Category Archives: Covid-19

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.(KRQE) Its been more than a month since the state stopped giving weekly COVID-19 updates, but the pandemic is still here. KRQE went one-on-one with Acting Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health to see where the state stands.

Dr. David Scrase said overall, hes pleased with where New Mexico is in terms of COVID cases and the ongoing pandemic.

Right now, were doing real well, said Dr. Scrase. He said the state is averaging about 160 new COVID cases a day and hospitalizations are remaining low.

Only 41 people in the hospital yesterday with COVID and only two people on a ventilator, which is really a low, you have to go back a couple years to get that low, he said. The number of deaths is also staying low.

The state is monitoring the BA-2 subvariant which is linked to omicron. Dr. Scrase said its too early to know if its more infectious or severe, but so far vaccines are still holding up.

BA-2, again, were a little early to know about vaccine effectiveness but early data suggested that it still can actually prevent hospitalizations and death in some of the new variants, said Dr. Scrase. Its part of the reason why the state is still encouraging people to get their booster shoots. So far, only 46.6% of New Mexicans 18 and older have gotten the booster.

I would love to see more folks boosted, said Dr. Scrase. Over time the more people that get boosted, the more immune well all be to COVID. He said companies are working on updated vaccines for newer variants but he stresses the current ones still help.

Clear, dramatic difference in just getting the primary series, or the primary series plus a booster in hospitalizations and deaths, he said. With mask mandates being dropped on public transportation, KRQE asked Dr. Scrase for his advice to New Mexicans.

Im probably going to wear a mask and I also think that people who want to avoid getting COVID should do the same, he said. KRQE also asked if they would consider new regulations at New Mexicos airports and bus stations for mask wearing, Dr. Scrase said right now, thats not something the state is looking to get involved with.

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Where New Mexico stands in its fight against COVID-19 pandemic - KRQE News 13

Authorities in the Chinese financial hub, Shanghai, released another 4 million people from its strict COVID-19 lockdown rules as part of the citys efforts to restore its economic activity.

Officials announced seven new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, bringing the death toll from the current outbreak to 17, although those numbers have been questioned by international health officials. Chinas second-largest city also reported more than 18,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday.

Shanghais 26 million residents have been ordered to remain in their homes since early April in response to the surge of new COVID-19 infections largely driven by the highly contagious omicron variant.

The breakthrough of new COVID-19 cases in China is happening despite Beijings official zero COVID strategy that aims to completely eliminate coronavirus outbreaks across the mainland.

The lockdown has led to growing complaints online of a lack of fresh food, especially vegetables, with grocery stores closed and residents unable to obtain food deliveries through online apps. The anger has led to an unusual amount of public protests, including one where residents screamed in unison from the open windows of their high-rise apartments that was caught on video and went viral on social media.

A total of 12 million Shanghai residents have been given permission to venture outside their homes since authorities introduced guidelines last week that allows movement in neighborhoods with no recorded cases over the past 14 days.

Some factories in Shanghai are slowly resuming operations, including electric car company Tesla, which restarted production Tuesday after being idled for about three weeks. More than 600 firms are on a list of key industries and companies that have been allowed to either resume or keep their operations running.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.

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Shanghai Slowly Turning the Corner from Strict COVID-19 Lockdown - Voice of America - VOA News

Norwegian health authorities say they are open to giving people aged 80 and above a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine but see no cause for a general recommendation for that age category to get a fourth shot

ByThe Associated Press

April 20, 2022, 1:14 PM

1 min read

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Norwegian health authorities said Wednesday they are open to giving people aged 80 and above a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, but see no cause for a general recommendation for that age category to get a fourth shot.

Geir Bukholm, assistant director at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said the agency believes this can be assessed and chosen by the individual.

However, the agency urged more people with severely weakened immune systems to take a booster shot of the vaccine.

The agency said the updated assessment was in line with guidelines by the European Infection Control Agency and the European Medicines Agency.

In neighboring Sweden, authorities this month recommended a fourth vaccine dose for people 65 and over and for those living in nursing homes or getting home care, down from an earlier recommendation for people 80 and older. The recommendation also includes fourth shots for those aged 1864 with moderate to severe immune deficiency.

Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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Norway is open to 4th COVID-19 shot to people over 80 - ABC News

The White House announced on Monday that it would co-host the second global Covid-19 summit next month, a gathering intended to build momentum for vaccine donations and for ending what the White House called the acute phase of the pandemic.

The meeting, which was originally expected to be held in March, is now scheduled to take place virtually on May 12.

Efforts to subsidize more global vaccinations stalled in the United States after lawmakers stripped $5 billion from a pandemic relief package that could come up for a Senate vote in the next few weeks.

