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Almost Half of Reported NY COVID Hospitalizations Not Due to COVID + More
Almost Half of Reported NY COVID Hospitalizations Are Not Due to COVID
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released data Friday breaking down COVID-19 hospitalizations by those who were admitted due to the virus and those who were admitted for other reasons but were found to have the illness.
Included in the data was a chart showing “how many hospitalized individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 were admitted for COVID-19/COVID-19 complications and how many were admitted for non-COVID-19 conditions.”
According to the provided statistics, in approximately 43% of hospital admissions “COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission.” According to the same data set, a staggering 51% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York City were not due to COVID-19 or related symptoms.
Common Cold Could Protect Against COVID Infection, Study Suggests
The immune response generated by previous exposure to common colds could protect against COVID-19, according to a new peer reviewed study published in Nature Communications Monday, an early but promising finding researchers say could pave the way to more long-lasting vaccines that protect against current and future variants of coronavirus.
People with high levels of T cells — a type of white blood cell that is a key part of the immune system — from other coronavirus infections like the common cold are less likely to contract the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study by researchers at Imperial College London.
For the study, which took place in September 2020 (before most in the U.K. had been infected or vaccinated against COVID-19), the researchers followed 52 people living with someone who had COVID-19, half of whom went on to contract the disease.
For the half that did not get infected, blood samples taken shortly after exposure revealed higher levels of T cells from previous coronavirus infections, such as colds, that could also recognize proteins in the virus that causes COVID-19, the researchers said.
Fox News Host Confronts CDC Director Over Sotomayor’s Claim About Children With COVID
Fox News anchor Bret Baier confronted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky on Sunday, urging her to counter inaccurate claims about children hospitalized with COVID-19 made by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor during a hearing this week.
Sotomayor faced significant criticism, however, after she incorrectly claimed that “over 100,000 children” were seriously ill with COVID-19, with “many on ventilators.” Government data actually showed as of Jan. 8 that only a few thousand children were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 — as some awaited the results of a laboratory test.
Baier, while hosting Fox News Sunday, confronted Walensky with Sotomayor’s inaccurate statement and urged her to fact-check the misinformation.
“What we can find from Friday suggests there are fewer than 3,500 current pediatric hospitalizations from COVID-19. Is that true?” Baier asked the CDC director. Walensky agreed before quickly shifting the topic to point out that most of the hospitalized children are unvaccinated.
Pfizer CEO Says Omicron Vaccine Will Be Ready in March
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday said a vaccine that targets the Omicron variant of COVID will be ready in March, and the company’s already begun manufacturing the doses.
Bourla said the vaccine will also target the other variants that are circulating. He said it is still not clear whether or not an Omicron vaccine is needed or how it would be used, but Pfizer will have some doses ready since some countries want it ready as soon as possible.
Could This COVID Anti-Viral Pill Fuel the Emergence of New Variants?
Some concerns have been raised about the drug’s safety and the possibility that it might alter human genes. While the risk to adults, according to data from animal studies, is low, the FDA has not authorized the drug for under 18s or pregnant individuals as a result.
In addition, some experts have raised concerns about the possibility that the use of the drug could fuel the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, like Delta or Omicron, that are highly transmissible and/or may evade protection afforded by the vaccines to some extent.
Molnupiravir works by interfering with the replication of the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus — which causes COVID-19 — after it has entered the cells of the body. It does this by introducing errors into the genetic code of the virus. Introducing enough errors eventually prevents the virus from replicating and the patient can clear the pathogen from their body.
But some scientists have warned that during this process of mutations, there is a possibility that new variants could emerge under certain circumstances — although other experts have downplayed such fears.
Moderna Working With World Health Leaders on COVID Booster for This Fall That Targets Omicron, CEO Says
Moderna is working on a booster shot that will target the Omicron variant of COVID for this fall as nations around the world prepare to distribute annual vaccinations against the virus.
CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday that the Omicron-specific booster will enter clinical trials soon, and Moderna is discussing whether the shot needs to contain any other components to fight the virus.
