Category Archives: Corona Virus

The U.S. Army is developing a vaccine capable of protecting against multiple coronaviruses, but Dr. Fauci said it will be years before one is potentially available.

The discovery of the COVID-19 virus in 2020 prompted a global race for an effective vaccine. Scientists have now developed several vaccines to fight COVID-19. While the vaccines authorized for use in the United States still significantly reduce rates of hospitalization and death, concerns of vaccine efficacy have grown as variants such as omicron appear to evade some vaccine protections.

At a White House press briefing on Jan. 26, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that now there is an urgent need for a universal vaccine that could protect people from multiple COVID-19 variants, as well as other coronaviruses such as SARS. And some news outlets tweeted that the Army was developing a universal coronavirus vaccine.

THE QUESTION

Is the Army working on a universal vaccine that would protect people from multiple coronaviruses?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

Yes, researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are working to develop a universal vaccine that would protect people against multiple COVID-19 variants and other coronaviruses. But the vaccine likely wont be available to the general public for several years.

WHAT WE FOUND

According to a U.S. Army press release, researchers at the The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research began work on the universal coronavirus vaccine in early 2020, when they were given the first DNA sequencing of the COVID-19 virus.

This vaccine would protect against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and may provide broad protection against variants associated with the alpha strain. It would also provide protection against other coronaviruses like SARS-origin viruses. The development of this vaccine could provide researchers with the tools they need to prevent another pandemic, the release said, by acting as the first line of defense against variants of concern and similar viruses that could emerge in the future.

DefenseOne reported the Army-developed vaccine uses a soccer ball-shaped protein with 24 faces for its vaccine, which allows scientists to attach the spikes of multiple coronavirus strains on different faces of the protein. This would allow the virus to attack multiple coronaviruses at the same time, because different strains could be built into the vaccine.

The first phase of clinical trials in humans began in April 2021. Prior to that, primates were used as test subjects. According to results of the animal testing phase, the antibody responses exceed those observed for other major vaccines and rapidly protects against respiratory infection and disease in the upper and lower airways and lung tissue of nonhuman primates.

The initial vaccine trials did not include the omicron variant, because the omicron variant did not exist at the time. The delta variant was included in initial testing.

Even though the Army is working on developing a universal coronavirus vaccine, that doesnt mean it will be available to the general public any time soon, if at all. For now, its still in the development and research phase in the U.S.

Dr. David Morens, senior advisor to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told VERIFY to make a universal vaccine is a challenge because if you try to broaden the recipe to add different viruses or variants, like the Army is working to do, your chance of success diminishes."

To make a mostly-universal or fully-universal vaccine is at the moment beyond our technical capacities for any virus group I know of, but that doesnt mean that basic science research wont in the future give us clues to go further, Morens said.

Its not only a question of mutations and bat emergences, its the whole question of breadth of coverage. How do you get a vaccine to do a hundred different jobs when it is barely possible to get it to do one? How do you get the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback to play all 22+ positions on the team at the same level? Morens added.

During a White House press briefing, Fauci also said it could be years before the vaccine would be available in the U.S.

I dont want anyone to think that pan-coronavirus vaccines are literally around the corner in a month or two. Its going to take years to develop in an incremental fashion. Some of these are already in phase one clinical trials. Dont forget, however, that our current vaccine regimens do provide strong protection, particularly when used with a booster, against severe coronavirus disease and death, Fauci said. So, do not wait to receive your primary vaccine regimen. And if you are vaccine [vaccinated], please get your booster if you are eligible.

The Armys universal coronavirus vaccine effort is not the only universal vaccine in development. Scientists are also working on a universal flu vaccine, which, according to the National Academy of Sciences, could be available within the next ten years.

The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, text alerts and our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Learn More

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Yes, the Army is working on a universal coronavirus vaccine - 12news.com KPNX

LONDON A gaggle of masked nurses and doctors in blue paper gowns shuffled from one coronavirus patient to the next offering lifesaving care. Some patients had lingered for days or weeks. Others counted their stays in months.

If there was an end in sight to two years of pandemic, health care workers lamented, youd hardly know it here.

We live in this parallel universe, said Lucy Jenkins, who leads the team of critical care nurses at Homerton University Hospital in East London, comparing what health care workers on the frontline were experiencing with what the general public sees.

Political leaders have moved onto heralding the mild symptoms of the Omicron variant and declaring the pandemic all but over. The British government lifted nearly all coronavirus restrictions in mid-January as infection and hospitalization rates dropped steeply compared with early last year and as vaccines slashed the number of people falling seriously ill.

But for doctors and nurses a return to a normal rhythm of work is still a long way off. While Homertons intensive care units are no longer overflowing, as they were early last year, like many in England, they still face a steady influx of coronavirus patients.

So many people were infected by the coronavirus this winter a record of around 186,000 new daily cases in the first week of January that even if fewer of them ended up gravely ill, hospitals have remained under intense pressure.

In intensive care units like Homertons, which treat the most seriously ill, nearly all of those being tended are unvaccinated.