When lawmakers announced an agreement earlier this month on the $10 billion coronavirus aid package, which is centered on domestic coronavirus testing, vaccination and treatment, they turned away a push from the Biden administration and from some members of Congress to reinforce the nations global Covid-19 commitments, which some public health experts said were already lacking. Republicans had demanded that any new aid be financed in part by repurposing previously approved but unspent Covid-19 relief.

The emergence and spread of new variants like Omicron have reinforced the need for a strategy aimed at controlling Covid-19 worldwide, the White House said on Monday in a statement announcing the May summit, which will also be hosted by Belize, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal.

Global health experts are worried that the United States commitment to addressing the global pandemic is waning as President Bidens attention has been consumed by other matters, notably the war in Ukraine.

Peter Maybarduk, director for access to medicines at the advocacy group Public Citizen, called the summit late and necessary, and criticized the Biden White House for not fighting harder to get money from Congress for the global effort. He said the effort must go beyond vaccination, to expand access to testing and therapeutics in low- and middle-income nations.

If you are going to solve a global pandemic, you need the wealthiest governments to really commit to it, Mr. Maybarduk said. And if you dont have a highly prioritized U.S. leadership, the world is going to stumble through it.

About 16 percent of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose of a vaccine, compared to 80 percent of people in high-income and upper-middle-income countries, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford. Production problems, export bans and vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations have helped widen the gap.

The May summit will carry over themes from the first meeting, held in September, the White House said. Those themes include the logistical work of getting shots into arms, reaching high-risk groups with virus tests and treatments, building up more local and regional vaccine manufacturing capacity and increasing the number of public health workers.

The lowest-income countries are getting more vaccine supplies than before, but health officials say that the doses may arrive on irregular schedules, making it difficult to organize vaccination campaigns, particularly when local health systems are short of staff, transportation and storage facilities.

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a Democrat who helped negotiate the pandemic relief package, said on Sunday that the United States had millions of vaccine doses on hand that could be sent abroad before they expire.

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A Second Global Covid-19 Summit Led By the White House Is Set for May - The New York Times

The omicron XE variant continues to spread throughout the United States as restrictions loosen and mask mandates drop off.

What to know: The XE variant was dubbed a Frankenstein variant by Forbes writer Bruce Lee because it is a recombinant variant that merges the original omicron variant with the BA.2 variant, a subvariant of the original omicron.

The new omicron XE COVID-19 variantrecently made its way to Japan after already spreading through the United Kingdom.

The bigger picture: The COVID-19 variant has hit somewhat of a lull period in the United States, even though new variants have emerged.

The change was met with both celebration and concern, per the Associated Press, showing that theres still debate over how worried people should be about the pandemic.

The bottom line: The emergence of the XE is a frank reminder that the pandemic is not over yet, according to Forbes. And that you should do what you should have been doing all along, maintaining appropriate Covid-19 precautions.

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New COVID variant? What is the Frankenstein COVID variant? - Deseret News

It is the nature of viruses, such as the one that causes COVID-19, to evolve and change gradually.

But some COVID-19 variants, such as the omicron variant, mutate more than others.

Heres what to know.

Coronavirus variants are classified in differing categories by public health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

There are three classifications of coronavirus variants: variants of interest, variants of concern and variants of high consequence.

The omicron variant, which public health agencies have classified as a variant of concern, differs from other coronavirus strains because it has over 50 mutations, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Many of them are in the spike protein.

Because of its many mutations, the virus can evade immune responses and become more transmissible from person to person.

In other words, omicron and its mutations are more contagious, even though the illness may not be as severe as any other strain of COVID-19.

Current CDC data shows that you should be protected against omicron or one of its mutations, such as the BA.2 variant, if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

According to a CDC study published in January 2022, receipt of a third vaccine dose was highly effective at preventing COVID-19-associated emergency department and urgent care encounters (94% and 82%, respectively) and preventing COVID-19associated hospitalizations (94% and 90%, respectively) during the delta and omicron waves of COVID-19.

Another CDC study from March 2022 found that receiving two to three doses of an mRNA vaccine, such as Pfizer or Moderna, was associated with a 90% reduction in the risk of death or need to be on a ventilator.

Those who got three mRNA vaccines during the omicron wave had a 94% reduction in risk of severe illness or death, according to the study.

Related stories about COVID-19:

How to get 4 more at-home COVID tests for free

Omicron subvariant BA.2: The new symptoms to look out for

How to get a COVID booster shot at CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid

Should I get a second booster shot to prevent against COVID?

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Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.

