Episode Details

Episode 72: Depression in Adolescents.  

COVID-19 vaccine updates including booster shots and mix and match options. Depression in adolescents is discussed by Virginia Bustamante, Charizza Besmanos, and Hector Arreaza. 

Introduction: COVID Vaccines Update October 2021
Written by Hector Arreaza, MD. Participation: Lillian Petersen, RN, and Nathan Heathcoat, MS3.  

The FDA granted emergency use authorization for a booster shot with the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine in September 2020.

On October 20, 2021, the FDA also granted emergency use authorization for a booster shot with the Moderna AND Johnson & Johnson (also known as Janssen or J&J) COVID-19 vaccines. 

Pfizer/BioNtech: Brand name Comirnaty®. It has full FDA approval for patients who are 18 years and older for the prevention of COVID-19. The rest of the indications of this vaccine are under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). It is authorized for 12 years and older. Total of two doses, 21 days apart. Authorized for 3rd dose in immunocompromised patients (on active cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients, taking immunosuppressive or high dose corticosteroids, have moderate to severe immunodeficiency). 3rd dose is given at least 1 month after the second dose. It is authorized for a single booster shot in special populations (older than 65 years of age OR 18-64 years of age at high risk of severe COVID-19 or with frequent occupational exposure). The booster shot must be given 6 months after the primary series is complete.

Moderna: No brand name yet. All uses are under emergency use authorization. It is authorized for 18 years and older for the prevention of COVID-19. Give a total of two doses, 4 weeks apart. A third dose is authorized to be given 1 month after the second dose. Patients who can receive a third dose include patients on active cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients, taking immunosuppressive or high dose corticosteroids, or have an immunodeficiency. It is authorized for a single booster shot 6 months after completing primary series. The booster shot of Moderna should be half dose. People who may receive a booster shot are those who are older than 65 years of age OR 18-64 years of age at high risk of severe COVID-19 or with frequent occupational exposure.

Johnson & Johnson (Janssen): No brand name yet. Authorized as a single dose vaccine. Authorized for a single booster shot 2 months after the first dose. 

Mix and Match Approval: The FDA authorized on October 20, 2021, heterologous booster dose for currently approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines. You can give a booster shot with a different vaccine than the one you received primarily. For example, a patient who received J&J vaccine may receive a booster shot with Pfizer or Moderna 2 months later. Another example, a patient received primary series of Pfizer vaccine, may receive a booster shot with Moderna, Pfizer or J&J 6 months after completing primary series. Booster shots are authorized, again, for patients who are 65 years and older, 18-64 years of age at high-risk for severe COVID-19 or with frequent occupational exposure.

The vaccination of children 5-11 years old is still under discussion, more updates coming soon.

This is Rio Bravo qWeek, your weekly dose of knowledge brought to you by the Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program from Bakersfield, California. Our program is affiliated with UCLA, and it’s sponsored by Clinica Sierra Vista, Let Us Be Your Healthcare Home. 

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Depression in Adolescents. 

By Virginia Bustamante, MS4; Charizza Besmanos, MS4; and Hector Arreaza, MD.  

Vicky: We will talk about adolescence and depression today. I was reading a piece on the Impact of CO