Category Archives: Covid-19

BRUSSELS Ten of thousands of people demonstrated through central Brussels on Sunday to protest reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter the latest spike in coronaviruscases.

Many among the police estimate of 35,000 at the rally had already left for home when the demonstration descended into violence as several hundred people started pelting police, smashing cars and setting garbage bins ablaze. Police, responded with tear gas and water cannons and sought to restore order as dusk settled on the Belgian capital.

Three police officials and one demonstrator were injured in the clashes. In addition, 42 protesters were detained and two were arrested and charged in the violent spree that followed the march, said police spokesperson Ilse Vande Keere.

The marchers came to protest the governments strong advice to get vaccinated and any possible moves to impose mandatory shots.

Shouting Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! and singing the anti-fascist song Bella Ciao, protesters lined up behind a huge banner saying Together for Freedom and marched to the European Union headquarters. Amid the crowd, the signs varied from far-right insignia to the rainbow flags of the LGBT community.

The World Health Organization said last week thatEurope was the hot spot of the pandemic right now,the only region in which COVID-19 deaths were rising. The autumn surge of infections is overwhelming hospitals in many Central and Eastern European nations, includingUkraine,Russia,Romania,the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Over the past several days, there have been manyanti-vaccination marches in European nationsas one government after another tightened measures. Dutch policearrested more than 30 peopleduring unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands on Saturday, following much worse violence the previous night.

Austria is going into a 10-day national lockdown on Mondayfor everyone after first imposing a lockdown on the unvaccinated. Christmas markets in Vienna were packed Sunday with locals and tourists taking in the holiday sights before shops and food stalls are forced to close.

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Tens of thousands protest Belgiums tighter COVID-19 rules - PBS NewsHour

BALTIMORE (WJZ) Maryland reported 1,006 new COVID-19 cases and ten new deaths, according to state health department data released Sunday morning.

The percentage of people testing positive decreased by .02% to 3.49%.

Hospitalizations increased by fifteen to 571. Of those hospitalized, 441 adults are in acute care and 130 adults are in intensive care. four children are in acute care and two are in intensive care.

Doctors say the new cases are fueled by dangerous strains targeting the unvaccinated. In an August press conference, Gov. Larry Hogan said the Delta variant, a strain that is reportedly two to four times more contagious than the original virus strain, accounts for nearly every new confirmed case in Maryland.

The vaccines are without a doubt our single most effective tool to mitigate the threat of COVID-19 and the surging Delta variant, and Marylands vaccination rate continues to outpace the nation, Hogan said.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 578,019 total confirmed cases and 10,888 deaths.

There are 4,059,346 Marylanders fully vaccinated. The state has administered 9,138,049 doses. Of those, 4,230,733 are first doses with11,054 administered in the past 24 hours. They have given out 3,741,082 second doses, 2,355 in the last day.

Thanks to the millions of people who have rolled up their sleeves, Maryland continues to be one of the most vaccinated states in America, said Governor Hogan of the eight million milestone mark. We have achieved these numbers with strong public health outreach, innovative lottery and scholarship promotions, and a relentless focus on equity.

Governor Hogan also announced earlier this month that 99% of Maryland seniors are now vaccinated and more than 50,000 children ages 5-11 years old have received a vaccination shot.

The state began to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine again in April after the CDC and FDA lifted their pause on the vaccine due to a rare blood clot found in some women.

A total of 318,264 Marylanders have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 480 in the last day.

On September 24, after the CDC granted final approval for Pfizers booster, Gov. Hogan announced the immediate authorization of the booster shot for Marylanders who have received their second Pfizer shot at least six months ago. Hogan had already approved use for vulnerable populations in early September.

The state has administered 847,970 additional or booster vaccine doses, 18,803 in the last day.

The state reported 88.1% of all adults in Maryland have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In August, the state launched a post-vaccination infections dashboard that is updated every Wednesday. There have been 34,450 total cases among fully vaccinated Marylanders as of Nov. 14.

Less than 0.93% of fully vaccinated Marylanders have later tested positive.

