Covering COVID-19 is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus and other timely topics for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
The Walgreens drug store chain posts the results of the COVID-19 tests it oversees, and the picture is grim. More than a third of the tests are positive and some states have seen a spike of 25% in the last week. Click on the map, which is linked to an interactive for each state.
Screnshots, Walgreens COVID-19 Index
The answer is yes and no. In all of the 60 or so years that monkeypox has infected people, it has not been spread by sexual contact. But that is one way that it is spreading now. The World Health Organization last week advised men to consider reducing their sexual partners for the moment. The WHO says 98% of the monkeypox cases detected since May have been among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
But the WHOs warning also shows that monkeypox is not only transmitted through sexual contact, so to call it an STD might lead people to believe there is no danger if they are not having sex with an infected person. The WHO says among the ways the virus can be transmitted are:
In recent days you have heard about the vaccine being used to fight the spread of monkeypox being the same vaccine used to fight smallpox. That might be disconcerting considering that smallpox killed one in three people it infected. Smallpox was extremely infectious.
Monkeypox is different from smallpox. It is rarely deadly. But the smallpox vaccine protected people against a related orthopoxvirus infection that we call monkeypox. Four decades ago, most countries that had a smallpox problem stopped delivering smallpox vaccines as the infection was eradicated. That means that now, monkeypox has an opportunity to make a comeback, as viruses sometimes do.
Vox explains that there are smallpox vaccines in U.S. storage called ACAM2000 that are not likely to be used unless monkeypox presents a much larger problem:
Public health leaders are weighing significant trade-offs: While using the USs stockpiles of smallpox vaccines might seem like an easy fix to this scary situation, the decision is much thornier than it appears. ACAM2000s potentially concerning side effects, the complex way it has to be administered, and limits on who can safely receive the vaccine seriously complicate the risk-benefit calculation around using it.
Health officials arent likely to make ACAM2000 widely available unless something big about the monkeypox outbreak changes. Heres why.
ACAM2000s best feature right now is its availability: 100 million-odd doses of the vaccine are currently sitting on the shelves at the US Strategic National Stockpile, largely untouched.
But it comes with a long list of contingencies, among them its unwieldy administration.
The FDA explains the not very comforting way that smallpox vaccines are administered:
ACAM2000 cannot cause smallpox; it does not contain the smallpox virus, but rather the live vaccinia virus not dead virus like many other vaccines. For this reason, attentively caring for the vaccination site is important to prevent the virus from spreading from the vaccination site to other parts of the body, or to other people.
ACAM2000 is administered differently than the typical shot associated with most vaccinations. A two-pronged stainless steel (or bifurcated) needle is dipped into the vaccine solution and the skin is pricked several times in the upper arm with a droplet of the vaccine. The virus begins growing at the injection site causing a localized infection or pock to form.
A red, itchy sore spot at the site of the vaccination within 3-4 days is an indicator that the vaccination was successful; that is, there is a take. A blister develops at the vaccination site and then dries up forming a scab that falls off in the third week, leaving a small scar. The vaccine stimulates a persons immune system to develop antibodies and cells in the blood and elsewhere that can then help the body fight off a real smallpox infection if exposure to smallpox ever occurs.
ACAM2000 is also not safe for immunocompromised people. And sometimes the vaccination does not take on the first try.
You might ask why the U.S. government keeps 100 million doses of vaccine on hand for a virus that was eradicated decades ago. The answer, the FDA says, is as a defense against smallpox being used as a biological weapon.
The Wall Street Journal zeroed in on the way Americans are shopping for bargains:
One way they are doing so is by relying more ondollar and discount stores for groceries. Average spending on grocery products at discount chains increased 71% from October 2021 to June 2022, according to analytics firm InMarket. Over that time period, spending on the same items in grocery stores decreased by 5%. Many large consumer brandsincluding WalmartandUnileverattest that theirprices arent going down anytime soon.
Other households are buying in bulk or making do without items they never used to think twice about spending money on. Sams Club membership income was up 10.5% year-over-year, according to parent company Walmarts May earnings call.
Consumer-products giantProcter & Gamble Co. just posted its largest sales gain in 16 years. Still, the companyis predicting its slowest sales growthin years as consumers cut back on household staples like the companys Tide detergent and Pampers diapers.
The WSJ story profiled some families that are cutting back on how much shampoo their kids use, shutting off nightlights to save electricity, wearing less makeup and using some products past their expiration dates.
