Cross-generational consequences of lead poisoning

Japanese and Zambian scientists have shown that environmental lead poisoning in children affects not only their own health and wellbeing, but the vitality and mental health of their mothers, as well.

* This article was originally published here

Here's Who Is Being Hospitalized for COVID-19 Right Now

Over a thousand people are still being hospitalized for COVID-19 every week in the U.S. Tempura/Getty Images

• COVID-19 may be more under control, but it hasn’t disappeared in the United States.
• Nearly 2,000 are still being hospitalized for COVID-19 every week in the United States.
• The rise of the more infectious delta variant means people who have not yet been vaccinated could be at higher risk of developing the disease.

COVID-19 hospitalization rates are falling nationwide, but that doesn’t mean no one is getting sick.

The current 7-day average for hospitalizations is still 1,764 COVID-19 hospitalizations per week. The virus may be more under control, but it hasn’t disappeared in the United States.

Where hospitalization rates remain high, the patients have one thing in common: They are unvaccinated. As a result, more young people are being admitted to hospitals. Older people and those with underlying conditions have high rates of vaccination.

“It’s true. Nationally, as well as in our own institution, the vast majority of people being hospitalized are un- or partially vaccinated,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy and professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “That’s over 90 percent of individuals. That offers very powerful evidence that the vaccine is working.”

As of June 28, 77.7 percent of adults over the age of 65 are fully vaccinated. That number drops as age drops, but the percentages are still high. More than 57 percent of adults over the age of 18 are fully vaccinated, and more than 54 percent of the population over age 12 is fully vaccinated. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the overall number of hospitalizations is going down, but the people affected are increasingly young. Now, people between ages 18 to 49 are making up a larger percentage of those hospitalized.

“Initially when COVID struck, it was older people who were in the hospital,” said Schaffner. “That demographic has changed. It’s now the middle-aged and younger in the dominant group. That goes with information concerning who is vaccinated.”

How does the delta variant affect hospitalizations?

The delta variant, which is even more contagious than its predecessors, is now causing concern among medical professionals. It was first identified in India and has gone from making up just 1 percent of COVID-19 cases in the United States to over 20 percent in recent weeks, according to Schaffner. With vaccinations going up and positive test cases falling, experts wonder whether we are destined to be headed in the wrong direction because of the delta variant. 

“[As of June 23], the CDC says that 23 percent of the cases they have sequenced are this new delta variant, which is a striking proportion,” said Schaffner. “It speaks to the great contagiousness of this virus. We have seen in this country a virus that is very adept at seeking out people who continue to be unvaccinated.”

Experts say all evidence points to the current vaccine regimen being effective against the delta variant

“The good news about the current COVID-19 vaccines is that it appears to be effective against the newly emerging delta variant,” said Dr. Teresa Murray Amato, director of emergency medicine at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills in New York. “The bad news is that in areas that have a lower percentage of the population vaccinated, we are seeing an increase in cases of COVID-19 infections, as well as increased hospitalizations for patients with the COVID-19 virus.”

How to Avoid Hospitalization

The best way to stay healthy and out of the hospital is to continue to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. This includes getting fully vaccinated — the majority of patients in the hospital are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

“The vaccine is now widely available, and we would encourage anyone who is interested in receiving a vaccine to reach out to their physician or local department of health to obtain a vaccine,” said Amato. “If the virus continues to be transmitted in lower vaccinated areas, not [only] will we see increased hospitalizations and death from the COVID-19 virus in those areas, but there is also the very real possibility that we will see more variants, which cold put current vaccinated individuals at risk as well.”

Beyond getting vaccinated, it is important for people to continue to wear their masks in enclosed public areas if they are not vaccinated, and everyone should continue to wash their hands regularly.

* This article was originally published here

Undiagnosed dementia may be way more common than thought

Only 1 in 10 older adults in a large national survey who were found to have cognitive impairment consistent with dementia reported a formal medical diagnosis of the condition.

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study to develop a nationally representative sample of roughly 6 million Americans age 65 or older, researchers at the University of Michigan, North Dakota State University, and Ohio University found that 91% of people with cognitive impairment consistent with dementia told questioners they did not have a formal medical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

“(The discrepancy) was higher than I was expecting,” says coauthor Sheria Robinson-Lane, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing.

When proxy reporters (generally, family members) responded, the prevalence dropped from 91% to around 75%, which is still very significant, she says. While many people may have been diagnosed and remain unaware or forgot about their diagnosis, what’s concerning is that cognitive assessment, specifically dementia screening, isn’t routine during annual well visits for older adults.

COVID-19 gives these numbers heightened significance because people with dementia have higher risk for hospitalization and death following an infection, Robinson-Lane says. COVID-19 also causes long-standing neurological effects in some people, perhaps increasing risk for future dementia-related diagnoses.

“Now more than ever, these routine screenings and assessments are really critical,” she says. “I think it’s particularly important to have some baseline information available to providers of patients over 65.”

Coauthor Ryan McGrath, an assistant professor at North Dakota State University, suggests that the migration to telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic further underscores the importance of cognitive assessments.

“We recommend that health care providers screen for low cognitive functioning during routine health assessments when possible,” he says. “A telemedicine option may reduce clinic time and expand reach.”

The prevalence of not having reported a dementia-related diagnosis, despite being identified as living with a cognitive impairment consistent with dementia, differed by gender, education, and race.

People who identified as non-Hispanic Black had a higher estimated prevalence (93%) of no reported diagnosis, as did males (99.7%) compared to females (90.2%) The estimated prevalence of no reported diagnosis for non-high school graduates was about 93.5%, compared to 91% for those with at least a high school education.

“There is a large disparity in dementia-related treatment and diagnosis among Black older adults, who are often diagnosed much later in the disease trajectory compared to other racial and ethnic groups,” Robinson-Lane says.

Education is often a proxy for socioeconomic status, so throughout life, wealthier individuals have more access to resources that affect both risk and disease progression, she says. And, evidence suggests that education may influence cognitive testing performance.

The Medicare visit is supposed to include a cognitive screening, but it can be difficult to ascertain a cognitive concern in a 20-minute annual visit, she says. Adding a specific cognitive assessment can also take up visit time.

Often, Robinson-Lane hears from concerned family members who don’t know next steps, or the family member they’re concerned about wants to maintain independence and privacy, and doctors can’t share information without the patient’s consent.

She encourages open communication and reminds families that they can still share information with the loved one’s provider directly or through a nurse or medical assistant.

The study will appear in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Additional coauthors are from the University of Michigan, North Dakota State, and Ohio University.

Source: University of Michigan

The post Undiagnosed dementia may be way more common than thought appeared first on Futurity.

* This article was originally published here

The COVID-19 Pandemic May Be Easing: Why Now Is a Good Time to See Your Doctor

Experts say scheduling a medical checkup is an important step in a post-pandemic world. Supersizer/Getty Images

• Health officials report that deaths related to heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure have all increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Experts say a major reason may be that people delayed their regular medical checkups.
• They say now is a good time to schedule physical exams and diagnostic tests.
• They add that focusing on eating habits and daily exercise routines is also a good idea.

As COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are fading in the United States, people are returning to restaurants, movie theaters, and sporting events.

Experts note there is another place in particular people may not have visited in more than a year where they should return as soon as possible.

The doctor’s office.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that in the past year, deaths from both diabetes and heart disease have increased noticeably.

Specifically, heart disease-linked deaths rose by 32,000 over the previous year, a 3-percent jump, and only the second time in 20 years the rate has gone up.

Diabetes-related deaths increased by 13,000, or 14 percent. Deaths related to high blood pressure also ticked up 12 percent.

“I’m not surprised,” said Dr. Salim Virani, FACC, FAHA, FASPC, chair of the writing committee for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 2021 Statistical Update and an associate professor in cardiology and cardiovascular research sections at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

“Almost 40 percent of U.S. adults deferred care (in that time),” he told Healthline, adding that 12 percent of people who needed emergency care deferred as well.

In other words, Virani said, “Patients who actually need more care were deferring that care.”

Now, experts agree, is a good time to schedule a medical checkup to see where you are after a year of staying at home.

Nix the blame game

The first step in tackling this issue, according to Dr. Ping H. Wang, a professor and chair of the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism at City of Hope in California, is realizing this: There actually is no blame.

“I don’t think this is anybody’s fault,” Wang told Healthline. “This is the biggest pandemic in [modern] human history. We all did the best we could.”

That’s why, he said, it’s not fair to blame people who deferred care or blame the medical community for advising people to stay home and be safe.

Even for those with comorbidities that usually require frequent medical visits, the message during lockdown seemed clear: Don’t venture out if you don’t have to.

That, Wang said, could have dissuaded many.

So, too, could the setup in clinics and hospitals at the time. Most people could not bring another person in with them, something that created a challenge for older as well as less independent individuals.

“People just didn’t feel comfortable,” he said.

Virani pointed out that early in the pandemic, emergency room visits dropped by more than 25 percent, something that foreshadowed these numbers.

“It’s not like during a pandemic there is less heart disease,” he said.

The habits that formed

Virani also saw other signs.

Fitbit reported that in the first months of lockdown, even usually physically active people saw their activity levels decrease. 

At the same time, he said, eating habits took a hit. In his research, Virani found that almost 40 percent of people reported a weight gain during the pandemic.

At the same time, he said, issues relating to mental health — something that can impact both heart health and diabetes — increased dramatically.

There were also issues related to limited access to medical staff and the financial impact of the pandemic.

What to do now

With COVID-19 restrictions easing in most of the United States, experts say this is a good time to get back on track with your health.

The place to start, Virani said, is seeing your primary care physician.

“They are the person you should have a long-term relationship with,” he said.

Reaching out now to set an appointment — even if you have to wait for it — is the right move, he said.

He added that we have yet to learn just how long-term the elevated death rates from the pandemic will last.

“We have every reason to suspect that, unfortunately, [in] the next few years to come, we will continue to see this,” he said.

Going forward, Virani suggests focusing on a healthy daily diet, a regular exercise routine, and getting vaccinated against COVID-19 as well as other illnesses.

Among other things, he said, there’s some evidence that vaccines can help with inflammation, a component of heart disease and other ailments.

Future changes

What can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic should we face something like this again?

Wang said the medical community probably needs to adapt its messaging and availability going forward.

“How can we make resources available and accessible to those who need them (in another lockdown?),” Wang asked. “I don’t have an easy answer here,” he said. “But our community needs to address it.”

* This article was originally published here

Lyme Disease Expected to Increase This Summer: What You Can Do

Experts say you should do a full-body check for ticks on yourself, children, and pets after hiking or camping. Johner Images/Getty Images

• Experts are expecting an increase in Lyme disease cases this year as people return to the outdoors.
• They note that ticks generally live in grassy and bushy areas, so they recommend people stay in the middle of trails when hiking.
• They also advise doing a full-body check for ticks when you return home and carefully remove any you see on your skin.

Dr. Neal Shipley warns the United States will see an uptick in Lyme disease this year.

Yes, he did mean to make that pun.

That’s because experts are expecting an increase in tick-borne illness this summer for many reasons.

“First, people have spent the last 12 to 15 months staying indoors and the negative psychological effects of social isolation on adults and children are very real,” Shipley, the medical director at GoHealth Urgent Care in New York, told Healthline. “The ‘cure’ is right in front of us: getting outdoors and doing all the things we couldn’t do last summer, such as camping, gardening, hiking, going to the beach with friends, and having a picnic in the park.”

However, Shipley warns that “all of these activities could put you at risk for a tick bite if you don’t take the proper precautions.”

What you should know about ticks

Ticks are bloodsucking arachnids that can be as small as the head of a pin or as large as a pencil eraser. With eight legs, they look like a smaller version of a spider. They can range in color from reddish-brown to black.

As they engorge themselves on blood, they grow and can turn a greenish-blue color.

Ticks also can carry disease via viruses, bacteria, and parasites, according to Dr. David Cutler, a family practitioner at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

“Tick exposure can occur year-round, but ticks are most active during warmer months, April through September,” Cutler told Healthline. “Know where to expect ticks: grassy, bushy, or wooded areas, or even on animals. Many people get ticks in their own yard or neighborhood.”

What to know about tick-borne illnesses

Tick-related illnesses are already on the rise, says Dr. Jyotsna Shah, the president and laboratory director of IGeneX Inc.

“While we have a long way to go, there is a larger general awareness of Lyme disease in the medical community, and doctors now know how to test for it,” Shah told Healthline. “Not only is our lab testing a record number of patients this year, but we have also seen an increase in the number of ticks tested compared to last year.”

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Typical symptoms include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If untreated, the infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

A few weeks of antibiotics can successfully beat Lyme disease if the infection is caught early. Otherwise, long-term symptoms can set in.

Experts also note Lyme isn’t the only disease ticks transmit to humans.

“The number of diseases spread by ticks is second only to the number of diseases spread by mosquitos,” says Dr. David Claborn, the director of the Master of Public Health program at Missouri State University. “They include tularemia, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Q fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, Powassan virus, and more.”

“Symptoms for these diseases can range from relatively mild febrile illnesses to hemorrhage, blindness, and death,” Claborn told Healthline. “In the United States, the biggest risk is due to Lyme disease but ehrlichiosis is probably more common than most people think, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be very serious.”

How to avoid tick-related illnesses

Tick-borne illnesses, however, are preventable, according to Dr. Dean Jacobs, a pediatrician at MemorialCare Medical Group in Santa Ana, California.

