"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 10th Sep 2021
COVID-19 disruption causing many deaths from TB, AIDS in poorest countries, fund says - Hundreds of thousands of people will die of tuberculosis left untreated because of disruption to healthcare systems in poor countries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global aid fund said. In a few of the world's poorest countries, excess deaths from AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) could even exceed those from the coronavirus itself, said the head of the Geneva-based aid body, known as the Global Fund.
Covax, a global program to distribute Covid vaccines, cuts its 2021 forecast for available doses by a quarter - The United Nations-backed program to vaccinate the world against the coronavirus slashed its forecast for doses available in 2021 by roughly a quarter on Wednesday, another setback for an effort that has been hampered by production problems, export bans and vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations. Shortly after the forecast was released, the World Health Organization asked wealthy countries to hold off on administering booster shots for healthy patients until at least the end of the year as a way of enabling every country to vaccinate at least 40 percent of their populations. The organization had previously called for a booster shot moratorium until the end of September.
Biden to Require All Federal Workers, Government Contractors Be Vaccinated Against Covid-19 - All employers with 100 or more employees would have to require their workers to be vaccinated or undergo at least weekly Covid-19 testing under a new plan by President Biden to curb the spread of the pandemic, senior administration officials said. The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the coming weeks plans to issue an emergency temporary standard implementing the new requirement, which will cover 80 million private-sector workers, officials said. Businesses that don’t comply can face fines of up to $14,000 per violation, they said. The employers will also have to give workers paid time off to get vaccinated or to recover from any side effects of getting vaccinated.
Vaccine passports planned to be used for some events in Scotland from October 1 - The new SNP-Green government clinched its first major parliamentary victory when a controversial scheme to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and large scale events was passed by its coalition majority.
Least Vaccinated States Lead Spike in Children’s Cases, Leaving Some Hospitals Stretched - Just as millions of families around the United States navigate sending their children back to school at an uncertain moment in the pandemic, the number of children admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 has risen to the highest levels reported to date. Nearly 30,000 of them entered hospitals in August. Pediatric hospitalizations, driven by a record rise in coronavirus infections among children, have swelled across the country, overwhelming children’s hospitals and intensive care units in states like Louisiana and Texas.
Amazon.com to cut cost of COVID-19 PCR test kits - Amazon.com said it will cut the cost of its direct-to-consumer COVID-19 PCR Test Collection kit to $36.99, a $3 price reduction. The U.S. retailer said the price cut reflects its costs for selling the FDA-approved kit and is the result of a public-private partnership with the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that Amazon, Walmart , and Kroger will sell at home rapid COVID-19 tests at-cost for the next three months.
Unvaccinated health and care workers in England could be redeployed - Health and care sector workers in England who decline to be fully vaccinated could be moved to back-office roles, a UK government minister has suggested, as a consultation on plans to mandate Covid-19 and flu vaccinations was launched. The six-week consultation process will take views on whether vaccine requirements should apply for health and wider social care workers – those in contact with patients and people receiving care. It would mean only those who are fully vaccinated, unless medically exempt, could be deployed to deliver health and care services.
Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa: Free football tickets for fans with jabs - South African football fans who are vaccinated can get free entry to watch the national team play Ethiopia in a World Cup qualifier next month, the country's football association says. Its head Danny Jordaan said the deal would apply to half the tickets. It is subject to an agreement with the government and depends on how many fans show up, according to the News24 site. The government is concerned about growing anti-vaccine sentiment in the country. Only 10 million people have been inoculated against Covid-19, and the government says this needs to reach 40 million for population immunity.
COVID-19: Anti-vaccine posters found with razor blades attached to back of them to cut people as they are taken down, union says - Transport for London (TFL) workers have been warned about taking down unofficial COVID posters, after a union confirmed anti-vax signs have been found with razor blades attached to the back of them. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said the posters had been put up on rail and tube stations in London.
The union has called for action to be taken against those responsible for the posters, which bear the message 'Masks Don't Work' and have a razor blade attached on the rear - potentially injuring anyone who tries to take it down.
