Tag: Covid

Health

U.S. officers say China hasn’t been ‘fully clear’ in Covid probe

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Post date May 25, 2021

During the visit of the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the causes of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on February 3, 2021, security guards will be on guard in front of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Thomas Peter | Reuters

White House officials told reporters Tuesday that China had not been “completely transparent” in its global investigation into the origins of Covid-19 and that a full investigation was needed to determine whether the virus is affecting nearly 3.5 million people killed, came from nature or a laboratory.

“We have to get to the bottom of whatever the answer,” Andy Slavitt, senior advisor to Covid-19 at the White House, told reporters at a briefing in Covid on Tuesday. “We need a completely transparent process from China, we need that [World Health Organization] to help on this matter, and we don’t feel like we have it now. “

The theory that Covid-19 escaped the Wuhan Institute of Virology was initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory by most medical experts and health officials, but credible scientists continue to question the true origins of Covid-19.

Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the causes of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic leave the Jade Hotel on a bus after completing their quarantine in Wuhan, China’s central Hubei Province, on Jan. 28, 2021.

HECTOR RETAMAL | AFP | Getty Images

A previously unpublished US intelligence report found that researchers at the institute in Wuhan, where the outbreak began in late 2019, were seeking treatment in hospital after an illness, “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illnesses “reported the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, quoting from the report.

While the coronavirus is more likely to have jumped from animal to human, “we don’t know 100% the answer to that,” said White House chief medical officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, reporters at the same briefing on Tuesday. “We absolutely need to conduct an investigation.”

Last week, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, admitted that there is “a possibility” that Covid-19 leaked from a laboratory.

Peter Ben Embarek and Marion Koopmans (R) come to a press conference on February 9, 2021 to conclude a visit by an international team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) to the city of Wuhan in the Chinese province of Hefei.

HECTOR RETAMAL | AFP | Getty Images

WHO has said the virus likely came from an animal host, but the agency hasn’t ruled out that the virus leaked from a laboratory.

“Some questions have been raised as to whether some hypotheses have been rejected,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “I want to make it clear that all hypotheses remain open and require further investigation.”

Tags China, completely, Covid, hasnt, Officials, probe, transparent

Health

U.S. ought to dig deeper into concept that Covid originated in a Wuhan lab, ex-Clinton official says

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Post date May 25, 2021

The U.S. should play a bigger role in getting to the bottom of the theory that Covid-19 first leaked from a virology lab in Wuhan, China, Atlantic Council senior fellow Jamie Metzl told CNBC on Monday.

“Right now the World Health Assembly is meeting and the United States should do everything possible with our allies to demand a full investigation into the origin of Covid with full access to all records, samples and staff in China and beyond,” said Metzl former national security officer in the Clinton administration, said in The News with Shepard Smith.

“If China wants to turn its nose to the rest of the world despite more than 3 million deaths, let them make that statement,” he said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the determination of the origin of Covid-19 is subject to an international investigation by the World Health Organization and that the U.S. cannot conduct its own investigation.

Metzl organized a group of scientists and academics last year to call for a deeper investigation into the origins of Covid. He told host Shepard Smith that it was “critically important” to find answers to the causes of the pandemic, because if we do not, everyone would be “unnecessarily at risk”.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

A previously unpublished US intelligence report found that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were seeking treatment in hospital after an illness, “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illnesses,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday and quoted from the report.

The World Health Organization has repeatedly said that the virus most likely jumped from bats to humans through another animal. It has described the theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory as “extremely unlikely” but has not ruled it out. Metzl said he thought the theory was a “likely hypothesis”.

“Why should there be a bat coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and not in southern China where the horseshoe bats are? And what we know they are in Wuhan is China’s only level 4 virology institute with the largest in the world Collection of bats coronaviruses that did aggressive research to make these pathogens more dangerous, “Metzl said.

Tags Covid, deeper, dig, exClinton, lab, official, originated, theory, Wuhan

Health

Small Examine Seems at Kids With Covid Inflammatory Syndrome

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Post date May 25, 2021

Dr. Newburger, who was not involved in the UK report, called it a “small but important study” that “adds new information to the knowledge gap about the long-term effects of MIS-C”.

They and the authors themselves noted that the results were limited because the children in the study were not compared with a control group of children without MIS-C or those with other diseases. For example, it is unclear whether her emotional problems and muscle weakness were the result of the syndrome, the process of being hospitalized for an illness, or other stressors during that time. “Mental health and physical condition affected children and adolescents in general during the pandemic,” said Dr. Newburger.

