Monthly Archives: June 2021

While the pandemic end, the coronavirus may become an epidemic, with hot spots popping up across the country, health experts say.

BOISE, Idaho Asking when the COVID-19 pandemic will be over may sound like asking "Are we there yet?" during a long drive. Sure, Central District Health and Idaho's other public health districts may have faded into the background during recent weeks but the country and the globe are still technically in a pandemic.

The World Health Organization was the first to announce that the world was in the midst of a pandemic in March of 2020. Sometime in the future, the WHO will be the body to announce when it's officially over.

However, there isn't a set standard to mark the end of the pandemic, either. Healthcare and medical experts point to vaccination rates as a guide to when the COVID-19 pandemic might end. If 75-80% of Americans get vaccinated against the coronavirus, it may soon end.

In Idaho, only 37% of 12 to 64-year-olds are fully vaccinated and 73% of people over the age of 65 are. Nationally, only 54% of Americans are fully vaccinated.

Another possibility that scientists are looking at is that the pandemic may morph into an endemic, meaning there is no end to COVID-19 and it would become much like the seasonal flu, where cases might spike in smaller areas and yearly vaccinations are needed to keep it at bay.

Of the 100 epidemiologists surveyed by "Nature," a scientific journal, 90% of them said the coronavirus will likely become endemic.

Reaching the goal of herd immunity to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic will need a combination of more people getting vaccinated and natural immunity lasting. It will also depend on how the virus mutates.

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When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Experts say it may not - KTVB.com

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Virta Health, the leader in type 2 diabetes reversal, today announced promising results on the ability of its treatment to mitigate COVID-19 severity. Presenting abstract data at the American Diabetes Association 2021 Scientific Sessions, the company highlighted low rates of hospitalization, ventilation, and mortality for Virta patients living with type 2 diabetes who also contracted COVID-19.

COVID-19 has created a harrowing set of conditions for people with metabolic disorders. Risk of dying from COVID-19 is twice as high compared to those without diabetes. One study showed that over 50% of COVID hospitalizations were attributed to obesity or type 2 diabetes.

Todays announcement underscores the potential of improved metabolic health to radically improve COVID outcomes. Virta observed low rates of hospitalization (11.2%), ventilation (1.8%), and death (0.3%) relative to national reports. For example, a study in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported hospitalization, ventilation, and death rates of 44.3%, 5.9%, and 4.8%, respectively, for people living with type 2 diabetes. Weight loss held the strongest association with reduced COVID-19 severity, while accounting for other variables like age, starting weight, and days receiving nutrition therapy.

By helping patients restore blood sugar to normal levels, eliminate medications, and lose significant weight, Virtas approach directly addresses some of the most important risk factors to minimize the severity of COVID-19 infection.

Beyond vaccination, improved metabolic health is one of the best defenses we have against COVID severity, said Dr. Robert Ratner, Chief Medical Officer of Virta Health.

Although significant COVID vaccination progress has been made nationally, more than half of the U.S population remains unvaccinated. Globally the number is significantly less. COVID variants continue to raise concern among health experts, as new variants have shown increased transmissibility and complication severity.

These conditions continue to demand multi-faceted solutions to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic both in the United States and abroad. Todays news provides encouraging data on how to do so, while offering critical insight into battling future pandemics where metabolic health plays a central role.

About Virta Health:

Virta Health helps people reverse type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions. Current approaches manage disease progression through increased medication use and infrequent doctor visits. Virta reverses type 2 diabetes through innovations in technology, nutrition science, and continuous remote care from physicians and behavioral experts. In clinical studies, 94% of patients reduce or eliminate insulin use, and weight-loss exceeds FDA benchmarks by 150%. Virta works with the largest health plans, employers, and government organizations and puts 100% of its fees at risk based on clinical and financial outcomes. To learn more about how Virta is transforming lives by reversing type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, visit http://www.virtahealth.com or follow us on Twitter @virtahealth.

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Diabetes Reversal Leader Virta Health Demonstrates Promising Results on Mitigating COVID-19 Severity for People with Type 2 Diabetes - Business Wire

Governments around the world are trying to capitalize on rising Covid-19 vaccination rates to kick-start international travel again, but officials and travel-industry executives are clashing over how.

