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FDA Grants Full Approval for COVID Treatment Remdesivir in Young Kids + More
FDA Grants Full Approval for COVID Treatment Remdesivir in Young Kids
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday gave its first full approval for a COVID-19 treatment for children under 12. The agency granted approval to the treatment remdesivir, also known as Veklury, made by Gilead Sciences, which has already been approved as a treatment for adults.
The treatment was earlier under emergency use authorization for children. Full approval from the FDA provides a more formal and higher level of endorsement than emergency authorization.
Still, the FDA stressed that remdesivir is not a replacement for vaccination, and there is still no authorized vaccine for children under 5, a source of stress and disappointment for some parents.
CDC Estimates 3 in 4 Kids Have Had Coronavirus Infections
Three out of every four U.S. children have been infected with the coronavirus, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers estimated in a report Tuesday.
The researchers examined blood samples from more than 200,000 Americans and looked for virus-fighting antibodies made from infections, not vaccines. They found that signs of past infection rose dramatically between December and February, when the more contagious Omicron variant surged through the U.S.
The most striking increase was in children. The percentage of those 17 and under with antibodies rose from about 45% in December to about 75% in February.
“I did expect it to increase. I did not expect it to increase quite this much,” said Dr. Kristie Clarke, co-leader of a CDC team that tracks the extent of coronavirus infections.
Experts Fear U.S. May Default to Annual COVID Boosters Without Sufficient Data
A number of vaccine experts are concerned the United States may be sleepwalking into a policy of recommending annual COVID-19 vaccine boosters — without having generated the evidence to show they are actually needed.
Already, the Food and Drug Administration has authorized second boosters — or fourth doses — for people aged 50 and older, even though neither that agency nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have explicitly urged people to get them. Based on recent meetings of panels that advise the FDA and the CDC, many vaccine experts assume another booster will be recommended in the fall in anticipation of a possible surge in COVID activity during the cold and flu season next winter.
Meanwhile, several vaccine manufacturers have said annual boosters will be needed and are working on combined flu and COVID vaccines that could be deployed every autumn.
The developments have some experts warning that the U.S. may be headed toward a policy of annual boosters as a sort of default position, not one arrived at by careful scrutiny of the evidence on how well vaccine protection is holding up.
Adolescents Accounted for Larger Share of Suicides in Many States in 2020
Adolescents accounted for a larger share of suicides across 14 states in 2020 than they did over the previous five years, according to research published Monday.
The findings were described in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics, as medical groups and health experts increasingly sound the alarm about the soaring mental health challenges of young people.
For the new study, a team of Boston-based researchers compared the number of suicides among children and teenagers ages 10 to 19 in 2020 to the average from 2015 to 2019. They then analyzed the totals in relation to suicides across all age groups. The results showed that adolescents accounted for a larger share of all suicides in 2020 — 6.5% — than they did during the five previous years, 5.9%.
Global Fight Against COVID Hitting a Snag
Global health advocates, including WHO officials, are concerned that the U.S. and European countries are beginning to ease pandemic guidance and funding — affecting the world’s response to COVID-19.
Many Western governments are relaxing public health guidelines such as mask mandates and dropping COVID-19 financing from budgets. But here in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa, officials are still trying to ramp up primary vaccinations. The differing strategies muddle the direction of the global health community’s fight and have led to tensions with leaders who emphasize the virus still poses a threat.
Who’s Least Likely to Get a ‘Breakthrough’ Case of COVID?
U.S. News & World Report reported:
Are you vaccinated and wonder what your chances are of a breakthrough COVID-19 infection? A new study answers that question: Breakthrough COVID infections in fully vaccinated people are least likely to occur in those who’ve received an mRNA vaccine and who were infected with the coronavirus before vaccination.
The study included more than 8 million adults in Belgium, aged 18 and older, who were fully vaccinated between Feb. 1 and Dec. 5, 2021. From 14 days after their second dose, they were followed for up to an average of 150 days.
People who received a viral vector vaccine (Oxford/AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) had a higher risk of a breakthrough infection than those who received an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna).
The study also found that people who received the Moderna vaccine had a 32% lower risk of breakthrough infection than those who received the Pfizer vaccine.
New COVID Vaccine Is Developed by University of Washington. What Makes It Different?