Of those cases, 2,471 vaccinated Marylanders were hospitalized, representing 13.02% of all COVID cases hospitalized in the state. 357 fully vaccinated Marylanders have died, representing 14.17% of lab-confirmed COVID deaths in the state.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES:

Heres a breakdown of the numbers:

By County

By Age Range and Gender

By Race and Ethnicity

Excerpt from:

COVID-19 In Maryland: More Than 1K New Cases & 10 Deaths Reported Sunday - CBS Baltimore

The United States passed yet another sobering milestonein the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of 2021 coronavirus deathssurpassed the 2020 total.

According to the latest available data from Johns Hopkins University, theU.S. has reached at least 770,691 COVID-19 deaths over the full course fo the pandemic.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the total number of deaths involving COVID-19 in 2020 was 385,343.

That means that at least 385,348 COVID-19 deaths 15 more thanthe 2020 total have so far been recorded in 2021, andthatnumber will only risein the days and weeks to come.

In June, a Wall Street Journal analysisfound that global COVID-19 deaths in 2021 had alreadysurpassed2020 numbers. The newspaper reported at the time that 1.883 people haddied in connection with COVID-19 at that point in 2021, surpassing the global death toll of 1.88 million from 2020.

The grim U.S. milestone comes despite the fact that three COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized in the country, most recently for children as young as 5 years old.

About 69 percent of the U.S. population are at least partially vaccinated, while 59 percent are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

Among that group, Americans aged 65 years and older boast impressively high vaccination rates. Nearly 100 percent of peoplein that age rangeare at least partially vaccinated, while 86 percent are fully vaccinated, per CDC data.

While the U.S. started to celebrate a decline of COVID-19 cases in September, those numbers have steadily started trending upward again. Last week, 29 states saw higher COVID-19 counts than the week prior.

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US COVID-19 deaths in 2021 surpass last year's toll | TheHill - The Hill

Yesterday I reported that Cobb County had a spike in COVID-19 cases among 0-4-year-olds and 5-17-year-olds and a consequent rise in the COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 of population. The numbers were reported in the School Aged COVID-19 Surveillance Data reported every Friday by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

The trend in the preceding several weeks had been downward since the dramatic Delta variant surge ended, although, for the 5-17 age group of kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school ages, weve remained in the high transmission territory.

In fact, that was a state-wide trend. Of the four age categories this particular report tracks, three were increasing, and the fourth (18-22 years old) was nearly unchanged for both the county and the statewide numbers in yesterdays report.

Ive noticed a tendency since the Delta variant surge ended for the public to consider the pandemic over. Going from ICUs near capacity to numbers on the low end of high was a big relief for everyone.

My opinion is that this is due to disaster fatigue. Our brains arent equipped to handle large numbers when it comes to epidemics and pandemics, or really, disasters of any sort.

To give an example, in November of 2019 there was a measles outbreak in Cobb County. When the initial case was reported, there was near panic, and our first report on it at the Courier got 18,862 pageviews.

18,862 pageviews for an article in the Courier in 2019 was enormous traffic. Our readership has increased substantially since then, but it would still be considered a top-performing article.

And the number of measles cases ultimately never reached 10 in Cobb County.

So we panicked over a disease for which the public is largely vaccinated, and which didnt reach 10 cases countywide, yet are willing to accept 1159 cases over the past two weeks of a deadly disease with a 48 percent rate of fully vaccinated people in the county.

COVID has so far resulted in 1,303 deaths in Cobb County (and 25,546 confirmed deaths statewide).

So how do I want people to respond to this uptick in cases?

I was very happy when the COVID numbers in Cobb County began dropping after the Delta surge played out. I do not enjoy living like a hermit.

Im 70 years old (a high risk age group), am an extrovert who prefers doing my work outside the house, and Ive had two cousins die of COVID-19 (one of them was 73 years old and one of the first deaths in Cobb County from the pandemic).

So no, Im not suggesting that Cobb County residents panic and retreat into their shells.

But I do want the anti-vaxxers to shut up and move along to some harmless pseudoscience (maybe cryptozoology), I want vaccine mandates for any job that requires frequent contact with the public (particularly health care workers)

And I absolutely support mask mandates in the schools. Until this pandemic is over, the school systems are the most consistent place common to nearly all families in the county, where families interact with each other, and potentially spread any virus between students and then back to their families.

Finally, I want the public to start paying attention to these numbers again. It would be really easy for us to wake up one morning with headlines announcing a new COVID surge like the one Europe is already experiencing.

So the pandemic isnt over, Cobb County is still a high transmission county, and we need to take our heads out of the sand.

Excerpt from:

We are not out of the woods on COVID-19 in Cobb County - Cobb County Courier

A man wearing a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, talks on his mobile phone in front of a screen showing the Nikkei index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, February 26, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

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SYDNEY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Asian stocks made a soft start to the week on Monday while oil and the euro were under pressure, as the return of COVID-19 restrictions in Europe and talk about hastened tapering from the U.S. Federal Reserve put investors on guard.

Oil futures skidded about 1% at the open, sending Brent crude and U.S. crude to seven-week lows of $78.05 and $74.76 respectively amid oversupply concerns.

Australian shares fell 0.4%, led by bank stock losses. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) was down 0.3% and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was flat.

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"There are question marks over the resilience of Europe and the European economy, exacerbated by protests and infection rates seen over the weekend," said Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney.

"It's hard to see the U.S. dollar coming to any harm against that backdrop," he said, a view further underlined by recent strong U.S. data and hawkish remarks from Fed officials.

The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.1280, close to a 16-month low. The common currency has been the prime mover in markets over recent sessions as investors wager on Europe's economy lagging well behind the U.S. recovery.

Safe-haven assets such as bonds, gold and the yen have also benefited from the recent cautious tone in financial markets.

On Monday, the yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries was steady at 1.5634%. Gold found support at $1,845 an ounce. The yen hovered at 114.09 per dollar.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar also fell to a seven-week low of $0.7227. South Korean stocks (.KS11) were an outlier as chipmakers followed U.S. peers higher with a brightening outlook for memory chip demand.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% after Wall Street indexes had slipped on Friday.

HAVEN PLAYS

Trade is likely to be thinned this week by Thanksgiving in the United States, but the cautious tone has traders once again monitoring COVID-19 cases in Europe as well as keeping an eye on central bank speakers, particularly in Britain and Europe.

Austria began its fourth lockdown on Monday - with neighbouring Germany warning it may follow suit - as protests against restrictions occurred across the continent. read more

Surveys due in Europe and Britain through the week are expected to show a downward trend in output and sentiment.

"The combination of COVID, growth and geopolitical concerns in the euro zone is supportive of safe-haven plays," said Rabobank's head of FX strategy Jane Foley.

"The recent break below the EUR/USD $1.15 level and the lurch downwards that followed has forced us to lower our forecasts for the currency pair further," she added, expecting it to sit around $1.12 by mid next year.

Meanwhile the U.S. economy has been surprising analysts with stronger-than-expected retail sales data and hot inflation in recent weeks. The focus this week is on prices and the labour market and on what the Fed might do about their strength.

Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said last week that quickening the pace of tapering might be worth discussing at December's meeting. Fed minutes are due on Wednesday.

China stood pat on its benchmark lending rates for corporate and household loans for a 19th month on Monday, as expected.

Central banks in South Korea and New Zealand are expected to hike rates this week, with swaps markets priced for about a 40% chance of a 50 basis point rate hike in New Zealand.

Bitcoin was under pressure after posting its worst week in two months last week, and last sat at $58,180.

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Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Sydney; Additional reporting by Joori Roh in Seoul; Editing by Himani Sarkar

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Oil and euro slip, markets on edge over COVID-19 curbs in Europe - Reuters

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. Dutchess County reported Sunday that its active COVID-19 caseload has spiked by 105 cases in three days.

According to the countys online coronavirus dashboard, Dutchess reported 730 cases on Sunday, 58 more than the 672 reported on Saturday. On Friday, the county reported 625 cases.

The countys caseload still remained far below its pandemic peak, which was 2,576 active cases on Jan. 16.

Meanwhile, Dutchess County reported Sunday that 32 of its residents were hospitalized with COVID-19. Dutchess last reported 32 residents hospitalized on Oct. 8.

The lowest most recent hospitalization tally was 11 on Nov. 8.

