Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

New Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes have been created that streamline the reporting of immunizations for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19).

Unique CPT codes approved for COVID-19 immunizations

The CPT Editorial Panel has approved addition of six Category I codes (0001A, 0002A, 0011A, 0012A, 91300, 91301), new and revised guidelines and parenthetical notes, and a new Appendix Q.

These CPT codes, developed based on extensive collaboration with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are unique for each of two coronavirus vaccines as well as administration codes unique to each such vaccine and dose. The new CPT codes clinically distinguish each COVID-19 vaccine for better tracking, reporting and analysis that supports data-driven planning and allocation.

With this newest release of SARS-CoV-2-related CPT codes, along with releasing the standard code descriptor PDF, we are also releasing an easy to use Excel file of just the SARS-CoV-2-related CPT codes. The file contains the SARS-CoV-2-related CPT codes released since the 2021 data file release on Aug. 31, 2020 and includes:

As new SARS-CoV-2-related CPT codes are approved by the CPT Editorial Panel, the AMA will publish updates to these files.

Category I vaccine descriptors

Vaccine resources

CPT Assistant provides guidance for new codes

CPT Assistant provides fact sheets for coding guidance for new SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)-related vaccine codes.

The fact sheets include:

Download the November special edition of the CPT Assistant guide (PDF, includes information on SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines)

Read more:

COVID-19 CPT vaccine and immunization codes - American Medical Association

The coronavirus made its mark first in densely populated parts of the United States. And after seven months, rural communities are seeing a rise in cases.

The 13,000 residents of Grundy County, Tennessee, are fairly isolated. Its scenic mountains are home to parks with names like Savage Gulf and Fiery Gizzard. Until recently, residents felt that distance protected them from COVID-19.

Folks got relaxed, Mayor Michael Brady said. They felt like lifes coming back to normality. And, of course, thats really not the case right now.

Grundy County has gone from basically no COVID-19 to seven or eight new cases a day a per capita rate higher than Tennessees largest cities.

At first, residents had to drive to another county to get tested. Now the local health department can do it, but the hours are limited.

At times Ive had to deploy the sheriffs department up there to navigate traffic, Brady said. Theyll be lined up in the road.

Across the country, rural counties from South Dakota to South Carolina are now seeing spikes.

And yet the mindset that distance is enough defense persists, said Jacy Warrell of the Rural Health Association of Tennessee.

Business as usual is kind of the mantra in a lot of our rural communities, she said. Theres still this perception that the spread of COVID is more of an urban issue.

Rural residents are also facing the pandemic with more risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, high rates of obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema and heart disease, according to Dr. Lisa Piercey, Tennessees health commissioner.

So they are not only more likely to contract the disease, but to have worse outcomes, she said.

And when people get severely ill, help may not be as close as it used to be. In the last decade, more than 120 rural hospitals have closed nationwide, according to the American Hospital Association.

Brady, the mayor in Grundy County, Tennessee, said his area doesnt even have an urgent care.

We just have the health department, he said. Rural Grundy County desperately needs a medical facility.

For now, residents are traveling to other counties if they become seriously ill. And some of those hospitals are starting to reach capacity.

Pfizer said early data show its coronavirus vaccine is effective. So whats next?

In the last few months, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have shared other details of the process including trial blueprints, the breakdown of the subjects and ethnicities and whether theyre taking money from the government. Theyre being especially transparent in order to try to temper public skepticism about this vaccine process. The next big test, said Jennifer Miller at the Yale School of Medicine, comes when drug companies release their data, so that other scientists who the public trust can go in, replicate findings, and communicate them to the public. And hopefully build appropriate trust in a vaccine.

How is President-elect Joe Biden planning to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic turmoil its created?

On Nov. 9, President-Elect Joe Bidenannounced three co-chairs of his new COVID-19 task force.But what kind of effect might this task force have during this transition time, before Biden takes office? The transition team can do a lot to amplify and reinforce the messages of scientists and public health experts, said Dr. Kelly Moore, associate director for the Immunization Action Coalition. Moore said Bidens COVID task force can also start talking to state leaders and other experts about exactly what they need to equip them to roll out the vaccines effectively.

What is it like to search for a job right now?