The University of Washington developed a vaccine for COVID-19 and plans to ship millions of doses to South Korea once it’s authorized, UW Medicine announced in an April 25 news release. The vaccine, GPB510, was found to be “safe and effective during a multinational trial of more than 4,000 adults,” the news release said.
The scientists who developed the vaccine were hoping to create a “second-generation” version that could help aid vaccination efforts across the globe, according to the release. Unlike other COVID-19 vaccines, including Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, doses of GPB510 remain “stable without deep freezing,” the university said.
Genetic Sign of Aging Linked to Risk of Fatal COVID
U.S. News & World Report reported:
It’s known that certain chronic health conditions up the odds of death from COVID-19. Now, new research identifies another risk factor.
Shorter telomeres are associated with an increased likelihood of death from COVID-19, particularly in older women, researchers say.
Telomeres are protective caps on the end of chromosomes (DNA) that shorten with age. Previous research has linked shorter telomeres with a number of age-related diseases, including cancer and osteoarthritis, and a higher risk of infections.
EXCLUSIVE EU to Move Away From Emergency Phase of COVID Pandemic — Document
The European Commission is set to say the EU has entered a new post-emergency phase of the pandemic in which testing should be targeted and monitoring of COVID-19 cases should be similar to sample-based flu surveillance, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
The shift comes amid a gradual drop in cases and a fall in the number of deaths linked to COVID-19, thanks to the spread of the less virulent Omicron variant and the immunization of over 70% of the EU population, with half of the population having received also a booster shot.
Poor Sleep Linked to More Mood Disorders During Pandemic
U.S. News & World Report reported:
Having trouble getting your shut-eye during the COVID-19 pandemic? You may be at increased risk for anxiety, depression and other mental health struggles.
That’s the key takeaway from an analysis of data collected from nearly 5,000 people who wore a digital sleep device before and during the pandemic.
The authors also examined responses to a June 2020 survey on mental health completed by about 15% of those users.
We Need to Stop Indiscriminately Testing for COVID. It’s Harming Our Kids + More
We Need to Stop Indiscriminately Testing for COVID. It’s Harming Our Kids.
There is a pervasive notion in the United States that doing more to fight any disease is always better. It’s a sentiment that’s only grown during the pandemic. In truth, we live in a world of tradeoffs with downsides to most medical interventions — which means that the ability to test is not always a reason to test.
Screening school children for COVID-19 is an obvious example of intervention where the harms appear to clearly outweigh the benefits. Screening asymptomatic children for COVID-19 whether they have been in contact with someone with COVID or not has not been shown to reduce viral spread or improve child or community health.
What it has been shown to do is result in unnecessary school days lost and excessive burdens on school districts and working families. And it diverts resources from pressing educational and public health needs, things like the pandemic-related educational achievement gap and the growing mental health crisis among children.
Matthew Broderick Says Getting COVID After Being ‘So Careful’ Was ‘Really Disappointing’
The Hollywood Reporter reported:
Matthew Broderick says that he and Plaza Suite costar Sarah Jessica Parker had avoided contracting COVID-19 for so long — and despite other cases in his family — that he began to believe he “was one of these people who doesn’t get it.”
The actor appeared on SiriusXM’s Jess Cagle Show to talk about his experience starring opposite his wife, Parker, in the Broadway production. During the conversation, he opened up about missing several performances of the Neil Simon play after having to quarantine due to testing positive for COVID-19.
While speaking to Cagle and cohost Julia Cunningham, Broderick went on to explain that he first noticed symptoms the day he got a booster shot. “I got a booster — a second booster — and that day I thought I must be sick because of my booster, but then I was coughing and every time I looked up side effects from the booster shot, there was nothing about having a cough,” he said. “So anyway, I got a booster and COVID on the same day.”
Millions of COVID Shots Set to Go to Waste, as Vaccine Rollout Slows
While top U.S. health officials are urging some Americans to get yet another coronavirus booster shot, local health departments across the country are grappling with a growing dilemma — how to address a declining demand for vaccines, while minimizing the waste of unused millions of doses currently in state stockpiles and at risk of expiring.
Since the emergency use authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. last winter, federal data shows that states received a staggering 720 million doses, and more than 570 million of those shots have been administered.
