CDC director Mandy Cohen spoke Wednesday to the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, Mass, getting her flu shot and urging everyone to get theirs, in addition to their COVID vaccine (for everyone six months and up). "Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the country is moving beyond initial distribution problems with updated COVID-19 vaccines and urged people to make appointments at local health clinics or pharmacies to get flu, COVID, and RSV shots," reports the Boston Globe. Read on for how she says to stay safe during the COVID uptick.
"When we looked at the data across populations, remember, unfortunately in the United States we are a sicker population, 70 percent of adults have at least one risk factor that puts them at higher risk and we also are seeing kids are getting really sick from COVID and are in the intensive care unit," Cohen said, according to the Globe. "That led us to say, 'You know what, there are incredibly safe vaccines, we want to make sure that we are not dying from this virus.'"
Some people are reporting vaccine shortages or canceled appointments at their local drugstores. "I want to be upfront and say that it is going to be more challenging this year as the federal government is not in charge of the purchase and distribution," Cohen said, according to the Globe. "This means that there is not going to be the same intensity of access points that we've had in the past, so folks do need to take advantage of places like Whittier Street Health Center."
"This is the first time that we're billing insurances, so of course there are going to be a couple of technology hiccups in the private sector that we worked really hard with our partners to make sure we ironed out," Cohen said, according to the Globe. "I think now we're kind of getting past that, so we want folks to make an appointment and get vaccinated."
"We have to continue to educate patients because I think we are beginning to see that the [transmission] rates are increasing because people want to go back to their normal lives," Frederica Williams, CEO and President of Whittier Street Health Center, according to the Globe. "But to go back to your normal lives and stay healthy, you need to get the vaccination."
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"We are so lucky to live in this time in history where we have the tools to help ourselves," Cohen said, according to the Globe. "We just have to use them."
