Covid-19 Updates & Info

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ti-amie United States of America
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2386

Post by ti-amie »

“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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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2387

Post by ponchi101 »

Here we go again. Please, no.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2388

Post by Deuce »

It never stopped.
People only pretended it stopped.
Well, the great majority of people pretended it stopped.
I didn't.
R.I.P. Amal...

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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2389

Post by dryrunguy »

Here's the latest Situation Report. Haven't read it yet.

::

REINFECTION RISK The Omicron BA.5 subvariant has quickly become the most predominant circulating variant in the US due to its ability to evade immunity from either previous infection or vaccination, dashing hopes of a COVID-19 pandemic reprieve. The subvariant is more likely to cause reinfections and is driving a wave of new infections across the country, with official US CDC data showing a daily average of around 100,000 new cases. But experts warn this represents a severe undercount of new cases, as many people are using home tests and not reporting their results to health authorities. Notably, the Walgreens COVID-19 Positivity Tracker shows a weekly 41.6% positivity rate, up nearly 9% over the prior week and the highest since the tracker began.

Prior to the emergence of the Omicron variant and its family of evasive subvariants, reinfections were rare; but now, some countries are seeing reinfections account for a larger proportion of new cases, including the UK, where roughly a quarter of new cases are reinfections. Though many believe BA.5 does not cause more severe disease than other variants, hospitalizations in many countries are rising and evidence suggests that multiple infections can increase the risk of long-term morbidities, including long COVID. Some major U.S. cities, such as New York City and Los Angeles, have reinstated or are considering reinstating mask mandates for indoor spaces, citing concerns over BA.5. Despite these actions, some worry it will be increasingly difficult to convince people to take public health precautions, as funding and mitigation measures have largely been rolled back.

BA.2.75 & BA.5.2.1 SUBVARIANTS Scientists have identified 2 new Omicron subvariants. BA.2.75 was first identified in India—where it makes up at least 25% of sequenced cases and is competing with BA.5 and BA.2—and has been identified in at least 10 other countries, including at least 3 cases in the US. Though BA.2.75 has not yet been named a variant of interest or variant of concern, several virologists are urging continued monitoring of the variant, as mutations in its spike proteins may lead to increased immune escape and an ability to outcompete BA.5. Additionally, officials in Shanghai, China, this week reported a single case of another new subvariant, BA.5.2.1. The subvariant was linked to a case in an overseas traveler and so far has not been identified in other cases.

US PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY The US government is expected to once again renew its determination that the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a public health emergency, first set in January 2020. The current extension is set to expire on July 15, when the next extension is set to take effect. The emergency designation allows millions of low-income Americans who might not otherwise be eligible to access Medicaid coverage; US regulators to authorize vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19; flexibilities around telehealth services; and states to access pandemic-related funds. The government has said it will give 60 days’ notice before ending the emergency designation to allow states and companies time to prepare. The US has averaged between 100,000 and 110,000 new daily COVID-19 cases and about 300 daily COVID-19 deaths since May.

SECOND BOOSTERS Officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden are in discussions with US FDA and CDC officials over whether to expand eligibility of second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster shots, or fourth doses, to adults under age 50 in an effort to counter waning immunity amid a wave of new infections and increasing hospitalization rates due to the Omicron BA.5 subvariant. Such a move requires regulatory authorization from the FDA and the CDC. Currently, adults aged 50 and older and those aged 12 and older who are immunocompromised are eligible for fourth doses. Experts are divided over allowing additional boosters now, with some arguing more clinical data is needed to support the shots for younger adults, while others say that people in that age group who wish to receive a fourth dose should be allowed to do so. Still others argue the Biden administration and health officials should be focused on improving primary series and first booster rates, and some experts warn that pushing a fourth dose now may diminish the importance of reformulated booster doses that are expected in the fall. Notably, Moderna released data this week showing its Omicron-containing bivalent booster candidate elicits significantly higher neutralizing antibody responses against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 compared to the currently authorized booster. Initial booster doses currently are available for anyone aged 5 years and older who has received the 2-dose primary series, but only 34% of eligible US residents have received their first booster dose.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) this week updated guidance to recommend a second vaccine booster, or fourth dose, for all individuals over age 60 as well as medically vulnerable people in Europe, as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase across the continent. In a joint statement, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides issued an urgent call for all eligible individuals to get vaccinated and boosted, saying, “There is no time to lose.” Previously, only adults over age 80 were recommended to receive a booster. In the UK, people aged 75 and older, residents in long-term care facilities, and those with weakened immune systems are eligible for second boosters.

ACCESS TO ANTIVIRALS & VACCINES Senior WHO officials are calling on nations to fill immunity gaps through increased vaccination rates and on antiviral manufacturers to improve access to COVID-19 therapeutics. The COVAX initiative has a surplus of vaccines, according to officials, and lower-income countries should focus on vaccinating healthcare workers, older adults, and other vulnerable populations to minimize the risk of COVID-19-related morbidity, including long COVID, and mortality. Additionally, the WHO called specifically on Pfizer to quickly increase access to its COVID-19 oral antiviral medication, Paxlovid, to countries that are struggling to afford or gain access to stocks of the treatment.

