Category: Corona Virus

US prisons

Analysis of in-custody deaths show mortality rates were more than three times the increase in general population in 2020

A study of US prison deaths at the height of the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 has found that mortality rates soared by 77% relative to 2019, or more than three times the increase in the general population.

The study, published by Science Advances last week, is the most comprehensive analysis of in-custody deaths since 2020. The report found that Covid-19 was the primary driver for increases in mortality due to natural causes; some states also experienced substantial increases due to unnatural causes.

The report was compiled using data from record requests and some publicly available data, when necessary, from 49 state and federal departments of corrections.

Its lead author, Naomi Sugie, an associate professor of criminology, law and society at the University of California at Irvine, told Courthouse News that the actual toll of Covid-19 in the prison system had been little understood.

We staffed a hotline and started this archival project hearing what people were going through in California prisons, Sugie told the outlet. And the conditions that people were describing were so dire and upsetting and really just violations of their health and, some may argue, human rights.

Sugie began studying the effect of Covid-19 in California prisons after they imposed containment lockdowns in 2020. The PrisonPandemic project found that the institutions reduced facility communication and transparency down to zero with some facilities not recording causes of death that year at all.

The authors write that there has been no publicly available information about mortality in US prisons since 2019 despite the Death in Custody Reporting Act passed in 2000 and reauthorized in 2014 that requires the collection of information regarding the death of any person who is under arrest, en route to be incarcerated, incarcerated at a municipal or county jail, state prison, or other local or state correctional facility.

The 2022 Bureau of Justice statistics found that roughly 2,500 prisoners died of Covid-related causes between March 2020 and February 2021, but the number did not include a rise in mortality rates of natural deaths or unnatural deaths.

These steep increases suggest systemic failures that simultaneously increased risk of illness and limited access to medical care, the authors of the study wrote.

The study also found that pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions on movement, including isolation, visitor prohibitions and solitary confinement in place of medical isolation, designed to mitigate infection had increased stress, mental health challenges, and violence exacerbating the risk of deaths due to unnatural causes, such as drug overdoses, suicide, and violence.

Sugie told the outlet that for all of those deaths that are related to the pandemic, for various ways, we dont know about them because theyre not officially coded as Covid-related. Just like in the general population, she added, a lot of states did not test systemically, so even if someone died of Covid, their death may not have been recorded as Covid-related.

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US prison deaths soared by 77% during height of Covid-19 crisis, study finds - The Guardian US

WARSAW, Poland (AP) Lech Walesa, Polands 80-year-old former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been hospitalized with a bad case of COVID-19, an aide said Tuesday.

A post on Walesas Facebook shows him on a hospital bed with an oxygen mask on, with a caption that says I have been hit by Covid. The aide, Marek Kaczmar, told Polish media that Walesa is seriously ill, but under good care in a hospital in Gdansk, the Baltic port city where he lives.

Its Walesas second bout of COVID.

Starting in 1980, Walesa spearheaded Polands pro-democracy Solidarity movement that nine years later led to the peaceful ouster of communism from Poland and inspired other countries to shed Moscows domination.

In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1990-95 he served as democratic Polands first popularly elected president.

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Poland's former President Lech Walesa, 80, hospitalized with COVID-19 - The Associated Press

Updated COVID-19 vaccines for this fall and winter are recommended for everyone age 6 months and older. The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department will provide updated COVID-19 vaccine solely to adults and children who are uninsured or underinsured and children with Medicaid. This change is based on the federal government transitioning its COVID-19 vaccination program to more traditional health care coverage and its discontinuation of no cost vaccines for all residents.

The health department's updated vaccination process is as follows:

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COVID-19 Information & Resources City of Lincoln, NE - Lincoln.ne.gov

A recent groundbreaking study, published in Nature Nanotechnology, sheds new light on the coronavirus's behavior, particularly its ability to remain attached under various mechanical stresses and the implications for person-to-person transmission. The paper, titled "Single-molecule force stability of the SARS-CoV-2ACE2 interface in variants-of-concern," is the result of a collaborative effort led by scientists from Auburn University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and Utrecht University. This research offers an unprecedented molecular-level understanding of the virus and raises the possibility of future variants combining Omicron's features with increased attachment stability, potentially leading to higher transmissibility.

