Tag Archives: COVID-19

Did you know that unvaccinated are 14 times more likely to get monkeypox, data from eligible shot recipients shows?

Those who have not had the vaccine for monkeypox are 14 times more likely to get the illness than those who have, according to fresh, but limited, statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday morning.

The sampled population consists of males who engage in sexual behavior with other men or persons with several sexual partners. The figures provide our first glimpse at how effectively the JYNNEOS vaccine, the most effective method of protection against monkeypox, functions in the real world.

At a briefing on monkeypox held at the White House on Wednesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said, “These new data give us cautious comfort that the immunization is functioning as planned.”

Dr. Demetre Daskalaskis, the White House’s deputy response coordinator for monkeypox, requested that individuals disseminate the “early good news.”

He said that “information is power” and that it empowers people to make health-related decisions with more knowledge and confidence.

What caused the dramatic reduction in monkeypox cases in the United States?

Since the beginning of the current outbreak, there has been little information on the effectiveness of the JYNNEOS vaccine, which was initially designed to combat smallpox.

Since the outbreak began in May, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health have conducted many studies into the safety and effectiveness of the JYNNEOS vaccine, mostly at the request of LGBTQ community activists.

Walensky also observed that the new data is only a glimpse, while being optimistic. Concerning the extent of JYNNEOS’s protection, several questions remain unresolved.

For instance, the new vaccination efficacy rate was not predicated on two doses given 28 days apart. Instead, it relied on information gathered two weeks after the first shot.

Even though the majority of federal public health experts advocate two doses, the CDC has not yet provided information on the effectiveness of the vaccine after all doses have been administered.

“These early results, together with similar findings from studies undertaken in other countries, suggest that even a single dose of the monkeypox vaccine gives at least some initial protection against disease. In spite of this, laboratory studies have shown that immune protection reaches its peak two weeks following the second vaccination dose, or “Wednesday,” as Walensky said.

She said, “Because of this, we continue to recommend that individuals get two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine, 28 days apart, in order to provide robust, long-lasting protection against monkeypox.”

According to Walensky, further study is being conducted on the efficacy of two dosages.

The CDC has not yet separated the efficacy data for various injection techniques to see whether there are any differences between the current approach, in which a lower dosage is injected just beneath the skin, and the earlier way, in which a deeper injection is administered.

Also unclear is the extent to which changes in behavior might influence the effectiveness of the vaccination results.

If vaccinated individuals have fewer sexual partners and possibilities for skin-to-skin contact, they may be less likely to get monkeypox.

Eliminating monkeypox is feasible, according to experts, but containing the disease remains challenging.

According to Walensky, a key lesson from COVID-19 is that the CDC intends to make all of its existing data accessible in real time as soon as it becomes available, even while additional data are on the way.

“Through a portfolio of vaccine effectiveness programs, [the] CDC will continue to analyze how well these immunizations are functioning in the continuing outbreak. These endeavors will assist us in determining the extent and duration of the protection provided. “We’ll continue to provide you with further details as they become available,” Walensky added.

Even though the JYNNEOS vaccine is not yet approved for use by the general public, the CDC is expanding the number of at-risk Americans who are eligible to get vaccination against monkeypox.

The inclusion now includes gay or bisexual men who have had one recent romantic relationship or who have just received a new diagnosis of one or more STDs. It also includes sex workers.

Although many states and jurisdictions have already expanded eligibility, the CDC’s latest step puts it more in line with regional guidelines.

Did you know that women are more likely to suffer from long-term COVID, highlighting the crucial need for sex-specific research?

A recent study published today in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion finds that girls are “significantly” more likely than men to suffer from protracted COVID and will exhibit dramatically distinct symptoms.


Long COVID is a condition in which problems continue for more than four weeks after the initial COVID-19 infection, and in some cases for many months.


Researchers from the Johnson & Johnson Office of the Chief Medical Officer Health of Women Team analyzed data from approximately 1.3 million patients and found that females with long COVID exhibit a variety of symptoms, including ear, nose, and throat issues; mood, neurological, skin, gastrointestinal, and rheumatological disorders; and fatigue.


However, male patients were more prone to developing endocrine problems, including diabetes and renal disease.


The authors explain that understanding the fundamental sex differences underlying the clinical manifestations, disease progression, and health outcomes of COVID-19 is essential for the identification and rational design of effective therapies and public health interventions that are inclusive of and sensitive to the potential differential treatment needs of both sexes.


Differences in immune system function between men and females may be a significant factor in determining sex differences in extended COVID syndrome. Females generate more rapid and potent innate and adaptive immune responses, which may shield them from the severity of acute illness. This difference, however, may make females more vulnerable to autoimmunity-related disorders that last longer.


