Johnson and Johnson Vaccine a Valuable Addition to the COVID-19 Toolbox

With the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Janssen Pharmaceuticals/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, three vaccines are now available in the U.S. to prevent SARS-CoV-2 hospitalizations and death. The newest vaccine, given as a single dose and stable at refrigeration temperatures for at least three months, presents far fewer logistical challenges in getting doses to consumers.

All of the three current U.S. vaccines use a single protein from SARS-CoV-2 to enable the body to react to the whole virus. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are messenger RNA vaccines that use a synthetic version of part of the SARS-CoV-2 genome to teach our cells to replicate the spike protein found on the surface of the virus. This copy of the protein then stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies and other cells that will recognize the actual virus if it is encountered in the future.

The new vaccine employs a different mechanism to produce the same result. A human adenovirus, modified to disable its ability to multiply and infect, acts as a “vector” to carry a gene from the spike protein into our own cells, where the protein is replicated and activates the immune system as above.

(The Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, currently in use in the UK, Canada, and Australia, is also a vector vaccine. Granted emergency use listing by the World […]

2021-03-08T12:31:39-05:00March 8th, 2021|COVID-19, infection control, infectious diseases, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
Read More

What Do Nurses Need?

“Covid-19 Is ‘Probably Going to End My Career’” is the title of my recent column in the New York Times. The nurse who made that statement spoke to me on the condition of anonymity because her hospital doesn’t like having nurses speak out. So—nurses are afraid to publicly complain about their difficulties on the job, struggle with a lack of PPE and short-staffing, and are overwhelmed by the number of deaths they are seeing. All this has led to the nursing profession being in crisis.

The six ideas below could help nurses drowning in difficulties imposed by Covid find their way back to solid ground.

  1. Staffing legislation. This could mean ratios, or some other way to insure that nurses are not expected to work short. The legislation should also require robust nursing float pools and keep secretarial and nursing assistant support at their usual levels. Units have to be staffed in a way that maximally benefits patients, not just to help balance a hospital’s bottom line.
  2. Mental health support. Nurses as a group are not always open to counseling, but during Covid nurses have spoken out about the emotional toll of the work and their ongoing PTSD. They have recognized their need for mental health support. Hospitals must give nurses health insurance that covers individual counseling, and have mental health resources available on the job for nurses. “Covid broke me” is being said by too many nurses, too often.

    3. […]

2021-03-05T09:52:27-05:00March 5th, 2021|COVID-19, Nursing|1 Comment
Read More

10 Years After Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, an Actionable Preparedness Reminder

The 10th anniversary of this disaster is a reminder to review the availability, accessibility, and dosing of potassium iodide.

In the midst of a global health pandemic, it’s difficult to imagine focusing on the seemingly more nebulous threat of a nuclear accident. Yet the 10th anniversary of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster on March 11, which occurred following an earthquake and tsunami, serves as an important reminder of the unexpectedness of these events and the need for greater preparedness, especially among health care providers.

Climate threats to nuclear plants raise concerns.

“More than one-third of Americans live or work within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant,” the authors of the February issue’s Environments and Health article, “Lessons from Fukushima: Potassium Iodide After a Nuclear Disaster,” point out (the article will be free until March 21).

As the frigid weather last month in Texas demonstrated, sources of power are particularly vulnerable to severe weather events. This threat is especially acute for U.S. nuclear power plants, many of which are situated in areas, such as along the East Coast, susceptible to extreme weather. Hurricanes in the Atlantic, for instance, have been occurring more frequently and intensely in recent years.

Concern that such climate change events could lead to a nuclear accident has heightened awareness of the need for preparation.

Ensuring potassium iodide availability as a public health preventive measure.

Share this:

2021-03-03T12:05:23-05:00March 3rd, 2021|climate change, environmental health, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
Read More

AJN March Issue Highlights: A Nurse’s Guide to COVID-19, QSEN in an Amazon World, Opioid Dosing, More

“This will be nursing’s postpandemic challenge: to identify how, with all our competing organizations, unions, and special interest groups, we can come together in this pivotal moment to remodel our health system . . .”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Where Do We Go from Here?”

The March issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

A Nurse’s Guide to COVID-19

An evidence-based review of the care of hospitalized adults with this disease, including pharmacological management, critical illness management, oxygen therapy, prone positioning, and an overview of investigational agents.

Policy and Politics: A Call to the CMS: Mandate Adequate Professional Nurse Staffing in Nursing Homes

The authors address the association between low RN staffing levels and poor health outcomes in nursing homes and urge the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to enact reform.

Special Feature: QSEN in an Amazon World

Citing Amazon as a powerful social force, the authors examine its impact on both the health care industry and the six Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies, and outline steps nurses can take to incorporate the QSEN competencies into practice. […]

2021-03-01T08:39:16-05:00March 1st, 2021|Nursing|0 Comments
Read More

Joy, Relief, Reverence: Positive Side Effects of a First COVID-19 Vaccination

A family’s long year, brushed by COVID-19.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

On February 23, 2020, three days before a flight to Israel to speak at a nursing conference, I received a message from the host that the ministry of health had issued a restriction to stop all conferences and meetings in the health care system because of the coronavirus. I had other business scheduled, so I boarded the flight. While in Israel, I followed the global health news, and returned home a week later fully aware that COVID-19 was an emerging pandemic. But when I landed and entered the international arrivals terminal at Newark Airport, business was as usual and only a handful of us in line wore masks going through customs.

It’s been a hard year since that time. My son, a healthy 27-year-old, had COVID in late March, during the worst surge of positive cases and deaths in New York City. Testing wasn’t available. He lived a subway ride away. For 10 days, I monitored his symptoms by texts, along with his primary care provider. He fully recovered. My 95-year-old mother died in April in a  New York State assisted living facility. We don’t believe her death was COVID related. Restrictions prevented my visiting her […]

2021-02-26T09:33:01-05:00February 26th, 2021|COVID-19, infection control, Nursing, patient experience, Public health|3 Comments
Read More

Comment ground rules

1. Please be respectful.
2. We moderate all comments.

Content disclaimer

Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Go to Top