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COVID-19 Provider Briefing
July 22, 2022

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) sends provider briefings to all Rhode Island licensees to keep you informed. Please note that information may not directly apply to all providers.
 

Vaccination Headlines

CDC Recommends Novavax’s COVID-19 Vaccine for Adults

This week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation that Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine be used as another primary series option for adults ages 18 years and older. Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available in the coming weeks, is an important tool in the pandemic and provides a more familiar type of COVID-19 vaccine technology for adults. Having multiple types of vaccines offers more options and flexibility for the public, jurisdictions, and vaccine providers.

Protein subunit vaccines package harmless proteins of the COVID-19 virus alongside another ingredient called an adjuvant that helps the immune system respond to the virus in the future. Vaccines using protein subunits have been used for more than 30 years in the US, beginning with the first licensed hepatitis B vaccine. Other protein subunit vaccines used in the US today include those to protect against influenza and whooping cough (acellular pertussis).

Read the release


Upcoming Clinician Outreach and Community Activity (COCA) Webinar: Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine

COVID-19 vaccination provides protection against serious illness and outcomes associated with COVID-19, including emergency department or urgent care visits, hospitalizations, and death. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is the first COVID-19 protein subunit vaccine recommended for use in the US that is built on a familiar type of vaccine technology. Other protein subunit vaccines have been used for more than 30 years in the US, including for hepatitis B, HPV, and acellular pertussis (whooping cough) vaccines. During this COCA Call, presenters will discuss CDC’s new guidance on the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for adults ages 18 years and older, including adults who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.

Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. 

Webinar Linkwww.zoomgov.com/j/1612728470


Low Demand for Young Kids’ COVID Vaccines is Alarming Doctors

States where parents have hesitated to inoculate their children against COVID-19 are now ordering fewer doses of the vaccines for children under 5 than others, underscoring the challenge facing the Biden administration as a highly transmissible variant sweeps the nation.

Experts broadly agree states shouldn’t order more doses than they think they’ll use. But they worry the low demand in states such as Alabama and Mississippi is a warning sign of the widening ambivalence among many parents about the benefits of vaccinating children against the virus and continuing politicization of health care.

Read the article


Other Headlines

On July 20, Rhode Island had 142 new cases of COVID-19 and 1 death. As of July 21, this brings Rhode Island’s case count to 408,203. Rhode Island’s number of COVID-19 associated fatalities is now 3,625. Currently, 75 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in Rhode Island. Review our full COVID-19 data summary for Rhode Island

Update for Rhode Island Clinicians on Monkeypox Testing

As stated in RIDOH's July 14 monkeypox provider advisory, "While RIDOH recognizes that commercial testing options are now available, RIDOH State Health Laboratories (SHL) has sufficient of capacity and rapid turnaround times. At this time, Rhode Island providers are urged to utilize RISHL’s monkeypox testing services in coordination with RIDOH’s public health nurses." 

As a follow-up, RIDOH would like to share the following specimen collection instructions for monkeypox testing at the SHL and urges providers to acquire the necessary specimen collection supplies at this time in the event they have a suspected case requiring specimen collection. These instructions have also been incorporated into the Clinical Specimen Submission Guidance on SHL's web page.

Read the provider advisory


Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force Newsletter 

July's edition of Governor McKee’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force newsletter includes a look at CODAC Behavioral Healthcare's mobile services unit, presentations on ways to align mental health and substance use treatment needs, and the new 9-8-8 Lifeline for suicide prevention. You can also learn about The Avenue Concept [theavenueconcept.org], a public art project for local harm reduction organizations. The newsletter also connects you to Task Force work group happenings, upcoming events, and local resources. 

Read the newsletter

 

Reminders

Biweekly Public Health Out Loud – Grand Rounds 

Public Health Out Loud Grand Rounds is a biweekly CME-accredited live webinar approved by RIDOH to meet the requirement of cultural awareness. Special topics include antimicrobial stewardship, risk management, and cultural awareness. Four hours is required in any one of these topic areas. This CME is funded by CDC’s grant on health equity.

The next call is on Wednesday, July 27, 12 – 1 p.m. 
 
Zoom link: brown.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEvf-iorDwsEtJn2UxOjSyYqaLuViICpXFZ
Dial-in: 877-853-5247 
Meeting ID: 952 8102 7686 

Previously recorded webinars can be found at cme-learning.brown.edu/PublicHealth#group-tabs-node-course-default4.


Download RIDOH’s Latest Podcast

This week’s guest expert on the #PublicHealth Out Loud podcast is Dr. Carol Lewis, the director of the #RefugeeHealth Program at @Hasbro Children's Hospital. Co-hosts Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask her about common health concerns among the refugee community and how they're being addressed. Download this week’s episode to learn more.


Information Resources 

 

Connect with a RIDOH provider representative by email to get answers to questions related to COVID-19. 


Rhode Island healthcare providers

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