Healthcare providers are accepting appointments from individuals who want to get a COVID-19 booster shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded the recommendation on Nov. 19.
The new guideline is adults aged 18 and older may get booster shots six months after completing the inoculation process with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and after two months for people who received the Janssen vaccine.
The CDC says anyone aged 50 and older or living in a long-term care setting should get a booster shot.
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“Booster shots have demonstrated the ability to safely increase people’s protection against infection and severe outcomes. They are an important public health tool to strengthen our defenses against the virus as we enter the winter holidays,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “Based on the compelling evidence, all adults over 18 should now have equitable access to a COVID-19 booster dose.”
Dr. Philip Coule, Augusta University Health System Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, supports the change for booster shots. He said the vaccines provide more than just protection from serious illness and death.
“What we know, however, is that if we boost up those antibody levels, we can prevent people from becoming infected at all,” he said. “So, this is a way to control the overall disease burden and we know it to be safe and we know it to be very effective.”
Coule said it is important at this time to learn how to co-exist with the presence of COVID-19, because it is impossible to predict how it long it may be a factor worldwide.
In South Carolina, the Department of Education has partnered with the Department of Health and Environmental Control for a contest to engage students’ creativity for a COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
Called “Sing It to Win It”, the contest encourages students to record an original jingle promoting the COVID-19 vaccine. It can be individual students, groups or classes creating the jingle.
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“This innovative jingle campaign is way to get students involved and tap into their creativity,” said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. “Music has a way of bringing people together and we’re thrilled this program will also invest in school music programs.”
The jingles should be uploaded to www.singittowinit.com. Five finalists will be selected and posted to the SCDE and SCDHEC social media channels where people can vote for their favorites. The winning submission will be professionally recorded and featured in a statewide radio campaign in 2022.
The winner’s school will receive $10,000 for the school’s music program. The runner-up will receive $5,000, and $3,000 will be given to the third-place school.
“Our hope is that this contest will be a fun way for South Carolina’s students to express their creativity while also playing a role in our state’s vaccination efforts,” said DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer. “This contest is a win for all parties involved, with the overall goal of protecting our students, teachers and school faculty through safe, effective COVID-19 vaccinations.”
All submissions must be received by Jan. 31, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. with the winner announced on February 11, 2022.
For more information, including the contest’s official rules and judging rubric, visit www.SingItToWinIt.com
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