Unemployment fell in October to 6.9%, and people have been coming back into the workforce after losing jobs or giving up on looking for one earlier in the pandemic. But looking for jobs isnt getting any easier. The key stat right now when it comes to finding a new job? There are nearly twice as many job seekers as there are job openings.

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In some isolated rural areas, COVID-19 is hitting hard - Marketplace

Pfizer announced this week that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate has performed extremely well in their clinical trials, a reassuring sign that the months of investment and breakneck work on vaccines to protect people against the virus was going to pay off. That was never a sure thing immunologists and virologists were pretty sure itd be possible to make a vaccine that would block the coronavirus, but in pharmaceutical development, theres no such thing as a guarantee.

This success makes it as important as ever to double down on efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, which is currently raging out of control in most of the US. Back in March, when the pandemic was first picking up speed, public health officials stressed the importance of flattening the curve suppressing transmission so that the number of infections stayed at a manageable level. After it became clear that eliminating all cases of the virus wasnt going to happen, the goal was to keep the number of sick people from overwhelming the medical system.

Experts also stressed the importance of flattening the curve to buy researchers and doctors time to figure out how to treat COVID-19 and develop a vaccine. For the most part, people are better off if they catch the disease now than they were in March or April. More tests are available, doctors have more tools to help patients who are hospitalized, and theres more understanding of the progression of the illness.

Having a vaccine on the horizon supercharges the importance of keeping as many people from getting sick now as possible. The first people who get an authorized vaccine, because of risk factors like their job or age, probably wont receive it until early in 2021. Most people who arent first in line wont be able to take a shot until the spring or summer. But every person who can stay well until then is someone who might never catch the disease at all. Or, if they do, they could have a milder case of it than they might have otherwise. Cracking down with public health guidelines that can get people through to the winter, spring, or summer now has even more benefit.

There are, as always, caveats: Pfizer only released a small amount of information in a press release. We dont know how long protection from this vaccine could last, and we dont know if it stops people from getting infected or just stops them from feeling sick if they catch the virus. We should know more after more data is published. A vaccine isnt going to end the pandemic on its own, and good public health practices like wearing masks will be important after people start getting immunizations.

Despite the necessary cautions, the Pfizer announcement flicked on a light at the end of the tunnel. The apparent success of this vaccine is a good sign for the other vaccines in development drug company Modernas vaccine candidate is very similar to the Pfizer vaccine, so theres a good chance itll work, as well. Many of the others in development target the same area of the virus that Pfizer did, which is another sign that research went in the right direction.

The news, though, comes just as theres another mountain to flatten. COVID-19 cases are climbing to horrifying new heights in the United States. In the first 10 days of November, 1 million new people in the US tested positive for the disease. Nearly every state is trending in the wrong direction, the health care systems in many places are already completely overwhelmed.

It is time to flatten the curve once again. It wont be easy or popular after months of constantly changing restrictions, theres less appetite for strict public health responses like lockdowns. But keeping people alive and keeping our hospitals functioning is a critical reason to suppress the virus. Holding things together until a vaccine can relieve some of the burden is another.

The light is still months away, but its there. We only have to make sure as many people as possible can get to it.

The rest is here:

Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine news is why we try to flatten the curve - The Verge

Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public

Pfizer campus in Groton on July 22. The pharmaceutical giant announced that early trials of a coronavirus vaccine are 90% effective.

A limited supply of coronavirus vaccine could be available for some of Connecticuts care providers and most vulnerable residents by early 2021 provided several key benchmarks, including emergency federal approval, are achieved by years end, a top executive for Pfizer Inc. told Gov. Ned Lamont late Monday.

The Groton-based drug manufacturer announced Monday morning that early trials of the coronavirus vaccine its been developing have been about 90% effective.

Early results also showed the coronavirus vaccines effectiveness is similar to that of long-established childrens vaccines such as the inoculation for measles. It still is unclear how long patients would remain protected by the vaccine.

A plan to manufacture at least five million to 10 million doses and possibly as many as 50 million doses by the end of December is moving forward, said John Burkhardt, senior vice president and global head of drug safety at Pfizer.

Neither Burkhardt nor Lamont could say late Monday how many of those doses would be distributed in Connecticut.

The vaccine, which Pfizer has developed in conjunction with BioNTech, a German pharmaceutical firm, requires two doses to inoculate one patient. That means enough vaccines to protect anywhere from 2.5 million to 25 million patients could be produced by January if Pfizer meets its projections.

