Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

The winter COVID-and-flu season is ramping up in California and nationwide, with doctors and other experts saying the worst of the respiratory illness season is still to come.

New data show pronounced recent jumps in the rate at which coronavirus and flu tests are coming back positive, as well as the number of hospital-admitted patients testing positive for the viruses. Workplaces are also seeing higher numbers of employees call in sick due to infections.

National wastewater data suggest this winter could see the highest number of coronavirus infections occurring during any given week since the first Omicron wave began in fall 2021.

And were probably not quite to the zenith of it yet, said Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious diseases at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Looking at some of the data that we can extrapolate out from the wastewater, by the time we get to about Jan. 10 or so, were probably going to be seeing, within the U.S., about 2 million cases a day.

The good news is the number of people becoming seriously ill remains lower than last year, when hospitals were deluged by a tripledemic of COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

The peak of the 202122 Omicron wave crested at about 5 million cases a day, according to Hudson.

This winter, by contrast, there are far fewer critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring intensive hospital care, even though plenty of people are sick.

Flu is also making its presence felt in a major way.

Theres just this dramatic rise in influenza, said Dr. Caroline Goldzweig, chief medical officer of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Network.

In terms of the demand for outpatient care, Were definitely seeing a huge amount, said Dr. Chris Hiromura, associate program director for the family medicine residency at Adventist Health White Memorial hospital in Boyle Heights.

Theres definitely a huge spike in the outpatient COVID numbers, and just general viral illnesses, he said, as well as a more modest uptick in respiratory illnesses severe enough to require hospitalization.

The rates at which tests for the coronavirus and flu are coming back positive have been rising over the last month in Los Angeles County. For the week that ended Dec. 30, 18% of tests at county surveillance labs were coming back positive for flu, up from 10% a month earlier. As for the coronavirus, 13.5% were coming back positive, up from 9.9% a month earlier.

Our emergency department is very busy, as well as our inpatient units, said Dr. Graham Tse, chief medical officer for MemorialCare Miller Childrens & Womens Hospital Long Beach. Its a mixture of the three viruses influenza, COVID and RSV but theres also many other respiratory viruses that were also seeing that are always more prevalent during the winter.

Nationally, there were 34,798 new coronavirus-positive hospital admissions for the week that ended Dec. 30, a 20% jump over the prior week and the highest one-week total in nearly a year. Last winter peaked at 44,542 new hospital admissions for the week ending Dec. 31, 2022.

California recorded 3,516 new coronavirus-positive hospital admissions for the week that ended Dec. 30, a 7% increase from the previous week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The states peak last winter was 5,260 new hospital admissions for the final week of 2022.

Since Oct. 1, the CDC has reported an average of about 1,400 COVID-19 deaths a week nationally. Over the same time period last year, there were about 2,400 weekly COVID-19 deaths.

Seven California counties Friday joined the CDCs medium level of coronavirus-positive hospitalizations from the low level: Orange County; Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the Bay Area; and in the Central Valley and Sierra, Stanislaus, Merced, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties. Los Angeles County and the four-county Sacramento area were already in the medium level.

A more contagious subvariant may be aiding the spread of COVID-19. Nationally, the subvariant JN.1 was estimated to account for 62% of coronavirus specimens for the two-week period that ended Saturday; it accounted for 39% of specimens for the prior comparable period.

Last winters viral tripledemic taxed hospitals, with the burden of RSV weighing particularly heavily on pediatric facilities. Though there are a lot of cases of RSV this winter, Hudson said, its not quite as severe as it was last winter.

In general, whats different this year is this really does seem to be something that is impacting adults a lot more particularly those who are over the age of 65, Hudson said.

Even if someones bout with COVID is relatively mild, it poses a risk of exacerbating underlying health problems. For instance, a person with a lung disease like emphysema who comes down with COVID-19 may need hospitalization to get additional oxygen, Hudson said.

Flu is also putting many patients out of commission.

We are definitely seeing a pretty big uptick in flu ... mostly on the outpatient side, Hudson said. But, you know, flu is pretty miserable. If youve never had it, I always describe it as being hit by a Mack truck, because its the only way that you can really understand how crummy you can actually feel with it.