Co-inventor of mRNA shots sets sights on pan-coronavirus vaccine - Drew Weissman's decades of research helped pave the way for mRNA Covid-19 vaccines, but the scientist isn't resting on his laurels. The University of Pennsylvania immunologist, who on Thursday shared the $3 million 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences with his longtime collaborator Katalin Kariko, is now spearheading efforts to design a new vaccine against all coronaviruses. The Silicon Valley-backed award honors major discoveries with the highest cash amounts in science.
Novavax developing joint COVID/flu vaccine - Vaccine manufacturer Novavax has announced it is developing a joint COVID-19/flu shot that is currently in the trial stage. Novavax already manufactures flu shots and a COVID-19 vaccine, which has not yet been approved for public use in Australia. However, the government has placed an order for 51 million doses.
Massive numbers of new COVID–19 infections, not vaccines, are the main driver of new coronavirus variants - It’s natural to wonder if highly effective COVID-19 vaccines are leading to the emergence of variants that evade the vaccine – like dark peppered moths evaded birds that hunted them. But with just under 40% of people in the world having received a dose of a vaccine – only 2% in low-income countries – and nearly a million new infections occurring globally every day, the emergence of new, more contagious variants, like delta, is being driven by uncontrolled transmission, not vaccines.
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot joins the list of vaccines flagged for rare Guillain-Barre syndrome - Two months after the FDA flagged Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for the rare nerve disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) Europe’s drug regulator has done the same for AstraZeneca’s COVID shot. The European Medicines Agency will now list GBS as a possible and “very rare” side effect of Vaxzevria, which is administered as a two-dose regimen. Of the 592 million doses of the vaccine administered worldwide through the end of July, 833 cases of the nerve-damaging condition were reported. Both are adenovirus-based vaccines, as opposed to the mRNA shots offered by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. The J&J and AZ vaccines also have been linked to very rare cases of blood clots that occur alongside bleeding.
More than 60 frontline UK healthcare workers took their own life at the beginning of the pandemic - The Laura Hyde Foundation is calling for 999 workers to sound their sirens at 9am on 9 September in remembrance of their colleagues. More than 60 frontline healthcare workers died of suicide at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, i can reveal. Among the 64 deaths in the first six months of 2020, which included nurses, midwives and paramedics, more than a quarter were newly-qualified workers. The Laura Hyde Foundation (LHF) – a mental health charity for the emergency services – which requested the statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said the figures were “deeply disturbing”.
Risk of severe breakthrough Covid-19 higher for seniors and people with underlying conditions - For fully vaccinated Americans, the risk of being hospitalized or dying from Covid-19 is low -- much lower than the risk for unvaccinated people. But in those rare cases when a fully vaccinated person gets infected, data suggests it's older adults and those with multiple underlying medical conditions who are most at risk of serious illness. As of August 30, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 12,908 severe breakthrough cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated people that resulted in hospitalization or death. For the more than 173 million people who were fully vaccinated by that date, that represents a less than a 1 in 13,000 chance of experiencing a severe breakthrough case of Covid-19.
COVID cases soar in the Americas as vaccination rates lag: PAHO - Amid lagging vaccination rates, new COVID-19 infections in the Americas are nearly double the rate they were at the same time last year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says. In a weekly virtual news briefing on Wednesday, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said only 28 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated so far, largely due to limited supplies.
The Pandemic Has Set Back the Fight Against H.I.V., TB and Malaria
The Covid-19 pandemic has severely set back the fight against other global scourges like H.I.V., tuberculosis and malaria, according to a sobering new report released on Tuesday. Before the pandemic, the world had been making strides against these illnesses. Overall, deaths from those diseases have dropped by about half since 2004. “The advent of a fourth pandemic, in Covid, puts these hard-fought gains in great jeopardy,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, a nonprofit organization promoting H.I.V. treatment worldwide.
Covax, a global program to distribute Covid vaccines, cuts its 2021 forecast for available doses by a quarter.