Moderna has signed advanced purchase agreements with upfront payments worth $18.5 billion with the United Kingdom, South Korea and Switzerland recently ordering shots for this fall. Bancel said the company can supply 2 billion to 3 billion booster doses this year.
Rising Alcohol Consumption During COVID Pandemic Projected to Cause More Liver Disease, Deaths
Increased alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause 100 additional deaths and 2,800 additional cases of liver failure by 2023, according to a team of researchers led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had many unintended consequences with unknown long-term impact,” a co-author of the study, Dr. Turgay Ayer, said in a news release.
According to research published in the journal Hepatology, the researchers also projected that a one-year increase in alcohol consumption during the pandemic will result in 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease. The investigators also projected 18,700 cases of liver failure and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040.
Pope on COVID Vaccines Says Healthcare a ‘Moral Obligation’
Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives during the pandemic.
Some Catholics, including some conservative U.S. bishops and cardinals, have claimed that vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses were immoral, and have refused to get the jabs.
The Vatican’s doctrine office, however, has said it is “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses.
Nurses Union Slams ‘Return-to-Work’ COVID Guidelines in California
California healthcare workers are hitting out at new “Return-to-Work” COVID-19 guidelines in the state, with some saying the guidance is “dangerous” and will ultimately drive up transmission in hospitals.
Under the latest guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health on Saturday, healthcare workers who test positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to a COVID-19-positive contact, but are asymptomatic, are allowed to return to work without isolating or testing negative for the virus.
The California Nurses Association, an affiliate of National Nurses United, and a trade union labor union with some 100,000 members, said the guidance will “put our nurses and healthcare workers at risk.”
‘We Will Weather This Storm’: Omicron Wreaks Havoc on Broadway
Last month, shows including Aladdin, Freestyle Love Supreme, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Lion King and Tina were forced to cancel performances. The musicals Ain’t Too Proud, Diana, Jagged Little Pill, Trevor and Waitress, and the play Thoughts of a Colored Man, decided to shut down earlier than planned because of infections and weak ticket sales.
The fresh surge is cruel timing for Broadway, which reopened with fanfare — and vaccine mandates for cast, crew and audiences — in September after a record 18-month closure because of the pandemic. For a while it seemed the triumph-over-adversity, the show-must-go-on spirit was unstoppable. Then Omicron came like a kick in the teeth.
Chicago Schools Closed for Fourth Consecutive Day
Chicago Public Schools closed for a fourth consecutive day on Monday as negotiations continue between the district and teachers union regarding COVID-19 safety protocols.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) announced on Sunday evening that classes would be canceled again on Monday “Out of fairness and consideration for parents who need to prepare.”
The standoff between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union began on Wednesday, when the union told teachers not to report to work in person as part of a push to transition instruction to remote learning due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. The district, however, opted to cancel classes instead of moving to virtual instruction.
Classrooms were shuttered on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week, affecting roughly 350,000 students.
Novartis to Seek FDA Approval for COVID Treatment After Positive Data
Novartis AG and Molecular Partners AG on Monday reported positive topline data from their antiviral COVID-19 treatment ensovibep, and will seek expedited regulatory authorizations globally.
The results from a Phase 2 study of 407 patients receiving a single intravenous dose of ensovibep showed a 78% reduction in hospitalization or emergency-room visits related to COVID-19 compared with a placebo, and a improvement in time to a clinical recovery, Novartis said.
The ensovibep treatment continues to maintain protection against variants of concern identified so far, including Omicron, the Basel-based drugmaker said.
It also plans to seek expedited regulatory authorizations globally, first via the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency-use authorization. If approved, ensovibep will be the first multispecific antiviral molecule for the treatment of COVID-19, Novartis said.
Omicron Spikes, Mexican President Calls It ‘a Little COVID’
As coronavirus cases spike in Mexico and tests become scarce, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told Mexicans Monday to just assume they had COVID-19 if they had symptoms.
