Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2266

Post by Deuce »

Another potential advantage of waiting a bit before getting the 4th vaccine (2nd booster) is that it increases the chances that a vaccine which more specifically targets the current variant may be available.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by dryrunguy »

Here's the latest Situation Report. I was most interested in the section on Biden's FY 23 budget request related to long COVID funding. There's also more detail about the Israeli study MJ mentioned, as well as initial findings of a Brazilian ivermectin study that showed exactly what anyone with two functioning brain cells already knew about ivermectin as a potential COVID therapeutic.

::

EPI UPDATE The WHO COVID-19 Dashboard reports 493.4 million cumulative cases and 6.17 million deaths worldwide as of April 7. The global weekly incidence decreased for the second consecutive week, down 14% from the previous week, and notably, all regions reported decreasing trends in weekly incidence last week. After a 1-week spike in reported global weekly mortality 2 weeks ago—46,479 deaths the week of March 21; +41% from the previous week—the trend is once again decreasing, down 42% from the previous week and -18% compared to the week of March 14.

Global Vaccination
The WHO reported 11.3 billion cumulative vaccine doses administered globally as of April 5. A total of 5.06 billion individuals have received at least 1 dose, and 4.54 billion are fully vaccinated. Analysis from Our World in Data indicates that the overall trend in global daily vaccinations continues to decline, down from nearly 40 million doses per day in late December 2021 to 13.8 million on April 6, a decrease of nearly two-thirds over that period.* The trend continues to closely follow that in Asia. Our World in Data estimates that there are 5.09 billion vaccinated individuals worldwide (1+ dose; 64.7% of the global population) and 4.58 billion who are fully vaccinated (58.2% of the global population). A total of 1.71 billion booster doses have been administered globally.
*The average daily doses administered may exhibit a sharp decrease for the most recent data, particularly over the weekend, which indicates effects of reporting delays. In an effort to reflect the longer-term trends, the numbers reported here may not correspond to the most recent data.

UNITED STATES
The US surpassed 80 million cumulative cases on April 4.
1 case to 20 million: 343 days
20 to 40 million: 247 days
40 to 60 million: 126 days
60 to 80 million: 86 days

The US CDC is currently reporting 80.1 million cumulative cases of COVID-19 and 980,220 deaths. The decline in daily incidence tapered off at approximately 25-26,000 new cases per day from March 25-April 4, but the average jumped to 26,845 on April 5. Daily mortality continues to decline, down to 533 deaths per day on April 5, an 80% decline from the recent high in early February.* Notably, the average daily mortality is at its lowest level since August 2, 2021. At this pace, the US would surpass 1 million cumulative deaths in slightly more than 1 month; however, the decreasing trend is encouraging, and the timeline will likely be longer than this.
*Changes in state-level reporting may affect the accuracy of recently reported data, particularly over weekends. In an effort to reflect the longer-term trends, the numbers reported here may not correspond to the most recent dates.

US Vaccination
The US has administered 563 million cumulative doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Daily vaccinations have increased slightly over the past several days, with the average climbing from 154,000 on March 28 to 227,000 on March 31. Based on the timing of the increase, it is likely a result of the US FDA’s authorization of a second booster dose of the mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for certain individuals. A total of 256 million individuals have received at least 1 vaccine dose, which corresponds to 77.1% of the entire US population. Among adults, 88.5% have received at least 1 dose, as well as 27.4 million children under the age of 18. A total of 218 million individuals are fully vaccinated**, which corresponds to 65.7% of the total population. Approximately 75.6% of adults are fully vaccinated, as well as 22.9 million children under the age of 18. A total of 98.3 million individuals have received an additional or booster dose. This corresponds to 45.1% of fully vaccinated individuals, including 67.6% of fully vaccinated adults aged 65 years or older.
*Due to delays in reporting, estimates for the average daily doses administered are less accurate for the most recent several days.
**Full original course of the vaccine, not including additional or booster doses.

ISRAELI FOURTH DOSE STUDY Researchers from Israel published findings from a study on the effectiveness of fourth doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (ie, second booster dose). The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), evaluated health records data from more than 1.2 million adults aged 60 years and older who were eligible for a fourth dose of the vaccine during Israel’s Omicron surge. Israel authorized fourth doses for several high-risk groups in January, including adults aged 60 years and older and healthcare workers.

