On July 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that two new subvariants of omicron, BA.4 and BA.5, have become the dominant strains of the COVID-19 coronavirus in all parts of the United States.
BA.5 currently makes up 54 percent of new cases, with its sister subvariant, BA.4, accounting for about 16 percent of recent infections.
In Europe, BA.4 and BA.5 are driving a summertime COVID-19 surge. Analysis of data by The New York Times showed that infections climbed to 57 cases a day per 100,000 people (as of July 6) from 33 cases a day per 100,000 people just two weeks earlier.
In a media briefing on July 6, Dr. Michael Ryan, MPH, the executive director of the World Health Organizations Health Emergencies Program, said that many European countries have seen a rise in hospitalizations but not an increase in intensive care admissions.
BA.4 and BA.5 have proven to be especially adept at eluding protective antibodies from vaccination or prior infection.
In an interview with Nexstar Media Wire, Peter Chin-Hong, MD, a infectious-disease expert at the University of California in San Francisco, said, The superpower of BA.4 and BA.5 is, if you had omicron in January, youre still going to be susceptible to getting BA.4 and BA.5. Its the escape artist of COVID, the Houdini, because the spike protein looks so different, even [compared] to BA.1. The front guards the antibodies are not recognizing it.
A study published in the journal Nature on July 5, based on lab studies headed by a team at Columbia University in New York City, indicated that BA.4 and BA.5 are four times more resistant to antibodies from three vaccine doses than BA.2, a previous version of omicron that was dominant in the United States in April.
Our study suggests that as these highly transmissible subvariants continue to expand around the globe, they will lead to more breakthrough infections in people who are vaccinated and boosted with currently available mRNA vaccines, said the studys lead author, David Ho, MD, the director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University, in a press release.
William Schaffner, MD, an infectious-disease specialist and a professor of preventive medicine and health policy at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, views the spread of BA.4 and BA.5 as a glass half-empty, glass half-full situation.
Yes, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are not as well covered by the current vaccines, but the current vaccines do continue to provide substantial protection against serious disease caused by these variants, says Dr. Schaffner. The vaccines continue to keep people out of the hospital.
Older, unvaccinated people may be at risk of serious illness from the new subvariants. In Nevada the week ending July 8, hospitalizations in Clark County rose for the second week in a row, according to the states department of health and human services, with unvaccinated people who are 70 and up accounting for the majority of admissions.
Based on data from the Zoe COVID Symptom Study (in which people report symptoms via phone app), the most common signs of coronavirus infection in England (where BA.4 and BA.5 also dominate) are runny nose, sore throat, headache, persistent cough, and fatigue. Under a third of study respondents indicated that they had a fever.
The CDC regularly updates county-by-county information showing where COVID-19 transmission is highest. (A COVID-19 County Check tool on the website allows you to plug in details about your location to check the status in the area where you live.)
If you live in an area of substantial or high transmission, the CDC urges you to wear a mask in indoor public places if you are 2 or older. In areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, you should consider wearing a mask in crowded outdoor settings and for activities requiring close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated.
If you live in a high-transmission zone, the CDC also encourages you to stay six feet apart from people not in your household. The health agency reminds the public that even people without symptoms can spread the virus.
People in high-risk groups need to take extra precautions. These groups include everyone age 65 and older; those younger than 65 who have any underlying illness, such as heart or lung disease or diabetes; and anyone who is immunocompromised.
Dr. Ho said the development of new vaccine boosters aimed at BA.4 and BA.5 offers hope to improve protection against infection and severe disease. Updated formulations are expected to be ready this fall.
Looking further into the future, scientists will need to continually develop new vaccines and treatments that can anticipate the ongoing evolution of the virus.
Now that we have entered the COVID endemic phase, well have to learn how to live with this mutating virus,says Schaffner. There are lessons to be learned from how we cope with influenza. Our public health surveillance system will have to keep up with the changes in the COVID virus as it already does with influenza, and then our vaccines will be updated, again as we do with influenza. It would not surprise me if we will be getting annual COVID vaccinations along with our annual flu shots.
