Category: Corona Virus

Concerned about the spread of an Indian variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the population to exercise a heavy dose of caution as restrictions ease further on Monday, with people allowed to be served indoors in bars and restaurants, attend movie theaters and hug family and friends.

Read: The COVID-19 pandemic isnt over, but the great end point is in site as more than 120 million Americans are fully vaccinated

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Britons freedom to hug overshadowed by spread of Indian strain of coronavirus - MarketWatch

A girl and her father wear face masks while they push their bikes last summer in Hermosa Beach in the Los Angeles area. There aren't yet coronavirus vaccines approved in the U.S. for kids under 12 which means they should keep masking, according to the CDC. Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A girl and her father wear face masks while they push their bikes last summer in Hermosa Beach in the Los Angeles area. There aren't yet coronavirus vaccines approved in the U.S. for kids under 12 which means they should keep masking, according to the CDC.

When the CDC announced on Thursday that fully vaccinated people can safely take off their masks in most settings, one group that did not necessarily breathe a sigh of relief was the parents of young children.

Some noted that the CDC's new guidance does not have any specific advice for vaccinated parents with unvaccinated kids in their households.

So we dug into the current guidance for kids and parents and talked with infectious diseases expert Dr. Emily Landon about the risks and how her family is handling this complicated limbo.

What are the COVID-19 risks for kids?

While children and adolescents who get infected by the coronavirus tend to have less severe cases of COVID-19, they can get sick and they can spread the virus to others. And some children have developed serious complications from the disease, including a rare but serious medical condition associated with COVID-19 called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

There are also increasing concerns about persistent, long-term effects of the viral infection such as fatigue, respiratory issues and stomach problems for some children who get COVID-19.

So what's the mask guidance now for adolescents aged 12 and up?

As of this week, the Pfizer vaccine is available to people age 12 and up. (The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently approved only for those 18 and older.) That means kids age 12 to 15 who get their first Pfizer vaccine dose now will be fully vaccinated in about five weeks two weeks after they receive their second dose.

Once they are fully vaccinated, the CDC says it's safe for them to remove their masks in most settings, just like fully vaccinated adults. But state and local laws apply, as do school and business policies. And masks will still be required for all on buses, trains and planes, and at stations and airports.

What about kids under 12?

There aren't any vaccines currently approved for their use in the U.S. which means the younger set needs to keep masking for the time being.

The CDC says all unvaccinated people age 2 and older "should wear masks in public settings and when around people who don't live in their household."

Experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend unvaccinated children 2 and older continue to wear masks around others when indoors, especially when they are among at-risk adults such as those who are immunocompromised or over 65.

"We know children over age 2 can safely wear masks to protect themselves and others from transmitting the COVID-19 virus. We've already seen how the masks have helped prevent the spread of respiratory infections within schools, camps and other community settings, particularly when everyone wears them, washes hands and follows other infection control guidance," Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement.

All three manufacturers of U.S.-authorized vaccines are studying the safety and effectiveness of their vaccines in children, including as young as 6 months.

But it will likely be at least a few more months until there's a vaccine approved for those under 12. Pfizer says it won't be ready to ask for FDA approval for its COVID-19 vaccine in younger kids until September.

I'm fully vaccinated, but my kids aren't. Can I safely take off my mask in most places?

According to the CDC's guidance, the answer is yes.

In its updated guidance for fully vaccinated people, the CDC doesn't list an exception for parents with unvaccinated children in their household. (People with immunocompromising conditions, however, including those taking immunosuppressive medications, should talk to their doctor after they've been vaccinated to discuss what protective measures they might need.)

Dr. Emily Landon, who leads the infection control and prevention efforts at University of Chicago Medicine, says the data supports the idea that fully vaccinated parents of unvaccinated children can safely take off their own masks.

"The vast majority of the data that's coming out and what we're seeing anecdotally on the ground, taking care of patients is that individuals who get COVID after they've been vaccinated, as long as they're not immunocompromised, they get really mild disease and they have such low viral loads that they're not passing it on to their family members," Landon says.

For vaccinated parents, it's OK to remove your masks, Landon says: "As long as everybody in your family, including yourself, are low-risk, it's probably fine for you to have an unmasked lifestyle now."

But she says parents might want to keep wearing a mask when they're out with their kids to set a good example for them.

"Kids often do what they see their parents do. And I know a lot of my close friends who are physicians who have children under the age of 12, and I have a child who's not fully vaccinated yet because he's only 12. And we think it's really important to continue to wear masks, in solidarity with our kids, to help them feel like they're not an outlier and to make sure that we're setting a good example for them," Landon says.

What if my child is immunocompromised?

"You may want to be more careful and make sure that you're not even bringing home asymptomatic COVID," Landon says. "This is going to be a personal decision for parents. But there is nothing wrong with continuing to wear your mask if you want to be continue to take extra precautions against COVID."

And when you're indoors in a crowded environment, you should protect your eyes as well, she says.

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What The New Mask Guidance Means For Unvaccinated Kids And Their Parents - NPR

Amy Crnecki wasn't hospitalized for COVID-19, but the 38-year-old still can't dance with her daughter without fear of crushing fatigue.

"I just want to be able to play outside with my kids," she said, "and play a game of basketball and not feel winded and feel like, 'I shouldn't have done that.' "

The two Minnesotans, diagnosed with COVID-19 during the same week in November, are part of a poorly understood group of people whose health has suffered long after infection and who could continue to struggle after the pandemic recedes. The number of COVID "long haulers" remains a mystery in a pandemic that otherwise has been one of the most measured, modeled and mapped events in human history.

