To the patients of Advanced Dermatology

The end of this ordeal is close but let’s not blow it!

As President Biden said, there appears to be a chance that by the time we get to July 4th, one of our favorite holidays, we can potentially be celebrating “normally”. For that to happen, we all still need to do our part: encourage all family and friends to get vaccinated as well as get vaccinated ourselves as soon as it’s your turn and wear masks until it is safe to no longer do so.

Although we like having our freedom, this is one of the few times when personal freedom does interfere with other people’s freedom to be healthy and safe. There’s a worldwide race to beat these vaccine variants. The biggest fear is that one of these variants will be/will become resistant to the vaccines that we have and then we have to prepare another vaccine and go through all of this again. Nature is very smart and viruses are a part of nature. Patients often tell me they want to use something natural and while I understand, this is one example where natural things are not that great!

People have asked me about rashes in response to the vaccine, and this is something I am watching closely. There is currently a registry through the American Academy of Dermatology to document every rash that has occurred within a few weeks of the vaccine. There is a myriad of rashes reported to have occurred with COVID infection, but none unique (ie new rashes never before reported) that I am aware of. When you give any vaccine, the immune system of the person receiving it is going to be stimulated. Some of the time the immune reaction will not be limited to just making antibodies to the virus but will express itself in a way that is overabundant or turn on immune functions that are unwanted. This can lead to rashes like hives and many other types of everyday rashes as well as fevers, chills, aching and all the things that we associate with viral illnesses. However, if hives develop within 4 hours of vaccination, then you should see your physician or go to urgent care immediately.

As I’ve said in the past many things are being covered in the news that normally wouldn’t be because we’re all in a shared experience of potentially getting a virus and/or the vaccine. Reactions to vaccines have never been newsworthy before and have occurred since the beginning of the history of vaccination. Truthfully, most reactions are short-lived, although no doubt a small percentage could be quite severe. The odds are very high that you are more likely to experience a negative outcome from getting the coronavirus infection than from the vaccine.

In another part of the news, there’s been a small study that shows that no woman has had an abnormal baby due to the vaccination. Additionally, babies have been tested for COVID antibodies if their mother got vaccinated while pregnant, and they did possess COVID antibodies! This is the reason your pediatrician tells you not to take your newborn baby out for the first month of life. The baby only has what we call passive immunity. That’s immunity that the baby has gotten through the bloodstream from the mother in utero; these antibodies don’t last long but are partially protective until the baby can make it’s own. In that first month, the baby is more vulnerable. This is good evidence that getting the vaccine if you are pregnant is in the best interest of your baby.

I want to congratulate and reward those who have and will be vaccinated. If you show proof of vaccination in-store at skinfo® you will receive $5 OFF once each month for an entire year after your vaccination date!

Finally, we have updated some of the protocols for those who are vaccinated:

• If vaccinated, patients no longer need to be tested before their cosmetic laser or injectable filler appointments.
• If vaccinated, a patient does not need to reschedule an appointment if they have traveled domestically. If they have traveled internationally, they will have to reschedule for 7 days from the time they have returned, even with their negative covid test upon their return. The reason for our protocol difference domestic vs. international is because of the unknowns surrounding the international COVID variants at this time.
• If not vaccinated, patients traveling internationally will need to reschedule their appointments for 10 days following their return.

We are following the current CDC recommendations. So for now, the above will be valid 3 months from a patient’s vaccination date. We are hopeful the CDC will extend this time frame as the vaccination data continues to become available. We will be following CDC recommendations and evolving our protocols accordingly.