Flu has also forced concert cancellations in recent months, waylaying performances by Christina Aguilera and the rock band KISS.

One complication Hudson has noticed in recent months is that people might have COVID-19, but its taking longer for rapid tests to return a positive result. It used to be that someone might test positive for the coronavirus one or two days after the onset of symptoms using a rapid test, Hudson said. Now, positive results might not show up until perhaps the fourth day after symptoms start.

People who initially test negative for COVID-19 despite having symptoms and dont retest later could be getting a false sense of security that they dont have COVID when they actually do, and are contagious, Hudson said.

The delay in accurate test results is probably a result of people having accumulated immunity from COVID-19 over the years, whether from vaccination or previous infection, that is prolonging the testing window, according to Hudson.

Its important that people take steps to limit their risk of getting or developing severe complications from COVID-19, flu or other viral illnesses, doctors say. Those include getting a fresh COVID-19 and flu vaccine this winter, which many people have not yet done. For babies, pregnant people and older adults, an RSV immunization is also available.

People who are diligent and get the updated vaccinations as they come out, theyre just going to be less likely to have severe disease, Goldzweig said.

Its important to realize that COVID-19, despite being less deadly than the pandemics more harrowing phases, is no mere common cold virus.

We still see people getting long COVID even if theyve had COVID before, even if theyve been vaccinated, Goldzweig said.

Even people who are younger face about a 20% increased risk of heart attacks and stroke within six months of a COVID illness, which for people who are in their 30s and 40s is a pretty big increase, Hudson added. So while for some COVID infections might feel like a regular cold, it can potentially have longer-lasting impacts that were only really starting to understand.

Its not about living in fear. Its just about understanding that there are more risks to this than just a run-of-the-mill sore throat, Hudson said.

The latest wave has also continued to infect the diminishing number of people who had never had COVID-19 previously, including Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla.

Topol, who got it last month, has remained careful about trying to avoid the coronavirus, but was infected after a colleague with whom he shares an office came down with COVID-19. That colleague was similarly cautious, so neither wore masks while sharing their office, Topol said. The colleague doesnt know how he was infected.

Its picking off a lot of new hosts right now, Topol said.

In an op-ed published in The Times, Topol wrote that the coronavirus, with its ongoing ability to accumulate mutations, has proved to be highly resilient and has not been transformed to common cold status.

To truly get back to normal will require new oral, inhaled vaccines that can achieve high levels of mucosal immunity and protection against infections, which would be variant-proof, Topol wrote. Also helpful would be improved, variant-proof shots with better protection and durability. He said these efforts are not getting the urgent priority they need to be completed this year.

Weve got to come up with a way to, as soon as possible, stop infections and transmission, Topol said in an interview. Thats what were missing now. Thats how we get to normal. Thats how we get variant-proof. And then we can rest and feel really good about it.

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COVID-19 intensifies across California, with the worst likely still to come - Los Angeles Times

Tallahassee, Fla. On December 6, 2023, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo sent a letter to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen regarding questions pertaining to the safety assessments and the discovery of billions of DNA fragments per dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

The Surgeon General outlined concerns regarding nucleic acid contaminants in the approved Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, particularly in the presence of lipid nanoparticle complexes, and Simian Virus 40 (SV40) promoter/enhancer DNA. Lipid nanoparticles are an efficient vehicle for delivery of the mRNA in the COVID-19 vaccines into human cells and may therefore be an equally efficient vehicle for delivering contaminant DNA into human cells. The presence of SV40 promoter/enhancer DNA may also pose a unique and heightened risk of DNA integration into human cells.