As part of the review, researchers limited their search for scholarly articles to those published between December 2019 and August 2020 for COVID-19 and between January 2020 and June 2021 for long-term COVID syndrome. The overall sample size for all publications evaluated was 1,393,355 distinct people.


Even though there were a lot of participants, only 35 of the 640,634 articles gave enough information about the symptoms and effects of COVID-19 illness by gender to understand how girls and boys experience the illness differently.


Findings indicate that female patients were significantly more likely to have mental problems such as sadness, ear, nose, and throat symptoms, musculoskeletal discomfort, and respiratory symptoms at the outset of COVID-19. On the other hand, men were more likely to have kidney diseases called renal diseases.


The authors remark that this literature review is one of the few that breaks down by sex the particular health issues associated with COVID-related disease. Numerous studies have investigated gender disparities in hospitalization, ICU admission, respiratory support, and death. When it comes to sex, however, studies on the exact diseases induced by the virus and its long-term harm to the body have been inadequate.


The authors note that during earlier coronavirus epidemics, sex variations in outcomes have been recorded. Therefore, disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes between men and women may have been predicted. Unfortunately, the vast majority of studies did not examine or report granular data by sex, limiting sex-specific clinical insights that may influence therapy. ” Even if it wasn’t the main goal of the researcher, sex-disaggregated data should be made public so that other researchers can use it to look into differences between the sexes that are important.


The research also identifies complicated aspects deserving of further investigation. Notably, women are more likely to be exposed to the virus in particular occupations, such as nursing and teaching. There may also be differences in who can get care based on gender, which could change how the disease naturally progresses and cause more problems and side effects.


The latter acts as a rallying cry: availability of sex-disaggregated data and deliberate analysis are necessary if we are to guarantee that unequal disease course outcomes are addressed. No study is complete until the data is made accessible to anyone who wants to answer the question, “Do sex and gender matter?”

Did you know that there have been one million fatalities in the United States due to COVID?

More people in the United States have been killed by the COVID-19 virus than have been killed in vehicle accidents over the last two decades or in all of the country’s conflicts combined.

A white flag with a memorial written on it is one of the thousands of white flags representing Americans who have died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) placed over 20 acres of the National Mall in Washington, September 26, 2021.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters

Because of errors in counting, the actual number is likely definitely more than what was reported. A considerable number of the country’s oldest citizens passed away, accounting for around three quarters of the overall number of fatalities. The death rates of persons of African and Hispanic descent were much higher than those of white people. What was initially a problem in urban areas quickly moved to rural regions and then back again, and this cycle continued until the course of the virus tracked the whole topography of the nation.

At its height, the Covid epidemic was responsible for the deaths of about one New Yorker every two minutes. This equated to over 800 individuals per day, which was five times as high as the city’s average rate of mortality. According to the findings of a research, the almost complete shutdown of public spaces in New York was most likely responsible for a drop in viral transmission of more than 50 percent. The death rate in New York City would never again reach the catastrophic levels it reached during the first wave. Still, the first wave was responsible for a significant amount of damage in a number of places, including Albany, Georgia, Detroit, and New Orleans. She recalls her father pleading with her and urging her not to receive the injection by saying, “Please, kitty.” You have no idea what components make up this item. Epidemiologists believe that the refusal to vaccinate led to the deaths of tens of hundreds of thousands of people.

Today, around one third of individuals living in the United States have not received all of their recommended vaccinations. Since vaccinations were readily accessible, at least 50,000 vaccinated persons have been documented as having died as a result of the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has only received data on mortality broken down by vaccination status from roughly half of the states. However, the mortality rate among vaccinated persons has been much lower, but the death rate among unvaccinated people has been at least nine times as probable. She claims that she had started to feel marginalized due to her age and the fact that some of the younger neighbors have refused to wear masks or abstain from huge gatherings. She also attributes this to the fact that she is becoming older.

The Covid-19 epidemic has resulted in a mortality rate that is much greater among persons of advanced age than among younger people. In those under the age of 25, the virus has shown to be less deadly than automobile accidents. In the two years leading up to the pandemic, there was an annual death toll of around 877,000 persons aged 85 and older on average. In the same age group, there were 100,000 additional fatalities per year in the years 2020 and 2021. In every age category, the death rate for persons of African and Hispanic descent has been greater than that of white people.

