as some senior workers and other vulnerable individuals are still awaiting vaccines.

To date, Australia has only vaccinated about 7 percent of its population, largely due to supply issues and poor coordination between state and federal governments and clinics. Earlier this month, the rollout was further hampered when the government stopped recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only vaccine the country makes domestically for people under 50. Two weeks ago, the government abandoned its original goal of vaccinating the entire population through the US at the end of the year.

Australian Sports Minister Richard Colbeck said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon: “Our athletes deserve the opportunity to compete.” He added that vulnerable Australians remain an “absolute priority” for the vaccine to be rolled out.

Australian Olympic Committee executive director Matt Carroll responded in a statement. “There will be hundreds of very grateful athletes, coaches and their families who will be relieved to know that their hard work over five years has paid off,” he said. “That extra layer of security is what they were looking for.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Carroll told reporters that the committee had hired a private contractor to carry out the vaccinations, which means “there is no burden on the public system at all”.

The rollout for the athletes and support staff is slated to begin next week, he added, noting that they would receive either the Pfizer vaccine for athletes under 50 or the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In other updates from around the world:

  • In the coming weeks, officials will be in Great Britain will announce a plan that will allow people to travel to selected countries without quarantining themselves upon return. The plan includes using a National Health Service app to check if travelers are getting a Covid-19 vaccination or have recently tested negative, Grant Shapps, the country’s transportation secretary, told Sky News. Civil society groups have raised concerns about vaccination records, saying that they could invade privacy or put certain marginalized communities at a disadvantage.

  • Andalusia, a region in the south Spain, said it would reopen travel across its eight provinces from midnight on Wednesday, part of a national plan to ease restrictions. The introduction of vaccines in Spain has accelerated in recent weeks. 23 percent of the population had at least one shot. Medical authorities in Seville, the capital of Andalusia, began offering the one-off Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Wednesday.

  • An aunt of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India died after contracting the coronavirus in the west Indian state of Gujarat. Narmadaben Modi, 80, was hospitalized after her condition worsened 10 days ago and she was hospitalized, Prahlad Modi, Mr. Modi’s younger brother, told reporters. Gujarat is one of the Indian states where crematoriums run overnight to cope with the volume of corpses. It is widely believed that officials there underestimate the real number of deaths.

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Health

U.S. to present India uncooked supplies for vaccines, medical provides to struggle Covid

Country reports over 330,000 new cases

Medical workers in protective equipment (PPE) stand on alert in front of the Covid-19 station at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on April 22, 2021 in New Delhi, India.

Sonu Mehta | Hindustan Times | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – The Biden government announced that it will immediately provide the raw materials needed to manufacture coronavirus vaccines in India as the country works to counter the rise in Covid-19 infections.

In the past few weeks, India has been grappling with a staggering surge in new coronavirus infections. Over the weekend, India set another world record for daily cases, bringing the country’s cumulative total to 16,960,172 cases, according to Johns Hopkins.

“Just as India sent aid to the United States because our hospitals were congested at the start of the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its need,” said Emily Horne, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, in a statement on Sunday.

Horne added that the United States would send raw materials to India to make the Covishield vaccine, as well as therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and protective equipment.

“The US Development Finance Corporation is funding a significant expansion of manufacturing capacity for BioE, the vaccine maker in India, so that BioE can produce at least 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2022,” Horne wrote. The US would also send a team of public health advisors from the Center for Disease Control and USAID to India.

The announcement follows a Sunday call between Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Sullivan “reiterated America’s solidarity with India, the two countries with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world,” read an ad on the appeal.

The US response comes after the UK, France and Germany pledged aid to India over the weekend.

On Sunday, Biden wrote on Twitter that his government was “determined to help India in its need”.

Last week, when the United States administered a new record of 200 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, Biden told reporters that his government was looking for more ways to help internationally.

“We’re looking at what will happen to some of the vaccines we don’t use. We’re going to make sure they can be shipped safely,” Biden said on April 21.