The United Nations-backed program to vaccinate the world against the coronavirus slashed its forecast for doses available in 2021 by roughly a quarter on Wednesday, another setback for an effort that has been hampered by production problems, export bans and vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations. Shortly after the forecast was released, the World Health Organization asked wealthy countries to hold off on administering booster shots for healthy patients until at least the end of the year as a way of enabling every country to vaccinate at least 40 percent of their populations. The organization had previously called for a booster shot moratorium until the end of September.
Africa’s C.D.C. director urges wealthy nations to forego Covid vaccine boosters and donate them instead.
The decision by some rich nations to offer booster shots will hinder coronavirus vaccine access for low-income countries, the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, arguing there is no conclusive evidence healthy people who are not immunocompromised need an extra shot.
In wealthy countries — including Germany, France, Israel and the United States — there has been growing momentum to offer additional doses to certain vulnerable populations, including older citizens, and to the general public.
Least Vaccinated States Lead Spike in Children’s Cases, Leaving Some Hospitals Stretched
Just as millions of families around the United States navigate sending their children back to school at an uncertain moment in the pandemic, the number of children admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 has risen to the highest levels reported to date. Nearly 30,000 of them entered hospitals in August. Pediatric hospitalizations, driven by a record rise in coronavirus infections among children, have swelled across the country, overwhelming children’s hospitals and intensive care units in states like Louisiana and Texas.
Biden to Require All Federal Workers, Government Contractors Be Vaccinated Against Covid-19
All employers with 100 or more employees would have to require their workers to be vaccinated or undergo at least weekly Covid-19 testing under a new plan by President Biden to curb the spread of the pandemic, senior administration officials said. The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the coming weeks plans to issue an emergency temporary standard implementing the new requirement, which will cover 80 million private-sector workers, officials said. Businesses that don’t comply can face fines of up to $14,000 per violation, they said. The employers will also have to give workers paid time off to get vaccinated or to recover from any side effects of getting vaccinated.
Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate Guide: Which US Employers Are Requiring Inoculation
To mandate, or not to mandate? That is the question facing corporations right now as they weigh the pros and cons of requiring a Covid-19 vaccine for employees. The answers, so far, are all over the place. A Bloomberg compilation of policies of more than 100 big companies found that about half have implemented a vaccine mandate for at least some of their U.S. staff, but the requirements vary widely. For many, the measure applies to anyone entering a U.S. office—but that can leave wide swaths of the workforce unaffected. Walmart Inc., for instance, hasn’t required its more than 1 million store and warehouse workers to get jabbed. For roughnecks on oil rigs, it might depend where they’re drilling.
Shell weighs 'jab or job' policy for employees -document
Royal Dutch Shell is considering making it mandatory for workers in some operations to get COVID-19 vaccinations or risk being fired, an internal company document seen by Reuters shows. Shell, which employs some 86,000 workers in more than 70 countries, will weigh the pros and cons of the policy at an executive committee meeting on Friday, said two sources who declined to be identified. Shell declined to comment.
Vaccine passports planned to be used for some events in Scotland from October 1
The new SNP-Green government clinched its first major parliamentary victory when a controversial scheme to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and large scale events was passed by its coalition majority.
Biden requiring federal workers to get COVID shot
President Joe Biden on Thursday is announcing sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant that is killing thousands each week and jeopardizing the nation’s economic recovery. The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans. And the roughly 17 million workers at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid also will have to be fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 disruption causing many deaths from TB, AIDS in poorest countries, fund says
Hundreds of thousands of people will die of tuberculosis left untreated because of disruption to healthcare systems in poor countries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global aid fund said. In a few of the world's poorest countries, excess deaths from AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) could even exceed those from the coronavirus itself, said the head of the Geneva-based aid body, known as the Global Fund.
Covid-19 vaccine: Unvaccinated NHS workers could be barred from treating patients as jabs to be compulsory
Frontline NHS staff could be barred from treating patients and possibly lose their jobs if they refuse to have the Covid-19 vaccine. The government has launched a six-week consultation into proposals to make Covid jabs mandatory for all frontline NHS workers. On a visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, Health Secretary Sajid Javid refused to rule out staff losing their jobs if they refuse the vaccine.
