![]() While I don’t agree with the reasoning, the important thing is that this gives another group of people the opportunity to get a vaccine they’re comfortable with and if that means more of us are vaccinated and protected, then we’re all better off.ĭuring this week’s media briefing I was joined by Silvia Taylor, an Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs and Advocacy Officer for Novavax. There are, as some of you know, a group of people who would not take the other vaccines because they were manufactured through a different process. ![]() Novavax’s vaccine is the only protein-based non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine option in the U.S. We met with their CEO John Jacobs and other members of the leadership team, we toured the labs and met some of the employees working in research and development, quality control and operations. Last month, I had the opportunity, along with a larger group including several County councilmembers, to visit Novavax’s headquarters in Gaithersburg. Food and Drug Administration for their COVID-19 vaccine for people 12 years and older. We received good news came about one of our businesses- Montgomery County-based Novavax received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. ![]() I take a lot of comfort and hope in what the employees in this industry do - whether it is working to find a cure or develop treatments for COVID-19, HIV, flu, cancer and other illnesses, a multitude of researchers are in labs in our community trying to improve the quality and longevity of our life. “They all work, and it’s helped to keep everyone safer,” Elrich said.I think we all can remember how during the pandemic we worked together - elected leaders, government employees, healthcare workers, residents, and businesses –so that Montgomery County was one of the most vaccinated jurisdictions in our nation, with only two-thirds the national death rate from this virus.Īt the same time, thousands of County residents were working in our region’s life sciences industries, including work to create a COVID-19 vaccine to prevent serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths. The effectiveness of vaccines is reflected in infection rates: Unvaccinated residents have twice the rate of infection when compared with vaccinated residents, O’Donnell said.Įlrich reminded residents to stay updated on their vaccinations: “While you may experience a breakthrough case, the seriousness of a breakthrough case for vaccinated people is still lower than it is for those who are not vaccinated,” he said.Īnd Elrich added that residents should also keep that mask handy to wear inside public indoor spaces. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of the county’s cases are of an earlier subvariant – BA.2.12.1. So far, a few cases of BA.4 have been detected in Maryland, said Sean O’Donnell, the county’s health and human services public health emergency preparedness manager. “That also applies to people who have been vaccinated,” he added. ![]() Since they emerged about a month ago, the variants appear to have dodged immunity generated by the BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants. “It’s good to see that we still have a reasonable number of vacant beds,” Elrich said, “because the concern has always been what would happen if there was a surge and a lot of people got sick, and we didn’t have beds, so we’re in a better place than we’ve been.”īut two new omicron subvariants – BA.4 and BA.5 – will probably fuel yet another rise in cases, Elrich said. And during the county’s weekly pandemic briefing on Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich said the percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID patients also appears to be declining after spiking by 25% over the last two weeks.Īs of May 25, the percentage of county hospital beds occupied by COVID patients was just over 7%. The latest data shows that there have been over 405 cases for every 100,000 residents over the last seven days.
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