To date, 7,296 people have died from COVID-19 in Minnesota and 594,427 have tested positive for the coronavirus that causes the disease. That includes 10 deaths and 805 infections that were reported Sunday, May 16. More than 2.7 million people 61.5% of the state's 16 and older population have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Little is known by comparison about the prevalence of long-term complications from COVID-19. This, in part, is because there is no agreed-upon definition of such cases and no easy methods of tracking them. State health officials said a better understanding is needed to plan for future medical needs. The end of Minnesota's mask-wearing mandate last week and the decline in infections signal a new phase in the pandemic but not the end of its impact.

"We're starting to see that this pandemic is not one and done," said Richard Danila, deputy state epidemiologist. "We're seeing this tail at the end, where this pandemic is really unusual in that it's causing this rather substantial burden on individual people and on the population as a whole."

The Minnesota Department of Health activated an expert panel known as the Long-Term Surveillance for Chronic Disease and Injury Annex, which assesses lingering consequences of emergency or traumatic events. It provided advice following the 2017 gas explosion at Minnehaha Academy amid concerns that bystanders suffered brain trauma from the blast wave.

The group will work with federal authorities and researchers at the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic to define the breadth and scope of post-COVID illness in the state.

National and international studies have provided estimates. A report last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association found lingering symptoms eight months later in 10% of Swedish health-care workers who suffered mild COVID-19.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April that 69% of people sought outpatient care one to six months after milder COVID illnesses that didn't require hospitalizations often for related issues such as shortness of breath.

"Its going to be somewhere between 10 to 30% definitely not a rare thing," said Dr. Greg Vanichkachorn, medical director of Mayo Clinic's COVID-19 Activity Rehabilitation Program. "This is something we're going to have to face."

It's easier to understand why someone as deeply injured as Farber might suffer lingering effects.

The retired policeman and former county commissioner from Zimmerman, Minn., didn't think he was that sick until his wife made him go to the emergency room just before Thanksgiving and he learned that his blood oxygen level was critically low.

Isolated at Northland Medical Center in Princeton, Farber feared death as he suffered an episode of shaking and convulsions one day, then struggled with malnutrition amid breathing difficulties. He lost 28 pounds during his first hospital stay.

"I kept just getting more [symptoms]," he said. "It was another new thing and another new thing."

More surprising has been the number of people with lingering problems who were never hospitalized. Vanichkachorn's study last week of the first 100 patients through the Mayo rehab program showed that only 25% had COVID-19 illnesses severe enough to need hospitalization.

Health systems such as M Health Fairview and North Memorial Health responded to the demand with post-COVID rehab programs offering strength and therapy exercises to address chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, memory issues and foggy thinking.

Whether long-haul symptoms are caused by the lingering virus or the immune system's overreaction to infection is unclear, and nobody knows which patients will have them, said Dr. Tanya Melnik, a co-director of the M Health Fairview Adult Post-COVID Clinic.

"We don't have enough information to predict who can have it," she said.

The symptoms run from severe to comical, with Melnik recalling a patient who didn't regain her sense of taste and made what became known to her family as "COVID chili" because it was too spicy. Some of M Health's first rehab patients didn't even have positive COVID-19 tests, because tests were so scarce last spring.

The National Institutes of Health in February launched a $1 billion initiative to understand COVID-19 long haul symptoms, which it named Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). The U and Mayo have applied for some of the funding.

The duration of symptoms remains an open question that frustrates patients because they want to know when they will get better, said Jay Desai, the chronic health section manager for the Minnesota Department of Health who is leading the state annex review. "Some of these symptoms may last 30 days. Some of them may last 60 days. Some of them may start after 30 days."

Crnecki, a preschool worker from Savage, said COVID-19 never let up after her infection in November. Her blood oxygen levels were barely above what doctors said would require hospitalization. She isolated herself in her bedroom, where she struggled to eat and sleep amid chest pain and muscle aches. She helped her 8- and 5-year-old children virtually with their homework while they tossed notes of support into her room.

Weeks later, she still couldn't walk up steps without being exhausted even though her blood oxygen levels appeared normal, which made it hard to convince doctors that something was wrong. The M Health rehab validated her symptoms and structured an exercise and strength program to boost her lung function.

She graduated from that three-month program in April but is continuing with therapy activities and took a leave from work. Word comprehension and processing is still slowed when talking, so she practices with word and story problems.

"I did a 5K on my Peloton this last week," she said, "which was huge for me."

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Caleb Laurent can relate after nearly dying from a post-COVID illness in December, when the 16-year-old needed an ambulance ride in a blizzard and placement on a ventilator at St. Cloud Hospital to stop his lungs and heart from failing.

The Alexandria teenager suffered one of 84 known cases in Minnesota of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, which involves continued inflammation and damage to organs after COVID-19. The disorder is more clearly diagnosed and separate from other long-haul issues but is part of the broader universe of post-COVID impacts on Minnesota.

Laurent was back at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis last week for a treadmill test to monitor the impact on his heart function. He has regained strength and muscle with five months of rest and recovery. He hopes to return to football and wrestling and his old activities.

"His immune system turned on to fight the COVID but it didn't turn back off," said his father, Greg Laurent. "And it turned on his own organs and himself."

Farber, meanwhile, is getting impatient with his recovery, but has cycled off steroids and physical therapy and walks twice a day with less exhaustion. Seeing neighbors helps overcome the mental anguish from his hospitalizations, when his family couldn't be with him.

Farber cooked Thanksgiving dinner for his family in March to make up for missing the holiday, when he could eat only crackers and gelatin.

"When it's all said and done, it's going to be close to a year to recover," he said. "It's frustrating. I thought summer would be here and I should be better by then, but there is nothing about this disease that is normal. It's a vicious disease."