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BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron Subvariants Are Now Dominant in the U.S. - Everyday Health
New York City will receive another approximately 14,500 monkeypox vaccine doses from the federal government this week.
New appointments will go online for eligible New Yorkers on Tuesday at 1:00 PM for vaccinations at the Departments Central Harlem, Chelsea and Corona Sexual Health Clinics.
July 11, 2022 The Health Department today announced that more JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine doses are coming to New York City. The next allocation of vaccine, totaling more than 14,500 doses, is expected to arrive later this week from the federal government. The Health Department will announce in the coming days how this allocation will be distributed, prioritizing fast and equitable delivery to New Yorkers. In addition, the city will open the remaining approximately 2,500 appointments from last weeks 6,000-dose allocation at New York Citys temporary vaccine clinics located at the Central Harlem Sexual Health Clinic (2238 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan), the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic (303 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan) and the Corona Sexual Health Clinic (34-33 Junction Boulevard, Queens). These appointments are comprised of 1,250 appointments that can be booked online as well as 1,250 appointments through direct referrals from providers for higher-risk and more vulnerable New Yorkers. Appointments will open at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, with a scheduling link available through the Department of Health and Mental Hygienes website at: nyc.gov/health/monkeypox.
"I commend New Yorkers for taking charge of their health and getting vaccinated," said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. "We know that vaccine supply continues to be scarce, and appointments may be difficult to get. But were working with community-based organizations to ensure an equitable approach and were working with federal partners to secure even more vaccine soon. As we scale up vaccination, we encourage New Yorkers to exercise some caution. Stay home if you feel sick, and especially if you develop a rash or sores that may be monkeypox, and follow some basic preventive measures."
Including the appointments opening on July 12, almost 7,000 doses of monkeypox vaccines will have become available to New Yorkers since June 23. This includes 1,000 appointments that opened on June 23. Since July 6, another 2,400 appointments were booked through the web portal. Another 1,650 total appointments are being distributed through direct referrals from providers and community-based partners, including 1,250 new referrals this week. Tomorrow, the remaining 1,250 appointments will open online to be booked through the web portal. Finally, the city is distributing 620 doses for people suspected or confirmed with monkeypox, identified by the Health Department through its contact tracing effort.
New Yorkers can now also sign up for text notifications to receive alerts about monkeypox in NYC, including appointment releases, by texting MONKEYPOX to 692692 or MONKEYPOXESP for alerts in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply.
The monkeypox outbreak is growing in New York City, and the risk of exposure through sex and other close physical contact is increasing. Anyone can get and spread monkeypox. The current cases are primarily spreading among social networks of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, so this community is currently at greater risk of exposure. Due to limited supply of the JYNNEOS vaccine nationally, eligibility during this phase is restricted to those at highest risk of a recent exposure based on national and local cases. Currently, this is gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men and transgender, gender non-conforming, or gender non-binary persons ages 18 and older who have had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days. More appointments will go online when more vaccine is allotted to New York City by the federal government.
The monkeypox virus is most often spread through direct contact with a rash or sores of someone who has the virus. It can also spread through contact with clothing, bedding, and other items used by a person with monkeypox, or from respiratory droplets that can be passed in prolonged close contact. Transmission can occur during sex or other close physical contact. It is not yet known if monkeypox can spread through saliva, semen or vaginal fluids.
The most common symptom is a rash or sores that can look like pimples or blisters. These may be all over the body or just in certain parts, such as the face, hands, or feet, or around or inside the mouth, genitals or anus. Before or at the same time the rash or sores appear, some people have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, headache, and tiredness. In some cases, monkeypox can cause severe illness. A person is contagious until all sores have healed, and a new layer of skin has formed, which can take two to four weeks.