Its good news, but its going to take many months to roll out, Lamont said during a televised news briefing at which he cautioned residents against relaxing social distancing and other safeguards. Dont take anything for granted.

COVID-19 infection test rates have risen steadily in Connecticut since mid-August. After remaining around 1% for much of the summer, the weekly rate now stands at 3.8% with nearly 500 residents currently hospitalized with the virus an increase of 94 since Friday. Another 27 people were reported dead from the coronavirus Monday, bringing the statewide total to 4,698 since the pandemic began.

A crucial next step to battle the virus, Burkhardt said, involves completing a detailed, early analysis of safety-related tests tied to the vaccine. No serious side effects or other safety concerns initially were discovered.

Pfizer hopes to take that safety data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of Novemberand seek emergency authorization for drug manufacture and distribution.

This process occurs very quickly, Burkhardt said, adding, I would expect weeks rather than months.

If granted, Pfizer then would immediately pursue federal approval for large-scale manufacture with the goal of producing about one billion doses enough to inoculate 500 million patients by the end of 2021, he added.

Despite the accelerated process, no corners were cut, and the company conducted efficacy tests while simultaneously planning for manufacturing. We followed this true-and-true methodology, Burkhardt said.

Meanwhile, a Lamont task force is moving forward with developing prioritization and distribution plans for a vaccine in Connecticut.

Dr. Reginald Eadie, president and CEO of Trinity Health of New England the chain that includes St. Francis Hospital in Hartford said that process isnt completed, but health care workers, nursing homes and elderly residents in general would receive top priority.

Because the coronavirus vaccine must be kept extremely cold, distribution also would hinge on facilities and agencies with the resources to store the drug safely, Eadie said. That most likely would mean relying heavily on hospitals and local health districts as the chief distributors of the vaccine, he added.

Pfizers work involves one of four vaccine efforts that are in late stage trials in the U.S., and one of 11 globally.

More:

Pfizer could have 50 million coronavirus vaccine doses manufactured by years end - The CT Mirror

CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines. On today's show, Dr. Kathleen Neuzil from the University of Maryland School of Medicine breaks down the next steps and challenges involved in getting Pfizer's 90% effective vaccine to the broader American population. Plus, after Monday's raucous trading session, CNBC's Kate Rooney dives into which investors were buying the dip in "stay at home" stocks like Zoom and Peloton.

Pfizer, BioNTech say Covid vaccine is more than 90% effective 'great day for science and humanity'

Pfizer and BioNTech announced Monday their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 among those without evidence of prior infection, hailing the development as "a great day for science and humanity."

"I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel," Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla told CNBC's Meg Tirrell on "Squawk Box." "I believe this is likely the most significant medical advance in the last 100 years, if you count the impact this will have in public health, global economy."

Pfizer readies 'Herculean effort' to distribute coronavirus vaccine

Pfizer is marshaling a massive new cold-storage supply chain to handle the delicate dance of transporting limited doses of its coronavirus vaccine from manufacturer to any point of use within two days.

Experts say it will be a "Herculean effort" requiring several new technologies to work in flawless concert to safely deliver every dose of the drug. Pfizer said it plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization next week, when it has the required two months of safety data.

The vaccine will be formulated, finished and placed in cold storage in the pharmaceutical giant's Kalamazoo, Michigan, facility, its largest such plant in the country. During the shipment and storage, the vaccines must be kept at 94 degrees below zero Fahrenheit in order to maintain optimal efficacy. Each package can contain 1,000 to 5,000 doses.

U.S. allows emergency use of Eli Lilly's Covid antibody therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized emergency use of Eli Lilly's experimental Covid-19 antibody treatment for non-hospitalized patients older than 65 or who have certain chronic medical conditions.

The FDA said its emergency use authorization (EUA) was based on clinical trials showing that the treatment, bamlanivimab, reduced the need for hospitalization or emergency room visits in Covid-19 patients at high risk of disease progression.

It can now be used for treating mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults and pediatric patients over the age of 12, the FDA said.

Read the original:

Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective here's what happens next: CNBC After Hours - CNBC

Technology trends driven by the coronavirus pandemic such as the shift to remote working will continue after a vaccine becomes available, according to the former boss of IBM.

