How do we know that the vaccine will be safe since it’s being fast-tracked through the clinical trials?

Idaho Public Health officials are watching this issue very closely and are committed to providing safe and effective vaccines for Idahoans. In particular, we are reassured that:

1. These are companies like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck that are in the health field for the long haul—they don’t want to risk their reputation with the American public by issuing a poor or unsafe vaccine.
2. The FDA has pledged to give COVID-19 vaccines a full review and not be pressured to act more quickly than might be safe.
3. The National Academy of Medicine recently announced a committee that will create an overarching framework to help policymakers plan for equitable allocation of vaccines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, made up of independent researchers, doctors, scientists, and public health workers, will review the data and make recommendations for the use of the vaccine.
4. Lastly, manufacturers have committed to full safety and efficacy reviews. Read the pledge: https://www.pfizer.com/health/coronavirus/pledge

How is Idaho preparing for a COVID-19 vaccine, and will the state be ready when a vaccine is available?

The Department of Health and Welfare has a pandemic plan for vaccine deployment and distribution that will be updated when we know which vaccines will be available and what the priority groups for vaccination will be.

Idaho, like all other states, is still waiting on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the White House Task Force before the plan can be adjusted to fit this pandemic. The plan includes Idaho’s Immunization Information System having the appropriate functionality to both recall patients for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine and to track any potential adverse events from the vaccine.

Q: Is it possible we’ve had a steady amount of cases in the state for many months, but we are testing more which makes it seem like our cases are rising, but in reality the infection rate hasn’t changed?

A: Comparing the number of tests with the number of cases doesn’t tell us the whole story. It makes sense that as more tests are done, more infections might be identified. For this reason, we also look at the percentage of the tests that are positive to determine if the increase in cases is a result of increased testing OR the increase in cases is because more virus is circulating. This measure, called “percent positivity,” is one way to determine how widespread infection is in the area where testing is being done.

A high percent positivity indicates high coronavirus infection rates. Even as our testing increased during June, the percent positivity increased at a higher rate because the virus was circulating in a higher percent of the population than it had been before June. When percent positivity remains unchanged, we know the new cases identified are likely a result of additional testing. Unfortunately, that was not the situation for Idaho in June and July as percent positivity rose from 2.7percent to a high of 14.85 percent. However, our percent positivity has been decreasing during August, which is a sign less virus may be circulating. Our current percent positivity is 8.3 percent.