To reduce the chance of getting or spreading monkeypox, do not engage in sex or other close physical contact (such as touching, massage, or kissing) if you or your partners are sick and especially if you or they have a new or unexpected rash or sores anywhere on the body. Avoid gatherings and direct contact with others if you are unwell or have a rash or sores. Wash your hands, sex toys and bedding before and after sex or other intimate activities. As more New Yorkers are diagnosed with monkeypox, it is crucial to seek care as soon as you notice a rash or sores. If you dont have a health care provider, visit the NYC Health Map or call 311 to be connected to care. People who receive the vaccine should continue to take these precautions to prevent transmission of monkeypox.
The JYNNEOSTM vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of monkeypox in people ages 18 and older. The vaccine is given as two doses, at least four weeks apart.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Patrick Gallahue / Michael Lanza PressOffice@health.nyc.gov
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No matter the situation, the health leaders and advisory teams explore new options to discover one that ensures more robust and durable immunity, doing away with the need for the frequency of booster shots.
The overall pace of COVID-19 spread in the United States has slowed, with more incidences observed in Western areas than in its traditional hotbeds of activity. For example, California recorded a massive surge in new infections, the only sight of respite being slightly less number of hospitalizations and a low and stable fatality rate. Under the influence of the Delta virus, the state clocked over 2k cases of corona positivity in ICUs. However, the latest wave has resulted in some 300 such cases. The experts believe that better diagnosis, advanced treatments, and vaccination drive can prevent severe illnesses from viral infection.
However, the virus today is not necessarily the virus tomorrow. The virus can change and cause new problems. Hence, there is a need to have a ready response system. In this effort, The US Food and Drug Administration advisory board continues to discuss the emergency use of new vaccines and other treatment options that offer promising outcomes. A case in point is the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Novavax, a biotechnology firm from Maryland. The advisory board gives the nod to the vaccine for emergency use authorization (EUA) for people in the age group of 18 and more. While it has obtained a recommendation, the actual authorization will be effective once the agency has done the investigation of its development and manufacturing process.
The uniqueness of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
It is a different type of vaccine than we have in the United States. We have two types of vaccines the adenovirus vector vaccine by Johnson & Johnson and RNA/ mRNA vaccines. These vaccines inject the genetic recipe into the body cells, and those cells, in turn, produce the protein so that our immunity can fight the disease. The other vaccine contains an adenovirus vector. Scientists have changed this virus so that it cant make you sick. It is a good virus that helps us make more protein to fight the infection.
However, the Novavax vaccine leverages the older vaccine development techniques, where the injection introduces the protein and not the genetic recipe. So, the main difference is that this vaccine uses proteins made outside the body and injects them into the system to aid immunity. These proteins are put together in a special way to create nanoparticles, which further help your body make more proteins. This vaccine also contains immune stimulants like adjuvant. Adjuvants can trigger better action from your immunity.
Other vaccines that use the same model as Novavax include diphtheria toxoid vaccines, tetanus toxoid vaccines, the hepatitis B virus, and others. These are not COVID-related, though.
Novavax vaccine side effects
These vaccine types usually dont cause any risk apart from inflammation (redness or soreness) at the injection site. In its clinical trial of nearly 40,000 people, 6 cases of myocarditis and one in the placebo group occurred. And mainly, a tiny fraction of young men reported these issues. mRNA vaccines didnt reveal such side effects in clinical tests, but these cases appeared only after administering millions of injections. Hence, such results of Novavax during clinical trials made FDA advisors warn against it if this gets the EUA nod.
Vaccine hesitancy among the Americans
Novavax vaccines efficacy in the clinical trial stood at 90% overall and 80% in people older than 65. But the delay in its approval creates an uncertain atmosphere around it. About 80% of Americans have had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and two-thirds have completed both rounds. Nearly 50% of the eligible candidates have taken their booster shots. But vaccine trend seems to have hit a plateau in the US. On digging into a recent survey by MyBioSource, you will realize that places like Louisiana, South Dakota, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, and others either displayed a higher number of people opposing the public policies around COVID or remained equally divided over the same. The same poll also suggests growing resentment toward the safety steps, with Louisiana and Montana seeing nearly 15% and 31% rise, respectively.