(c)2021 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Amount of COVID-19 long-term scars a mystery - Grand Forks Herald

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forever changed our world. We must remember the heavy societal burden this virus has wrought, including lives lost, the significant and debilitating late effects for survivors, and the mental health crisis for survivors, caregivers, and the general population. What are the lasting effects of more than 12 months of isolation, economic downturn, family separation, and, in some cases, forced family quarantine? The world is paying attention and these areas are all topics of intense, ongoing investigation as we grapple with the collective human toll of this unprecedented event in our lifetimes.

As an oncologist, I compare this great effort to rapidly understand the viral epidemiology, prevention, treatment, health disparities, and late effects of infection with the field of cancer discovery. As hematologists-oncologists, our field has always been defined by discovery. We have witnessed huge advances in drug discovery and applied these to cancer treatment.

However, these milestones have taken decades to achieve, and governmental financial investment in the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute can be sidelined depending on presidential or congressional budget priorities. Although COVID-19 discovery and translation have occurred at an incredibly rapid pace, this cancer care provider wonders whether we can take the lessons learned from the pandemic and apply them to our world. What are the lessons that we can glean from this experience? Although much has been written about the new paradigm for rapid drug discovery and translation into tangible clinical use, I want to focus on the other significant lessons that we should take from the pandemic experience.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, incidence of cancer was at 17 million worldwide in 2018 with 9.5 million reported deaths. In contrast, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Center recorded 110 million cases of COVID-19 with 2.44 million reported deaths worldwide as of February 18. Thus, even though the reported COVID-19 cases significantly outnumbered new cancer cases, the cancer death toll remains significantly higher. Do not misunderstand. This statement is not to diminish the horrific impact that COVID-19 has on our population.

However, compared with the pandemic story, which realized unprecedented advances in little more than 12 months, cancer discovery remains comparably slow. Appropriately, the publics emotions concerning COVID-19 are running high and raw. Except for relatively small factions, the public outpouring of support and, frankly, demand for a COVID-19 win has bolstered the rapidity of translatable discovery.

In contrast, while almost everyone has been touched by cancer, public engagement and lobbying efforts have in some ways become white noise. The urgency to stop cancer has always been present, but the general publics sensitivity and involvement in demanding rapid discovery and treatment advances have been mired in special-interest lobbying efforts that have undercut the cancer messaging by creating factions whose own financial interests overshadow the primary issue at hand: the need to curtail the human toll of the disease.

All too often, what the public hears is the ongoing squabbling of siblings, all of whom believe that their needs are most important. When the public tunes out, the lobbyistsfor big pharma, for the insurance industry, for tobaccomove in. What we are forget-ting is that we, the public, are the ultimate lobbyists because we vote. The COVID-19 experience has demonstrated that public opinion, public passion, pressure on lawmakers, and ongoing large-scale public engagement can positively alter the trajectory of treatment gains.

Although governmental COVID-19 messaging has at times been opaque, the absence of diversionary messaging from financially motivated factions has allowed the public to serve as the ultimate lobbyists to demand change and rapid results. Although outliers exist, the majority has made it clear that personal responsibility and accountability of elected officials matter. How did this COVID-19 grassroots, public campaign gain strength, and what are the pointers that we can apply to cancer discovery?

Consider the following:

The pandemic continues to upend life as we know it. But as a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, I can honestly say that even horrible events can translate into some societal wins. Recognize the power that you have in shaping your life and our world.

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Oncology Has Lessons to Learn From the COVID-19 Pandemic - OncLive

Shortness of breath is a condition when a person feels he or she is unable to grasp enough air to breathe normally or let out a normal breath.

Medically, it is referred to as dyspnea or breathlessness. For a person, when shortness of breath occurs, it can feel like they cannot get enough air into their lungs, feel a tugging pain in their chest and induce respiratory issues.

Not just COVID-19, but a lot many medical conditions can trigger shortness of breath, including asthma, chest infection, heart disease or even anxiety. However, when there's an active coronavirus infection spreading in the body, any breathing difficulty becomes a pressing cause of concern. With COVID, breathing difficulties can also escalate quickly and demand medical care.

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Coronavirus: How to identify signs of shortness of breath and when you should rush for help - Times of India

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is part of a group of viruses known as coronaviruses. Hundreds of coronaviruses exist in animals, but only seven of these coronaviruses are known to cause illnesses in humans.

In fact, the illnesses that these coronaviruses cause play a huge role in how each of these viruses is named.

From a visual standpoint, coronaviruses have crown-like protrusions on their surface, and the Latin word for crown is coronam.

In this article, we will explore what coronaviruses are, how these viruses and their diseases are named, and other important facts you should know about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

Coronaviruses are a type of virus that cause upper respiratory tract illnesses in human beings. Most coronaviruses are transmitted to humans from animals, such as bats, pigs, or camels. While hundreds of different types of coronaviruses exist, only seven coronaviruses are known to cause diseases in humans.

In 2019, a new coronavirus was discovered to cause severe respiratory symptoms in humans. Due to its similarities with the previous coronavirus that was responsible for causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, this new coronavirus became known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus responsible for causing 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On March 11, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since that time, COVID-19 has affected over 160 million people worldwide.

Viruses are officially named by an organization called the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Every newly discovered virus receives an appropriate name according to a hierarchical taxonomy, which groups all organisms into various species, genera, family, and more.

Initially, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 remained unnamed. However, the ICTV and WHO worked in tandem to give both the virus and the disease the official names we know today:

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of these two organizations, along with the many scientists and professionals around the world, to identify, classify, and name all new viruses and diseases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are seven different coronaviruses that have been known to cause illness in humans. Although these coronaviruses are similar, they are separated into either the alpha coronavirus or beta coronavirus subgroups.

Common human alpha coronaviruses include:

Common human beta coronaviruses include:

Generally, the 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 coronaviruses cause mild to moderate respiratory illnesses, with symptoms that resemble the common cold, such as sore throat, cough, and fever.

However, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 can all lead to more severe respiratory illnesses, many of which have a higher mortality rate. In fact, according to the WHO, MERS has a mortality rate of roughly 35 percent this is almost 10 times higher than the average mortality rate of COVID-19.

Although there have been some comparisons made between COVID-19 and the flu, they are two entirely separate illnesses.

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a viral respiratory illness caused by two influenza viruses: influenza A and influenza B. Influenza can cause mild to severe symptoms, which may include:

Most healthy people recover from the flu within 1 to 2 weeks without complications. However, young children, older adults, and those who are pregnant or have underlying health conditions may be more at risk of serious complications.

COVID-19 is a viral respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 symptoms are similar to the flu and may include:

COVID-19 can cause additional symptoms beyond those of the flu, such as shortness of breath and loss of taste and smell. It also appears to be more contagious than the flu and has been found to spread more quickly and easily.

In addition, COVID-19 is associated with a higher risk of complications and hospitalization, as well as an increased risk of mortality.

COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that spreads easily between people, so its important to practice good personal hygiene to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Here are some of the ways that you can prevent the spread of COVID-19:

If you have a COVID-19 diagnosis or have come in close contact with someone who has the virus, the CDC recommends quarantining for a period of 14 days to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus.

Coronavirus is a catch-all term that is sometimes used to refer to either the newly discovered coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, or the disease it causes, COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 is one of seven coronaviruses that can cause respiratory illnesses in human beings. Although COVID-19 is similar in some ways to the flu, they are separate conditions, with different symptoms, caused by different viruses.

If you are concerned that you may have symptoms of COVID-19, remain in isolation and reach out to your doctor as soon as possible to get tested.

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Why Is It Called Coronavirus? How Viruses Are Named - Healthline

On Dec. 29, a National Guardsman in Colorado became the first known case in the United States of a contagious new variant of the coronavirus.

The news was unsettling. The variant, called B.1.1.7, had roiled Britain, was beginning to surge in Europe and threatened to do the same in the United States. And although scientists didnt know it yet, other mutants were also cropping up around the country. They included variants that had devastated South Africa and Brazil and that seemed to be able to sidestep the immune system, as well as others homegrown in California, Oregon and New York.

This mlange of variants could not have come at a worse time. The nation was at the start of a post-holiday surge of cases that would dwarf all previous waves. And the distribution of powerful vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech was botched by chaos and miscommunication. Scientists warned that the variants and B.1.1.7 in particular might lead to a fourth wave, and that the already strained health care system might buckle.

That didnt happen. B.1.1.7 did become the predominant version of the virus in the United States, now accounting for nearly three-quarters of all cases. But the surge experts had feared ended up a mere blip in most of the country. The nationwide total of daily new cases began falling in April and has now dropped more than 85 percent from the horrific highs of January.

Its pretty humbling, said Kristian Andersen, a virologist at Scripps Research in La Jolla, Calif. We could actually do a lot better than I had expected.

Dr. Andersen and other virus watchers still see variants as a potential source of trouble in the months to come particularly one that has battered Brazil and is growing rapidly in 17 U.S. states. But they are also taking stock of the past few months to better understand how the nation dodged the variant threat.

Experts point to a combination of factors masks, social distancing and other restrictions, and perhaps a seasonal wane of infections that bought crucial time for tens of millions of Americans to get vaccinated. They also credit a good dose of serendipity, as B.1.1.7, unlike some of its competitors, is powerless against the vaccines.

I think we got lucky, to be honest, said Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at Yale University. Were being rescued by the vaccine.

After B.1.1.7 emerged at the end of December, new variants with combinations of troubling mutations came to light. Scientists fretted about how the competition between the variants might play out.

In January, researchers in California discovered a variant with 10 mutations that was growing more common there and had drifted into other states. Laboratory experiments suggested that the variant could dodge an antibody treatment that had worked well against previous forms of the virus, and that it was perhaps also more contagious.

In the months that have followed, the United States has drastically improved its surveillance of how the variants mutate. Last week more than 28,800 virus genomes, almost 10 percent of all positive test cases, were uploaded to an international online database called GISAID. That clearer picture has enabled scientists to watch how the mutants compete.

The California variant turned out to be a weak competitor, and its numbers dropped sharply in February and March. It is still prevalent in parts of Northern California, but it has virtually disappeared from southern parts of the state and never found a foothold elsewhere in the country. By April 24, it accounted for just 3.2 percent of all virus samples tested in the country, as B.1.1.7 soared to 66 percent.

B.1.1.7 went in for the knockout, and its like, Bye bye, California variant, Dr. Andersen said.

On the other side of the country, researchers reported in February that a variant called B.1.526 was spreading quickly in New York and appeared to be a formidable adversary for B.1.1.7. By February, each of those variants had grown to about 35 percent of the samples collected by Dr. Grubaughs lab in Connecticut. But B.1.1.7 came out on top.

May 15, 2021, 1:56 p.m. ET

In fact, B.1.1.7 seems to have the edge over nearly every variant identified so far. At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said B.1.1.7 made up 72 percent of cases in the country.

Were really seeing B.1.1.7 pushing out other variants decisively, said Emma Hodcroft, an epidemiologist at the University of Bern.

The variants identified in California and New York turned out to be only moderately more contagious than older versions of the virus, and much of their initial success may have been luck. The overall boom in cases last fall amplified what might otherwise have gone undetected.

Its unclear what gives B.1.1.7 an edge over the others. Is it the greatest of all the variants? Its just really hard to say right now, said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewans Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. We need more research to figure out more about what all of these combinations of mutations are doing. Some answers may come from California, where researchers are staging a head-to-head competition in a lab, injecting mice with a cocktail of B.1.1.7 and six other variants.

The idea is to see which one will win out, said Dr. Charles Chiu, a virologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who was the first scientist to discover the California variant.