“Ticks love to hide on kids in and around their hair and their ears, under their arms, near their groin, between their legs and behind their knees, and around their waist,” Jacobs told Healthline. “Ticks frequently prefer areas that are warm and damp. But some of their favorite hiding spots can be even tougher to find. Be sure to check in your child’s belly button, on their clothing, and don’t forget to also check your child’s pet dog who came on the hike with you.”

Jacobs said insect repellent is always a good idea outdoors. Hikers should also stay in the middle of trails, away from grass and foliage where ticks live.

Taking preventive measures when you return indoors is key.

“Immediately do a full-body check for ticks and have your child take a shower or bath after coming inside, to help eliminate ticks before they bite,” Jacobs said. “Putting dry clothes in a dryer for at least 10 minutes on high heat, or up to 60 minutes on high heat if the clothes were wet, also helps kill ticks.”

“If you find a tick on [you or] your child, do not panic. If the tick is not attached to the skin and is not engorged, then it hasn’t bitten your child and you don’t need to worry,” he added.

But you still need to be remove ticks you find on yourself, your child, or your pets.

“Try covering the tick for at least 30 seconds with a cotton ball that has been soaked in liquid soap,” Jacobs said. “Sometimes the tick will just stick to the cotton ball when you lift it away. If this fails, hold clean sterilized fine-tipped tweezers parallel to the skin and use the tweezers to grab the tick on its head as close to the skin as possible. Be careful not to grasp or squeeze the tick’s body. Pull the tick straight upward away from the skin without twisting or smashing it, until the tick releases its grasp.”

Then keep it in case you notice symptoms and the type of tick needs to be identified.

* This article was originally published here

1 in 3 Caregivers for Elderly May Be Untrained, Unscreened

Title: 1 in 3 Caregivers for Elderly May Be Untrained, Unscreened
Category: Health News
Created: 6/24/2021 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 6/24/2021 12:00:00 AM

* This article was originally published here

Does CBD Have Any Value as a Treatment?

* This article was originally published here

4 in 10 Adults Over 50 Consult Online Reviews When Picking a Doctor

Title: 4 in 10 Adults Over 50 Consult Online Reviews When Picking a Doctor
Category: Health News
Created: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM

* This article was originally published here

Dark Chocolate is not a Superfood

* This article was originally published here

The Facts About Vaccine Passports

* This article was originally published here

What triggers a sneeze reflex?

Researchers have identified, in mice, the specific cells and proteins that control the sneeze reflex.

A tickle in the nose can help trigger a sneeze, expelling irritants and disease-causing pathogens. But the cellular pathways that control the sneeze reflex go far beyond the sinuses and have been poorly understood.

“Better understanding what causes us to sneeze—specifically how neurons behave in response to allergens and viruses—may point to treatments capable of slowing the spread of infectious respiratory diseases via sneezes,” says Qin Liu, associate professor of anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis and senior investigator of the study in the journal Cell.

“We study the neural mechanism behind sneezing because so many people, including members of my own family, sneeze because of problems such as seasonal allergies and viral infections,” says Liu, a researcher in the university’s Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders.

“Our goal is to understand how neurons behave in response to allergies and viral infections, including how they contribute to itchy eyes, sneezing, and other symptoms. Our recent studies have uncovered links between nerve cells and other systems that could help in the development of treatments for sneezing and for fighting infectious respiratory diseases.”

Sneeze reflex neurons

Sneezing is the most forceful and common way to spread infectious droplets from respiratory infections. Scientists first identified a sneeze-evoking region in the central nervous system more than 20 years ago, but little has been understood regarding how the sneeze reflex works at the cellular and molecular level.

In the new study, Liu and her team established a mouse model in an attempt to identify which nerve cells send signals that make mice sneeze. The researchers exposed the mice to aerosolized droplets containing either histamine or capsaicin, a pungent compound made from chili peppers. Both elicited sneezes from the mice, as they do in people.

“A sneeze can create 20,000 virus-containing droplets that can stay in the air for up to 10 minutes.”

Examining nerve cells that already were known to react to capsaicin, allowed Liu’s team to identify a class of small neurons linked to sneezing that was caused by that substance. The researchers then looked for molecules—called neuropeptides—that could transmit sneeze signals to those nerve cells, and found that sneezing required a molecule called neuromedin B (NMB).

Conversely, when they eliminated the NMD-sensitive neurons in the part of the nervous system that evoked sneezes in the mice, they blocked the sneeze reflex. Those neurons all make a protein called the neuromedin B receptor. In mice without that receptor, sneezing again was greatly reduced.

“Interestingly, none of these sneeze-evoking neurons were housed in any of the known regions of the brainstem linked to breathing and respiration,” Liu says. “Although we found that sneeze-evoking cells are in a different region of the brain than the region that controls breathing, we also found that the cells in those two regions were directly connected via their axons, the wiring of nerve cells.”

20,000 virus-containing droplets

The researchers also found that exposing part of the mouse brain to the NMB peptide could stimulate the sneeze reflex. Further, the animals began to sneeze even though they had not been exposed to any capsaicin, histamine, or other allergens.

Because many viruses and other pathogens—including the majority of human rhinoviruses and coronaviruses such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19—are spread in part by aerosolized droplets, Liu says it may be possible to limit the spread of those pathogens by targeting NMB or its receptor to limit sneezing in those known to be infected.

“A sneeze can create 20,000 virus-containing droplets that can stay in the air for up to 10 minutes,” Liu says. “By contrast, a cough produces closer to 3,000 droplets, or about the same number produced by talking for a few minutes.

“To prevent future viral outbreaks and help treat pathological sneezing caused by allergens, it will be important to understand the pathways that cause sneezing in order to block them. By identifying neurons that mediate the sneeze reflex, as well as neuropeptides that activate these neurons, we have discovered targets that could lead to treatments for pathological sneezing or strategies for limiting the spread of infections.”

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health funded the work. Additional funding came from the Pew Scholar Research Award, the American Skin Association, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Source: Washington University in St. Louis

The post What triggers a sneeze reflex? appeared first on Futurity.

* This article was originally published here

Does CBD Improve Mental Health?

* This article was originally published here

What parents should know about kids and the COVID-19 vaccine

As vaccines become available for younger people, Nathan Price has answers about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and the risk of side effects in children.

A rise in adolescent hospitalizations in March and April led the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to urge parents to vaccinate their teenagers against COVID-19.

The CDC currently does not recommend vaccinations for children younger than 12, and the Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for people 12 and older. The other two vaccines provided in the US—one from Moderna and the other from Johnson & Johnson—are only available to people 18 and older.

Here, Price, an assistant professor in the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine-Tucson’s pediatrics department, answers questions parents frequently ask about children and vaccines:

The post What parents should know about kids and the COVID-19 vaccine appeared first on Futurity.

* This article was originally published here

COVID-19 Updates: WHO Says Delta Variant Now Circulating in 80 Countries

Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

• More than 3.8 million people have died from COVID-19 globally.
• More than half of U.S. adults are now fully vaccinated.
• COVID-19 cases remain high in some parts of the world, like India, where few people have been vaccinated.

Update on COVID-19 numbers

• Globally, there have been more than 176.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3.8 million associated deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
• The United States has reported more than 33.4 million confirmed cases and more than 600,000 associated deaths.
• Currently, more than 175 million people in the United States have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose. More than 146 million people are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Healthline updates this page on weekdays. For up-to-date information about the virus, go here.

6/16/21 3:27 p.m. PDT — WHO says delta variant now circulating in 80 countries

The delta variant of the coronavirus is now circulating in 80 countries, according to officials from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The delta variant was first identified in India in the fall of 2020, and has been rapidly spreading globally.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 technical lead for the WHO, said in an interview posted on Twitter that all four variants of concern are more transmissible than the original virus variant.

“If it can spread more easily, then more people can get infected quickly, and if a system is overwhelmed… it can overburden the health system,” she said.

New York lifts pandemic restrictions

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that since the state has reached 70 percent vaccination, he will lift pandemic restrictions.

Unvaccinated people are still required to use face masks as per federal guidelines, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

“What New York has done is extraordinary. Not only do we have the lowest COVID positivity rate in the United States of America, we have hit 70 percent vaccination ahead of schedule. We successfully deployed the weapon that will win the war, and New York led the nation,” Cuomo said in the statement.

According to Cuomo, at one point the state had a COVID-19 positivity rate of 48.16 percent. The governor confirmed that the positivity rate is now 0.40 percent, the lowest rate in the country.

California also lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions yesterday. The Golden State ended capacity limits, physical distancing, and, for people already vaccinated, mask requirements.

California’s reopening allows vaccinated people to go without masks in most situations. This puts the state in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Masks are still required on public transportation, in hospitals and jails, and at schools and child care centers, pending updated guidance from the CDC.

899 people received expired COVID-19 vaccines at Times Square, need to get another shot

Nearly 900 who were vaccinated against COVID-19 at Times Square in New York City earlier this month received expired doses of the vaccine, reported Business Insider.

The 899 people received the expired doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the former NFL Experience building in Times Square between June 5 and June 10.

These people should schedule another shot as soon as possible, the New York City Health Department said, reported The Associated Press (AP).

“We apologize for the inconvenience to those receiving the vaccine batch in question and want people first and foremost to know that we have been advised that there is no danger from the vaccine they received,” ATC Vaccination Services, the company that administered the shots under contract to the city, said in a statement, reported AP.

6/15/21 2:25 p.m. PDT — Deaths from COVID-19 now top 600,000 in the U.S.

Despite dropping caseloads of COVID-19, the death toll continues to grow in the United States.

The country has now reported more than 600,000 deaths from the disease, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

The United States has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths globally since the start of the pandemic.

New reported cases have dropped significantly as vaccinations have increased in the United States.

AstraZeneca antibody drug fails to prevent COVID-19 symptoms, large trial finds

A study key to demonstrating the effectiveness of AstraZeneca’s antibody drug combination, AZD7442, found it was only 33 percent effective at preventing symptoms of the disease in people exposed to the coronavirus, according to Bloomberg.

The outcome is disappointing for the drugmaker, as this drug was hoped to be a bright spot in the company’s efforts to fight the pandemic following the mixed success of its COVID-19 vaccine with the University of Oxford, reported Bloomberg.

“While this trial did not meet the primary endpoint against symptomatic illness, we are encouraged by the protection seen in the PCR negative participants following treatment with AZD7442,” AstraZeneca Executive Vice President Mene Pangalos said in a statement.

“We await results from PROVENT, our pre-exposure prevention trial and TACKLE, our treatment trial in preventing more severe disease, to understand the potential role of AZD7442 in protecting against COVID-19,” he said.

According to CNBC, AZD7442 belongs to a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies, which mimic natural antibodies produced by the body to fight infections.

Similar therapies developed by drugmakers Regeneron and Eli Lilly have already received approval by U.S. regulators to treat nonhospitalized people with COVID-19.

Vermont reaches vaccination milestone, lifts all pandemic restrictions

Vermont crossed a major vaccination milestone yesterday with more than 80 percent of the state’s eligible population receiving at least one vaccine dose, according to data from the state’s health department.

Consequently, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has dropped all remaining pandemic restrictions throughout the state, fulfilling a promise he made last month to lift restrictions once the state eclipsed that milestone, reported NBC5 News.

“There are no longer any state COVID-19 restrictions,” Scott said during a news conference, reported NBC5. “None.”

“So unless there is a federal requirement in place, like for public transportation or long-term care facilities, employers, municipalities, and individuals can operate under the same conditions as before the pandemic,” he said.

6/14/21 12:20 p.m. PDT — Novavax notes success in latest vaccine trial

Today, drugmaker Novavax announced that its COVID-19 vaccine was 90 percent effective against disease and protected against virus variants in a large phase 3 clinical trial conducted in the United States and Mexico.

Company officials added that the vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing moderate to serious disease.

The findings indicated that the two-shot vaccine had an overall effectiveness of about 90 percent, with preliminary data showing it was safe. This puts the vaccine at about the same level as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine.

“Today, Novavax is one step closer to addressing the critical and persistent global public health need for additional COVID-19 vaccines. These clinical results reinforce that NVX-CoV2373 is extremely effective and offers complete protection against both moderate and severe COVID-19 infection,” Stanley C. Erck, president and CEO of Novavax, said in a statement.

“Novavax continues to work with a sense of urgency to complete our regulatory submissions and deliver this vaccine, built on a well understood and proven platform, to a world that is still in great need of vaccines,” he said.

Novavax intends to file for regulatory authorization in the third quarter.

Delta variant likely to become dominant in U.S.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), told “Face the Nation” yesterday that the coronavirus variant known as delta is likely to become the dominant source for new infections in the United States and could lead to new outbreaks in the fall, with unvaccinated people being most at risk.

“Right now, in the United States, it’s about 10 percent of infections. It’s doubling every 2 weeks,” Gottlieb said. “That doesn’t mean that we’re going to see a sharp uptick in infections, but it does mean that this is going to take over. And I think the risk is really to the fall that this could spike a new epidemic.”

Gottlieb emphasized the delta variant is going to continue to spread, citing new data from prominent British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, PhD.

“There was data out from Neil Ferguson this week showing it’s about 60 percent more transmissible than 1.1.7, which was that old U.K. variant that they’re now calling the alpha variant,” Gottlieb explained.

“So, this is more contagious. It appears that people who get this virus have higher viral loads and they have those viral loads for longer periods of time. So they shed more virus,” he said.

Black, Latino Americans have higher COVID-19 death rates

Black and Latino Americans once again have the highest death rates from COVID-19.

During spring 2020, Black Americans had the highest death rate. Last summer, Latino Americans had the highest rate, particularly from outbreaks in Texas and California.

