Healthy Live
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Janice Dean: Is an MS vaccine next? Why it would be a game-changer for me and millions of others

Melody G. Gillette

As I reflect on the importance of MS Awareness Month, it has been 16 years now since I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, though, looking back, I had symptoms of the disease for much longer. 

Janice Dean getting an infusion as part of her treatment for MS

Janice Dean getting an infusion as part of her treatment for MS
(Courtesy of the author)

My journey living with an unpredictable, often frustrating and sometimes debilitating disease can be quite scary, but what started out as a very dark time has been filled with hope and optimism. Some of that is attitude, but lately I’ve been reading that there is even something tangible on the horizon:

A possible vaccine. 

According to the MS Society, multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves). It is a disorder in which  the body’s own immune system is thought to incorrectly

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Healthy Live
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At-risk Californian feels left behind in COVID vaccine rollout

Melody G. Gillette

Some say the coronavirus vaccine can’t come fast enough.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As California health officials aim to speed up the coronavirus vaccination program, which has been criticized by the Governor and other officials for moving too slowly, some in the state feel like they’re being left behind.

Dennis Haight, 61, of Yuba County is wondering why some healthy people can receive the vaccine before him. He suffers from numerous health conditions that make him high risk for getting very sick from coronavirus.

“I have a brain tumor, I have COPD, I have diabetes, pancreatitis,” Haight said.

As many as 6 million Californians are in the same group as him. This group of very high-risk people is eligible for the coronavirus vaccine starting March 15.

RELATED: California to expand COVID-19 vaccines to people ages 16-64 with high-risk health conditions

Ahead of them in the state’s vaccine rollout, are some 15

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Medical Assistant
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Regional medical staff, 1B patients share their symptoms and emotions after receiving COVID vaccine | Local News

Melody G. Gillette

Representatives of Our House Senior Living Assisted Care & Memory Care, Chippewa Falls.

Residents have been waiting a long time for their chance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and (resident) Pete (Dachel) was the first in line, wide awake and ready to go. He took the lead and we all followed.

A statement from Maggie Smith, MCHES, CPSTI, La Crosse County Health Department health educator and COVID-19 public information officer

Although our department is the lead agency in coordinating vaccine distribution, the majority of our staff were not included in Phase 1A or 1B guidelines from the state.

We continue to adhere to the equitable, ethical allocation coordinated by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, though we like so many others are eagerly awaiting our turn to receive the vaccine. We ask the community for patience as vaccine rollout continues. The speed of the process is dependent on availability

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Medical Supplies
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With COVID-19 vaccine supplies tight, Truman Medical Centers cancels some appointments

Melody G. Gillette

Feb. 1—Truman Medical Centers has the capacity to administer more than 2,500 COVID-19 shots every day, and has appointments scheduled into March.

But sometime Monday afternoon, Truman expects to run out of its allotment and won’t be administering first doses again until late Tuesday or early Wednesday, when another shipment is expected.

People who were set to get their first shot Tuesday will be rescheduled and bound to be frustrated. So is Charlie Shields, Truman Medical’s president and CEO.

“One of the biggest constraints that we have right now is simply the availability of vaccine,” he told Jackson County legislators Monday.

Bridgette Shaffer, director of the Jackson County Health Department, shares the same frustration, she told legislators. Last week, her department received no vaccine for first doses of the two-shot regimen, and she doesn’t expect any this week, either.

“At the pace our community is receiving the vaccine,” according

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