In Michigan, one of the few states that saw the predicted surge in cases this spring, B.1.1.7 found a hook in younger people who were returning to schools and playing contact sports.

Because its more transmissible, the virus finds cracks in behavior that normally wouldnt have been as much of a problem, said Emily Martin, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan.

But in the rest of the country, people naturally became more cautious when confronted with the horrifying toll of the virus after the holidays. B.1.1.7 is thought to be about 60 percent more contagious than previous forms of the virus, but its mode of spread is no different. Most states had at least partial restrictions on indoor dining and instituted mask mandates.

B.1.1.7 is more transmissible, but it cant jump through a mask, Dr. Hodcroft said. So we can still stop its spread.

But other experts are still discomfited by how much the virus seems to have defied predictions.

I cant necessarily ascribe it just to behavior, said Sarah Cobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago. Respiratory viruses sometimes go through seasonal cycles, but its not clear why the coronaviruss cycle would have caused it to decline in the middle of winter. That makes me feel maybe even more ignorant, she said.

Also puzzling is why variants that pummeled other countries have not yet spread widely in the United States. B.1.351 rapidly dominated South Africa and some other African countries late last year. It was first reported in the United States on Jan. 28, but still accounts for only 1 percent of cases. That may be because it cant get ahead of the fast-spreading B.1.1.7.

I think that is because it doesnt really have much transmission advantage, said William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

P.1, a variant that is ravaging Brazil, got off to a slow start in the United States but is now estimated to make up more than 10 percent of the countrys cases.

I believe it is a matter of time before the P.1 variant becomes one of the most prevalent in the U.S.A., warned Dr. Andr Ricardo Ribas Freitas, a medical epidemiologist at Faculdade So Leopoldo Mandic in Brazil.

Still, Nels Elde, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Utah, said the events of the past four months raised questions about whether it was worth fretting over different variants, rather than focusing on the behaviors that can rein in all of them.

Were splitting hairs between a handful of mutations here and there, weve lost some perspective, he said. Its catnip for a curious mind.

The United States also has an ample supply of powerful vaccines that make variants more an academic concern than a cause of worry for the average person. The vaccines may be slightly less effective against the variants identified in South Africa and Brazil, but they prevent severe disease from all known variants.

Its not impossible the situation could worsen. Only about 35 percent of people in the United States have been fully immunized, and the protection from the vaccines may wane by the winter. No one knows how variants emerging in other parts of the world, like one that has come to prominence in India and is circulating at low levels in the United States, will behave here. And yet more variants will inevitably arise in places where the virus is rampant, Dr. Cobey warned: Theres a lot of evolution to happen yet.

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How the United States Beat the Coronavirus Variants, for Now - The New York Times

On the day Illinois moved to the next-to-last phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers COVID-19 reopening plan, officials reported the latest seven-day positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 2.5%, the lowest since March 23.

Officials on Friday reported 1,841 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 resulting from 83,624 tests. As of Thursday night, 1,708 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 425 patients in intensive care units and 237 patients on ventilators. The seven-day average of total hospitalizations is 1,861, the lowest since an average of 1,858 was reported April 12.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths from coronavirus is one metric that has not been coming down. Officials reported 49 additional fatalities Friday, the highest count since 54 adjusted deaths were reported March 11.

Heres whats happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area:

6:10 p.m.: States, business sort out what new CDC mask guidance means: It was dividing our community

More than a dozen states quickly embraced new federal guidelines that say fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks indoors or out in most cases. But other states and cities and some major businesses hesitated amid doubts about whether the approach is safe or even workable.

As many business owners pointed out, there is no easy way to determine who has been vaccinated and who hasnt. And the new guidelines, issued Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, essentially work on the honor system, leaving it up to people to do the right thing.

Labor groups and others warned that employees at stores, restaurants, bars and other businesses could be left exposed to the coronavirus from customers and could be forced into the unwanted role of vaccination police.

But in Malvern, Pennsylvania, owner Sean Weinberg took down the mask signs Friday at Restaurant Alba, which he runs with his wife. He also emailed his employees to let them know they can forgo masks at work if they are fully vaccinated.

Its just a headache we dont want to have to fight any more, Weinberg said.

Several major chains, including CVS, Home Depot, Macys and supermarket giant Kroger Co., said they are still requiring masks in stores for the time being, though some said they are reviewing their policies.

But Walmart, the worlds largest retailer, said late Friday that it wont require vaccinated shoppers or workers to wear a mask in its U.S. stores, unless state or local laws say otherwise.

Vaccinated shoppers can go maskless immediately, the company said. Vaccinated workers can stop wearing them on May 18. As an incentive, Walmart said it is offering workers $75 if they prove theyve been vaccinated.

4:50 p.m.: A niece made funeral arrangements for her uncle dying of COVID-19. Then she learned about a life-saving surgery. Now hes ready to karaoke again.

Over the past year, doctors repeatedly told Renato Aquinos family to say their final goodbyes. His niece, Tasha Sundstrom even began making funeral arrangements.

But each time, Aquino, 65, of Glendale Heights, held on. And Sundstrom eventually saw a news story that appeared to offer one last chance for her uncle. A double lung transplant had saved then-28-year-old Mayra Ramirez, who was near death from COVID-19.

I did all the arrangements and the next day he proved us wrong. He wanted to live, Sundstrom said.

Sundstrom asked Aquinos medical team about the transplant surgery, and he was soon transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where, in February, he became the first known COVID to COVID double lung transplant recipient.

Improbably, Sundstrom sat next to her uncle during a news conference Friday at Northwestern, smiling while he bantered about once again singing karaoke.