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Why are there so many COVID variants of omicron? - NJ.com

WORKFORCE WV DIRECTOR PROVIDES UPDATES ON JOB JUMPSTART PROGRAM, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATEAlso on Tuesday, Gov. Justice was joined by WorkForce West Virginia Director Scott Adkins, who started his remarks by providing an update on the Governors new Job Jumpstart Program, which provides a one-time, $1,500 payment to eligible West Virginians who get a new job and remain employed for at least eight weeks.

The primary purpose of Jumpstart is to get folks back in the workforce, Adkins said. We have employers who are reaching out to WorkForce every day, looking for skilled laborers, looking for folks who have technical skills.

There are plenty of jobs out there. We see signs in every community as you travel throughout West Virginia, Adkins continued. To put it in perspective, in January 2022, West Virginia had 50,000 job postings. At the same time, we had 34,800 unemployed folks thats 1.4 jobs available for every unemployed West Virginian.

So, under the Governors leadership, we launched our new Job Jumpstart Program and I could go on and on about how successful this program has been in just a short period of time.

Last week, WorkForce West Virginiaannouncedthat over 12,500 West Virginians have been approved to participatein the program.

Adkins went on to say that the program is critical to improving civilian labor force participation in West Virginia.

Overall, West Virginias labor force participation rate has increased nearly 2% since 2015. However, it has remained relatively static since 2019, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adkins said. When you get granular in some of the data to figure out what age groups we lag behind the national average, 16 to 24 is a huge group that's not working that should be working, as well as folks over the age of 50.

The state lost approximately 46,000 residents from 2012 to 2022, which further decreases that population that's available to work. West Virginias job demand has grown substantially over the past decade, from an average of 22,167 monthly job postings in 2011 to an average of over 56,000 monthly job postings in 2021, Adkins continued. One of the issues that we face with our labor force participation rate is that, because were surrounded by five different states, 13.1% of West Virginians who are eligible to work are working in another state. The national average is 3.1%.

Under Governor Justices leadership, the state Workforce Development Board has put together a strong group of leaders from the business community, state government, and other organizations to strengthen West Virginias workforce development system. So we really think that were going to be able to improve some of those numbers.

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COVID-19 UPDATE: Gov. Justice continues to urge 2nd booster shot for eligible West Virginians, especially those 50 and older - Governor Jim Justice

Key Figures

17.4 million* people of concern in the Middle East and North Africa *(2021 planning figures)

29,000 cases of COVID-19 reported among people of concern to UNHCR since March 2020, including fatalities

19 out of 19 countries in the MENA region have started COVID-19 vaccinations for refugees

Regional Developments

In 2021, UNHCR and partners continued to provide support and deliver protection and assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people (IDPs) across the MENA region. This included supporting access to health and education services, and providing shelter and cash assistance, which remained essential to people of concern; some 826,000 unique individuals were reached with emergency cash assistance for the COVID-19 response to the value of $43 million. Notably, UNHCR advocacy contributed to the inclusion of refugees in national COVID-19 responses across the region, including for testing and treatment, and in all countries for COVID-19 vaccination.

Throughout the year, UNHCR continued to support local COVID-19 health responses and sensitization activities through Risk Communication and Community Engagement, while vaccination campaigns were further reinforced by national health authorities, as booster shots were introduced by some to mitigate the spread of the virus.

In 2022, UNHCRs COVID-19 response will continue to focus on advocating for the inclusion of people of concern to UNHCR in national public health systems and other national responses. Given that significant numbers of people of concern remain vulnerable and in hardship, exacerbated by the pandemic, UNHCR will continue to mitigate the negative socioeconomic and protection impacts of COVID-19, particularly through cash programming and community outreach. COVID-19 programming, including in the areas of protection, health, basic needs, WASH, shelter, and camp coordination and camp management (CCCM), are mainstreamed into annual planning and presented in the Global Appeal and an overview is available here.

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Regional Bureau for the Middle East and North Africa: COVID-19 Response, 2021 Year-End Report (January December 2021) - Algeria - ReliefWeb

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) As mask mandates start to fall, experts say its time to enter the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic learning to live with the virus.

Experts say this phase will be all about deciding what is best for you.

Columbus residents like Elijah Salahuddin said with so much information floating around, he tries to simplify it in a way he can understand.

Am I confused? Yeah. Do I know whats going on? Not really, Salahuddin said. But thats when you take the opportunity to educate yourself.

When talking about what comes next in the COVID-19 pandemic, Isabella Vettinger said she wishes there was a definitive answer for this new chapter but realizes everyone deserves a choice.

There needs to be progression, Vettinger said. I think there just needs to be some smartness with how we move forward.