The racial discrepancy in mortality was most severe in the early stages of the epidemic; nonetheless, disparities still exist today. Rates for Native Americans and Pacific Islanders were less trustworthy as a result of low total numbers, and as a result, they are not displayed. According to the findings of the study, around 79.7 percent of employees in the age range of 20 to 64 who passed away from COVID in 2020 worked in sectors recognized as important. Workers in 11 industries that were not required to remain home due to the COVID outbreak had an approximately twofold increased risk of dying from the disease. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco carried out the investigation for the paper.

According to the findings of research conducted in the United States, people who do not possess a college degree and those who reside in more impoverished communities have a greater risk of passing away from COVID. In general, the areas with the greatest incomes have reported the fewest fatalities caused by covids, while the areas with the lowest incomes have reported the most. There is a correlation between poorer earnings and a reduced chance of immunization, which in turn is connected with mortality caused by COVID. In the beginning, a startling 43 percent of all deaths attributed to Covid were among people who were either residents or staff members in nursing homes. Leaders in the industry have requested that the federal government make a significant investment to ensure the safety of nursing homes.

The chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association, Dr. David Gifford, expresses pessimism about the industry’s future. What have we done to prevent the next virus from causing the lives of 200,000 people in nursing homes? The fatality rate in the United States caused by the coronavirus, often known as Covid, decreased overall except in the South, where it increased by around 4 percent. Epidemiologists have pointed to responses that were not as harsh, such as lockdowns that were lifted more quickly and masking restrictions that were not enforced as tightly. The state of Mississippi has one of the lowest immunization rates, while having the greatest number of COVID-related deaths of any state.

Here are the symptoms to for in BA.2.12.1 COVID variant

According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the BA.2.12.1 variation of COVID-19 accounts for around 37% of all new coronavirus cases nationwide.

FILE – Syringes and a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are displayed at a mass COVID-19 vaccination site in Batavia, Ill., on March 19, 2021.

Health experts predict that the number of people infected with BA.2.12.1 and related strains will continue to rise. CoV-19, the virus that infects people with SARS-CoV-2, is continually evolving and acquiring new mutations as it multiplies. SARS-CoV-2 is predicted to continue evolving in the future. The CDC predicts that some varieties will exist and then vanish, while others will originate, spread, and eventually supplant earlier forms.

An ancestor of BA.2.12.1 is a subvariant of COVID’s omicron strain known as BA.2. Experts predict that BA.2.12.1 will overtake its predecessors as the main strain of COVID-19 over the next few weeks due to its improved capacity to spread. Who knows when the next COVID spike will occur? For Alabama and the South as a whole, this is what one expert thinks will happen. Because of the COVID problems in China, Alabama hospitals are forced to limit medical supplies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) monitored phone calls to check whether people complied with COVID lockdowns.

In what ways does BA.2.12.1 manifest itself?

BA.2.12.1, like the preceding BA.2 variation, is more likely to cause flu-like symptoms in the upper respiratory tract. Initial COVID-19 symptoms include:

  • Smell and taste are lost
  • Feeling hot or cold
  • Cough
  • Sneezing
  • Shortness of breath or breathing issues
  • Fatigue
  • a sore or aching bodily part
  • Headache
  • A bad case of the hiccups
  • Is your nose running or stuffed up?
  • nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

Sneezing, coughing, and a runny nose are the most common symptoms of the omicron variety. Fatigue and dizziness are some side effects of BA.2. COVID and its variations may be reduced by immunization, according to experts. People who have been immunized may have outbreaks of infection, but this is to be anticipated, and staying up to date on recommended vaccinations may help avoid serious disease, hospitalization, and even death. An Omicron variation has emerged that underscores the need of vaccines, the CDC stated.

According to the DOJ, criminal charges are pending against $150 million in COVID fraud schemes.

It is horrible when individuals decide to profit from a virus on the government’s dime and earn millions of dollars to line their wallets.

A health care worker fills out a COVID-19 vaccination record card. Photo: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Federal prosecutors have filed criminal accusations against 21 individuals in connection with a variety of health care fraud schemes using the COVID-19 outbreak. The defendants stole more than $149 million via a variety of scams, including overcharging for medical services and making and selling phony immunization cards. The Justice Department said that it confiscated approximately $8 million in cash and “other fraud profits” during its enforcement operation.

Did you know that Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that high-quality Covid masks function even if others in your immediate vicinity are not wearing one?

Although no one in the vicinity is wearing masks, Dr. Scott Gottlieb believes anyone worried about COVID may still protect themselves by donning them.

A federal court overturned the Biden administration’s COVID mask requirement for public transit, which included aircraft, only two days before he remarks. Numerous mask requirements for other settings have already been eased to some extent. Earlier this week, the Department of Justice suggested that it would likely appeal the Florida decision. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb believes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should have allowed the mask requirement to expire on Monday instead of extending it.