Dr. Srinivas Murthy, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of British Columbia who was not involved in the new study, said it may be difficult to figure out which residual problems were directly due to the syndrome and which could result from critical illness. He said the fact that some of the children still had problems with muscle weakness and stamina could bring important lessons as such problems may require different types of care, including “post-hospital rehabilitation options.”

Dr. Penner said the Great Ormond Street Hospital team had made changes to the way they treat children hospitalized with the syndrome since the fall because they recognized “how badly their muscles are initially affected and how much they are tired and these children are weakened. “

In the hospital, for example, “it is extremely difficult for these children to just go from bed to the bathroom,” he said.

The hospital is now more focused on providing hospitalized physiotherapy and working with musculoskeletal therapists to the children, sending them home with a customized rehabilitation plan linked to an app.

“We also involved our occupational therapists and developed a once-a-month fatigue program where parents dial in for a group session,” said Dr. Jerk. “I think the main message we are giving them is to avoid this boom-and-bust cycle where the kids try to do the things they used to do at full speed and then kind of crash afterwards – as opposed to a gradual increase in activity back to its normal state. “

Tags Children, Covid, Inflammatory, Small, Study, Syndrome

Health

Provide chains could return to China amid Covid resurgence in India, Vietnam

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Post date May 25, 2021

The Covid-19 resurgence in some parts of Asia could lead to a change in fortunes for China, according to an economist.

Previously, the U.S.-China trade war caused companies to move their supply chains out of China, shifting their production and distribution networks for products and services. As a result, countries like Vietnam and India benefited as companies moved to set up shop in their countries.

But the situation appears to be changing, and supply chains could pivot back to China as cases spike in India and Vietnam, according to Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

Kids With Covid Inflammatory Syndrome Might Overcome Their Most Critical Signs

Post author By
Post date May 24, 2021

Dr. Newburger, who was not involved in the UK report, called it a “small but important study” that “adds new information to the knowledge gap about the long-term effects of MIS-C”.

In the hospital, for example, “it is extremely difficult for these children to just go from bed to the bathroom,” he said.

Tags Children, Covid, Inflammatory, Overcome, Symptoms, Syndrome

Health

NY Covid vaccine charges plummet as states roll out extra freebies for pictures

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Post date May 24, 2021

Naomi Hassebroek receives her second COVID-19 vaccine at NYC Health+Hospitals Gotham Health Sydenham, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, March 29, 2021.

Caitlin Ochs | Reuters

New York’s Covid-19 vaccination rate has declined dramatically in recent days, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday as he pleaded with residents to get immunized against the disease that’s claimed more than 590,000 lives in America.

The state administered just 63,000 vaccines in the last 24 hours, with a seven-day average of about 133,000 shots administered in the past week as of May 24, according to state data.

The current seven-day average is a small increase from last week’s but a sharp drop from the state’s peak when it reported a seven-day average of about 266,000 vaccinations on April 4.

Cuomo urged New Yorkers to take vaccines seriously, saying the coronavirus pandemic is still a cause for caution.

“It’s not over, it’s managed, but it’s not over,” Cuomo said at a press briefing. “The number of vaccinations is dropping off dramatically, we’re now doing fewer than 100,000 per day — that’s a dramatic decline, 55% decline in how many vaccines we’re doing.”

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the U.S. is reporting an average of 1.8 million vaccinations per day over the past week. About 49% of the U.S. population has had at least one shot with 39% fully vaccinated.

The nationwide seven-day average for reported administered vaccines is currently 1.7 million, down from a peak seven-day immunization average of 3.4 million reported on April 13.

The slowing immunization rate has public officials like Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio offering different perks to convince reluctant people to get their vaccine shots. They’ve previously offered free Yankees tickets, “vax & scratch” lottery tickets, free subway and railroad rides, and tickets to popular attractions like zoos and gardens and more.

State parks will now be offering free passes with access to any of New York’s 16 state parks to anyone who gets the vaccine this week at a state park vaccination site, a campaign Cuomo dubbed “a shot in the park.”

Cuomo said he’s targeting the “youthful and the doubtful” with the latest round of incentives.

“Enjoy the park, come get a vaccine, we’re going to set up a vaccine site at everyone of the 16 state parks,” he said.

