COVID-19 News and Discussions

[andmar74]

Oh no..

South Africa may be entering fifth Covid wave earlier than expected

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ns-omicron

[wjfox]

[Grace2Paulson]

Did anyone do a booster dose of the vaccine after Fizer? What is better to use? Fizer again or Moderna?

[erowind]

.

[caltrek]

Study Funds that Cognitive Impairment from Severe COVID-19 Equivalent to 20 Years of Ageing
May 3, 2022

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/951275

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) Cognitive impairment as a result of severe COVID-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points, say a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London.

The findings, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, emerge from the NIHR COVID-19 BioResource. The results of the study suggest the effects are still detectable more than six months after the acute illness, and that any recovery is at best gradual.

There is growing evidence that COVID-19 can cause lasting cognitive and mental health problems, with recovered patients reporting symptoms including fatigue, ‘brain fog’, problems recalling words, sleep disturbances, anxiety and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) months after infection. In the UK, a study found that around one in seven individuals surveyed reported having symptoms that included cognitive difficulties 12 weeks after a positive COVID-19 test.

While even mild cases can lead to persistent cognitive symptoms, between a third and three-quarters of hospitalised patients report still suffering cognitive symptoms three to six months later.

To explore this link in greater detail, researchers analysed data from 46 individuals who received in-hospital care, on the ward or intensive care unit, for COVID-19 at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 16 patients were put on mechanical ventilation during their stay in hospital. All the patients were admitted between March and July 2020 and were recruited to the NIHR COVID-19 BioResource.

[raklian]

[erowind]

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[weatheriscool]

Death Toll During Pandemic Far Exceeds Totals Reported by Countries, W.H.O. Says
Source: New York Times

In Mexico, the excess death toll during the first two years of the pandemic was twice as high as the government’s official tally of Covid deaths. In Egypt, excess deaths were roughly 12 times as great as the official Covid toll. In Pakistan, the figure was eight times as high. Those estimates, along with others for nearly every nation, were calculated by a global panel of experts assembled by the World Health Organization and published on Thursday. Together they offered a startling glimpse of how drastically the death counts reported by many governments have understated the true toll of the pandemic.

Overall, roughly 14.9 million more people worldwide died in 2020 and 2021 than would have been expected to in normal times, the experts estimated. Most were victims of Covid itself, they said, but some died because the pandemic made it more difficult to get medical care for ailments such as heart attacks. The previous toll, based solely on death counts reported by countries, was six million. Much of the loss of life from the pandemic was concentrated in 2021, when new and more contagious variants drove surges of the virus even in countries that had fended off earlier outbreaks. The total number of people who died globally in 2021 was roughly 18 percent larger — an extra 10 million people — than it would have been without the pandemic, the W.H.O.-assembled experts estimated.

“It’s absolutely staggering what has happened with this pandemic, including our inability to accurately monitor it,” said Dr. Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto, who was a member of the expert working group that made the calculations. “It shouldn’t happen in the 21st century.” The W.H.O. assembled the expert team in the first months of the pandemic and tasked it with attempting to calculate a measure known as excess mortality: the difference between the number of people who died during the pandemic and the number who would have been expected to die in normal times.

The calculations combined national data on reported deaths with new information from localities and household surveys, and with statistical models that aimed to account for deaths that were missed. The excess death data had been ready since January, but its release had been stalled by objections from India, which disputes the methodology for calculating how many of its citizens died. Nearly a third of the excess deaths globally — 4.7 million — took place in India, according to the W.H.O. estimates. The Indian government’s own figure through the end of 2021 is 481,080 deaths.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/heal ... &smtyp=cur

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

FDA sharply limits use of Johnson & Johnson shot due to rare blood clots
Source: Washington Post

Federal regulators announced new restrictions Thursday on the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, saying the risk of a rare and life-threatening blood clot syndrome outweighed the benefits of the vaccine for people who are 18 or older and can get another shot, unless they would otherwise remain unvaccinated.

The FDA said only people who are unable to receive other vaccines because they are not accessible or clinically appropriate should receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been associated with a rare, but potentially deadly blood clotting and bleeding syndrome called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS.