It is unclear what change this new vaccine can bring about, but the makers promote it as a traditional protein-style vaccine. Experts opine that there can be a marginal improvement in the outlook, and one cannot expect colossal demand to surge from this.
No matter the situation, the health leaders and advisory teams explore new options to discover one that ensures more robust and durable immunity, doing away with the need for the frequency of booster shots. The vaccine should be easy to apply and store. Also, it should be able to offer protection against all types of mutating COVID viruses. More precisely, it should have a ubiquitous impact with few risks. In terms of these, Novavax can be a solution, mainly in countries with low to medium economies, if not the US, because those places lack the cold storage capacity required for most mRNA vaccines.
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Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine in the Run for EUA Approval - Legal Reader
Background: Vaccines serve an integral role in containing pandemics, yet vaccine hesitancy is prevalent globally. One key reason for this hesitancy is the pervasiveness of misinformation on social media. Although considerable research attention has been drawn to how exposure to misinformation is closely associated with vaccine hesitancy, little scholarly attention has been given to the investigation or robust theorizing of the various content themes pertaining to antivaccine misinformation about COVID-19 and the writing strategies in which these content themes are manifested. Virality of such content on social media exhibited in the form of comments, shares, and reactions has practical implications for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
Objective: We investigated whether there were differences in the content themes and writing strategies used to disseminate antivaccine misinformation about COVID-19 and their impact on virality on social media.
Methods: We constructed an antivaccine misinformation database from major social media platforms during September 2019-August 2021 to examine how misinformation exhibited in the form of content themes and how these themes manifested in writing were associated with virality in terms of likes, comments, and shares. Antivaccine misinformation was retrieved from two globally leading and widely cited fake news databases, COVID Global Misinformation Dashboard and International Fact-Checking Network Corona Virus Facts Alliance Database, which aim to track and debunk COVID-19 misinformation. We primarily focused on 140 Facebook posts, since most antivaccine misinformation posts on COVID-19 were found on Facebook. We then employed quantitative content analysis to examine the content themes (ie, safety concerns, conspiracy theories, efficacy concerns) and manifestation strategies of misinformation (ie, mimicking of news and scientific reports in terms of the format and language features, use of a conversational style, use of amplification) in these posts and their association with virality of misinformation in the form of likes, comments, and shares.
Results: Our study revealed that safety concern was the most prominent content theme and a negative predictor of likes and shares. Regarding the writing strategies manifested in content themes, a conversational style and mimicking of news and scientific reports via the format and language features were frequently employed in COVID-19 antivaccine misinformation, with the latter being a positive predictor of likes.
Conclusions: This study contributes to a richer research-informed understanding of which concerns about content theme and manifestation strategy need to be countered on antivaccine misinformation circulating on social media so that accurate information on COVID-19 vaccines can be disseminated to the public, ultimately reducing vaccine hesitancy. The liking of COVID-19 antivaccine posts that employ language features to mimic news or scientific reports is perturbing since a large audience can be reached on social media, potentially exacerbating the spread of misinformation and hampering global efforts to combat the virus.
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There is no charge for the COVID-19 vaccine itself. However, SHS will charge an administration fee to students, faculty and staff to cover the cost of SHS staff administering the vaccine. It is highly recommended that students bring their health insurance information to their appointment so the administration fee can be filed to insurance. Faculty and staff are required to bring their insurance information to their appointment. For patients that do not have health insurance, or for charges that are not covered by insurance, Texas A&M University funding will cover the cost of the COVID vaccine administration (i.e., no cost to you). Find detailed cost information below:
Cost Information (effective 03/08/2021):
*The COVID vaccine administration fee covers the cost for SHS staff to administer the vaccine. There is no cost to students, faculty or staff for the COVID vaccine itself. Any cost not covered by insurance will be paid for by Texas A&M University funding.
