Cases of RSV, childrens respiratory illness, on the rise Los Angeles Times
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Cases of RSV, childrens respiratory illness, on the rise - Los Angeles Times
Utah A.G. Sean Reyes opposes adding the COVID-19 vaccine to child immunization list Salt Lake Tribune
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COVID-19 Daily Update 10-25-2022 West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
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COVID-19 Daily Update 10-25-2022 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
On Thursday, the Health and Human Services Department renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days at least, extending the Biden administrations ability to access certain flexibilities and waivers for its pandemic response. The Trump administration first declared the emergency in January 2020.
This comes as federal public health officials are bracing for a possible winter surge in COVID-19 cases and a few weeks after President Biden said in a 60 Minutes interview the pandemic is over, which led to Republicans calling on the administration to act like it. Here are some of the other recent headlines you might have missed.
Dr. Ashish Jha, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said during the White House briefing on Tuesday that there are challenges ahead with winter coming, but what occurs in the coming weeks and months will have a big impact on how it goes. He encouraged everyone to get their updated booster if they havent already. On Tuesday, Politico reported that just 5% of the then-eligible population had received the updated dose amid confusion over the shot, declining cases and profound pandemic fatigue.
Once again, he reiterated the administrations plea for more funding. We do not have an adequate stockpile of that or of tests because we had to pull resources to make sure that we had enough vaccines, said Jha. We do not have funding for the next generation of vaccines and treatments. Our vaccine campaign has been more limited because of lack of funding. So, Congress bears a lot of responsibility for the complexities of the moment we find ourselves in.
Kids as young as five can now get the updated COVID booster, following the authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and sign off from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.
An estimated 85% of applicants to the Small Business Administration's COVID-19 relief program for arts and entertainment industries found the various changes to the programs guidance at least somewhat challenging, according to the Government Accountability Office. Overall, the dissatisfaction of [Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program] applicants with SBAs communications and customer support suggests there are lessons to be learned for future emergency response efforts, said a Government Accountability Office report published on Tuesday. Because SBAs existing plans for communication during disasters or emergencies focus on regional loan programs serving all small businesses, they are not well suited for a program like [the shuttered venues program], a national grant program serving a specific industry. GAO also found that SBA could improve how it roots out fraud in the program.
Amb. Pamela Hamamoto has been selected to be the lead U.S. pandemic negotiator for the proposed accord on pandemic preparedness, response and prevention currently being debated at the World Health Organization. Hamamoto will assume management and oversight of U.S. engagement in these important discussions, which we believe must yield an accord that effectively strengthens global health collaboration, improves systems for monitoring disease or pandemic outbreaks, bolsters national health security capacities, and enhances equity in pandemic preparedness and responses, said a joint statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra on Tuesday.
This week the Internal Revenue Service is sending letters to over 9 million individuals and families who might qualify for various tax benefits, but didnt claim them; this includes the third round of economic impact payments to help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. To help people claim these benefits, without charge, Free File will remain open for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022, said the IRS in a press release on Thursday. This enables people whose incomes are $73,000 or less to file a return online for free using brand-name software.
Help us understand the situation better. Are you a federal employee, contractor or military member with information, concerns, etc. about how your agency is handling the coronavirus? Email us at newstips@govexec.com.
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A recent study published in the Pulmonary Pharmacology & Therapeutics journal described different inhalation therapeutic agents for treating respiratory viral infections like coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a challenge to people in terms of both treatment and prevention. Scientists were unable to provide prompt therapy or protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections despite advances in the medical field. A number of medications, including antivirals, were administered to patients to lower mortality and morbidity rates.
Review: Treatment of respiratory viral infections through inhalation therapeutics: Challenges and opportunities. Image Credit:Jan Schneckenhaus/ Shutterstock
Scientists face several challenges in developing antivirals that kill viruses without causing harm to hosts. In the present study, researchers reviewed inhalable antiviral formulations against SARS-CoV-2 and significant clinical study outcomes.
Worldwide, viruses cause numerous deaths and life-threatening diseases, but there are very few antivirals available for treatment. In contrast to bacterial infections, viral pathogens need the host protein to operate and live inside the host cells, making them challenging targets for antivirals. Ensuring that the drug does not harm the hosts while acting against viruses is the main difficulty facing antivirals. Antiviral drug resistance is another factor in which pathogens make minute adjustments to their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and proteins, thus rendering them resistant to the medication.