López Obrador claimed the Omicron variant is “a little COVID,” noting hospitalizations and deaths had not increased at the same rate. Reading advice posted on Twitter, the president said Mexicans with symptoms should just stay at home, take paracetamol and isolate, rather than going out and trying to find tests.
López Obrador’s administration has long refused to implement mass testing, calling it a waste of money. He called on companies not to require COVID tests for employees.
COVID Outbreaks Reported on 92 Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. + More
COVID Outbreaks Reported on 92 Cruise Ships Operating in U.S.
COVID-19 has been confirmed on more than 90% of cruise ships operating in the U.S., data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows. Of the 101 cruise ships operating in U.S. waters, or seeking to operate in U.S. waters, 92 have “reported cases of COVID-19.”
Six cruise ships have been ascribed an “Orange” status, meaning there have been reported cases of coronavirus below the threshold for CDC investigation, while another 86 have been designated “Yellow,” meaning cases have met the threshold.
The agency also urged anyone vacationing on a cruise ship to be fully vaccinated before traveling and to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose if eligible. However, such strict measures do not appear to have prevented coronavirus cases from developing.
Omicron Spike in Most-Vaccinated German State Heralds Nationwide Surge
The northern German maritime state of Bremen has the country’s highest COVID-19 vaccination rate by far, but it has become the hardest-hit by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, reporting the highest infection rate of any region in Germany.
“I assume that Bremen is just a little further ahead than other federal states,” said Hajo Zeeb of the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Bremen. He said he expected many of Germany’s federal states to report infection rates similar to Bremen in the coming days.
The state’s government on Thursday introduced further restrictions to curb infections, including requiring a negative rapid test or proof of a booster shot to enter restaurants or cultural events, in addition to proving double-vaccination.
After COVID-Positive Staff Work Amid Shortage, Hospital Sees Outbreak of Infections
Rhode Island hospital is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak just days after allowing five asymptomatic workers to return to work because of staffing shortages.
The infections were found on multiple campuses of the hospital, according to the Boston Globe, and it’s unclear if there’s any connection between the use of COVID-positive staff members and the rise in infections. However, the policy of using COVID-positive employees has been criticized since many unvaccinated staff members faced losing their jobs.
State Senator Jessica de la Cruz called the updated guidance “dangerous on so many levels.” Instead of allowing COVID-positive staff members to return to work without quarantining, she advocated for the rehiring of unvaccinated workers and adopting a test to stay policy.
COVID-Positive Nurses Are in Our Hospitals. But Biden’s Mandate Forbids Unvaccinated Ones.
USA Today via Yahoo! News reported:
The Biden administration has consistently portrayed vaccines as a pandemic panacea. In July, Biden promised, “You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations.”
Biden vastly overstated vaccine efficacy in part because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had ceased to count the vast majority of breakthrough infections several months earlier. The Washington Post reported that the CDC’s “overly rosy assessments of the vaccines’ effectiveness against Delta…may have lulled Americans into a false sense of security.”
Across the nation, thousands of health care workers have been fired for refusing to get injected, including many who have natural immunity after surviving COVID-19 infections.
According to the Biden administration’s policies, it is better for hospital patients to be treated by COVID-positive nurses and workers (whose COVID-19 vaccinations failed to safeguard them from the virus) than by unvaccinated nurses with no COVID.
CDC Doesn’t yet See Signal Omicron Variant More Severe in Young Kids
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has not yet seen a signal that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is more severe in young children despite an increase of the hospitalizations, the agency’s director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a press conference on Friday.
“We have not yet seen a signal that there is any increased severity” in kids under 5, who are not yet eligible for vaccination, Walensky said. She said that an increase in cases in general could be one explanation for the surge in hospitalizations.
Study Links COVID Vaccination to Small Increase in Menstrual Cycle Length, but Experts Say It’s No Cause for Concern
After getting a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, women had an average menstrual cycle length of about one day longer than usual, according to a study published Thursday.
The findings validate some claims from women across social media that the COVID-19 vaccine affected their menstrual cycle. But the change is not clinically significant, and experts say it shouldn’t cause worry.