The researchers compared the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 disease between individuals who received 4 doses of the vaccine and those who received 3 doses. The rate of severe COVID-19 among the 4-dose group at 4 weeks after the fourth dose was 3.5 times lower than the 3-dose group. Similarly the rate of infection in the 4-dose group was half of that among the 3-dose group. Protection against infection waned, however, with no significant increase in protection by week 8. The study period for severe disease was only 6 weeks, but the fourth dose’s increased effectiveness remained significant through that period and actually increased from a factor of 3.5 at week 4 to 4.3.

The study illustrates that additional booster doses can provide increased protection against infection and severe disease beyond the effect of the first booster dose; however, the effects may provide only moderate additional benefit and for a relatively short duration. The added protection against infection faded within 8 weeks, and the 6-week study period for severe disease does not provide evidence of prolonged protection. The study also does not compare the fourth dose to unvaccinated individuals or fully vaccinated individuals without a booster or for adults under the age of 60. So while a fourth dose provides a statistically significant benefit beyond the effect of the third dose, it is possible that the third dose provides sufficient protection and that the added benefit of an additional booster is relatively minimal and unnecessary. Many questions remain regarding the value and strategy regarding future booster doses for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and this study contributes analysis necessary for those debates.

FUTURE VACCINE STRATEGY US federal regulators and vaccine science experts met on April 6 to discuss the future of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, including what a strategy and framework might look like. Last week, the US FDA authorized and the US CDC recommended that adults aged 50 years and older and individuals with certain kinds of immunocompromise can receive a fourth dose, or second booster, of an authorized mRNA vaccine. During this week’s meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), regulators were careful to say that the recent decision on boosters is a “stopgap measure” to protect these certain vulnerable groups until a more comprehensive booster plan can be considered. One framework being considered is based on the process used to update influenza vaccines. But presenters at the meeting underscored the challenges in predicting future SARS-CoV-2 variants, updating vaccine formulations, and collecting enough rigorous data in time to produce sufficient supplies.

The committee did not hold a vote during this meeting but is expected to reconvene later this spring or early summer to consider updated booster formulations for this fall. In order to achieve this goal, manufacturers would need to begin collecting new data within the next few weeks. This is a tight timeline in order to meet a fall authorization deadline, but some manufacturers are hoping to soon submit data on reformulated vaccines. Pfizer has announced its intention of making new vaccine formulations that would potentially cover emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and provide coverage on an annual schedule. The panel also discussed what information is still needed to help solidify future vaccine strategy, including consensus on correlates of immune protection from both antibodies and memory cells and vaccine efficacy level against severe disease.

In Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued advice on a fourth vaccine dose, concluding there is not enough evidence yet to recommend the extra shots for the general population. However, both agencies agreed that data supports second boosters for people aged 80 and older in order to reduce the risk of severe disease.

US LONG COVID PLAN US President Joe Biden on April 5 directed government agencies to redouble their efforts to mitigate the long-term impacts of COVID-19, including making additional strides to research and treat post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), commonly known as long COVID. The condition, which can last for weeks, months, or even years, is characterized by a variety of symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle weakness, depression and anxiety, and other symptoms. President Biden’s announcement follows criticism from patients and experts who say the federal government is not moving quickly enough to better define the condition, ascertain its prevalence, and learn more about who might be at increased risk of developing long COVID.

The plan includes several components, including the creation of a new national council to coordinate interagency efforts on long COVID focused on improving care, enhancing outreach and education, and advancing research. Specific actions include accelerating the enrollment of 40,000 people in the ongoing US NIH RECOVER Initiative; publishing a report within 120 days detailing available federal agency services for people with long COVID, those experiencing COVID-related loss, and individuals with pandemic-related mental health and substance use problems, with a focus on “high-risk communities”; establishing “Centers of Excellence” and better referral and care models for people with long COVID; educating healthcare providers to help detect, understand, and improve care for long COVID; ensuring health insurance coverage for long COVID care; increasing awareness of long COVID as a potential cause of disability and updating relevant policy; and strengthening support for workers experiencing the condition. Some of the efforts are dependent upon funding contained in President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget request, which includes US$20 million for the development of long COVID clinics and US$25 million for the US CDC to boost its long COVID research efforts. Outcomes of US Congressional budget negotiations will not be known for months.