Ribavirin, a purine nucleoside analog developed synthetically, has antiviral properties. It is now utilized to treat viral hemorrhagic fevers, hepatitis C virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in high-risk newborns because of its broad spectrum of activity against DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses in vitro and in vivo. Ribavirin has demonstrated ineffectiveness against naturally occurring influenza infections in people when administered systemically. This might result from the liver's quick metabolism of ribavirin, which concentrates in erythrocytes. Aerosol delivery of the drug effectively combated these issues. In contrast to oral ribavirin, which results in hemolytic anemia, ribavirin administered as an aerosol is efficient and safe in newborns and adults.
An oral neuraminidase inhibitor called oseltamivir phosphate is used to treat influenza A and B and prevent the flu after exposure. Oseltamivir phosphate (OP) oral therapy is linked to gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and adverse effects on the central nervous system like vertigo, exhaustion, headache, dizziness, and sleeplessness. Post-marketing surveillance has been linked to thrombocytopenia, hepatic issues, and skin rashes.
The safety of OP-DPI on lung cells was demonstrated by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay that employed Calu-3 cells originating from bronchial cancer. Due to this discovery, inhalation OP treatment was found to be more efficient and practical than oral OP treatment. However, the poor advantage of OP nebulization is confirmed by the fact that only 2% of OP prodrugs are pre-systematically transformed into the active form.
A transition state analog of N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid) called zanamivir prevents influenza virus neuraminidase from functioning, interfering with the de-aggregation and release of viral progeny and interrupting the viral replication cycle. Because zanamivir has a low oral bioavailability of less than 5%, intranasal and dry powder inhalation delivery is a suitable and efficient method.
It is authorized for use as an aerosol inhalation in treating influenza A and B infection in adults and pediatric patients older than seven years old who have had no more than two days of symptoms. For prophylaxis purposes, it is also allowed for use in adults and pediatric patients older than five years old.
A neuraminidase inhibitor called laninamivir octanoate (CS-8958) is used to treat and prevent influenza A and B viruses. It is administered as a once-daily dose of 40 mg for adults and 20 mg for children younger than 10 in the form of dry powder inhalation. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of laninamivir against the majority of influenza neuraminidases is higher than the active form of laninamivir that is retained in the airways. Only 15% of the medication is absorbed systemically after inhalation. Laninamivir, along with its prodrug, laninamivir octanoate, has demonstrated strong inhibitory effects against various influenza viruses, including seasonal H1N1, pandemic H1N1, H3N2, and influenza viruses.
Glycoproteins called interferons are members of the cytokine family and are created and released by various cells in response to an inflammatory response to a viral infection. It is used to prevent viral infections, particularly viral infections of the respiratory system, such as rhinovirus, influenza A and B, parainfluenza, adenovirus, and coronavirus, due to its broad antiviral efficacy. The use of 500 g of aerosolized recombinant interferon-gamma (rIFN-) over the course of 12 days has been found to be safe and well tolerated. Additionally, inhaled rIFN- can be well tolerated even at greater dosages in contrast to the subcutaneous method, which results in adverse side effects.
Overall, the study findings provided information on antiviral medications that can be administered as aerosols. The development of inhalable dosage forms has been studied in many ways. However, very few preclinical and clinical research have been carried out. This is concerning because there is a lack of data on the safety or efficacy available of inhalable antivirals.
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A recent Pharmacological Reports study describes current approaches to managing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive measures.
Study:Recent review of COVID-19 management: diagnosis, treatment and vaccination. Image Credit: Anatta_Tan / Shutterstock.com
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of COVID-19, is an enveloped positive-sense, single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that primarily transmits between individuals through respiratory droplets and aerosols. Binding between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the host cell membrane angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor allows the virus to enter cells and replicate.