Since the start of the pandemic, the hospital has treated more than 2,000 coronavirus patients. Nearly 500 died from Covid, according to hospital data. The pandemic has by now engendered a lasting change in the way its intensive care unit, and many others in the country, work. We visited Homerton on Jan. 21.

10:30 a.m.: Morning ward rounds.

A team of doctors and nurses made their way around the escalation ward of the intensive care unit, set aside for treating coronavirus patients. They hover over charts and compare notes on the five patients. Each needs near constant care.

Four of them are hooked up to ventilators, and the rhythmic beeping of the machines hums steadily in the background.

This area was set up at the height of the pandemic to treat the most critically ill Covid patients. The space was originally a reception area for surgery and was never intended to be used for this specialized care. But since the spring of 2020, it has never closed.

Dr. Susan Jain, a specialist in anesthesia and intensive therapy, and a lead doctor, said it was like trying to set up a specialist unit in a living room. The area wasnt fit for the purpose.

Things have slowed, she said, but the staff are still on emergency footing.

We havent seen a point yet where were convinced that the number of Covid cases that are seriously ill are petering out, she said. So theres a sort of unpredictability hanging in the air, about how much and for how long the pressures continue, but it is there for the foreseeable future.

Mary Connolly, a senior nurse who has worked here for 32 years, moved with ease from bed to bed, rattling off vital details of the care of each patient. Nearly all they are now treating are unvaccinated, she explained. A handful deny that the virus even exists.

Its the new thing now, people are refusing to be tested at all, she says, shaking her head. A man with a tracheotomy moans as she and another nurse slide him up the bed to prepare him for an X-ray.

Dont pull it out, she says gently, as he grabs for the plastic pipe protruding from his neck.

One of the patients being cared for in the unit is Dean Gray, 47. He has been there for five days and is the only patient not on mechanical ventilation. Tubes run from the cannula inserted in his heavily tattooed hand. An oxygen mask is fixed over his nose and mouth.

Feb. 3, 2022, 3:15 p.m. ET

I sit at his bedside as he tells me how he had traveled to London to see his family for Christmas. He and his mother became sick with the coronavirus around the same time. She was admitted to the hospital first. He was brought in on the day she died.

I never got to see her, he said.

Mr. Gray chose not to get vaccinated and said his reluctance comes from distrust of the government and worries that the true scale of the pandemic was exaggerated.

Youve got Boris Johnson going to parties, and its really sort of put me against it, he said, pointing to the recent government scandal amid allegations that the prime minister lied about attending parties during lockdown. If all of these problems hadnt arose, I probably would have been vaccinated. But if the milk seems to be sour, I am not going to drink it.

Visitors are not allowed in areas where coronavirus patients are treated, but an exception has been made in Mohammed Tahirs case. He has been hospitalized for the last six months after contracting the coronavirus in August.

For a time he was doing better and was moved out of intensive care, but he returned in December. His bed stands alone in a separate bay. Unlike everyone else on the ward today, he was vaccinated before getting sick.

When his son, Omar Tahir, arrived for an hour visit, Mohammeds expression immediately eased. He gets anxious without his family by his side, Omar explained. So Omar quit his job and moved home to be closer to the hospital and to be with his mother, he said.

A job can be replaced, but you cant replace him, he said.

Omar rubs his fathers frail legs with lotion, his hand moving with care over the sharp angle of his shin bone. Mohammed signals to him to drive safely on his motorbike, his hands gesturing as if gripping handlebars, and he cracks a smile.

Around the world. Several countries are easing their pandemic protocols, though publichealth leaders at the World Health Organization continued to urge caution about relaxing restrictions. In Austria, a sweeping Covid vaccine mandate is set to become law.

Developments in the research field. Intranasal vaccines currently under developmentmay make better boosters by stopping the coronavirus in mucosal linings of the airways. Nasal immunization has already been shown to be effective in protecting mice, ferrets, hamsters and monkeys against the coronavirus.

Mohammed looks deep into his sons eyes and smiles, rarely breaking eye contact. When it comes time to say goodbye, Omar wipes away tears.

As evening comes, Ms. Jenkins, who leads the nurses here, finds out they will be getting three more patients. Its always a logistical stretch.

Adding to the difficulty is the fact that coronavirus patients are treated in a separate part of the unit and the nurse-to-patient ratio is higher in intensive care than other parts of the hospital.

An uptick in patients coupled with a staff shortage caused mainly by the pandemic, Brexit and burnout have meant the hospital has to rely on more temporary I.C.U. nurses. So even as patient numbers have dropped, the pressures remain.

I think people are exhausted, they are burned out, Dr. Jain said. The incentive to work in any of these environments is very little, thats a big problem.

Still, things have improved compared with this time last year when my colleague, Andrew Testa, visited the unit. It was the height of the second wave of coronavirus infections battering Britain, and the unit was brimming with patients. Every bed was full, with 22 Covid patients in total.

Now, there are typically between a half dozen to a dozen coronavirus patients on any given day, the hospital said.

But many health care workers are still grappling with months of observing illness and death on a scale they had never experienced, with some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

It was the sheer volume, Dr. Jain said, adding that it was the same in hospitals across the country. It was mass death and also it felt like it could have been avoided.

