Wynnshang Sun, M.D.
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As information is changing so rapidly with COVID-19, we are starting a Blog to keep everyone as up to date as possible. Please come back often to check for updates. Once we move beyond COVID-19, we will keep you updated with additional medical information.

NEW Eligibility Criteria Starting March 15

3/17/2021

2 Comments

 
In another last minute change, San Diego County has expanded the criteria for eligibility to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 15.  In addition to the more stringent criteria listed in my last blog entry, they have now added new criteria listed below.  The biggest increase would be for people with hypertension and those who are overweight.  If you're not sure if you fall into the overweight category, you can calculate your body mass index online with a BMI calculator or log into your portal to see what your last documented BMI was.  In addition, YOU DO NOT NEED A NOTE FROM OUR OFFICE.  When you show up for your vaccine appointment, you simply have to confirm that you have one of the eligible conditions. To make an appointment, click on the COVID-19 tab above to see the different ways to access appointments, specifically through the county at www.VaccinationSuperStationSD.com or at individual pharmacies.
  •  Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
  •  Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
  •  Cystic fibrosis
  •  Hypertension or high blood pressure
  • Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
  •  Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
  •  Liver disease
  •  Overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m2, but < 30 kg/m2)
  •  Obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2, but < 40 kg/m2)
  •  Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
  •  Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
  •  Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Side effects:  We encourage everyone to report any side effects to the vaccines through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.  If you want to help out even more, you can also sign up for V-safe on your cell phone. This phone-based app will check in with you daily after you receive your vaccine to see how you’re feeling, and it helps us document the various possible side effects the vaccines may have.  Just go to vsafe.cdc.gov on your smart phone and follow the prompts.  One important thing to know is that NONE of our patients have had any long term side effects from the vaccine.  You may not feel well for a few days after getting the vaccine because you are tricking your body into thinking it is fighting the real COVID-19 virus, but because there is no virus there, you quickly return to normal.
 
If you’ve already had COVID-19:  Many people have already been diagnosed with COVID-19 this past year.  Although there are no official recommendations, if you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 3 months, I would recommend waiting to get your COVID-19 vaccine.  Having had the infection, you will most likely have at least 90 days of protection from getting re-infected, and getting the vaccine soon after having had the infection may give you more side effects from it.
2 Comments
JP
3/24/2021 07:46:55 am

There are a lot of varying opinions from the medical community around whether people who have had Covid-19 should have the second dose of the vaccine, especially if they experience intense side effects from the first dose. What are your thoughts on this?

Reply
Dr. Sun
3/24/2021 08:56:55 am

There is no true controversy in the medical community about getting only 1 shot of the COVID-19 vaccine after you’ve had symptomatic COVID. As there are no adequate studies showing that getting just one dose of a 2-dose series of the vaccine after having COVID-19 is sufficient, no one is making that recommendation. However, people have proposed that having the infection acts as the 1st shot and that getting just 1 shot might be enough to mount an adequate immune response. In fact, a small study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in early March did show that the antibody response to 1 dose was much stronger in someone who had already had COVID-19, compared to someone who had never been infected, which does make sense medically. In a perfect world, you should receive both shots even if you’ve already had the infection previously. But if you had the infection and then developed severe vaccine-related side effects after the 1st shot, I do not think it is unreasonable to hold off on the second dose. I wouldn’t recommend it because there aren’t studies that show it’s OK to skip it, but I think there is some evidence to suggest it would be OK to delay it. I believe in the long run, we will probably all have to get another booster at some point down the road, and the side effects from a booster several months from now will probably be less. However, if you have NOT had COVID-19 infection previously and you develop side effects to your first shot, I would NOT skip the second dose.

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