China announces £22m emergency aid to Afghanistan, including 3 million Covid-19 vaccine doses
China has pledged emergency aid worth 200 million yuan (£22m) to Afghanistan, including three million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and food supplies. This was the first official aid announced for Afghanistan by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi at a meeting on Wednesday with his counterparts from Afghanistan’s neighbours,
People who got Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus shot feel left behind in push for boosters
Janice Higgins isn’t the type to ignore advice from health professionals, especially when it comes to protecting herself from the coronavirus. When officials recommended masks, she wore them. When the vaccines arrived, she got the first one available to her. But the Biden administration’s plan for coronavirus booster shots is testing her faith in the process.
Unvaccinated health and care workers in England could be redeployed
Health and care sector workers in England who decline to be fully vaccinated could be moved to back-office roles, a UK government minister has suggested, as a consultation on plans to mandate Covid-19 and flu vaccinations was launched. The six-week consultation process will take views on whether vaccine requirements should apply for health and wider social care workers – those in contact with patients and people receiving care. It would mean only those who are fully vaccinated, unless medically exempt, could be deployed to deliver health and care services.
As Singapore pauses reopening, experts suggest 'bolder' COVID-19 strategy
Singapore is ramping up COVID-19 testing and has warned it would not rule out reimposing tighter curbs as infections rise - moves some experts see as too cautious for the vaccine frontrunner that is preparing to live with the virus as an endemic disease.
Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa: Free football tickets for fans with jabs
South African football fans who are vaccinated can get free entry to watch the national team play Ethiopia in a World Cup qualifier next month, the country's football association says. Its head Danny Jordaan said the deal would apply to half the tickets. It is subject to an agreement with the government and depends on how many fans show up, according to the News24 site. The government is concerned about growing anti-vaccine sentiment in the country. Only 10 million people have been inoculated against Covid-19, and the government says this needs to reach 40 million for population immunity.
Covid-19 vaccine: Unvaccinated NHS workers could be barred from treating patients as jabs to be compulsory
Frontline NHS staff could be barred from treating patients and possibly lose their jobs if they refuse to have the Covid-19 vaccine. The government has launched a six-week consultation into proposals to make Covid jabs mandatory for all frontline NHS workers. On a visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, Health Secretary Sajid Javid refused to rule out staff losing their jobs if they refuse the vaccine.
Sydney outlines roadmap out of lockdown
Sydney's cafes, restaurants and pubs are set to reopen in the second half of October after months of strict COVID-19 lockdown.
New Zealand buys Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Spain
Around a quarter of a million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine bought from Spain will arrive in New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday, boosting the country's inoculation programme. The doses will arrive in Auckland on Friday, Ardern said, adding to some 1.8 million doses being delivered directly from Pfizer throughout September.
Sydney pubs to open in mid-Oct as end of COVID lockdown looms - with cases set to rise
Lockdown easing plans come as NSW cases still near record level. Cases will rises, PM warns, state leaders must 'hold nerve.' Sydney pubs, cafes may reopen before schools. Several regions outside Sydney to exit lockdown
Amazon.com to cut cost of COVID-19 PCR test kits
Amazon.com said it will cut the cost of its direct-to-consumer COVID-19 PCR Test Collection kit to $36.99, a $3 price reduction. The U.S. retailer said the price cut reflects its costs for selling the FDA-approved kit and is the result of a public-private partnership with the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that Amazon, Walmart , and Kroger will sell at home rapid COVID-19 tests at-cost for the next three months.
Covid-19 Policies Ignite Battle at UT Austin
Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin drew up a series of projections for how Covid-19 could move through the 50,000-member student body this semester.
Two scenarios, which assumed aggressive protections such as twice-weekly surveillance testing, would limit spread to a few hundred students. Plugging in a set of less restrictive variables suggested the virus would infect about a quarter of the student body by the end of the term. Following a prohibition by Republican state policy makers, UT Austin doesn’t require surveillance testing, masking or vaccines. Now faculty worry the university is headed toward scenario No. 3.