Infectious Disease Physician at Ohio State Universitys Wexner Medical Center, Mahdee Sobhanie, said with many mask mandates no longer in place, its time to learn how to live with the virus.

He wants to stress that living with the virus doesnt mean forgetting that COVID-19 exists because COVID-19 will always exist even if it isnt at the height it once was.

So thats why when we say, We have to learn to live with the virus, we are aware that COVID is going to continue to exist, there are different variants that are going to occur, and thats why we have to continue to be cognizant of what the realities are that we face, Sobhanie said.

He said the vaccine is doing a good job holding up against the variants so far.

Sobhanie said that, eventually, COVID-19 will turn into another virus like the flu, but we arent quite there yet.

I think its kind of hard to tell when, Oh its going to be COVID season, Sobhanie said. I think we are going through a lot of peaks and surges, so we have to be mindful of our behaviors based on what we see.

He said learning to live with the virus is figuring out what is the best protection method for you. Sobhanie added there are now a number of COVID-19 therapies like the monoclonal treatment or oral pills, but that people should talk with their primary care doctors before doing any of those.

Definitely this is a time when you should be getting a primary care physician, Sobhanie said. You should have somebody where you sit down and talk about your health. Everybodys immune system responds differently in terms of their underlying conditions.

He said there is still a big concern for those with underlying health conditions such as diabetes or cancer.

People with those conditions should not be afraid to wear a mask in public or while traveling, Sobhanie said.

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Is it time to enter the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic? - NBC4 WCMH-TV

Hoyer: MLB 'not out of the woods' of COVID-19 impact originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

A week or so into the season, and the only thing we know for sure is that a lot of players still refuse to get vaccinated for COVID-19, and the pandemic is still impacting the game into a third season.

Were not out of the woods, Cubs president Jed Hoyer said Tuesday in the wake of at least 16 players from at least seven teams spending time on the COVID-19 injured list in the past week 11 players on three teams going on the list in the last two days.

The Cubs have so far escaped an outbreak like the one they had the final week of last season. But with MLB testing protocols relaxed and vaccines still not mandated in the league, the recent wave of COVID list moves this early in the season is at least a reminder, if not a wakeup call for diligence.

COVID is still around, Hoyer said. I know there are some municipalities out there that are going back to mask mandates, and I think [a lot] of us are largely vaccinated and a lot of guys have hit it and a lot of people want to move on and not wear masks. And I totally understand that desire to return to that.

But we cant forget that theres new variants out there, and theres cities that are struggling. We have to continue to be careful.

In recent days, Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger, Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki (and two Red Sox staff members), and Mets players Brandon Nimmo and Mark Canha (and a Mets coach) all tested positive for COVID-19.

Plawecki and Canha tested positive despite being vaccinated, according to reports.

Nimmo returned from the list Tuesday.

Oakland has been hit the hardest, with six players added to the COVID list Monday night, joining teammate Stephen Piscotty.

Three of those As had been held back on the restricted list over the weekend when the team went to Toronto because of Canadas restrictions against unvaccinated visitors.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox the Blue Jays division-rivals also have multiple unvaccinated players who will go on the restricted list for next weeks series in Toronto, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said (and presumably the next two series the Sox are scheduled to play in Toronto).

That includes Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck, who would have been the scheduled starter for the second game of that series and who told the Boston Globe hes not vaccinated.

The Red Sox on Tuesday added two players to the COVID IL, in addition to Plawecki.

The Cubs, by the way, play in Toronto in August.

It may seem like a post-COVID world to many, especially in Florida, where a federal judge this week struck down the federal mandate for masks on commercial flights.

But the virus hasnt gone away. And its already showing its ability to impact a third straight MLB season.

And especially right now, Hoyer said. Players are not at full strength yet because of the short spring training, and now youre dealing with the fact that youre playing even more-handed.

We hope to avoid it. And we have to be smart about it.

Hopefully, the players who have tested positive dont have serious reactions. Hopefully, MLB avoids any serious cases all year.

And hopefully, MLB finds a good use for the forfeited salaries of the anti-vaxxers on the restricted list like maybe relief for frontline workers with lingering PTSD and burnout symptoms, research and therapies for long-haulers, or vaccination efforts in areas where resources might be limited.

As for the COVID deniers, vax conspiracy theorists and ivermectin-fueled, shot-fearing, mask-phobic snowflakes who get angry at the mere mention that COVID remains a threat, save it for the next tin-foil origami meeting.

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Cubs' Jed Hoyer on COVID-19 Impact on MLB: We're Not Out of the Woods' - NBC Chicago