Although most COVID-19 patients remain asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, the infection can be severe in susceptible individuals, including the elderly, immunocompromised patients, and individuals with comorbidities. In its severe form, COVID-19 can lead to hypoxemia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), cardiovascular problems, hyperinflammation, autoimmune responses, liver and kidney complications, gastrointestinal complications, neuropsychiatric complications, dermatological and musculoskeletal complications, multiorgan failure, and even death.
Throughout the pandemic, many SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged worldwide, including those denoted as variants of concern (VOCs). VOCs are associated with improved transmission and infection efficiency.
More recently, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC has shown a significantly greater ability to evade pre-existing anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity, which has led to a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases worldwide.
The laboratory methods primarily used to diagnose COVID-19 include reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), antigen testing, point-of-care testing, and fluorescence-based biosensor tests. In addition, chest computed tomography (CT) scans and chest x-rays may also be used for clinical COVID-19 diagnosis.
RT-PCR, a highly specific and accurate method that detects viral RNA in respiratory samples, is considered the gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis. Chest CT scans are particularly effective in detecting and assessing the severity of COVID-19-related pneumonia. Fluorescence-based biosensors are cost-effective solutions used to rapidly detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the blood.
Several strategies have been developed to improve the diagnostic efficacy of these methods. A novel approach that combines RT-LAMP and CRISPR-Cas12 has been developed to rapidly and efficiently detect COVID-19. The Automatic Integrated Gene Detection System COVID-19 RNA detection kit has also accurately identified specific viral variants in respiratory samples.
Regarding COVID-19 antibody testing, sensitive and powerful biotools have been developed to detect SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies in the blood. These tools are based on the surface of magnetic microbeads functionalized with nucleocapsid and internally expressed spike proteins.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the repurposing of several drugs to treat COVID-19. Most of these drugs are small molecule inhibitors that target viral entry and replication pathways.
Among these, remdesivir has shown potency in reducing the duration of hospital stay and symptom intensity. In addition, clinical studies on lopinavir/ritonavir have highlighted the efficacy of these drugs in reducing adverse disease outcomes, viral load, infection rate, and steroid use.
Arbidol is considered to be more effective than lopinavir in terms of reducing viral load and mortality. However, no clinical benefits of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been observed in COVID-19 patients.
Molnupiravir, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug, has recently received FDA approval to treat COVID-19 patients. Clinical studies have shown that molnupiravir effectively reduces disease progression, oxygen therapy requirements, and mortality.
In addition to repurposed drugs, biological products, including polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, convalescent plasma, and hyperimmune -globulin, have been used as immunotherapy to treat COVID-19 patients.
Vaccination is a vital prophylactic measure to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission, severe COVID-19, hospitalization, and mortality. Several types of vaccines have been developed against COVID-19, including messenger RNA (mRNA)-based, viral vector-based, DNA-based, protein subunit and peptide-based, dendritic cell-based, and virus-like particle-based vaccines.
According to recent data, about 67% of the world population has received at least a single dose of COVID-19 vaccines. Most approved vaccines have been associated with high potency in inducing robust and durable virus-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. However, regarding safety, some rare events of blood clotting and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome have been documented concerning adenoviral vectors-based vaccines.
In the initial phase of vaccine rollout, a two-dose primary vaccination regimen was approved by federal authorities to control the pandemic trajectory. However, a reduction in vaccine efficacy over time has been observed globally, thus necessitating the approval of a third vaccine booster dose.
This reduction in vaccine efficacy could be due to the emergence of more competent and immunologically fit viral variants like Omicron. However, many studies conducted in real-world settings have shown that the three-dose regimen of COVID-19 vaccines is highly effective in neutralizing several viral variants, including Omicron.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) for diagnostic and drug discovery purposes has also shown promise in various aspects of COVID-19 research. To this end, AI can be applied for rapidly analyzing several pre-existing datasets to identify novel drug targets. This approach can also be used for contact tracing and risk-group identification.
Nanotechnology is another essential approach that has been considered to improve COVID-19 management. Some adopted strategies include nanoparticle-incorporated personal protective equipment, nanoparticle-based vaccines and drug delivery systems, nanosensor- and nanofilter-based face masks, ACE2-targeting nanoparticles, and nanoparticle-based biosensors for COVID-19 detection.