“We don’t have enough confidence to send it abroad now. But I assume we can do it,” he added.

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Health

Tens of millions Are Skipping Their Second Doses of Covid Vaccines

Millions Are Skipping Their Second Doses of Covid Vaccines

Millionen Amerikaner erhalten nicht die zweite Dosis ihrer Covid-19-Impfstoffe, und ihre Reihen wachsen.

Mehr als fünf Millionen Menschen oder fast 8 Prozent derjenigen, die zum ersten Mal die Pfizer- oder Moderna-Impfstoffe erhalten haben, haben nach den neuesten Daten der Zentren für die Kontrolle und Prävention von Krankheiten ihre zweite Dosis verpasst. Das ist mehr als das Doppelte der Rate unter Menschen, die in den ersten Wochen der landesweiten Impfkampagne geimpft wurden.

Selbst wenn das Land mit dem Problem von Millionen von Menschen zu kämpfen hat, die sich vor einer Impfung fürchten, stehen die örtlichen Gesundheitsbehörden vor der aufkommenden Herausforderung, sicherzustellen, dass diejenigen, die geimpft werden, dies vollständig tun.

Die Gründe variieren, warum Menschen ihre zweiten Schüsse verpassen. In Interviews sagten einige, sie befürchteten die Nebenwirkungen, zu denen auch flulike Symptome gehören können. Andere sagten, sie fühlten sich mit einem einzigen Schuss ausreichend geschützt.

Diese Einstellungen wurden erwartet, aber eine weitere Hürde war überraschend weit verbreitet. Eine Reihe von Impfstoffanbietern hat Termine für die zweite Dosis abgesagt, weil ihnen das Angebot ausgegangen ist oder sie nicht die richtige Marke auf Lager hatten.

Walgreens, einer der größten Impfstoffanbieter, schickte einige Leute, die einen ersten Schuss des Pfizer- oder Moderna-Impfstoffs erhielten, zu ihren zweiten Dosen in Apotheken, in denen nur der andere Impfstoff zur Verfügung stand.

Mehrere Walgreens-Kunden sagten in Interviews, dass sie, in einigen Fällen mit Hilfe von Apothekenmitarbeitern, nach einem Ort gesucht hätten, an dem sie die richtige zweite Dosis erhalten könnten. Andere gaben vermutlich einfach auf.

Von Anfang an befürchteten Experten des öffentlichen Gesundheitswesens, dass es schwierig sein würde, alle drei oder vier Wochen nach der ersten Dosis zu einem zweiten Schuss zurückzukehren. Es ist keine Überraschung, dass mit der breiteren Einführung von Impfstoffen die Zahl derjenigen, die ihre zweite Dosis auslassen, gestiegen ist.

Trotzdem beunruhigt der Trend einige Staatsbeamte, die sich beeilen, die Zahl der nur teilweise geimpften Menschen vor Schwellungen zu bewahren.

In Arkansas und Illinois haben Gesundheitsbeamte Teams angewiesen, anzurufen, SMS zu schreiben oder Briefe an Personen zu senden, um sie daran zu erinnern, ihre zweiten Schüsse zu bekommen. In Pennsylvania versuchen Beamte sicherzustellen, dass College-Studenten ihre zweiten Aufnahmen machen können, nachdem sie den Campus für den Sommer verlassen haben. South Carolina hat mehrere tausend Dosen speziell für Menschen bereitgestellt, die für ihren zweiten Schuss überfällig sind.

Zunehmende Beweise, die in Studien und aus realen Impfkampagnen gesammelt wurden, deuten auf die Gefahr hin, dass Menschen ihre zweite Dosis auslassen. Im Vergleich zum Zwei-Dosis-Regime löst ein einziger Schuss eine schwächere Immunantwort aus und kann die Empfänger anfälliger für gefährliche Virusvarianten machen. Und obwohl eine Einzeldosis einen teilweisen Schutz gegen Covid bietet, ist nicht klar, wie lange dieser Schutz anhält.