In August, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced an investment of about $1.7 million to support five research teams in studying the potential effects of COVID-19 vaccines on menstruation.
This is the first of those studies to publish, an incredibly quick turnaround time for such research.
FDA Shortens Timing of Moderna Booster to 5 Months
U.S. regulators on Friday shortened the time that people who received Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine have to wait for a booster — to five months rather than six.
The two-dose Moderna vaccine is open to Americans 18 and older. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision Friday means Moderna recipients are eligible for a booster after at least five months have passed since their last shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed.
‘Paramount Importance’: Judge Orders FDA to Hasten Release of Pfizer Vaccine Docs
A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make public the data it relied on to license Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, imposing a dramatically accelerated schedule that should result in the release of all information within about eight months.
That’s roughly 75 years and four months faster than the FDA said it could take to complete a Freedom of Information Act request by a group of doctors and scientists seeking an estimated 450,000 pages of material about the vaccine.
Rather than producing 500 pages a month — the FDA’s proposed timeline — he ordered the agency to turn over 55,000 a month. That means all the Pfizer vaccine data should be public by the end of the summer rather than, say, the year 2097.
Moderna CEO Warns People May Need Fourth COVID Shot as Efficacy of Boosters Likely to Decline Over Time
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel on Thursday said the efficacy of boosters against COVID-19 will likely decline over time, and people may need a fourth shot in the fall to increase their protection.
Bancel said people who received their boosters last fall will likely have enough protection to get them through the winter, when new infections surge as people gather indoors to escape the cold. However, Bancel said the efficacy of boosters will probably decline over the course of several months, similar to what happened with the first two doses.
The Moderna chief was interviewed by Goldman Sachs during the investment bank’s healthcare CEO conference. “We have been saying that we believe first this virus is not going away,” Bancel said. “We’re going to have to live with it.”
J&J Says Its Single Dose Protects Against Breakthrough COVID for up to 6 Months
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Thursday that a real-world study showed its single shot COVID-19 vaccine protects against breakthrough infections and hospitalizations for up to six months.
The study, sponsored by the vaccine developer, was conducted between Jan. 1 and Sept. 7 last year, before the Omicron variant was discovered. It is also yet to be peer-reviewed.
J&J said protection against infection from its single dose vaccine starts to wane only from the fourth month compared to the second month in the case of two-dose vaccines from rivals Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech’s (22UAy.DE) as well as Moderna (MRNA.O).
Some Health Advisers to Biden’s Transition Team Call for a New COVID Strategy in the U.S.
Six former health advisers have gone public with an extraordinary, albeit polite, critique — and a plea to be heard. In three opinion articles published on Thursday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, they called for Mr. Biden to adopt an entirely new domestic pandemic strategy geared to the “new normal” of living with the virus indefinitely, not to wiping it out.
The authors are all big names in American medicine. The authors say they wrote them partly because they have not made headway talking directly to White House officials.
The authors shared the articles with White House officials before they were published, but it was unclear whether the administration would adopt any of their suggestions. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Mr. Biden’s top medical adviser for the pandemic, declined to comment on the articles.
West Virginia Requesting Federal Permission to Administer Fourth Vaccine Dose
West Virginia has become the first state in the nation to request federal permission to administer a fourth vaccine dose, or second booster shot, of the COVID-19 vaccine.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) in a Thursday letter to President Biden requested that the president direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to authorize a second booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine for West Virginians over the age of 50 and essential workers who are three months or more out from their third shot.
CDC Endorses COVID Boosters Starting at Age 12 + More
CDC Endorses COVID Boosters Starting at Age 12
On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed an extra Pfizer shot for younger teens — those 12 to 15 — and strengthened its recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds get it, too.
Earlier Wednesday, the CDC’s independent scientific advisers wrestled with whether a booster should be an option for younger teens, who tend not to get as sick from COVID-19 as adults, or more strongly recommended. The decision means about 5 million of the younger teens who had their last shot in the spring are eligible for a booster right away.