The European Union is slated to roll out a digital health certificate this weekallowing vaccinated residents to travel restriction-free across the bloc. Canada and the U.K., meanwhile, have said residents can travel overseas again without having to quarantine on their returnas long as they are fully vaccinated. South Korea has said it would allow vaccinated visitors into the country without quarantine restrictions, and Ecuador has dropped testing requirements for vaccinated visitors.

Industry executives complain that the vaccine-related easings arent being coordinated adequately and are being rolled out too slowly.

Its really confusing and thats part of the challenge, Virginia Messina, senior vice president at the World Travel & Tourism Council, said. Its understanding what the rules are in the country youre going to and then what the rules are when you return.

Meanwhile, the so-called Delta variant, first identified in India, has sent Covid-19 cases rising again in countries that not too long ago seemed to have the virus under control. That has governments reconsidering earlier plans to lift travel restrictions. On Monday, Hong Kong banned travelers from the U.K., citing the variant.

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Eager to Go Overseas This Summer? A Covid-19 Vaccine Will Help - The Wall Street Journal

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Spot the difference: Viruses making a comeback post-pandemic, but is it COVID-19? - KXAN.com

The DARE-19 clinical trial explores the use of SGLT2 inhibitors for patients with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, type 2 diabetes, or chronic kidney disease, and COVID-19.

A recent study found that dapagliflozin (Farxiga; AstraZeneca), a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, was well-tolerated in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, and participating patients had fewer serious adverse events than those taking placebo. Results of the DARE-19 trial (NCT04350593) were presented Sunday during the virtual 81st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).1

According to the ADA, DARE-19 is the first large randomized clinical trial to assess SGLT2 inhibitors, a medication class initially used to help lower blood glucose, in patients with and without type 2 diabetes who are hospitalized with COVID-19. Funded by AstraZeneca, the study found that treatment with dapagliflozin did not achieve statistically significant reduction in organ failure or death, nor did it significantly improve clinical recovery, compared with placebo. However, fewer patients treated with dapagliflozin experienced organ failure or death compared to placebo (11.2% vs 13.8%, respectively).1

Previously, there were some concerns with using SGLT2 inhibitors in COVID-19 patients due to the potential risk for acute kidney injury and diabetic ketoacidosis. However, our results show dapagliflozin is well tolerated, with no new safety concerns, said the studys lead investigator Mikhail Kosiborod, cardiologist and vice president for research at Saint Luke's Health System; and professor of medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City, in a press release. We believe that our findings do not support routine discontinuation of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 that have other indications for these agents, such as type 2 diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease (CKD), as long as patients are monitored.

Patients with cardiometabolic risk factors, including type 2 diabetes, are at higher risk for developing serious COVID-19-related complications, such as organ failure and death. According to the ADA, Americans with diabetes and other related underlying health conditions are hospitalized 6 times more often and are 12 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those without diabetes. Previous studies have shown SGLT2 inhibitors provide organ protection in patients with type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease.1

Dapagliflozin is indicated to reduce the risk of sustained glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline, end-stage kidney disease, cardiovascular (CV) death, and hospitalization for heart failure in adult patients with CKD at risk of progression, according to AstraZeneca. The drug is also indicated to reduce the risk of CV death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and to reduce the risk of hospitalization in adults with type 2 diabetes and either established CV disease or multiple CV risk factors. Dapagliflozin is used as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes, and is not recommended for patients with type 1 diabetes.2

DARE-19 compared dapagliflozin to placebo in 1250 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 who also had a history of hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, heart failure with either preserved or reduced ejection fraction, type 2 diabetes, or stage 3 to 4 chronic kidney disease with estimated eGFR between 25 and 60. Patients were recruited across 95 centers in seven countries between April 2020 and January 2021. Approximately half of the patients had a history of type 2 diabetes. Patients received dapagliflozin or placebo for 30 days in addition to the standard of care for COVID-19 in the participating hospital.1

According to the investigators, future trials are needed to further evaluate the possible effects of dapagliflozin on the risk of organ failure or death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. They also noted that DARE-19 has important implications for future research, as it raises a hypothesis that SGLT2 inhibitors may offer organ protection in other types of acute illness such as sepsis, which should be explored in future studies.1

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Dapaglifozin Found to be Well-Tolerated in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 - Pharmacy Times