“Ich bin sehr besorgt, weil Sie diese zweite Dosis benötigen”, sagte Dr. Paul Offit, Professor an der University of Pennsylvania und Mitglied des Impfstoffbeirats der Food and Drug Administration.

Was Sie über die Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause in den USA wissen müssen

    • Am 23. April stimmte ein Beratergremium der Zentren für die Kontrolle und Prävention von Krankheiten dafür, eine Pause für den Impfstoff von Johnson & Johnson Covid aufzuheben und ein Etikett über eine äußerst seltene, aber möglicherweise gefährliche Blutgerinnungsstörung anzubringen.
    • Von den Gesundheitsbehörden des Bundes wird erwartet, dass sie den Staaten offiziell empfehlen, die Pause aufzuheben.
    • Die Verabreichung des Impfstoffs wurde kürzlich eingestellt, nachdem Berichte über eine seltene Blutgerinnungsstörung bei sechs Frauen aufgetaucht waren, die den Impfstoff erhalten hatten.
    • Das Gesamtrisiko für die Entwicklung der Störung ist äußerst gering. Frauen zwischen 30 und 39 Jahren scheinen mit 11,8 Fällen pro Million Dosen am stärksten gefährdet zu sein. Es gab sieben Fälle pro Million Dosen bei Frauen zwischen 18 und 49 Jahren.
    • Mittlerweile wurden fast acht Millionen Dosen des Impfstoffs verabreicht. Bei Männern und Frauen ab 50 Jahren gab es weniger als einen Fall pro Million Dosen.
    • Johnson & Johnson hatte auch beschlossen, die Einführung seines Impfstoffs in Europa aus ähnlichen Gründen zu verschieben, entschied sich jedoch später, seine Kampagne fortzusetzen, nachdem die Arzneimittelbehörde der Europäischen Union die Hinzufügung eines Warnhinweises angekündigt hatte. Südafrika, das von einer ansteckenden Virusvariante am Boden zerstört wurde, stellte die Verwendung des Impfstoffs ebenfalls ein, setzte ihn jedoch später fort.

Es steht viel auf dem Spiel, da in den USA nur ein Impfstoff zugelassen ist, der als Einzelschuss verabreicht wird. Die Verwendung dieses Impfstoffs von Johnson & Johnson wurde diesen Monat unterbrochen, nachdem er mit einer sehr seltenen, aber schwerwiegenden Nebenwirkung der Blutgerinnung in Verbindung gebracht worden war. Die Gesundheitsbehörden des Bundes haben am Freitag empfohlen, die Verwendung des Impfstoffs wieder aufzunehmen, aber die Kombination aus Sicherheitsbedenken und anhaltenden Produktionsproblemen dürfte diesen Impfstoff zu einer praktikablen Option für weniger Menschen machen.

Die Anzahl der versäumten zweiten Dosen der CDC reicht bis zum 9. April. Sie gilt nur für Personen, die bis zum 7. März eine erste Moderna-Dosis oder bis zum 14. März eine erste Pfizer-Dosis erhalten haben.

Während Millionen von Menschen ihre zweiten Schüsse verpasst haben, sind die Gesamtquoten der Nachsorge, bei denen rund 92 Prozent vollständig geimpft sind, im historischen Vergleich hoch. Ungefähr drei Viertel der Erwachsenen kommen zurück, um ihre zweite Dosis des Impfstoffs zu erhalten, der vor Gürtelrose schützt.

In einigen Fällen können Probleme mit Sendungen oder der Planung eine Rolle spielen, wenn Personen ihre zweite Dosis verpassen. Einige Impfstoffanbieter mussten Termine absagen, weil sie keine erwarteten Impfstofflieferungen erhalten hatten. Die Leute haben auch berichtet, dass ihre Termine für die zweite Dosis abgesagt wurden oder nur aufgetaucht sind, um herauszufinden, dass keine Dosen der Marke verfügbar waren, die sie brauchten.