COVID-19 CASE DEFINITION The US daily COVID-19 incidence has declined more than 95% from its record high in January, at the height of the Omicron surge, and current hospitalizations are down nearly 93%. These decreasing trends signal decreases in community transmission, but this may not be the only factor. On March 29, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS) updated how it reports COVID-19 hospitalizations, with a new metric that only includes patients treated with remdesivir and/or dexamethasone, drugs typically reserved for severe patients. After the change, the current statewide hospitalizations reportedly fell to fewer than 10, down from 20-25 the previous week. The New Hampshire Hospital Association (NHHA) reports explicitly note that the “Treated for COVID-19” numbers are a subset of the total hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The NHHA includes additional data for “COVID-Recovering,” which includes hospitalized COVID-19 patients that no longer qualify under the state case definition, such as patients who are still hospitalized and receiving treatment for COVID-19-related conditions. On April 6, NHHA reported 51 “COVID-Recovering” patients statewide, compared to only 6 “Treated for COVID-19” patients.

The NHDHHS announcement argued that the new metric aligns with treatment guidelines issued by the US NIH and better reflects the current epidemiological situation by focusing on patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 disease. Several other states are reporting similar metrics; however, they do so alongside the total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, whereas New Hampshire lists only the new metric. New Hampshire removed the previous hospitalization metric from its COVID-19 dashboard, and historical data are only available in archived form.

The new approach excludes both patients hospitalized for other conditions that happen to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and patients hospitalized for mild or moderate COVID-19 who are not treated with the designated drugs. A representative from NHHA emphasized that the total number of hospitalized patients more accurately reflects the burden on local health systems, because COVID-19 patients that do not meet the new case definition are still occupying beds and consuming hospital resources. Additionally, patients hospitalized for other conditions may require additional resources (eg, separate rooms, infection prevention protocols) if they test positive for COVID-19, which places additional burden on hospitals.

Both metrics provide valuable information, but they serve different purposes. It is critical to understand the methods of classifying and reporting COVID-19 data as well as their intended purpose, because these factors have major effects on what the data mean and how they are interpreted.

IMF GLOBAL STRATEGY The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the Global Fund, this week warned that the pandemic is not over and published a working paper calling for a new strategy to manage the long-term risks of COVID-19, including the uncertainty surrounding how the pandemic will evolve. The groups urged the international community to recognize that pandemic financing and preparedness not only helps individual countries prepare for infectious disease crises but also addresses systemic threats to the global economy. According to IMF projections, the pandemic will result in a cumulative output loss of US$13.8 trillion through 2024 and will leave lasting economic impacts in many countries. Additionally, global economic recovery will continue to be constrained without more equitable access to prevention and treatment tools and the development and implementation of policies addressing the pandemic’s consequences.

The paper outlines 4 key policy implications of a long-term plan, including achieving equitable access to a comprehensive toolkit of treatment and prevention strategies such as diagnostics, vaccines, treatments, and healthcare system strengthening; monitoring viral evolution and responsively upgrading the toolkit; transitioning from an acute response to sustainable, balanced, and integrated health and social strategies that encompass COVID-19; and developing a cohesive risk-mitigation approach to future pandemic threats. To do this, the paper calls for US$15 billion in grants this year to fill the gap in the ACT Accelerator’s financing framework and US$10 billion annually moving forward to support pandemic preparedness and response (PPR) activities.

In related news, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on April 5 to discuss ongoing COVID-19 pandemic responses and future efforts to strengthen global pandemic preparedness and financing. Secretary Yellen and Dr. Tedros agreed on the need to address these issues now, before global attention turns elsewhere. Secretary Yellen underscored the US commitment to working with the WHO, the World Bank, and G20 partners to develop a financial intermediary fund (FIF) on pandemic preparedness to be housed at the World Bank, and they agreed a FIF would serve as a vital component of the global architecture for pandemic preparedness. Additionally, Secretary Yellen and Dr. Tedros agreed on the importance of working toward the goal of vaccinating 70% of the world’s population this year, with Secretary Yellen emphasizing the US commitment to helping to achieve that goal. However, a compromise measure currently under consideration in the US Senate that would provide an additional US$10 billion for the COVID-19 response includes no additional funding for global vaccination efforts. Notably, the bill is stalled because of debate over immigration issues.

INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE Scientific evidence is mounting that SARS-CoV-2 infection can elicit massive inflammatory responses that contribute to severe COVID-19. In a study published April 6 in Nature, researchers describe how SARS-CoV-2 infection might cause these so-called cytokine storms, when the bloodstream is overrun with inflammatory proteins that then kill tissue and damage organs. The study demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 can infect and replicate in certain types of white blood cells—macrophages in the lungs and monocytes in the blood—which, when infected, stimulate the release of inflammasomes, a type of molecule that triggers a rush of inflammatory responses. One of those responses is pyroptosis, a programmed cell death that leads infected cells to release even more inflammatory proteins and becomes a difficult process to treat. The study could help to explain why older adults or those with underlying health conditions such as obesity or diabetes are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19, as those people tend to already have some level of inflammation in the body.

The results support the findings of another paper posted recently on bioRxiv, which is not yet peer-reviewed, that also found SARS-CoV-2 can infect and replicate in macrophages found in human lung cells and in a mouse model of the human immune system. Those infected macrophages also triggered the release of inflammasomes and died by pyroptosis. Typically, the virus uses ACE2 receptors to enter cells and replicate. However, monocytes and macrophages lack ACE2 receptors, so SARS-CoV-2 uses another cell-surface protein, Fcγ receptors, to enter cells, but only with the help of antibodies already attached to the Fcγ receptors. Notably, the antibodies in people who had received the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine did not assist the virus in entering monocytes and therefore prevented subsequent inflammatory responses. Although additional research is needed to understand which antibodies facilitate viral uptake by monocytes, the finding is reassuring and could help researchers identify targets for future treatments.

IVERMECTIN The antiparasitic drug ivermectin showed no significant benefit in preventing hospitalization or prolonged emergency department visits due to COVID-19, according to the results of a large clinical trial published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The study included nearly 1,360 COVID-19 patients in Brazil who were randomly assigned to receive either ivermectin or placebo within a week of developing symptoms, with some patients receiving a relatively high dose of the drug. The researchers underscored that the overall number of events in their study is larger than the number of all combined events in previous meta-analyses that provided inconsistent results. Despite ivermectin’s continued popularity as an alternative treatment, most experts agree that these findings provide conclusive evidence that the drug offers no treatment benefit for people with COVID-19 and question the value of additional studies examining the drug as a COVID-19 therapy.

https://covid19.who.int/
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by ponchi101 »

It will make no difference with the crowd that believes that Ivermectin works. Plus, there is a big market for it, so the peddlers will continue the "wonder drug" promotion. And with every single young person that "recovers" by taking it, it will continue to be used massively.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Ran into an acquaintance today. He stayed away from the skiing area (where he worked) because he has mild emphysema from his years of smoking, but now that they dropped the mask mandate, he went back.
Proudly unvaccinated. His years in the military taught him "how to deal with these things".
Let's drop all mandates. Let nature takes its course. I really like the guy, but I really can't make sense of this.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by Deuce »

Human beings have been trying in many ways to eradicate their own species from the planet for many years.
They may have finally found a formula that will actually accomplish this.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by atlpam »

Also on the fence about another booster dose. Waiting to see if US drops the airline mask mandate in April. I will likely get dose 4 the end of April (6 months after dose 3) since we have air travel planned later in May.
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“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
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^ Better late than never? ^
But it seems to me that the saying that "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" has been around for a long, long time - long before the pandemic began.

Prevent a mess, or clean up mess after mess?
It would seem that the intelligent choice is rather evident.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by dryrunguy »

Yeah... The U.S. seems to have mostly moved into "if we pretend it's not there, then it's not there" territory... We have all struggled with what's the right things to do in the biggest possible picture (e.g., public health vs. local/state/national/global economies). I doubt any of us have a good answer.

I would love to have a night where I could go out for dinner without fear--and not have to plan a meal and cook it. I took that basic privilege for granted for so long. But with this latest variant flying about locally, here I am, feeling sorry for myself, thinking about what I have to cook tomorrow night. Not what I COULD cook, or what I WANT to cook... But what I HAVE to cook.