However, an ABC News analysis of state-provided data found that millions of those shots have not ended up in arms, largely due to a significant decline in the number of individuals willing to get vaccinated — with many vaccine doses now left unused in refrigerators or discarded in trash cans across the country.
ABC News contacted officials from health departments in all 50 states, and in analyzing state-provided data, found that millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses have either gone to waste, remain unused, or will expire in the coming weeks and months.
COVID Outbreak Hits Another Bay Area Cruise Ship Voyage
Scores of passengers aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship became sick with COVID-19 on a San Francisco to Hawaii voyage that ended last week and followed a trip to Panama in which dozens of passengers also were stricken with the virus on the same ship.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health said 143 passengers aboard the Ruby Princess’ San Francisco to Hawaii round trip that ended April 11 tested positive for the virus, nearly twice as many as the 73 reported sick with COVID-19 after the ship’s March 27 return to San Francisco from Panama.
“It was quite clear that there were a large percentage of passengers that were sick, but unless you self-reported, you were free to keep going and infect other passengers,” said Ted Vomacka of Antioch, who said he was among the passengers who tested positive on the ship and was forced to quarantine in separate quarters from from his wife, Larisa, who eventually tested positive after they returned home.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health said the crew and passengers of the Ruby Princess’ Panama Canal and Hawaii trips were 100% vaccinated, and that “the vast majority of individuals who tested positive for COVID experienced mild or no symptoms.”
NYC COVID Cases Are Starting to Drop in Hopeful Sign for Latest Wave
The recent resurgence of COVID-19 in New York City may be relatively muted compared with the huge spike earlier this year, if recent patterns hold.
The largest U.S. city is seeing a downturn in COVID-19 cases for the first time since early March, local government data show, in what could be a positive sign for the rest of the country. In Manhattan, where case counts have been the highest recently, the seven-day average of cases dropped for four days in a row through April 19. In Philadelphia, local health officials ended a mask mandate this week, citing data showing cases leveling off.
White House Official: U.S. Must Respond to Rising COVID Cases ‘With Care and Caution, but Not Overreacting’
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha on Sunday said the U.S. should respond to the rising number of coronavirus cases “with care and caution, but not overreacting.”
Jha on Sunday also told Bash that he expects Moderna to submit an application to receive emergency use authorization for its vaccine for children five years old and younger next week.
Continued Student Struggles Are Weighing on Teachers in the Third Year of the Pandemic
The Boston Globe via MSN reported:
With full-time in-person learning back and the coronavirus seemingly on the wane, 2021-2022 was supposed to be a return to normal at public schools. But if anything, this school year has been even harder than the previous, as teachers and counselors say a cascade of problems and issues are testing the limits of their endurance and resolve.
Already conditioned to multitasking, teachers say the issues they are juggling have multiplied in number and, as important, in severity. More students are struggling academically and emotionally. Schools are dealing with abnormal amounts of disruptive behavior and widespread lack of motivation, while staff are spending time teaching social-emotional skills students should have learned earlier.
While some districts such as Boston have added mental health services for students, teachers say it is not enough to ease the pressure on them, especially since many are grappling with their own pandemic-related mental health issues.
Second COVID Vaccine Boosters: Getting It Now Versus Waiting Until Fall
You may be wondering whether to get the second COVID-19 booster now or hold on a second, so to speak, and wait until Fall. That may be because messaging about the booster part deux hasn’t exactly been super duper clear.
There has been talk of new COVID-19 vaccines, such as those more specific to the Omicron variants, becoming available sometime in the Summer. So the question is what should you do about a second booster?
Of course, the first thing that you should do is determine whether you are actually 50 years and older since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized in late March second booster doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for that specific age range. That means if you are currently 49 years and 364 days old or younger then you don’t have to worry about a second booster, at least not for another day.
If you aren’t sure whether you are 50 years or older, check your past Facebook or Instagram photos and count how many candles were on your last birthday cake.
Biden Admin to Promote Availability of COVID Antiviral Pill
President Joe Biden and his administration want Americans and their doctors to know that the country has an ample supply of the life-saving COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid and that it no longer needs to be rationed.