This past winter, the pandemic spread across most of the nation, with white Americans having some of the highest death rates.

This summer, the high death rates have returned to Black and Latino communities.

Experts say these two groups have less access to health services, have lower vaccination rates, and are more likely to have jobs that put them in contact with the public.

6/11/21 12:20 p.m. PDT — Delta variant spread worries health experts

Many U.S. states and communities are far from achieving a level of COVID-19 vaccination that could prevent future outbreaks of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.

The variant, which fueled the recent surge of cases and deaths in India, presents some real risks. According to experts in the United Kingdom, the Delta variant is 40 to 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant that first emerged there in late 2020 and was up to 70 percent more transmissible than earlier versions of the coronavirus.

In Great Britain, the Delta variant is currently responsible for 91 percent of new COVID-19 cases, with cases doubling over the past week, according to The New York Times. 

Although all two-dose COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the variant when fully administered, a recent study from Public Health England (PHE) finds this variant’s “immune escape” properties reduce protection to only 33 percent of people between the first dose and second dose.

Delta is now driving “an epidemic among the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated populations in the U.K.,” Dr. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, told the Financial Times. “The U.K. has rapidly changed from one of the best performing nations to a nation again struggling with rising cases.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the Delta variant’s spread and dominance in the United Kingdom could mean trouble for the United States, where the variant currently accounts for 6 percent of all infections, rising to 18 percent or higher in certain Western states.

Johnson & Johnson vaccine expiration dates extended

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it is extending the expiration date on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Agency officials said the vaccine can be stored at low temperatures for 4.5 months instead of the 3-month limit originally ordered. Millions of doses were in danger of being tossed out next month.

FDA officials also ordered Johnson & Johnson to discard 60 million vaccine doses made at a Baltimore facility due to concerns the manufacturer had not followed proper practices. The agency is allowing 10 million doses from that complex to be distributed with a warning label.

CDC schedules emergency meeting on heart inflammation concerns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called an emergency meeting to discuss reports of heart inflammation issues after the administration of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

The meeting of CDC advisors will take place on June 18.

So far, the agency has identified 226 cases believed to be myocarditis or pericarditis. Although the cases are a tiny fraction of the 130 million people in the United States who’ve received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, the numbers are still higher than expected.

6/10/21 12:00 p.m. PDT — Moderna asks FDA to allow COVID-19 vaccine to be given to children over 12

Officials at Moderna are asking the FDA to give emergency use authorization to their COVID-19 vaccine in people over the age of 12.

“We are pleased to announce that we have submitted for an emergency use authorization for our COVID-19 vaccine with the FDA for use in adolescents in the United States,” Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, said in a statement. “We are encouraged that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was highly effective at preventing COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infection in adolescents.”

They have also filed for authorization in Canada and the European Union.

Currently, the only COVID-19 vaccine available to children between the ages of 12 and 16 is the one made by Pfizer-BioNTech. Another vaccine on the market may help children get more access to the vaccines.

Unvaccinated at risk for a more dangerous coronavirus variant, surgeon general says

Although there is an ongoing decline in COVID-19 cases in the United States, the surgeon general warns those still unvaccinated to not let their guard down, reported CNN.

“For those who are unvaccinated, they are increasingly at risk as more and more variants develop,” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Wednesday, reported CNN. He specifically cited the B.1.617.2, or Delta variant, that was first identified in India.

“The news about the Delta variant is evidence of really why it’s so important for us to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Murthy said, adding that the Delta variant is more transmissible and potentially more dangerous.

According to CNN, many health experts and officials share concerns over the risk of variants bringing an end to a nationwide reopening.

“We don’t want to let happen in the United States what is happening currently in the U.K., where you have a troublesome variant essentially taking over as the dominant variant, which has made it a very difficult situation in the U.K.,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Wednesday, according to CNN.

Fauci added that the Delta variant accounts for over 6 percent of sequenced virus in the United States.

Houston hospital suspends nearly 200 employees who refused vaccination

A Houston hospital has suspended 178 staff members who have refused to follow the facility’s mandate that all employees be fully vaccinated by Monday, reported NBC News.

Almost 25,000 Houston Methodist staff members have been fully protected against COVID-19 as part of a vaccination requirement announced in April, Houston Methodist’s president, Dr. Marc Boom, said in a statement Tuesday, according to the network.

However, 178 unvaccinated employees who did not receive religious or medical exemptions for the mandate were suspended without pay. This number includes 27 staff who were only partially vaccinated.

“We won’t have the final numbers for 2 weeks, as employees can still get vaccinated with their second dose or with the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” Boom’s statement said, according to NBC. “I wish the number could be zero, but unfortunately, a small number of individuals have decided not to put their patients first.”

6/9/21 1:36 p.m. PDT — Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine effective against variants, study finds

A new study has found that Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine initiates multiple immune responses, making it highly protective not only in the United States but also in Brazil and South Africa, where different coronavirus variants are circulating. 

The researchers found that people in various parts of the world who received the shot were protected against severe disease, no matter which virus variant was circulating.

“Functional non-neutralizing antibody responses and T cell responses were largely preserved against SARS-CoV-2 variants,” the study authors wrote. “These findings have implications for vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.”

Thousands of Johnson & Johnson vaccines may expire before they’re used

Hundreds of thousands of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines may expire before they can be administered, according to Kaiser Health News.

The shots last for 3 months when refrigerated and up to 2 years when frozen.

Local health departments may have a backlog of shots as demand for vaccines has waned.

While the vaccines can be redistributed to other areas or countries in need, Johnson & Johnson and the Food and Drug Administration are also waiting for new evidence to see whether the vaccine will remain viable after its initial expiration date.

6/8/21 2:05 p.m. PDT — Pfizer begins testing COVID-19 vaccine in children under 12

Pfizer announced today it will begin testing its COVID-19 vaccine in a larger group of children younger than 12 after selecting a lower dose of the shot in an earlier stage of the trial, reported Reuters.

The study will enroll up to 4,500 children at more than 90 clinical sites in the United States, Finland, Poland, and Spain, the company said.

According to Reuters, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been authorized for use in children as young as 12 in Europe, the United States, and Canada. Children receive the same dose as adults, 30 micrograms.

Vaccinating children and young people is considered a critical step toward reaching herd immunity and taming the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Reuters.

We must redouble vaccination efforts to hit president’s July 4 goal, expert says

Despite signs of normalcy returning across the United States, from in-person graduations to maskless Memorial Day weekend celebrations, experts warned CNN that the country must redouble efforts to get more people vaccinated by July 4.

According to CNN, President Joe Biden has called for 70 percent of all adults to have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by July 4.

But a recent CNN analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data finds we’re not likely to hit that target until mid-to-late July.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told the network he agrees the country isn’t on track to hit the milestone.

“So we’ve got to redouble of our efforts,” he told CNN. “States really have to pick up pace. If we just keep going at the status quo I don’t think we’re going to hit that 70 percent by July 4.”

6/7/21 12:20 p.m. PDT — July 4th vaccination goal of 70% may be tough to reach

Experts are expressing concern the United States may miss the vaccination goal set by President Joe Biden for July 4.

They say that goal of 70 percent of U.S. adults receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose may not be reached until mid-July.

The country is now averaging about 1 million vaccinations a day, down from the peak of 3.3 million in April.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Friday that the best way for the country to avoid COVID-19 surges is to get vaccinated.

“It ain’t over ’til it’s over — and it is not over yet,” Fauci said at an event hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Complacency, he added, could lead to “another surge — particularly with variants floating around — that could set us back to the time when we had to shut down things.”

Vaccination rate still low in Black communities

Another concern is the pace at which Black Americans are being vaccinated.

Officials say the vaccination blueprint that’s worked with other ethnic and racial groups isn’t doing enough to win over Black Americans.

According to the most recent CDC data, less than 10 percent of Black Americans have been fully vaccinated against the disease.

“It’s a tough layer that we have to address — it requires relationship building and it’s going to take a little longer,” Octavio Martinez, executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, who sits on the White House’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, told Politico. “We have a systemic issue here.”

6/4/21 4:10 p.m. PDT — CDC director urges teens to get vaccinated

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), urged teens to get vaccinated and recommended parents who have questions to speak with their child’s health providers, local pharmacists, or health departments, reported The Washington Post.

“I strongly encourage parents to get their teens vaccinated, as I did mine,” she said during a briefing yesterday, reported the Post.

Walensky added that until teens are fully vaccinated, “they should continue to wear masks and take precautions when around others who are not vaccinated to protect themselves, their friends, family and community.”

6/3/21 12:00 p.m. PDT — Biden administration outlines plan to send 25 million vaccines to other countries

With vaccination demand in the United States waning, the Biden administration is now looking to send millions of doses abroad to fight COVID-19, according to Reuters.

About 19 million doses will be given to COVAX, the campaign run by the World Health Organization to get vaccines to developing countries. The other 6 million doses will be given directly to countries including Canada, Mexico, India, and South Korea.

While more than 50 percent of the U.S. population has had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, many countries have yet to even start a mass vaccination campaign.

The World Health Organization has been pushing for wealthier countries to donate vaccines to poorer countries to fight the pandemic globally. Should a strain develop in other parts of the world, it can quickly spread to the United States.

COVID-19 cases lowest since pandemic began

The United States has brought new COVID-19 cases down to their lowest level since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The country averaged about 15,622 new cases per day over the past week, which is a 30 percent improvement over the week before. Also, new cases declined in 43 states, with the other seven holding steady, reported Axios.

Additionally, since vaccinations are rising, there’s less chance that we could see another major spike similar to what we saw this winter.

According to a recent story in The Washington Post, the risk for unvaccinated people is still about as high as it’s ever been, with an average of roughly 500, mostly unvaccinated, people dying per day from COVID-19 in the United States.

India orders unapproved COVID-19 vaccine as nation struggles against second wave

Today, India signed its first order for an unapproved COVID-19 vaccine, one day after criticism from the South Asian country’s supreme court over a bungled vaccine rollout that left millions of people vulnerable after almost 338,000 deaths, reported Reuters.

According to Reuters, only 4.7 percent of the 950 million adult population has received two vaccine doses, as the world’s second most populous country reels from a nationwide second wave of infections that has killed about 170,000 people in April and May alone.

The government will buy 300 million vaccine doses from local firm Biological-E, and has put down an advance of $205.6 million, the health ministry said, even though the vaccine is still going through phase 3 clinical trials, reported Reuters.

“The arrangement with Biological-E is part of the wider endeavor of the government of India to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in research & development and also financial support,” the ministry said in a statement, reported CTV News.

According to CTV News, the official recorded caseload since the start of the pandemic now stands at 28.4 million, which is the second-highest in the world after the United States.

6/2/21 7:00 p.m. PDT — 12 states have already achieved Biden’s goal of 70% adults vaccinated against COVID-19

Twelve states have now reached the Biden administration’s goal to vaccinate 70 percent of adults with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July 4, according to data published yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported CNN.

According to CNN, those states are California, Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

About 168.5 million people — nearly 51 percent of the U.S. population — have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and nearly 41 percent of the population — roughly 136 million people — are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data, CNN reported.

New trial will research whether COVID-19 vaccines can be mixed and matched

The National Institutes of Health is examining whether COVID-19 vaccines can be mixed and matched for booster shots.

The NIH study will see whether fully vaccinated people do better if they receive a booster shot 20 weeks after initial vaccination. Those new booster shots will not need to match the original type of vaccine given to the participant.

“We need to prepare for the possibility of needing booster shots to counter waning immunity and to keep pace with an evolving virus,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the NIH.

“The results of this trial are intended to inform public health policy decisions on the potential use of mixed vaccine schedules should booster doses be indicated,” he said.

6/1/21 2:55 p.m. PDT — COVID variants to be named after Greek letters, WHO announces

The World Health Organization (WHO) will assign simple, easy to say and remember labels for key variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by using letters of the Greek alphabet.

The WHO will assign labels for COVID-19 variants designated as Variants of Interest (VOI) or Variants of Concern (VOC) by WHO, and will be posted on the WHO’s website.

“The U.K. variant, for instance, is labeled Alpha, the South African Beta, and the Indian as Delta,” reported BBC. The WHO said this was to simplify discussions but also to help remove some stigma from the names.

“No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting variants,” the WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, tweeted. Kerkhove also called for “robust surveillance” of variants and the sharing of scientific data to help stop the pandemic from worsening.

Moderna seeks full FDA approval for mRNA vaccine

Moderna asked the FDA for full U.S. approval of its COVID-19 vaccine today, reported CNBC, making Moderna the second drugmaker in the United States to pursue a biologics license that will allow them to market its vaccine directly to consumers.

According to CNBC, the drugmaker’s mRNA vaccine is currently being distributed under an emergency use authorization (EUA), granted by the FDA in December.

It gives conditional approval based on 2 months of safety data and isn’t the same as a biologics license application, or a request for full approval, which requires at least 6 months of data.

“We are pleased to announce this important step in the U.S. regulatory process for a Biologics License Application (BLA) of our COVID-19 vaccine,” said Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, in a statement. “We look forward to working with the FDA and will continue to submit data from our Phase 3 study and complete the rolling submission.”

5/28/21 9:55 a.m. PDT — Most Americans favor vaccine verification for travelers

About 70 percent of people in the United States favor vaccine verification while traveling by plane or staying in a hotel, a new PwC consulting survey found.

More than half of respondents to the survey, released on Friday, said they support policies that prevent people from traveling if they don’t show proof of vaccination.

About 14 percent reported they would be upset if asked for proof of vaccination while traveling.