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Patient deaths: 1,064,058
Total vaccine doses distributed: 863,234,395
Patients whove received the first dose: 264,562,221
Patients whove received the second dose: 225,870,613
% of population fully vaccinated (both doses, not including boosters): 68%
% tied to Omicron variant:
% tied to Other: 0%
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India, Russia and Iran have authorized nasal vaccines. And while none of those have yet been proven to stop Covid transmission, officials say the U.S. could find itself at a global disadvantage, particularly if a deadlier variant emerges.
Intranasal vaccines vaccines that are variant-resistant those are critical tools to have in the toolbox for protecting Americans, not just for Covid but also for future pandemics and also for future biosecurity threats, Ashish Jha, the administrations Covid-19 response coordinator, told POLITICO.
Researchers working on nasal vaccines are hopeful that they could stop virus transmission by generating immunity against it in the nose and other parts of the upper respiratory system where the coronavirus enters the body. If that bears out in clinical trials, nasal vaccines would be superior to existing mRNA vaccines, which prevent severe disease but dont stop transmission.
Officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases are attuned to the danger of failing to develop such a nasal vaccine since it would protect people in case of a more contagious and deadlier coronavirus variant, said Karin Bok, the acting deputy director for pandemic preparedness and emergency response at the agencys Vaccine Research Center.
The center has mapped the nasal and oral Covid vaccines in development in the U.S. and abroad. It is also testing nasal versions of the Moderna vaccine and two other types of injectable Covid-19 vaccines in monkeys, Bok said. But that probably wont lead to a nasal Covid vaccine being approved in the U.S. anytime soon because funding for clinical trials and production is lacking.
Bok and Jha say the cost is high. If China were to develop a nasal vaccine capable of stopping Covid transmission, that could turn the tables on the current pandemic trajectory, which has the U.S. emerging and much of China stuck in lockdown.
Even though India, Iran, China and Russia havent proved their non-injectable vaccines stop transmission, the potential is there, experts said.
Countries where transmission is reduced are going to be healthier, are going to have stronger economies. And the U.S. needs to catch up, said Marty Moore, the founder and chief scientific officer of Meissa Vaccines, a small biotech company thats trying to develop a nasal vaccine in the U.S.
Many scientists believe the nose could hold the secret to stopping coronavirus transmission, but theres no consensus yet on whether nasal vaccines could be more effective than injectable ones, as evidence from clinical trials is necessary to prove it.
Disagreement in Congress about how to pay for additional aid or whether its needed, as well as disinterest from major drugmakers in spending their own money on something that may not be very profitable, could mean a foreign rival gets an advantage.
Writing in Science Immunology in July, Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, and Akiko Iwasaki, an immunobiology professor at Yale, endorsed the potential of a nasal vaccine to stop coronavirus transmission. Breaking the chain of transmission at the individual and population level will put us in a far better position to achieve containment of the virus, they wrote, adding that the prospect of achieving this with nasal vaccines is high.
They called for U.S. government support in developing Operation Warp Speed 2.0, modeled on the initiative that created the first Covid-19 vaccines in record time. The Biden administration is working on that, but funding woes and pandemic fatigue have hampered its efforts.
Beyond effectiveness, a nasal vaccine could appeal to people who are squeamish about needles and to parents of young children who have mostly declined to get their kids inoculated. As of early October, only 9 percent of children ages 6 months to 5 years have gotten the shots, which were authorized by the FDA in June.
Outside of the government-funded research cited by Bok, two Washington University School of Medicine professors, David T. Curiel, a radiation oncologist, and Michael S. Diamond, a molecular microbiologist, invented the nasal vaccine authorized in India.
Curiel and Diamond told POLITICO they created it with the needs of the developing world in mind, given the lack of ultracold freezers needed to store mRNA vaccines. The two scientists licensed their vaccine to the Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech, which tested it in clinical trials partially financed by the Indian government. They have also tried to solicit interest from large U.S. pharmaceutical companies about it and there was not as much excitement as we would have thought, Diamond said.
Their vaccine, named iNCOVACC in India, is based on an adenovirus that delivers the coronavirus spike protein.