Einige Leute können flexibel sein, wenn sie umgebucht werden. Dies ist jedoch schwieriger für Menschen, die keinen Zugang zu zuverlässigen Transportmitteln haben oder Jobs mit genau festgelegten Arbeitszeiten haben, sagte Elena Cyrus, Epidemiologin für Infektionskrankheiten an der Universität von Zentralflorida.

Aktualisiert

24. April 2021, 22.42 Uhr ET

Walgreens buchte einige Kunden für ihre zweiten Termine an Orten, an denen nicht der gleiche Impfstoff vorhanden war, den sie für ihre Anfangsdosen erhalten hatten. Das Unternehmen sagte, es habe das Problem Ende März behoben.

Susan Ruel, 67, sollte ihre beiden Impfstoffdosen in verschiedenen Walgreens-Läden in Manhattan erhalten. Sie sagte, sie habe ihre erste Pfizer-Dosis ohne Zwischenfälle im Februar erhalten, aber als sie zu ihrem zweiten Termin ankam, wurde ihr gesagt, dass der Laden nur Moderna-Dosen auf Lager habe.

Ein Walgreens-Apotheker sagte Frau Ruel, dass es eine andere Walgreens-Apotheke in weniger als drei Kilometern Entfernung gibt, in der Pfizer-Dosen auf Lager sind. Während Frau Ruel darauf wartete, dass die U-Bahn sie dorthin brachte, bekam sie einen Anruf: In diesem Walgreens-Laden waren auch die Pfizer-Dosen ausgegangen.

Frau Ruel schaffte es am nächsten Tag, die Pfizer-Dosis bei einem weiteren Walgreen zu bekommen. Aber sie sagte, viele Menschen in ihrer Situation hätten sich wahrscheinlich nicht so sehr bemüht. “Alles, was Sie brauchen, ist Ärger wie dieser”, sagte sie.

In der Region Chicago beispielsweise sagten Apotheker an zwei Walgreens-Standorten, das Problem verursache Kopfschmerzen. Sie sagten, dass das Terminsystem von Walgreens jede Apotheke zwischen 10 und 20 Kunden pro Woche schickte, die einen zweiten Pfizer-Schuss benötigen, obwohl beide Apotheken nur den Moderna-Impfstoff auf Lager haben.

Es ist nicht klar, wie weit verbreitet das Problem der Walgreens-Dosisanpassung war oder wie viele Menschen ihre zweite Dosis aufgrund dessen verpasst haben.

Jim Cohn, ein Sprecher von Walgreens, sagte, dass das Problem “einen kleinen Prozentsatz” der Personen betraf, die ihre Termine online gebucht hatten, und dass das Unternehmen sie kontaktierte, um “im Einklang mit unserer Impfstoffverfügbarkeit” einen neuen Termin zu vereinbaren. Er sagte, dass fast 95 Prozent der Menschen, die ihren ersten Schuss bei Walgreens bekommen haben, auch ihren zweiten Schuss von der Firma erhalten haben.

Walgreens ist auch unter Beschuss geraten, weil bis vor kurzem vier Wochen nach dem ersten Schuss eine zweite Dosis des Pfizer-Impfstoffs geplant wurde, anstatt dass die von den CDC-Apothekern empfohlene dreiwöchige Lücke von Kunden belagert wurde, die sich beschwerten, einschließlich ihrer Unfähigkeit zu buchen Impfstoff Termine online.

In anderen Fällen ist der Zugang zu Impfstoffen jedoch nicht die einzige Barriere. Auch die Einstellungen der Menschen tragen dazu bei.

