Consumer Health: COVID-19

Updated 12/12/22. This portal of consumer resources related to the COVID-19 vaccines has a regularly-updated list of links to a variety of trustworthy resources, including statistics, patient handouts, videos, and journal articles.

Learn about the different COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As federal and Florida COVID-19 vaccination plans evolve, UF Health updates this site. Includes information about vaccine availability in Gainesville & Alachua County, vaccine safety, and general information about how vaccines work.

Updated 5/17/22. CDC portal for information about the COVID-19 vaccines, including information about types of vaccines availability, safety, side effects, booster shots, and what happens after vaccination. Also includes links to vaccination statistics and data.

Pfizer-BioNTech's information sheet on its COVID-19 vaccine. Includes information for both Healthcare professionals (left button) and Consumers (right buttons) and a button for reporting adverse effects of the vaccine.

Information on what the vaccine is, who should and should not receive it, what to tell your healthcare provider before getting the vaccine, how the vaccine's given, what the risks are, and what to do about side effects. Downloadable in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, French and Tagalog.

Johnson & Johnson/Janssen's information sheet on its COVID-19 vaccine. Includes information for both health care professionals and consumers.

Updated 12/23/21. CDC explains the people and methods it relies on to test whether vaccines (here, COVID) have been effective in preventing or reducing the severity of the illness they are supposed to stop/slow.

Updated 12/13/21. CDC's 4-page fact sheet answering common questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. Includes information about vaccine efficacy, safety, and continued evaluation, as well as vaccine reaction monitoring and reporting.

Updated 1/11/23. Information about a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Includes information about how to register and use the app, how long check ins last, how safe your information is, how to complete an interrupted checkin, how to update after receiving 2nd dose.

Links to a list of adverse effects; provides instructions, phone number, email address and tells you what information you will be asked to provide so that manufacturers, doctors, etc. have a record of any bad reaction to a vaccine. The site is sponsored by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Kaiser Family Foundation's 12/15/20 update on an ongoing research project tracking the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations.

Federal Trade Commission on scams, vaccines and treatment claims, privacy and online security

December 2020: Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics' Virtual Seminar Experts Detail Major Challenges Confronting National Immunization Campaign (from University of Pennsylvania) summary article and link to 1-hr virtual seminar.

3/26/21 UF Health animated video explaining how these vaccines (like Pfizer and Moderna) work.

3/29/21 Study involved health care personnel, first responders, and essential workers in six states

4/6/21 news item from UF Health

Updated 8/11/21. CDC's portal about COVID-19 variants, including basic information about what variants are, specific variants like delta, and how variants can impact the public.

2-10-22 Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the decline in Omicron cases in the US and internationally, what we know about the BA2 subvariant, and the mistakes that have been made in communicating about masks and vaccines to the public.

Updated 1/7/21. Council on Foreign Relations' brief overview of the variants, their risks and how countries are responding.

aims to "quantitatively estimate the COVID risk to you of your ordinary daily activities," such as going to work or the grocery store. Users can choose (nothing is required) which information to give for a given scenario (geographic location, distance between people, amount of talking, vaccination status, use and type of masks), the the calculatior will estimate the risk of the scenario from "very low risk" to "dangerously high risk" and its impact on the user's weekly risk budget (the amount of risk of getting COVID-19 that the user is willing to accept). This is a personal project run by a group of volunteers and is not affiliated with any institution or employer. Readers can find a list of the authors of the project in the Introduction of the white paper and information on the data used for the assessments in the Research Sources section.

5/25/21 3-minute YouTube video on children returning to sports following a COVID-19 infection, especially continuously tired children participating in high-intensity sports

Faculty and staff across the UF's health system, as well as community leaders and patients share their perspectives on COVID-19 vaccines, their own hesitancy and why they chose to get vaccinated. (Periodically updated)

6/1/21 editorial from Neurology, published by the American Academy of Neurology

3/17/21 short article on getting routine care during the pandemic--includes reasons why routine care is important for children and people with certain health conditions and examples of safety measures practices in some healthcare facilities

Updated 1/20/21. Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy on the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Updated 2/22/21. A guide from CDC on symptoms and testing to help you make decisions and seek appropriate care.

The COVID19MisInfo.org Portal is a rapid response project of the Ryerson Social Media Lab at Ted Rogers School of Management. The project is funded by the Government of Canada via the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The aim of this project is two-fold: (1) put a spotlight on COVID-19 related misinformation and (2) to provide Canadians with timely and actionable information that we all can use to protect ourselves and our community.

Released 10/15/20. The United Kingdom's National Institute of Health Research "themed review" of the evidence around ongoing COVID-19 symptoms (often called Long COVID). Rapid and dynamic review draws on the lived experience of COVID-19 patients and expert consensus, as well as published evidence, to better understand the impact of ongoing effects of COVID-19, how health and social care services should respond, and what future research questions might be.

Released 10/5/20, updated 5-7-21. CDC Scientific Brief

Updated 2/15/22. A number of our practices can now connect you with our medical professionals, who can evaluate, diagnose and treat patients remotely using telecommunications technology that is secure and easy to use.

Updated 2/1/22. Easy-to-read hub linking to information about symptoms, testing, prevention, treatment, clinical trials, statistics, and other issues related to COVID-19.

Information about how COVID-19 spreads, symptoms, prevention & treatment, stigma & resilience, what to do if you are sick, and links to frequently asked questions. Available in English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean.

Updated 9/2/21. Includes information about when and how to use masks, information about COVID-19 myths, advice for health workers, and getting your workplace ready. Includes links to information videos and downloadable graphics and posters.

Crowdsourced resources for specific target audiences: remote workers, parents and guardians, vulnerable and sick people, mourners, volunteers & group organizers, charities, businesses, teachers & students, policy makers.

Offers several links to track the spread of the diseases, quite a few resources for educators and a "tech handbook".

Smithsonian Institution's Natural Museum of Natural History's Online Exhibit on zoonotic (animal to human) and between-human transmission of infectious diseases.

Released 3/10/21. CDC's' Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (journal)

3/20/21 Learning for Justice staff article on several ways to encourage people to more closely examine their speech or views

Released 3/10/21. Report from Kaiser Family Foundation

Updated 8/11/21. CDC patient info page.

Infographic from The National Institute for Health Care Management, 2020.

Released 6/30/20. WHO's scientific brief report on the increased risks of smokers becoming severely ill from COVID-19.

Updated 2/21, reviewed January 2022. Nemours Healthcare system's KidsHealth: General information but one section specifically on danger of COVID-19 to children.

COVID-19 information for people with diabetes.

Updated 2/26/21.

Updated 12/3/20, last reviewed 10/7/21. Carefully selected, small collection of videos, information sheets and links to other entities from CDC.

Updated 11/15/21. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America's updated blog post on COVID-19 and any specific risks to people with asthma.

Updated 1/4/21. CDC's list of health conditions and factors that increase risk of contracting COVID-19, not getting adequate care if infected, or becoming seriously ill from a COVID-19 infection. The page includes reasons for that increased risk, and actions these groups of people can take to reduce that risk.

Sept. 2020 MITRE's CMS-commissioned Coronavirus Commission on Safety & Quality in Nursing Homes 186 pp Final Report

Released 9/10/20. CDC. COVID-19 fact sheet in Spanish

Updated 2/11/22. CDC. SIgned information on COVID transmission, tests, masking, protecting self and animals, schools & COVID, variants, vaccines, boosters, parents supporting children, newborn care and breastfeeding

Released 9/20. American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) 94-page report provides information and results from a survey that investigated the experiences of participants who are blind or have low vision during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine how they were affected in areas that include access to transportation, healthcare, access to food and supplies, employment, education, and voting.

National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Information of shelters, respite care, alternate care sites, encampments, self-care.

Updated 3/15/21. News, suggestions on communications, data, maps, information for hospitals, providers and on telemedicine

Updated 1/25/22 Risk, health equity strategies, data, and references list.

Fact sheets on prevention, managing the disease and special conditions (pregnancy, toddlers, school-aged children, adolescents) in 35 languages, all reviewed and vetted by physicians and medical school faculty members at the Harvard hospitals and freely available for download and distribution without copyright restrictions.

Spanish language materials from the American Public Health Association on workplace safety, knowing your rights, mass transit, travel, telehealth, public health workers, field and essential workers, mental health, communities of faith, school health, cleaning and disinfecting.

Updated 4/19/21. Includes guidance on cleaning businesses, public spaces, workplaces, schools, homes, and personal vehicles, as well as information about the process of reopening after shutdown.

Updated 11/15/21. CDC's recommendations for cleaning, disinfection, doing laundry, personal protective equipment (PPE), and hand hygiene.

Estimates % decay under customizable temperature and relative humidity for stainless steel and plastic, with nitrile coming "soon" tho no release date given for the stainless & plastic data. Hosted by Dept of Homeland Security. (Undated)

Updated 8/4/2021. Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Updated 9/1/21. CDC information on preparing, shelters and information for professional and emergency workers.