After performing the United States first COVID-related double lung transplant last year, Northwestern surgeons have now done 20 such surgeries. In Aquinos case, the surgeons used lungs from a person who had contracted a mild case of COVID-19 and died of unrelated causes an important milestone because the surgerys success greatly expands the number of lungs available for these procedures, the doctors said.

If we said no to those patients from being donors, that means we are not going to have enough organs to save lives, said Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director of the Northwestern Medicine Lung Transplant Program, who performed the procedure. He noted that there have been more than 32 million cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in the U.S.

4:35 p.m.: How the CDCs new mask guidelines made you feel and how you told us youd adapt your mask wearing

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its recommendations Thursday on where fully vaccinated people need to wear masks, it unleashed a range of reactions from Tribune readers.

According to an unscientific online poll, most respondents said they were feeling optimism following the change describing their feelings with words like excited, relieved, thrilled and Its about time! On the flip side, about a third of respondents expressed concern or confusion following the eased restrictions with responses like Too soon, nervous, very disappointed and It feels too early.

And a healthy number were stuck in the middle saying they felt happy and confused, relieved but nervous and both happy and scared.

Those sentiments played out in what respondents said about what types of activities they plan to stay masked and others where they plan to not wear them.

4:30 p.m.: Lake County moved to higher COVID-19 warning status despite vaccine availability: There is still community spread

More and more Lake County residents are receiving vaccinations against COVID-19, but not enough to keep the Illinois Department of Public Health from moving the county to an orange warning status because of signs of increased risk of the disease.

Despite injecting 533,597 doses of vaccine in residents arms and 33.38% of its residents being fully vaccinated, the state moved Lake County into warning status Friday because new cases remain too high and the number of deaths increased.

Mark Pfister, the executive director of the Lake County Health Department, has a solution.

There is still community spread, Pfister said. The way to prevent COVID-19 is to go get vaccinated. We have all the vaccine we need, and we have slots available for appointments.

3 p.m.: Now that younger teens can get the COVID-19 vaccine, is it a good time for them to get other shots too?

Dr. Tanya Altmann, a Calabasas, California-based pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said due to the multitude of COVID-19 concerns and hardships families have been facing for more than a year, many tweens and teens did not have their annual physicals, and some might also be behind on their childhood immunizations.

Everyone was staying home, and afraid of getting COVID, so even though pediatric offices were very clean and safe, some parents have kept their kids away, Altmann said. Now, as everything is getting back to normal, and families are registering their kids for the next school year, its time for parents to schedule their childrens appointments to visit the pediatrician for a checkup, and to get any missing vaccines.

Currently, the CDC recommendation is to not get any other routine vaccines within two weeks of the COVID-19 vaccines, Altmann said.

Still, outside of that short pause, parents of children aged 11 to 13 should check that theyre up to date on a slate of other academy-recommended vaccines, including the Tdap booster, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, also known as whooping cough. Kids at that age should also get meningitis and HPV vaccines.

In addition, parents should ensure their tweens and teens see their pediatrician for an annual physical, even if its not being required for school registration or to play on an athletic team, Altmann said.

With COVID, many kids have not had a well-child checkup for more than a year, which means things like scoliosis, vision issues or a heart murmur might not have been caught and dealt with earlier, Altmann said.

While some Chicago-area public health officials and school districts were already making plans to deliver Pfizers COVID-19 vaccines to kids 12 to 15 in mid-May, parents can also check with their pediatrician to see if the shots might be available by appointment.

The logistical challenge for private practices is once you open a vial, there are six vaccines you need to use within six hours, Altmann said, adding: Its going to take some coordination, but pediatricians will be able to figure it out, without wasting any doses.

2:30 p.m.: After a year of profound grief and isolation, nursing homes across suburban Chicago seek healing

Over the past 14 months, the pandemic has brought to nursing homes and assisted living facilities illness, death, isolation and untold suffering.

The numbers tell only part of the story, but they are staggering. In the states long-term care facilities, 25,445 COVID-19 cases and 3,498 deaths were recorded in Cook County. DuPage County had 5,355 cases and 743 deaths, and Lake County had 4,160 cases and 558 deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Then there was the isolation. Almost all facilities were closed to visitors and the public. Gone were the visits from adult children, grandkids and friends. Group activities were postponed. Residents were confined to their rooms, and, in many cases, prevented even from interacting with each other.

Mental health professionals recognize the danger in the disruption of those connections.

Social isolation is linked to increased risk for anxiety and depression, as well as other physical health conditions, said Jen McGowan-Tomke, chief operating officer of the Chicago chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Connection, community and access to care are all important factors in ensuring quality of life while aging for older adults.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that studies show social isolation significantly increased a persons risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.

Now, as vaccination numbers rise, particularly among the elderly, the cloud is beginning to lift. As of May 11, more than 10 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state, while more than 3 million of those doses have been given to residents 65 years of age and older.

As residents of long-term care facilities slowly return to what might be called normal life, theyre picking up the pieces, navigating emotions ranging from gratitude to grief and everything in between.

To try to document what the past year-plus has been like for some of the elderly in suburban nursing homes and care facilities, Pioneer Press and the Chicago Tribune spoke with the residents of those facilities, as well as their loved ones and those who have cared for them during the pandemic.

They talked about the gravity of what they had lived through, and shared just some of the ways COVID-19 affected them and their lives.

2:25 p.m.: Illinois COVID-19 test positivity rate inches down some more

On the day Illinois moved to the next-to-last phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers COVID-19 reopening plan, officials reported the latest seven-day positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 2.5%, the lowest since March 23.

The declining positivity rate is one of many factors that prompted the state to expand capacity limits as part of the move to the bridge phase of Pritzkers plan.

Officials on Friday reported 1,841 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 resulting from 83,624 tests. As of Thursday night, 1,708 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 425 patients in intensive care units and 237 patients on ventilators.