In 2007, the FDA published guidance on regulatory limits for DNA vaccines in the Guidance for Industry: Considerations for Plasmid DNA Vaccines for Infectious Disease Indications (Guidance for Industry). In this Guidance for Industry, the FDA outlines important considerations for vaccines that use novel methods of delivery regarding DNA integration, specifically:

On December 14, 2023, the FDA provided a written response providing no evidence that DNA integration assessments have been conducted to address risks outlined by the FDA themselves in 2007. Based on the FDAs recognition of unique risks posed by DNA integration, the efficacy of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines lipid nanoparticle delivery system, and the presence of DNA fragments in these vaccines, it is essential to human health to assess the risks of contaminant DNA integration into human DNA. The FDA has provided no evidence that these risks have been assessed to ensure safety. As such, Florida State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has released the following statement:

The FDAs response does not provide data or evidence that the DNA integration assessments they recommended themselves have been performed. Instead, they pointed to genotoxicity studies which are inadequate assessments for DNA integration risk. In addition, they obfuscated the difference between the SV40 promoter/enhancer and SV40 proteins, two elements that are distinct.

DNA integration poses a unique and elevated risk to human health and to the integrity of the human genome, including the risk that DNA integrated into sperm or egg gametes could be passed onto offspring of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients. If the risks of DNA integration have not been assessed for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, these vaccines are not appropriate for use in human beings.

Providers concerned about patient health risks associated with COVID-19 should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment. It is my hope that, in regard to COVID-19, the FDA will one day seriously consider its regulatory responsibility to protect human health, including the integrity of the human genome.

In the spirit of transparency and scientific integrity, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo will continue to assess research surrounding these risks and provide updates to Floridians.

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Florida State Surgeon General Calls for Halt in the Use of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines - Florida Hospital News and ... - South Florida Hospital News

The holidays have come and gone, and once again Americans are riding a tide of respiratory ailments, including Covid. But so far, this winters Covid uptick seems less deadly than last years, and much less so than in 2022, when the Omicron surge ground the nation to a halt.

Were not seeing the signs that would make me think that were heading into another severe wave, said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. So far, were in relatively good shape.

Still, there are few masks in sight, and just a fraction of the most vulnerable people have received the latest Covid shots, she noted.

Its not too late, Dr. Rivers added. We have not even reached peak yet for Covid, and once you reach peak, you still have to get down the other side. That leaves plenty of time for the vaccine to provide some protection.

Federal officials are relying on limited data to measure this years spread. After the end of the public health emergency in May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped tracking the number of Covid infections. The agency now has only partial access to information from states about vaccination rates.

But trends in wastewater data, positive tests, emergency department visits, hospitalization rates and deaths point to a rise in infections in all regions of the nation, according to the C.D.C. These patterns have prompted many hospitals to reinstate mask policies, after initially resisting a return to them this fall.

As in previous years, the numbers have steadily been rising all winter, and are expected to increase further after holiday travel and get-togethers.

Many of the infections are caused by a new variant, JN.1, which has rapidly spread across the world in recent weeks. I think that theres no doubt its helping drive, pretty substantially, this winter wave, said Katelyn Jetelina, a public health expert and author of a widely read newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist.

Unfortunately, its coming at the same exact time as us opening up our social networks due to the holidays, she said, so theres kind of a perfect storm going on right now.

Some scientists have pointed to rising levels of the virus in sewage samples as an indicator that infections are at least as high this year as they were at this time last year. But Dr. Rivers urged caution in interpreting wastewater data as a proxy for infections and said hospitalizations were a more reliable metric.

In the week that ended on Dec. 23, hospitalizations rose by nearly 17 percent from the previous week. There were about 29,000 new hospital admissions, compared with 39,000 the same week last year and 61,000 in 2021.

And weekly hospitalizations are increasing more slowly than in previous years, Dr. Rivers said.

Covid is still claiming at least 1,200 lives per week. But that number is about one-third the toll this time last year and one-eighth that in 2021.

We are in this pretty big infection surge right now, but whats really interesting is how hugely hospitalizations have and continue to decouple from infections, Dr. Jetelina said.

She said she worried most about hospitals buckling under the weight of multiple epidemics at once. Even in years before the pandemic, outbreaks of just influenza and respiratory syncytial virus could strain hospitals; rising Covid rates now overlap both illnesses, adding to the burden.

The C.D.C. estimates that so far this season, there have been at least 7.1 million illnesses, 73,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths from the flu.

While Covid tends to be mild in children and young adults, influenza and R.S.V. are most risky for young children and older adults. All three diseases are particularly dangerous for infants.