Basith Syed, eine 24-jährige Beraterin in Chicago, schnappte sich Mitte Februar bei einem Walgreens einen übrig gebliebenen Moderna-Impfstoff. Aber als die Zeit für seinen zweiten Schuss kam, war er bei der Arbeit beschäftigt und bereitete sich auf seine Hochzeit vor. Nach dem ersten Schuss hatte er zwei Tage damit verbracht, sich ausgelaugt zu fühlen. Er wollte keine Wiederholung riskieren und war zuversichtlich, dass eine einzige Dosis ihn schützen würde.

“Ich fühlte nicht wirklich die Dringlichkeit, diese zweite Dosis zu bekommen”, sagte Herr Syed.

Anfang April hatte sich sein Zeitplan etwas beruhigt und er suchte nach einem zweiten Moderna-Schuss. Aber bis dahin boten die Walgreens, auf denen er seinen ersten Schuss bekommen hatte, nur Pfizer-Schüsse an. Er konnte keine Slots in anderen Walgreens-Läden finden. Mr. Syed sucht nicht mehr aktiv nach einem zweiten Schuss, obwohl er immer noch hofft, irgendwann einen zu bekommen.

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Laut CDC gibt es nur begrenzte Daten zur Wirksamkeit des Impfstoffs, wenn die Schüsse mehr als sechs Wochen voneinander entfernt sind, obwohl einige Länder, darunter Großbritannien und Kanada, Schüsse mit einem Abstand von bis zu drei oder vier Monaten abgeben.

Die Erfahrung von Herrn Syed ist Teil einer umfassenderen Verschiebung in Illinois. Als Impfstoffe hauptsächlich an Mitarbeiter des Gesundheitswesens, Bewohner von Langzeitpflegeeinrichtungen und Menschen über 65 verabreicht wurden, bekam fast jeder seinen zweiten Schuss. In den letzten Wochen ist die Zahl jedoch unter 90 Prozent gesunken, obwohl sie sich laut dem Illinois Department of Public Health seitdem leicht erholt hat.

In Arkansas haben ungefähr 84.000 Menschen ihre zweiten Schüsse verpasst, was 11 Prozent derjenigen entspricht, die für diese Schüsse in Frage kommen, sagte Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, die staatliche Epidemiologin. Vor kurzem haben Arbeiter angefangen, Leute anzurufen, die für ihre zweiten Schüsse fällig oder überfällig sind.

College-Studenten stellen eine besondere Herausforderung dar. Viele haben sich kürzlich für eine Impfung qualifiziert und bekommen ihre ersten Schüsse, aber sie werden den Campus verlassen haben, wenn sie für ihre zweite Dosis fällig sind.

In Pennsylvania haben Gesundheitsbeamte Impfstoffanbieter angewiesen, College-Studenten zweite Dosen zu verabreichen, auch wenn sie ihre ersten Dosen nicht von diesem Ort erhalten haben.

Einige Impfstoffanbieter haben spezielle Kliniken für Menschen eingerichtet, die eine zweite Dosis benötigen. In South Carolina startete das Gesundheitssystem Tidelands Health ein Programm speziell für Menschen, die ihre ersten Pfizer-Dosen mehr als 23 Tage zuvor erhalten hatten, aber keinen zweiten Schuss finden konnten. Das staatliche Gesundheitsamt schickte dem Gesundheitssystem 2.340 Dosen für die Bemühungen.

Die Nachfrage war stark und Tidelands hat nur noch wenige hundert Dosen übrig. Die Mehrheit der Abnehmer waren Personen, die “Schwierigkeiten hatten, durch die verschiedenen Planungssysteme und Anbieter zu navigieren”, sagte Gayle Resetar, Chief Operating Officer des Gesundheitssystems.

In vielen Fällen hatten Impfstoffanbieter Termine für die zweite Dosis wegen schlechten Winterwetters abgesagt. “Es war Sache des Einzelnen, sich auf einem Webportal oder einer Webplattform neu zu planen, und das wurde für die Menschen einfach schwierig”, sagte Frau Resetar.

Es gibt seltene Fälle, in denen Menschen auf den zweiten Schuss verzichten sollen, beispielsweise wenn sie nach dem ersten Schuss eine allergische Reaktion hatten.