First approved in December, supply of the Pfizer regimen was initially very limited, but as COVID-19 cases across the country have fallen and manufacturing has increased it is now far more abundant. The White House is now moving to raise awareness of the pill and taking steps to make it easier to access.
Paxlovid, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.
LA Company Allegedly Faked COVID Test Results; Agrees to Pay $22.5 Million
A Los Angeles, California based COVID-19 testing company has agreed to fork over a $22 million settlement after being accused of forging test results and engaging in false advertising.
A complaint alleged that the company, which did business under the name “Sameday Health,” falsely advertised that it could deliver test results in 24 hours despite knowing it was not capable of doing so, according to a press release from Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.
When that promise could not be fulfilled, the company allegedly forged the results for at least 500 customers by tampering with old PDF lab reports and in some cases sent the fake results to customers before their samples had even been delivered to a lab for testing.
Japan’s Shionogi Says COVID Pill Shows Rapid Clearance of Virus
An experimental treatment from Shionogi & Co Ltd (4507.T) has shown rapid clearance of the virus that causes COVID-19, according to new data, the Japanese drug maker said on Sunday.
The pill, S-217622, “demonstrated rapid clearance of the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus”, Shionogi said in a statement, citing Phase-2b results from the Phase II/III clinical trial of the drug.
The company has global aspirations for the antiviral pill, which is now being evaluated by Japanese regulators.
Heart Inflammation More Prevalent Among Vaccinated, Study of Millions Shows + More
Heart Inflammation More Prevalent Among Vaccinated Than Unvaccinated: Study
Heart inflammation requiring hospital care was more common among people who received COVID-19 vaccines than those who did not, according to a new study of tens of millions of Europeans.
Rates of myocarditis or pericarditis, two types of heart inflammation, are above the levels in an unvaccinated cohort, pegged at 38 per 100,000 after receipt of a second dose of a vaccine built on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in males aged 16 to 24 — the group studies have shown are most at risk of the post-vaccination condition — researchers with health agencies in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway found.
“These extra cases among men aged 16–24 correspond to a 5 times increased risk after Comirnaty and 15 times increased risk after Spikevax compared to unvaccinated,” Dr. Rickard Ljung, a professor and physician at the Swedish Medical Products Agency and one of the principal investigators of the study, told The Epoch Times in an email. Comirnaty is the brand name for Pfizer’s vaccine while Spikevax is the brand name for Moderna’s jab.
Rates were also higher among the age group for those who received any dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, both of which utilize mRNA technology. And rates were elevated among vaccinated males of all ages after the first or second dose, except for the first dose of Moderna’s shot for those 40 or older, and females 12- to 15-years-old.
The World’s Biggest Vaccine Manufacturer Has Stopped Making COVID Jabs Amid a 200 Million Dose Glut
Serum Institute of India Ltd., the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and a key supplier of COVID-19 inoculations to developing countries, has stopped making fresh batches of shots after its stockpile grew to 200 million doses amid a global supply glut.
“We have got 200 million doses of stock. We had to shut down production in December,” Serum’s chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said at the India Economic Conclave organized by Times Network on Friday, saying he was worried about wastage if the shots expired. “I have even offered to give free donations to whoever wanted to take it.”
Serum’s predicament underscores the vaccine oversupply that has crept up across a world once desperate for immunization against the coronavirus. Vaccine makers invested in massive production capacity over the past year and some of that has come online only after most countries covered much of their populations with two doses. The global adjustment to living with the virus — with the exception of COVID Zero-practicing China and Hong Kong — has also diluted the urgency for booster shots.
A Puzzling Phenomenon: Patients Report a Rebound of COVID Symptoms After Taking the Antiviral Paxlovid
When it first hit the market in December, the COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was hailed as a game-changer, an effective medicine that kept at-risk people out of the hospital. But now some patients are reporting on social media an unusual and unnerving phenomenon: their COVID symptoms appear to rebound after taking the medication.
And it’s not just their symptoms that reappear. Many report that after finishing their five-day course of treatment, feeling better and testing negative on an at-home rapid test, they then test positive again a few days later.
The issue has captured the attention of at least two teams of Boston-area scientists, who are trying to understand what might be fueling the problem. Resistance to the drug? Patients being quickly reinfected? Or maybe some people just need to take the medicine longer to mount a more effective immune response.