Ulster County, which does not report COVID-19 statistics on weekends, on Friday reported a jump in active cases to 601, up from 550 the previous day. Ulsters pandemic peak, reached on Jan. 30, was 2,622 cases.

Here are the latest local COVID-19 statistics:

Ulster County: 5.6%.

Dutchess County: 3.49%

Ulster County: 20,308 confirmed cases, 19,414 recoveries, 293 deaths. (No new deaths reported Friday.)

Dutchess County: 37,201 confirmed cases, 505 deaths. (No new deaths reported Sunday.)

Data as of Saturday from New York states online vaccine tracker:

Ulster County: 67.53% fully vaccinated, 75.1% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 84.6% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Dutchess County: 62.43% fully vaccinated, 70.1% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 80% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Appointments: vaccinateulster.com, bit.ly/dut-vax, bit.ly/ny-vaxme.

For online local coverage related to the coronavirus, go to dailyfreeman.com/tag/coronavirus.

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Active COVID-19 cases in Dutchess County jump by 105 in three days - The Daily Freeman

At Long Island Jewish Medical Center, a loudspeaker announces an emergency in one of the rooms.It is March 2020, and the Covid-19 pandemic has just begun to take hold in the U.S. Ateamof nurses and doctors in the hospital is preparing a patient for intubation. A doctor leans over the patient, whose name is Patrick George.

George, the doctor shouts, do you want to be put on a respirator?

Put me on, George responds weakly.

Well let your family know, OK? the doctor says.

George is struggling to breatheand knows its his last hope.

Put me on now, he says.

If you have survived the pandemic without going inside a Covid ward, you will likely be stunned by the grim intimacy of this scene and the fact that you are witnessing it, with real-time urgency, in Matthew Heinemans new documentary, The First Wave. The scene offersthe kind of life-and-death drama that medical staffs have staggered through every daywhile the rest of us rarely or never saw it. We were and are isolated from the traumatic realities inside U.S. hospitals as more than 750,000 souls perished from the virus.

Thisopening scene, not yet 30 seconds long, twists in ways you cannot forget.

A nurse puts a phone, encased in a plastic bag, in front of Georges face. On the other end, seeing him via FaceTime, is Georges wife.

I love you, baby, she cries out.

I love you too, George responds.

OK, be strong.

Bye, George says.

I love you, she repeats.

Bye bye, George says. Bye bye bye bye bye bye.

Thisscene is not done with us but I wont say what happens next. What I can say is that The First Wave is necessary to watch. Unless you have already seen and heard the kinds of events it shows, you have an incomplete understanding of the pandemic and of what three-quarters of a million deaths mean when instead of astatisticin a news story, the casualtiesare a man on his back, his wife on the phone, and the nurses and doctors doing everything they can to save his life.

The saving grace of this film, if thats the right way to put it, is that it journeys aroundthe epidemiological trenches at this New York City hospital and brings back a variety of stories, some of them uplifting, and they thread into an effective narrative. There are patients who seem on the verge of death and struggle back, there are family members urging them along on those plastic-encased phones, and there are medical staffers whose trauma-filled work is getting the attention it deserves in our less troubled lives.

It sounds strange to say, but there is art in this film too. The way the camera lingers just long enough at the right moments and not too long at others, the way the lifted brow of a nurse speaks louder than words, the way the film breaks out ofLong Island Jewish and moves into the streets of New York City, taking us from the gasps of Covid patients to the I Cant Breathe chants of the Black Lives Matter movement this is masterful work.

Heineman is no stranger to documentaries. He directed the Academy Award-nominated Cartel Land, about the drug trade on the U.S.-Mexico border. He also directed City of Ghosts, an award-winning film about citizen journalists in Raqqa, Syria. Those films demonstrated a willingness and ability to work in dangerous areas and gain the confidence of people who otherwise might not let an outsider into their worlds. Those talents are what went into the making of The First Wave.

Heineman used his experience and contacts to gain unparalleled access to Long Island Jewish. Across the U.S., hospitalswere shutting their doors to journalists as the pandemic began. Only a handful gained entry, and their visits were short, usually just a few hours or a few days at most. Heinemans team was at Long Island Jewish for months. Hospital administrators have cited safety and privacy concerns for keeping journalists out, but as Heinemans experience showed, they could work insideCovid wards without getting in anyones way or spreading the virus.