Schiff presses Facebook, Amazon on efforts to curb COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
U.S. Representative Adam Schiff on Thursday called on Facebook and Amazon to provide a more thorough explanation of their efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. "Despite some concrete and positive steps previously taken, these companies owe both the public and the Congress additional answers about the exponential and dangerous proliferation of misinformation, and what the platforms are doing to address the viral spread of conspiratorial falsehoods and myths, over good science," Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said in a statement after sending letters to the companies.
PM slams 'heroes of hindsight' over Pfizer vaccine revelations
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stood by Australia's vaccine strategy, following revelations Health Minister Greg Hunt did not take up an invitation to meet with Pfizer executives last year. Freedom of Information documents obtained by Labor MP Ged Kearney appeared to show emails from Pfizer representatives requesting a meeting with the government about vaccine supply in June 2020. "I think there are a lot of heroes of hindsight at the moment out there," Mr Morrison said today.
Detroit hospital employees file federal lawsuit to stop COVID-19 vaccine mandate
More than 50 employees at a Detroit hospital system have sued in federal court, hoping to stop a Sept. 10 mandate that requires all workers, volunteers and contractors to get coronavirus vaccines or lose their jobs. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges that Henry Ford Health System's COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unconstitutional and infringes on workers' bodily autonomy and right to reject medical treatment.
COVID-19: Anti-vaccine posters found with razor blades attached to back of them to cut people as they are taken down, union says
Transport for London (TFL) workers have been warned about taking down unofficial COVID posters, after a union confirmed anti-vax signs have been found with razor blades attached to the back of them. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said the posters had been put up on rail and tube stations in London.
The union has called for action to be taken against those responsible for the posters, which bear the message "Masks Don't Work" and have a razor blade attached on the rear - potentially injuring anyone who tries to take it down.
Jim Goodwin blasts Covid-19 vaccine passport calls and urges clubs to fight against them
St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin has urged Scottish football clubs to stand up and fight back against vaccine passports being introduced. The government are set to debate and vote on the introduction of vaccine passports in the coming hours but Goodwin feels it would be unacceptable.
Three Vermont state troopers accused of creating fake Covid-19 vaccination cards
Three Vermont state troopers have resigned after being accused of creating fake Covid-19 vaccination cards, state police announced on Tuesday. In a statement released on Tuesday, Vermont police said the three former troopers are suspected of having “varying roles” in creating false Covid-19 vaccine cards. “Based on an initial internal review, we do not believe there is anything more the state police could have done to prevent this occurring. As soon as other troopers became aware of this situation, they raised the allegations internally,” said the Vermont public safety commissioner, Michael Schirling.
Massive numbers of new COVID–19 infections, not vaccines, are the main driver of new coronavirus variants
It’s natural to wonder if highly effective COVID-19 vaccines are leading to the emergence of variants that evade the vaccine – like dark peppered moths evaded birds that hunted them. But with just under 40% of people in the world having received a dose of a vaccine – only 2% in low-income countries – and nearly a million new infections occurring globally every day, the emergence of new, more contagious variants, like delta, is being driven by uncontrolled transmission, not vaccines.
Novavax developing joint COVID/flu vaccine
Vaccine manufacturer Novavax has announced it is developing a joint COVID-19/flu shot that is currently in the trial stage. Novavax already manufactures flu shots and a COVID-19 vaccine, which has not yet been approved for public use in Australia.
However, the government has placed an order for 51 million doses.
Co-inventor of mRNA shots sets sights on pan-coronavirus vaccine
Drew Weissman's decades of research helped pave the way for mRNA Covid-19 vaccines, but the scientist isn't resting on his laurels. The University of Pennsylvania immunologist, who on Thursday shared the $3 million 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences with his longtime collaborator Katalin Kariko, is now spearheading efforts to design a new vaccine against all coronaviruses. The Silicon Valley-backed award honors major discoveries with the highest cash amounts in science.