Ohio Bill Encourages Use of Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine for COVID Patients
A bill promoting the use of ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and other “alternative” COVID-19 treatment drugs was introduced Thursday at the Statehouse.
Introduced by Rep. Kris Jordan (R-Ostrander) in the late hours of Thursday, House Bill 631 protects and encourages the use of ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and other drugs not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19 patients, according to the bill’s text.
So long as a patient or a patient’s representative consents to the treatment — and a healthcare provider deems its use appropriate — Ohioans diagnosed with COVID-19 are eligible to receive drugs like ivermectin or other “alternative treatments,” Jordan’s bill reads.
Why Have Some People Never Gotten COVID?
U.S. News & World Report reported:
It’s a story many have heard before. COVID-19 enters a household whether through a spouse, parent, sibling or caretaker — but despite extensive exposure, not everyone gets sick.
And it could be a more common occurrence than some think. The U.S. reports more than 80 million coronavirus cases, which is likely a significant undercount. Experts estimate that more than half of Americans have yet to get the coronavirus. There’s also people who have actually had COVID-19 without knowing it, whether the case was asymptomatic or so mild it didn’t prompt testing.
But then there are others who have had repeated exposure to the virus who never contracted it, and researchers want to know why. Many studies are underway to test different hypotheses about why some people just haven’t gotten the coronavirus. Could they have better immune systems or maybe a genetic difference that protects them from COVID-19?
Scientists to FDA: Don’t Forget About T Cells
The Boston Globe via MSN reported:
A group of nearly 70 academic scientists, doctors and biotech leaders sent a letter with an unusual request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday: Please pay more attention to T cells, an overlooked part of the immune system that helps clear up viral infections.
For much of the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine developers and researchers have largely focused on studying antibodies induced by the shots. Neutralizing antibodies, which many labs are skilled at measuring, are essential for preventing the coronavirus from infecting our cells in the first place.
“Short-term neutralizing antibody responses are certainly important but not the entire picture, and they may not always be the most relevant immune parameter in protection against COVID-19,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, one of the scientists who signed the letter to the FDA, and director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Fauci Says People Don’t Like His Integrity: ‘Alienated a Lot of People’
Dr. Anthony Fauci has told an interviewer that his integrity and responsibility to be honest with the public have alienated a lot of people.
Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, reflected on his unpopularity among certain groups in a conversation with CNN‘s Kasie Hunt, which was broadcast on Jake Tapper’s Thursday night show.
Fauci has previously discussed the animosity he has faced from some politicians since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The CDC Finally Has a Simple Interactive Tool That Tells You When to Test Yourself and How Long to Quarantine if You’re Exposed to COVID. Here’s How It Works.
After two years of confusing guidance on when to isolate or quarantine for COVID-19, how to test, when to re-emerge into society and how long to keep masking afterward, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has at long last designed a simple, 3-to-4-click tool for determining exactly how long to isolate and/or wear a mask around other people, if you have: been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 or tested positive for COVID-19 yourself.
The tool — similar to an online quiz — is a more personalized, straightforward approach than the fine-print-laden guidelines the CDC came up with last winter.
Here’s a quick primer on how to use the helpful new tool.
California Will Keep Workplace Pandemic Rules Through 2022
California workplace regulators on Thursday extended mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022, acting more than two months after state lawmakers restored similar benefits through September.
The decision again pitted management against labor as the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board renewed revised workplace safety rules that would otherwise have expired in early May.
U.S. Spending on Pharmaceuticals Jumped 12% in 2021, Fueled by Costs of COVID Vaccines and Therapies
Thanks to COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, U.S. spending on pharmaceuticals rose 12% in 2021 as use reached record levels and new prescriptions for acute and chronic care largely recovered from the slowdown seen during the pandemic, according to a new analysis.
Meanwhile, out-of-pocket costs paid by patients hit $79 billion, a $4 billion rise from the year before and the same level seen in 2018 after two years of declining costs. Overall, these costs were relatively low — less than $20 per prescription — but about 1% of all prescriptions filled, or 64 million, ran patients $125, underscoring ongoing barriers to affordability. In fact, 81 million prescriptions were not filled last year.
