COVID in California: Reinfection heightens risk of other health problems, study finds – San Francisco Chronicle

UCSFs Dr. Bob Wachter called the BA.5 omicron subvariant a different beast compared to other coronavirus mutations, with differences that could prompt behavioral changes to avoid infection. The notion that hybrid immunity from both a coronavirus infection and vaccination offers a high degree of protection has been thrown into doubt with the onset of the highly infectious infectious omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

A new type of vaccine protects against a variety of betacoronaviruses including the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic and COVIDs variants, in mice and monkeys, a Caltech study found. Betacoronaviruses are a subset of coronaviruses that infect humans and animals. The study, published in the journal Science on Tuesday, from researchers in the laboratory of Caltechs Pamela Bjorkman, professor of biology and bioengineering, found that the new vaccine is broadly protective. It works by presenting the immune system with spike protein pieces from SARS-CoV-2 and seven other SARS-like betacoronaviruses, attached to a protein nanoparticle structure, to induce production of cross-reactive antibodies, Caltech said. Vaccination with this so-called mosaic nanoparticle also led to protection against an additional coronavirus, SARS-CoV, that was not one of the eight on the nanoparticle vaccine.

Overcrowding, sometimes in antiquated buildings, played a key role in the dramatic surge of COVID-19 in California prisons, a new report from UCSF and UC Berkeley found. The spread was compounded by the need for complex coordination, and the report said extraordinary efforts by corrections officials was not enough to prevent tens of thousands of COVID infections among inmates and prison staff. Employee illness led to severe staffing shortages, and prison staff may have inadvertently carried the virus in and out of the prisons and into their homes and communities, the report said. It said risks may have been elevated because many prison staff refused to get vaccinated.

The researchers documented more than 50,000 cases of COVID among inmates in all including 240 deaths from the start of the pandemic to December 2021. Other reports have documented more than 16,000 COVID infections among prison staff, with 26 deaths. Dr. Brie Williams, a UCSF professor of medicine who helped lead the research team, said state policymakers and prison managers should closely evaluate lessons learned to help assure were better prepared in the future. This includes giving attention to massively reducing the prison population in our state in the interest of public health, as overcrowding is likely the single greatest health threat in a respiratory pandemic.

COVID-19 infection can trigger the production of immune molecules that damage cells lining blood vessels in the brain, according to a National Institutes of Health study published Tuesday. That damage causes platelets to stick together and form clots. Blood proteins also leak from the blood vessels, leading to inflammation and the destruction of neurons and may lead to short- and long-term neurological symptoms, according to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke researchers who examined brain changes in nine people who died suddenly after contracting the virus. Patients often develop neurological complications with COVID-19, but the underlying pathophysiological process is not well understood, said Avindra Nath, the senior author of the study. We had previously shown blood vessel damage and inflammation in patients brains at autopsy, but we didnt understand the cause of the damage. I think in this paper weve gained important insight into the cascade of events.

It could take another two years before the virus that causes COVID-19 becomes endemic, according to a Yale study published Tuesday in the journal PNAS Nexus. Modeling data based on reinfection rates among rats, which are as susceptible to coronaviruses as humans, showed that with both vaccination and natural exposure, the population accumulated broad immunity that pushed the virus toward endemic stability. That is the point when the virus infects many people but loses its fangs, leading to outcomes that are not particularly harmful. Coronaviruses are highly unpredictable, so a potential mutation could arise that makes it more pathogenic, said Caroline Zeiss, a professor of comparative medicine at Yale School of Medicine and senior author of the study. The more likely scenario, though, is that we see an increase in transmissibility and probable decrease in pathogenicity.

Repeated COVID increase risks for new and ongoing health problems, according to a new study of data from more than 5.6 million people Veterans Administration patients. Compared to patients who never got COVID, those infected once or more saw a proportionally increased risk of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, kidney, and neurological disorders, as well as mental health problems, researchers found. Antibodies from previous infections did not appear to reduce the risk. Among the 40,000 patients with two or more confirmed infections, the risk of death was twice as high and hospitalization within six months of their last infection three times higher. Given the likelihood that SARS-CoV-2 will remain a threat for years if not decades, we urgently need to develop public health measures that would be embraced by the public and could be sustainably implemented in the long-term to protect people from re-infection, the researchers wrote.

German biotech company CureVac said Tuesday it is suing BioNTech for work that it says contributed to the development of the BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. BioNTech said its work is original and it would vigorously contest the claim outlined in the patent infringement suit, the Associated Press reports.CureVac, which last year reported disappointing results from late-stage testing of its own first-generation COVID-19 shot, earlier this year started a clinical trial of a second-generation vaccine candidate developed with British pharmaceutical company GSK. CureVac said it would not pursue a court injunction and doesnt intend to take legal action that impedes the production, sale or distribution by BioNTech and Pfizer of their successful Comirnaty vaccine. Both CureVac and BioNTech have worked to develop the messenger RNA technology employed in their respective vaccines and potentially for other uses.

COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States between March 2020 -- when the pandemic got underway -- and October 2021, according to death certificate data analyzed by National Institutes of Health researchers. During those 20 months, COVID-19 accounted for 1 in 8 deaths (350,000 deaths) in the United States. Heart disease was the leading cause of death, followed by cancer, and together they accounted for 1.29 million deaths, according to the study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Accidents and strokes were the fourth and fifth leading causes of death. In every age group 15 years and older, COVID-19 was one of the top five causes of death.

The omicron BA.5 subvariant of the coronavirus accounted for 53.6% of infections nationally last week, continuing its rapid rise to become the dominant strain of the virus in the U.S. The closely related BA.4 subvariant made up an additional 16.5% of cases, as the newer variants crowd out BA.2 and BA.2.12.1. Over the weekend, Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSFs chair of medicine, cautioned that BA.5 is a different beast from previous strains of the virus more infectious and better able to evade immune responses and could cause another surge of cases before we have a chance to recover from the previous wave.

The world half-marathon championships have been canceled because China wasnt able to host the races due to the coronavirus pandemic, World Athletics said on Tuesday. Instead of the event being held in Yangzhou in November as planned, the city will, instead, be given the rebranded world road running championships in 2027, officials said. The championships are on track to be renamed the world road running championships with the addition of 5-kilometer races and mass-participation events alongside the elite competitions. China has put tight restrictions on arrivals from foreign countries during the pandemic and imposes wide-ranging lockdowns for any COVID-19 positives within the country. China hosted the Winter Olympics in February in a bubble which involved cordoning off whole sections of Beijing.

Many Americans dont expect to rely on the digital services like health care and grocery delivery after COVID-19 subsides, a new poll finds, although many say its a good thing if those options remain available in the future. Close to half or more of U.S. adults say they are not likely to attend virtual activities, receive virtual health care, have groceries delivered or use curbside pickup after the coronavirus pandemic is over, according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Less than 3 in 10 say theyre very likely to use any of those options at least some of the time.

The new BA.5 strain of the COVID-causing virus is a different beast from ones weve already seen more infectious and better able to evade immune responses and we need to change our thinking about how to defend against it, according to a data-packed Twitter thread posted today by Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSFs chair of medicine.

Hybrid immunity against COVID due to both infection and vaccination was considered highly protective against new variants earlier in the pandemic. But with super infectious omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, that may not hold true any longer. Read more about hybrid immunity and reinfection here.

How likely is it for people to catch COVID from someone who is asymptomatic? Its not impossible and may be more common than people realize, health experts say.

Two new highly infectious and immune-evasive COVID variants are now dominant in the United States, and together they likely will drive the Bay Areas long spring surge well into summer, health experts say.

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COVID in California: Reinfection heightens risk of other health problems, study finds - San Francisco Chronicle