In the US, regulatory authorities last week expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Paxlovid to allow state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe the medicine to eligible patients. Previously, only doctors, nurses, and physician assistants were permitted to prescribe the treatment. The move raised concerns among some experts, as the use of Paxlovid can be complicated by a patient’s health status and concurrent treatments. The treatment is available at no cost to qualified patients. The US has secured the purchase of 20 million courses of Paxlovid, but only 1.7 million courses have been distributed to pharmacies nationwide. In related news, the Biden administration on July 11 announced it has secured 3.2 million doses of the Novavax protein-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, which is expected to soon receive US authorization.

The ACT-Accelerator (ACT-A) program—a collaboration among the WHO, governments, and nongovernmental organizations that works to provide equitable access to COVID-19 related tools, including vaccines through COVAX—is set to wind down operations in their current form this fall due to a lack of funding. While ACT-A likely will continue in a scaled-down form—and COVAX, which is housed at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is set to continue through 2023—the transition raises questions about how lower-income countries will access adequate supplies of vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. Notably, a new analysis from the health data group Airfinity estimates that 1.1 billion doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines—about 10% of all manufactured doses—have been wasted since late 2020 due to the inequitable global rollout of shots, vaccine hesitancy, and incorrect storage.

PFIZER-BIONTECH VACCINE FOR ADOLESCENTS The US FDA last week expanded full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 to 15 years. The vaccine, known as Comirnaty, has been available for this age group since the FDA provided emergency use authorization (EUA) in May 2021, and the agency originally approved the vaccine for individuals aged 16 years and older in August 2021. To date, more than 9 million 12-15-year-old children have received the 2-dose primary series. Pfizer and BioNTech indicated they have also filed clinical trial data for approval among this age group with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulatory agencies around the world.

PULSE OXIMETRY Pulse oximeters are an important tool for measuring the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream and have been widely used in healthcare and home settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the devices can overestimate blood oxygen levels in people with dark skin, causing Asian, Black, and Hispanic intensive care unit (ICU) patients to receive less supplemental oxygen than White ICU patients, according to a retrospective cohort study conducted prior to the pandemic and published on July 11 in JAMA Internal Medicine. These differences in performance may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in care, including among COVID-19 patients. Another recent study showed racial and ethnic differences in pulse oximetry delayed the recognition and treatment of COVID-19 among Black and Hispanic patients.

The US FDA is convening a public meeting of its Medical Devices Advisory Committee later this year to discuss available data and provide guidance to healthcare providers. The agency issued a safety communication about the issue in February 2021 urging patients and providers to be aware of the multiple factors that can affect pulse oximeter accuracy and to consider limitations when using pulse oximeters to make diagnoses and treatment decisions. Some experts are warning of the potential for continued disparate outcomes among racial and ethnic groups as technology becomes more common in healthcare and calling for more diversity in clinical trials.

WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE Wastewater surveillance can provide first-look data on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in communities, offering an early warning system for public health officials, healthcare providers, policymakers and others, but low-quality data prohibits estimating prevalence or identifying variants. To address these shortcomings, a team of scientists from Scripps Research Institute and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) developed a new method to increase the amount of viral RNA available to be sequenced in a small wastewater sample and a surveillance tool, called “Freyja,” that uses an algorithm to detect new variants more quickly and reliably, up to 2 weeks before they are identified in clinical sequencing and with enough time to take action. The study describing the work was published July 7 in the journal Nature. The testing technique shortens the time to sequence samples, from weeks to days, which may help to identify and rapidly respond to emerging variants in the future.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2390

Post by ponchi101 »

Not cheerful news. Summary: this is not longer a pandemic, it is a societal condition. Will remain with us forever.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2391

Post by dryrunguy »

That section on Pulse Oximetry... Wow. Who knew something like that was even possible? How on Earth does skin color cause a MACHINE to overestimate oxygen levels? It makes no sense at all. Clearly, I'm missing something.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2392

Post by Cuckoo4Coco »

ponchi101 wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 5:54 pm Not cheerful news. Summary: this is not longer a pandemic, it is a societal condition. Will remain with us forever.
It is something that I think we will have to get a shot for every year just like the Flu.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2393

Post by dryrunguy »

Here's the latest Situation Report.

::

EPI UPDATE The WHO COVID-19 Dashboard reports 555 million cumulative cases and 6.35 million deaths worldwide as of July 13. The global weekly incidence increased for the fifth consecutive week, up 12.5% from the previous week. As the WHO’s IHR Emergency Committee noted, there appears to be a “decoupling” of cases from deaths, as we are not observing a commensurate increase in weekly mortality at the global level. Global weekly mortality remained relatively steady at slightly more than 10,000 deaths, an increase of 1.1% over the previous week.

The African region continues to report decreasing trends in weekly incidence, down to 16,404 new cases last week—a 27% decrease from the previous week and the lowest weekly total since May 2020. South-East Asia increased for the sixth consecutive week, but it appears to be reaching a peak or plateau. The Americas reported a slight decrease last week, but considering that included the US Independence Day holiday weekend, it could be a residual effect of delayed reporting. All other regions reported substantial increases last week: Eastern Mediterranean (+24.7%), Europe (+15.9%; and now its third-highest peak), and Western Pacific (+27.9%).

