Is it surprising to hear about a dentist giving Covid vaccine in Los Angeles? Well, it shouldn’t be. After a year of dealing with the vicious coronavirus, there is finally a vaccine! Now you might be wondering why you’re reading this here on a dentist’s website and what the connection is between the Covid vaccine and Los Angeles dentists. Well, if you’ve been following the Covid vaccine news, you might have heard about the emergency waiver that allows California’s dentists to administer vaccines. So if you’re as excited as we are and are looking for a dentist giving Covid vaccine in Los Angeles, stick with us, because we will tell you all you need to know about it.
What does the recent announcement say about a dentist giving Covid vaccine?
In the latest Covid vaccine news, the Dental Board of California has announced that the Department of Consumer Affairs has approved a waiver that allows dentists to administer the Covid vaccine. This is an attempt to make up for the shortage of qualified health care providers and vaccinate everyone as soon as possible. Considering that dentists can already help in other health care areas in cases of emergency, this is the right decision.
There are currently two successful Covid vaccines out there. One is made by Pfizer-BioNTech and can be administered to people over 16 years old, and the other is created by Moderna and can only be used for adults. These Covid vaccines are being distributed across the country and higher risk groups will receive them first. The distribution process is different for each state and county. With 1.2 million doses of the Covid vaccine and expecting to receive more soon, Los Angeles dentists are now ready to vaccinate its people. However, not all dentists are eligible to vaccinate you.
When it comes to Covid vaccine and Los Angeles dentists, what are the criteria that the dentist giving Covid vaccine must have?
First and foremost, the dentist giving Covid vaccine must be vaccinated himself. Then he should complete training offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This program includes around 4 hours of training about the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid vaccines, their method of administration, and adverse effects to look out for. After this, the dentist is qualified to give the Covid vaccine.
How soon will the dentists have access to the vaccines?
This depends on factors such as the number of vaccines given to the region and the technology used for simplifying the distribution process. The CDA is helping accelerate this by streamlining vaccine registration processes and providing lists of eligible dentists.
One such qualified dentist giving Covid vaccine in Los Angeles is Dr. Arthur A. Kezian, DDS. Dr. Kezian has been at the forefront of the Covid battle in dentistry since the beginning. He pioneered strict protocols and began taking more precautions to ensure his patients’ safety. Now he and his team are vaccinated and ready to help their patients become vaccinated as well.
You can check out some of the Covid protocols that Dr. Kezian follows below.
How does the Covid vaccine work?
We told you about the two available Covid vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. And since you’re looking around for news about the Covid vaccine and Los Angeles dentists, you probably know that both of these vaccines need two injections to work effectively and provide more than 95% immunity against the coronavirus. But what do they do in the body to provide this immunity?
To understand this, first you need to know how your immune system works.
When a pathogen like the coronavirus invades your body, your white blood cells come to the rescue. Various white blood cells work differently. For instance, macrophages consume the invading pathogens, leaving behind their antigens that act as warning signs and excite the body’s immune system. Then there are B-lymphocytes that attack these antigens by producing antibodies. Lastly, there are T-lymphocytes that attack the already infected cells.
After the first time you get infected, your body produces memory cells that remember the antigens of the virus. If the virus attacks your body again, these memory cells will quickly recognize it and produce antibodies against it.
Vaccines use the same functions to develop immunity without you actually having to catch Covid. Various types of vaccines can contain different elements from the virus to create this immunity. Both current vaccines use messenger RNA or mRNA of the virus. When you receive the vaccine, your cells will get instructions to build a surface protein of the coronavirus. But unlike the actual virus, this protein can’t hurt your body or make you sick. It’s only strong enough to warn your immune cells and create those memory cells. Now you have a strong line of defense, ready to fight the coronavirus if it enters your body again. Only this time your body will fight back stronger and faster. So the dentist giving Covid vaccine in Los Angeles cannot make you sick, but he is preparing your body to fight the virus if it ever enters it.
Are Covid vaccines safe?
A lot of people are worried about the safety of the Covid vaccines. One false claim or conspiracy theory on social media is enough to make you doubt everything before you even get the chance to educate yourself on the matter. But like we already said, the vaccine will not give you Covid. It won’t make you sick. The truth is that with the current technologies and resources scientists use to study pathogens and develop these vaccines, there is not much that can go wrong even if they tried! Even different versions of the vaccine are equally effective.
Although as a result of your body working hard to build immunity after receiving the Covid vaccine, you might experience some mild side effects within the first three days. Some of these side effects include: Pain and swelling around the injection site, fatigue, fever, headache, muscle pain, chills, and joint pain.
Among the Covid vaccine news, it has been reported that these symptoms are more noticeable after receiving the second dose. After vaccination, the dentist giving Covid vaccine might ask you to stay longer to see if you have any allergic reactions to it.
Who can receive the Covid vaccine?
Anyone with 16 years of age or older can receive the vaccine. Based on each state, higher-risk groups such as medical personnel, essential workers, and the elderly are in priority to receive the vaccine first. That is why the Covid vaccine and Los Angeles dentists have come together in an attempt to immunize everyone as soon as possible.
There is not much that will disqualify you to see a dentist giving Covid vaccine in Los Angeles and get your shots, unless if you’re younger than 16. Studies on younger age groups will begin soon, but currently the findings are not enough to make these groups eligible. If you’ve experienced serious allergic reactions to other injectable medications before, your doctor will monitor you for some time after the injection to make sure you’re alright. If you do have an immediate reaction to it, you will not get the second dose.
There is also not enough research on the effects of the Covid vaccine on pregnant women. So if you are pregnant or have other health conditions and you’re not sure if you should get the vaccine or not, ask your health care provider for advice. Even if you’ve already caught Covid, it’s recommended that you receive the vaccine because you might get infected a second time.
What’s the next step?
We rely on vaccines to protect us from many other illnesses and Covid is no exception. Some people are more vulnerable to this new disease and we’ve already seen too many deaths because of it. So now that we have access to a solution that can prevent the disease, we have to reach for it, for the sake of our own safety and the safety of others. We have to shut down any rumors saying the vaccine will make you sick and help educate everyone about its true benefits.
While this is a big step forward toward stopping the pandemic, we still have to follow CDC’s precautions until scientists know more about how long this induced immunity will last. Even if you do get the vaccine, you should keep in mind that it takes a couple of weeks for your body to create the immunity and if you are exposed to the virus before that, you can still get sick. So keep wearing masks when you go out, keep your distance from other people, wash your hands and use hand sanitizers, cover your mouth with a tissue when you sneeze, and avoid going out as much as possible.
Since based on the recent Covid vaccine news, Covid vaccine and Los Angeles dentists now go hand in hand, if you live in Los Angeles you can visit a dentist to get vaccinated. And who better to do that than Dr. Kezian?
Dr. Kezian and his dedicated team have created one of the safest dental offices since the start of the pandemic and now other than tending to your oral health, they will tend to your overall immunity and vaccinate you against the coronavirus. So if you’re looking for a dentist giving Covid vaccine in Los Angeles, pick up the phone and call the office of Dr. Kezian for more information. Share this article with your friends to spread the news and remember to stay safe.
Dr. Arthur A. Kezian DDS
443 N. Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 467-2777
References:
- California Dental Association – COVID-19 vaccine distribution and advocacy updates
- Dental Board of California – Dental Board of California – Update on Impacts Related to COVID-19
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work