The condition usually occurs within one to two weeks of vaccination, and a commonly used treatment to treat clotting, heparin, can cause additional harm.“This is not a new safety signal — it is based on updated information showing that it is a persistent safety signal,” Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine official, said in an interview. He said there are other, safer vaccines that can be used to inoculate people against the coronavirus.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials in December already had made a recommendation that other vaccines should be used instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot, but additional data persuaded the FDA that a stronger limitation was needed. An updated analysis of safety data through March 18 found that there were 60 confirmed cases of the blood-clotting syndrome, including nine that resulted in death. Even with quick treatment, vaccine recipients can rapidly worsen, with long-term health consequences.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... n-vaccine/



Here is the press release - https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-a ... ndividuals

[Time_Traveller]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -indonesia

I'm putting this here because I'm speculating that the cause of the unknown acute hepatitis is COVID. Just because these cases have been in children with no documented previous case of covid or current covid infection doesn't mean it's not covid. Their cases could have been asymptomatic, mild or otherwise ignored by the parents and acute hepatitis may well be a medium to long-term symptom of certain expressions of long-covid in young children.

Not that every medical issue must be covid of course. But given the viruses global circulation and the problems we now know long-covid can cause, it makes sense to me that it's a possible reason for these mysterious cases.

Continuing on from @Erowind's post

Possible link between dogs and spike in hepatitis cases among children examined

Saturday 7 May 2022

Investigators are exploring a possible link between dogs and the recent spike in cases of sudden onset hepatitis in UK children.

More than 160 cases have been recorded in the current outbreak but the reason for the increase is unclear.

Family questionnaires have shown "relatively high numbers of dog-owning families or other dog exposures", said the UK Health Security Agency, with 64 of 92 cases with available data mentioning dog exposure.

The UKHSA said "the significance of this finding is being explored" but that it could be a coincidental because dog ownership is common in the UK.

https://news.sky.com/story/possible-lin ... d-12607339

[weatheriscool]

Coronavirus wave this fall could infect 100 million, administration warns
Source: Washington Post

The Biden administration is warning the United States could see 100 million coronavirus infections and a potentially significant wave of deaths this fall and winter, driven by new omicron subvariants that have shown a remarkable ability to escape immunity.

The projection, made Friday by a senior administration official during a background briefing as the nation approaches a covid death toll of 1 million, is part of a broader push to boost the nation’s readiness and persuade lawmakers to appropriate billions of dollars to purchase a new tranche of vaccines, tests and therapeutics.

In forecasting 100 million potential infections during a cold-weather wave later this year and early next, the official did not present new data or make a formal projection. Instead, he described the fall and winter wave as a scenario based on a range of outside models of the pandemic. Those projections assume that omicron and its subvariants will continue to dominate community spread, and there will not be a dramatically different strain of the virus, the official said, acknowledging the pandemic’s course could be altered by many factors.

Several experts agreed that a major wave this fall and winter is possible given waning immunity from vaccines and infections, loosened restrictions and the rise of variants better able to escape immune protections.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... irus-wave/

[weatheriscool]

Shanghai intensifies lockdown as Xi Jinping insists on zero-Covid
Source: CNN

Hong Kong (CNN)Shanghai is further tightening its stringent lockdown measures after China's top leader Xi Jinping pledged to "unswervingly" double down on the country's controversial zero-Covid policy, leaving millions confined to their homes with no end in sight.

Over the weekend, videos showing Shanghai residents arguing or scuffling with hazmat suit-clad workers and police officers while being forcefully taken away for government quarantine circulated widely on Chinese social media. Many have since been removed by censors after sparking public anger.

The outcry comes as authorities appear to have walked back efforts to ease restrictions in parts of the city, despite a drop in new infections, as local officials come under pressure to curb community transmission of the virus.

Under the new hardline policies, even residents with negative Covid tests can find themselves placed into centralized government quarantine. According to social media posts and local government notices circulating online, in several parts of the city, entire apartment blocks have been deemed a health risk, with all occupants forced from their homes and placed into quarantine on the back of one positive case.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/09/china/ch ... index.html

[weatheriscool]

US deaths from COVID hit 1 million, less than 2 1/2 years in
Source: AP

By CARLA K. JOHNSON

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million on Monday, a once-unimaginable figure that only hints at the multitudes of loved ones and friends staggered by grief and frustration.