UNITED STATES
The US CDC is reporting 88.8 million cumulative cases of COVID-19 and 1,017,391 deaths. The average daily incidence has essentially plateaued over the past several weeks, holding relatively steady at approximately 100-110,000 new cases per day, although it may be exhibiting early signs of increasing. The weekly average jumped from 109,828 new cases per day on July 10 to 123,365 on July 12 (+12%); however, additional data are needed to determine if this is the beginning of a longer-term trend or just recovery from delayed reporting over the US Independence Day holiday weekend. The 185,786 new cases reported on July 12 is the second-highest single day total since the plateau began, and it is the highest in a non-holiday week since February.* Like we observed at the global level, there appears to be a “decoupling” of cases from deaths in the US. The average daily mortality has held relatively steady at approximately 275-350 deaths per day since late April.*
*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.

Both new hospital admissions (+12.0% over the past week) and current hospitalizations (+11.4%) continue to increase, despite the ongoing plateau in daily incidence. New hospitalizations among children aged 17 years and younger are approaching its second-highest peak (November 2021). The most rapid increases in current hospitalizations are being reported in Alabama (+22%), Arkansas (+30%), Louisiana (+21%), New Hampshire (+24%), Oklahoma (+21%), Rhode Island (+22%), South Carolina (+39%), and West Virginia (+24%).

Community transmission in the US is increasingly driven by the Omicron BA.5 sublineage. BA.5 is projected to have accounted for more than half of sequenced specimens starting the week of July 2, and the estimate reached 65% for the week of July 9. The BA.4 sublineage is also increasing in prevalence, although much more slowly than BA.5. The BA.4 sublineage increased from an estimated 16.1% to 16.3% over the past 2 weeks, and we expect it to replace BA.2.12.1 as #2 nationally in the coming weeks. Together, Omicron variants represent essentially all new cases in the US.

COVID-19 REMAINS PHEIC In a meeting on July 8, the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee recommended that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to constitute Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the committee’s twelfth such meeting since the onset of the pandemic. On July 12, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a statement indicating that he concurred with the committee’s recommendation and presented minutes from the meeting. He also called on national governments to implement appropriate protective measures, noting that many countries have essentially lifted all COVID-19 restrictions, which is allowing transmission to spread largely unabated.

The committee members emphasized the ongoing uncertainty and unpredictability of the pandemic, particularly in the context of emerging variant characteristics and the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Additionally, the global daily COVID-19 incidence has increased 30% over the past 2 weeks, although the committee acknowledged that recent data indicates a “decoupling” of cases from hospitalizations and mortality, due in large part to vaccination coverage and therapeutic availability. As has been the case since the onset of the pandemic, the expert committee also highlighted shortcomings in disease surveillance capacity around the world, and it specifically addressed challenges posed by rapid at-home tests and the need to incorporate those results into national surveillance data. The COVID-19 pandemic was first declared a PHEIC on January 30, 2020.

NOVAVAX VACCINE EUA The US FDA on July 13 granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Novavax, a small Maryland-based biotechnology company, for use of its 2-dose primary series COVID-19 vaccine among adults ages 18 years and older. The FDA authorized the vaccine based on data from the company’s Phase 3 clinical trial, PREVENT-19, which demonstrated 90.4% efficacy in preventing mild, moderate, or severe COVID-19 among about 17,200 study participants who received the vaccine. The vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the US that uses a more traditional protein-based platform. FDA advisors expressed hope that the vaccine’s authorization may convince individuals skeptical of mRNA vaccines to seek vaccination. On July 12, prior to the FDA’s EUA announcement, the US government announced it secured an initial 3.2 million doses of the Novavax vaccine. The US CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to meet next week and is expected to recommend use of the vaccine for adults.

VACCINE PLATFORM COMPARISON According to an expert review of 79 real-world studies, available 2-dose vaccines meant to prevent COVID-19 are equally protective against hospitalization (91-93%) and death (91-93%) from COVID-19 whether they use a viral vector or mRNA platform. The study, published in the journal Expert Review of Vaccines, compared data for 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines, or a combination of the shots, and AstraZeneca-Oxford’s viral vector vaccine Vaxzevria. The data reflected protection against Delta and earlier SARS-CoV-2 variants, although emerging data from the UK Health Security Agency and public health agencies in Brazil indicate similar levels of protection from severe COVID-19 health outcomes due to the Omicron variant after a booster, or third, dose. New analysis from Airfinity, a London-based data firm, shows that the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines saved an estimated 12 million lives in their first year of use (December 2020 to December 2021), with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine accounting for 5.9 million and the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine for 6.3 million lives saved.

VACCINE ACCESS Health officials worldwide continue to warn of the risks of increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to the Omicron subvariant BA.5, now predominant in several regions, with many recommending fourth vaccine doses, or second booster shots, for specific populations. In the US, in an effort to stem increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations, fourth doses may soon become available to all adults, according to health officials. In Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) this week updated guidance to recommend a second vaccine booster for all individuals over age 60 as well as medically vulnerable people in Europe. Additionally, the WHO European Technical Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (ETAGE) urged EU member states to ensure people are up-to-date on their vaccinations and encouraged expanding eligibility for second booster doses to include moderately and severely immunocompromised individuals aged 5 years and above and their close contacts, older adults, healthcare workers, and pregnant women.

