Month: July 2021

I am happy to hear that the Ministry of Health is mandating vaccination against COVID-19 for all Uzbek citizens age 18 and above. The announcement came out last night. We are going see how we can help our employees receive the vaccines safely. I think that the Special Commission to Combat COVID-19 is acting strongly because of the current spike in cases in Tashkent. Below is the latest data of cases from the WHO Uzbekistan office.

It is fortunate that the risk of death and hospitalization from COVID-19 for K-12 students is “incredibly rare” according to a study in the UK. From March 2020 to February 2021, a death rate is around 2 for every million people under 18 from complications from COVID-19. “None had asthma or type-1 diabetes and half had conditions that put them at higher risk than health children from dying of any cause.” Doctors running the study advised schools to promote immunization and mask use, despite students’ resilience to COVID.

The co-founder and CEO of BioNTech Ugur Sahin insisted booster shots are going to be necessary to get the pandemic under control during the 2021 STAT Breakthrough Science Summit. Pfizer also indicated that they are applying their mRNA technology to developing flu vaccines.

I am following closely a National Institute of Health trial of fully vaccinated adults receiving a booster doses of different COVID vaccines. My wife, adult-age son and I are fully vaccinated with the Astra-Zeneca vaccine and I am considering getting a Pfizer booster before returning to Uzbekistan. Immunity may wane after some time and with possible new variants developing throughout the world, it might become recommended by public health agencies. I predict that both the CDC and WHO will be recommending booster vaccines as we go into the cold and flu season this winter. In this trial conducted by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the University of Maryland, 50 adults will get a booster 12-20 weeks after being fully vaccinated versus a control group that will not get a booster, but will be fully vaccinated. The challenge for my wife and me is that we received our second dose on June 5. If we get a booster next week before we head back to Tashkent, it will only be a 6-7 week gap between the second dose and the booster. However, this may be our only chance to get it as vaccines are still not widespread in Uzbekistan.

The trial results also hint that people who have already received two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine could have a stronger immune response if they were given a different jab as a booster if recommended in the autumn.

“Mixing Covid jabs has good immune response, study finds” BBC Roberts, Michelle 28 June, 2021

The BBC article quoted above describes the results of a study by Oxford University researcher that shows mixing vaccines improves the immune response, especially viral vector vaccines with mRNA developed vaccines. It is calming to know that 2-dose Astra-Zeneca vaccine regimen reduces our chances of hospitalization from COVID by 90%, so no matter if I get a booster of Pfizer before I leave, I’ll be protected. I encourage everyone to read the article by BBC Medical Editor Fergus Walsh.

Some officials in the Uzbek government are asking organizations to make vaccination mandatory for their employees. This is good news in my opinion as the only way schools will be able to offer the full co-curricular slate of programs is through vaccination. Other countries are moving towards mandatory vaccinations for certain groups. Health workers in the USA and in France and Greece are some examples of mandatory vaccination policies becoming a reality.

Alisher Kadyrov said that in accordance with Article 212 of the Labor Code, the employer, in agreement with the members of the trade union, can assign duties to the employee arising from the interests of the labor collective. In particular, the organization can make the coronavirus vaccine mandatory for its employees to ensure a healthy work environment.The deputy also stressed that we have the right to demand guarantees that the personnel serving us – a bank employee, a seller, a driver, a law enforcement officer, a doctor, a teacher, is not a carrier of infection.According to the deputy, citizens are not obliged to receive a vaccine, but in the name of stabilizing the situation in the country, it is necessary to restrict the freedom of non-vaccinated citizens.

I would like to thank the Association for the Advancement of International Education’s (AAIE) for continuing to provide resources to assist international school leaders in planning for the 2021-2022 school year. Every other day they publish a COVID-19 Briefing. AAIE COVID-19 Briefing Archive.

This Scientific American article points out the contradictory recommendations between the WHO and CDC. The TIS COVID Response Team is considering dropping the requirement for people to wear masks outdoors while on campus. The World Health Organization (WHO) is still recommending fully vaccinated people to wear masks and physically distance. This is because concerns of new variants and continued community transmission of the virus. WHO Press Conference June 25, 2021.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) differs from the WHO. They are saying vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors and in many indoor settings. CDC June 17, 2021 Vaccinated People Recommendations.This Science Alert article points out studies showing possible changes in blood cells which may explain why some people have long-term problems from COVID. The pandemic continues to rage in unvaccinated countries. A third-wave peak in many African countries (Namibia, Uganda, Zambia) is pushing health systems to the brink. Russia had over 20,000 cases and is introducing regional lockdowns.

On a personal note, I’ve decided to get a Pfizer booster shot while I am in the USA this summer. My wife, adult son and I are fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine which currently offers us strong protection against all variants of the coronavirus. Research is showing that a booster vaccine of the mRNA (Pfizer/Moderna) variety offers more immunity for people who previously received one or two doses of a viral vector (AstraZeneca/Johnson & Johnson) type vaccine. I sense that global health agencies will be recommending a booster shot in the autumn or winter. Our two children (photo above) are getting fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. We walked into the local CVS pharmacy got them vaccinated. I wish that more countries would be able to vaccinate to the rate the USA has implemented.