Zvi Ish-Shalom, ein Professor für Religionswissenschaft aus Boulder, Colorado, hatte geplant, sich vollständig impfen zu lassen. Dann, eine Stunde nach seiner ersten Aufnahme des Moderna-Impfstoffs, bekam er Kopfschmerzen, die erst einen Monat später verschwunden waren.

Es gibt keine Möglichkeit, sicher zu wissen, ob der Impfstoff die Kopfschmerzen ausgelöst hat. Nachdem Dr. Ish-Shalom die Risiken und Vorteile einer zweiten Dosis abgewogen hatte, traf er eine Entscheidung über das weitere Vorgehen.

“Zu diesem Zeitpunkt fühle ich mich angesichts all der verschiedenen Elemente dieser Gleichung sehr klar und sehr wohl, auf den zweiten Schuss zu verzichten”, sagte er.

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Health

These schools now say Covid vaccines might be required for fall 2021

These colleges now say Covid vaccines will be required for fall 2021

It is becoming more and more likely that students returning to college campus this fall will need to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

In the past few days, California State University and the University of California announced that all students, staff, and faculties who want to be on campus must be vaccinated against Covid – a move that will affect more than 1 million people.

Across the country, more and more other colleges and universities have announced that vaccinations will be mandatory for the fall of 2021, including Yale University, Georgetown University, Stanford University, Wesleyan University, Grinnell College, Bowdoin College, George Washington University and American University, Emory University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Atlantic College in Maine, Seattle University, Vassar College, Manhattanville College, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

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They join a number of other schools that have made similar announcements, including Duke University; Brown University; Northeastern University; the University of Notre Dame; Syracuse University; Ithaca College; Cornell University; Rutgers University; DePaul University and Columbia College in Chicago; Nova Southeastern University; Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island; Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado; and St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

More institutions are likely to follow, according to Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Across the country, campuses struggled to stay open over the past year as fraternities, sororities, and off-campus parties suddenly spiked coronavirus cases among students. Meanwhile, students overwhelmingly declared distance learning to be a mediocre substitute for teaching.

With Covid vaccines becoming more eligible and accessible, schools need to consider how a vaccine mandate can help keep higher education back on track, Pasquerella said.

For those enrolled in school, there are already many vaccination requirements in place to help prevent the spread of diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough.

All 50 states have at least some immunization mandates for children who attend public schools and even children who attend private schools and daycare. In each case there are medical exceptions, and in some cases there are also religious or philosophical exceptions.

“Adding Covid-19 vaccination to our student vaccination requirements will help provide our students with a safer, more robust college experience,” said Jonathan Holloway, president of Rutgers, in a statement.

In most cases, students can request a vaccination waiver for medical or religious reasons, and students participating in completely removed programs do not need to be vaccinated.

Still, the hesitation of the vaccine remains a powerful force, especially among parents.

According to a poll by ParentsTogether, a national advocacy group, in March, only 58% of parents or caregivers said they would vaccinate their children against Covid, although 70% of parents said they would vaccinate themselves.

According to ParentsTogether, low-income households and minority groups were even less likely to vaccinate their children.

Other studies have shown that blacks and Latinos are more skeptical about vaccines than the entire US population due to historical abuse in medicine. Racial differences in vaccine distribution have also been observed in the US

“Colleges need to be one step ahead and think about how this will play out,” said Bethany Robertson, co-founder and co-director of ParentsTogether.

“We need to start the conversation with parents now to build trust and understanding of how vaccinating children against Covid-19 will protect their health, the health of their families and the health of our communities,” said Robertson.

However, in addition to students, parents, and community members, schools must also weigh the interests of faculty, staff, lawmakers, and the boards of trustees, Pasquerella said.

“It’s complicated,” she said. “No matter what decision you make, one group will ultimately be dissatisfied.”