Meanwhile, Africa—where only 20% of the population is fully vaccinated—continues to be left behind. Without the ability to manufacture vaccines or outcompete wealthier nations in securing purchases directly from pharmaceutical companies, the continent, as well as low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in other regions, are relying on charity from higher-income countries, including the US. But rather than global solidarity, vaccine nationalism and hoarding during the first year of COVID-19 vaccine availability resulted in a 2-tier vaccine rollout that ultimately led to vaccine waste and low vaccination rates in LMICs. Now, health leaders in Africa and elsewhere are calling for a restructuring of the global health architecture with a focus on inclusivity, equity, and partnership to enable LMICs to establish vaccine and medicine research, development, and manufacturing capabilities. In one effort, 15 nations in the global south are working with the WHO and other groups to establish the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub, an initiative aimed at empowering lower-income countries to develop and produce their own vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases and ultimately lessen their dependence on higher-income countries.

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE Between 2012 and 2017, the number of deaths from antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections in the US declined 18% overall and nearly 30% in hospitals due in large part to prevention efforts such as improving infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship. But those gains were largely reversed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both drug-resistant hospital-acquired infections and deaths increased at least 15% in 2020, according to a new US CDC analysis. Several factors likely contributed to the setback, including a shift in public health resources from tracking and preventing antimicrobial resistance to COVID-19 efforts; the incorrect use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients, which is a viral, not bacterial, disease; sicker patients needing more frequent and longer use of invasive care, such as catheters and ventilators; and overwhelmed hospitals that experienced shortages of staff, personal protective equipment, and other supplies.

The CDC estimates that more than 2.8 million AMR infections occur annually in the US, with 35,000 people dying of those infections. But the total number of AMR-related deaths in 2020 is likely much higher, according to the report. In a forward, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky wrote that the setbacks in preventing AMR infections “can and must be temporary,” noting that the COVID-19 pandemic’s major takeaway is that “prevention is preparedness.” In related news, the WHO this week released its first-ever report on the pipeline of vaccines currently in development for AMR bacterial pathogens, including several in late-stage development that address diseases on the bacterial priority pathogens list.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Many people with disabilities in the US, including those who are immunocompromised, feel left behind as COVID-19 mitigation measures are lifted and the world attempts to find a new sense of normalcy. According to a survey conducted in April by Data for Progress, 57% of disabled people surveyed believe masks should be required on public transportation and 64% feel they should be required for air travel. People with disabilities and their advocates are calling for additional efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, such as requirements to wear a mask in public spaces, investments in indoor air filtration improvements, and more widespread wastewater surveillance to help predict community transmission levels. They point out that as the number of people with disabilities increases—specifically those who develop post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), commonly known as long COVID—more public health measures aimed at stemming disease transmission are vital to provide a sense of safety for everyone.

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

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Post by dryrunguy »

Here's the latest Situation Report. Haven't read it yet.

::

CONCERN OVER BA.5 SUBVARIANT As the Omicron subvariant BA.5 drives increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in several regions and countries worldwide, health officials are, for the most part, holding back on sounding alarms. In the US, where the average number of cases and hospitalizations are at their highest levels since February, many state and local health authorities are characterizing the increase in cases as concerning but not disturbing, with many saying repeated warnings about COVID-19 surges are falling on pandemic-fatigued ears. However, US health officials are speaking out. White House COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha has warned the BA.5 subvariant is the most immune evasive variant yet, urging US residents to stay up to date on their vaccines and expressing support for the reinstatement of mask mandates. Chief Medical Advisor to the US President Dr. Anthony Fauci called on eligible people to get vaccine boosters and said a decision about boosters for those under age 50 likely will soon be announced. In Europe, the WHO announced today that COVID-19 case numbers have tripled and hospitalizations have doubled across Europe over the past 6 weeks. WHO Europe Director Dr. Hans Kluge warned that people should not underestimate BA.5, calling on nations to bolster vaccine uptake and require mask wearing.

A dearth of data is complicating the true picture of how big BA.5-driven surges are, or will get, as publicly reported data has become less common due to the closing of testing sites and an increase in at-home test use. Some experts estimate that for every 1 reported case, there are 7-10 unreported cases. Additionally, BA.5 has several spike protein mutations that make it better at infecting human cells and evading immunity from vaccination or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. These capabilities allowed the subvariant to gain predominance in the US in just over 2 months, and it is now causing 3 of every 4 new COVID-19 cases in the nation. BA.5 is so adept at skirting immune defenses that many people who were recently infected with a different Omicron variant are becoming reinfected. Some studies suggest that reinfections could cause lasting symptoms. And as the virus continues to circulate, there is a real risk of further mutations, meaning we likely will be living with some form of the virus for the foreseeable future.

VACCINE BOOSTERS The administration of US President Joe Biden is pressing the need for US residents aged 50 years and older and immunocompromised individuals to get their second COVID-19 vaccine booster as soon as possible due to the immune-evasive nature of the Omicron subvariant BA.5, as well as said a decision is expected soon about additional booster doses for all adults. According to US CDC estimates, BA.5 is now responsible for 78% of all new COVID-19 cases. Officials have stressed that booster doses provide additional protection against earlier Omicron subvariants and potentially later subvariants as well. However, current boosters have not yet been updated to more specifically target Omicron and its subvariants, leaving a dilemma for eligible individuals about whether to get a booster now or wait for updated versions. Additionally, some experts wonder and worry whether BA.5 will even be the predominant variant in the fall, potentially making new boosters less effective than expected.