7 in 10 People in England Have Had COVID, Research Shows
More than seven in 10 people in England have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The estimate, the most detailed analysis to date, suggests 71% of people in England had caught COVID between April 27, 2020 and Feb. 11, 2022. The proportion is likely to have risen further in the most recent Omicron wave, during which there was the highest prevalence at any time in the pandemic, including in older age groups that had previously had relatively low rates of infection.
Moderna to File for EUA of COVID Shot for Very Young Kids by April End + More
Moderna to File for EUA of COVID Shot for Very Young Kids by April End
Moderna (MRNA.O) plans to submit an application to the U.S. health regulator for emergency use authorization (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine among kids between the ages of six months to five years by end of the month, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The Omicron variant was predominant during Moderna’s pediatric trial, and the drugmaker said two doses were around 38% effective in preventing infections in 2 to 5-year-olds and 44% effective for children aged 6 months to under 2 years.
Fauci Says There Is ‘No Chance’ We Will Eliminate COVID Virus
Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that there is “no chance” that we can eliminate SARS-CoV-2, the respiratory syndrome that causes COVID-19.
In a Q&A session with USA TODAY Network-Tennessee, the lead advisor on the pandemic to the Biden administration said: “We’ve only eliminated one viral human pathogen in history — smallpox. And then there are the ones we’ve eliminated in this county, which are polio and measles.”
“The durability of protection SARS-CoV-2 from vaccination and immunity from exposure is not very long. And we have a situation where we have a lot of people not wanting to get vaccinated.”
Fauci‘s comments on vaccination reflect predictions he made recently in a paper published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, which indicated that the classic concept of herd immunity protecting against a virus may not work for COVID.
COVID Infection as Protective as Vaccines, Study Finds
U.S. News & World Report reported:
A prior COVID-19 infection may provide unvaccinated adults with as much immunity against reinfection as the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines, new research suggests. However, the study was conducted before the surge of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
“We found that, before the emergence of the Omicron variant, natural immunity provided a similar degree of protection against COVID-19 infection as mRNA vaccination,” said study author Dr. Ari Robicsek. He is chief medical analytics officer for the Providence health system, which operates in the western United States.
For the study, the investigators analyzed data from more than 100,000 adults tested for the coronavirus at 1,300 care sites in the Providence health system between Oct. 1, 2020 and Nov. 1, 2021.
Prior COVID-19 infection in unvaccinated people was 85% protective against reinfection and 88% protective against hospitalization, the findings showed. Protection from reinfection lasted for up to nine months after initial infection, which was the longest amount of time that patients were followed, the researchers said.
COVID: Breakthrough Cases Made up 47% of COVID Infections, Weekly Report Shows
The Chronicle Online reported:
With Oregon’s concern over COVID-19 receding and the widespread vaccination push losing steam, new data has emerged showing vaccine efficacy to be lower than previously thought. Vaccine breakthrough cases made up nearly half of Oregon’s COVID-19 cases in the latest report from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
OHA’s April 7 COVID-19 Breakthrough Report shows that between March 27 and April 2, of the 2,035 COVID-19 cases reported by the OHA 960 were vaccine breakthrough cases (47.2%). The figure could be even higher than the data shows, as the data includes positive tests reported to public health and not positive at-home tests.
The latest report from the agency on vaccination breakthrough deaths reveals a similar trend. In the month of March, 46.4% of reported COVID-19 deaths occurred in fully vaccinated people.
Woman Catches COVID Twice Within 20 Days, Marking a New Record
A healthcare worker has reportedly tested positive for the Omicron strain of the coronavirus just 20 days after having an infection caused by the Delta variant, according to Spanish researchers.
The case study of the 31-year-old woman, who was fully vaccinated and boosted, is to be presented by researchers at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases taking place in Portugal this coming weekend.
The 20-day gap between the infections is the shortest known.
U.S. Child Vaccination Rates Dip During Pandemic — Study
Child vaccination rates in the United States fell during the COVID-19 pandemic as many children skipped doctors appointments and states eased vaccine requirements during remote learning, according to a government study released on Thursday.
During the 2020–21 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners nationwide for three required vaccines was approximately 1% lower than the previous school year, according to a study conducted by researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The researchers looked at coverage for three commonly required vaccines: the MMR vaccine to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella; DTaP, which prevents diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis; and the varicella shot for chickenpox.
