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Suicide makes an attempt amongst younger ladies surged by greater than 50% throughout pandemic, CDC says

Suicide attempts among young girls surged by more than 50% during pandemic, CDC says

Chameleon eye | iStock | Getty Images

Suicide attempts increased among 12 to 17 year olds, especially teenage girls, during the Covid-19 pandemic and got worse the longer the social distancing orders and bans on, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Government continued.

Visits to emergency rooms in hospitals among adolescents had already increased in early May 2020 as the pandemic spread in the United States, the CDC said in a study published on Friday. From the end of July to the end of August 2020, the average weekly number of emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts in 12 to 17-year-old girls rose by 26.2% compared to the same period of the previous year.

The disruption of daily life from pandemic lockdowns and social distancing orders could have contributed to the increase in suicide attempts, the CDC said. In spring 2020, there was a 16.8% decrease in emergency room visits for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 compared to the same period in the previous year.

As of June 2020, 25% of the same age group surveyed adults reported having had suicidal thoughts in the past 30 days related to the pandemic, in line with 2019. However, actual visits to the emergency room for attempted suicide increased during the pandemic, the CDC said With.

For adolescent girls, the average weekly visits to the emergency room for suspected suicide attempts increased by 50.6% from February 2021 to March 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Visits to the emergency room for suspected suicide attempts include visits for suicide attempts as well as some non-suicidal self-harm, according to the CDC.

The data was collected by the CDC from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program emergency department visit data in 49 states. Not all states had consistent emergency room visit dates, and no data on race and ethnicity were available at the time of the study.

Suspicions of suicide attempts are often higher in young girls than in young boys, but in this study the difference was more pronounced due to the pandemic than in previous studies. The study points to an increase in emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts, not an increase in actual suicides, the CDC emphasized in the study.

The increase in alleged suicide attempts by young people could be attributed to social distancing, including a lack of connection with schools, teachers and friends. Other factors could include mental health barriers to treatment, an increase in substance abuse, and concerns about the health and economic situation of the family at home.

Average emergency room visits due to mental health problems and suspected child abuse have also increased in 2020 compared to 2019, potentially contributing to the increase in alleged suicide attempts.

The study finds that the increased amount of time spent with children at home may have made parents aware of their children’s mental health issues and prompted them to seek emergency room treatment, which may have contributed to the increase.

The study also found that the data likely underrepresented the actual number of alleged suicide attempts as Americans were reluctant to go to hospitals during the pandemic for fear of contracting Covid-19.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

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Health

Seychelles most vaccinated nation on Earth however Covid-19 has surged

Seychelles most vaccinated nation on Earth but Covid-19 has surged

A woman with an umbrella walks in a street in the capital Victoria of the Seychelles.

Valery Sharifulin | TASS | Getty Images

Seychelles worries world health experts after a surge in Covid-19 cases in fully vaccinated people.

The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that it would review coronavirus data from the Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, after the Ministry of Health said in the week leading up to May 8 that more than a third of people were positive tested for Covid-19 had been fully vaccinated.

It is believed that the Seychelles have so far carried out a very successful vaccination rollout. It can boast of having the highest percentage of people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the world, above Israel and the UK

The majority of people vaccinated have received China’s Sinopharm vaccine (approved by WHO for emergency use last Friday) as well as the AstraZeneca shot (known locally as Covishield, a version made in India). Overall, the Seychelles, with a population of over 97,000, recorded just under 8,200 cases and 28 deaths during the pandemic.

On Monday, the Seychelles Ministry of Health reported a sharp increase in the number of cases. Of the 120 new cases reported on April 30, a week later, over 300 cases were recorded a day on May 7 and May 8, respectively.

Of all positive cases, the Department of Health said 63% were either not vaccinated or were only given a dose of SinoPharm or Covishield, but 37% of new infections were in people who received both doses.

The ministry found that 80% of patients in need of hospital treatment had not been vaccinated and were more likely to be people with comorbidities. It added that “almost all” of the critical and severe cases requiring intensive care had also not been vaccinated. To date, none of the patients who died with Covid-19 had been fully vaccinated.

To date, 57% of those who received two doses have received Sinopharm and 43% have received Covishield, the Seychelles Ministry of Health said. It is unclear which vaccine was given to people who were fully immunized but then tested positive for Covid.

While new cases flattened on May 7 and 8 (with 317 new cases reported and 314 cases), the Ministry of Health said, “The transmission rate remains high and is worrying.”

The situation has certainly alarmed experts, especially since 60% of the total population of Seychelles has been fully vaccinated. In addition, 86% of the Seychelles target population for vaccination – 70,000 people – have been fully vaccinated to date, according to data from the ministry.