The study focuses on understanding the strength of adhesion of different COVID-19 variants to human cells and the impact of this adhesion on the virus's spread. A key finding is the Alpha variant's stronger cell adhesion, which may contribute to its rapid transmission. In contrast, variants like Beta and Gamma, which are adept at evading immune responses, do not exhibit this increased attachment, affecting their spread differently among populations. The researchers suggest that future variants could merge strong attachment properties with other beneficial traits, potentially leading to faster transmission rates.

Significant contributions to this study came from Auburn University's Computational Biophysics Group, led by Prof. Bernardi. Key members, postdoctoral researchers Dr. Priscila Gomes and Dr. Marcelo Melo, delved into the atomic structure of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and its interaction with human cells' ACE-2 protein. Their findings reveal that mutations in variants like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron significantly change the virus's attachment strength to host cells.

Dr. Gomes highlights the importance of understanding how mutations structurally impact the interaction between current and future variants and human proteins. Dr. Melo, meanwhile, developed new methods to analyze extensive molecular dynamics simulations data, offering detailed insights into the specific roles of amino acid residues in the Spike protein's binding interface.

Dr. Bauer, who initiated this project during his graduate studies at LMU Munich and completed it as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, led the experimental aspect of the study. His innovative approach in examining the force stability of the virus's interaction with human cells revealed previously unseen single-molecule patterns.

This study exemplifies the power of international scientific collaboration, involving researchers across three countries. It underscores the vital role of young scientists in advancing research. Prof. Bernardi praises the team's dedication in developing new analytical tools and novel data correlation methods to understand the molecular details of this protein complex.

The findings also highlight the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University's commitment to developing a robust Biophysics Cluster. This initiative, involving the Departments of Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Biological Sciences, is dedicated to pioneering research that unravels the complexities of biological systems at the molecular level.

Source:

Journal reference:

Bauer, M. S., et al. (2023). Single-molecule force stability of the SARS-CoV-2ACE2 interface in variants-of-concern. Nature Nanotechnology. doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01536-7.

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Collaborative study focuses on understanding the strength of ... - News-Medical.Net

A University of Liverpool researcher, Dr Edward Emmott, has been awarded a prestigious and highly competitive fellowship, the Wellcome Trust Career Development Award.

The funding will allow Dr Emmott to carry out important work that will give the global scientific community greater understanding of coronavirus, specifically how it replicates.

Work has been done to create antiviral drugs that target the viral proteins responsible for replication, but there are still important questions to be answered about how this process in coronavirus works. Dr Emmott will lead a team, using a range of approaches, including mass spectrometry methods developed in his lab at the University of Liverpool, to answer these questions.

Dr Edward Emmott, Lecturer, Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Liverpool said: In-depth research of this nature cannot be done without long-term and significant funding like this. The work will determine the dynamics of coronavirus replication, and how the viral proteins responsible for this alter and regulate this process throughout infection. I am incredibly grateful for this award, which gives us a fantastic opportunity to really dig into the details of how coronaviruses work, what human and animal coronaviruses have in common, and to better understand coronaviruses so we are better prepared for possible future outbreaks.

Dr Emmott is the second University of Liverpool researcher this year to have received this award. In July, Dr Adeniyi Olagunju was awarded 1.68m to research drug safety in pregnancy. Read more about that here.

Professor Sonia Rocha PhD, Executive Dean of the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology said: The Wellcome Trust Career Development Award is highly prestigious and its a huge achievement for an institution to receive one so for the institute to receive 2 in one year is significant. This success is testament to the high-quality research and innovative concepts that we are producing.

More about the award The Wellcome Career Development Award provides funding for mid-career researchers from any discipline who have the potential to be international research leaders. Using the funding, they will develop their research capabilities, drive innovative programmes of work and deliver significant shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing.

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2.48m awarded to University researcher to further understand ... - News

Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.

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Long COVID tied to microstructural changes in the brain, new MRI ... - Radiology Business

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) anticipating an increase in COVID-19 cases during the winter, on Wednesday the US government announced it would be distributing free COVID-19 tests to schools nationwide.

The free tests distribution coincides with start of the season for all respiratory diseases.

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is working in collaboration with the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide free COVID-19 tests to school districts, the ED said in a statement.

School districts are responsible for determining how many test kits to order and when they will be needed. Schools will be able to place an order for tests every week.

For more, click here.