Maryland, Ohio and Oregon have set up vaccine lotteries to increase declining vaccination rates.

In Ohio, where vaccination rates were falling, the number of people 16 and older getting the shots jumped 28% the weekend after the state announced its vaccine lottery program. Ohio also announced that it would give five full college scholarships to randomly chosen vaccinated students.

New Jersey is offering anyone who gets their Covid shot in May a free beer at several local breweries as part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s “shot and a beer” campaign.

Private businesses across the U.S. have also offered incentives to vaccinated patrons like gift cards, free snacks, marijuana, beer and even free tickets to Six Flags in Illinois.

— CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report.

Tags Covid, freebies, Plummet, rates, Roll, shots, states, Vaccine

Health

Two doses of Covid vaccines present safety in opposition to India variant

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Post date May 24, 2021

A healthcare worker holds syringes with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre, in El Paso, Texas, May 6, 2021.

Jose Luis Gonzalez | Reuters

A new study has found that two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine give effective protection against the Covid variant first discovered in India, however it underscored the need for two doses, as both vaccines were significantly less effective after only one shot.

The study, led by Public Health England, also found that two doses of one of those vaccines were similarly as effective at protecting against the variant that first emerged in the U.K. and has since become a dominant strain in the West.

Dr. Jenny Harries, CEO of the U.K. Health Security Agency, told the BBC that the study provided the “first real-world evidence of vaccine effectiveness” against the variant first identified in India.

Conducted between April and May, the research found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 Covid variant — a subtype of a variant that emerged in India last fall which has since spread to Europe — two weeks after the second dose. The vaccine was 93% effective two weeks after the second dose against the B.1.1.7 variant. which was first discovered in the U.K. last fall.

Meanwhile, two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were found to be 60% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant from India, compared with 66% effective against the strain from the U.K.

“Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant is similar after 2 doses compared to the B.1.1.7 (Kent) variant dominant in the U.K., and we expect to see even higher levels of effectiveness against hospitalisation and death,” the study authors wrote. The results were published Saturday as a preprint and the study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

PHE said the difference in effectiveness between the vaccines after two doses “may be explained by the fact that rollout of second doses of AstraZeneca was later than for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and other data on antibody profiles show it takes longer to reach maximum effectiveness with the AstraZeneca vaccine.”

However, both vaccines were only 33% effective against symptomatic disease from B.1.617.2 three weeks after the first dose. In the same time frame, they were found to be 50% effective against the B.1.1.7 variant.

Variant of concern

The variant first discovered in India has been blamed for causing a dramatic third wave of infections in the country, overwhelming hospitals and causing thousands of deaths this spring. There were concerns that Covid vaccines could be rendered less effective by the variant so the latest data should help allay those worries.

The India variant has been detected in numerous other countries now, according to the World Health Organization, which dubbed it a “variant of concern” in early May.

The PHE study analyzed data from 1,054 people, of all age groups and several ethnicities, confirmed as having the B.1.617.2 variant through genomic sequencing. The data was collected from April 5 and hence covers the period since the B.1.617.2 variant (one of three variant subtypes found in India) emerged in parts of the U.K.

“As with other variants, even higher levels of effectiveness are expected against hospitalisation and death. There are currently insufficient cases and follow-up periods to estimate vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes from the B.1.617.2 variant. PHE will continue to evaluate this over the coming weeks,” the study’s authors added.

Responding to the study, the U.K.’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, described the findings as “groundbreaking – and proves just how valuable our Covid-19 vaccination programme is in protecting the people we love.”

The U.K. has given more than 22 million people two doses of a Covid vaccine, while 72% of the population (or almost 40 million people) have had one shot, government data shows.

Hancock said the latest data emphasized “how important the second dose is to secure the strongest possible protection” against Covid-19 and its variants.

Separate PHE analysis indicated that the country’s Covid-19 vaccination program has so far prevented 13,000 deaths and around 39,100 hospitalizations in older people in England, up to May 9.

Tags Covid, Doses, India, Protection, provide, vaccines, Variant

Health

U.S. Covid instances hit lowest stage since June 2020

Post author By
Post date May 23, 2021

Dr. Scott Gottlieb says lift them for outdoors

People crowd outdoor dining at a restaurant as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions are eased in Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S., April 4, 2021.

Emily Elconin | Reuters

Covid cases in the U.S. have dropped to their lowest level since June as the nation prepares for Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer travel season.