Ginni Rometty, who serves as IBM's executive chairman after stepping down from the CEO role this year, predicted that digital technology will continue to transform the way businesses operate even as the world returns to some level of normality with the advent of a vaccine.

Her comments came on the heels of an announcement from drug maker Pfizer that its coronavirus vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 infections. Major stocks that benefit from people staying at home due to the pandemic like Zoom and Netflix fall sharply following the news.

"I actually don't think these technology trends are going to reverse themselves," Rometty told CNBC anchor Karen Tso in an interview for CNBC's East Tech West conference.

She added that remote work is "here to stay" and will become part of a "hybrid" model of working that sees some people working in offices, while others stay at home.

A vaccine "allows us to return to perhaps a bit of a more new normal," Rometty said. "But a number of these things in the hybrid way of working I believe will remain, and the digital acceleration will continue because people have now seen what is possible."

In addition to setting off a wave of telecommuting around the world, Covid-19 led to increased demand for digital health services and education. In many countries, teachers and doctors, as well as students, parents and patients, were forced to adjust to virtual ways of accessing school lessons and health appointments.

Several countries across Europe have reentered nationwide lockdowns in recent weeks in a bid to slow a resurgence in coronavirus cases. But some investors question the extent to which pandemic-linked trends in tech will continue if a vaccine allows a broader reopening of economies around the world.

"Years" of innovation that pre-dated the coronavirus let many businesses go digital at the start of the pandemic, but Rometty said there are "different paces of investment" when it comes to cloud computing a data structure that lets companies access information that's stored on remote databases rather than locally. Aside from IBM, cloud services are sold by rivals including Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Alibaba.

IBM announced in October that it will spin off part of its information-technology services business so that it can focus more on cloud computing, which is growing faster and has high margins. IBM shares spiked on the news but have since pulled back by about 10% from those highs.

Ginni Rometty in 2019.

Chesnot | Getty Images

"If you think about it, the world's only 25% into a cloud journey there's another 75 to go," Rometty said. "The reason that 75% has not moved yet? It's the difficulty of either refactoring those applications or modernizing them."

IBM, she said, is "squarely focused" on what it calls "hybrid cloud" technology that combines private and public cloud services and gives companies more flexibility around the services they require. The firm bought Red Hat, a major distributor of open-source software, in a bid to push that hybrid strategy.

IBM has trimmed its older businesses over the years to focus on the cloud, in an attempt to make up for slowing software sales and seasonal demand for its mainframe servers.

Rometty now serves as IBM's executive chairman, with Arvind Krishna taking the reins as the company's new CEO.

Read more from the original source:

Remote work is 'here to stay' even with a vaccine, says former IBM CEO - CNBC

(Want to get this briefing by email? Heres the sign-up.)

Good morning.

Were covering new lockdown measures for Italy, what President Trumps defeat means for populism, and Denmarks mink cull.

As a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic strains the Italian health care system, the government will seal off and lock down hard-hit portions of the country today, limiting movement to and between areas in at least five regions.

As of Monday, the average number of daily new cases over seven days was 32,684, according to a New York Times database, a 92 percent increase from 14 days prior. Hospitals have had to make room for beds in chapels and conference rooms as coronavirus patients overwhelm wards.

Nearly all the Italian regions are highly affected, said Giovanni Rezza, the director of the prevention department at the Health Ministry, adding that new restrictions were necessary in a situation that keeps worsening.

Unrest: Protests by regional presidents in the locked-down areas have unnerved the government. Do we get it or not that we are at war? said Pierpaolo Sileri, Italys deputy health minister. We are fighting to save Italy.

Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator who passionately advocated the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, has died after contracting Covid-19. He was 65.

U.S. federal health officials provided projections for when and how Americans might be able to begin to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, once one has been authorized.

Lockdown something experienced, dreaded and needed by much of the world for at least some of 2020 is the Collins English Dictionarys word of the year.

A husband-and-wife team helms the European biotech start-up working with Pfizer on its leading vaccine. (On their wedding day, they returned to the lab after the ceremony.)

President-elect Joe Bidens victory in the U.S. presidential election last week is a stinging blow to right-wing populists, from Britain and Brazil to Poland and Hungary. But its consequences for populism as a global political movement are more ambiguous.