What the WHO thinks

On Monday, WHO director for Immunization, Vaccines and Biologics, Dr. Kate O’Brien, in a briefing, that the WHO is in direct communication with the Ministry of Health of the Seychelles and that the situation is “a more complicated situation than the top situation”. Line messages. “

“As mentioned earlier, the vaccines are very effective against severe cases and deaths. Most of the cases are mild cases. What is also important is that a significant proportion, over 80% of the population, has been vaccinated. But as we know … occur some of the reported cases occur either shortly after a single dose or shortly after a second dose, or between the first and second dose. “

She said that in this particular situation a very detailed assessment is required, “what the situation is like, first, what pressures are circulating in the country, second, if the cases occur in relation to the time someone has been dosed, third, how.” hard they are of the cases. “

‘Only through this type of assessment can we judge whether or not it is vaccination failure or whether it is more about the nature of the cases occurring, the milder end of the cases, and then the timing of the cases relative to the timing of the doses given to individuals. This assessment is ongoing and we are supporting and working with the country to understand the situation. “

CNBC has asked WHO for an updated comment on the situation in Seychelles but has yet to receive a response.

Effectiveness of the vaccine

The WHO has repeatedly warned that vaccination alone would not be enough to stop the pandemic, but would rather be another weapon in the arsenal to fight the virus.

Restrictions on social contact as well as good personal hygiene are still seen as a basis for preventing the spread. Last week, the Seychelles placed restrictions on some social gatherings and public spaces to curb the spread.

The situation of the islanders is a reminder that no coronavirus vaccine currently in use has been proven to be 100% effective in preventing Covid-19 infection. Still, all vaccines currently approved for use by the WHO have been shown to be very, if not extremely, effective in preventing serious Covid infections, with cases, hospitalizations and deaths falling sharply in countries with advanced vaccination programs like the UK

With a third wave of cases and new virus variants that could lead to further deaths and economic devastation, time is of the essence to get life-saving vaccines approved and distributed worldwide. The more available, the better.

On Friday, the WHO approved the state-owned Chinese pharmaceutical company SinoPharm for emergency use. This could accelerate the use of the shot in the WHO COVAX program, which aims to give poorer countries access to vaccines.

WHO said the addition of the SinoPharm vaccine had “the potential to rapidly accelerate access to Covid-19 vaccines for countries that want to protect health workers and vulnerable populations.”

It noted that the WHO Strategic Advisory Group on Immunization Experts had completed a review of the vaccine and recommended it on a two-dose regimen, three to four weeks apart, for adults aged 18 and over based on all available evidence.

“The effectiveness of the vaccine in symptomatic and hospital illnesses was estimated to be 79%, all ages combined,” it said. However, it was found that “few older adults (over 60 years of age) have participated in clinical trials, so efficacy in this age group could not be estimated”.

In March, AstraZeneca released an updated clinical trial date showing the vaccine is 76% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 infections. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were found to be 95% effective.

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Business

March retail gross sales are anticipated to have surged as customers spent $1,400 checks

March retail sales are expected to have surged as consumers spent $1,400 checks

A shopper wearing a protective mask checks out at a Costco store in San Francisco, California on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Retail sales are expected to be strong in March, and some economists say that cyclical tests may have entered the economy quickly and are contributing to an even bigger gain of 10% or more.

March sales data, released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, could be the first in a series of strong reports on consumer spending as vaccinations surge and economic reopening continues. US $ 1,400 fiscal stimulus checks sent to individuals from mid-March appear to have spurred spending in an environment of pent-up demand.

“We expect the March retail sales report to be excellent, with retail sales and core retail sales growing more than 11% each month,” wrote Bank of America economists. “Stimulus, reopening and better weather were a powerful cocktail for consumer spending.”

A multi-month increase in consumer spending should fuel an economy that is expected to boom this year. The strongest growth is expected for the current quarter, which according to some economists could show a growth of the gross domestic product of more than 10%. Compared to the second quarter of last year when the economic standstill caused the economy to collapse and GDP fell by 33.3%.

Economists estimate retail sales rose 6.1% in March, or 5.3% excluding cars, according to the Dow Jones. That equates to a 3% drop in sales in February when severe winter weather in the south led to a freeze with massive power outages in Texas.

However, some economists say the spending data shows that sales could be even stronger. “It’s going to go up over 10%. Except for last May, it’s going to be a record. There are lots of vehicle sales, higher gasoline prices and everything else,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “The restaurants are coming back. The clothing stores are busy. This is the retail reopening and that will be reflected in the numbers.”

Zandi predicts retail sales are up 10.3% from February and are likely to grow 28% year over year.