Risk of severe breakthrough Covid-19 higher for seniors and people with underlying conditions
For fully vaccinated Americans, the risk of being hospitalized or dying from Covid-19 is low -- much lower than the risk for unvaccinated people. But in those rare cases when a fully vaccinated person gets infected, data suggests it's older adults and those with multiple underlying medical conditions who are most at risk of serious illness. As of August 30, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 12,908 severe breakthrough cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated people that resulted in hospitalization or death. For the more than 173 million people who were fully vaccinated by that date, that represents a less than a 1 in 13,000 chance of experiencing a severe breakthrough case of Covid-19.
U.S. FDA declines emergency use approval for Humanigen's COVID-19 drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined Humanigen Inc's request for emergency use authorization (EUA) of its lenzilumab drug to treat newly hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the company said on Thursday. "In its letter, FDA stated that it was unable to conclude that the known and potential benefits of lenzilumab outweigh the known and potential risks of its use as a treatment for COVID-19," the company said in a statement.
Trial of Covid-19 vaccine and flu jab combined to begin in Australia on 640 healthy residents
Vaccine developer Novavax will trial a combined flu and Covid-19 vaccination. The tests in Australia will include 640 healthy adults aged between 50-70. Who have previously been infected or received a Covid jab at least 8 weeks prior. Novavax said that flu and Covid combination vaccines will combat new variants
Moderna developing single-dose booster shot for COVID-19 and flu
Moderna Inc said on Thursday it is developing a single vaccine that combines a booster dose against COVID-19 with its experimental flu shot. The company hopes to eventually add vaccines it is working on for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other respiratory diseases as an annual shot. "We believe this is a very large opportunity that is ahead of us, if we could bring to market a high efficacy pan-respiratory annual booster," Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel said during a presentation to update investors on its drugs in development.
Covid-19: More than 60 frontline UK healthcare workers took their own life at the beginning of the pandemic
The Laura Hyde Foundation is calling for 999 workers to sound their sirens at 9am on 9 September in remembrance of their colleagues. More than 60 frontline healthcare workers died of suicide at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, i can reveal. Among the 64 deaths in the first six months of 2020, which included nurses, midwives and paramedics, more than a quarter were newly-qualified workers. The Laura Hyde Foundation (LHF) – a mental health charity for the emergency services – which requested the statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said the figures were “deeply disturbing”.
Risk of contracting Covid-19 on flights is 0.1%, claims new research
The risk of exposure to Covid-19 on a flight where every passenger has tested negative is less than 0.1 per cent, according to new research. The new peer-reviewed study used data from nearly 10,000 air travellers on Delta’s Covid-tested flight corridors between New York’s JFK, Atlanta and Italy’s Fiumicino airports to conclude that a single molecular test performed within 72 hours of departure could significantly decrease the rate of people infected onboard a commercial aircraft. The research, conducted by the Georgia Department of Health and Mayo Clinic in conjunction with Delta airlines, states that infection rates on Covid-19 tested flights constituted 0.5 per cent, or five in 10,000 passengers, compared with 1.1 percent, or one in 100 people, in the community.
Can kids get ‘long COVID’ after coronavirus infections?
Can kids get “long COVID” after coronavirus infections? Yes, but studies indicate they’re less likely than adults to be affected by symptoms that persist, recur or begin a month or more after infection. Estimates vary on how often the symptoms known as long COVID-19 occur in kids. A recently published U.K. study found about 4% of young children and teens had symptoms more than a month after getting infected. Fatigue, headaches and loss of smell were among the most common complaints and most were gone by two months. Coughing, chest pain and brain fog are among other long-term symptoms sometimes found in kids, and can occur even after mild infections or no initial symptoms.
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot joins the list of vaccines flagged for rare Guillain-Barre syndrome
Two months after the FDA flagged Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for the rare nerve disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) Europe’s drug regulator has done the same for AstraZeneca’s COVID shot. The European Medicines Agency will now list GBS as a possible and “very rare” side effect of Vaxzevria, which is administered as a two-dose regimen. Of the 592 million doses of the vaccine administered worldwide through the end of July, 833 cases of the nerve-damaging condition were reported. Both are adenovirus-based vaccines, as opposed to the mRNA shots offered by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. The J&J and AZ vaccines also have been linked to very rare cases of blood clots that occur alongside bleeding.