Emergency department visits for Covid are highest among infants and older adults. While R.S.V. has leveled off in some parts of the country, hospitalization rates remain high among young children and older adults.

The JN.1 variant accounts for nearly half of all Covid cases in the United States, nearly six times the prevalence just a month ago. The variant has one mutation that gives it a greater ability to sidestep immunity than its parent, BA.2.86, which was limited in its spread.

JN.1 may in fact be less transmissible than previous variants. But its immune evasiveness, coupled with the disappearance of preventive measures like masks, may explain its exponential growth worldwide, said Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University.

Still, JN.1 does not appear to cause more severe illness than previous variants, and the current vaccines, tests and treatments work well against all of the current variants.

Experts urged all Americans including those not at high risk of severe illness to opt for vaccines against both Covid and flu, to use masks and air purifiers to prevent infections, to be tested and treated and to stay home if they become ill.

Even those who do not become severely sick run the risk of long-term complications with every new viral infection, researchers noted.

Im not at high risk, to be honest Im young and vaccinated, Dr. Rivers said. But I continue to take precautions in my own life because I do not want to deal with that disruption, and the risk that I could develop a longer-term illness.

But few Americans are following that advice. As of Dec. 23, only 19 percent of adults had received the latest Covid vaccine, and about 44 percent had opted for the annual flu shot. Just over 17 percent of adults aged 60 and older had received the vaccine for R.S.V.

Even among those 75 and older, who are at highest risk from Covid, only about one in three have received the latest shot, according to the C.D.C.

Many people dont realize that shots that protect against the newest variants are available, or that they should be vaccinated even if they are not at high risk, said Gigi Gronvall, a biosecurity expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Even if the Covid vaccine does not prevent infection, it can shorten the duration and severity of illness, and minimize the risk of long-term symptoms, including brain fog, fatigue, movement problems and dizziness collectively known as long Covid.

Im sure also there are plenty of people who are actively hostile to the idea, but most of the people I encounter, they just dont even know about it, Dr. Gronvall said.

Poor availability of the shots, particularly for children and older adults, has also limited the vaccination rates.

Dr. Gronvall struggled to find a Covid vaccine for her teenage son. Dr. Jetelina has yet to find any for her young children. She said her grandparents, who are both in their mid-90s, also had an incredibly challenging time.

One of them is in a nursing home and still hasnt been immunized because she happened to be sick the one day the vaccines were offered.

Many nursing home residents and staff members remain unvaccinated, because the staff doesnt understand the benefits, said Dr. Karan, who worked with nursing facilities in Los Angeles County.

Financial incentives can improve vaccine coverage, but the lack of awareness about the benefits is a major problem, he said.

Experts also urged people who develop symptoms to take a test and ask for antiviral drugs Tamiflu for influenza, Paxlovid for Covid especially if they are at high risk of complications.

Paxlovid is still available free of charge to most people, but many patients and even doctors avoid it out of a mistaken belief that it causes Covid symptoms to rebound, experts said. Recent studies did not find a relationship between antiviral drugs and symptom rebound.

For many viruses, including the flu, we know that earlier use of antivirals is going to be beneficial, Dr. Karan said. You stop viral replication quickly, you have less of an immune dysregulation thereafter.

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Covid Has Resurged, but Scientists See a Diminished Threat - The New York Times

L.L. Bean has just added a third shift at its factory in Brunswick, Maine, in an attempt to keep up with demand for its iconic boot.

Orders have quadrupled in the past few years as the boots have become more popular among a younger, more urban crowd.

The company says it saw the trend coming and tried to prepare, but orders outpaced projections. They expect to sell 450,000 pairs of boots in 2014.

People hoping to have the boots in time for Christmas are likely going to be disappointed. The bootsare back ordered through February and even March.

"I've been told it's a good problem to have but I"m disappointed that customers not getting what they want as quickly as they want," said Senior Manufacturing Manager Royce Haines.

Customers like, Mary Clifford, tried to order boots on line, but they were back ordered until January.

"I was very surprised this is what they are known for and at Christmas time you can't get them when you need them," said Clifford.

People who do have boots are trying to capitalize on the shortage and are selling them on Ebay at a much higher cost.

L.L. Bean says it has hired dozens of new boot makers, but it takes up to six months to train someone to make a boot.

The company has also spent a million dollars on new equipment to try and keep pace with demand.

Some customers are having luck at the retail stores. They have a separate inventory, and while sizes are limited, those stores have boots on the shelves.

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Overall respiratory illnesses at high' level in Illinois as officials urge residents to get vaccinated - NBC Chicago

This is a video synopsis/summary of a panel discussion involving Tina Q. Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, and Rodney Rohde, PhD, MS, SM(ASCP)CM.

The focus of the discussion is on the impact of different viral subtypes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the development of long COVID-19 symptoms. The speaker emphasizes that there is no specific data pinpointing a particular viral variant responsible for long COVID-19, but observations suggest a potential correlation. Recent data show a decrease in long COVID-19 cases, possibly attributed to a larger population immunity and changes in the virus's virulence over time.

The conversation delves into factors influencing long COVID-19, such as immune status, genetic predisposition, and vaccination. The speaker underscores the importance of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 infection and reducing the severity of its impact, subsequently lowering the risk of long COVID-19. Vaccine hesitancy, a growing concern, is discussed in the context of its potential contribution to the increased occurrence of long COVID-19.

The dialogue transitions to a discussion about available COVID-19 vaccines, specifically focusing on mRNA vaccines like Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, as well as the protein subunit vaccine Novavax. Vaccination recommendations, particularly for different age groups and immune-compromised individuals, are highlighted. The updated COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for individuals aged 5 years and older, with specific dosing guidelines provided based on prior vaccination history.

Overall, the discussion emphasizes the role of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 infection and reducing the likelihood of long COVID-19. The speaker provides insights into the evolving understanding of the virus and vaccination recommendations based on the latest data and situations.

Video synopsis is AI-generated and reviewed by PatientCare editorial staff.

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The Need for Vaccination Against COVID-19 - Patient Care Online

The number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations fluctuated up and down throughout 2023. The state was coming down from a spike in early January 2023 with approximately 2,428 cases recorded on Jan. 3, 2023, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard. Increases were seen in early September, going down until late October, when there a gradual increase began to the end of the year.

Even with ups and downs, Ohios 2023 COVID numbers are dramatically down from 2022s highest levels 32,715 cases on Jan. 3, 2022; 366 hospitalizations on Jan. 7; and 192 deaths on Jan. 13, according to ODH data.

Cases of COVID-19 continue to be reportable in Ohio, but cases are under-reported due to the availability of at-home testing. Many who do test positive just stay home and self-treat, with no notification. ODH considers hospitalizations to be a better indicator of COVIDs impact, and current hospitalization numbers remain lower than at the same time in each of the past two years.

ODH officially recorded 12,453 COVID hospitalizations in 2023 roughly equivalent to the entire population of West Carrollton, Urbana or Franklin. That number is down 62% from Ohios 33,380 COVID hospitalizations in 2022, but theres some uncertainty to the data.

The state cautions that hospitalizations are under-reported on ODHs date-specific dashboard, as 15,201 hospitalizations have been excluded due to the admission date for those hospitalizations being unknown. Combining the two hospitalization numbers could put the 2023 number at 27,654.

The state has had 147,202 COVID hospitalizations since the pandemic began, the majority of them in 2020 and 2021.

COVID-19 statistics comparing 2022 to 2023, using ODH data

According to ODH, COVID was responsible for 1,925 Ohioans deaths in 2023.

The availability of COVID-19 vaccines, along with updated versions of the vaccine, are credited for part of the decrease in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, experts say, though fewer than 10% of Ohioans have received the updated vaccine.

People who are more at risk of complications, such as people who are older, are more likely to stay up to date on COVID vaccinations.

The vaccine continues to be developed, and theres new versions of the vaccine available to keep up with the emerging strains as best possible, so we have seen an overall lessening in the effect of COVID, generally speaking, across the population, Suffoletto said. There still are instances where people are getting sick and going to the hospital, but that has lessened to a greater degree.