I have a lot of moments where I say to myself, "Just go ahead, go out, do what you want, take your chances--all the data suggest you're not at risk for serious illness."

And then I'll be watching something on TV, with thousands upon thousands of people gathered in a fairly small space, and I scream, "YOU IDIOTS!!!"
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Here's the latest Situation Report. There's a lot here. I was particularly struck by the section on the discrepancy between documented COVID infections in Africa and the likely actual number of infections. And then there's the numbers from the northeastern U.S. I need some time to process that. And then there's new info about the Gridiron super-spreader event. I didn't realize it was THAT bad. But here we go again: "If we pretend it's not there, then it's not really there..." Sigh.

::

NEW OMICRON SUBVARIANTS The WHO is tracking cases of 2 new sublineages of the Omicron variant, adding BA.4 and BA.5 to the monitoring list alongside BA.1, BA1.1, BA.3, and the globally dominant BA.2. Dr. Tulio de Oliveira, Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response & Innovation (CERI) in South Africa, tweeted about the presence of BA.4 and BA.5 in South Africa, one of the first countries to identify the original Omicron variant in November 2021. The series of tweets said the sublineages have been found in samples from Botswana, Belgium, Germany, and the UK but not yet caused a rise in cases in South Africa. BA.4 and BA.5 have mutations on their spike proteins similar to BA.2, in addition to several other mutations. De Oliveira said that where the subvariants differ from each other is in amino acid mutations outside of the spike protein and work is underway to further characterize the 2 Omicron sublineages.

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS IN US Since the middle of March, the US has averaged between 25,000 and 30,000 new daily COVID-19 cases. But some health experts believe the country may be experiencing a new surge of cases, fueled by the Omicron BA.2 subvariant and masked by incomplete data from unreported at-home testing, a lack of testing among milder cases, and reduced access to testing centers. Numbers of new cases are beginning to rise in the northeast region of the country; of the 10 states with the highest 7-day case rates per 100,000 people, 7 are in the northeast. Average daily COVID-19 case numbers have increased approximately 53% in Rhode Island and 64% in both New Jersey and New York over the last 2 weeks. Other northeastern states experiencing increases in COVID-19 case loads include Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont. COVID-19 levels in wastewater have increased nationwide over the last 3 weeks, with the northeast showing the highest levels, according to Biobot Analytics. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced April 11 it will reinstate a citywide indoor mask mandate beginning April 18, including all public spaces such as schools, restaurants, government buildings, and other settings. The city’s number of new COVID-19 cases has increased 50% over the last 10 days, according to the department. Additionally, the federal government may extend the mask mandate for public transportation, which is set to expire April 18, according to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha.

Several recent outbreaks among high-profile politicians and celebrities could represent the tip of the iceberg in understanding ongoing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the US. Health officials note that politicians and celebrities are tested more frequently than the average individual, and increases in cases among their ranks might signal that more people are becoming infected but experiencing mild or no symptoms. More than 70 high-profile people tested positive after an event known as the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, DC, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak, US Attorney General Merrick Garland, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, several US lawmakers, and many others. Some of those who were infected are reportedly up-to-date on their vaccinations. Meanwhile, less than 10% of the US population feels that COVID-19 represents a serious crisis in the country, 17% say it is not a crisis at all, and 73% feel the pandemic is a manageable problem, according to an Axios-Ipsos poll. Notably, an average of 500 people in the US die daily from COVID-19.

VACCINATION IMPACTS In an update to a December 2021 report, the Commonwealth Fund released new estimates on the impact of US SARS-CoV-2 vaccination efforts to include the winter Omicron surge. The report estimates that 2.27 million COVID-19-related deaths were averted in the US between mid-December 2020, when vaccines first became available, and March 31, 2022, when the Omicron surge was over. Additionally, the report estimates that vaccinations prevented 17 million COVID-19-related hospitalizations, about 66 million infections, and saved approximately $900 billion in healthcare costs. The report highlights the ongoing impact of US vaccination efforts and encourages efforts to increase vaccine uptake, while recognizing that nearly 1 million people have died of COVID-19 in the US since the start of the pandemic. In a statement, the White House said the report underscores the success of the nation’s historic vaccination effort and called on the US Congress to urgently authorize additional funding for the COVID-19 response. Lawmakers last week negotiated a US$10 billion COVID-19 spending deal, with no additional money for global vaccination efforts. However, debate over immigration policies delayed a vote on the legislation until after the US Senate returns from its spring recess at the end of the month.