Only 34% of the US population aged 5 years or older has received their first booster dose, COVID-19 pandemic response funding is dwindling, and public appetite for continued vaccinations is diminishing. All of these uncertainties create a perfect storm for risk communication difficulties for experts and officials alike, uncertain of the best course to recommend and how to inform the public about their choices. Some experts hope that next-generation vaccines, such as nasal vaccines—which may have a higher chance of preventing not just severe disease outcomes but also infection—or pan-coronavirus vaccines—which may work better against future variants as well as current variants—may help to boost vaccination rates. Additionally, the CDC is expected to make an announcement about its recommendations for the newly authorized Novavax vaccine later today. Some hope the protein-based vaccine also will help boost vaccination rates among unvaccinated individuals.

In related news, the British government on July 15 announced that individuals aged 50 or older, certain individuals in high-risk professions, and individuals over age 5 who are more likely to be at risk of severe disease outcomes will be eligible for a second booster dose in the fall. The announcement broadens eligibility beyond those who are aged 65 years and older.

YOUNG CHILD VACCINATIONS US medical experts and public health officials are expressing concern over low demand for COVID-19 vaccinations for the youngest children under age 5 and those ages 5-11. States were charged with ordering doses commensurate to expected demand, but some states’ orders only cover a small fraction of their child residents. For example, Mississippi has ordered enough vaccine doses to cover only 16% of its under-5 population with 1 dose. Florida did not preorder any doses for its under-5 population. Many parents there are struggling to find medical practitioners and health systems, which were able to independently order doses, that can provide the shots. The impacts are highest among families in underserved areas and those who rely on government-run health services. However, other experts caution that some states’ initial orders may not reflect future demands and childhood COVID-19 vaccination coverage. They say several factors may change over time, such as available vaccine storage, rampant misinformation, limited initial appointment slots, pushback from parents, reimbursement and logistical challenges, and some practitioners preferring to wait for full FDA approval prior to delivering vaccinations to younger populations.

Relatedly, Europe also may soon be administering vaccines to young children, as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on July 18 began reviewing Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for use in children aged 6 months to 4 years. Notably, increasing vaccination rates among young children at this point in the global response is paramount and could provide high impact. A recent study in JAMA Network Open found that antibody levels in previously infected individuals waned quickly over the first 200 days post-infection, with levels dropping most quickly in children under age 6.

WESTERN PACIFIC REGION A new wave of COVID-19 cases has hit the Western Pacific region, largely driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. In Japan, cases are rising in every prefecture. The 7-day rolling average of new daily cases has surpassed February’s Omicron peak, and transmission does not seem to be slowing. The situation was further complicated by a 3-day weekend that saw high levels of activity at beaches and other tourist hotspots. The Japanese government is now trying to balance keeping the nation running with few restrictions while preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. Cases also are rising in South Korea, where experts are predicting 200,000 daily cases by late-August, which would amount to half of the nation’s previous Omicron wave in March.

Hospitals in several Australian states are reaching capacity under the nation’s latest surge. Experts warn that while many emergency rooms are overwhelmed, most areas of the nation remain weeks away from their expected peak hospitalization rates. The situation is further complicated by a worse than average influenza season. According to data from the New York Times, New Zealand—a nation famous for early successes against COVID-19—now has the third highest daily confirmed rate of cases per 100,000 people of all nations, after Brunei and San Marino. Experts are concerned that the strain of new cases could lead to a collapse of the nation’s healthcare workforce. As a result, New Zealand officials are urging a renewed sense of urgency around COVID-19 precautions, including masking and testing.

In China, approximately 264 million people across 41 cities are under full or partial lockdown as part of the nation’s zero-COVID policy. Health experts are worried that the zero-COVID policy could become difficult to maintain given the increased transmissibility of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. Some larger Chinese cities are rolling out new measures, such as mass testing and intense lockdowns, to try to curb the spread of the virus. There are growing concerns that increased COVID-19 prevention measures could further destabilize a struggling global economy.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS Fears of a global economic recession are on the rise. The global economic web was unsettled earlier this year when Russia invaded Ukraine, lowering the availability of energy, fertilizer, and food supplies. However, the largest disruptor of economic growth is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The early phases of the pandemic disrupted the production of goods and the availability of services when governments implemented lockdowns to prevent transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, the lockdowns prompted those stuck at home to begin ordering enormous volumes of goods over the internet. The combination of laborers stuck at home plus sky-high demand resulted in a global supply chain crisis. The supply chain crisis pushed prices for goods and services higher, and some industries have taken advantage of the global instability and their market dominance to secure record-breaking profits. Additional factors impacting inflation in the United States include an aggressive stimulus initiative and hesitancy by the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates.

The COVID-19 pandemic also is responsible for economic downturns in other nations with a large impact on the global market, including China. China has adopted an aggressive and highly controversial zero-COVID policy that has led to forced lockdowns in many of the country's large cities. The lockdowns have prevented normal industrial operations that supply a large portion of the world’s manufactured goods. The disruption in production and shipping of goods has significantly slowed growth for the Chinese economy, which shrank by 2.6% during the latest quarter. This slowdown, which denotes a growth of only 0.4% from the end of June last year, represents the lowest growth rate since early 2020, when the nation completely shut down to fight the pandemic. The latest economic reports have cast doubt on whether China can reach its 5.5% growth target for the year set by the ruling Communist party.

However, a couple of recent studies hint that aggressive COVID-19 responses might limit economic damage in the long-term. One study, an assessment of business closure policies in New York City published by the International Monetary Fund, set out to determine the impact of closures in specific industries on the spread of COVID-19. According to the results, reopening businesses early allowed New York City to recover functionality as an economic hub but at the cost of a large wave of infections in 2020. The study also found that an alternative policy that extended lockdowns made future travel safer and was ultimately more cost-effective. Another study, examining the impact of long COVID on the workforce of the UK, estimated that 80,000 people have left the UK workforce due to long COVID as of March 2022. According to the authors, continued pandemic waves will lead to more people missing work, losing jobs, or permanently leaving the workforce due to long COVID. While many experts agree that a zero-COVID policy is unrealistic, it is becoming rapidly apparent that pretending like the pandemic is over may also lead to long-term and impactful health and economic consequences.

GLOBAL VACCINE ACCESS Last month, the 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference agreed to a version of a proposal for a global intellectual property waiver to allow countries to more easily use patented technologies to develop COVID-19 vaccines. Originally proposed only a few months into the pandemic by India and South Africa, and endorsed by more than 100 other nations, the approved deal on a Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) waiver is much narrower in scope than the original proposal and likely comes too late to make a significant impact on vaccine access. The deal does not include intellectual property waivers for diagnostics, treatments, or other COVID-19-related medical tools, and it excludes countries with “existing” production capacity. The power imbalances in both the COVID-19 pandemic and the WTO negotiations are apparent, from vaccine nationalism to sluggish negotiations. But over the past 2 years, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from South America to Africa have worked to solidify plans to cooperate on mRNA technologies in order to develop and produce their own versions of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and other diseases. This effort to collaboratively develop an mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub, which is supported by the WHO and the US NIH, must overcome significant challenges but provides hope for a new model to enable more LMICs to overcome future disease outbreaks more effectively, without having to rely on high-income countries or corporations.

MENSTRUAL CYCLES When COVID-19 vaccines became widely available in 2021, recipients were made aware of the potential for adverse events—including fever, fatigue, headache, and pain at the injection site—because the side effects were documented in clinical trials. But those clinical trials did not track effects on the menstrual cycle. After hearing hundreds of anecdotes from people who experienced temporary irregularities in menstruation after receiving a vaccination, such as heavier bleeding or breakthrough or unexpected bleeding, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis surveyed more than 39,000 menstruating or previously menstruating people ages 18 to 80 years old who were fully vaccinated and had no history of COVID-19.

The survey results, published July 15 in Science Advances, show that 42% of people with regular menstrual cycles bled more heavily than usual after receiving a vaccine dose, 44% reported no change, and about 14% reported lighter bleeding. Among people who were not menstruating at the time of vaccination, including those who are post-menopause or who use long-term contraceptives or hormones, many experienced breakthrough bleeding. The authors note the study has several limitations, such as not having a control group, but they say more attention to people’s experiences can help to gain a better understanding of the issue, provide evidence for further research, and build trust in medicine by offering vaccine recipients warning that they may experience menstrual irregularities.

CRUISE SHIPS The US CDC announced on July 18 that its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships is no longer in effect. Although the agency will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships provide safer and healthier environments for crews and passengers, the color-coded chart and spreadsheet that detailed the level of spread on ships is no longer available. According to a statement in the webpage’s FAQ section, the CDC is ending the program because it depended on each cruise line having the same testing and screening guidelines, which now all differ among companies. However, cruise ships will continue to report COVID-19 cases to the CDC, and passengers have the option of directly contacting their cruise line for information on outbreaks aboard their ship.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2395

Post by ponchi101 »

dryrunguy wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:44 pm A dearth of data is complicating the true picture of how big BA.5-driven surges are, or will get, as publicly reported data has become less common due to the closing of testing sites and an increase in at-home test use. Some experts estimate that for every 1 reported case, there are 7-10 unreported cases.
I gather that is how it will be. Just came back from the market and there was a C19 testing site. A few people, but nothing out of the ordinary. So people simply will not get tested, until the symptoms are severe. It will mean more people walking the streets with full bloom infections.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2396

Post by Cuckoo4Coco »

ponchi101 wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 7:13 pm
dryrunguy wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:44 pm A dearth of data is complicating the true picture of how big BA.5-driven surges are, or will get, as publicly reported data has become less common due to the closing of testing sites and an increase in at-home test use. Some experts estimate that for every 1 reported case, there are 7-10 unreported cases.
I gather that is how it will be. Just came back from the market and there was a C19 testing site. A few people, but nothing out of the ordinary. So people simply will not get tested, until the symptoms are severe. It will mean more people walking the streets with full bloom infections.
And then when the symptoms get severe for tons of people and the lines are huge for testing and they become short of supplies for testing then people will complain about that.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2397

Post by MJ2004 »

Boston.com has had a Covid-19 link on their home page for the daily numbers, etc. Today, just as cases are increasing and the city of Boston is once again asking people to wear masks indoors, the link has disappeared from the site.
Nothing to see here.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2398

Post by dryrunguy »

Here's the latest Situation Report. Lots going on here...