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Your Vaccination or Infection Status Days from exposure Your Steps to Take If you: Are NOT up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines. This includes people who are not vaccinated, people who have not received their full primary vaccine series, or people who have gotten their primary vaccine series and are eligible for a booster but havent gotten one. [Espaol] Days 0-5: Days 0-5:Quarantine (stay home). The date of your last exposure is Day 0. Wear a well-fitting mask when you cannot separate from others in your home. Schools may consider forgoing quarantine for students ages 5-11 years who completed their primary vaccine series but have not yet received all eligible boosters. Days 0-10 Watch for fever of 100.4F or greater, cough, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms. If you develop symptoms, get tested immediately and stay home. Day 5 If you dont have symptoms, get tested if possible.*
If you test positive or develop symptoms, isolate (stay home) and follow isolation recommendations.
If it has been more than 6 months since you have tested positive and recovered from COVID-19, you should follow recommendations based on your vaccination status above.
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Corona Virus
The novel corona virus is a virus which gave birth to a deadly disease named COVID-19, which emerged in Chinas Wuhan city in December 2019. This virus became breaking news all over the world due to its unprecedented speed of transmission. This virus has spread to 187 countries across the globe including USA, UK, France, Spain, Italy, India and so on. Corona virus is a virus which infects respiratory system and it causes infection in nose, throat and lungs. The symptoms of corona virus are fever, sore throat, shortness of breath etc. Symptoms of this virus can show up in as few as 2 days or as many as 14 days.
Corona virus spreads when one come into contact with COVID-19 infected person because it transmits through droplets produced while coughing or sneezing by infected person. For prevention and protection from this virus one must practice following measures: Social Distancing-Maintain safe distance from a person who having symptoms like coughing and sneezing, Stay Home- Avoid going outside until its very urgent, Wear Mask- Cover your mouth and Nose, Hand Wash- Clean your hands often, Health Checkup- if you have corona virus symptoms then go for a medical checkup. To enforce social distancing amongst the societies and to avoid further spread of COVID-19 the governments of many countries across the world took decision of lockdown. In addition to lockdown some countries such as India impose curfew for total movement control. Lockdown somewhat proved to be useful to curve the graph of COVID-19.
On the other hand scientists and medical experts are still engaged in search of vaccine for Corona virus but till date mankind is not blessed with the vaccine. In conclusion social distancing and practice of preventive measures are the keys to fight this deadly virus.
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Essay, Paragraph, Speech on Corona Virus Complete English Essay for ...
Cuban state media recently announced the debut of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine candidate developed jointly with Chinas government, the independent Cuban news site 14 y Medioreported over the weekend.
As a result of the collaboration in the biotechnological sector between China and Cuba, the first patent for the Pan-Corona vaccine was recently presented at the National Intellectual Property Office of China, Eduardo Martnez Daz, the president of the state-run BioCubaFarma Business Group, wrote in a Twitter statement June 1.
These joint investigations have the purpose of achieving effective vaccines against coronaviruses, and would not only have value in the current pandemic, but could also be effective against the appearance of new pathogens belonging to this family of viruses, he noted.
Granma, which is the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Partys Central Committee,reportedon the development of Pan-Corona on June 2.
The vaccine candidates research and development center is located in southern Chinas Yongzhou city. The headquarters has been jointly operated since 2019 by staff from two Cuban state-run health facilities: the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) and BioCubaFarma.
Chinas government requested Cubas collaboration to develop Pan-Corona, CIGB Director Dr. Gerardo Guilln Nieto said in recent days. Although the vaccine candidate has yet to receive approval from the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), Cubas Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment has already approved Pan-Corona for domestic use, according to Nieto.
Pan-Corona is a recombinant-type antigen, which is the vaccine development platform in which the CIGB has the most experience, with successful antecedents such as that of hepatitis B, in addition to two of the Cuban vaccines [candidates] against covid-19 [Chinese coronavirus], according to Granma.