New variants continue to emerge, but vaccines still reduce the risk of hospitalizations, severe illness, and death due to COVID, public health officials say.

As of the week ending Dec. 2, the Omicron variant JN.1 had accounted for 4.59% of Ohio cases that have been genomically sequenced, ODH said. ODHs COVID-19 variant dashboard can be found in the states datasets at data.ohio.gov.

The World Health Organization considers JN.1 to be a low public health risk and vaccines that are currently available should provide protection against this variant, the organization said.

ODH of course continues to encourage Ohioans to receive the latest COVID-19 vaccine as their best defense against severe illness, the department said.

The wide availability of at-home COVID tests help people know when they have the virus, so they know to stay home to prevent spreading it.

People have developed their own strategies at dealing with COVID, making sure to take cold-like symptoms more seriously.

Theyre not just ignoring symptoms when they come up, Suffoletto said. In the past, people may have had congestion or cold-like symptoms and just ignored that or wrote it off as the cold. Now I think many more people are considering COVID and taking the test and taking precautions.

Even though hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID decreased in 2023 over 2022, public health officials encourage people to stay proactive with vaccinations.

We dont want to lose sight of the fact that even though compared to years past, theres a lower number of cases, its still very important for people to get vaccinated to help keep those cases down, to help keep people out of the hospital, to help keep people from being sick, Suffoletto said.

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COVID-19 continued decline in 2023, though its impact still resulted in more than 1,900 deaths statewide, according to ... - Dayton Daily News

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Judge rejects move by Steamship Authority workers to avoid vaccine - Cape Cod Times

Like so many of us, I was thrilled when the COVID-19 vaccine came out. The months (or was it decades?) of isolation were draining, and cost me so much emotionally. So, it was with great anticipation and excitement that I got that first jab.

That night, I ran a fever and had the usual side effects people were noticing at the time. One of my ears also closed up for several hours, which struck me as strange, but it dissipated, and I forgot about it.

I got the second jab with no weird side effects, and started to enjoy life outside with my adult kids. My daughter and I made up a game called Two Vaccinated Ladies Go to The (fill in the blank). We referenced our silly new titles every time we went out to enjoy shopping, movies, and life in general.

When it was time for boosters, I was more than ready. I had to wait a bit, because I got an ear infection for the first time in my adult life before I was scheduled for the shot. A round of antibiotics cleared up the infection completely, and off I went for my third jab. Within hours, my ears clogged up to the point where hearing became challenging. I thought the ear infection had returned, and dashed off to urgent care for another round of antibiotics. No infection could be found, but I was prescribed meds anyway. They didnt help, and the clogged, thick feeling remained. No matter what I tried, the stuffiness refused to dissipate, especially in one ear. I felt like I was underwater, and sinking fast.

Two weeks to the day after getting the booster, I came down with the COVID-19 virus. I only got mildly sick, thanks to the shot. But my ears refused to unclog. And about a week later, the unrelenting ringing in my bad ear started.

This was my worst nightmare. A friend of mine with tinnitus didnt leave her home for a year. My symptoms werent as bad as hers, but I couldnt pull my attention away from the unending ringing that wouldnt let me sleep or watch TV.

Along with that were the questions that plagued me: could it have been the vaccine? Was the virus at fault? Did the early ear infection have something to do with my new, constant companion? Theres no real way to know. And herein may lie the problem.

As weve reported in the past, approximately 16,000 people reported getting tinnitus after receiving a COVID-19 shot to VAERS, the official Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, run by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Im not part of that statistic. I was unsure of the underlying cause of my condition, and I didnt want to skew the data.

I found out after talking to friends, neighbors, and other assorted Brooklyn, NY types that tinnitus after vaccination often goes unreported. So, the VAERS data may be low. It may also be high. VAERS does not require people to receive a medical diagnosis, prior to reporting an adverse event. So, theres no way to know from these numbers what the actual impact of COVID-19 vaccination on hearing health is.

Scientific research is also lacking on the connection between COVID vaccines and tinnitus. What we do know is where theres smoke, theres fire. We just dont know for sure whats causing those flames to spark.