Outside, banners line the street facing the main entrance with messages for the staff: Thank you to all the hard workers at Homerton Hospital. We love you, reads one.

The banners edges are now tattered and blackened by the exhaust of the cars that have passed by since they were first hung in 2020, when the pandemic began.

In many ways, the staff inside feel far from those early days. In some ways, little has changed, but what has changed is profound.

You know, in Wave 1, we were heroes, said Ms. Jenkins, the leader of the nursing team. By Wave 2, we were the enemy. And thats hard.

More:

One Day in the Parallel Universe of a London I.C.U. - The New York Times

Exposing people to a tiny amount of coronavirus led to infection on average 42 hours later, according to preliminary results from the first British study testing participants response to the virus.

A study of 36 highly screened healthy people who had volunteered to be infected with the virus, found that in the 18 people who became COVID-19 positive (defined as two positive PCR tests), the time between exposure and viral detection was significantly shorter than existing estimates putting the average incubation period at five to six days.

The study found that the smallest planned dose of the virus administered up the nose was enough to infect half of the participants, aged between 18 and 30, so no higher doses were tested.

Once infection was detected, there was a steep rise first in the amount of virus found in the throat, followed by the nose, where virus levels were the highest.

Virus levels peaked at around five days, but high viral load was still picked up in lab tests up to 12 days later for some. There were no severe symptoms or clinical concerns, with mild symptoms ranging from sore throat to aches and pains, and headache.

While this human challenge study used a virus isolated early in the pandemic, the researchers are planning a next study using a Delta strain, most likely in vaccinated volunteers.

The researchers told journalists they intend to begin the study in spring and expect it to contribute to data on the new COVID-19 vaccines and antivirals.

Wednesday's study, a collaboration between Imperial College London, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, hVIVO, the Vaccine Task Force and the Department of Health and Social Care, is available online but has not yet been peer reviewed.

Continue reading here:

Study finds coronavirus infection after exposure faster than expected - POLITICO Europe

How Spotify is responding to Joe Rogan podcast, COVID misinformation

As musicians leave Spotify, the streaming service plans to add content advisories before podcasts discuss COVID-19.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

As the U.S. inches up to a 64% vaccination rate for the entire population, only 42% of those eligible for a booster have gotten the extra shot, and experts arent sure what will move the needle, so to speak.

Perhaps this will win over some converts:

Fully vaccinated Americans are 14 times less likely to die of COVID-19 than those who havent gotten the shots. Boosted Americans are 97 times less likely.

Those were the figures presented Wednesday by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on reports from 25 jurisdictions in the week ending Dec. 4. For every 100,000 people, 9.7 of those who were unvaccinated were killed by the coronavirus, compared to 0.7 of those fully vaccinated and 0.1 of the boosted.

She said more recent information during the omicron wave further underscores the value of getting boosted, prompting Dr. Anthony Fauci to say, The data are really stunningly obvious why a booster is really very important.

They spoke at a briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team, during which Walensky confirmed the omicron surge is abating, with new infections nationwide down 36% to a daily average of 446,000 compared to the previous week, and hospitalizations dropping 14% to 17,100. Those are still stunningly high numbers, though, and deaths have risen 4% to 2,300 a day.

With the mixed news above, similar to other waves throughout the pandemic, our data continue to reinforce the critical importance of vaccination, Walensky said.

That also applies to those who are pregnant or couples who may want to conceive in the future. Fauci highlighted two recent studies that showed vaccination had no impact on fertility, which actually diminished temporarily among males infected with the virus.

New data adds to previous studies that indicate the COVID-19 vaccination does not negatively impact fertility, Fauci said. And of course, as weve all said over and over again, vaccination is recommended for people who are trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future, as well as their partners.

For many who are already parents, news that their children under age 5 may become eligible for the vaccine by the end of this month could relieve concerns about their exposure to the virus.

Response team coordinator Jeff Zients said about 18 million children in that age group would qualify once the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC give their OK, adding that the administration is already working on distribution plans for the low-dose vaccine.

Well be ready to start getting shots in arms soon after FDA and CDC make their decisions, Zients said.

Also in the news:

The Food and Drug Administration said its vaccine advisory committee will have a virtual meetingFeb. 15 to discuss Pfizer-BioNTech's requestfor an emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months through 4 years. The companies appliedfor the EUA on Tuesday, and if cleared the shots could be available as soon as late February.

The breakthrough mRNA technology used in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines is being employed forthe first time in human clinical trials designed to develop an HIV vaccine, the Washington Post reports.

Tonga entered a lockdown Wednesday evening after finding coronavirus infections in two port workers helping distribute aid arriving in the Pacific islandnation after a volcanic eruption and tsunami.

India Arie and Graham Nash have joined the list of musicians asking that their music be removed from Spotifyfollowing Neil Young's protest over podcaster Joe Rogan spreading false informationabout vaccines on the platform.

Today's numbers:The U.S. has recorded more than 75million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 893,000 deaths,according toJohns Hopkins University data.Global totals: More than 383million cases and over 5.6million deaths. More than 212million Americans 63.9% are fully vaccinated,according totheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.