The chief safety question for adolescents is a rare side effect called myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys who get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Pfizer Expects Updated COVID Vaccine Data for Kids Under 5 by April
Pfizer Inc. expects the latest results from a clinical trial for kids under the age of 5 of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Germany’s BioNTech SE by April, a top company scientist said on Wednesday.
“The study has been amended to give a third dose to everybody who’s less than five at least eight weeks after their last vaccination,” Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, a Pfizer vaccine researcher said at a meeting of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
In December, Pfizer said it was changing the design of the trial because children between the ages of 2 and 4 who were given two 3-microgram doses of the vaccine did not have the same immune response that a larger dose of the vaccine generated in older children.
Gurtman also said the company was studying a third dose of its vaccine in children ages 5 to 11, six months after their second dose.
COVID-Positive Nurses Say They’re Being Pressured to Work While Sick, and They’re Petrified of Infecting Patients
What was once an ill-advised practice is now becoming a common request across U.S. hospitals: Healthcare workers are being asked to treat patients while sick with COVID-19.
In a TikTok video now viewed more than 7.2 million times, April Lynn, an ICU nurse, claimed her hospital cleared her to return to work five days after testing positive for COVID-19, despite still having a cough and severe fatigue.
Four other nurses told Insider that, in the last week or so, they’ve been instructed to come into work with symptomatic COVID-19, or risk losing pay or receiving a formal warning.
Schools Encounter ‘Hunger Games’ Scramble for COVID Tests
An avalanche of student COVID-19 test kits covered a FedEx drop box in Chicago. Long lines and delayed deliveries slowed school testing sites in California. And families scrambled across U.S. cities to find scarce rapid tests.
The White House and government leaders say classrooms must stay open during a record surge in Omicron-driven cases — but short supplies, logistical challenges and workforce problems threaten to trip up the country’s patchwork efforts to test schoolchildren for the virus as they return to class.
Rapid COVID Tests Are Reselling for as Much as $75 a Pack, 3 Times Their Normal Retail Price: Report
Rapid at-home COVID-19 test kits are reselling for as much as $75 a pack, which is more than three times their normal retail price.
Bloomberg reported the findings Wednesday. Kroger and Walmart sell Abbott Laboratories’ BinaxNow at-home rapid tests for $23.99 and $19.98.
BinaxNow kits, which include two COVID-19 tests, are now selling for about $75 on various digital marketplaces, seen by Insider and reported by Bloomberg.
Soaring prices of rapid tests come as the U.S. is reporting a soaring number of coronavirus infections during a wave fueled by the Omicron variant.
Here’s the Real Deal on Flurona
Two years of pandemic have us primed to panic at every headline. A new variant, a new complication, a new baffling policy move. Now, headlines have brought an alarmingly exotic new word to stoke our fears: flurona.
But soon enough the combination of anxiety and pandemic exhaustion led headline writers into a strange cutesy fearmongering: The Daily Beast grimly christened flurona “2022’s Hottest New Illness” and the Cut’s headline asked, “What Fresh Hell Is ‘Flurona’?”
The thing is, though, it’s not a fresh hell at all. (And sure enough, most articles about flurona get to that fact a few paragraphs in.) Israel’s first flu-COVID case, the story that triggered this latest wave of reporting, was mild even though the patient was unvaccinated and pregnant.
Candace Owens Claims She Would Not Take COVID Vaccine Even on Her Deathbed
Conservative pundit and talk show host Candace Owens stated that she would not receive the COVID-19 vaccine even if it would save her from dying.
During the live taping of her show Candace, Owens responded to a user on Twitter who questioned if she was truly unvaccinated, as she had claimed many times before. The question arose after a picture circulated of Owens at a UFC fight at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which requires all attendees to be vaccinated per city law.
“I would say to the people, first and foremost, I am obviously unvaccinated…I am not getting this vaccine, ever,” Owens replied. “Never going to get it. I don’t care if I’m on my deathbed and they say ‘it can save you,’ I’m not going to get it.”
‘The Next Variant Is Just Around the Corner’: Experts Warn the World’s at Risk Until All Are Vaccinated
New COVID-19 variants are likely to keep on emerging until the globe has been vaccinated against the virus, experts warn, saying that the sharing of vaccines is not just an altruistic act but a pragmatic one.