The seven-day average of new infections is about 26,000 as of Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That is the lowest number since June of last year.

The decline of cases is a hopeful sign, especially as many Americans plan to travel, spend days at the beach and gather with friends and family over the summer. It is the latest in a series of milestones that signal a reopening economy and a gradual return to a more typical way of life.

Cases of Covid have fallen as more people across the country get vaccinated. About 49% of the U.S. population has received at least one shot of a vaccine, and 39% of the population is fully vaccinated as of Saturday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those age 18 and older, 61% are at least partially vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Retailers, including Target, Walmart and Macy’s said this week that consumers’ purchases reflect that people are becoming more mobile and social again. They said a growing number of customers have returned to stores to browse or bought merchandise they previously skipped over, from new outfits to from teeth whitener.

The CDC’s new public health recommendations also ushered in change earlier this month for Americans who had been wearing masks for months. The federal agency said people who are fully vaccinated do not need to cover their face in most indoor and outdoor settings. That prompted many retailers and some states, including New York, to drop mask requirements for those vaccinated and align with the new policy.

Tags cases, Covid, hit, June, level, lowest

Health

Olympic organizers ought to mandate Covid vaccines for athletes and followers at Tokyo Video games

Post author By
Post date May 23, 2021

Arthur L. Caplan is the founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City and Lee H. Igel is a clinical professor in the NYU Tisch Institute for Global Sport.

Pfizer and BioNTech are donating doses of their Covid-19 vaccine to athletes and delegations heading for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this July.

With so many people around the world still waiting for a jab and the pandemic not letting up in more than a few regions, should Olympians be jumping the vaccine line? Yes — and they ought to get a running start with a tough, mandatory program as soon as possible.

The offer to donate the doses came up during a recent conversation that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was having with Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. That led that Japanese government into discussing the opportunity in a meeting with the International Olympic Committee. The IOC then worked with Pfizer and BioNTech on a memorandum of understanding. It will have National Olympic Committees across the globe — 206 in all — coordinate with their local governments to administer vaccinations to athletes and delegates who are eligible for them. Given the two-shot schedule, they need to start now.

Japan is planning to host a total of about 15,000 athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Several thousand more people who will travel as part of the delegations will join them, even as numbers are limited due to pandemic regulations. Some of those heading to Tokyo will have been vaccinated already. Many, however, will have not yet had access to a vaccine. Others will have refused to take it because they are hesitant or don’t believe in its safety.

How many thousands of doses will end up being provided to the Olympic movement remains to be seen. Pfizer, BioNTech, and the IOC have said that those doses will be in addition to amounts already set to be supplied to different countries. But many people are wondering, if the pharmaceutical firms can produce extra vaccines for Olympic allotment, shouldn’t those doses go to people who are at greater risk for severe illness or death if they contract Covid?

That is a fair question, but it misses an important reality: the Games are on pace to take place as scheduled. This despite the fact that Tokyo and surrounding prefectures are under a government-mandated state of emergency because of high Covid infection rates. But Japan is too far down the road to cancel the Games, which were already postponed once.

At a cost of more than $26 billion, the coming version of the Tokyo Olympics is the most expensive Summer Games ever. True, a majority of the Japanese public — about 60%, according to Yomiuri Shimbun polling, and up to 80%, according to polls cited by the Associated Press — opposes holding the Games. Doctors and nurses are protesting, and employees in at least one hospital posted signs in windows pleading for the Games to be canceled, because of overcapacity. But the money invested, not public health concerns, are now driving events. Unless a shock catastrophic event takes place, the Games will go on.

The Olympic festival, its athletes and delegates, and registered media and broadcast teams will be flowing into and around into Japan in late July. Even if Tokyo reduces the infection rate to a more manageable level in time for opening ceremonies, allowing thousands of unvaccinated people to enter and move about is irresponsible. It risks real strain on health care and public safety systems in the Olympic venues and throughout the city, in a nation that has one of the highest rates of vaccine hesitancy and lowest rates of vaccine confidence in the world.

The IOC will not be requiring athletes and delegates to have received a vaccine in order to participate in the Games. That is flat out wrong, given the danger of spreading new strains around the world when participants return home from the Games. Athletes, coaches, delegates, media, and suppliers, should be required to take the two-shot vaccine doses being offered. There is a need to keep as many people as safe as possible, and vaccines can help greatly in that regard.

Authentication by a physician that a person has been vaccinated a minimum of one month before the Games should be part of the protocol. So should frequent testing just prior to departure, on arrival, and throughout the Games, as should maintaining a tight bubble at all Olympic sites, venues and lodgings.

Olympic athletes and their support staff can be seen as “essential workers,” in that their participation in the Games can be seen by the world as a sign of good things happening in a bleak time. As IOC President Thomas Bach said, they can “lead by example … and send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration of the wellbeing of others in their communities.”

Arguing about canceling the Games is over. They are going to happen. The organizers and athletes have about a month from now to insure their safety, the safety of Tokyo, and the safety of the world. Vaccination, testing, and quarantine are the key tools to aligning public health with the world’s desire for a bit of relief from a deadly plague. Let’s hope the IOC, local organizing committee and Japan get this right.

Tags athletes, Covid, Fans, Games, mandate, Olympic, organizers, Tokyo, vaccines

Health

College students protest necessary Covid vaccinations at faculties

Post author By
Post date May 23, 2021

Across the country, a growing number of colleges and universities have said vaccinations will be mandatory for the fall of 2021.

Now, hundreds of thousands of students will be required to get the Covid-19 vaccine, whether they want to or not.

For the most part, students will get vaccinated if it means campus life can return to a pre-pandemic “normal” by September. But not everyone feels that way.

Roughly 88% of college students plan to get the coronavirus vaccine and nearly 3 in 4 students believe vaccinations should be mandatory, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 college students by College Finance.

More from Personal Finance:
Hundreds of colleges say Covid vaccines will be mandatory
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However, Jackie Gale, a rising sophomore at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, is not one of them.

For religious reasons, Gale has never been vaccinated. The 19-year-old attended Alabama public schools and received a religious exemption from the Alabama state health department.

The University of Alabama-Birmingham also exempted Gale from its vaccine requirements during the 2020-2021 school year but won’t apply the same exemption for the upcoming year, according to her lawyer.

“If they decide to give her a religious exemption, that will be the end of it,” said Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, based outside of Dallas. “If not, we will have to communicate with them through a lawsuit.”

“In compliance with applicable law, we do provide religious exemptions for immunization requirements,” a spokeswoman for the school said. The university does require students provide proof of immunization against certain diseases, although there is currently no Covid vaccine mandate for the fall semester.

For those enrolled in school, there are many vaccination requirements already in place to prevent the spread of diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

All 50 states have at least some vaccine mandates for students attending public schools and even those attending private schools. In every case, there are medical exemptions and, in some instances, there are religious or philosophical exemptions, as well.

Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said it will now mandate Covid vaccinations for its 71,000 students.

“Adding Covid-19 vaccination to our student immunization requirements will help provide a safer and more robust college experience for our students,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said in a statement.

“We are committed to creating a safe campus environment in fall 2021, and to support the health and safety for all members of the Rutgers community, the university has updated existing immunization requirements for students to include the Covid-19 vaccine,” a spokesman for the university added.

Sara Razi, a 21-year-old junior at Rutgers, is challenging that requirement.

“I’m not anti-vax, I’m anti-mandate,” she said. “My education should not be restricted based on my personal decision to receive the Covid-19 vaccination.

Vaccinations are a personal and a private choice and students should have the right to choose whether or not they want to take a vaccine that is experimental.

Sara Razi

student at Rutgers University

“Vaccinations are a personal and a private choice and students should have the right to choose whether or not they want to take a vaccine that is experimental,” Razi added. “Therefore, a public institution like Rutgers should not have the right to dictate a student’s personal decisions.”

Razi, who has received other immunizations in the past, said she hasn’t decided yet whether she will get a Covid shot. In the meantime, she will be participating in a rally on campus, protesting the school’s mandate.

The political science major from Freehold, New Jersey, is also a member of Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian group active on nearly 400 college and university campuses, including Rutgers.

Rutgers has said it will grant exemptions, for medical or religious reasons, although requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

“There are a lot of people who are hesitant, that doesn’t mean they don’t want to get the vaccinated,” said Brittany Kmush, assistant professor of public health at Syracuse University.

“This pandemic has become so politicized and it’s really unfortunate that health outcomes have been tied to political parties,” she added.

Colleges need to offer information and education so families can have their concerns addressed. “Just the opportunity to listen to people and give them a place to voice their concerns,” Kmush said, “that would be helpful.”

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Tags Colleges, Covid, mandatory, Protest, students, vaccinations

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