What we're reading:Thenational debtsurpassed $30 trillion for the first time Tuesday, fueled in part by thecoronavirus pandemicand what economists describe as years of unsustainable government spending that could have long-term consequences for every American.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more?Sign up forUSA TODAY's freeCoronavirus Watch newsletterto receive updates directly to your inbox andjoin ourFacebook group.

Even though infections from the omicron variant are decreasingacross the country, the CDC's national ensemble forecast predicts the U.S. will reach933,000 to 965,000 COVID deaths by Feb. 26, the higher figure being nearly 75,000 more than the current total.

That's in part because deaths from the coronavirus typically lag infectionsby about three weeks, and the nation experienced an unprecedented spike in casesin January.

The weekly ensemble, acompilation of predictions from diverse sources that the CDC says has been "among the most reliable forecasts in performance over time,'' envisions a stable or uncertain trend in the number of fatalities reported over the rest of the month.

The Army will immediately begin discharging soldiers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Under a directive issued by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, commanders are to initiate "involuntary administrative separation proceedings" against unvaccinated soldiers with noapproved or pending exemption request, the Pentagon said in a statement Wednesday.The order applies to regular Army, reservists and cadets.

Army readiness depends on Soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nations wars,Wormuth said in a statement. Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in August ordered vaccination for every service member. The Army has not yet involuntarily separated any soldiers for failing to get vaccinated. The Navy announced it would begin dischargingunvaccinated members in December; the Air Force began letting go ofunvaccinated people that same month.

More than 100 people have joined a lawsuit against New Orleans mayor and health director over COVID-19 restrictions recently extended to Mardi Gras parades and other events leading up to Fat Tuesday on March 1.

The 2020 festival was recognized afterward as a super spreader that turned New Orleans into an early pandemic hot spot. Last year, parades were canceled and bars were shuttered.This month, masks are required in bars, restaurants and other public spaces. And children as young as 5 must show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test for the virus to get into indoor public areas.

The lawsuit against Mayor LaToya Cantrell and health director Jennifer Avegno targets mask and vaccination mandates.City Hall spokesman Beau Tidwell said the city normally doesn't publicly respond to litigation.

However, in this case I think its worth noting that the guidelines that we put in place saved lives, full stop," Tidwell said. "The vaccine mandate and the mask requirements are going to remain in place throughout Mardi Gras.

Contrary to scientific evidenceand warnings from health agencies, hundreds of doctors nationwide continue to prescribe ivermectinencouraged by a little-known national group of physicians to prevent and treat COVID-19.Many of the doctors follow treatment guidelinesset by an organizationcalled the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, which promotesthe controversial drug along with other unproven therapies. The group's protocol is a laundry list of ivermectin and other prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vitamin supplements and herbs, none of which have been scientifically proven to work against COVID-19. Read more here.

Theres a group of physicians who will abandon the science in order to satisfy the unscientific demands of patients, said Dr. Gregory Poland, professor of medicine and infectious diseases and director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. Its disinformation. Youre failing to use proven therapies in favor of disproven therapies, and thats wrong.

Adrianna Rodriguez

Although overall child COVID-19 case counts are on their way down in the United States, the January numbers were 3.5 times higher with the omicron variant than what was seen with the previous delta surge, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.Theincrease in cases has resulted in more pediatric hospitalizations and the rise of a dangerous disorder called MIS-C,or Multisystem InflammatorySyndrome in Children. MIS-C, a condition leading to inflammation in the bodyaffecting organs such asthe heart and lungs, occurs about four weeks after infection and can cause high fever, rash, and in some children, other serious health outcomes.

Dr. John Vanchiere,president of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics,said about 6,000 cases of MIS-C have been documented nationwide.

"Their whole immune system is really turned on inappropriately," Vanchiere said. "That inflammation can have long-term effects on the heart and particularly the coronary arteries. We're worried aboutthat."

Even before the pandemic, advocates and health experts had warned of loneliness and social isolation among the nations older adult population. Now, nearly two years in, they say government mandates and precautionary measures meant to control the virus by limiting social interaction have taken an emotional, mental and physical toll.Geriatric workers say rates of depression and anxiety have risen among their clients in that time. In more severe cases, those conditions have led to cognitive and physical deterioration, or worse.

People experienced cognitive decline from having no stimulation, and that has persisted, said Stacey Malcolmson, Senior Sourcepresident and CEO. For those with underlying mental health conditions like dementia or Alzheimers, weve been finding that that cognitive decline is irreversible.

Marc Ramirez

A Michigan woman who previously owned a home health agency that was never operational during the pandemic received $37,657 in federal funds designated for the medical treatment and care of COVID-19 patients, the Department of Justice said.The woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in the Eastern District of Michigan to stealing government funds and using them for her own personal expenses. She previously owned 1 on 1 Home Health in LaPorte, Indiana, which she had closed in early 2020.

The woman was indicted in February of last year in the first criminal charges for the intentional misuse of funds distributed from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund.

Grace Hauck, USA TODAY

Contributing: The Associated Press

The rest is here:

Boosted Americans 97 times less likely to die of virus than unvaccinated; CDC predicts 75,000 more deaths by Feb. 26: Live COVID-19 updates - USA...