President Biden delivers hopeful message on COVID-19

On Friday, President Joe Biden delivered a message of hope and optimism on the declining number of COVID-19 cases and increased vaccination rates ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.

The president traveled to Virginia to outline the progress made across the country, and in Virginia specifically, in combating the pandemic since he took office.

5/27/21 2:26 p.m. PDT — New antibody treatment for COVID-19 is authorized by the FDA

There’s a new COVID-19 treatment now authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The monoclonal antibody therapy sotrovimab will be able to be administered to people with mild to moderate COVID-19 over age 12.

This is the third such treatment given emergency use authorization by the FDA since the start of the pandemic, according to U.S. News and World Report.

“With the authorization of this monoclonal antibody treatment, we are providing another option to help keep high-risk patients with COVID-19 out of the hospital,” said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “It is important to expand the arsenal of monoclonal antibody therapies that are expected to retain activity against the circulating variants of COVID-19 in the United States.” 

First winner of Ohio vaccine lottery

An Ohio woman won the state’s first $1 million Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prize, and a Dayton-area teen won the first full-ride college scholarship offered by the program, the state announced Wednesday night.

According to Associated Press, winners were selected in a random drawing held Monday and had their information confirmed before a formal announcement was made at the end of the Ohio Lottery’s “Cash Explosion” TV show.

The lottery announced Abbigail Bugenske of Silverton, Ohio as the $1 million winner, and Joseph Costello of Englewood, Ohio as the college scholarship winner.

“I would encourage anyone to get the vaccine,” Bugenske told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “If winning $1 million isn’t incentive enough, I don’t really know what would be.”

5/26/21 2:22 p.m. PDT — Belgium pauses J&J vaccine for people under 41 after death

On May 26, Belgium announced it would suspend vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for people under age 41 following the death of a woman after she was given the vaccine, reported Reuters.

“The Inter-ministerial conference has decided to temporarily administer Janssen’s vaccine to the general population from the age of 41 years, pending a more detailed benefit-risk analysis by the EMA (European Medicines Agency),” Belgium’s federal health minister and seven regional counterparts said in a statement, reported Yahoo! News.

According to The Telegraph, the woman was a Slovenian diplomat and 39 years old. Belgian media reports she was vaccinated outside Belgium, through her employer.

Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson announced April 20 that it would resume rolling out its COVID-19 vaccine in Europe with a warning on its label after requesting that countries, including Belgium, pause distribution amid concerns over a possible link to rare blood clots.

CDC will not investigate mild cases of COVID-19 in vaccinated people

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it will no longer investigate mild cases of COVID-19 in people who are vaccinated.

Breakthrough cases of COVID-19 — when a vaccinated person develops the illness — are extremely rare but not unexpected. A total of 10,262 COVID-19 cases were reported among the 101 million people who were fully vaccinated as of April 30.

That means about 0.0001 percent of people who were vaccinated developed COVID-19.

Among those who developed COVID-19, only 995 people actually were hospitalized and 160 died, although not all died of COVID-19.

5/25/21 12:59 p.m. PDT — Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine is effective in teens

In a statement released Tuesday, May 25, officials at Moderna say their COVID-19 vaccine is effective at protecting adolescents.

In a phase 2/3 study, 3,732 adolescents ages 12 to under 18 were given either a placebo or two vaccine doses. No cases of COVID-19 were reported in those who were fully vaccinated.

“We are encouraged that mRNA-1273 was highly effective at preventing COVID-19 in adolescents. It is particularly exciting to see that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine can prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. “We will submit these results to the U.S. FDA and regulators globally in early June and request authorization. We remain committed to doing our part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Can vaccinated people spread the coronavirus? Study says probably not

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its mask use guidelines on May 13, many Americans were left a little confused.

People who are fully vaccinated can now participate in indoor and outdoor activities, regardless of the number of people involved, without wearing a mask or observing physical distancing.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said the new guideline is “based on the evolution of the science” and “serves as an incentive” for the almost two-thirds of Americans who are not yet fully vaccinated to go ahead and get the shot, reported Yahoo.

With restrictions lifting nationwide, people are starting to leave their masks at home. This worries some people who fear that someone who’s been vaccinated can transmit the virus.

A preprint study (not yet peer-reviewed) finds that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine can produce coronavirus-fighting antibodies in the oral and nasal fluids.

Antibodies in the mouth and nose should then block COVID from getting into the body. This would also suggest that vaccinated people probably wouldn’t spread the virus through respiratory droplets.

“Our observations are in agreement with the Moderna vaccine clinical study, which determined that among adults aged 18 to 70 years of age, SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were detected among all participants who received a COVID-19 vaccination series in serum samples by day 15,” the study authors wrote.

Vaccinations lag among younger Americans

Experts are turning their focus in the fight against COVID-19 to vaccinating young Americans — warning that even though they don’t face a high chance of serious illness, they still risk long-term symptoms if they contract the coronavirus, reported CNN.

According to CNN, the United States has hit a new milestone with 50% of U.S. adults fully vaccinated, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.

But many experts have identified younger Americans as a critical group for vaccine success and key to bringing the pandemic under control.

CDC data shows that among those 12 to 15 years old, only 1.5 percent have received at least one dose, while only 1.7 percent of 16- to 17-year-olds have, and 7.6 percent of 18- to 24-years-old have.

To reach the threshold of protection needed to limit the virus’ spread, at least 70 to 85 percent of the U.S. population will need to be immunized through vaccines or infection, health experts told CNN.

5/24/21 2:43 p.m. PDT — India records 300,000 COVID-19 deaths amid black fungus outbreak

On Monday, India became the third country to record 300,000 COVID-19 deaths amid growing fears about the potentially fatal fungal infection striking some patients who have battled the virus. Only Brazil and the United States have reported more deaths.

“Black fungus cases were first seen in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Karnataka has been reporting it only in the last three days and demand for medicines has gone up,” federal minister DV Sadananda Gowda said on Friday, reported the New Indian Express.

On Saturday, Gowda said nearly 9,000 cases had been reported in India so far, leading to a shortage of amphotericin B, the drug used to treat the condition, reported the Associated Press (AP).

According to AP, the infection, called mucormycosis, has a high mortality rate and was already present in India before the pandemic. While not contagious, its frequency in the past month has left doctors shocked.

“It is a new challenge, and things are looking bleak,” Dr. Ambrish Mithal, the chairman and head of the endocrinology and diabetes department at Max Healthcare, told AP.

He added that this fungal infection preys on patients with weakened immune systems and underlying conditions, particularly diabetes, and “irrational usage” of steroids.

Possibility dogs can sniff out COVID-19 in people, early research suggests

A new study published May 23 indicates dogs might be able to help in the fight against COVID-19. According to CNN, scientists and the group Medical Detection Dogs completed an early trial examining if dogs could smell and identify COVID-19 cases.

Researchers said the dogs could pick up the scent of COVID-19 after 6 to 8 weeks of training, reported CNN. These early results have been published in a preprint study that hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.

“The results are extremely exciting,” James Logan, PhD, a project lead on the study, told CNN.

5/21/21 2:37 p.m. PDT — Death toll from COVID-19 is probably 2 to 3 times higher than reported

Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) say that the global death toll is probably around two to three times the number reported, according to Reuters.

Currently, more than 3.4 million people have died from COVID-19. But the new report from the WHO would mean around 6 to 9 million people have died from the disease.

In many countries, a surge of COVID-19 cases meant that some people died before they were able to be tested for the disease, so their deaths were not officially linked to the pandemic.

People in India recover from COVID-19 only to die from ‘black fungus’

According to CNN, doctors in India began raising the alarm in early May about a rise in mucormycosis, a rare and potentially deadly infection. It’s also known as black fungus.

“One of the ways mucormycosis travels is by invading the blood vessels,” Dr. Hemant Thacker, consultant physician and cardiometabolic specialist at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, told CNN. “It compromises the circulation to the distal organ, and thus produces what is called as necrosis or death of tissue, which then becomes black. So it is then given the name black fungus.”

Many people with a mucormycosis infection also have COVID-19, or have recently recovered from it, whose immune systems were weakened by the virus or who have underlying conditions, particularly diabetes.

In the past few weeks, thousands of mucormycosis cases have been reported across India, with hundreds hospitalized and at least 90 dead, CNN reported. Two states in India have declared it an epidemic, and the central government has made it a notifiable disease.

5/20/21 2:09 p.m. PDT — Current COVID-19 vaccines protect against variants, says WHO Europe

COVID-19 vaccines currently used in Europe appear able to protect against all currently circulating variants that are causing concern, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director Hans Kluge said on May 20, reported Reuters.

He also said health authorities should remain vigilant on the rising number of cases in the region caused by the variant first detected in India, but stressed that vaccination and infection control measures would help prevent further transmission.

“All COVID-19 virus variants that have emerged so far do respond to the available, approved vaccines,” Kluge told a media briefing.

Since the variant (B.1.617) was first identified in India, it has spread to at least 26 countries out of the 53 in the WHO’s European Region, said Kluge: “From Austria, to Greece, Israel to Kyrgyzstan.”

According to Reuters, Kluge said the WHO’s regional office was cautiously optimistic to see COVID-19 cases in the region declining.

“We are heading in the right direction, but need to keep a watchful eye,” he said. “In several countries, there are pockets of increasing transmission that could quickly evolve into dangerous resurgences… The pandemic is not over yet.”

COVID-19 vaccine data on kids expected by fall, says CDC director

Health officials expect to have more data regarding COVID-19 vaccination and younger children by late fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said May 19, reported Fox News.

According to Fox, Walensky, while testifying before a Senate subcommittee on the agency’s budget request, said deescalation studies involving children down to age 9 are ongoing and will involve younger children as more data come in.

“We’re working toward getting a vaccine that’s available for all people,” Walensky said. She added that the agency hopes to “have more available data in late fall and by the end of the year.”

5/19/21 3:35 p.m. PDT — AstraZeneca vaccine works well as third booster, study finds

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine works well as a third booster dose. It increased antibodies to the coronavirus spike protein among participants in a not-yet-published study, the Financial Times reported.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is an adenovirus-based, viral vector vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that a viral vector vaccine uses a harmless version of a different virus, called a “vector,” to deliver information to the body that helps protect it against infection.

This technology raised concern among experts that the doses might lose potency if booster shots become necessary to fight coronavirus variants.

“However, the mRNA vaccines may have an advantage over the adenovirus-vectored vaccines if annual boosters are needed,” Dr. Julian Tang, a clinical virologist and honorary associate professor in the department of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, said in a statement.

“The development of host antibodies to the adenovirus-vector may limit these vaccines’ usefulness if such annual boosters are needed to maintain longer term protection,” he said.

60% of U.S. adults have been vaccinated, CDC director says

The United States has reached a “landmark day” in the COVID-19 pandemic as 60 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said, reported CNN.

She also said that more than 3.5 million people ages 12 to 17 have received their first vaccine dose.

White House COVID-19 Response Team senior adviser Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith told CNN that more People of Color are being vaccinated, marking “encouraging national trends.”

According to the network, in the past 2 weeks 51 percent of people vaccinated in the United States were People of Color, which is higher than the 40 percent of the general population those groups represent.

India records highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in a single day

India has set a new global record during the pandemic for the number of COVID-19 deaths in a single day.

At least 4,529 deaths were reported in India as of May 19, bringing the country’s total COVID-19 death toll to more than 280,000, according to The Associated Press.

India has seen a massive COVID-19 surge in recent weeks after restrictions were eased. Only Brazil and the United States have recorded more deaths from COVID-19.

5/18/21 4:02 p.m. PDT — Tokyo doctors call for Olympic Games to be canceled due to pandemic

A top medical organization in Japan has backed calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics, saying hospitals are already overwhelmed as the country fights a surge in COVID-19 cases with less than 3 months from the start of the games, reported Reuters.

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, which represents about 6,000 primary care doctors, said hospitals in Tokyo, the Olympic Games host city, “have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity” amid a spike in infections, according to Reuters.

“We strongly request that the authorities convince the IOC (International Olympic Committee) that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games,” the association announced in a May 14 open letter to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, which was posted to the organization’s website yesterday, reported Reuters.

According to Reuters, the number of cases throughout the island nation dropped to 3,680 on May 17, the lowest level since April 26, but the number of severe infections hit a record high of 1,235 on May 18.

Over 600,000 children 12–15 were vaccinated last week

COVID-19 vaccinations are picking up for those under age 16 with more than 600,000 children between the ages of 12 and 15 getting vaccinated last week.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky cited this new statistic on Twitter today.

The COVID-19 vaccination rate has slowed in recent weeks after it hit a high in April.

Officials have been hoping that the United States can reach herd immunity in the coming months, which would happen when around 70 to 90 percent of the population is immunized.

5/17/21 2:26 p.m. PDT — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urges ‘heavy dose of caution’ as country reopens

As the United Kingdom starts to allow reopenings and social gatherings, the prime minister is urging people to be careful.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned U.K. citizens to use a “heavy dose of caution” as pubs and other gathering places reopen, according to The Guardian.

The United Kingdom previously reopened with fanfare only to face another strict lockdown as COVID-19 cases surged.

What the new mask guidance means for unvaccinated kids

Once 12- to 15-year-olds are fully vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s safe for them to remove their masks in most settings, just like fully vaccinated adults, according to NPR.

However, state and local laws apply, as do school and business policies. Masks will still be required on buses, trains, and planes, and at stations and airports.

But there are no COVID-19 vaccines currently approved for use in children under 12 in the United States, meaning that they need to continue masking.