“It’s reopening. It’s stimulus money. It’s an amortization of the weather, all of which are growing together into one gangbuster number,” said Zandi. “I think we’ll see very strong numbers in the future. We’re gone and running.”

Zandi said business-to-business spend data supports his view. According to software company Cortera, recently acquired by Moody’s, all company spending increased 14.5% year over year in March while retailer spending increased 9%.

Zandi said retailers and other companies such as airlines, benefiting from an economy reopening, outperformed companies working from home for the first time since the pandemic began in March.

“Spending increased in most retail segments, with restaurants, furniture stores, clothing stores, gas stations, and sports stores predominating,” said Cortera. “Spending in grocery and beverage stores fell as consumption shifted back to restaurants and bars.”

Cortera, which has roughly $ 1.7 trillion in business spend, found that grocery and beverage store spending was 14.6% lower than last year, but grocery and beverage spending, such as bars and restaurants, rose and almost 20% more than in the previous year.

Bank of America’s credit card spending also showed an increase in late March. BofA economists said card spending increased 67% in the seven-day period ending April 3. Spending in this period was also 20% higher than in the same period in 2019.

“Animal spirits have risen remarkably, and the conference committee’s confidence level rose to 109.7 in March, the largest one-month gain since April 2003,” noted Bank of America economists. “Consumers can increase their spending while increasing their savings. We expect the savings rate to be around 20%, if not higher, in March.”

Kevin Cummins, NatWest’s chief economist in the US, said he expected sales to grow 10% in March and admits that it was on the high end of projections. He believes sales should be increased by the $ 1,400 stimulus checks sent to individuals that reached bank accounts as of March 17.

“The back end of the month should be very strong,” he said. “If you look at car sales, it was the highest level in four years. It seems like restaurants with outdoor seating are getting busier.”

The range of forecasts is unusually broad. Economists expect growth of 4% to 11.5%. That said, the market reaction could be volatile.

“Usually the range can be 1 percentage point in a prepandemic [apart], maybe 2, “said Michael Schumacher, director of interest rates at Wells Fargo.

Bank of America economists said the retail sales data could spark another debate over whether companies will re-raise spending to stimulate the economy after consumer spending rises.

“With the data confirming consumer strength, the debate is now moving to the next phase of recovery,” say Bank of America economists. “Will this turn out to be just a sugar high with a painful hangover, or will it set off a positive feedback loop leading to a sustained recovery? We expect the latter, but it will depend on a positive response from Corporate America.”

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Health

Drug Overdose Deaths Have Surged Through the Pandemic, C.D.C. Says

Drug Overdose Deaths Have Surged During the Pandemic, C.D.C. Says

On Tuesday, several dozen organizations dealing with addiction and other health issues asked Mr. Biden’s Health and Welfare Minister, Xavier Becerra, “to act urgently” to remove the rule that doctors go through a day of training before they get federal permission to prescribe Buprenorphine. Many addiction experts are also calling for the abolition of rules that were already relaxed during the pandemic so that patients do not have to come to clinics or doctor’s offices to receive addiction drugs.

Although many programs offering treatments, naloxone, and other services to drug users resumed, at least in part, as the pandemic dragged on, many others remain closed or severely constrained, especially if they were initially on a tight budget.

Sara Glick, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington, said a survey of about 30 syringe exchange programs she conducted last spring found many were temporarily closed at the start of the pandemic. After reopening, many programs would have limited the services or the number of people they could help.

“With health departments spending so much on Covid, some programs really had to cut their budgets,” she said. “That can mean seeing fewer participants or stopping their HIV and hepatitis C tests.”

At the same time, increases in HIV cases were reported in several regions of the country with high drug use, including two cities in West Virginia, Charleston and Huntington, and Boston. West Virginia lawmakers passed law last week introducing new restrictions on syringe exchange programs that proponents of the programs say would force many to complete.

Mr. Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act provides $ 1.5 billion to prevent and treat substance use disorders and $ 30 million to fund local services that benefit addicts, including syringe exchange programs. The latter is important insofar as federal funds can still largely not be spent on syringes for drug users, but the restriction does not apply to money from the stimulus package, according to the Office for Drug Control Policy. Last week, the government announced that federal funds could now be used to purchase fentanyl rapid test strips, which can be used to check whether drugs have been mixed or cut with fentanyl.

Fentanyl or its analogs have been increasingly detected in counterfeit pills illegally sold as prescription opioids or benzodiazepines – sedatives like Xanax used as anti-anxiety drugs – and meth in particular.

The northeastern states, which have been hardest hit by opioid deaths in recent years, had some of the lowest deaths in the first half of the pandemic year, with the exception of Maine. The states hardest hit included West Virginia and Kentucky, which have long led the way in overdose deaths, as well as western states like California and Arizona, and southern states like Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee.