A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program that provides uninsured adults access to free COVID-19 vaccines is set to expire.
The CDC said its Bridge Access Program will end in August.
The program also offers free vaccines to those with insurance plans that do not fully cover the cost of the shots.
While many health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid plans cover COVID-19 vaccines, there are still 25 million to 30 million adults either without insurance or whose insurance only provides partial coverage.
The program expanded access for millions to get their shots at no cost. Those eligible must be living in the U.S. and be 18 or older.
Officials with the Biden administration are seeking a permanent solution to free COVID-19 shots for those without access through the Vaccines for Adults program proposed in the fiscal year 2023 and 2024 presidential budgets.
People looking to see if their COVID-19 shots are covered by insurance should contact their health insurance provider or search their coverage plan on their providers website.
Scripps News has reached out to the CDC for more information.
image:
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. (Image credit: NIAID)
Credit: National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
LA JOLLA, CANew research from scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) suggests people who received COVID-19 vaccines and then experienced "breakthrough" infections are especially well armed against future SARS-CoV-2 infections.
By analyzing blood samples from study volunteers, the LJI researchers discovered that people who experienced symptomatic breakthrough infections develop T cells that are better at recognizing and targeting SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron and Delta variants. The researchers describe this increased protection as an "immunity wall."
"The virus evolves, but, importantly, so does the immune system. T cells do not sit idle. Instead, they learn to recognize the parts of the virus that mutate," says LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, Dr.Biol.Sci., who co-led the Cell Reports Medicine study with LJI Professor Shane Crotty, Ph.D., and LJI Research Assistant Professor Alba Grifoni, Ph.D.
Key findings:
T cells gain fighting power
Many studies have shown that vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, provides people with significant immune protection against severe disease. Several LJI-led studies have shown that this immune protection is long-lasting and can even help protect the body from new viral "variants of concern."
For the new study, LJI scientists investigated exactly how breakthrough infections affect T cells and B cells. The researchers followed a large group of study volunteers who had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Over time, many of these volunteers experienced breakthrough infections. The LJI scientists followed up with these volunteers to collect new blood samples post infection.
"With this study volunteer cohort, we were in a unique position to see how the immune system looked before and after a breakthrough infection," says Grifoni.
Study co-first author and LJI Postdoctoral Researcher Alison Tarke, Ph.D., spearheaded research showing that breakthrough infections prompted T cells to expand their "repertoires." That meant the cells could recognize multiple features, or antigens, on SARS-CoV-2.
These T cells appeared to develop their broad repertoires due to a combination of vaccination and breakthrough infection. COVID-19 vaccines taught the T cells to recognize a key part of SARS-CoV-2 called the "Spike" protein. Meanwhile, SARS-CoV-2 infection prompted T cells to recognize Spike, as well as several other viral proteins.
Breakthrough infection had left these study volunteers with T cells that could recognize and target SARS-CoV-2, even if part of it was mutated.
More layers of protection
Breakthrough Omicron and Delta variant infections also prompted B cells to produce more diverse antibodies. These antibodies could target epitopes that the vaccine and the infecting SARS-CoV-2 variant had in common.
In fact, most of these new antibodies were good at attacking epitopes that the vaccine and the variants had in common. "New B cell responses that are only specific to the infecting variant, but not the vaccine, are very rare," says study co-first author and LJI Instructor Parham Ramezani-Rad, Ph.D.
The researchers uncovered another interesting trend in people with breakthrough infections. COVID-19 vaccines tend to be given in the upper arm, which means anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune cells develop far away from the upper respiratory system. SARS-CoV-2 tends to infect the upper respiratory tract first, which means there can be a delay getting the right immune cells to the scene of infection. "A breakthrough infection has the potential of adding a layer of protection on top of a vaccine," says Grifoni.
What about asymptomatic infections?
As they worked, the scientists also found markers of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in about 30 percent of study volunteers who had never shown COVID-19 symptoms. These volunteers appeared to have contracted asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 at some point earlier in the pandemic.
"Our study suggests most people who never thought they got a breakthrough infection actually did," says Grifoni. "The majority of the population appears to be affected by a combination of vaccination and one or more breakthrough infections."
No evidence of T cell exhaustion
The new study also addresses concerns that repeated infection or COVID-19 vaccine might lead to a phenomenon called T cell exhaustion, where T cells lose their ability to target a pathogen.
The researchers discovered that breakthrough infections prompted T cells to produce more types of cytokines, signaling molecules that help fight infection. Before a breakthrough infection, T cells might produce one or two types of cytokines, Grifoni explains.
"After the breakthrough infection, the same cells produce multiple types of cytokines, making them more efficacious," says Grifoni. "Not only are our T cells not exhausted, but they are actually improving their capabilities."
The "immunity wall" does seem to have limits. Following an asymptomatic breakthrough infection, T cell abilities appeared to plateau in response to a subsequent symptomatic infection. B cells continued to produce neutralizing antibodies following subsequent breakthrough infections, but the researchers didn't see the same big "boost" to neutralizing antibody levels.
So should people continue to get SARS-CoV-2 booster vaccines? The LJI scientists point out that SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, and COVID-19 can still cause serious illness in immunocompromised people. Their advice is to follow all current CDC guidelines on who should receive booster vaccines.
Discovery may guide vaccine efforts
This research is also an important step toward the development of new vaccines against future SARS-CoV-2 variants and many other viruses with pandemic potential.
Ramezani-Rad says the study helps answer important questions about how breakthrough infections alter antibody responses. Going forward, he is curious how future SARS-CoV-2 variantsor new vaccine designsmight further tweak the immune system.
"Studies of local B cell responses in the upper airwaywhere the infection occurswill also be informative on how B cells responses are induced, particularly after breakthrough infection," says Ramezani-Rad.
Sette and Grifoni are focused on how to train T cells to recognize many types of coronaviruses at once. Their research is critical for developing a "pan-coronavirus" vaccine.
In a 2023 study, their laboratories worked with scientists at the University of Genoa to show that some T cells can recognize multiple coronaviruses at once. This new study shows them how breakthrough infections can shape T cell responses to fight novel SARS-CoV-2 variants.
"We're very interested to see if this phenomenon could be exploited in general to prepare against other potential pandemic threats," says Sette. "This is a step in a journey to help us protect against viral infections and potential pandemics."
Additional authors of the study, "SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections enhance T cell response magnitude, breadth, and epitope repertoire," include Tertuliano Alves Pereira Neto, Yeji Lee, Vanessa Silva-Moraes, Benjamin Goodwin, Nathaniel Bloom, Leila Siddiqui, Liliana Avalos, April Frazier, Zeli Zhang, Ricardo da Silva Antunes, and Jennifer Dan.
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH; T32AI125179), the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (75N93021C00016, 75N9301900065, and AI142742.)
DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101583
About La Jolla Institute
The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is dedicated to understanding the intricacies and power of the immune system so that we may apply that knowledge to promote human health and prevent a wide range of diseases. Since its founding in 1988 as an independent, nonprofit research organization, the Institute has made numerous advances leading toward its goal: life without disease. Visit lji.org for more information.
Cell Reports Medicine
Experimental study
Cells
SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections enhance T cell response magnitude, breadth and epitope repertoire
22-May-2024
A.S., B.P. and M.N. are inventors of certain technologies discussed herein and receive a share of applicable licensing revenues in accordance with the policies of their home institutions.
Figure1a shows that heat-related mortality (red lines, with red shading indicating its 95% confidence interval) in England and Wales primarily occurred between July and September during the study period of 30 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. A total of 8481 excess deaths (95% confidence interval: 638710,493) were attributable to high temperatures, with daily heat-related mortality peaking at 580 deaths (95% confidence interval: 484670) on 19 July 2022, when England recorded 40.3C unprecedented extreme heat. Figure1b zooms in on the time evolution of mortality during this heatwave for greater legibility. Although the UK Met Office and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have issued Level 2 (yellow) and Level 3 (amber) Heat Health Alerts for all regions except North East England since 11 July 2021 to warn the public about this heatwave, which they subsequently raised to the highest Level 4 (red) alert for all regions on 18 July 2021 to trigger a national emergency response5, peak heat-related mortality during this heatwave exceeded the maximum daily level from the previous ten years (i.e., 2010-2019; red error bar in Fig.1a), which was 376 deaths (95% confidence interval: 304445).
In both panels, red lines indicate the best estimate of heat-related deaths, with red shading indicating its 95% confidence interval. Blue lines indicate the best estimate of cold-related deaths, with blue shading indicating its 95% confidence interval. All temperature-related deaths here represent the sum of regional deaths estimated from individual temperature-mortality associations for ten regions in England and Wales (see Methods). Purple lines indicate COVID-19 deaths as shown on death certificates. Black lines indicate the total number of deaths from all causes. In panel (a) dotted vertical lines indicate the time of emergence of dominant COVID-19 variants in the UK during the study period of 30 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. The solid vertical line indicates the time around which 50% of the population aged 12 or above have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines in regions within England and Wales. The error bars in panel a indicate the range of heat-related, cold-related, and all-cause deaths in the period 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2019, with the centre points indicating the mean values. In panel (b), which zooms in on the July 2022 UK heatwave, the red arrow indicates the date on which 40.3C was recorded.
In months other than July, August and September, cold-related mortality (blue lines, with blue shading indicating its 95% confidence interval) dominated over heat-related mortality. Over the study period, a total of 128,533 excess deaths (95% confidence interval: 107,430153,642) were attributable to low temperatures, indicating a fifteen-fold larger cold-than-heat mortality burden. These results are consistent with the literature, which found that most days of the year are considered moderately cold in England and Wales, resulting in a large number of cold-related deaths24. Daily cold-related mortality peaked at 531 excess deaths (95% confidence interval: 493574) on 15 December 2022, but this falls within the range from the previous ten years (maximum: 691 deaths, 95% confidence interval: 643743).
These temperature-related deaths are theoretically independent of COVID-19 deaths because they are calculated from distributed lag nonlinear models (DLNMs) that describe the relationships between daily mean temperature and daily all-cause mortality after COVID-19 mortality has been removed (see Methods). For comparison, Fig.1 also shows the time evolution of daily COVID-19 mortality according to death certificates (purple lines). Distinct surges in COVID-19 deaths were seen soon after the first emergence of COVID-19 in early 2020 and the domination of the Alpha variant in December 2020 (dotted vertical line in Fig.1a)25, with the highest daily mortality level being 1382 deaths on 19 January 2021. The emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants was not followed by as large a surge in deaths, likely because COVID-19 vaccination had become more common by then (see FigureS1), with about half of the population above the age of 12 having had two doses of COVID-19 vaccines by 1 July 2021 (solid vertical line in Fig.1a), in all regions in England and Wales except London (see TableS1). Over the whole study period, 194,480 COVID-19 deaths were reported on death certificates in England and Wales.
Figure1a shows that from June to October 2020, March to August 2021, and from September 2021 to the end of 2022, temperature-related deaths (the sum of heat- and cold-related deaths) exceeded COVID-19 deaths. These exceedances were driven by heat-related mortality spikes when COVID-19 mortality was relatively low, e.g., during the July 2022 heatwave (Fig.1b), as well as cold-related mortality dominating in the colder months after COVID-19 vaccination was introduced. To further examine the respective mortality impacts of non-optimal temperatures and COVID-19, Fig.2 shows the ratios of cumulative deaths from these two causes for each region in England and Wales, across the whole study period (panel a), and during heatwaves and cold snaps therein (panels b and c).
Panel a shows regional ratios for the whole study period, i.e., 30 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. Panel b shows regional ratios on 70 heatwave days (in a total of 10 heatwaves) during the study period. Heatwaves are defined following the UKHSA definition. Panel c shows regional ratios on 70 cold snap days (in a total of 8 cold snaps) during the study period. Cold snaps are defined as days on which a Level 3 Cold Health Alert was issued for any region in England.
Considering the whole study period of 30 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, cumulative temperature-related deaths exceeded cumulative COVID-19 deaths by 8% in South West England. While this exceedance did not occur in the other regions, temperature-related deaths amounted to 58% (East Midlands) to 75% (London) of COVID-19 deaths by the end of 2022. These results demonstrate the importance of increasing public health messaging about heat and cold, which tends to be far less prevalent than the messaging about COVID-19. Reducing temperature-related mortality would free up resources and capacity for health services to respond to major pandemics when they occur.
Since extreme weather events are where we would expect the health effects to be largest, focusing on them provides important information on their interplay with other parallel health crises, including their compound health effects. Figure2b shows that during the ten heatwave episodes (spanning a total of 70 days; see TableS2) in the study period, identified through UKHSAs Heat Mortality Monitoring Reports5,26,27, temperature-related deaths outnumbered COVID-19 deaths in 9 of the 10 regions (except in North West England). This exceedance is particularly apparent in the southern regions where heat stress is more pronounced28. The ratios of temperature-related deaths to COVID-19 deaths in the southern regions range from 1.7 in East of England and South East England to 2.7 in London. The ratios for the rest of the regions lie between 1.1 and 1.3, except for North West England which has a ratio of 0.8. These results highlight that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, heatwaves posed a serious threat to public health, which is often downplayed29 or misrepresented as something enjoyable by the media in the UK30.
Figure2c shows the corresponding results during eight cold snaps in the study period, which are defined here as days on which a Level 3 Cold Health Alert was issued by UKHSA for any region in England (also spanning 70 days; see TableS2). A Level 3 (amber) Cold Health Alert represents a situation in which impacts are likely to be felt across the health and social care sectors, and potentially the whole population31. During these cold snaps, temperature-related deaths were lower than COVID-19 deaths in all regions, with the ratios ranging from 0.4 in East of England to 0.8 in South West England. These results are likely to be driven by the large surges in COVID-19 mortality following the first emergence of the coronavirus and the domination of the Alpha variant, both of which occurred in winter (Fig.1a and S1). In this sense, our results should not be interpreted as low temperatures being less important than COVID-19 to health in winter, as we have already shown that cold-related mortality occurs throughout the year and dominated over COVID-19 in the second half of the study period (Fig.1a). Future outbreaks of COVID-19 or novel viruses could have a different seasonal pattern from the COVID-19 pandemic studied here. Therefore, they could have different health impacts relative to extreme cold in winter.
The co-occurrence of non-optimal temperatures and COVID-19 meant that all-cause mortality in England and Wales was, on average, higher in the study period than in the previous ten years (black line and bar in Fig.1a). During extreme events, the health system needed to deal with an unprecedented compound health impact from both extreme weather and COVID-19. Figure3a shows the total number of deaths arising from high temperatures and COVID-19 during the 70 heatwaves days in the study period. Regional compound (heat-related and COVID-19) mortality ranged from 19 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 1622) in North West England, to 24 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 2029) in Wales.
Panels (a) and (b) show regional sums of temperature-related and COVID-19 deaths on 70 heatwave days (in a total of 10 heatwaves; panel (a)) and 70 cold snap days (in a total of 8 cold snaps; panel (b)), during the study period of 30 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. Panels (c) and (d) show regional numbers of temperature-related deaths on the same number of heatwaves (panel (c)) and cold snap days (panel (d)) but from the period 20102019. The numbers in panels c and d are estimated from the average number of temperature-related deaths per heatwave or cold snap day in the period 20102019, multiplied by 70 days. Panels (e) and (f) show regional ratios of deaths during the study period to the 20102019 period for heatwaves (panel (e)) and cold snaps (panel (f)).
These compound mortality levels are put into context by comparing Fig.3a with Fig.3c, which shows the reference levels of heat-related mortality from 70 heatwave days, calculated from the average of all identified heatwaves in the ten years that preceded COVID-19 (i.e., 20102019; see Methods). Substantially fewer heat-related deaths occurred during 70 heatwave days in 20102019, with the regional number ranging from 6 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 38) in North West England, to 14 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 1215) in London. In other words, demand for regional health services was 1.6 (London) to 3.2-fold (North West England) when extreme heat coincided with COVID-19 in the study period, compared to the previous decade (Fig.3e).
During the 70 cold snap days in the study period (30 January 2020 to 31 December 2022), regional compound (cold-related and COVID-19) mortality ranged from 80 per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 7586) in Yorkshire and the Humber, to 127 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 123132) in East of England (Fig.3b), highlighting the higher absolute demand on the health system during cold snaps than heatwaves in the study period. These compound mortality numbers are substantially higher than the reference numbers of cold-related deaths from the same number of cold snap days in 20102019 (Fig.3d), which ranged from 35 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 3238) in London, to 48 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval: 4355) in Wales. This means that depending on the region, demand for health services was 2 (South West England) to 3.4-fold (East of England) when extreme cold co-occurred with COVID-19, compared to extreme cold in the previous decade (Fig.3f).
By adding temperature-related deaths (with COVID-19 deaths removed before calculation) and COVID-19 deaths together to estimate the compound mortality impact, we have assumed that they are independent of each other. Figure4 shows the average number of temperature-related deaths per 100,000 population per day of individual heatwaves (panel a) and cold snaps (panel b) in all regions in 2016-2019 (non-COVID-19 years; grey markers) and 20202022 (COVID-19 years; coloured markers), versus the average temperatures of these events. While heat-related mortality generally increased with the average heatwave temperature for all events, and cold-related mortality generally decreased when cold snaps were milder, the extreme temperature events that co-occurred with COVID-19 have different distributions (black solid ellipse contour) from the events that occurred without COVID-19 co-occurrence (grey dashed ellipse contour). For heatwaves (Fig.4a), mean temperature and heat-related mortality shifted higher in the COVID-19 years, compared to events that were not affected by COVID-19. For cold snaps (Fig.4b), the variances in temperature and cold-related mortality were larger in events in the COVID-19 years than in non-COVID-19 years. Two-sample KolmogorovSmirnov tests confirm that the COVID-19 event distributions are significantly different from the non-COVID-19 distributions at the 5% significance level. These results suggest that COVID-19 may have impacted temperature-related mortality during extreme weather events.
The markers indicate the regions. In panel (a), grey markers indicate heatwaves in 20162019, whereas coloured markers indicate heatwaves in COVID-19 affected years: 2020 (pink), 2021 (red) and 2022 (dark red). In panel (b), grey markers indicate cold snaps in 20162019, whereas coloured markers indicate cold snaps in COVID-19-affected years: 2020 (light blue), 2021 (blue) and 2022 (dark blue). In both panels, the grey dashed ellipses indicate the two standard deviation confidence of the covariance of mortality and temperature of all heatwaves or cold snaps in the non-COVID-19 period of 2016-2019. The black solid ellipses indicate the same but for the COVID-19 period of 20202022.
On the other hand, extreme heat may have exacerbated COVID-19 mortality in England and Wales too. This is evident on the hottest day ever recorded in the UK (19 July 2022), when 91 more daily COVID-19 deaths occurred, compared to the average on days between 10 July and 25 July 2022 (Fig.1b). Separating the factors contributing to winter deaths is also challenging because low temperatures tend to be linked to influenza-like illnesses and respiratory diseases. Modelling COVID-19 mortality is not within the scope of this study, but our results highlight the complex interplay between extreme temperatures and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its implications on population health and health services capacity.
According to the UN agency, between 2019 and 2021 the early years of the global health emergency - life expectancy around the world dropped by 1.8 years to 71.4 years, which is the 2012 level.
Responding to the findings, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the fragility of global health advances when confronted with unprecedented emergencies like the pandemic,which caused more than seven million confirmed deaths.
In just two years, the COVID-19 pandemic erased a decade of gains in life expectancy, Tedros said. That's why the new Pandemic Agreement is so important: not only to strengthen global health security, but to protect long-term investments in health and promote equity within and between countries.
Regionally, the Americas and South-East Asia felt the biggest impact of the coronavirus, with life expectancy dropping by around three years.
In contrast, Western Pacific countries were minimally affected during the first two years of the pandemic, with only small losses in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.
The WHOs World Health Statistics 2024 report confirmed that COVID-19 was the third highest cause of death globally in 2020 and the second highest a year later.
The coronavirus was also the leading cause of mortality in the Americas for 2020 and 2021.
Staff of Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, arrives with a new patient during the COVID-19 outbreak in New York. (file)
Before the pandemic, noncommunicable diseases remained the top killer, the UN health agency said, accounting for 74 per cent of all deaths in 2019.
During the pandemic, chronic conditions such as heart disease and stroke, cancer and dementia were behind 78 per cent of non-COVID deaths.
Other major causes of lives being cut short are malnutrition, undernutrition, overweight and obesity. In 2022, over one billion people aged five years and older lived with obesity, while more than half a billion were underweight.
Malnutrition in children was also striking, the WHO report said, with 148 million children under five years old affected by stunting - too short for age - 45 million suffering from wasting - too thin for height - and 37 million overweight.
The WHOs World Health Statistics report also highlighted the challenges faced by people with disabilities, refugees and migrants.
In 2021, about 1.3 billion people, or 16 per cent of the global population, had a disability. This group is disproportionately affected by health inequities resulting from avoidable, unjust and unfair conditions, the UN health agency insisted.
A COVID-19 testing site in South Korea.
Similar medical aid access problems exist for refugees and migrants, the WHO noted, after finding that only half of the dozens of countries surveyed between 2018 and 2021 provided publicly funded healthcare to them at the same level as other citizens. This highlights the urgent need for health systems to adapt and address the persisting inequities and changing demographic needs of global populations, WHO said.
Despite the multiple setbacks to public health caused by COVID-19, the UN health agency insisted that progress has been made towards achieving better health for all, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include the fact that since 2018, an additional 1.5 billion people achieved better health and wellbeing globally, and 585 million more people today have access to universal health coverage.
In a bid to head off a future pandemic, the WHO is leading highly complex discussions with UN Member States to draft and negotiate a convention to agree on the collective steps that will be needed from governments around the world.
The aim is to present the outcome of these negotiations at the nextWorld Health Assembly meeting in Geneva next week, where the WHOs 194 Member States are scheduled to adopt the international accord.
Participation in the agreement by countries would be voluntary contrary to online disinformation campaigns falsely alleging that the accord would mean surrendering sovereignty - and in the interests of the citizens of those countries and others, offering more effective pandemic preparedness and response.
According toWHO, negotiations on a future agreement revolve around the need to ensure equitable access to the tools needed to prevent pandemics vaccines, protective equipment, information and expertise and universal access to healthcare for everyone.
Your immune system has a memory, which can be both a good and bad thing.
When it comes to COVID-19 boosters, scientists at Washington University recently discovered that the body isnt just "remembering" its previous vaccines it uses that memory to fight viruses it hasn't met yet.
On this episode of St. Louis on the Air, Dr. Michael Diamond, lead author of a new study in the journal Nature, discussed the workings of vaccine imprinting and what his labs research can tell us about the future of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
Among other findings, that research adds to evidence that boosters not only protect people from the variants existing at the time, but also ones that we anticipate in the future, that might come with a new pandemic virus if it ever occurred, said Diamond.
Listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
As summer approaches, many people with spring allergies are still suffering. And as new Covid variants circulate, experts say we may also soon see an uptick in cases. (Though wastewater data suggests that Covid cases are currently fairly low.)
It can be tricky to distinguish between seasonal allergy symptoms, early signs of the coronavirus or just a run-of-the-mill cold.
The clearest way to get an answer is to take a Covid test. But at-home rapid tests have become more difficult to get a hold of since the public health emergency expired. Here are other tips to help you identify the source of your suffering.
Some people with Covid can experience the worst symptoms during, say, their third infection compared to their first two. But in most cases, the more immunity someone has built up through repeat infections, vaccinations or a combination of the two the milder Covid symptoms tend to be.
In most people, its the sneezy, stuffy nose its like my allergies, for sure, said Dr. Davey Smith, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Diego.
People with allergies rarely develop high fevers; if you are running a temperature above 100.4 degrees its more likely to be Covid or another viral infection, said Dr. Purvi Parikh, an allergist and immunologist at NYU Langone Health.
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Countries around the globe have failed to reach consensus on the terms of a treaty that would unify the world in a strategy against the inevitable next pandemic, trumping the nationalist ethos that emerged during Covid-19.
The deliberations, which were scheduled to be a central item at the weeklong meeting of the World Health Assembly beginning Monday in Geneva, aimed to correct the inequities in access to vaccines and treatments between wealthier nations and poorer ones that became glaringly apparent during the Covid pandemic.
Although much of the urgency around Covid has faded since the treaty negotiations began two years ago, public health experts are still acutely aware of the pandemic potential of emerging pathogens, familiar threats like bird flu and mpox, and once-vanquished diseases like smallpox.
Those of us in public health recognize that another pandemic really could be around the corner, said Loyce Pace, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, who oversees the negotiations in her role as the United States liaison to the World Health Organization.
Negotiators had hoped to adopt the treaty next week. But canceled meetings and fractious debates sometimes over a single word stalled agreement on key sections, including equitable access to vaccines.
The negotiating body plans to ask for more time to continue the discussions.
Im still optimistic, said Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I think the continent wants this agreement. I think the world wants this agreement.
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A new tool developed by a Vanderbilt University-led team may help identify infants at high risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), according to anabstract presented today at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference in San Diego.
"To predict whether these infants developed severe RSV LRTI requiring ICU [intensive care unit] admission during the first year of life, we developed a multivariable logistic regression model," coauthor Tebeb Gebretsadik, MPH, said in an ATS press release. "The model includes demographic and clinical variables collected at or shortly after birth19 variables in all, such as prenatal smoking, delivery method, maternal age and assisted breathing (ventilation) during birth hospitalization."
The researchers evaluated the tool in infants insured through the Tennessee Medicaid Program, including those who did not receive a preventive monoclonal antibody. They said the tool may be especially helpful during shortages of drugs that help prevent severe RSV, such as nirsevimab (Beyfortus), a monoclonal antibody in short supply in the 2023-24 respiratory virus season.
"At least half of infant hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the United States are among infants who are currently considered low-risk (i.e., healthy and term)," the study authors said in the abstract.
Of 429,365 infants, 713 (0.2%) had severe RSV requiring ICU admission. The tool had good predictive accuracy, and internal validation indicated a good fit.
At least half of infant hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the United States are among infants who are currently considered low-risk (i.e., healthy and term).
Principal investigator Tina Hartert, MD, MPH, said the tool "may also persuade vaccine-hesitant families to accept RSV immunoprophylaxis [vaccination], by showing them their newborn is at high risk."
Coauthor Niek Achten, MD, of Erasmus University in the Netherlands, said it may also prove useful abroad. "In addition to use in the United States during times of limited availability, our tool may prove useful in countries with budgetary constraints needing to prioritize administration to the highest risk infants," he said.
Thestudy was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases in February. The authors said the tool will undergo validation in other populations and cost-effectiveness and decision-curve analyses.
A newly published scientific study about the COVID-19 vaccine found people with certain preexisting medical conditions were more likely to report ringing in the ears after getting immunized.
The authors of the study about these "risk factors" include Dr. Shaowen Bao, a University of Arizona professor, and Robert Edmonds, a COVID-19 vaccine patient from New Mexico.
Its very difficult when you have a very sudden event, and you're trying to get answers, and there isn't any, Edmonds said.
Three years ago, Edmonds began a quest for health answers when he developed ringing in the ears shortly after getting his first COVID-19 vaccine shot in January 2021.
It's like the static of an old TV in the background, Edmonds said. But 10 times louder.
ABC15 spent years tracking the concerns of thousands of people who reported they had ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus, vertigo or hearing loss after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Back then, tinnitus was not listed by the CDC or FDA as a potential side effect of any of COVID-19 vaccines. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is no longer being used in the United States, later changed its labeling to include tinnitus as a potential side effect.
ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding those accountable.
Submit your news tip to Investigators@abc15.com
Edmonds felt public health leaders were not taking the tinnitus concerns seriously enough, so he turned to ABC15 with his story.
You guys were really the first to kind of help with that, Edmonds told ABC15 Senior Investigator Melissa Blasius.
ABC15 found more people across the country who also connected the onset of their tinnitus or hearing loss to the time they received a COVID-19 shot.
"The risk is small, but it seems to me that it is there," said University of Arizona Assistant Professor Shaowen Bao. He is also a member of the scientific advisory committee for the American Tinnitus Association.
Bao and his team surveyed 398 people with complaints of COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus and studied 699,839 COVID-19 adverse event reports in the CDC's VAERS database.
The Journal Frontiers in Pharmacology reviewed their findings and published them on May 21, 2024. Edmonds is listed as a coauthor.
I've tried to work with as many legitimate scientists as possible and just get something to move forward, Edmonds said.
Their findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccination increases the risk of tinnitus, and metabolic disorders is a risk factor for COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus.
Those findings include:
The study also outlined the metabolic "risk factors," saying older people with preexisting hypertension and obesity were most strongly correlated post-vaccine tinnitus. The study also notes diabetes as a risk factor. I wasn't looking for vindication, Edmonds said. I was just looking for help getting other people who might be going through this.
After years of trying to get the CDC and other public health leaders to hear his concerns, Edmonds hopes the Frontiers in Pharmacology article can be a catalyst.
I would like to pass that torch off to someone to keep pushing this forward, Edmonds said.
Currently, the CDC does not recognize tinnitus or hearing loss as a potential side effect of the currently used COVID-19 vaccines. According to the agency, ringing in the ears is common, and it can be expected some people would develop the condition around the same time as the COVID-19 shot without being caused by the vaccine.
CDC research has found COVID-19 vaccines to be safe and effective. Public health officials recommend everyone 6 months and older to be vaccinated to protect against serious illness.
Have a news tip? Email atmelissa.blasius@abc15.comor call 602-803-2506. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @MelissaBlasiusorFacebook.
Over a fifth of Americans and Poles surveyed believed that COVID-19 vaccines can change peoples DNA.
And more than half of Serbian people believed that natural immunity from COVID was better than being vaccinated.
These figures come from a new report which examines the effects of populism on misinformation and other aspects of crisis communication around the coronavirus pandemic.
Written by members of the PANCOPOP project team, led by Professor Sabina Mihelj, and drawing on ongoing research on pandemic communication in populist environments, the report outlines the factors that contribute to susceptibility to health misinformation.
One of the key findings was the increased level of acceptance of false and misleading statements about COVID by members of the public holding populist beliefs or voting for populist politicians in four countries, namely the United States (US), Brazil (BR), Poland (PL) and Serbia (RS).
Prof Mihelj, of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, said: Populism can also be an ideology which generally makes people more gullible to falsehoods and rumours, independently from how populist leaders behave.
Polish and Serbian populist leaders did not actively promote COVID-19 misinformation and, at least at the start of the pandemic, supported preventive measures recommended by public health authorities and experts.
Nevertheless, populist voters in Poland and Serbia were more likely to believe in more false statements, albeit to a lesser degree than Brazilian and American populist voters.
A survey of 5,000 people from those countries found that more than 40% of the people polled believed COVID-19 vaccines are experimental, and health risks associated with them are not known. And, that over a third of the official numbers of deaths from COVID-19 have been grossly exaggerated.
Table 1: Susceptibility to misinformation and rumours about COVID-19 (% of those who agreed)
BR
PL
RS
US
ALL
COVID-19 was purposefully created in a lab
34
32
46
38
37
The official numbers of deaths from COVID-19 have been grossly exaggerated
36
32
37
34
35
Face masks can make people ill
19
37
27
28
27
The U.S. military is behind the creation of the virus
10
9
21
16
14
Covid-19 vaccines are experimental, and their health risks are not properly known
40
45
51
40
43
Natural immunity from Covid-19 is better than vaccines
27
45
54
38
39
COVID-19 vaccines can change people's DNA
14
21
12
21
17
COVID-19 vaccines have been developed using human embryos
10
15
8
20
14
COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips
10
10
8
19
12
The report made series of recommendations directed towards three main groups involved in health crisis communication: public health authorities and government officials, media regulators and policymakers, and news organizations and journalists. It also included a series of best practice examples draw from the four countries.
For public health authorities and government officials, the emphasis lies on anticipating the politicization of health threats and preventative measures, ensuring transparency and autonomy of specialized health agencies, avoiding top-down styles of communication and fostering multipartisan dialogue in decision-making.
Additionally, the development of integrated, multi-stakeholder strategies to combat health misinformation was advised, involving stakeholders from media organizations, regulators and digital platforms to influencers and local communities.
Prof Mihelj said: Media regulators and policymakers are urged to bolster freedom of information protections, challenge political interference, and support media literacy initiatives. The report suggested they should also proactively support the media in health emergencies, for instance by prioritizing complaints about health topics.
News organisations and journalists are encouraged to openly challenge any crisis measures that may interfere with public access to information, improve internal governance to guard against political influence, be mindful of the fact that misinformation can originate from political elites, medical professionals, and celebrities, and engage in regular fact-checking of health information from all sources.
To read the full report visit: www.pancopop.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PANCOPOP-Report-in-English.pdf
ENDS
Press release reference number: 24/63
Loughborough is one of the countrys leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2024 QS World University Rankings the eighth year running.
Loughborough is ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2024, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2024 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Educations table of tables, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as world-leading or internationally-excellent. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