The seven-day average of total hospitalizations is 1,861, the lowest since an average of 1,858 was reported April 12. The average has been steadily falling since peaking at 2,165 April 22 during the recent spring surge.

The number of deaths from coronavirus is one metric that has not been coming down. Officials reported 49 additional fatalities Friday, the highest count since 54 adjusted deaths were reported March 11.

The statewide death toll since the pandemic began reached 22,369, and the total number of known infections in Illinois since the start of the pandemic reached 1,363,507.

An additional 50,326 coronavirus vaccine doses were administered Thursday, bringing the total to 10,229,330. Over the last seven days, an average of 72,767 vaccines were administered daily.

The number of residents who have been fully vaccinated receiving both of the required shots, or Johnson & Johnsons single shot reached 4,690,335, or 36.81% of the total population.

2:10 p.m.: Chicago companies are plotting returns to the office. It wont be as simple as turning off Zoom.

After more than a year of cameo appearances by kids, spouses and pets, work meetings may be headed toward pre-pandemic formality.

The reemergence of downtown Chicago offices in the upcoming months could mean the window is closing on an unprecedented look into colleagues home lives via Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Some experts say the use of virtual platforms, forced into action by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, unexpectedly humanized co-workers in a way that working side-by-side never did.

Now, as many large companies begin nudging employees back to the workplace, executives and human resources departments are weighing how soon, and how strictly, they should return to rigid conventions of the office.

12:06 p.m.: 50,326 vaccine doses administered, 1,841 new cases and 49 deaths reported Friday

Illinois public health officials on Friday reported 1,841 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 49 deaths. That brings the states totals to 1,363,507 cases and 22,369 deaths.

There were 83,624 tests reported in the previous 24 hours, and the seven-day statewide positivity rate as a percent of total test is 2.5%.

There were 50,326 doses of the vaccine administered Thursday, and the seven-day rolling average of daily doses is 72,767.

7 a.m.: In testimony over deadly LaSalle outbreak, top Pritzker health officials say state VA misled them about COVID-19 protocols

Illinois public health director and Gov. J.B. Pritzkers deputy in charge of health care said Thursday they were misled by top state veterans affairs officials when told COVID-19 procedures were being followed that could have slowed or prevented a deadly outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home in November.

We believed the home was following all the recommended protocols and that the appropriate steps were being taken to address the cases, Illinois public health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said during an Illinois House hearing over a scathing inspector generals report on the outbreak.

These tragic deaths, they are extremely frustrating to accept because there were some basic steps that, if taken, could have made a difference, Ezike said.

Deputy Gov. Sol Flores said VA officials showed no urgency in selecting a senior administrator to oversee health care practices at the states veterans homes a post that has been vacant since the fall of 2019, a year before the outbreak.

The highly critical April 30 report from the Illinois Department of Human Services Office of the Inspector General cited management lapses from the top of the state Department of Veterans Affairs down to staff at the LaSalle home.

In all, 36 residents died of COVID-19, and hundreds of residents and staff were sickened. Relatives of the dead veterans have filed lawsuits against the state as a result of the reports findings.

I was not aware that polices and protocols were not being followed. We were told that they were being followed, Flores said at Thursdays hearing.

7 a.m.: Report: Lollapalooza expected to return this summer for 4-day festival July 29-August 1

As the U.S. moves closer to reopening seemingly every day, it looks like a big step forward will come in mid-summer, when the Lollapalooza Festival will return to Chicago with a four-day event at its usual place and date range Grant Park, July 29-August 1 sources tell Variety. The city of Chicago gave the event the greenlight at near-to or -full-capacity, insiders report, and an official announcement, likely with headliners, is expected to come next week.

Reps for festival organizers C3 Presents declined Varietys request for comment, although one told the Chicago Tribune late last month, We are excited about the progress in Chicago as the city continues to reopen. We are in close contact with city and public health officials as we continue to plan for the festival and remain optimistic about Lollapalooza 2021 in Grant Park. The festivals website still has the 2020 dates and lineup posted.

Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.

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Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Heres what happened May 14 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area - Chicago Tribune

Gleyber Torres, the Yankees two-time All-Star shortstop, became the eighth person involved with the Yankees organization to test positive for the coronavirus this week, the team announced on Thursday. But what has caught the attention of many outside of the baseball world is that Torres, three coaches and four support staff members had all been fully vaccinated.

Torres played on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, but he was held out of Wednesdays game as his virus test results were pending. Before Thursdays game, the team announced that Torres had a confirmed positive test. As a result, Torres might be away from the Yankees for 10 days based on the health and safety protocols negotiated by Major League Baseball and the players union.

Heres what is going on:

The Yankees outbreak began on Sunday, when the team, after spending over a week in New York hosting home games, flew to Florida to play the Tampa Bay Rays and learned that Phil Nevin, their third base coach, had tested positive for the virus.

The Yankees began extensive virus testing on Monday, a scheduled day off, and put people deemed to have had close contact with Nevin into isolation. To be safe, and in consultation with a joint committee of M.L.B. and players union experts, the team also isolated a few employees who fell into a gray area.

Nevin initially had some symptoms but was considered symptom-free by Thursday, General Manager Brian Cashman said.

After Tuesdays game, the Yankees announced that the number of confirmed positive results had grown to three. The two new people: the first base coach, Reggie Willits, who was already in isolation, and an unidentified support staff member.

Before Wednesdays game, Manager Aaron Boone said those with confirmed positive tests had grown to seven: three coaches the pitching coach, Matt Blake; Willits; and Nevin plus four unidentified support staff members. A day later, Torres joined their ranks.

All eight people were in isolation in the Tampa area, either at the team hotel or in their own homes. The Yankees spring training complex is there, so some players and staff members have off-season homes in the area.