Thats what makes the footage in his documentary so extraordinary. I worked for months on an investigative article that delved into the way hospitals cracked down onreporters in the U.S., and I spent a lot of that time scouring through theimagery that was published by journalists, including filmmakers,and bymedical staffers (some hospitals even threatened doctors and nurses who shared photos or videos). Ive seen nothing that comes close to Heinemans graphic portrayal of Covid victims.

The onlyvisual documentation of the pandemic thats in the same league comes from far away. Thedirector Hao Wu, working with Chinese journalists in early 2020, got relatively unfettered access to four hospitals in Wuhan, where thevirus originated. His powerful documentary, 76 Days, came out last year and won an Emmy. Until the emergence of Heinemans film, which opened Friday, Americans who wanted a visceral look inside a Covidward had to watch a film shot in China.

It is hard to categorize The First Wave because it crosses boundaries: It is a documentary thatalso feels like a horror film, an expos of social injustice, and a love letter. In its review of The First Wave, the Washington Post has a line that manages to be insightful and off-kilter at the same time. The film feels like a viscerally effective time capsule from the recent past, wrote Michael OSullivan, yet one whose arrival in theaters may still be too soon for many.

A time capsule is filled with the familiar objects of a civilization. But whats in The First Wave is unfamiliar to most of us; we have not seen it before and perhaps have been unable to imagine it. There is the anguish ofpatients as theylaborto breathe, themedicalinstruments warning of hearts no longer beating, the body bags zipped up and hauled away, and the moments of silence beforenurses rush to the next room to try to save another life. Stumbling onto this time capsule, we arevisitors from another world who are seeing for the first time whatthe Covid pandemic really meant.

This film has not come too soon. It has come too late.

Excerpt from:

The First Wave Shows What We Haven't Seen of Covid-19 - The Intercept

Pediatricians' offices and clinicsare quicklyfillingwith kids lining up to get shots since the Oregon Health Authority gave the go-ahead Nov. 3 forchildren age5-12to receive their COVID-19 vaccines.

The reasons for getting the vaccinevary by family some live in multigenerational households, some families includemedical professionalsor teachers but many are motivated by the desire for life to return to as close to normal as possible and to help beat COVID-19.

"I feel safe," 7-year-old Mira Kraftof Eugene said. "I feel like part of the herd."

Nearly 2,200 kids ages 5-11 in Marion County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, along with about 650 kids in Polk County, according to data from the Oregon Health Authority. Thatrepresents 6.7% and 8.5% of kids ages 5-11in those counties, respectively.

Mira's mother, Katie Kraft, said her daughterwas prepared to get the vaccine a long time agoand got it Nov. 11. Her 4-year-old sonis now the lastin their family still waiting.

"They'vebeen very aware of it since the very beginning," Katie said. "With my parents, we have (multiple) generations in our house, and so there's a higher risk for them. They've already been vaccinated and that's been a conversation all the way along.Mirais super excited to get vaccinated so she can go out and see people."

Katie also has some increased risk because she'sa teacher at an elementary school in Springfield. Because of these concerns, Mira has been in distance or online learning for both kindergarten and this year of first grade.

"She doesn't like shots, but she was excited for this," Katie said, to which Mira exclaimed, "It didn't even hurt!"

Siblings Diego, 9, Gustavo, 6, and Rose Lopez, 5, all received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at Salem Healths Edgewater clinic on Friday, wearing matching smiley face surgical masks.

Diego said getting the vaccine would lead to less COVID and that he wasnt nervous about the appointment. If anything, he and his siblings had just accepted they were going to get the vaccine.

His mom said during the appointment that getting the vaccine would mean they would get less sick if they did end up getting the virus.

After getting the shot, Gustavo and Diego said it hurt less than they expected; "Not that bad," the younger brother said.

Rose started crying as the shot was administered and nodded when asked if she was nervous and if it hurt.

Did you know that if you smile it hurts a little bit less? Gustavo said to comfort her.

Protecting others was a big reason for another Eugene family, which includesAri Lester, 12, Nadav Lester, 10, and mother Rebecca Hart.