Whether the fortunes of comparable politicians in Europe will be tied to President Trumps remains to be seen, analysts say. The economic, social and political grievances behind such movements are still alive and indeed may be reinforced by the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, while social media continues to spread populist ideas, often cloaked in conspiracy theories.

In a signal of a broader return to normal in international relations, Mr. Biden fielded congratulatory calls from European leaders such as President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Tuesday. President Vladimir Putin of Russia is among the few authoritarian allies of Mr. Trump to maintain silence about the election, along with President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and President Xi Jinping of China.

Across the border: After four years of surprise tariffs, stinging insults and threats from Mr. Trump, many Canadians have expressed giddy jubilation and sense of deep relief over Mr. Bidens victory.

The transfer of power: Asked about Mr. Trumps continuing refusal to concede the election, Mr. Biden said: How can I say this tactfully? It will not help the presidents legacy. A Trump appointee must formally recognize Mr. Biden as the president-elect for the transfer to begin. The Times has found no evidence of voter fraud.

The Upshot: How did pollsters get it so wrong again? For now, there is no easy excuse.

The Netflix hit The Queens Gambit has inspired a new debate about inequality and sexism in chess and what, if anything, can be done about it. Among the more than 1,700 grandmasters worldwide, only 37 are women. Currently, only one woman, Hou Yifan of China, ranks in the Top 100.

The reality, top players and teachers say, is even worse. There were opponents who refused to shake hands, said Judit Polgar, the only woman to ever be ranked in the Top 10 of the game.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Russian peacekeeping forces were deployed to the ethnic Armenian enclave on Tuesday after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russian-brokered deal to end a six-week war that had already killed thousands.

Amazon: European Union regulators charged the tech giant with antitrust violations, saying it was unfairly using data to box out smaller competitors.

Soccer: Greg Clarke, the chairman of Englands soccer association, has resigned from his position after a disastrous testimony to a parliamentary committee in which he spoke in offensive stereotypes about Black and Asian people, girls and others.

Affordable Care Act: At a Supreme Court hearing, at least five justices signaled support for the health care law and suggested that striking down the so-called individual mandate, the requirement to obtain insurance, would not doom the balance of the law.

Snapshot: Emily Harrington, above, is the first woman to free-climb the Golden Gate route up El Capitan, a 3,000-foot-high monolith in Yosemite National Park, in under 24 hours. Her mantra: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Fowl play: A hacker slipped more than 1,500 fake votes into New Zealands Bird of the Year 2020 contest, in favor of the kiwi pukupuku, ruffling the feathers of the countrys online community.

Lives Lived: Marty, the highest cat in New England, was the green-eyed, feather-tailed, much-loved mascot of Mount Washington Observatory, some 6,288 feet above sea level in North Conway, N.H. He died at 14, or possibly 15, last week.

What were reading: This Caity Weaver homage to her home state. Our colleague Daniel Victor, a reporter in London, calls it the Pennsylvania tribute that Pennsylvania deserves.

Now, a break from the news

Cook: These brussels sprouts with pickled shallots and labneh call for date syrup, available at Middle Eastern grocery stores or online, or pekmez, a type of fruit molasses used in Turkish cooking.

Read: These four story collections reconsider history and upend tradition, including Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, which updates a traditional Japanese folk tale for our contemporary world.

Do: Decades-old movies, songs and video games are surging in popularity, along with old favorites like Spice Girls and Fleetwood Mac. Nostalgia can be a healthy coping mechanism during the pandemic.

Made plans for tonight? Check out our At Home collection of ideas to help you decide what to read, cook, watch, and do while staying safe at home.

Denmarks mink cull is on hold because of a question about the governments legal authority to order it. But why did it seek to do so in the first place? James Gorman, a science writer at large for The Times, explains what you need to know, excerpted here.

Can mink infect people with the coronavirus?

Yes. In Denmark, mink have contracted the virus and spread it to people. The same happened in the Netherlands this year. They are the only animal known to do so.

Does the virus mutate in mink?

Yes. In more than 200 people, Danish authorities have documented several variants of the virus that contain mutations originating in mink. The virus also mutates in people. But there is no evidence that any of the mutations that originated in mink make the coronavirus more transmissible in humans or make humans sicker.

Why did Denmark decide to kill all of its farmed mink?