“Until the whole world is vaccinated, not just rich Western countries, I think we are going to remain in danger of new variants coming along and some of those could be more virulent than Omicron,” Dr. Andrew Freedman, an academic in infectious diseases at Cardiff University Medical School, told CNBC on Thursday.
Viruses “tend to become milder” as they evolve, Freedman noted, but he cautioned that this “isn’t always the case.”
India Says Safety Concerns, Restricting Use of Merck COVID Pill
India has not added Merck’s (MRK.N) COVID-19 pill to its national treatment protocol for the disease due to known safety concerns that have restricted its use elsewhere, a senior health official told a media briefing on Wednesday.
“It can cause teratogenicity, mutagenicity and it also can cause cartilage damage and be damaging to muscles. More importantly, contraception will have to be used for three months if this drug is given because the child born could be problematic with teratogenic influences,” Balram Bhargava, head of the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, said.
The U.S. FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13-10 in November to recommend the drug after discussing concerns it could cause the virus to mutate as well as the potential birth defect worries.
Brazil Greenlights COVID Vaccines for Children Ages 5 to 11
International Business Times reported:
Brazilian health authorities authorized COVID-19 vaccines for children age five to 11 on Wednesday, as South America’s most populous country faces a rapid increase in cases due to holiday gatherings and the arrival of the Omicron variant.
Controversy abounded in Brazil until Wednesday’s announcement, with many alleging an improper delay by the government.
President Jair Bolsonaro, who did not get vaccinated and said he will not immunize his 11-year-old daughter Laura, asked weeks ago to publish the names of those responsible for Anvisa’s decision, unleashing a wave of threats.
1,090 Fully Vaccinated Indiana Residents Died of COVID, 112,000 Breakthrough Cases Recorded + More
1,090 Fully Vaccinated Indiana Residents Died of COVID; 112,000 Breakthrough Cases Recorded
International Business Times reported:
More than 1,000 fully vaccinated residents in Indiana have died of COVID-19 as the number of breakthrough infections rises amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
As of Dec. 30, at least 1,090 Indiana residents died of breakthrough COVID-19, representing 0.031% of the state’s fully vaccinated population. At least 88% of the breakthrough coronavirus deaths occurred in people aged 65 or older, according to the state’s latest COVID-19 Vaccination Breakthrough report.
The number of breakthrough COVID-19 cases also increased to 112,773, representing 3.173% of all vaccinated people in Indiana, the report showed.
CDC Urges ‘Up-to-Date’ Shots; No ‘Fully Vaccinated’ Change
U.S. health officials said Wednesday they are not changing the qualifications for being “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19, but they are urging Americans to stay “up to date” on their protection against the virus by getting booster shots when eligible.
The decision to keep the initial definition, established more than a year ago when the vaccines first rolled out, means that federal vaccination mandates for travel or employment won’t require a booster dose.
“Individuals are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they’ve received their primary series,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “That definition is not changing.”
Massachusetts Coronavirus Breakthrough Cases Surge 45,029 Amid Omicron Holiday Wave
More than 45,000 fully vaccinated people in the state tested positive for coronavirus last week between Christmas and New Year’s, a daily average of more than 6,000 breakthrough cases during the surging Omicron variant holiday wave.
The count of 45,029 breakthrough cases last week is more than double the 20,247 breakthrough infections during the previous week — a 122% spike week-over-week.
Overall, 179,594 fully vaxxed people have tested positive for the virus, according to new data from the state Department of Public Health on Tuesday.
The state has reported 942 breakthrough deaths, or 0.02% of those who are fully vaxxed. That’s a one-week increase of 88 deaths — up from the previous weekly increase of 70 deaths. The week before that was 85 deaths.
Birth During the Pandemic May Affect Neurodevelopment — in Utero COVID Exposure Does Not Appear to Be a Factor
Birth during the COVID-19 pandemic was linked to lower neurodevelopment scores at 6 months, a cohort study showed.