All unvaccinated people age 2 and older “should wear masks in public settings and when around people who don’t live in their household,” states the CDC mask guidelines.

Experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) say unvaccinated children 2 years old and older should continue to wear masks around others when indoors, especially when among at-risk adults, like people who are immunocompromised or over age 65, reported NPR.

“We know children over age two can safely wear masks to protect themselves and others from transmitting the COVID-19 virus,” Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement, reported NPR.

“We’ve already seen how the masks have helped prevent the spread of respiratory infections within schools, camps and other community settings,” she added. “Particularly when everyone wears them, washes hands, and follows other infection control guidance.”

It will likely be at least a few more months until a vaccine is approved for children under 12, and Pfizer says it won’t be ready to ask for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its COVID-19 vaccine in that age group until September.

5/14/21 2:47 p.m. PDT — Coronavirus outbreak hits the Yankees

At least eight people affiliated with the New York Yankees have tested positive for the coronavirus even though all eight were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, according to The New York Times.

While these kinds of “breakthrough” infections among people who are vaccinated are rare, they are expected to occur in a small number of cases. However, it’s likely that the vaccines still provide protection against severe symptoms.

Seven of the eight people who tested positive had no symptoms. The one person who did have symptoms said they ended within days. It’s likely that these cases were caught only because testing is required for major league teams.

New CDC mask guidance approached cautiously by some states

Federal health officials cleared the way yesterday for fully vaccinated people to drop mask wearing in most situations, with some states lifting mask mandates and others taking a more cautious approach, reported The New York Times.

According to the Times, the governors of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia and the mayors of New York City and Washington, D.C., all said they would take the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mask guidance under advisement before adopting it.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state had “always relied on the facts and the science to guide us throughout the worst of this pandemic,” and that he would review the new federal guidelines with the state health department and health experts in neighboring states, reported the Times.

In a video posted to social media, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the CDC announcement was “news that we have all been waiting for.” He also encouraged state residents to take advantage of “hundred of thousands” of available vaccine appointments.

5/13/21 1:52 p.m. PDT — CDC issues new mask guidance for indoor locations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated mask guidance for people who are vaccinated, saying that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most indoor settings.

These indoor settings include workplaces, restaurants and stores. But masks are still recommended in crowded indoor settings like public transportation, hospitals, and planes, reported The Associated Press.

“We have all longed for this moment — when we can get back to some sense of normalcy,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, according to the AP.

Fauci stops short of saying schools should require vaccines for students

Dr. Anthony Fauci urges parents to vaccinate their kids against COVID-19 — but stopped short of saying the shots should be required to attend school, reported CBS News.

“Whenever you’re talking about requiring something, that’s always a charged issue. So I’m not so sure we should be requiring children at all,” Fauci said today on “CBS This Morning.” “We should be encouraging them,” he said.

The CDC cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine yesterday for all 12- to 15-year-olds nationwide. Pfizer says its vaccine was 100 percent effective in its clinical trial for this age group.

CDC data finds K–12 schools are not a significant source of coronavirus transmissions within their communities, and many schools across the country have already reopened for in-person classes.

But this hasn’t stopped debates over whether schools should require students returning in the fall to be vaccinated.

Acknowledging the issue, Fauci still fears the mandate may do more harm than good.

“You’ve got to be careful when you make the requirement of something, that usually gets you into a lot of pushback — understandable pushback,” he cautioned, reported CBS.

5/12/21 12:00 p.m. PDT — Georgia among first states to offer COVID-19 vaccine to kids under 16

When the state of Georgia made COVID-19 vaccinations available to children as young as 12 yesterday, Atlanta residents Jenny and Jeffrey Brower pushed to schedule an appointment for their twin 13-year-old girls, reported Reuters.

According to Reuters, they were the lucky ones. Providers in their state, along with Delaware and Arkansas, were offering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 12 to 15 just a day after U.S. regulators authorized the vaccine for emergency use in this age group.

Young people in most states who were contacted by Reuters told the news service that they would have to wait at least until later in the week to receive their doses.

A spokeswoman for Georgia’s public health agency told Reuters the state chose to give shots right away to avoid turning young people away and risking them not coming back for the first jab of the two-shot regimen.

According to Reuters, more than a dozen states, including Texas, Idaho, Arizona, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Minnesota, said they would wait for the go-ahead from an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before administering the vaccine to children under 16.

That advisory committee voted to recommend the vaccine for children 12 to 16 on Wednesday.

Washington state hit by 4th wave of infections

As COVID-19 outbreaks recede in many parts of the United States, the Pacific Northwest is an outlier, still fighting against a late spring surge that’s filling hospitals in the areas around Seattle and Portland, reported NPR.

According to NPR, recent weeks have seen the governors of both states hit the brakes on reopening plans in hopes of countering the swift spread of a more contagious coronavirus variant named B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.

“We have seen a clear fourth wave of hospitalizations,” Dr. Michael Anderson, chief medical officer of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, which has hospitals throughout Washington, told NPR. “The rise of the curves for admissions has been scary in that it has taken off so quickly.”

Gov. Jay Inslee has enacted a statewide pause on loosening any pandemic restrictions in Washington and instituted more stringent rules on several regions last month, including the state’s second-most populous county just south of Seattle, reported NPR.

5/11/21 12:00 p.m. PDT — Triple-mutant variant from India classified as ‘variant of concern’

A World Health Organization (WHO) official said yesterday that the highly contagious triple-mutant coronavirus variant spreading in India is reclassified as a “variant of concern,” indicating it’s now a global health threat, reported CNBC.

WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, said the agency will provide more details today in its weekly situation report on the pandemic, but added that the variant, called B.1.617, was found in preliminary studies to spread more easily than the original virus, reported CNBC.

There’s also evidence that B.1.617 might evade some protections provided by vaccines; however, the shots are still considered effective.

“Even though there is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies,” Van Kerkhove said during a press conference, as reported CNBC, “we need much more information about this virus variant in this lineage in all of the sub lineages, so we need more sequencing, targeted sequencing to be done.”

5/10/21 3:26 p.m. PDT — The FDA authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 12–15

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as age 12.

Previously, the vaccine was approved only for people who were age 16 or older.

“Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic,” Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, MD, said in statement. “Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.”

Time may soon come to relax mask mandates, Fauci says

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), federal guidance on wearing face masks indoors may change.

On Sunday, May 9, ABC News asked Fauci whether it’s time to start relaxing indoor mask requirements. He replied, “I think so, and I think you’re going to probably be seeing that as we go along, and as more people get vaccinated.”

Fauci also said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be updating its guidance almost in real-time, as more Americans get vaccinated.

Mutation of highly contagious Brazilian COVID-19 variant identified in Florida

A new mutation of the highly contagious Brazilian COVID-19 variant has emerged in Florida, health officials said.

The new variant, called P2 or P.1.1, has a slightly different sequence than Brazil’s P1 strain, found to be more likely to reinfect those who have already had the virus, reported the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The variant was detected in a 74-year-old man in Broward County and a 51-year-old woman in Duval County, according to the state Department of Health. Scientists are monitoring this variant to find out whether it behaves similarly to the P1 strain and how easily it can be transmitted.

5/7/21 3:32 p.m. PDT — Global COVID-19 death toll may be double official estimates

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused nearly 6.9 million deaths across the world, more than double the number officially recorded, estimates a new analysis from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), reported Reuters.

According to Reuters, the IHME is an independent health research organization that provides comparable measurement of the world’s health problems and has been cited in the past by the White House. Public health officials watch its reports closely.

The IHME says COVID-19 deaths go unreported as many countries only record those that occur in a hospital setting, or in people with confirmed infection. For this reason, the IHME is changing how these figures are calculated.

“In other countries, such as Ecuador, Peru, and the Russian Federation, the discrepancy between reported deaths and analyses of death rates compared to expected death rates, sometimes referred to as ‘excess mortality,’ suggests that the total COVID-19 death rate is many multiples larger than official reports,” the IHME said in a statement.

In the United States, the IHME analysis estimated COVID-19-related deaths of more than 905,000, reported Reuters, while official figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 5 estimated 575,491 deaths due to COVID-19.

Pfizer and BioNTech to seek full FDA approval for COVID-19 vaccine

In a new announcement, Pfizer and BioNTech stated they will seek full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently, the vaccine is allowed to be administered under emergency use authorization. Getting the full FDA approval will likely take several months.

India cases surge again, breaking global record

India’s struggle against the pandemic continues, with the country reporting today another record in COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours with more than 414,000 cases, reported The Washington Post.

India has so far recorded more than 21.4 million confirmed cases and at least 234,083 deaths.

“Countries wrestling with new coronavirus surges are trying to ensure they aren’t hit by an India-style disaster. More world cases have been reported in the past two weeks than in the entire first six months of the pandemic,” said the World Health Organization (WHO) director general, reported The Associated Press.

5/6/21 12:00 p.m. PDT — COVID-19 may spark diabetes, doctors find

Health experts are finding that people may have a higher risk of developing diabetes after recovering from COVID-19.

When Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly’s research team told him how often diabetes affected survivors of COVID-19, he thought the data must be wrong and asked his colleagues to crunch the numbers again, reported Bloomberg.

However, after weeks spent sifting through millions of patient records, they confirmed the figures.

By then, Al-Aly’s own investigation into the literature had brought him face to face with an alarming fact. COVID-19 wasn’t just more dangerous for people with diabetes, it also triggered the disease in many who didn’t have it before.

“It took a while to convince me,” Al-Aly, who directs the clinical epidemiology center at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri, told Bloomberg. “It was hard to believe that COVID could be doing this.”

According to Bloomberg, among the pandemic’s ripple effects, worsening of the global diabetes burden could carry a heavy public health toll. Some doctors suspect the SARS-CoV-2 virus might damage the pancreas, a gland that makes insulin needed to convert sugar into energy.

Al-Aly and colleagues are the first to measure this effect in the United States based on evidence from the national healthcare databases of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

They found COVID-19 survivors were about 39 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes in the 6 months following COVID-19 compared to users of the VA health system that didn’t have COVID-19.

Moderna says booster shot is effective against COVID-19 variants

Drugmaker Moderna announced on May 5 that the company’s booster shot could be effective against some COVID-19 variants.

According to a Moderna press release, human trials showed that those given a third shot after receiving their 2-dose vaccine had an increased immune response to the COVID-19 strains initially identified in South Africa and Brazil.

“As we seek to defeat the ongoing pandemic, we remain committed to being proactive as the virus evolves. We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforce our confidence that our booster strategy should be protective against these newly detected variants,” Moderna said in the statement.

Moderna’s CEO is confident mRNA technology will be key in controlling the transmission of coronavirus variants.

“Our mRNA platform allows for rapid design of vaccine candidates that incorporate key virus mutations, potentially allowing for faster development of future alternative variant-matched vaccines should they be needed,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, in the statement.

5/5/21 3:14 p.m. PDT — Biden administration favors waiving patent for COVID-19 vaccine

The Biden administration is now in favor of waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to fight the pandemic.

World Trade Organization members discussed the potential of waiving these rights today, according to CNN.

Just a small fraction of the world’s population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with most vaccinations occurring in wealthy countries.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued a statement today citing the “global health crisis” as a reason for “extraordinary” measures.

“The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” Tai wrote in the statement.

“We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved. ”

India accounts for nearly half of all new COVID-19 cases

India continues to face a mounting COVID-19 surge. The country now makes up 46 percent of new COVID-19 cases globally, according to Reuters.

The country broke another record this month with more than 400,000 cases recorded in a single 24-hour period.

India is now second only to the United States in total cases with more than 20 million COVID-19 cases reported.

Biden aims to get 70% of adults partially vaccinated by July 4

President Joe Biden announced changes to the country’s vaccination program in an effort to reach 70 percent of adults in the United States by July 4.

Now, vaccinations are slowing due to a decrease in demand rather than supply. The vaccination rate has slowed considerably since the high in mid-April.

Biden said his administration would now focus on sending vaccines to pharmacies and other smaller outlets rather than the massive vaccination sites that have characterized the rollout.

Our goal by July 4th is to have 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot — and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated. It’s another huge goal, and a serious step toward a return to normal.

Get vaccinated, keep following CDC guidance. We can do this.

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 4, 2021

AstraZeneca, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines 87% effective after first shot, South Korean data shows

One dose of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine was nearly 87 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among those ages 60 and older, according to real-world data released by South Korea on May 5.

According to Reuters, data by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) shows the Pfizer vaccine was 89.7 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 at least 2 weeks after a first dose was given, and the AstraZeneca shot was 86 percent effective.

The analysis was based on over 3.5 million people in South Korea, ages 60 and older, for 2 months from Feb. 26. It included 521,133 people who received a first dose of either a Pfizer or AstraZeneca shot.

5/4/21 1:11 p.m. PDT — India becomes second country to top 20 million cases

COVID-19 cases in India have now topped 20 million, according to Johns Hopkins.

Only the United States has documented more COVID-19 cases at this point.

Deaths are also surging in India, where oxygen canisters have been hard to come by.

Experts also say the reported case count in India is likely far below the actual case count.

Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told NPR he believes that India may be detecting just 3 to 4 percent of total COVID-19 cases.

“So we’re talking about every day, maybe 5 million infections a day in India right now. That’s a huge number,” he told NPR.

More than 222,000 people have died in the country, although reports suggest the death toll is far higher.

Children account for over 20% of COVID-19 cases

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports that while the number of U.S. children getting COVID-19 is lower than the highs set at the start of 2021, children now account for more than one-fifth of new COVID-19 cases in states releasing data by age, reported NPR.

According to NPR, experts link this trend to several factors, but chief among them is high vaccination rates among older adults.

But other dynamics are also in play, from coronavirus variants to recently lifted restrictions on school activities.

“We are seeing more outbreaks than we had related to school and school activities. We’ve seen those all along, and we’re seeing a little bit more of those now proportionately than we had,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, vice chair of the AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases, in an interview with NPR.

“And I think that’s also due to a combination of factors,” he continued. “Again, the variants, but also more kids in the last couple of months are in in-person school than they had been in prior months.”

5/3/21 2:38 p.m. PDT — Russia records more than 400,000 excess deaths during pandemic

According to Reuters calculations that are based on recently published data from Russia’s statistics agency, the nation recorded more than 400,000 excess deaths from April 2020 to March 2021.

Reuters notes that excess deaths are typically defined as the difference between the observed numbers of deaths in specific time periods and expected numbers of deaths during the same periods.

Rosstat, the Russian statistics agency, said Russia recorded around 250,000 deaths related to COVID-19 from April 2020 to March 2021, reported Reuters.

The death rate was around 25 percent higher in March 2021 compared with the same month a year ago.

Russia’s official COVID-19 task force said last week that the authorities had recorded more than 4.8 million cases nationwide since the start of the pandemic, reported Reuters.

Most populous U.S. county records 0 COVID-19 deaths

Los Angeles County reached a major milestone after it recorded zero COVID-19 deaths in a 24-hour period, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The most populous U.S. county, it was previously a major hot spot for the coronavirus last winter.

Now as vaccinations rise, the county reported no new COVID-19 deaths on May 2.

While it’s possible deaths were undercounted, public health officials said that the positive coronavirus infection rate has reached its lowest level since the start of the pandemic.

Reaching herd immunity may be unlikely

Widely circulating coronavirus variants and persistent vaccine hesitancy will keep herd immunity out of reach, reported The New York Times.

But vaccinating the most vulnerable may be enough to restore normalcy.

According to the Times, over half of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

However, daily vaccination rates are slipping. The consensus among scientists and public health experts is that the herd immunity threshold won’t be reached — not in the near future, and perhaps not ever.

Continued vaccinations, especially for people at highest risk because of age, potential exposure, or health status, will be crucial to limiting the severity of outbreaks, if not their frequency, experts believe, reported the Times.

“The virus is unlikely to go away,” Rustom Antia, PhD, an evolutionary biologist at Emory University in Atlanta, told the Times. “But we want to do all we can to check that it’s likely to become a mild infection.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top adviser on COVID-19, acknowledged this shift in experts’ thinking, reported the Times.

“People were getting confused and thinking you’re never going to get the infections down until you reach this mystical level of herd immunity, whatever that number is,” he said.

“That’s why we stopped using herd immunity in the classic sense,” he added. “I’m saying: Forget that for a second. You vaccinate enough people; the infections are going to go down.”

4/29/21 1:58 p.m. PDT — EU COVID-19 certificates must facilitate free movement

As EU member states start to issue vaccine certificates, the European Parliament made an announcement in a press release that put guidelines on these certificates.

In the press release, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also agreed that a new “EU COVID-19 certificate” should only be in place for 12 months “and not longer.”

“The document, which may be in digital or paper format, will attest that a person has been vaccinated against coronavirus or, alternatively, that they have a recent negative test result or have recovered from the infection,” reads the press release.

“However, EU COVID-19 certificates will neither serve as travel document nor become a precondition to exercise the right to free movement,” it states.

According to MEPs, holders of an EU COVID-19 certificate should not be subject to travel restrictions that include quarantine, self-isolation, or testing.

They also stressed that to avoid discrimination against people who have not been vaccinated, and for economic reasons, EU countries should “ensure universal, accessible, timely, and free of charge testing.”

Skipping second vaccine dose could prolong pandemic, study finds

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that nearly 38 percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, reported Fox News.

But officials warn about a portion of the 55 percent who have only received a first dose and are skipping out on the second.

According to a new study, 8 percent of people are skipping their second dose and potentially prolonging the pandemic.

Researchers also said this could be a more serious problem for marginalized racial and ethnic groups that have historically had higher attrition rates for multidose vaccines.

They found that Black and Latinx respondents were much less likely than white respondents to believe COVID-19 vaccines provided strong protection after the second dose, and significantly more likely to be unsure.

“These findings suggest that there is a real need — and opportunity — for the medical community to provide fuller guidance and greater contextual explanations to vaccines, about how life can change after vaccination as we gradually return to normalcy,” the study authors wrote.

4/28/21 2:56 p.m. PDT — Deaths top 200,000 in India as COVID-19 continues to surge

More than 200,000 people are known to have died from COVID-19 in India. Many more deaths may have gone uncounted, according to reports.

More than 360,000 people tested positive for COVID-19 in India in a single 24-hour period, marking another global record for daily cases in a country.

Indian COVID-19 vaccine found to neutralize virus variant from India

There are some signs of good news as COVID-19 continues to worsen in much of the globe.

Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that India’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, called COVAXIN, has been found to neutralize the B1.617 variant, which was first identified in the South Asian nation, reported CNN.

According to a press release from drugmaker Bharat Biotech, COVAXIN is 100 percent effective against severe COVID-19 disease, with an impact on reduction in hospitalizations.

“This (B1.617 variant) is something where we’re still gaining data on a daily basis, but the most recent data was looking at convalescent sera of COVID-19 cases and people who received the vaccine used in India, the COVAXIN,” Fauci said during a virtual press briefing, reported CNN. “It was found to neutralize the 617 variants.”

Fauci confirmed vaccination is the way forward for India to resolve its current pandemic surge.

“Despite the real difficulty that we’re seeing in India, vaccination could be a very, very important antidote against this,” he said.

Child with COVID-19 dies in Hawaii

Health officials in Hawaii confirmed the state’s first COVID-19 death attributed to a child in a press release yesterday.

The child, a boy with underlying health conditions, had traveled to the state by plane with his two fully vaccinated parents.

According to the Hawaii Department of Health, he developed COVID-19 symptoms shortly after arrival and was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

The press release revealed no other details about the child or his parents. It’s not clear where he may have contracted the coronavirus.

According to a Department of Health spokesperson, both parents tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding the flight from the U.S. mainland to Oahu.

“I can tell you that both parents had been vaccinated, fully vaccinated. And both parents had tested negative before traveling from the mainland to Hawaii,” spokesperson Brooks Baehr told Hawaii News Now.

“So soon after arrival that it is very likely this child was infected with COVID while on the mainland or perhaps in transit,” he said.

As of last week, more than 3.7 million children had contracted the coronavirus nationwide.

Of those cases, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recorded 291 deaths, reported Hawaii News Now.

4/27/21 2:55 p.m. PDT — CDC says fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks outside in most cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated guidance for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The CDC now says if people are fully vaccinated, they can safely go outdoors without wearing a facial covering in most cases.

“Beginning today, gathering with a group of friends, in a park, going for a picnic,” President Biden said, addressing reporters. “As long as you are vaccinated and outdoors, you can do it without wearing a mask.”

But fully vaccinated people do need to wear a mask if they’re at a crowded outdoor event like a concert, advises the CDC.

Child dies of COVID-19 complications in Minnesota

Minnesota Department of Health officials say they’re “deeply saddened” to confirm a school-aged child under the age of 10 has died due to complications from COVID-19, reported CBS Minnesota.

According to the Department of Health, this isn’t the first such death.

“While COVID-related deaths in children are rare, they can occur even in otherwise healthy children. Since the start of the pandemic, three Minnesota children under age 18 have died due to COVID-19,” the health department said in a statement, reported CBS.

Minnesota’s governor expressed his concern about the death and a reminder that even with the vaccine, the pandemic is ongoing.

“I’m heartbroken to hear COVID has taken the life of a first grader. My thoughts are with the Minnesota family grieving the loss of their beloved child,” Gov. Tim Walz posted on social media. “As vaccines help us turn the page on COVID-19, we can’t forget that this deadly disease is still present in our communities.”

CBS reported that according to the school district, 22 students and staff are in quarantine at the elementary school.

The school superintendent said they’re following Department of Health guidelines, with no grades changing from in-person learning at this time.

Dr. Brooke Moore, pediatric pulmonologist for Children’s Minnesota Hospital, told CBS that most children who get COVID-19 won’t develop symptoms, and if they do, they will experience mild to moderate illness, but around 10 percent of cases are severe.

4/26/21 2:54 p.m. PDT — Indian hospitals overwhelmed by pandemic, U.S. promises aid

New coronavirus cases hit a record peak for a 5th day in India, with infections rising by 352,991 in the last 24 hours, and crowded hospitals running out of oxygen supplies and beds, reported Reuters.

According to Reuters, countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, and United States pledge to send urgent medical aid to India to help battle the crisis overwhelming its hospitals.

“Currently the hospital is in beg-and-borrow mode and it is an extreme crisis situation,” a spokesman for the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the capital, New Delhi, told Reuters.

Reuters also reported that the southern Indian state of Karnataka has ordered a 14-day lockdown starting tomorrow, April 27, joining the western industrial state of Maharashtra, where lockdowns will run until May 1. Some states were set to lift these measures this week.

Israel examines cases of heart inflammation

Israel officials say they’re examining reported cases of heart inflammation in people who had the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

This is an investigation, so there’s not an established link between the two.

According to Reuters, Pfizer said it had not seen an increased number of these cases than what would be expected in the general population.

4/23/21 1:44 p.m. PDT — Vaccinations slow with over 50% of adults getting first dose

The rate of daily COVID-19 vaccinations given in the United States fell below 3 million for the first time in weeks on Thursday, according to data from the CDC.

According to CNBC, one reason for this slight dip might be the current pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which the FDA advised to suspend this month “out of an abundance of caution” after six women developed a rare blood clotting disorder.

The United States is currently reporting almost 62,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, based on a 7-day average of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, reported CNBC.

This level is above the most recent low point of 53,600 per day in late March, but has trended downward over the past week.

Panel to assess Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Friday

A U.S. federal advisory panel will meet April 23 to possibly decide further action on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine rollout, as more reports emerge of rare but severe blood clots in women given the shot.

The CDC is looking to its advisers to help determine the true magnitude of this risk — and how to balance it against the need to protect millions still developing COVID-19 every day.

“I appreciate the importance of acting swiftly,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told AP.

She also said she hopes for “a recommendation that takes into account the risk versus reward” of using Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine.

4/22/21 2:28 p.m. PDT — U.S. to reach “tipping point” with vaccine supply outpacing demand

A recently published report warns the United States will likely reach a “tipping point” in the next 2 to 4 weeks when vaccine supply could outstrip demand.

The rapidly climbing number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 is good news, reported CNN. But tens of millions of Americans haven’t started their vaccinations yet.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Dr. Francis Collins told CNN that a lot of people are still not sure they want to take part in “this amazing opportunity to put this virus behind us.”

“We have to really figure out how to get the messages out there,” he continued. “So that those who are still undecided get the information they need to see why this is really something they would want to do.”

Parts of the country have already begun to see that pattern, with younger Americans less likely than older residents to claim they’ve been or will get vaccinated, according to recent poll data from Quinnipiac University.

About 40 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, with roughly 26 percent fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Efforts at all governmental levels are ongoing to increase those numbers.

“I think our effort shifts, and it shifts to younger people who just don’t think about COVID quite as much,” Andy Slavitt, the White House senior advisor for COVID-19 response, told CNN.

Pregnant people vaccinated with mRNA vaccines not at high risk for side effects

A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found that pregnant people who received an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy did not appear to have worse outcomes than those who weren’t vaccinated.

This study included 35,691 participants between ages 16 to 54.

Researchers analyzed data from the “v-safe after vaccination health checker” surveillance system, the v-safe pregnancy registry, and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

They found that mRNA vaccination protects pregnant people against COVID-19 and its complications during pregnancy, and emphasize that emerging evidence shows SARS-CoV-2 antibodies could be transferred to the fetus after vaccination in the third trimester.

“Which suggests that maternal vaccination might provide some level of protection to the neonate,” the study authors wrote.

4/21/21 3:20 p.m. PDT — Biden administration reaches goal of 200 million vaccinations

President Joe Biden said today that the United States would reach more than 200 million COVID-19 shots administered since the start of his administration.

Biden had doubled his original promise of 100 million shots in his first 100 days as vaccinations picked up.

Today, he said the administration had met its expanded goal a week before his 100 days were up.

Pfizer identifies fake COVID-19 vaccines abroad

Pfizer said the first confirmed instances of counterfeit versions of its COVID-19 vaccine have been identified in Mexico and Poland, reported The Wall Street Journal.

It’s the latest attempt by criminals exploiting the worldwide vaccination campaign.

According to the Journal, vials seized by authorities in separate investigations were tested by Pfizer and confirmed to contain bogus vaccine.

Additionally, the vials recovered in Mexico also had fraudulent labeling. A substance inside vials found in Poland was likely an anti-wrinkle treatment, Pfizer said.

“Everybody on the planet needs it. Many are desperate for it,” Lev Kubiak, Pfizer’s world head of security, told the Journal. “We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals.”

Kubiak also said he expects counterfeiting to worsen as the rollout continues. “Right now, consumers are easily fooled,” he said. “They are desperate for the vaccine.”

So far, no counterfeit vaccines have been discovered in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security, reported the Journal.

However, the limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines and high demand could prompt people to seek doses outside official channels, particularly in countries like Mexico and Brazil.