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Free COVID-19 tests to be distributed to schools | Coronavirus ... - Islander News.com

On November 10, 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 7, enacting a ban on COVID-19 vaccine private workplace mandates. While all private employers in Texas are covered by the SB 7 mandate, the new law contains provisions specific to certain health care facilities, health care providers, and physicians. Here is what those employers need to know now:

1. SB 7 takes effect on February 6, 2024. SB 7 contains a provision which would have allowed the mandate ban to take effect immediately, had it received two-thirds of the vote of all members of both the Texas House and the Texas Senate. (SB 7 at Sec. 4). SB 7 failed to receive the votes necessary for immediate effect (Id. at page 6); as such, it takes effect on February 6, 2024, which is the 91st day after the conclusion of the Special Session in which it was passed. (Id. at Sec. 4; https://lrl.texas.gov/sessions/specialsessions/index.cfm).

2. SB 7 applies to all private employers, and to all employees, contractors, or applicants. SB 7 was intended to be sweeping in its application, as such it applies to all private employers, which is defined in the new statute as a person, other than a governmental entity, who employs one or more employees. SB 7 at new Health & Safety Code Sec. 81D.001 (5) (emphasis added). Similarly, the new law is designed to protect employee[s], contractor[s, and] applicant[s] for employment [or contract positions] . . . Id. at new Sections 81D.002 & 81D.003, and defines a contractor as a person who undertakes specific work for an employer in exchange for a benefit without submitting to the control of the employer over the manner, methods, or details of the work. Id. at new Sec. 81D.001 (3).

3. SB 7 prohibits the adoption or enforcement of a mandate as well as the taking of an adverse action. Without exception, SB 7 prohibits a private employer from adopting or enforcing a mandate requiring an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract position to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment or a contract position. SB 7 at new Health & Safety Code Sec. 81D.002. Similarly, SB 7 prohibits private employers from taking an an adverse action against an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract position for a refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Id. at new Sec. 81D.003. Adverse action is defined in SB 7 as an action taken by an employer that a reasonable person would consider was for the purpose of punishing, alienating, or otherwise adversely affecting an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract position. Id. at new Sec. 81D.001 (1).

4. SB 7 contains an adverse action exception for certain health care facilities, health care providers, and physicians. SB 7 allows certain health care facilities, health care providers, or physicians to establish and enforce a reasonable policy that includes requiring the use of protective medical equipment by an individual who is an employee or contractor of the facility, provider, or physician and who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 based on the level of risk the individual presents to patients from the individuals routine and direct exposure to patients. SB 7 at new Health & Safety Code Sec. 81D.0035(2)(b). Establishing or enforcing such a policy by certain health care facilities, health care providers, and physicians will not be considered an adverse action. Id. at new Sec. 81D.0035(c). This exception applies to:

If a complaint of adverse action is raised against a health care facility, health care provider, or physician that has implemented a policy under this section, the Texas Workforce Commission, as part of its investigation of such a complaint (as discussed more fully below), shall consult with the Department of State Health Services in determining if [the] policy . . . was reasonable. Id. at new Sec. 81D.004(c).

5. SB 7 tasks the Texas Workforce Commission with receiving and investigating complaints. SB 7 allows employees, contractors, and applicants to file complaints with the Texas Workforce Commission, in a form and manner to be set out by the Commission. SB 7 at new Health & Safety Code Sec. 81D.004(a). The Commission shall investigate each complaint received to determine whether the employer took an adverse action against the complainant because of the complainants refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Id. at new Sec. 81D.004(c).

6. SB 7 allows for an administrative penalty, injunctive relief, and the recovery of investigative costs. If the Commission determines that an employer has violated the statute, the Commission shall impose an administrative penalty of $50,000 per violation, unless (as applicable), the employer:

SB 7 at new Health & Safety Code Sec. 81D.006(a). Additionally, the Commission may request that the Texas Attorney General bring an action for injunctive relief against the employer to prevent further violations of this chapter by the employer. Id. at new Sec. 81D.005(a). Such an action must be filed in state district court either in Travis County or in the county in which the alleged adverse action occurred. Id. Finally, if the Commission determines that an employer has violated the statute, the Commission may recover from the employer reasonable investigative costs incurred by the Commission in conducting the investigation, regardless of whether the employer has taken the corrective action described above. Id. at new Sec. 81D.006(b).

In light of the impending February 6, 2024, implementation date, health care employers with Texas operations should act now to review their current vaccine policies in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of SB 7.

Read more:

Texas Enacts Ban on COVID-19 Vaccine Workplace Mandates: Six Things Health Care Employers Need to Know Now - The National Law Review

Covid-19 vaccinations may have prevented thousands of premature births, new research suggests.

