WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – If you missed our special, “The Doctors Are In: COVID-19 Questions and Answers,” you can watch it in the video above.
Anchor Jeff Cole sat down with doctors from Samaritan Medical Center, Carthage Area Hospital, River Hospital, and Lewis County Health System to discuss topics like the Delta variant, school, and the vaccine.
One question: “Can you get the flu shot around the same time as a booster shot?” The answer? Dr. Asim Kichloo from Samaritan Medical Center said a booster shot is likely on its way, and you should talk to your primary care physician about whether you should receive both shots, and when, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t get your flu shot and your booster.
Another question asked: “Do you have to get the same vaccine for a booster that you got for your initial series?” Doctors say it should preferably be the same, but if you don’t have access to the same vaccine you received initially, either of the three (Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson) would be okay.
Another topic discussed: school. We checked in with north country districts about their plans for the fall.
“We are still having those discussions right now. I mean, as you know, there’s a lot of people that don’t want to wear masks anymore and there is the other side that are still fearful of the illness. It’s getting a little bit more severe right now,” said Copenhagen Superintendent Scott Connell.
We also checked in with our panel of doctors about how to get kids back in the classroom safely.
Carthage Area Hospital Pediatrician Dr. Prabhjot Thind said parents should get their kids vaccinated when they are able, (12 and up), and kids should still wear masks. He also said social distancing is an important aspect of getting kids back to school full-time.
Dr. Thind said both Pfizer and Moderna are working on a vaccine for children five and older.
Later on, Dr. Joe Wetterhahn ran down some myths surrounding the vaccine.
“The most common myth, myth number one, is that this was rushed and hurried, and to say that safety steps were skipped,” Dr. Wetterhahn said. “This is an incredibly safe vaccine. 200 million Americans have been vaccinated, 2 billion people across the world have been vaccinated, there are no safety steps that were skipped bringing this to the public.”
Dr. Andrew Odgen, and OBGYN from River Hospital, was in to discuss the most important thing a woman who is pregnant, or considering pregnancy needs to know about COVID and the vaccine.
He said anyone who’s pregnant or considering pregnancy, can safely get the vaccine.
He added studies have shown there’s no difference between those who received the vaccine while pregnant or before pregnancy, and women who were studied before COVID in terms of fetal malformations or other abnormalities.
Check here for where you can get the vaccine.
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