::

EPI UPDATE The WHO COVID-19 Dashboard reports 562.7 million cumulative cases and 6.37 million deaths worldwide as of July 20. The global weekly incidence remained relatively stable after an increasing trend for the past 5 weeks, up 1.54% from the previous week. Global weekly mortality also remained stable, rising 0.5% over the previous week with 11,257 total reported deaths.

At the regional level, the Western Pacific (+37.83%), Americas (+9.53%), and Southeast Asia (+5.25%) experienced increases in new cases, while Europe (-13.88%), the Eastern Mediterranean (-3.88%), and Africa (-21.91%) regions had decreasing trends. The number of new weekly deaths increased in the Southeast Asia (+20%), Eastern Mediterranean (+15%), and Americas (+7%) regions, decreased in the Africa (-39%) and Europe (-14%) regions, and remained stable in the Western Pacific region.

UNITED STATES
The US CDC is reporting 89.7 million cumulative cases of COVID-19 and 1,020,355 deaths. After plateauing over the past several weeks around 100-110,000 new cases per day, the weekly average increased to 126,018 on July 19. The average daily mortality has held relatively steady at approximately 275-350 deaths per day since late April.*
*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.

Both new hospital admissions (+7.8% over the past week) and current hospitalizations (+6.9%) continue to increase, possibly reflecting the slight increase in daily incidence.

Community transmission in the US is primarily driven by the Omicron BA.5 sublineage. BA.5 is projected to have accounted for more than half of sequenced specimens starting the week of July 2, and the estimate reached 77.9% for the week of July 16. The BA.4 sublineage accounts for a smaller proportion of cases and appears to be decreasing in prevalence. The BA.4 sublineage fell from an estimated 16% over the past 2 weeks to 12.8% the week of July 16, and is now outpacing BA.2.12.1 as the second most prevalent sublineage. Together, Omicron variants represent essentially all new cases in the US.

NOVAVAX VACCINE The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on July 19 voted 12-0 to recommend the use of the Novavax recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine as a 2-dose primary series for adults aged 18 years and older. Within hours of the vote, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky endorsed the recommendation, prompting a rollout over the coming weeks of 3.2 million doses the US has secured. As the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized in the US, the Novavax vaccine offers a more traditional vaccine technology, which some hope will prompt US vaccination holdouts wary of the newer mRNA technology to get vaccinated. The approach is similar to that of vaccines for influenza and HPV—protein-based vaccines that make the immune system recognize modified pieces of the target virus. In a statement, US President Joe Biden, who today tested positive for COVID-19, applauded the news and noted vaccines continue to protect people from serious COVID-19-related illness, hospitalizations, and death. President Biden, who is up to date on his vaccinations, also encouraged US residents to vaccinate their children and get a booster dose if they are eligible.

VACCINE-INDUCED IMMUNITY Virologists and health officials are trying to stay one step ahead of the constantly mutating SARS-CoV-2 virus in order to develop future vaccines, treatments, and other interventions. However, those predictions are complicated, with experts depending on modeling based on what we already understand about the virus. Several recently published studies examine how well current vaccines elicit immunity against Omicron variants.

Published July 19 in Science, a study of spike protein function and neutralizing capability of 7 different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines against Omicron sublineages shows that a large number of the sublineage mutations lead to enhanced ACE2 binding and reduced plasma neutralizing activity. However, homologous or heterologous boosters markedly increased neutralizing antibody titers against BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.2, and BA.4/5 across all vaccines evaluated to provide sufficient protection against Omicron-induced severe disease. The vaccines evaluated included mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, viral-vectored vaccines from J&J-Janssen, AstraZeneca-Oxford, and Sputnik V, as well as the Novavax and Sinopharm vaccines that use different platforms.

Another study, published in Cell Reports Medicine and led by researchers at NIAID, examined a “mix and match” booster strategy. The findings suggest that nearly all vaccine combinations elicited high levels of neutralizing antibodies against the BA.1 sublineage, but antibody levels remained low in the group that received the J&J-Janssen vaccine for both primary series and booster dose. Notably, the neutralizing antibody levels of all groups decreased substantially (2.4-5.3 fold) by the third month following the booster dose, which is consistent with real-world reports of waning immunity over time.

Another preprint study posted to medRxiv evaluated a 3- or 4-dose regime of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, showing that the fourth dose elicited “significant rise in antibody binding and neutralizing titers against multiple variants” and reduced the risk of symptomatic infection. In the 3-dose group, 45% of participants developed infection during the 90-day follow up period compared to 30% in the 4-dose group. The study notes that several IgG and IgA markers and their combinations were correlates of protection (COP). The paper also recommends further study of a subpopulation identified with low-baseline antibody levels after 3 doses who were at increased risk of infection despite receiving a fourth dose.