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Health

What Do Girls Need? For Males to Get Covid Vaccines.

What Do Women Want? For Men to Get Covid Vaccines.

Holly Elgison and Len Schillaci are a mixed couple, and they are far from being alone.

“I always wanted to get 100 percent of the vaccine,” said Ms. Elgison, a medical claims investigator in Valrico, Florida.

Her husband, a disaster insurance expert, said he would pass. “To be honest, I think the worst of Covid is behind us,” said Mr Schillaci. “I’m good.”

With the Biden administration trying to immunize 80 percent of adult Americans by the summer, the continued reluctance of men to get a shot could hamper that goal.

Women are vaccinated at a far higher rate – around 10 percentage points – than men, although the gap between men and women is roughly the same across the country’s population. The trend is worrying for many, especially as vaccination rates have dropped somewhat recently.

The reasons for the gender gap in the US are diverse, reflecting the roles of women in certain occupations who received vaccination priority early, political and cultural differences, and longstanding patterns of women using preventive care more often than men.

The gap also exists when worldwide deaths from Covid-19 were around 2.4 times higher in men than women. And the department explains the reality of the disproportionate role women play in caring for others in American society.

“It might be important to pinpoint herd immunity,” said Alison Buttenheim, an associate professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on vaccine reluctance. “While most experts resent larger gaps by race, political party, religion and occupation,” she said, many of which overlap with gender differences, “I have not heard any specific initiatives to combat men.”

What You Need To Know About The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Break In The United States

    • On April 23, an advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to lift a hiatus on Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine and put a label on an extremely rare but potentially dangerous bleeding disorder.
    • Federal health officials are expected to officially recommend states lift the hiatus.
    • The vaccine was recently discontinued after reports of a rare bleeding disorder surfaced in six women who received the vaccine.
    • The overall risk of developing the disorder is extremely small. Women between the ages of 30 and 39 appear to be most at risk, with 11.8 cases per million doses. There were seven cases per million doses in women between 18 and 49 years of age.
    • Almost eight million doses of the vaccine have now been given. There was less than one case per million doses in men and women aged 50 and over.
    • Johnson & Johnson had also decided to postpone the launch of its vaccine in Europe for similar reasons, but later decided to continue its campaign after the European Union Medicines Agency announced the addition of a warning. South Africa, devastated by a contagious variant of the virus, also stopped using the vaccine, but later continued to use it.

In Los Angeles County, where 44 percent of women over 16 got their first shot – compared to 30 percent of men – officials are trying hard to figure out how exactly to do that.

“We are very concerned about this and plan to establish targeted contact with men,” said Dr. Paul Simon, science director for the Los Angeles county’s health department, said the differences are of particular concern to Black and Latino men. Only 19 percent of black men in Los Angeles County and 17 percent of Latino men received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 35 percent of Asian men and 32 percent of white men by month.

“We don’t quite get it,” said Dr. Simon. “One of our messaging strategies will be that the vaccine is not only important to you, but also a means of protecting others in your family.”

The early breakdown of vaccination rates by gender could largely be explained by demographics. Americans over 70 got their first doses, and women make up a greater proportion of this age group. Healthcare workers and teachers have also been given precedence over vaccines in many states: three-quarters of full-time healthcare workers are women, and over 75 percent of public school teachers in the United States are women.

The differences show both where women do the paid and unpaid work of life. For example, women lost the majority of their earliest jobs in the food, retail, healthcare, and government professions. The mothers among them have done most of the work in moving to distance learning and caring for parents and sick relatives.

The combination may have boosted their vaccine motivation in two ways: they are trying to protect the rest of their family, and they are desperate to get back into work. Just as women caused job losses last year, they are now leading the economic recovery. Around half a million women entered the world of work in March, partly because personal schooling was resumed in large parts of the country.