Ari got the first dose of Pfizer in June, and Nadav got his first dose on Nov. 11. They don't like shots, Hart said, but they had lots of conversations about it being animportant moment to get through.

"We talked about it as a family we talked about coping with shots, right? Not very fun, but we can handle it and we're tougher than COVID," Hart said.

"And the reason is to protect ourselves," Ari said.

Check your zip code: Data shows what influences COVID-19 transmission, vaccination rates across Oregon

Ari said he wanted to get the shot right away, even though he's doesn't like them.

"For me, I wanted to get it for protection of myself and protect others around me, but also because Iwant to be done with the pandemic and get back to more regular," Ari said."Getting the vaccine stops the spread and stopping the spread makes it be more over."

Nadav also isn't a fan of shots, but said he was ready to get it, being the last family member waiting.

"I just had less protection than everybody even though my immune system is better because I'm young, but I just couldn't do as much stuff," he said.

They were excited thinking about how once their neighbors are vaccinated, they will all be able to play without their masks on, like they did at the beginning of the pandemic.

For Rebecca, who is a psychologist, it was an obvious choice to get her family vaccinated.

"I have a lot of friends whose kids have been out of school because of the quarantines and the exposure. My kids hada really hard last year with (distance learning)and they're so happy to be back in school," she said. "The more kids that are vaccinated, the more they can go back to a normal classroom and schoolsetting."

In Salem, the Brubaker family also jumped on the vaccines as soon as they could.

Cryssi Brubaker said her sons Noah, 13, and Wyatt, 12 were eager to get it as soon as possible, so much so that Wyatt scheduled his appointment for the day after his 12th birthday in September.

"I knew that it would just be that little extra peace of mind that will not necessarily prevent you from getting it, but ifI did get it, it wouldn't be so bad," Wyatt said."I'm young.I'm on the healthy side, but we didn't want know what (COVID-19) could do long term."

Wyatt, who is on the autism spectrum, is deathly afraid of needles, Cryssi said, but was ready.

"I wanted to be a little bit more safer, but also it would stop me from infecting other people," he said.

All the tools to improve your future: Jobs program a lifeline for farmworker families

So he petted their family's therapy dog, watched a video, squeezed his mom's hand tight and got through both doses.

"For the most part, I try to give them as much control, especially body autonomy, as I can," Cryssi said. "But they wanted to do it because they know that it's important, they know that it's the right thing to do. Plus, all of us are just done and over (the pandemic)."

Noah and Ari Lester said the advice they wouldgive to otherkids or adults who are on the fence about the vaccineis: "Just do it."

"Definitely go out and get it it is well worth it," Noah said."I think it's well past the time where we just get this thing just to be done with this whole pandemic, because at this point, it's just annoying and unnecessary."

Worried about getting the vaccine?: Here are the side effects

Wyatt agreed and asked people look at the positives of the vaccine and how it can protect them.

"Get that shot and whatever side effects you get, that's only momentary," Ari said. "This will protect you for much longer time than it's gonna hurt."

Statesman Journal reporter Connor Radnovich contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Jordyn Brown at jbrown@registerguard.com or 541-246-4264, and follow her on Twitter @thejordynbrown and Instagram @registerguard.

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'I feel safe': Kids and parents share their reasons for getting the COVID-19 vaccine - Statesman Journal

Most states in the United States had stable rates of lung cancer screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some even experiencing significant improvements.

Lung cancer screenings in the United States remained stable during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with screenings for other disease types, which declined significantly over the course of the outbreak, according to a study published in Chest.

Findings from the study found that lung cancer screenings remained consisten between 2019 (6.6%; 95% CI, 6.5%-7.4%) and 2020 (6.5%; 95% CI, 6.4%-7.3%; SRR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97-1.01).

In this population-based study, [lung cancer screening] rates remained stable between 2019 and 2020 and just under 1 in 15 eligible people were screened. The lack of nationwide declines could be due to underutilization of [lung cancer screenings] before the pandemic began when only 5% to 6% of adults received screening in 2018, which limited the room for further decreases, the investigators wrote.

The study used data from patients who were between the ages of 55 to 80 years old. Patients were also required to be current or former smokers who quit within the last 15 years or who have a 30 pack or greater per year history.