Compared with a historical cohort of infants, children born during the 2020 pandemic had significantly lower gross motor, fine motor, and personal-social scores on the Ages & Stages Questionnaire, 3rd Edition (ASQ-3), reported Dani Dumitriu, MD, PhD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and co-authors in JAMA Pediatrics.
In utero exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection was not associated with significant differences on any neurodevelopment domain, however, regardless of infection timing or severity.
“Our study, however, points to potential impact on the neurodevelopment of infants born during the pandemic irrespective of maternal infection, which — if replicated — would translate to potential impact on hundreds of millions of children born since the onset of the pandemic, with potential for significant public health consequences,” Dumitriu said.
Biden Urges Concern but Not Alarm in U.S. as Omicron Rises
President Joe Biden urged concern but not alarm Tuesday as the United States set records for daily reported COVID-19 cases and his administration struggled to ease concerns about testing shortages, school closures and other disruptions caused by the Omicron variant.
“There’s no excuse, there’s no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated,” he added. “This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” He also encouraged Americans, including newly eligible teenagers 12 to 15, to get a booster dose of the vaccines for maximum protection.
Omicron Spares U.S. ICUs so Far, Mirroring South Africa
U.S. hospitals are so far seeing significantly fewer severe outcomes from the Omicron wave than they saw in past COVID-19 spikes, mirroring the experience of South Africa and the U.K. Even New York, the uber-dense site of one of the nation’s worst outbreaks, is seeing similar results.
In the U.K., the general pattern of lower hospitalization has held up so far even as cases surged, as the Financial Times’ John Burn-Murdoch showed Tuesday.
Biden Says More Pfizer Pills Are Shipping This Week as U.S. Doubles Order to Fight Omicron
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said another batch of Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment pills is shipping this week as the U.S. government doubles its order of the medication amid an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Biden on Tuesday directed the government to buy an additional 10 million courses of Pfizer’s oral antiviral treatment, Paxlovid. With the new order, the U.S. has committed to purchase at least 20 million courses from Pfizer.
Scientists Try to Predict Whether COVID Will Morph Into Something Mild or Remain Menacing
Evolutionary biologists and research epidemiologists are studying older coronaviruses for clues about whether COVID-19 will transform into something mild (like a common cold), something more threatening (like a flu) or something much more contagious and deadly.
Scientists are mostly paying attention to two types of viral mutations in COVID, according to Nature.com.
As more and more humans get vaccinated and develop antibodies through past infections, viruses start to develop the second type of mutation: one that enables a virus to overcome a person’s immune response.
This mutation concerns researchers the most because it allows the virus to bypass the immunity offered by vaccinations as well as the antibodies created during past infections.
France Allows Some COVID-Infected Medics to Keep Working
France is allowing health workers who are infected with the coronavirus but have few or no symptoms to keep treating patients rather than self-isolate, an extraordinary stop-gap measure aimed at alleviating staff shortages at hospitals and other medical facilities caused by an unprecedented explosion in infections.
The special exemption to France’s quarantine rules being rolled out to hospitals, elderly care homes, doctors’ offices and other essential health services testifies to the growing strain being placed on the French medical system by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
2nd COVID Booster Deemed ‘Safe’ by Israeli PM, but Some Experts Aren’t so Sure
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has deemed a fourth dose of Pfizer/BioNTech‘s COVID-19 vaccine “safe” and effective, while some experts are urging the public to wait for a final verdict.
Israeli health authorities recommended the fourth vaccine dose for people over 60 and healthcare workers last month amid a global surge of infections fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Singapore Says Booster Shots Needed in Order to Maintain Fully Vaccinated Status
People in Singapore will lose their fully vaccinated status after 270 days if they do not take booster shots, the government announced on Wednesday.
Protection from the primary series vaccination wanes and is “substantially reduced six months after the last dose,” Singapore’s health ministry said in a press release. The policy will be in force from Feb. 14, 2022.
The Southeast Asian country is not the first to take such a step. Similar policies have been in place in Israel and Bahrain since October.