The confirmed number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 336 days. It is roughly equal to how many Americans died in the Civil War and World War II combined. It’s as if Boston and Pittsburgh were wiped out.

“It is hard to imagine a million people plucked from this earth,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, who leads a new pandemic center at the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island. “It’s still happening and we are letting it happen.”

Some of those left behind say they cannot return to normal. They replay their loved ones’ voicemail messages. Or watch old videos to see them dance. When other people say they are done with the virus, they bristle with anger or ache in silence.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/us-covid-dea ... 386e442317

[weatheriscool]

FDA authorizes Pfizer Covid booster for children 5 to 11 years old
Source: NBC News

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Children in the age group can get a booster shot at least five months after they’ve received the primary two-dose series, the FDA said in a statement. The booster shot is 10 micrograms, the same dosage as the primary series for the age group and a third of the dosage given to people ages 12 and up.

The FDA’s decision will now go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will make a recommendation about how the boosters should be used for the age group. The CDC's independent group of advisers, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, is expected to discuss the booster during a scheduled meeting Thursday. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to issue a final recommendation following that meeting. Shots could begin as early as Friday.

Less than a third of the 28 million 5 -to-11-year-old children in the United States have received two doses of a Covid vaccine, according to data from the CDC. Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA's top vaccine regulator, noted Tuesday that parents can protect their children from "potentially severe consequences" of Covid by getting them vaccinated with the two-dose primary series.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said the booster dose should provide better protection against mild illness caused by omicron and its family of subvariants, which appear to be more adept than previous strains at sidestepping immunity from vaccinations or prior infection.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-n ... -rcna28355

[raklian]

CDC officially warns of airborne risk of monkeypox.

Link to CDC site: https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/ ... pital.html

[weatheriscool]

Pfizer says 3 COVID shots protect children under 5
Source: Washington Post

Three doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots. The news comes after months of anxious waiting by parents desperate to vaccinate their babies, toddlers and preschoolers, especially as COVID-19 cases once again are rising. The 18 million tots under 5 are the only group in the U.S. not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

The Food and Drug Administration has begun evaluating data from rival Moderna, which hopes to begin offering two kid-sized shots by summer. Pfizer has had a bumpier time figuring out its approach. It aims to give tots an even lower dose — just one-tenth of the amount adults receive — but discovered during its trial that two shots didn’t seem quite strong enough for preschoolers.

So researchers gave a third shot to more than 1,600 youngsters — from age 6 months to 4 years — during the winter surge of the omicron variant. In a press release, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said the extra shot did the trick, revving up tots’ levels of virus-fighting antibodies enough to meet FDA criteria for emergency use of the vaccine with no safety problems. Preliminary data suggested the three-dose series is 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, the companies said, but they cautioned the calculation is based on just 10 cases diagnosed among study participants by the end of April.

The study rules state that at least 21 cases are needed to formally determine effectiveness, and Pfizer promised an update as soon as more data is available. The companies already had submitted data on the first two doses to the FDA, and BioNTech’s CEO, Dr. Ugur Sahin, said the final third-shot data would be submitted this week.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/p ... story.html

[raklian]

[weatheriscool]

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces severe inflammatory bone loss in Syrian hamsters
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05- ... -bone.html
by The University of Hong Kong

A research team led by Professor Kelvin Yeung Wai-kwok and Dr. Jasper Chan Fuk-woo from the LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) discovered that SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause inflammatory activation of bone resorption cells, leading to severe bone loss during the acute and post-recovery phases of COVID-19. The findings of this study provide insights into the possible long-term complications of COVID-19 and have been published in the international peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications.

In addition to pulmonary infection, extrapulmonary complications of different organ systems in the long-term post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, or "long COVID," have been increasingly recognized in patients with COVID-19. However, the full spectrum of clinical manifestations, especially the influence of SARS-CoV-2 infection on bone metabolism, has yet to be fully understood.