These are the kinds of stories that make me want to listen to my mother tell me how her family made it through the Great Depression. I bet we could learn a lot from hearing those stories today.
There may soon be a day when before you go in for your colonoscopy you will not be drinking a gallon of awful-tasting liquid, but instead you will take a handful of pills and drink water.
The New York Times tells us:
In what experts believe could end the dread that keeps many people from this important screening the Food and Drug Administration approved a regimen of pills, Sutab, that studies showworks just as well as the liquid solutions without the vile flavor. Its a 24-tablet regimen: 12 pills the day before and 12 the next day, several hours before the procedure.
Patients still must drink lots of water, a total of 48 ounces the first day and another 48 ounces the next day. But at least plain water is tasteless.
The thing that is great about Sutab is that it takes the issue of the taste away, says Douglas K. Rex, distinguished professor emeritus of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Youre still going to have to sit on the toilet, but not having to drink something that tastes awful is a big advantage.
Besides skin cancers, colon cancer is the third most common kind of cancer in the U.S., with 106,180 new cases expected this year. Anything that cuts down on the excuses people have not to get tested is a good thing.
The New York Times observed:
Owning an ice cream truck used to be a lucrative proposition, but for some, the expenses have become untenable: The diesel that powers the trucks has topped $7 a gallon, vanilla ice cream costs $13 a gallon and a 25-pound box of sprinkles now goes for about $60, double what it cost a year ago.
Though no organization appears to have hard figures on just how many ice-cream trucks are currently working the streets of New York City, some owners said they would likely leave the business in the next few years. Its a sentiment that is felt nationwide, where mobile ice-cream vendors face higher costs for city permits and registration, and hefty competition from other ice cream businesses, said Steve Christensen, the executive director of theNorth American Ice Cream Association.
The ice cream truck, he said, is unfortunately becoming a thing of the past.
New delivery methods, through third-party apps or ghost kitchens, are proliferating. Brick-and-mortar scoop shops are focusing on offering a fun experience, he said, and serve dozens more flavors than a traditional ice cream truck can, driving lines away from these vehicles.
New York City store clerks say it is not uncommon to see four shoplifting episodes per evening shift in one store as people steal food and other supplies.
(Twitter)
Well be back tomorrow with a new edition of Covering COVID-19. Sign up here to get it delivered right to your inbox.
Al Tompkins is senior faculty at Poynter. He can be reached at atompkins@poynter.org or on Twitter, @atompkins.
Originally posted here:
More than a third of COVID-19 tests done at Walgreens are positive - Poynter
- Let's hear scientists with different Covid-19 views, not attack them - STAT [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Why are more men dying from COVID-19? - Livescience.com [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Doctors find more cases of 'COVID toes' in dermatological registry. Here's what they learned. - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- North Dakota reports 24th COVID-19 death as drive-up testing is underway in Bismarck - Bismarck Tribune [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- WHO and European Investment Bank strengthen efforts to combat COVID-19 and build resilient health systems to face future pandemics - World Health... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- COVID-19: Could Europe's countries be flattening the curve? - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Nine new COVID-19 deaths reported in NH Friday - The Union Leader [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 1 May 2020 - World Health Organization [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Where The Latest COVID-19 Models Think We're Headed And Why They Disagree - FiveThirtyEight [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- US consumers rush to buy meat amid concerns over Covid-19 shortages - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The effect of human mobility and control measures on the COVID-19 epidemic in China - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Gov. Kate Brown Lays Out COVID-19 Testing And Contact Tracing As Keys To Reopening Oregon - OPB News [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Britons will suffer health problems from Covid-19 for years, warn doctors - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Congress is investigating cruise ship company Carnival over COVID-19 outbreaks - The Verge [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- COVID-19 death reported in Dakota County Saturday; believed to be Tyson worker - Sioux City Journal [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Antibody, Antigen And PCR Tests For COVID-19: Know The Differences : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Russia now has second-highest rate of Covid-19 spread as other countries ease restrictions - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- New Hanover County tests more than 180 people for COVID-19 in first week - WWAY NewsChannel 3 [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- A service trip to Peru offers lessons for treating Covid-19 in the US - STAT [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How Long Does COVID-19 Coronavirus Live On Clothes? How To Wash Them - Forbes [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 2 May - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Results of Completed Antibody Testing Study of 15000 People Showing 12.3 Percent of... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus Update (Live): 3,173,442 Cases and ... - zonix.net [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How Patients Die After Contracting COVID-19, The New ... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus gets official name from WHO: COVID-19 [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Symptoms and causes ... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Mick Jagger and Will Smith to perform in India Covid-19 concert - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Where did Covid-19 come from? What we know about its origins - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Apple and Google release first seed of COVID-19 exposure notification API for contact tracing app developers - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- IDPH reports one McHenry County COVID-19 death Saturday, bringing total to 39 - Northwest Herald [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Poor air quality has been linked to Covid-19 impacts. Trump's EPA is still limiting pollution restrictions. - CNN [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Janesville hospitals hoping to add on-site COVID-19 test processing - Janesville Gazette [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- After Covid-19: How will a socially distanced high street actually work? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Drive Thru Covid-19 Testing Hosted in Cleveland - WDEF News 12 [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Majority of Alexandria COVID-19 deaths were in long-term care sites, as city seeks better pay, benefits for workers - WTOP [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Covid-19 in prisons and meatpacking plants shed a light on Americas moral failures - Vox.com [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- While the west fixates on Covid-19, vulnerable countries pay the price - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Anger as Italy slowly emerges from long Covid-19 lockdown - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- The Health Department confirms 22 new cases of COVID-19 - ConchoValleyHomepage.com [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- 50th COVID-19 death reported in WV - WSAZ-TV [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Illinois Seeing More and More COVID-19 Cases as Testing Continues to Increase - WTTW News [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- COVID-19: Why Does the Disease's Name Matter? | Time [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 1 May - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- More than 300,000 UK smokers may have quit owing to Covid-19 fears - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- How Cybercriminals are Weathering COVID-19 - Krebs on Security [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- You don't need an appointment to get tested for COVID-19 at this site on Monday - KMOV.com [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- More than 1 Million People Recover from COVID-19 : Coronavirus Live Updates - dineshr [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Employers Could Terminate Your 401(k) Plan Due to COVID-19. What to Do if It Happens. - The Motley Fool [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Port Huron offering city employees voluntary furloughs in wake of COVID-19 - The Times Herald [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Greater Lansing sees one more COVID-19 case and no further deaths - Lansing State Journal [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- These Scientists Saw COVID-19 Coming. Now They're Trying to Stop the Next Pandemic Before It Starts. - Mother Jones [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Museum of Covid-19: the story of the crisis told through everyday objects - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- No new COVID-19 deaths reported in Oregon - KGW.com [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- The roads into this New Mexico town remain closed as lockdown is extended to slow Covid-19 outbreak - CNN [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- New Zealand records first day with no new Covid-19 cases since before lockdown - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic - ny.gov [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Travel - The indigenous communities that predicted Covid-19 - BBC News [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Covid-19s Race and Class Warfare - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- The Covid-19 Riddle: Why Does the Virus Wallop Some Places and Spare Others? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Singapore Was Praised For Controlling Coronavirus. Now It Has The Most Cases In Southeast Asia : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- ICUs Transformed To Care For COVID-19 Patients : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Family devastated after father dies of COVID-19 can only comfort mother from a distance - INFORUM [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- One of Trumps personal valets tests positive for Covid-19 - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Clinical trials press on for conditions other than COVID-19. Will the pandemic's effects sneak into their data? - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Medical delivery drones are helping fight COVID-19 in Africa, and soon the US - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- How Lyft intends to navigate and survive COVID-19 - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- How a New Mexico hospital rebelled against its bosses as Covid-19 hit - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Tell the Stories of the New Yorkers Lost to COVID-19 - THE CITY [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- COVID-19 update: South Dakota death toll up to 31, active cases at 846 as 698 new test results announced - KELOLAND.com [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Covid-19 Parties Probably Didnt Involve Intentional Spread - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Is It COVID-19 Or Something Else? What Experts Are Learning About Symptoms : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- China Says It Contained COVID-19. Now It Fights To Control The Story - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- COVID-19 Is The End Of The Higher Education Buffet - Forbes [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Covid-19 taking toll on blues community - CNN [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- U.S. Field Hospitals Stand Down, Most Without Treating Any COVID-19 Patients - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Even for a nurse who has dealt with infectious diseases, COVID-19 is scary; National Nurses Week - PennLive [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Mental health care will undergo a revolution post COVID-19 - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Mystery Inflammatory Syndrome In Kids And Teens Likely Linked To COVID-19 - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Do Antibodies Against The Novel Coronavirus Prevent Reinfection? : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- 'This Is ... Personal': After Surviving COVID-19, A Mom And Daughter Mourn Loved Ones - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]