Danish health authorities were concerned that one set of mutations could make a potential coronavirus vaccine less effective, after the possibility was raised in preliminary tests. The World Health Organization and independent experts said there was no evidence so far that it would diminish the value of vaccines currently in development.

Did Denmark overreact?

Scientists say that there are reasons beyond this particular mutated virus for Denmark to act.

The crowded conditions of mink farms could put evolutionary pressures on the virus different from those in the human population. The virus could also jump to other animals from mink. These are all worrisome possibilities, particularly in the midst of a resurgence of the virus in the human population.

Thanks for joining me. See you next time.

Natasha

Thank youTo Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. Were listening to The Daily. Our latest episode is about what went wrong with presidential polling. Heres our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Sound from a baby bird (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. The word hyperpoop first appeared in The Times on Tuesday, according to the Twitter account @NYT_first_said. Andrew Higgins, our Moscow bureau chief, will be moving to Warsaw to head up our Eastern Europe bureau. Anton Troianovski will be our next Moscow bureau chief.

Follow this link:

Italy, Covid-19, Trump: Your Wednesday Briefing - The New York Times

Over all, the death rate among all patients with Covid-19 was 0.6 percent. By contrast, 1.22 percent of those with developmental disorders and Covid-19 died, as did 3.37 percent of those with intellectual disabilities.

In addition to the high risk to people with developmental disorders, lung cancer and intellectual disabilities, people with spina bifida and other nervous system anomalies were twice as likely to die of Covid-19. So were patients with leukemia and lymphoma.

Chronic kidney disease, Alzheimers disease, colorectal cancer, mobility impairment, epilepsy, heart failure, spinal cord injury and liver disease were also associated with an increased risk of death.

The report is not the first to highlight the unique risks that individuals with developmental disorders and intellectual disabilities face in the pandemic. Scientists at Syracuse University reported in June that people with these disabilities who were living in group homes in New York State had far higher rates of Covid-19, compared with other state residents, and that their risk of dying was markedly higher, as well.

The population is uniquely vulnerable for several reasons. Many live in group homes or receive care from aides, therapists or teachers who must maintain close physical proximity in order to assist them. Between 16 percent and 20 percent live in congregate settings, compared with only 6 percent of seniors, said Scott Landes, an associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University and an author of that study.

Many are medically frail to begin with, with high rates of underlying health conditions, particularly respiratory problems. That makes them susceptible to pneumonia, increasing the risk for severe illness if they become infected with Covid.

Individuals with Down syndrome are more likely to have congenital heart defects; they may have less muscle tone around the neck and a larger tongue, increasing the risk of choking frequently and developing lung infections.

Original post:

Covid-19 Threatens People With Intellectual and Developmental Challenges - The New York Times

Restaurants, cafes, and gyms acted as "superspreading" sites for COVID-19 transmission last spring, accounting for the majority of new infections in large U.S. cities, according to a new study.

The findings, published today (Nov. 10) in the journal Nature, also suggest that reducing maximum occupancy at these venues may be more effective for curbing COVID-19 spread than blanket lockdowns, the authors said.

"Our work highlights that it does not have to be all or nothing," study senior author, Jure Leskovec, a computer scientist at Stanford University, told The New York Times.

Related: 14 coronavirus myths busted by science

The study researchers created a model to mimic the spread of COVID-19 in 10 major U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The model not only took into account standard factors in the spread of an infectious disease (such as how many people are susceptible, exposed, infected and immune to the virus), but also drew on real data that showed how often people came into close contact with others. To do so, they incorporated information on people's behavior using anonymized cellphone data from 98 millions Americans, tracking their movements from their neighborhoods to about 553,000 public locations between March 1 and May 2. They also obtained the square footage of these venues to calculate the number of people per square foot in each of these locations at a given time. .

They found that their model could accurately predict daily COVID-19 case counts in these cities.

The researchers then estimated the number of infections that occurred at each of the public locations, and found that the majority of infections occurred at just a small number of "superspreading" venues. For example, in Chicago, 10% of venus accounted for 85% of the predicted infections, the authors found.

What's more, when the researchers modeled the risk of reopening venues after lockdowns, some venues particularly restaurants posed a much higher risk than others in terms of the number of new infections that would occur upon reopening.