Eighteenmore Mainers have died and another 1,402coronavirus cases reported across the state, Maine health officials said Thursday.

Thursdays report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 178,501,according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats up from 177,099 on Wednesday.

Of those, 131,530have been confirmed positive, while 46,971were classified as probable cases, the Maine CDC reported.

Eight men and 10 women have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,777.

Two were from Androscoggin County, two from Aroostook County, two from Cumberland County, two from Kennebec County, three from Oxford County, three from Penobscot County, two from Waldo County and two from York County.

Of those, six were 80 or older, six were in their 70s, four in their 60s, one in their 50s and one in their 40s.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 14,177. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. Thats up from 14,159 on Wednesday.

The new case rate statewide Thursday was 10.48 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 1,333.69.

Maines seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 998, down from 1,015.4 the day before, down from 1,028.9 a week ago and up from 706.7 a month ago.

The most cases have been detected in Mainers younger than 20, while Mainers over 80 years old account for the largest portion of deaths. More cases have been recorded in women and more deaths in men.

So far, 3,979 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 346 are currently hospitalized, with 80 in critical care and 31 on a ventilator. Overall, 52 out of 380 critical care beds and 245 out of 322 ventilators are available.

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Thursday was 29.73 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (17,967), Aroostook (8,525), Cumberland (37,075), Franklin (4,416), Hancock (5,206), Kennebec (17,185), Knox (4,251), Lincoln (3,771), Oxford (8,817), Penobscot (20,090), Piscataquis (2,254), Sagadahoc (3,718), Somerset (7,503), Waldo (4,415), Washington (3,139) and York (30,169) counties.

An additional 1,339 vaccine doses were administered in the previous 24 hours. As of Thursday, 977,759 Mainers are fully vaccinated, or about 76.4 percent of eligible Mainers, according to the Maine CDC.

As of Thursday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 75,701,825 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 894,569 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

More articles from the BDN

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18 more Mainers have died and another 1,402 coronavirus cases reported across the state - Bangor Daily News

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) The Stop the Spread COVID-19 testing locations in Holyoke are closed Friday.

According to Holyoke City Hall, the sites located at Holyoke Community College and the War Memorial are closed due to inclement weather and will be reopened for its regular scheduled day.

It is advised to call ahead at other locations near you due to weather. Visit: Find a COVID-19 test

The drive-up site at HCC is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The walk-up site located at 310 Appleton Street is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Rain will mix with and transition to freezing rain, sleet and snow from northwest to southeast Thursday night. Lows will be in the upper 20s.

Plan on sleet and snow for the Friday morning commute. The wintry mix will last into Friday afternoon but will taper off too sleet and snow showers. Well have lighter sleet/snowaccumulationssouth of the Mass Pike with higher amounts in Franklin and northern Berkshire Counties. It is likely there will be some lingering slush/ice on road surfaces for the Friday evening commute. Highs will be around 30.

Continued here:

COVID-19 testing at HCC closed Friday due to weather - WWLP.com

Two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus is killing Americans at far higher rates than people in other wealthy nations, a sobering distinction to bear as the country charts a course through the next stages of the pandemic.

Cumulative deaths

throughout the pandemic

Cumulative deaths

during the Omicron wave

Cumulative deaths throughout the pandemic

Cumulative deaths during the Omicron wave

Cumulative deaths

throughout the pandemic

Cumulative deaths

during the Omicron wave

The ballooning death toll has defied the hopes of many Americans that the less severe Omicron variant would spare the United States the pain of past waves. Deaths have now surpassed the worst days of the autumn surge of the Delta variant, and are more than two-thirds as high as the record tolls of last winter, when vaccines were largely unavailable.

With American lawmakers desperate to turn the page on the pandemic, as some European leaders have already begun to, the number of dead has clouded a sense of optimism, even as Omicron cases recede. And it has laid bare weaknesses in the countrys response, scientists said.

Death rates are so high in the States eye-wateringly high, said Devi Sridhar, head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who has supported loosening coronavirus rules in parts of Britain. The United States is lagging.

Some of the reasons for Americas difficulties are well known. Despite having one of the worlds most powerful arsenals of vaccines, the country has failed to vaccinate as many people as other large, wealthy nations. Crucially, vaccination rates in older people also lag behind certain European nations.

The United States has fallen even further behind in administering booster shots, leaving large numbers of vulnerable people with fading protection as Omicron sweeps across the country.

Other large,

high-income

countries

Share of population

fully vaccinated

Share of population

with booster dose

Other large,

high-income

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Share of population fully vaccinated

Share of population with booster dose

Share of population

fully vaccinated

Other large,

high-income

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with booster dose

The resulting American death toll has set the country apart and by wider margins than has been broadly recognized. Since Dec. 1, when health officials announced the first Omicron case in the United States, the share of Americans who have been killed by the coronavirus is at least 63 percent higher than in any of these other large, wealthy nations, according to a New York Times analysis of mortality figures.

In recent months, the United States passed Britain and Belgium to have, among rich nations, the largest share of its population to have died from Covid over the entire pandemic.

For all the encouragement that American health leaders drew from other countries success in withstanding the Omicron surge, the outcomes in the U.S. have been markedly different. Hospital admissions in the U.S. swelled to much higher rates than in Western Europe, leaving some states struggling to provide care. Americans are now dying from Covid at nearly double the daily rate of Britons and four times the rate of Germans.

The only large European countries to exceed Americas Covid death rates this winter have been Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic, poorer nations where the best Covid treatments are relatively scarce.

The U.S. stands out as having a relatively high fatality rate, said Joseph Dieleman, an associate professor at the University of Washington who has compared Covid outcomes globally. Theres been more loss than anyone wanted or anticipated.

As deadly as the Omicron wave has been, the situation in the United States is far better than it would have been without vaccines. The Omicron variant also causes less serious illness than Delta, even though it has led to staggering case numbers. Together, vaccines and the less lethal nature of Omicron infections have significantly reduced the share of people with Covid who are being hospitalized and dying during this wave.

In Western Europe, those factors have resulted in much more manageable waves. Deaths in Britain, for example, are one-fifth of last winters peak, and hospital admissions are roughly half as high.

But not so in the United States. Record numbers of Americans with the highly contagious variant have filled up hospitals in recent weeks and the average death toll is still around 2,500 a day.

Chief among the reasons is the countrys faltering effort to vaccinate its most vulnerable people at the levels achieved by more successful European countries.

Twelve percent of Americans 65 and over have not received either two shots of a Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or one Johnson & Johnson shot, which the C.D.C. considers fully vaccinated, according to the agencys statistics. (Inconsistencies in C.D.C. counts make it difficult to know the precise figure.)

And 43 percent of people 65 and over have not received a booster shot. Even among the fully vaccinated, the lack of a booster leaves tens of millions with waning protection, some of them many months past the peak levels of immunity afforded by their second shots.

In England, by contrast, only 4 percent of people 65 and over have not been fully vaccinated and only 9 percent do not have a booster shot.

Its not just vaccination its the recency of vaccines, its whether or not people have been boosted, and also whether or not people have been infected in the past, said Lauren Ancel Meyers, the director of the University of Texas at Austins Covid-19 modeling consortium.

Unvaccinated people make up a majority of hospitalized patients. But older people without booster shots also sometimes struggle to shake off the virus, said Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University, leaving them in need of extra oxygen or hospital stays.

In the United States, cases this winter first surged in more heavily vaccinated states in the Northeast before moving to less-protected states, where scientists said they worried that Omicron could cause especially high death tolls. Surveys suggest that the poorest Americans are the likeliest to remain unvaccinated, putting them at greater risk of dying from Covid.

Americas Omicron wave has also compounded the effects of a Delta surge that had already sent Covid deaths climbing by early December, putting the United States in a more precarious position than many European countries. Even in recent weeks, some American deaths likely resulted from lengthy illnesses caused by Delta.

But Omicron infections had edged aside Delta by late December in the United States, and epidemiologists said that the new variant was most likely responsible for a majority of Covid deaths in the U.S. today.

These are probably Omicron deaths, said Robert Anderson, the chief of mortality statistics at a branch of the C.D.C. And the increases were seeing are probably in Omicron deaths.

Still, the United States problems started well before Omicron, scientists said. Americans began dying from Covid at higher rates than people in western European countries starting in the summer, after the United States had fallen behind on vaccinations. During the Delta surge in the fall, Americans were dying from Covid at triple the rate of Britons.

By tracking death certificates that list Covid as a cause of death or as a contributing factor, Dr. Anderson said, the C.D.C. is able to ensure that it is counting only those people who died from Covid and not those who might have incidentally tested positive before dying for unrelated reasons.

It is too early to judge how much worse the United States will fare during this wave. But some scientists said there were hopeful signs that the gap between the United States and other wealthy countries had begun to narrow.

As Delta and now Omicron have hammered the United States, they said, so many people have become sick that those who survived are emerging with a certain amount of immunity from their past infections.

Although it is not clear how strong or long-lasting that immunity will be, especially from Omicron, Americans may slowly be developing the protection from past bouts with Covid that other countries generated through vaccinations at the cost, scientists said, of many thousands of American lives.

Weve finally started getting to a stage where most of the population has been exposed either to a vaccine or the virus multiple times by now, said Dr. David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Referring to American and European death rates, he continued, I think were now likely to start seeing things be more synchronized going forward.

Still, the United States faces certain steep disadvantages, ones that experts worry could cause problems during future Covid waves, and even the next pandemic. Many Americans have health problems like obesity and diabetes that increase the risk of severe Covid.

Share of population not fully vaccinated

Share of population age 65 and older

Share of adult population with obesity

Share of population not fully vaccinated

Share of population age 65 and older

Share of adult population with obesity

More Americans have also come to express distrust of the government, and of each other in recent decades, making them less inclined to follow public health precautions like getting vaccinated or reducing their contacts during surges, said Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

A study published in the scientific journal The Lancet on Tuesday by Mr. Bollyky and Dr. Dieleman of the University of Washington found that a given countrys level of distrust had strong associations with its coronavirus infection rate.

What our study suggests is that when you have a novel contagious virus, Mr. Bollyky said, the best way for the government to protect its citizens is to convince its citizens to protect themselves.

While infection levels remain high in many states, scientists said that some deaths could still be averted by people taking precautions around older and more vulnerable Americans, like testing themselves and wearing masks. The toll from future waves will depend on what other variants emerge, scientists said, as well as what level of death Americans decide is tolerable.

Weve normalized a very high death toll in the U.S., said Anne Sosin, who studies health equity at Dartmouth. If we want to declare the end of the pandemic right now, what were doing is normalizing a very high rate of death.

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U.S. Has Far Higher Covid Death Rate Than Other Wealthy Countries - The New York Times

A look at some of the top headlines trending online today around the world including the latest on the Winter Olympics, a major snowstorm moving through the country, coronavirus developments surrounding the Omicron variant and much more.

Triple whammy of snow, ice and sleet in store for millions across South and Midwest (CNN)

Olympic spotlight back on China for a COVID-tinged Games (AP)

Activists say Olympic diplomatic boycotts simply not enough, call for further action against China (ABC)

White House no longer calling Russian invasion of Ukraine imminent (NY Post)

Russia condemns destructive US troop increase in Europe (BBC)

International Space Station to crash into the Pacific Ocean in 2031, NASA announces (CBS)

How much Covid immunity is out there? Figuring out is crucial and complicated (NBC)

When can kids get the COVID-19 vaccine? What parents need to know (CBS)

Why do some people get Covid when others dont? Heres what we know so far (CNBC)

When you should be using your at-home COVID tests (ABC)

Strained US hospitals seek foreign nurses amid visa windfall (AP)

Eminem, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran and Beck nominated for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (cleveland.com)

US forces launch raid in Syria, civilians also reported dead (AP)

Sources: Hue Jackson may join Brian Flores lawsuit, claims to have proof that Browns incentivized tanking (Yahoo Sports)

Washington Football Team reveals Commanders as new name (Fox)

4 Are Charged in Overdose Death of Michael K. Williams (NY Times)

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Winter Olympics, heavy snow, coronavirus & more: Whats trending today - cleveland.com

Governor Reynoldssignedthefinalextension of the states Public Health DisasterEmergencyProclamationtoday,announcingitwill expire at 11:59 p.m. onTuesday,February15,2022.The signed proclamation can be foundhere.

The proclamation was firstissuedin accordance with the Governors executive authorityonMarch17, 2020,toenable certain public health mitigation measures duringthestates response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Overtime, it includedhundreds ofprovisionsassembledin the midst of an emergency to quickly addressapandemicthenationknew little about. Today, the remaining16provisionsfocusprimarilyon lingering workforce issues exacerbated by the pandemic that are best addressed outside of emergency executive powers.

The State of Iowa is working with stakeholders in an effort to address pervasiveworkforceissues through more permanent solutions like legislation, rule changes, and grant programs.

We cannot continue tosuspend duly enacted laws andtreatCOVID-19asa public health emergencyindefinitely.After two years,its no longer feasible or necessary. The flu and other infectious illnesses are part of our everyday lives,and coronavirus can be managed similarly, stated Gov. Reynolds. Stateagencieswill nowmanage COVID-19 as part of normal daily business, andreallocateresources that have beensolelydedicated to the response effort toserve other important needsforIowans.

Theexpiration of Iowas Public Health DisasterEmergencyProclamation willresult inoperational changes related to the COVID-19 response.The most noticeable change will be how data is reported publicly.The statestwoCOVID-19 websites, coronavirus.iowa.govand vaccinateiowa.gov,will be decommissionedon February 16, 2022, but information will remain accessible onlinethroughotherstate and federal resources.

While our COVID-19 reporting will look different, Iowans should rest assured that the state health department will continue to review and analyze COVID-19 and other public health data daily, just as we always have, stated Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health(IDPH).The new format willincludedata points that Iowans areused to seeing, but moves us closer to existing reporting standards for other respiratory viruses. This new phase also assures that our teams, who have been deeply committed to the COVID-19 response, can return to their pre-pandemic responsibilities, andrefocuson areaswhere the pandemic has taken a hard toll.

IDPHwillreportrelevantCOVID-19 informationweekly on its website,similar to howflu activityis reported.Data willincludepositive testssince March 2020and in the last seven days, cases by county,anepidemiologic curve, variants by weekand deaths since March 2020. Vaccine information, including total series and boosters completed, demographics for fully vaccinated Iowans,and vaccination by county, will also be reported.Aligningthe agencysreporting processes will create greater efficiency for its staffwhilecontinuing toprovideimportantinformationto Iowans.Thenew reportwill be availablestarting February 16 atidph.iowa.gov.

The State of Iowa anditshealth care providers willalsocontinue to reportCOVID-19dataas requiredbythe Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC).The CDCs COVID Data Trackerreports state-level data for cases, deaths, testing, vaccination and more. The site is available at coronavirus.gov orcovid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker.

The State Hygienic Labwill continue to operate the Test Iowa at Home program. Astesting supply increases andmore options for self-testing become available, the state willreassessthe needfor the program.For more information or to request an at-home test, visit testiowa.com.

States are not required to have adisaster proclamation in place tobe eligible forfederal coronavirus-relatedfundingor resources. Iowa will continue to receive vaccineand therapeuticallocations as normal after theproclamation expires.

Nearlyhalfof U.S.states have already discontinued their public health proclamations, and several more are set to expire in February if they arent renewed.

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Gov. Reynolds announces expiration of Public Health Proclamation, changes to COVID-19 data reporting | Office of the Governor of Iowa - Governor Kim...

Before the omicron wave ripped through the country, infecting even those with multiple doses of the Covid-19 vaccines, evidence was already emerging that the effectiveness of vaccines to protect against infection started to wane after several months. Booster shots were soon approved in response, to recharge peoples immunity against a virus that is still widespread.

By now, for some Americans, its been months since those booster shots. Israel, which has taken one of the most aggressive approaches to vaccination, is considering fourth doses for all adults. So that raises the question for boosted Americans: Am I going to need a fourth shot?

For now, experts say, it depends. If you are immunocompromised, yes, you should get a fourth shot and youre already eligible. For everyone else, the jury is still out, although a fourth shot doesnt appear to be immediately on the horizon.

Experts say that because immunocompromised people are more vulnerable right now, it makes sense for them to get another dose of the vaccines currently available. For everybody else, scientists are still assessing whether another dose is actually necessary, as well as what kind of dose it should be.

Immunocompromised people already qualify for four doses under the CDCs recommendations. Eligible patients include people who are receiving cancer treatment, people who have received an organ transplant, people with HIV infections, and people who have autoimmune disorders or who are taking medications that can suppress their immune system.

Immunocompromised people did not receive the same level of protection from the initial two-dose regiment of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is why they were one of the first groups made eligible for booster shots last fall. For them, three doses effectively serve as their first vaccine course, with a booster to be given several months after that.

Preliminary studies out of the UK, US, and France have indicated that about half of the immunocompromised people who did not see any immune response after two doses did experience a response after the third dose, and more robust research is underway to assess the effectiveness of a fourth shot, particularly for immunocompromised people.

There have been reports of people who meet those criteria being turned away at pharmacies, another example of poor communication in the US pandemic response. But the Biden White House held a call with pharmacists last week to more clearly lay out who is eligible for an additional shot and ensure those people are not denied the opportunity to bolster their immune systems response to Covid-19.

So immunocompromised people are the priority for fourth shots right now. For everybody else, experts say well need to wait and see.

One Israeli study found a strong antibody response after four doses of the original vaccine, though it wasnt sufficient to fully prevent infection from the omicron variant. Israel, one of the most aggressive countries on booster shots, has made all adults over 60 years old, health care workers, and nursing home residents eligible for a fourth shot. It is considering fourth shots for all adults over 18 after at least five months has passed since their third dose or a Covid-19 infection.

For the time being, the half-dozen experts I asked about fourth shots were unanimous that an additional dose makes sense for the immunocompromised, but say the evidence is not yet persuasive for the wider population, at least until some of the studies being conducted on fourth shots and on omicron-specific vaccines are completed.

Pfizer and Moderna are focusing on omicron-specific doses; Pfizer has said that vaccine could be available as soon as March, and Moderna also expects results from its clinical trials next month.

Im not persuaded that fourth shots are necessary. Well have to see when the actual data comes out, Angela Rasmussen, a virologist with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, told me. With, as you point out, the exception being immunocompromised people.

The next shot that many people receive may be more targeted to the latest variant. Some scientists even argue we need vaccines that combine the old and the new formulations, in case the next variant after omicron has genetically more in common with earlier strains.

The underlying point is, the original version of the vaccines may be in need of an update. But the data is still coming in on how urgent those additional shots are for most people.

And be aware: The thinking could change in the coming months. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease researcher at the University of California San Francisco, told me that she thought people over 75 with multiple chronic conditions might benefit from another dose. William Hanage, a Harvard epidemiologist, said that if a fourth shot were shown to prevent any infection, even for a short time, it might make sense to again inoculate medical workers during future surges to prevent hospitals from becoming understaffed.

The science is always changing. And we could be moving into a future where periodic Covid-19 boosters are a part of the usual vaccine schedule, like annual flu shots. Modernas chief medical officer told CNBC this week that he thought omicron-specific vaccines could fill that role going forward.

As Peter Hotez, who leads the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Childrens Hospital, told me: We need clarity on the durability of mRNA vaccines.

But what should not be lost in this debate is that the vaccines we do have, and the doses already administered, are doing a lot of good. People with three doses had a 96 percent reduced risk of hospitalization from omicron, according to a recent CDC study; even the people with only two doses saw an 81 percent reduced risk. Though immune responses vary by age and health, the vast majority of elderly people still showed an immune response five months after their third shot.

A projection from the Commonwealth Fund estimated the Covid-19 vaccines had saved as many as 1.1 million lives through November 2021. So while the situation is always changing, as omicron reminded us, the basic value of vaccination has not. Some of us might need an additional shot right now. The rest of us might need one later.

But the takeaway remains the same: Get your shots as recommended. They save lives.

Continued here:

Who needs a Covid vaccine booster now and who should wait for an omicron-specific shot? - Vox.com