Everyone in the Yankees traveling party of 50 to 60 people is being tested three times a day using polymerase chain reaction, saliva and rapid tests. Thursday was the first day of no new positive test results since the outbreak began, Cashman said. Maybe its slowing down, he said.

The Yankees have called all eight instances breakthrough positives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a breakthrough case occurs when a fully vaccinated person contracts the virus. It said a small number of such cases would be expected despite the effectiveness of vaccines, because none of the vaccines are capable of preventing illness in 100 percent of cases.

Even though a small percentage of fully vaccinated people will get sick, vaccination will protect most people from getting sick, the C.D.C.s website says. There also is some evidence that vaccination may make illness less severe in people who get vaccinated but still get sick. Despite this, some fully vaccinated people will still be hospitalized and die.

The C.D.C. said that as of April 26, of the more than 95 million people in the United States who had been fully vaccinated, it knew of 9,245 breakthrough infections. Of those, there were 835 hospitalizations and 132 deaths.

Beginning on Friday, though, the C.D.C. said it would change the way it reported breakthrough infections to only those who were hospitalized or died the two most severe outcomes from contracting Covid-19. In other words, the Yankees cases wouldnt fall under that category going forward.

May 15, 2021, 1:56 p.m. ET

That was not immediately clear.

Even though several players across M.L.B. have been reluctant to be vaccinated, the Yankees had been enjoying relaxed health and safety protocols under rules negotiated by M.L.B. and the players union for reaching a threshold at which 85 percent of the teams players and key personnel were fully vaccinated. In fact, Boone said on Thursday that the Yankees had very few people who werent vaccinated.

The rewards included, among other things, allowing the team to go without masks in the dugout and the bullpen, along with indoor dining and having visitors at the team hotel. The Yankees were growing more comfortable with this semblance of normal life but had reverted to stricter mask wearing and more distancing since the outbreak began.

When asked about a possible common thread among the positive cases, Cashman pointed to a long rain delay before a game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday and said that players had a much larger clubhouse space indoors to spread out in compared to what the coaches and the support staff had. A day later, the team flew to Tampa.

I believe the variant that were dealing with has been pretty aggressive, Cashman said, without identifying the variant.

(M.L.B., through its lab in Salt Lake City, has been sequencing all cases during the pandemic and had previously noticed the more contagious variant of the virus first identified in Britain that is now prevalent in the United States.)

Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the C.D.C.s director, said on Thursday that the agency wanted to learn more about the Yankees outbreak. She pointed to the fact that six of the Yankees seven cases as of Wednesday were asymptomatic, suggesting that proved that the vaccine was indeed effective.

Cashman said M.L.B. was in touch with the C.D.C. and that the Yankees were working directly with the New York State Department of Health concerning their outbreak.

In a statement, the Department of Health said it had been in contact with M.L.B. and the Yankees to better understand the situation.

While there have been anecdotal reports of New Yorkers who have had a positive Covid test 14 or more days after receiving their last vaccine dose, the statement said, D.O.H. is investigating those cases along with the ones linked to the Yankees further to determine if they meet the formal C.D.C. definition of vaccine breakthrough.

Yes. All eight people received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Cashman and a team spokesman said.

Nevin, along with Boone, received their single-dose vaccinations during spring training in March. Last month, the Yankees, via the Montefiore Medical Center, offered the Johnson & Johnson vaccine en masse to their players, coaches and staff members at Yankee Stadium. So those were different batches of the vaccine, in two different states, at different times.

The J.&J. was what was provided, and obviously no complaints from that, said Cashman, who said he had received the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because he was over 50.

In Torress case, not only was he fully vaccinated, according to the Yankees, but he had previously had Covid-19 in the off-season. Reinfection, the C.D.C. said, is rare.

Yes, Cashman said. Without virus testing, he said the team would perhaps never have known that seven of its asymptomatic employees had been infected.

We are maybe a case study, to some degree, or curiosity for people who dont know that despite being vaccinated you really are still potentially exposed, he said. We can educate people that your exposure is limited significantly, not to getting the virus but how the virus affects you.

Further proof, he said: The only person who had symptoms, Nevin, no longer had them by Thursday.

I take a lot of great comfort that thats the purpose of the vaccine, to protect, and it appears to be doing that, despite still having the ability to spread, he said, adding later, It will save you and protect from a lot more than what you think.

Continued here:

Yankees' Coronavirus Outbreak: What to Know - The New York Times

Two more Mainers have died as health officials on Saturday reported 175 more coronavirus cases across the state.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 3,907. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. Thats down from 4,135 on Friday.

Two more Mainers have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 801.

Saturdays report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 65,523, according to the Maine CDC. Thats up from 65,348 on Friday.

Of those, 48,274 have been confirmed positive, while 17,249 were classified as probable cases, the Maine CDC reported.

The new case rate statewide Friday was 1.31 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 489.56.

The most cases have been detected in Mainers in their 20s, while Mainers over 80 years old make up the majority of deaths. More cases and deaths have been recorded in women than men. For a complete breakdown of the age and sex demographics of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, use the interactive graphic below.

So far, 1,930 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Information about those currently hospitalized was not immediately available.

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Friday was 14.42 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (7,929), Aroostook (1,785), Cumberland (16,808), Franklin (1,300), Hancock (1,292), Kennebec (6,174), Knox (1,097), Lincoln (997), Oxford (3,471), Penobscot (5,789), Piscataquis (508), Sagadahoc (1,390), Somerset (2,080), Waldo (956), Washington (855) and York (13,092) counties.

For a complete breakdown of the county by county data, use the interactive graphic below.

As of Friday, 664,678 Mainers had received a first dose of the vaccine, while 621,100 have received a final dose.

As of Saturday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 32,895,636 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 585,233 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

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2 more Mainers die and 175 more coronavirus cases have been reported across the state - Bangor Daily News