Updated

April 24, 2021, 7:32 p.m. ET

“In addition to the disproportionate representation of women in various important occupations,” said Pilar Gonalons-Pons, University of Pennsylvania assistant professor of sociology who specializes in gender issues, “they are also disproportionately represented in their work as unpaid caregivers for older adults and communities, and this can also be an additional motivation for the vaccine. “

In many ways, the pattern in vaccines reflects longstanding gender differences in terms of health care. Women, on average, are more likely to receive annual exercise than men, even when adapted to pre-existing health conditions and other factors, and are more likely to receive preventive treatment than men.

Men are more likely than women to engage in harmful behaviors such as heavy drinking, smoking and illegal drug use, and are more overweight than women. According to federal data, men are less likely to see doctors regularly, go to the emergency room, and receive basic dental care in a crisis. Vaccines are no exception: historically, influenza vaccination is much higher in women – about 63 percent versus 53 percent – although the gap is narrowing among Americans over 75 years of age.

The coronavirus vaccine “is the latest expression of the proven gender gap we have long seen in the search for preventive health services,” said Lindsey Leininger, health policy researcher and clinical professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

However, experts say that even related to the general dissatisfaction with male health care, there may be some factors specific to this vaccine that prevent more male shots in the arms. Because signing up was cumbersome and confusing, men may have had less patience navigating the system, which was largely online. This process may be easier for women as they tend to get more information about their health care online.

“We have to find out whether there are differences in access, whether men have greater difficulty finding their way through the appointment systems,” said Simon from Los Angeles.

When it comes to the coronavirus, which has been the subject of rampant misinformation, evolving medical advice, and politicization, another dynamic may be at work.

“Some men feel that they are not necessarily vulnerable,” Simon told health care workers. “You have survived this for more than a year and have a sense of omnipotence.”

Public health experts and scientists have long been concerned about the “macho” effect that is preventing men from receiving all types of health care and fear that this vaccine will make it worse. (Particularly in the military’s most masculine service division, the Marines, about 40 percent of those offered the vaccine by the Department of Defense have turned it down.)

“This avoidance has been linked to ideals of masculinity, where men are strong and invincible and don’t ask for help,” said Kristen W. Springer, associate professor at Rutgers University, New Jersey’s sociology institute who studied this trait.

“In other words, these cultural ideals lead men to avoid essential health services in order to act masculine,” she said. “Now that the vaccine is available to everyone, it will be interesting to see the differences between men and women in vaccine intake, as these reflect more social and cultural ideas about gender and health, such as the cultural idea being the ‘real’ Men ‘don’t have I don’t need preventive health care. “

At this point in time, U.S. health officials have not released data on non-binary adults and vaccinations.

There can also be political connections. Women are far more likely than men to register as Democrats, and polls show that Republicans across the country are far less likely than Democrats to take the vaccine.

Who will people listen to? Apparently not their wives and friends or doctors. Leah Witus and Erik Larson, professors at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, watched videos of men and women with identical information about the vaccine for their recent preprint study. Of the 1,184 Americans who observed them, most were positively influenced by the male narrator, while the female narrator received a far more mixed response.

“The male-narrated version of the video increased viewers’ vaccination intent,” Ms. Witus said, “but the female-narrated version had mixed associations with vaccination propensity and, for some viewers, those identified as conservative actually decreased vaccination intent . ”

This could mean a victory for Mr Schillaci as he and his wife subtly fight to influence the vaccination decision of their 20 year old son. Mr Schillaci shared his views with his son, whom his wife nudges to get a shot.

“I would prefer if he got the shot and I hope he will think about it,” said Ms. Elgison.

But Ms. Elgison’s own decision can benefit her son even if he chooses not to have the vaccine.

As is so often the case in life, men can find that their gaps are being filled by women. “To the extent that most people live and socialize in a mixed environment, men will benefit from higher coverage among women,” said Ms. Buttenheim.

However, Ms. Elgison still has one trump card that she hopes could work. “I want my son to have it so we can all travel together,” she said. “I explained to him that it was possible that we could protect his father.”