COVID-19 cases are high in these countries, and there’s a history of counterfeiting prescription drugs, industry and security experts told the Journal.

4/20/21 12:53 p.m. PDT — COVID-19 cases up 25% in U.S.

According to CNN, in the past 7 days the United States reported more than 67,000 new COVID-19 cases daily on average, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

This is an almost 25 percent increase from last month’s 7-day average.

Experts say COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States are being distributed at an impressive rate, with all Americans 16 and older able to get the shot.

But a leading health official said the country remains in a “complicated stage,” reported CNN.

“More people in the United States are being vaccinated every single day at an accelerated pace,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 briefing yesterday, reported CNN.

“On the other hand,” she added, “cases and hospitalizations are increasing in some areas of the country, and cases among younger people who have not yet been vaccinated are also increasing.”

Experts told CNN that there are several reasons behind the rise in cases, including coronavirus variants, like B.1.1.7, which has helped fuel the current surge in Michigan.

“Pandemic fatigue” and more people moving around likely also contributed to the rise.

Rapid, at-home COVID-19 test available this week

Rapid COVID-19 tests will be available to consumers this week without a prescription. They will be sold by CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Walmart, reported USA Today.

Abbott Laboratories’ BinaxNOW coronavirus self-test kits will be shipped to the three national chain retailers and also available online.

The two-test kit, which received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization for serial screening, will cost $23.99, the company said, reported USA Today.

Another rapid test made by Australia-based Ellume will be available at CVS stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for $38.99, but it can also be purchased online or at most CVS stores in other states by the end of May.

According to USA Today, both tests show results in about 15 minutes without requiring lab analysis.

4/19/21 11:38 a.m. PDT — Fauci expects J&J vaccine pause to end Friday

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a series of interviews yesterday that the nationwide “pause” in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine will likely end by Friday, April 23.

“By Friday, we should have an answer as to where we’re going with it,” Fauci said. “I would think that we’re not going to go beyond Friday in the extension of this pause.”

Fauci’s prediction that the one-shot vaccination would resume comes as the United States reached the milestone of having at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the arms of roughly half the adult population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

All adults in all 50 states now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine

All adults in the United States are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, something public health experts say is a major step toward ending the current pandemic, reported The Hill.

According to The Hill, people 16 and older in every state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are eligible to receive one of the available COVID-19 vaccines as of today.

“It’s truly historic that we have already reached this milestone,” Dr. Nandita Mani, the associate medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Washington Medical Center, told The New York Times. 

4/16/21 12:12 p.m. PDT — CDC releases COVID-19 ‘breakthrough case’ numbers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 5,800 people out of 77 million vaccinated people developed COVID-19, reported CNN.

That’s 0.008 percent of the fully vaccinated people who were included in the study. The agency plans to update these figures every Monday.

CDC officials said these “breakthrough cases” are expected because the vaccines are not 100 percent effective.

White House to track variant spread

The Biden administration announced today that it’s setting up a $1.7 billion network to track the spread of coronavirus variants.

The plan includes increased funding for the CDC and U.S. states to help track these new variants.

It will also create partnerships with six universities to conduct research and develop technologies to combat COVID-19.

4/15/21 12:30 p.m. PDT — Pfizer CEO says we may need annual vaccinations for COVID-19

The chief executive officer of Pfizer said Thursday that people may need to get a third COVID-19 vaccination within 12 months of being full vaccinated.

Albert Bourla added that annual inoculations may be needed to prevent future spread of the disease.

Researchers still haven’t determined how long protection against the disease lasts after someone is vaccinated.

Blood clots rare in Moderna, Pfzier vaccines

A new study reports that the number of blood clot cases is about the same for the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and AstraZeneca vaccines. The study has not yet been peer reviewed.

The researchers said about 4 in 1 million people who get the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will develop blood clots. The rate is about 5 in 1 million for the AstraZeneca shot.

They note that about 39 in 1 million people who develop COVID-19 get blood clots.

India reports 1-day record in COVID-19 cases

India reported a record 200,000 new cases of COVID-19 today, becoming only the second country after the United States to reach this sobering single-day toll, reported The Washington Post.

These new cases have pushed India’s total cases to more than 14 million and turned the nation into the pandemic’s global epicenter with little indication the outbreak will slow.

In an effort to contain the COVID-19 surge, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced curfew-like restrictions on the movement of people in the state from April 14 to May 1, reported The Indian Express.

Under these orders, no person is allowed to be in a public place without a valid reason.

All establishments, public spaces, activities, and services will remain closed, except for essential services that can remain open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on working days.

4/14/21 11:35 a.m. PDT — Moderna and Novavax added to U.K. ‘mix and match’ vaccine trial

A U.K. “mix and match” clinical trial has been expanded to include the Moderna and Novavax COVID-19 vaccines.

The initial trial began in February using AstraZeneca and then Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in the two doses administered to participants.

The expanded trial will add Moderna and Novavax along with Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca.

The purpose of the trial is to determine the effectiveness of mixing vaccines and whether there are any side effects.

More than 1,000 people are now participating in the trials.

Regular exercise may reduce risk of COVID-19

A new study conducted by Kaiser Permanente reports that being consistently active is strongly associated with a reduced risk of experiencing severe COVID-19.

The research, published yesterday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at more than 40,000 adults who contracted the coronavirus.

Researchers found that people who got at least 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity — exercise guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services — showed significantly lower rates of hospitalization, ICU admission, and death due to COVID-19.

“It is well known that immune function improves with regular [physical activity] and those who are regularly active have a lower incidence, intensity of symptoms and mortality from various viral infections,” the study authors wrote.

Researchers pointed out that regular exercise also reduces the risk of systemic inflammation, a main contributor to the lung damage caused by COVID-19.

They also found that exercise benefits cardiovascular health, can increase lung capacity and muscle strength, and even improve mental health.

Leaving middle seats open on airplanes may reduce COVID-19 risk

Researchers report that keeping middle seats vacant on larger airplanes can reduce the spread of COVID-19.

A study published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded that open middle seats can reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus by 23 to 57 percent.

The researchers say vacant middle seats increase the distance between passengers and provide more protection against airborne particles from the coronavirus.

4/13/21 11:36 a.m. PDT — FDA and CDC recommend pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine over rare side effect

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are urging a pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine due to an extremely rare but serious side effect, reported The New York Times.

The FDA and CDC reported six cases of a stroke-like illness in women who have taken the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

These cases are extremely rare with more than 6 million Johnson & Johnson vaccinations already given in the United States.

Today in a press briefing, health officials stressed that they want to prepare healthcare professionals to recognize the signs of rare but serious side effects, and that they’re still investigating whether the vaccine caused these side effects.

The six cases all involved women under age 50. One case was fatal, while another led to a person being in critical condition.

This side effect has not been seen in people who have received the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Record high COVID-19 hospitalizations for children in Michigan

Children aren’t immune to COVID-19, reported the Detroit Free Press. They can get sick, just like adults do. They can be hospitalized, the same as adults, and on rare occasion, they can even die.

According to the Detroit Free Press, this is the message doctors at several of Michigan’s children’s hospitals want people to hear as that state confronts another massive surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

There were 3,953 reported cases yesterday, April 12, surpassing the state’s November/December spike.

“The state is at a record high for hospitalizations for pediatrics during the entire pandemic and our hospital reflects that,” Dr. Rudolph Valentini, a pediatric nephrologist at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and group chief medical officer for the Detroit Medical Center, told the Detroit Free Press.

According to state data, 49 children were hospitalized April 12 with either confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19.

CDC data shows Michigan’s case rate is 515.8 cases per 100,000 people over the last week, the worst in the United States and four times higher than that in neighboring Ohio.

COVID-19 pandemic growing ‘exponentially,’ says WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday, April 12, that the trajectory of the pandemic is now “growing exponentially,” with more than 4.4 million new COVID-19 cases reported over the last week, reported CNBC.

“This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic where we have proven control measure,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, the agency’s technical lead for COVID-19, reported CNBC.

“It is the time right now where everyone has to take stock and have a reality check of what we need to be doing,” she said. “Vaccines and vaccinations are coming online, but they aren’t here yet in every part of the world.”

According to the network, Van Kerkhove also said that cases climbed by 9 percent worldwide last week for the seventh consecutive weekly increase, with deaths jumping 5 percent.

Van Kerkhove is also asking governments to support their citizens in implementing pandemic safety measures, reported CNBC.

4/12/21 2:25 p.m. PDT — Pfizer vaccine less effective against variant first detected in South Africa, study finds

According to a new but not yet peer-reviewed study conducted in Israel, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine might not offer sufficient protection against the coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa.

Researchers examined whether people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and got an infection were likely to contract one of two coronavirus variants compared with people who were not vaccinated.

According to the study findings, vaccinated people who contracted an infection at least a week after the second vaccine dose disproportionately contracted the variant first detected in South Africa, B.1.351.

“These results overall suggest that vaccine breakthrough infection is more frequent with both VOCs (viruses of concern), yet a combination of mass-vaccination with two doses coupled with non-pharmaceutical interventions control and contain their spread,” the study authors wrote.

Record-high vaccinations, but unvaccinated young adults at risk

A record-high 4.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in 1 day, according to data published April 10 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported CNN.

“Amazing Saturday! +4.63M doses administered over total yesterday, a new record,” Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, the White House COVID-19 data director, tweeted. “More than 500K higher than old record last Saturday. Incredible number of doses administered.”

But CNN also reported that more than 75 percent of the U.S. population isn’t yet fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warns that for the third straight week, new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing.

“Cases and emergency room visits are up,” said Walensky, as reported by CNN. “We are seeing these increases in younger adults, most of whom have not yet been vaccinated.”

She added that, nationwide, more Americans ages 18 to 64 have gone to emergency departments for COVID-19 complications, and these trends are magnified in the Upper Midwest.

“CDC is working closely with public health officials in this region to understand what is driving these cases and how we can intervene,” Walensky said.

Timothy A. Clary – Pool/Getty Images

COVID-19 surge seen in Michigan

Despite increasing vaccinations, COVID-19 cases are surging in Michigan.

On average the state is seeing more than 7,000 new cases daily, far higher than the average of around 1,500 cases seen in February, according to The New York Times.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she will extend workplace COVID-19 restrictions for at least 6 months due to the increase in cases.

Whitmer said she will ask the federal government for more vaccines as the virus is spreading rapidly, but she has not said she will enforce new shutdowns in the state.

4/9/21 12:47 p.m. PDT — Variant first found in Brazil on the rise in U.S., CDC report says

With new U.S. COVID-19 cases trending upward, and nearly 80,000 new infections reported yesterday, health officials warn about the spread of multiple, more transmissible coronavirus variants, some of which have caused outbreaks in states such as Michigan and California, reported The Washington Post.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom, B.1.1.7, accounts for nearly 20,000 cases in all 50 states, becoming the new dominant variant.

“CDC is closely monitoring these variants of concern (VOC). These variants have mutations in the virus genome that alter the characteristics and cause the virus to act differently in ways that are significant to public health,” according to the CDC website.

According to The Washington Post, the variant P.1, which was first detected in Brazil, has taken the No. 2 spot.

At least 434 people in the United States have contracted this coronavirus variant. The largest number of cases are in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Florida.

Pfizer to seek EUA for COVID-19 vaccine for children

Currently, no COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for children under age 16. But that could soon change as Pfizer and BioNTech have asked the Food and Drug Administration to expand their emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine to include children as young as 12.

New data released by the companies has reportedly shown that the vaccines appear to be effective and safe in younger children.

Scientists work toward development of COVID-19 pill

We now have vaccines that prevent most cases of COVID-19, and we even have drugs that help with the most severe symptoms of the disease, reported STAT.

Experts are now focusing on a creating a COVID-19 treatment that doesn’t need to be given via an injection or infusion.

According to STAT, experts are hoping to create a pill calibrated to target the coronavirus that’s both economical and has tolerable side effects.

It could potentially also work as well as antibody treatments that require an hourlong intravenous infusion.

“We’re looking for something I could give everyone in an urgent care setting who comes in with exposure or a positive test,” Dr. Nathaniel Erdmann, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told STAT. “An easy, oral, safe drug.”

STAT reported that drugmaker Merck is expected to present pivotal data on an oral treatment similar to remdesivir.

And there’s a treatment from Atea Pharmaceuticals, first developed for the hepatitis C virus, that could also have pivotal results in the coming months.

However, the most promising is an antiviral from Pfizer engineered specifically for the coronavirus. It entered its first clinical trial last month.

4/8/21 1:56 p.m. PDT — Over 1 in 4 adults have been vaccinated against COVID-19

Over 25 percent of U.S. adults are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported NBC News.

The milestone comes as states are increasingly opening eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination.

However, even as vaccinations are picking up, new coronavirus variants are spreading rapidly in the United States, and COVID-19 cases are again ticking upward.

Online scammers push phony vaccine cards

Scammers are offering false and stolen vaccine cards for sale as businesses and states consider using proof of COVID-19 vaccination to relieve pandemic restrictions, reported The New York Times.

The pandemic has seen many instances of people taking advantage of the crisis, like people hoarding hand sanitizer or cheating recipients out of their stimulus checks.

Online scammers have now latched on to the newest way to prey on the public: proof that you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19.

These critically important vaccine cards began showing up for sale on popular websites like Facebook, eBay, and Twitter beginning in late January, reported The New York Times.

All were forged or falsified copies of the CDC vaccine cards.

“We found hundreds of online stores selling the cards, potentially thousands were sold,” Saoud Khalifah, founder of Fakespot, a service that offers tools to detect fake listings and reviews online, told The New York Times.