Waiting for a COVID Vaccine for Your Under-5 Kid? It May Take a Bit Longer
The Biden administration may now wait until as late as June to authorize a coronavirus vaccine for the nation’s youngest children, three people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO.
The move marks yet another delay in the government’s effort to vaccinate children under the age of five and comes even as the U.S. lifts broader public health measures meant to protect Americans from the still-raging pandemic.
Administration health officials had once hoped to authorize first shots for young children at the beginning of this year. But scientific setbacks and broader practical concerns within the Food and Drug Administration have slowed progress, the people with knowledge of the matter said.
Now, regulators are leaning toward postponing any action until the early summer, arguing that it would be simpler and less confusing to simultaneously authorize and promote two vaccines to the public, rather than green-lighting one on a faster timetable and the other down the road.
Should People Wait Until the Fall for a Second Booster? CDC Panel Weighs In.
Just weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a second COVID-19 booster dose for people ages 50 and above, independent advisers to the agency are seeking to clear up confusion over which people in that age group may truly need that shot now and who could possibly wait until the fall for another dose.
During Wednesday’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting, Elisha Hall, the clinical guidelines lead for the COVID-19 emergency response at the CDC, told the committee that people ages 50 and up should consider getting a second booster sooner rather than later if they have underlying health problems; live with others at high risk for severe COVID; or have jobs that put them at risk for COVID exposure, including those who travel or must gather in large groups.
People recently infected with the Omicron variant could also wait until the fall, Hall said.
As Original Omicron Disappears, These Are the BA.2 Subvariant’s Key Differences
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been dominant in the U.S. since December, but the version of Omicron that drove the major infection surge during the winter now accounts for less than 7% of new cases.
A more transmissible subvariant, BA.2, accounts for around three-quarters of U.S. cases. And BA.2, in turn, has spawned its own sublineage, BA.2.12.1, which appears to be gaining steam: It rose from 7% of U.S. cases in early April to 19% last week. The New York State Health Department said last week that BA.2.12.1 was most likely contributing to the state’s rise in case numbers.
So far, the key difference between the newer versions of Omicron and the one that previously rocketed through the U.S. is transmissibility. The White House’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has estimated that BA.2 is 50% more transmissible than the original Omicron lineage.
WHO Says Global COVID Cases, Deaths Declined Again Last Week
The World Health Organization says that the number of reported new COVID-19 cases worldwide decreased by nearly a quarter last week, continuing a decline since the end of March.
The Geneva-based U.N. health agency said in a weekly report that nearly 5.59 million cases were reported between April 11 and 17, 24% fewer than in the previous week. The number of newly reported deaths dropped 21% to 18,215.
WHO said new cases declined in every region, though only by 2% in the Americas. The report was dated late Wednesday and sent to journalists on Thursday.
The agency said that “these trends should be interpreted with caution as several countries are progressively changing their COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected.”
Even Short Exposure to Air Pollution Increases Risk of COVID Infection, Study Suggests
Exposure to air pollution might increase the likelihood of contracting COVID-19, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open on Wednesday, adding to a growing body of research demonstrating the role air quality plays in the pandemic and the broader health costs of pollution.
Exposure to some traffic-related air pollutants was associated with a greater likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19 in young adults, according to a Swedish study of 425 people who tested positive on a PCR test between May 2020 through March 2021.
The study estimated exposure to four pollutants — nitrogen oxides, black carbon and particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 micrometers (PM10) and 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) — based on participants’ home addresses, drawing from a cohort of more than 4,000 people born in Stockholm between 1994 and 1996 who have been monitored over time.
COVID and Seasonal Allergies Have Started to Look a Lot Alike. Here’s How to Tell Them Apart.
Something’s in the air this spring that’s making people wheeze and sneeze. It can make you fatigued, irritate your throat, and generally bog you down. But there’s a nagging question in early 2022: Is it pollen…or COVID?
The newest COVID surge in the U.S. is lining up with peak spring allergy season, and both conditions can manifest with the same symptoms, making it harder to tell whether you’re contagious or just suffering because you’ve been outside.
Another wrinkle in this year’s COVID/allergy season: the symptoms of the two maladies, which used to be clearly distinct, have started to bleed together.