Supporters of the strategy argue that it provides an essential layer of protection against COVID, especially given the increasing prevalence of highly transmissible strains of the virus. However, he stated that he will still wear a mask in rare situations if he feels like he is in a small environment.

Reference

Dr. Scott Gottlieb: High-quality Covid masks work even if others around you aren’t wearing one. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/20/dr-scott-gottlieb-covid-masks-work-even-if-others-around-you-arent-wearing-one.html?fbclid=IwAR0d0Nw4TgWoMdBXmeqk6k1afGlHINf0beIA5RqNvhKxjeuVkt4HwpCAkSc

Are we planning for the next wave of Covid?

As we suffer through yet another Covid-19 variant surge, I wonder why we are still merely saving the drowning people instead of also looking upstream. Doctors and researchers have created great tools to help drown Americans — those who’ve already been infected by SARS-CoV-2. But even if we’re heading toward an endemic world, we’re still thinking small when we should be thinking big. The time to plan is now. It was a brand-new virus.

Covid is among the leading causes of death for all age groups in the U.S. The virus is still mutating, and there is no guarantee that future variants will. You can’t just catch omicron and ‘get it over with’ Covid doesn’t work that way. This is what many of us have been calling for since the early days of the pandemic: to practice public health at its best. Yes, we need people to be vaccinated, period and the Biden administration has done an incredible job of saving lives by making this first step happen. But more is needed.

Reference

How to fight the following new Covid variant after omicron? Plan for it now. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/how-fight-next-new-covid-variant-after-omicron-plan-it-ncna1288649

Did you know that Omicron BA.2 subvariant will soon dominate in the U.S., but Fauci doesn’t expect another surge?

According to data published this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Omicron’s more contagious subvariant, BA.2, has more than doubled in prevalence in the United States over the last two weeks and now accounts for more than 34% of Covid-19 infections that have undergone genetic sequencing. Since February 5, when it comprised roughly 1% of genetically analyzed viral samples in the United States, BA.2 has been progressively increasing as a fraction of Covid variants circulating in the country. BA.2 probably already accounts for 50% of new infections in the United States since many individuals do tests at home that are not included in official statistics, according to Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. In addition, Walgreens data indicates that BA.2 is the leading variety, accounting for 51% of all positive Covid cases for the week ending March 19.

Reference

Omicron BA.2 subvariant will soon dominate in the U.S., but Fauci doesn’t expect another surge. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/23/covid-omicron-bapoint2-subvariant-will-soon-dominate-in-us-but-fauci-doesnt-expect-another-surge.html?fbclid=IwAR1PtlOWk2ebo9dnBoKtsqyiH_wbf5mMmWMnNjPqt03RYgVyEZ2HCwcjHtY

Did you Know COVID-19 infections are increasing again in Europe?

COVID-19 infections are increasing again in Europe after a decline over the Christmas holiday season, and scientists are warning that another wave might hit the US.

An annotated map showing subvariant distribution in the US as of March 15. CDC/Insider

COVID-19 outbreaks in Europe have historically preceded an increase in cases in the United States, and scientists have speculated that this may be the case here as well. The increase in instances, as seen below, is believed to be the consequence of a combination of the emergence of a more infectious subvariant of Omicron termed BA.2 and the recent easing of COVID-19 limitations in several European nations, according to Eric Topol, a cardiologist, and director of the Scripps Institute, in The Guardian. However, we must exercise caution since we are not yet out of the woods. This virus has not been eradicated, and we must be prepared to cope with it.

Reference

COVID-19 is surging again in Europe thanks to the BA.2 subvariant and will likely spread to the US soon. https://www.businessinsider.com/omicron-europe-surge-ba2-us-wave-likely-coming-2022-3?fbclid=IwAR2iaVekoequ6Rx6blwaEpJXcrExFUS3SKDSDqLpjA3KSwHnjnli4clxYko

Should Individuals Be Worried About Covid — Again?

Covid instances are declining in the United States, and mask restrictions are being removed throughout the country. Despite this, almost a third of the wastewater sampling locations in the United States revealed growing Covid-19 levels in the first ten days of March. So, is Covid on its way out or not?

According to experts, there are many reasons why Americans should not relax their guard just yet. “For some reason, the world has decided Covid is finished — and that really bothers me,” said Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine. “It’s asking for problems to lift all of these regulations so rapidly.”

Reference

Should I Be Worried About Covid — Again?.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/is-covid-over-how-to-protect-yourself-post-lockdown?fbclid=IwAR0OyKQnW-DCSR57uqylMsvkVd9Ar-yzyxrU0V8rSeyf1frrFQQ4pl5tgrk