Profiteers have pressed ahead as airlines and other companies have recently said they may require proof of COVID-19 immunization so that people can safely travel or attend events, reported the Times.

“We’re seeing a huge market for these false cards online,” Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Josh Shapiro, told the Times. “This is a dangerous practice that undermines public health.”

U.K., Europe change guidance on AstraZeneca vaccine

The U.K. government and health experts in the country rushed to defend the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford following concerns over a possible link to blood clots, reported CNBC.

They now recommend that anyone younger than 30 should receive an alternative vaccine.

“No effective medicine or vaccine is without risk. We continually monitor safety during widespread use of any vaccine,” Dr. June Raine, chief executive of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said in a statement.

“This is to ensure vaccines are performing as expected, to identify any new side effects that may arise, and to ensure the benefits continue to outweigh the risks,” she said.

A new model finds U.K. may reach herd immunity this month

According to a new report, the United Kingdom may reach herd immunity this month.

The Telegraph reported that the United Kingdom could theoretically reach herd immunity by Monday based on modeling done by University College London.

That threshold may be reached due to both increased vaccinations and the fact that people who previously had COVID-19 will likely have some immunity against reinfection.

The modeling finds that 73.4 percent of people in the United Kingdom will have some protection against the disease by April 12, meaning the nation may start to reach herd immunity.

However, this remains theoretical. It’s unclear whether cases will continue to drop after April 12.

4/7/21 3:37 p.m. PDT — COVID-19 ‘brain disease’ affects up to one-third of people, study says

Mental health or neurological symptoms are diagnosed in up to 34 percent of people who have had COVID-19, according to research published yesterday in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Researchers analyzed the health records of more than 236,000 people, mostly Americans, who recovered from COVID-19. Researchers compared them with people who had other respiratory tract infections in the same time period.

According to the researchers, these COVID-19 survivors typically received a psychiatric or neurological diagnosis within 6 months of their original coronavirus infection.

The most common condition was anxiety, followed by mood disorders.

Psychiatric or neurological symptoms were more severe in people who were hospitalized for COVID-19, but they were also common in people treated for COVID-19 in outpatient settings.

Researchers also found that people who had recovered from COVID-19 had a significantly increased risk of brain hemorrhage, stroke, and dementia.

“Our study provides evidence for substantial neurological and psychiatric morbidity in the 6 months after COVID-19 infection,” the study authors wrote. “Risks were greatest in, but not limited to, patients who had severe COVID-19.”

Nearly half of new COVID-19 cases come from these 5 states

Almost 50 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the United States are concentrated in just five states.

It includes New York, which had the highest number of new infections across the nation last week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, reported the New York Post.

According to the outlet, New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey accounted for 44 percent of all new cases between March 29 and April 4, with about 197,500 cases out of around 452,000 seen nationwide.

Just behind New York was Michigan, which has been experiencing a new surge and recorded 47,036 new cases over the last week, or an average of about 6,719 each day.

That’s almost double what it was 2 weeks ago, reported the New York Post.

4/6/21 3:23 p.m. PDT — Biden says all U.S. adults will be eligible for vaccine on April 19

President Joe Biden said today that the administration will now allow anyone over 16 to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 19. Originally Biden had aimed for widespread eligibility to open on May 1.

Vaccines are not yet approved for children under age 16, although studies are still ongoing.

The news comes as many states have already started to allow anyone over 16 to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

While eligibility will be more widespread, it may be difficult to get a vaccination appointment as there won’t be enough doses for all adults until later in the spring and summer.

Dangerous coronavirus variant has spread to all states 

A highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom has now been reported in every U.S. state.

Experts are concerned that coronavirus variants could send U.S. cases surging, reported CNN.

According to the network, more than 15,000 cases of the potentially more deadly variant have been reported in the United States in the midst of efforts to get all Americans vaccinated.

Experts are asking the public to follow pandemic precautions for a little while longer.

“America appears to be done with the pandemic,” Michael Osterholm, PhD, director for the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN. “The virus is not done with us.”

The good news, Osterholm told CNN, is that existing vaccines are very effective against the variants.

But the United States may not be able to administer vaccines fast enough to avoid the next surge.

“We are not going to have enough vaccines, the way we are going, into the arms of enough Americans over the course of the next 6 to 10 weeks with this surge that we are going to stop it,” Osterholm told CNN. “It’s just simply not going to happen.”

Biden administration steps up worldwide effort against pandemic

The Biden administration said April 5 that it’s stepping up efforts to combat COVID-19 worldwide.

The administration has appointed a veteran diplomat to run its global COVID-19 response, and pledges to support more equitable production and distribution of vaccines, reported The Washington Post.

“This pandemic won’t end at home until it ends worldwide,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement while announcing the appointment of Gayle Smith, former director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as global COVID-19 response coordinator.

“We have a duty to other countries to get the virus under control here in the United States,” he added. “But soon, the United States will need to step up our work and rise to the occasion worldwide.”

4/5/21 2:51 p.m. PDT — New variant in California

A new variant of the coronavirus has been found in the San Francisco Bay Area, reported Fox News.

According to the network, a spokesperson for Stanford Health Care said the Stanford Clinical Virology Lab has identified and confirmed one case of the emerging variant through genomic sequencing.

At least seven presumed cases of the variant, first identified in India, were also found.

This variant has been called a “double mutant” because it carries two mutations in the virus that helps it latch itself onto cells, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. It might be responsible for a new surge in cases in India.

“This Indian variant contains two mutations in the same virus for the first time, previously seen on separate variants,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told the Chronicle.

“Since we know that the domain affected is the part that the virus uses to enter the body, and that the California variant is already potentially more resistant to some vaccine antibodies, it seems to reason that there is a chance that the Indian variant may do that too,” he said.

Game-changing COVID-19 vaccine enters clinical trials

A new COVID-19 vaccine is entering clinical trials in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam that could change how we fight the pandemic, reported The New York Times.

The vaccine is called NDV-HXP-S. It’s the first vaccine to use a new molecular design widely expected to create more potent antibodies than the current generation of vaccines.

A key advantage is that the new vaccine can be mass-produced in chicken eggs like other flu vaccines made in factories around the world.

According to The New York Times, if the new vaccine proves safe and effective, drugmakers could potentially produce well over a billion doses of it a year.

“That’s staggering — it would be a game-changer,” Andrea Taylor, assistant director of programs at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, told the Times.

The Times emphasized that clinical trials must first establish that this innovative vaccine actually works.

The first phase of clinical trials will conclude in July, and the final phase will take several months more.

“It’s a home run for protection,” Dr. Bruce Innes of the PATH Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access, which has coordinated the development of NVD-HXP-S, told the Times. “I think it’s a world-class vaccine.”

4/2/21 3:02 p.m. PDT — Get COVID-19 vaccine before going back to normal, experts plead

Fears are growing that the nation could be facing a fourth surge of COVID-19 cases. Health experts are pleading with Americans to maintain pandemic precautions until they’re fully vaccinated, reported CNN.

“Please wait until you’re fully vaccinated before you’re traveling, before you’re engaging in high-risk activities,” said CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen, the network reported. “No doubt when you become vaccinated, the activities that were once higher risk are now going to be lower risk and so just wait until then.”

Wen added that she’s worried the United States is on the “precipice” of a fourth surge, with data showing infections are now skewing toward younger generations.

This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who told “NBC Nightly News” that while he’s feeling some pandemic fatigue himself, it’s important the United States maintain precautions while Americans are vaccinated, reported CNN.

“We need to hold out just a bit longer and give vaccines a chance to really get the upper hand in this,” Fauci said. “I’ll guarantee as we get into the late spring and the early summer, you’re going to see a return to gradual degree of normality that everyone is hoping for, but we don’t want to do it prematurely.”

The CDC changed travel guidance for people who are vaccinated today. They advise people who are fully vaccinated can travel without getting a COVID-19 test and do not need to self-quarantine after arriving in a new destination.

FDA authorizes changes to Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized two changes to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine that could provide extra doses from each vial, reported The Associated Press (AP).

According to the AP, the FDA approved new vials that increase the number of available doses from 10 to a maximum of 15.

Regulators also said healthcare professionals can safely extract up to 11 doses from the original 10-dose vials, and these changes will be added to instructions for healthcare workers, reported the AP.

1 in 7 people in U.K. may have signs of long-haul COVID-19

A new report finds that as many as 1 in 7 people living in the United Kingdom have symptoms associated with “long-haul COVID-19.”

The report from the U.K. Office for National Statistics found that as many as 13.7 percent of people in the United Kingdom had signs of long-haul COVID-19, including fatigue, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing.

4/1/21 1:38 p.m. PDT — 15 million J&J vaccines thrown out after dosage mix-up

A dosage mix-up at a Baltimore, Maryland, production facility ruined about 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The mix-up prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to delay shipments of the vaccine, according to Fox Business.

Reportedly, employees at Emergent BioSolutions, a production facility in Baltimore, mixed up two vaccine dosages.

U.S. officials said the vaccine spoilage wouldn’t affect plans to provide sufficient vaccines to immunize every adult by May, Fox Business reported.

The drugmaker said it expects to deliver its vaccine at a rate of over 1 billion doses by the end of the year.

Emergent BioSolutions has a string of citations from U.S. health officials for quality control problems, reported The Associated Press (AP).

According to records obtained by the AP through the Freedom of Information Act, the FDA has repeatedly cited Emergent for problems that include poorly trained employees, cracked vials, and problems managing mold and other contamination around one of its facilities.

“Human errors do happen,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci in an interview on “CBS This Morning,” reported the AP.

“You have checks and balances… That’s the reason why the good news is that it did get picked up,” he said. “As I mentioned, that’s the reason nothing from that plant has gone into anyone that we’ve administered to.”

Can vaccinated people still transmit the coronavirus?

It’s possible. Experts told the AP that the risk is low, but they’re still studying how well the shots slow transmission.

“A vaccinated person controls the virus better, so the chances of transmitting will be greatly reduced,” Dr. Robert Gallo a virus expert at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told the AP.

According to the AP, evidence from studies suggest if people do contract an infection despite vaccination, they’ll harbor less of the coronavirus in their nose than someone who has not been vaccinated, making transmission more difficult.

COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in 2020

COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the United States last year after heart disease and cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

COVID-19 led to about 375,000 deaths during the year, and the age-adjusted death rate rose about 16 percent.

In total, more than 552,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States since the start of the pandemic last year.

3/31/21 2:28 p.m. PDT — Pfizer vaccine safe and effective for adolescents, drugmaker says

Clinical trial results of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine find it’s 100 percent effective and well tolerated in children 12 to 15 years old, the drugmaker said today, reported CNN.

Pfizer plans to submit this data to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as soon as possible for expanded emergency use authorization of the vaccine.

The phase 3 trial included 2,260 participants 12 to 15 years old in the United States. The vaccine elicited a strong antibody response 1 month after the second dose, according to Pfizer.

This data has yet to be peer reviewed.

Pfizer also said the side effects observed in this age group were similar to those among 16- to 25-year-olds, which include pain at the injection site, fatigue, and fever.

Participants will be monitored for protection and safety for 2 years after their second dose.

“We share the urgency to expand the authorization of our vaccine to use in younger populations and are encouraged by the clinical trial data from adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNN.

“We plan to submit these data to FDA as a proposed amendment to our emergency use authorization in the coming weeks and to other regulators around the world, with the hope of starting to vaccinate this age group before the start of the next school year,” he said.

3 reasons why COVID-19 cases are on the rise

Despite the U.S. vaccine rollout improving significantly, the daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is again on the rise after falling significantly from January highs, reported Yahoo! Finance.

According to Yahoo! Finance, the latest 7-day average of confirmed U.S. cases was 60,425 on March 27, and is continuing to average roughly 50,000 new cases daily.

Dr. Calvin Sun, a New York City-based emergency medicine physician, told Yahoo! Finance that there are three main factors driving the recent surge: a mutating virus, the rolling back of safety measures, and a recent increase in travel.

A new study — which is awaiting peer review — finds that while less than 1 percent of adults report coronavirus reinfections, those who are could experience more severe symptoms if they contracted one of the several virus variants. 

3/30/21 2:29 p.m. PDT — Most states seeing rise in COVID-19 cases

After major declines this spring, the number of COVID-19 cases has risen in recent weeks.

Cases of COVID-19 rose about 9 percent last week, according to Reuters.

At least 33 states have reported more COVID-19 cases in the last week compared to the previous week.

Experts are worried a fourth wave is about to hit the United States, even as vaccinations continue.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Hold on to that COVID vaccine card

Millions of adults who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 have little proof beyond the paper card they get when getting their first dose, reported the Wall Street Journal.

According to the WSJ, the United States currently has no central database to document vaccinations, and states only keep an incomplete patchwork of records.

Also, there’s no standard proof of COVID-19 vaccination like the yellow fever cards required for entry to many countries where that disease is prevalent.

As certain countries and businesses prepare to mandate digital proof of vaccination as a requirement for entry and travel, your paper card may be the only way to conduct business or access those countries.

“I’m glad we prioritized getting shots in arms,” Dr. Ami Parekh, chief medical officer at digital healthcare company Grand Rounds Inc., told the Journal. “But putting in rules about being vaccinated without giving people a way to properly track it is a little bit backwards.”

CDC chief scared where country is headed

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are rising in the United States again, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday.

This may be the start of a surge experts have warned about for weeks.

“I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom… We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope,” said Walensky, according to CNN. “But right now, I’m scared.”

* This article was originally published here