Mothers infected with the Covid virus were significantly more at risk of delivering early in the beginning stages of the pandemic, prior to the rollout of vaccines, according to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research analysed millions of California birth records from 2014-2023, which are reflective of global pregnancy trends prior to, during and after the Covid pandemic,scientists said.

Covid-19 can endanger pregnancies by causing inflammatory responses, which in turn risks the deterioration of the placenta and an early birth.

From July to November 2020, the risk of a mother delivering at least three weeks before her due date increased by 78 per cent for those infected with Covid-19, and increased by 58 per cent by the autumn of 2021.

However, the risk of a premature birth in mothers infected with Covid-19 returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2022 attributed in large part to the vaccine rollout.

This reduction was recorded almost a year earlier in areas of California with higher vaccine uptake.

In ZIP codes with the highest vaccination rates, the excess risk of preterm birth declines much faster, said Jenna Nobles, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the study.

By the summer of 2021, having Covid-19 in pregnancy had no effect on preterm birth risk in these communities. It takes almost a year longer for that to happen in the ZIP codes with the lowest vaccine uptake.

That highlights how protective Covid vaccines have been. By increasing immunity faster, early vaccination uptake likely prevented thousands of preterm births in the US.

However, researchers warned the risk posed by Covid-19 to pregnant women has not completely disappeared.

This is still an evolving epidemic, and the rate of vaccine boosters among pregnant people right now is very low, Ms Nobles said.

The question is: how many more iterations of viral evolution does this need to escape the immunity that we have? Its miraculous and incredible that were now down to essentially zero additional preterm births, but it does not indicate that its going to be that way in perpetuity.

Premature birth can cause a host of short and long-term health conditions, including cerebral palsy, learning difficulties, visual and hearing problems, and behavioural issues. Globally, complications from being born prematurely are the leading cause of death among children under five.

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Covid-19 vaccines may have prevented thousands of premature births, study suggests - The Telegraph

An uptick in COVID-19 cases has triggered a fresh warning for people to isolate if they're unwell and consider a booster vaccination, ahead of another feared "COVID Christmas".

Australia is in the grip of an eighth wave of the virus, and NSW Health says community transmission in the state is "moderate to high".

A growing number of people are becoming infected across the country, including NSW Premier Chris Minns who tested positive on Monday and is now self-isolating at home.

In a social media post, Mr Minns said while there were no rules requiring people to self-isolate, it was strongly recommended they stay at home until symptoms subside to protect the community.

It has been well over a year since laws requiring people to self-isolate and register a positive COVID test were scrapped.

But now there are no longer any hard and fast rules around self-isolation and reporting of COVID infections, what should you do if you get it?

Despite it no longer being mandatory, NSW Health Director of Health Protection Jeremy McAnulty said self-isolation remained an important pillar of managing the virus.

"We're really relying on the community to look after themselves by doing those simple things that we've learned to do," Dr McAnulty said.

Dr McAnulty said people who test positive should stay at home until acute symptoms have gone, which could be up to 10 days.

Those who work in a high-risk setting such as health, disability and aged care are advised to stay away from the workplace for at least seven days, and then until their symptoms have subsided.

"If you do need to go out for essential reasons, use a mask so that can help reduce the risk of spread, and certainly don't go to crowds or parties if you've got symptoms," he said.

People should also avoid contact with anyone at higher risk of severe illness, anyone in hospital or an aged or disability care facility for at least seven days.

Those with a higher risk of severe illness include all people aged 70 years or older, people aged 50 with additional risk factors, pregnant women and people of any age who are immunocompromised.

Dr McAnulty said people in those categories should plan ahead and make prior arrangements with their doctor in the event they test positive to COVID.

"That means if you know it's COVID or flu, the doctor can then make sure you get antivirals which will help in a good outcome for you," he said.

While antivirals can reduce the severity of illness, NSW Health is stressing that they are not a substitute for vaccination.

Anyone aged 75 or over should receive an extra dose of a COVID-19 vaccine if it has been more than six months since their last shot, according to the current recommendations by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Dr McAnulty said it was still unclear whether the latest wave of the virus would peak before Christmas.

"I think the assumption is that there'll be plenty of COVID around over the festive period, so it's important people do those things to protect themselves and others," he said.

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COVID-19 cases are again on the rise, so how long should you self-isolate now there are no requirements? - ABC News