The initiative focuses on coronaviruses, not only due to the global crisis caused by SARS-COV-2, but also taking into account that this family of viruses is one of the most likely to jump from animals to humans (a phenomenon called zoonosis), with antecedents such as mers in the Middle East or SARS-COV-1 [sic], the state-run newspaper noted.
SARS-CoV-2 is the type of coronavirus that causes the disease known as COVID-19, alternatively known as the Chinese coronavirus.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) announced SARS-CoV-2, which stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, as the name of the virus on February 11, 2020.
This name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003. While related, the two viruses are different, the W.H.O. notes on its website.
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Nipunie Rajapakse, M.D., Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic: The delta variant is concerning because it is spread much more easily than prior versions of COVID-19 that we have seen. This means that more people are getting sick. That means more people are getting hospitalized and dying from the infection as well.
The delta variant is concerning because it's more highly transmissible, but the good news is that the COVID-19 vaccine is still highly protective against getting infected or ending up in a hospital or dying from the infection.
Breakthrough infection is a rare event where someone who is fully vaccinated still ends up getting infected with COVID-19. The good news is that these breakthrough infections generally had been asymptomatic or only led to mild illness, and the vaccine remains highly protective against winding up in a hospital or dying from the infection.
The mutations that have caused the delta variant do seem a bit more likely to break through our vaccine immunity as compared to the original types of COVID-19. If you are one of those very rare breakthrough cases that we've been hearing about who still gets infected despite being vaccinated, I want to emphasize those cases are getting a lot of headlines, but they're very rare events and they are not what is driving the current surge in cases that we're seeing. The current surge is really amongst unvaccinated people, predominantly your and middle aged.
If a vaccinated person, gets infected with COVID-19, it is possible for them to transmit it to others. Thankfully, the vaccine significantly reduce your risk of getting infected, which then reduces your risk of passing it on, but yes, it is possible and there are still studies being done to understand exactly how that risk compares with people who are unvaccinated.
Knowing that in rare cases a vaccinated person can transmit COVID-19 to someone else is one of the primary reasons behind the recommendation that vaccinated people now continue to wear a mask if they are indoors in areas where we are seeing a lot of virus circulation. Guidance on masking has changed with the delta variant for a number of reasons. One is that the variant is highly transmissible. It's spread much more easily than prior types of COVID-19 that we have seen and so a layered strategy for prevention becomes even more important so using masks along with vaccination will be more protective than using either alone.
So with the delta variant, we are seeing increased number of cases amongst children. The American Academy of Pediatrics has reported a significant increase in COVID-19 cases amongst people under 18 years of age. So children who are eligible to be vaccinated, which is anyone over 12 years of age, should get vaccinated before returning to school in the fall. It is the single most effective meassure that we will have.
So the best way we can protect kids who can't be vaccinated themselves is to make sure that everyone around them is vaccinated. That means anyone over 12 years of age should go out and get their vaccine, especially before return to school in the fall. Other strategies like wearing a mask when you are out in public, excellent handwashing continues to be incredibly important both for the prevention of COVID-19 and spread of other infections that we're seeing rise in the communities as well these days.
As of right now, there are three vaccines that are approved for use in the United States. Children over 12 years of age are approved for one of the vaccines which is the Pfizer vaccine. So as we've seen, the older part of our population get vaccinated and drive protection from COVID-19, we are seeing that children and young adults are making up a larger proportion of new cases of COVID-19. This is for a variety of reasons. We don't yet have a vaccine that is approved for children under 12 years of age so they are still very vulnerable to getting infected. We also know that vaccine uptake amongst young adults has not been as high as we had hoped, so there is still a large proportion of that population that is still susceptible to getting infected.
If you have not yet been vaccinated, we recommend that you get vaccinated. It is the best thing we have to offer for protection at this point in time.
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Do COVID-19 vaccines protect against the variants? - Mayo Clinic