"Restaurants were by far the riskiest places, about four times riskier than gyms and coffee shops, followed by hotels," Leskovec said in a news conference, according to the Times. The researchers hypothesized these venus were more risky because they tended to have a high density of people who stayed for long periods.

Some of the less risky venues including car dealerships, gas stations and hardware stores, the study found.

Overall, the researchers found that limiting venue occupancy to 20% of maximum capacity reduced predicted infections by more than 80%, while only reducing overall visits to these venues by 42%.

The study findings also help explain why minority and low-income populations have been hit particularly hard by COVID-19.

During lockdowns, people in lower-income neighborhoods did not reduce their mobility as much as those in more affluent neighborhoods, likely because they had jobs that did not allow them to work from home. In addition, venues such as grocery stores in lower-income areas had higher COVID-19 transmission rates because these venues were smaller and more crowded, and people stayed there longer, compared with similar venues in more affluent areas, the study found.

These findings suggest ways for policymakers to reduce disparities in COVID-19 infection rates, for example, with occupancy caps to reduce crowding, in addition to improved paid leave policies so workers can stay home when sick, the authors said.

"Our results suggest that infection disparities are not the unavoidable consequence of factors that are difficult to address in the short term, like differences in preexisting conditions; on the contrary, short-term policy decisions can substantially affect infection outcomes by altering the overall amount of mobility allowed and the types of [venues] reopened," the authors said.

The authors note their model did not include all public locations, in particular it did not include schools or offices. In addition, because the study used data from the beginning of the pandemic, the findings do not necessarily apply to COVID-19 transmission today. For example, people are more likely to practice social distancing and wear masks at restaurants today compared with March. And health officials have noted that many new outbreaks in the U.S. are being driven by small gatherings in people's homes.

Still, the researchers hope their findings can be used by policymakers to help guide reopenings. They are currently working on a tool to make their model accessible for policymakers and public health officials.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Restaurants and gyms drove COVID-19 transmission this spring - Livescience.com

Investigators are developing a telemedicine program to reduce vaccine hesitancy related to HPV and the novel coronavirus for adolescents in rural Alabama.

Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., a medical sociologist and an assistant professor at the UAB School of Public HealthNationally, nearly half of adolescents are up to date on their human papillomavirus vaccines. However, in Alabama, only 20 percent of adolescents have received all doses of this vaccine. Moreover, in some of the states rural counties, HPV vaccination rates are as low as 9 percent.

Identifying ways to encourage adolescents in rural communities to learn about and accept FDA-approved vaccines is the focus of a new study led by a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., a medical sociologist and an assistant professor at the UAB School of Public Health, has received a $300,000 grant from Merck, Sharp and Dohme, Corp. The money will be used to develop and test the feasibility and acceptability of a telemedicine (mHealth) intervention, to reduce vaccine hesitancy by increasing vaccine education and promote teens autonomy for their own health.

Reducing vaccine hesitancy in the rural Deep South is a high-priority public health target, Budhwani said. Focusing on increasing HPV vaccine awareness and understanding the causes of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy are urgently warranted, due to low rates of HPV vaccine that lead to high rates of preventable cancers, and high rates of COVID-19 that disproportionately affect African American populations.

Budhwani and Tina Simpson, M.D., the studys co-principal investigator and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UAB, are creating this mHealth intervention.

Adolescents in these rural communities are clinically underserved, and their parents may not know about the HPV vaccine or their childs risk for developing cervical or oropharyngeal cancers, Budhwani explained. The few providers that work in rural communities are often so overburdened providing first-line care that they may not even offer the HPV vaccine.

As part of this project, Budhwani and Simpson will conduct interviews with adolescents and their parents to better understand vaccine hesitancy related to COVID-19; this will enable Budhwani and Simpson to prepare high-impact messaging to spread information about the novel coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.

African American communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and the same reasons underlying vaccine hesitancy related to the HPV vaccine have the potential to negatively influence the acceptance, uptake and confidence in a new novel coronavirus vaccine, Budhwani said. We anticipate that, through our study, we will improve participants knowledge of HPV and COVID-19, increase their understanding of the importance of vaccinations, and reduce stigmas associated with vaccination, COVID-19, HPV and cervical cancer.

The study will begin in early 2021.

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Study aims to reduce HPV and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among teens in rural Alabama - The Mix