US STATE DEPARTMENT CHINA TRAVEL ADVISORY The US Department of State on April 11 ordered all non-essential personnel and their family members in Shanghai, China, to leave and issued an advisory for US citizens to reconsider travel to China due to surges in COVID-19 cases. The State Department also cited the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related restrictions,” including the separation of children from parents, as reasons for the order and advisory. Many of Shanghai’s 26 million residents have been under strict lockdown, some for up to 3 weeks, as the nation continues to enforce its “zero COVID” strategy amid its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic. Some residents have described being unable to obtain sufficient food, water, and other essentials while confined to their homes. Mass isolation facilities are reportedly overcrowded and unsanitary. In a shocking incident, a health worker beat a pet dog to death in the street as it was chasing a bus carrying its owner to an isolation facility.

The State Department’s orders elevated diplomatic tensions, with the Chinese government expressing “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the US side's groundless accusations about China's epidemic control policy” in a Foreign Ministry statement. Additionally, the situation in Shanghai is raising fears nationwide that similar stringent measures will be imposed in other regions as COVID-19 cases rise. The WHO said it is closely monitoring the situation in China, which reported a record 27,595 new COVID-19 cases in 31 provincial-level regions on April 10.

US FEDERAL EMPLOYEE VACCINE MANDATE A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit last week lifted a nationwide injunction of US President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal government employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. In the 2-1 ruling, Judges Carl Stewart and James Dennis said the US District Court judge who originally issued the injunction did not have jurisdiction in the case, noting the plaintiffs should have raised their grievance through the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA), not in the court system. On April 11, the US Department of Justice formally asked the appeals court to immediately issue its order to allow the ruling to take effect and enable federal agencies to once again enforce the executive order. Notably, in its last accounting, the White House said 96.5% of federal employees had at least 1 dose of vaccine or are seeking religious or medical exemption from the requirement.

US LIFE EXPECTANCY The estimated US life expectancy dropped for a second year in a row in 2021, falling by just under a half a year to 76.6 years, the lowest in at least 25 years, according to a new analysis. The report, posted to medRxiv and not yet peer-reviewed, shows that US life expectancy decreased from 78.86 years in 2019 to 76.99 years in 2020, falling another 0.4 years in 2021. In the 10 years prior to the pandemic, life expectancy changed by an average of less than 0.1 year annually, according to US CDC data. The findings reflect the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the disease causing more US deaths in 2021 than in 2020. As more people became vaccinated in 2021, many other high-income countries began to see life expectancies rebound, and the researchers expected to find a similar trend in the US. However, that was not the case. For comparison, they examined data from 19 peer countries, which averaged a life expectancy decrease of 0.4 years between 2019 and 2020 and an increase of 0.28 years between 2020 and 2021, with a net loss of only 0.3 years—versus 2.26 years in the US—over the 2-year period.

US Black and Hispanic populations experienced the largest declines in life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, with the researchers blaming the country’s history of structural racism in healthcare and other inadequacies in how the country handled the pandemic for the discrepancies. Notably, the drop in US life expectancy in 2021 was driven primarily by an increase in deaths among the white population, according to the analysis, which said multiple factors—including slow vaccine uptake and the Delta variant surge—helped to fuel an increase in mortality. As more people gain some immunity to SARS-CoV-2, either through vaccination or natural infection, US life expectancy should rise again in the coming years, unless a more virulent variant emerges or another pandemic disease arises. However, a recent report from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker shows an ominous start to the current year. In January, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 45 and 84, and in February, COVID-19 killed as many people as the typical number of deaths from heart disease, according to the report.

EARLY REINFECTION A report published April 8 in the US CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describes 10 individuals who were reinfected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 within 90 days of initial infection with the Delta variant. The report represents a significant finding, as reinfection within 90 days of infection is not well understood. Early reports of reinfection were difficult to verify because a positive reading on a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) could signal prolonged viral shedding from the initial infection rather than a new infection if taken within 3 months of acute infection. For the report, researchers conducted whole genome sequencing on 10 individuals—8 children and 2 adults—to determine which variant caused the initial and subsequent infections. Only 1 of the patients had received a 2-dose primary vaccine regimen, 2 had received 1 dose, and 7 were unvaccinated. Of 8 patients with available data on symptoms, 6 experienced symptoms during both infections. The authors noted that the patients may have been at increased risk for infection due to lack of vaccination and the high likelihood of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in schools and the work and living settings of the adults.

