2 | Wednesday, April 7, 2021
NEWS
SYDNEY ROSE & EDITORS AMINAH TANNIR,
THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/NEWS
@THEDAILYCOUGAR
VACCINE
Pfizer, Moderna vaccines 90% effective outside lab conditions, CDC finds AMINAH TANNIR
NEWS EDITOR @AMOUNAJT
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an interim report last week pertaining to the efficacy of vaccines distributed to healthcare personnel and frontline workers since the initial rollout in December. The report revealed the efficacy rate of the first dose of both the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines was 80 percent effective against coronavirus infections two weeks after being administered. The second dose of the vaccines had a 90 percent efficacy rate, confirming the mRNA vaccines are effective against coronavirus infections in real-world conditions. The study was conducted by having healthcare workers, first responders and other essential workers who got the
vaccines take a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test weekly for 13 weeks. The use of a PCR test would give researchers the ability to record positive cases whether an individual is presenting symptoms or not. Following this period, the results were evaluated showing that out of 2,479 vaccinated persons, there were only three that tested positive for coronavirus. The 477 that received one dose of the vaccine had eight individuals test positive. The study mentioned that there will be opportunities in the future to examine the structure of breakthrough infections that were able to bypass the vaccines’ defenses. Although the study looked into the vaccine efficacy two weeks after administration, the actual time period between getting the vaccine and developing immunity is still unsure. Since it’s been under a year from the initial vaccine rollout, there isn’t much data on how long the immunity from the vaccines will last. UH College of Medicine clinical professor Bhavna Lall said that the continuation of this study would help clear up this uncertainty overtime. “By gaining an understanding of the duration of these vaccines’ protection, this
CDC report revealed 80 percent effectiveness against coronavirus infections for single-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. | Gerald Sastra/The Cougar
will also aid in understanding when we would potentially need booster vaccine doses, if needed,” said Lall. Pfizer released data that indicated its vaccine showed continued immunity after six months in their study with over 46,000 participants. Health officials say that the protection is likely to last longer than that. “Longer studies of the various vaccines will continue to give us information and
evidence of safety and efficacy of these vaccines,” Lall said. “These studies will also give better understanding of the duration of immunity from the vaccine and efficacy of the vaccines with the new circulating variants as well.” news@thedailycougar.com
DINING
UH Dining’s COVID-19 procedures to remain unchanged in Fall 2021 SYDNEY ROSE
NEWS EDITOR @SYDNEY_ROSEY
After altering dining plans and procedures this past year in light of the coronavirus pandemic, UH Dining will keep some of the same procedures going into the Fall 2021 semester. With altered dining plans since the start of COVID-19, students have been limited to just one dining hall on campus with socially distanced seating, no self serving food stations and to-go options. “We have adapted our procedures and policies since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many of those practices will remain in place,” said UH Dining vice president of operation Charles Pereira. “We will continue reviewing safety measures to align with (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and University guidelines,” Pereira continued. The current dining hall open is Cougar Woods Dining Commons, but as Moody Towers may possibly not be housing students next semester, it is up in the air as to whether or not Moody Towers Dining Commons will be open.
As classes for the Fall 2021 semester are starting to go back to in-person and operations are starting to go back to normal, dining is still making decisions on how many dining halls will be open and if to-go plans will remain for the upcoming semester. “Final decisions regarding open dining halls and the to-go program are based on meal plan enrollment, percentage of in person classes and on campus population,” Pereira said. “Meal exchanges will continue to be offered and detailed options will be updated closer to the fall semester.” UH dining is still determining opening additional retail locations and hours of operations once there is more firm information on the state of the pandemic, Pereira said. A plan that was postponed and altered due to the pandemic was the deconstruction of the Student Center Satellite. In replacement of the satellite, the Auxiliary Retail Center was supposed to begin construction in the summer of 2020, but has yet to begin.
Cougar Woods Dining Commons is currently the only dining hall open to students this semester. | Sydney Rose/The Cougar
“The design for the new retail center, which will be built at the current site of the Satellite, is being finalized,” Pereira said. “Although the demo date has not yet been determined, the Satellite building has been cleared of equipment and is ready for demo to commence.” news@thedailycougar.com