Bharat Biotech tested it both as a primary vaccination series and as a booster for people who were vaccinated with injectable Covid shots available in India. The company said the clinical trials had successful results and that side effects were comparable to those from other Covid-19 vaccines, but it has not yet published the data in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The Indian drug regulator approved the two-dose vaccine, which comes in the form of nasal drops, for adults who have not had a previous Covid-19 shot, Bharat Biotech said. The company has the right to sell it in India and most of the rest of Asia and Africa.
Elsewhere, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a global partnership financing vaccine development for epidemic threats, is developing a plan for nasal vaccine research projects.
For example, we are looking into whether nasal vaccines could be an option for our all-in-one coronavirus vaccine program funding the development of vaccines against both Covid-19 variants and other coronaviruses, said Melanie Saville, CEPIs executive director of vaccine research and development.
CEPI awarded nearly $5 million in seed funding to the Dutch company Intravacc for a nasal vaccine candidate that could work against multiple coronaviruses.
There are now 95 nasal vaccines under development around the world, according to health data company Airfinity. Six have reached the final Phase 3 in clinical trials.
But some scientists doubt that a nasal vaccine will be a game-changer.
William Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School with expertise in HIV/AIDS and genomics, believes that enthusiasm should be tempered about the potential of nasal vaccines to prevent infection, given that natural nasal exposure to the virus doesnt prevent people from getting reinfected.
Why in the world do you think that if you [spray] a vaccine up the nose you can do any better? he asked POLITICO.
Attempts to develop a nasal version of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the injectable version of which was widely used globally at the beginning of the vaccination campaign, experienced a setback after only a minority of participants in an early stage clinical trial showed some immune response in respiratory mucous membranes.
Haseltine argued that scientists still dont have a good understanding of nasal immunity and that government funding would be better directed to antiviral drugs that keep Covid-19 in check.
And Bok doesnt think any of the existing non-injectable vaccines stop Covid-19 transmission. I would be very surprised if India or China licensed it with data proving that an intranasal vaccine is better than the ones we have, she said.
Curiel and Diamond have licensed their vaccine for potential use in the U.S. to Pennsylvania-based biotech Ocugen.
The company is looking for both regulatory and financial support from the U.S. government to develop the vaccine as a booster, CEO Shankar Musunuri told POLITICO.
But without another Operation Warp Speed, there will be substantial delays in large-scale manufacturing, regulatory approval and distribution of a nasal vaccine, argued Topol and Iwasaki.
Iwasaki, who is working to develop a booster Covid-19 nasal vaccine, said she will probably need tens of millions of dollars to test it in clinical trials. Just trying to do this as a small academic lab is very different from a Warp Speed, she told POLITICO.
Thats unlikely to happen.
Congress last month passed a short-term measure to continue funding the government until Dec. 16 without any additional money for Covid-19. The White House had asked for $8 billion to fund the next generation of vaccines and therapeutics, including nasal vaccines.
There is no plan B: If Congress does not fund this, it will not happen, Jha said. America will fall further behind China and other countries.
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Without a nasal vaccine, the U.S. edge in fighting Covid is on the line - POLITICO
Newshub can reveal that the Government is seeking to extend COVID-19 restriction powers for another two years.
Newshub has just been leaked a proposal. It's documentation in which the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet proposes that the legislation which underpins COVID-19 restrictions stay in place until 2025.
It wants the Act extended from its expiry date of May next year to May 2025.
It says this will ensure that the powers required to respond to COVID-19 - including new variants - remain available to the Government.
This comes as most countries are winding back their COVID-19 responses and it's likely going to cause upset among the business community.
Newshub asked the Prime Minister about when restrictions would end.
"I've always been cautious about making too many predictions about COVID," she said.
"What I can tell you is we are in a very different place than where we were a year ago. Highly vaccinated, anti-virals and we know so much more. You won't see things like some of those more necessary but harsh measures, they are off the table, but we do still ask people who are sick to stay home."
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister later said"we intend to announce the next steps shortly".
"Ministers have been reviewing the COVID-19 Act to ensure it is fit for purpose now that we're through the emergency response," they told Newshub.
"The Government's plan is to remove powers from the Act that are no longer required for the response, while still ensuring we can practically manage the ongoing impact of COVID."
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Coronavirus: Government seeking to extend powers behind COVID restrictions until 2025 - Newshub