How the Delta variant’s remarkable ability to replicate threw new twists into the Covid-19 pandemic
One of the key reasons the Delta variant has ignited new surges of Covid-19 infections across the United States is its remarkable ability to make copies of itself.
That skill has helped make Delta far more transmissible than any other iteration of the coronavirus seen thus far. But its replication prowess could also be at the heart of the other twists Delta has thrown into the pandemic, including the increase in breakthrough infections with the variant and why it potentially causes severe Covid-19 more often. Delta’s breakneck proliferation isn’t its only trick tied to the increase in infections — and symptomatic infections — in people who’ve been vaccinated.
Study says Alpha variant doubled COVID cases in Israeli kids
The SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B117) variant spread faster and more efficiently than previous strains among children 9 years and younger in Israel in late 2020 and early 2021, even amid the concurrent immunization of adults against COVID-19, according to an observational study yesterday in JAMA Network Open. A team led by a researcher at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel in Petah Tikva compared the publicly available daily data of 21,615 children who tested positive for COVID-19 from Aug 1 to Oct 2, 2020, with those of 50,811 children who tested positive from Dec 3, 2020, to Feb 3, 2021. The researchers adjusted weekly incidence rates according to the number of COVID-19 tests performed.
COVID-19 is rising again in the U.K., but many shrug it off
A spike in new COVID-19 infections is sweeping Britain, but from packed trains on London's subway to full audiences at West End musicals, the prevailing attitude may be shifting to "We can live with it." "It's done. COVID is over, for sure," Hannah Worrel, 34, said as she joined a crowded throng of after-work partiers on Soho's famed Old Compton Street. England lifted mask mandates — except in some places such as the London subway — and occupancy restrictions for indoor gatherings over the summer. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have kept them in place for now.
South Korea Covid-19 cases at record highs as country looks to relax virus restrictions
South Korea has become the latest country in the Asia Pacific region to consider abandoning its coronavirus elimination strategy, announcing plans to potentially lift Covid-19 restrictions despite rising case numbers. Seoul is attempting to bring the country's fourth -- and largest -- Covid-19 outbreak under control, with more than 2,100 new local infections reported in the past 24 hours, according to Korea's Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The Greater Seoul area remains under level 4 restrictions, the toughest available, with gatherings of five or more people banned. Authorities fear the upcoming Korean Thanksgiving Chuseok holiday beginning September 17 could worsen the outbreak.
Covid-19 Victoria: State will see 18,000 Covid cases within weeks and 800 people in hospital
Entire Victorian families are testing positive for Covid before even one member knows they are infected with the virus. Worried health authorities blame this discovery as a reason the state's rapidly-spreading Delta outbreak is on track to hit 18,000 active cases in a matter of weeks. 'We are finding cases where entire households are positive when the first person has come forward to get tested and the adjoining households and families are all positive at the same time,' Covid commander Jeroen Weimar said on Thursday.
Covid cases among children are surging in the US as students head back to school
As millions of children head back to school across the US, health experts are highlighting a troubling trend: hundreds of thousands of them are testing positive for Covid. More than 250,000 children had new cases in the last week of August, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a report published on Tuesday. That’s the highest weekly rate of new pediatric cases since the pandemic began, and it’s a 10% increase in two weeks.
US data show child COVID-19 cases rising exponentially
For the first time during the pandemic, children now account for more than one quarter of new weekly US COVID-19 cases, according to the latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Nearly 252,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending Sep 2, the largest number recorded for children during the pandemic, according to the report. Children accounted for 26.8% of reported weekly US cases.
COVID cases soar in the Americas as vaccination rates lag: PAHO
Amid lagging vaccination rates, new COVID-19 infections in the Americas are nearly double the rate they were at the same time last year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says. In a weekly virtual news briefing on Wednesday, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said only 28 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated so far, largely due to limited supplies.