The CDC’s report comes at a time when health officials in Canada are warning residents about the possibility of reinfection with Omicron. Experts say global data continue to support evidence that reinfection is becoming more common but symptoms during reinfection often are not worse than the initial infection. The Omicron variant has proven adept at evading immunity from natural infection and infecting individuals with 2-3 doses of mRNA-based vaccines, dashing any last hopes of herd immunity. However, vaccination remains highly protective against severe consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death, and being up-to-date on vaccinations remains the best way to protect against severe COVID-19 outcomes.

COVID-19 ESTIMATES IN AFRICA A new meta-analysis of standardized seroprevalence studies indicates that the true number of SARS-CoV-2 infections across Africa may be 97 times higher than the number of reported confirmed cases. The study—led by the WHO Solidarity Response Fund and the German Federal Ministry of Health COVID-19 Research and Development and posted to the preprint server medRxiv—evaluated more than 150 seroprevalence studies from January 2020 to December 2021 and suggests that more than two-thirds of the African population have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. From Q2 2020 to Q3 2021, seroprevalence increased markedly from 3% to 61.5%. According to the study, which is undergoing peer review, rather than the reported 8.2 million cumulative cases in September 2021, there were actually more than 800 million infections. The study also determined that seroprevalence was higher in urban areas than rural areas, with varied seroprevalence among African sub-regions, where Middle, Western, and Eastern Africa exhibited higher seroprevalence.

WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti noted in the press conference that testing strategy and capacity is a significant factor in the discrepancy between reported cases and the estimated true number of infections. Testing across the continent has largely focused on symptomatic people, particularly where there were supply constraints, resulting in an undercount of exposures and infections. Dr. Moeti highlighted the need for sustained routine testing and surveillance capacity on the continent in order to identify cases among the estimated 67% of people with COVID-19 in Africa who are asymptomatic and monitor for emerging variants.

BREAK COVID NOW SUMMIT An international donor conference last week secured US$4.8 billion in pledges for the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), the mechanism supporting the global vaccine-sharing initiative that delivers doses to lower-income countries. While reaffirming the international community’s support for COVAX, the 2022 Break COVID Now Summit—hosted by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in partnership with the governments of Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, and Senegal—fell short of its previously stated need of US$5.2 billion. Of the total commitments, innovative financing mechanisms, including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), pledged US$2.1 billion; individual nations committed US$1.7 billion; and 3 multinational development banks, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and EIB, promised US$1 billion. The funds will allow COVAX to continue shipping and supporting the delivery and administration of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in lower-income countries, as well as launch the new Pandemic Vaccine Pool to help ensure equitable access to updated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in the future. In opening remarks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres excoriated the unequal distribution of vaccines, saying one-third of the global population has yet to receive a single dose creating ideal conditions for the emergence of new variants, more deaths, and further social and economic impacts.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by ti-amie »

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced April 11 it will reinstate a citywide indoor mask mandate beginning April 18, including all public spaces such as schools, restaurants, government buildings, and other settings. The city’s number of new COVID-19 cases has increased 50% over the last 10 days, according to the department.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by ponchi101 »

I find the news about Africa to be a bit of a 'non-news'. It was well expected that the testing in the continent was really not enough.
Other than that, I keep saying it: this thing has defeated us, and now we can only keep "living with it". As terrible as that is.
(And I don't mean don't do anything. Tomorrow I return to Colombia and I plan to, and have to, wear my mask all the way. I will see if I am lucky and do not catch the bloody thing on the way home).
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

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Post by Deuce »

Do you at times not take precautions to protect yourself from COVID-19?

Do you figure that it’s OK if you get COVID-19, because it will have a minimal effect on you and you’ll easily recover?

Have you become complacent about COVID-19 in recent months, viewing it as being benign in the long term?

Read this article.
This is why I take precautions to not contract the virus...

Are You Willing to Go Through This?...

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