COVID-19 TREATMENTS Researchers continue efforts to develop COVID-19 treatments for people with mild disease or those who are not at high risk of progressing to severe illness. Several treatments, including monoclonal antibodies and antivirals, are authorized for people at high risk of severe disease, but those medicines might not benefit people who fall into lower risk categories. Pfizer recently announced it is ceasing enrollment into its clinical trial evaluating whether the antiviral Paxlovid would help standard-risk patients, saying they could not obtain sufficient data on whether the drug prevented hospitalization or death in this population. Some COVID-19 patients are turning to unproven or alternative treatments, whether they qualify for authorized medicines or not. Additionally, some individuals with long COVID are seeking out experimental therapies, such as “blood washing,” due to a lack of treatments for lasting COVID-19 symptoms. For some, distrust—in the healthcare system, research methods, or doctors—is the reason they seek out often expensive and potentially useless or even harmful therapies. But others feel desperate for help when they test positive, as there are no COVID-19-specific treatments currently recommended for people who do not fall into a high-risk category.

US PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS The administration of US President Joe Biden is reorganizing the US Department of Health and Human Services to elevate the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) from a staff division into an independent operating division—similar to the US CDC, FDA, and NIH—responsible for leading the nation’s responses to future pandemics and health emergencies. Under the reorganization, ASPR will now be known as the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and efforts to stand up the new division will be phased in over the next 2 years. ASPR oversees the Strategic National Stockpile, the national Medical Reserve Corps, and contracts for and distribution of vaccines and certain medicines in health emergencies. Though many current and former HHS officials welcomed the move, other experts say that shifting some health emergency coordination responsibilities to ASPR could undercut response efficacy, create confusion and tension, and does not address ongoing challenges at CDC, which has much closer relationships with states.

US GLOBAL RESPONSE Funding for the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) global COVID-19 response efforts will soon run dry if the US Congress does not authorize additional financing, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Dr. Atul Gawande warned at a healthcare summit this week. USAID is responsible for coordinating US global COVID-19 response efforts, helping more than 120 countries address the pandemic over the past 2.5 years, delivering nearly 566 million vaccine doses of the 1.1 billion the US has pledged to donate, as well as providing diagnostics, treatments, and other tools. But funding for the agency’s COVID-19 task force ran out last month, and Congress has not moved to reauthorize financing for the program, which needs a minimum of US$5 billion to continue operations.

Also this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Hayashi Yoshimasa co-hosted a virtual COVID-19 Global Action Plan (GAP) Foreign Ministerial Meeting with representatives of more than 25 countries, the African Union, WHO, and World Bank. The meeting was a follow-up to the June 15 COVID-19 Senior Officials Meeting, and came in the same week Japan set a record for new daily COVID-19 cases, exceeding 180,000 cases today. Participants discussed the ongoing need for equitable and sustainable access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments, as well as ways to close gaps in vaccine confidence, distribution, uptake, and funding, for both the current pandemic and future health emergencies. In remarks, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that the number of global COVID-19 cases is elevated again, lauded the establishment of a new Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) at the World Bank, and called on nations to work toward ending the acute phase of the pandemic by focusing on vaccinating at-risk populations and reaching the WHO goal of 70% vaccination coverage in all nations.

BERLIN DECLARATION Many nations remain significantly behind in their efforts to reach a WHO goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population against COVID-19. The latest data from Our World in Data show that only 1 in 7 people in low-income countries are fully vaccinated compared with 3 in 4 people in high-income countries. Activists across the world are calling for a renewed push to close this gap, particularly as circulating and emerging variants threaten to put additional strain on healthcare systems and avert available response tools. As new COVID-19 cases rise once again in several regions, many organizations are focused both on COVID-19 and future pandemic responses, including bolstering healthcare system infrastructure.

On July 19, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) published the Berlin Declaration, a set of recommendations for strengthening equitable vaccine access for future health crises. IFPMA represents many biopharmaceutical players, including many of the companies involved in COVID-19 product development, like Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, GSK, and Merck. The Berlin Declaration lays out lessons learned in the global response to COVID-19 and proposes using several approaches—including donations, not-for-profit supply, voluntary licenses, and tiered-pricing systems—to help ensure pandemic interventions are available to countries of all income levels. However, the declaration says the first step is for lower-income countries to develop infrastructure to receive and deliver vaccines and other medical countermeasures and calls on the G7, G20, and other global stakeholders to take steps to accelerate resource and financial capacity for countries to strengthen product delivery infrastructure. In reaction to the Berlin Declaration, which is not legally binding, some advocates accused the pharmaceutical industry of shifting blame and onus onto lower-income nations and shirking public responsibility to equitably supply health interventions, some of which were developed using public funding.
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2399

Post by ti-amie »

Thanks Dry!
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Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#2400

Post by mmmm8 »

ponchi101 wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 7:13 pm
dryrunguy wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:44 pm A dearth of data is complicating the true picture of how big BA.5-driven surges are, or will get, as publicly reported data has become less common due to the closing of testing sites and an increase in at-home test use. Some experts estimate that for every 1 reported case, there are 7-10 unreported cases.
I gather that is how it will be. Just came back from the market and there was a C19 testing site. A few people, but nothing out of the ordinary. So people simply will not get tested, until the symptoms are severe. It will mean more people walking the streets with full bloom infections.
People are getting tested at home. The trend with this latest variant, anecdotally, is that it doesn't show up on tests until days in, after symptoms have started subsiding for those who are symptomatic.

I think the 7-10 unreported for every reported is a low estimate. I know more than 10 people who'd been sick in the last 2-3 weeks. I think only one of them got tested at a testing site and all the people I know are fairly responsible and believe in the science.
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