Previous studies have reported approximately 80% to 90% declines in screenings for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in March to April 2020, with rates rebounding in summer 2021 as lockdown restrictions eased.

In 2019 and 2020, 8.51 million adults were eligible for lung cancer screenings, of whom approximately 564,164 in 2019 and 557,795 in 2020 received screenings. Screenings drastically declined in 5 states between 2019 and 2020 by 23% to 52%, including Utah, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, and Maryland (SRR range, 0.77 to 0.48).

However, investigators reported that between 2019 and 2020, SRRs had not changed in 25 states and increased in 19 states by 20% or more (SRRs 1.2), including Nevada, West Virginia, Maine, and Kentucky.

Investigators believe that the increases in testing could imply that health systems and both local and state cancer control efforts were effective in improving testing rates. Additionally, states that had lower screening rates may have had stricter stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were 5 states in which [lung cancer screening] rates statistically significantly decreased, including Hawaii and Utah, which had below-average rates before the pandemic began. For example, orders were more comprehensive and enduring in the Northeast, but there was a mix of [lung cancer screening] patterns within this region, with annual [lung cancer screening] rates unchanged in New York, which is a state that experienced a substantial surge of COVID-19 infection during the Spring of 2020 but declined in Vermont the investigators concluded.

Fedewa SA, Bandi P, Smith RA, Silvestri GA, Jemal A. Lung cancer screening rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chest. Published online July 21, 2021. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2021.07.030

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Lung Cancer Screenings Remained Stable in US Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, With Some States Seeing improvements - Cancer Network

CHICAGO -- Lamar Jackson was inactive for the Baltimore Ravens' 16-13 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday because of an illness that is not related to COVID-19.

Jackson had been considered "50-50" for the game after being added to the injury report Saturday, a league source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. This came after Jackson said he was "feeling great" upon returning to full participation in Friday's practice after missing two days.

Tyler Huntley, who went undrafted out of Utah in 2020, made his first NFL start and helped the Ravens rally for victory with a 30-yard pass to Sammy Watkins in the final minute that set up Devonta Freeman's game-winning 3-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds remaining.

Huntley finished the game 26-of-36 passing for 219 yards and an interception. He also rushed for 40 yards on seven attempts.

2 Related

The loss of Jackson was the latest challenge for the NFL's No. 2-ranked offense. The Ravens' top two running backs (J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards) and Pro Bowl left tackle (Ronnie Stanley) suffered season-ending injuries, and top wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown was ruled out Saturday with a thigh injury.

The Ravens organization was hit this week by an illness that is not COVID-19. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman and center Bradley Bozeman each missed one practice with illness, but neither was listed on the injury report by the end of the week.

Jackson was hit the hardest by illness. When he arrived at Soldier Field, Jackson was wearing a mask and walked sluggishly to the locker room.

One of the top NFL MVP contenders, Jackson has accounted for 82.8% of Baltimore's offense (3,086 of 3,727 yards) this season. He is ninth in the NFL in passing (2,447 yards) and seventh in rushing (639).

The AFC North-leading Ravens (6-3) couldn't afford to slip to the Bears (3-6) because their schedule gets increasingly tougher. After playing Chicago, Baltimore doesn't have another game against a team with a losing record.

This marks the third time Jackson has missed a game in his four-year career. He sat out the 2019 season finale because Baltimore had already secured the AFC's No. 1 seed, and he was held out of the Week 12 game in 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19.

Jackson, who had his No. 8 jersey retired at Louisville last weekend, did not practice Wednesday or Thursday because he was sick. Three illnesses this year have led him to miss practice time.

On Friday, Jackson said he thought he got a cold from the weather change.

"I usually don't get sick, for real," Jackson said after Friday's practice. "I used to eat my Flintstone vitamins when I was a kid. My immunity system should be good."

The Ravens are now 2-1 when Jackson has missed a start, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 and falling at Pittsburgh in 2020 after the team suffered one of the bigger COVID-19 outbreaks in sports.

Baltimore was coming off a 22-10 loss at the Miami Dolphins, scoring its fewest points with Jackson as its starting quarterback.

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Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson inactive because of illness not related to COVID-19 - ESPN