The flu, Tdap, and pneumococcal vaccines have all been shown to cause tinnitus in very small numbers. These underlying causes are rare.

Tinnitus has a wide range of much more common causes, including age-related hearing loss, ototoxic medications, and loud noise exposure. Thats one of the reasons why scientific data hasnt been able to tweeze out a direct, causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and tinnitus, or any other hearing-related condition.

In my case, Ill probably never know if it was the vaccine, virus, ear infection, or all of the above that gave me tinnitus.

Francisca Yao, M.D., my wonderfully pragmatic ENT doctor, gently steered me away from obsessing about the root cause of my condition. That let me breathe. It may sound counterintuitive, but not having to worry about the whys was very freeing. It eliminated blame (how could they?) and self-blame (why did I?), which isnt helpful. That being said, research on the links between vaccines and vaccine reactions of all kinds is urgently needed and must be ongoing, in order to achieve the highest possible levels of public safety.

So now, believe it or not, Im about to get my next round of COVID shots. Yes, Im nervous that theyll exacerbate my symptoms. But I also know that the COVID virus can cause or worsen tinnitus. Not getting vaccinated doesnt shield me from this possibility. Most importantly, I dont want to go back to the dark ages of huddling isolated at home, because COVID and other viruses are running rampant out there.

You do you, but if it was up to me, Id ask you to get and stay vaccinated, too. Billions of people over 81% of the total U.S. population have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19. Less than 1% have reported tinnitus as a possible side effect. So, if you havent gotten the shot and are avoiding it for fear of tinnitus, please dont let my story sway you against vaccination.

Life is full of calculated risks. Theres just no way to ever make sure were completely safe from everything. If only! Ive learned to live with tinnitus. Its not the first thing I think of when I wake up anymore. And, I have learned to sleep with it. Tinnitus is a small part of my life, but its not the defining part anymore.

What I know I cant live with is being stuck at home without people, the outdoor sounds of nature, special events, and travel. I want to stay in the game of life. So, despite the soft, intermittent ringing that sometimes haunts my left ear, I know what my next step will be.

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The Covid Vaccine May Have Given Me Tinnitus, but I'm Getting Vaccinated Again. Here's Why - Healthy Hearing

In a recent study published in the journal Cellular & Molecular Immunology, scientists from University College London reviewed the current achievements in the development of a pan-coronavirus vaccine and the challenges involved in limiting the transmission of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and four other human coronaviruses.

Study:In search of a pan-coronavirus vaccine: next-generation vaccine design and immune mechanisms. Image Credit:LookerStudio/Shutterstock.com

Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been one of the biggest global public health crises in the last few decades, the concerted efforts worldwide in developing effective vaccines have highlighted the importance of understanding the immunological basis of developing resistance against respiratory viruses.

While the global morbidity and mortality rates associated with the pandemic have been staggering, the COVID-19 vaccines have also significantly reduced the spread of the virus and prevented a substantial number of deaths.

Since coronaviruses have been responsible for the three major pandemics in the last twenty years, developing a pan-coronavirus is essential.

The current vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses that largely consist of the antigenically variant spike glycoprotein are specific to species and sometimes even to variants and elicit minimal cross-reactive immune responses against the coronavirus family's other variants or viral species.

A pan-coronavirus approach aims to develop a vaccine that effectively protects against infections or severe disease caused by any coronavirus family viruses.

The four seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoVs) OC43, 229E, NL63, HKU1, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 are responsible for a significant portion of the economic health burden worldwide.

COVID-19 continues to present long-term health burdens due to long coronavirus disease (long COVID), which affects multiple organ systems and results in persistent fatigue, myalgia, dyspnea, and neurological impairments that further impact the individuals life.

Many of these coronaviruses also have animal reservoirs, presenting the constant danger of emergent variants with higher virulence.

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 with novel mutations that help evade existing vaccine-induced immunity also highlighted the need for a pan-coronavirus vaccine that circumvents the requirement of updated vaccines that can only combat each emergent variant, reducing development costs and providing wide-scale protection against coronaviruses.

The review addressed a comprehensive list of the limitations of the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines that need to be discussed during the development of pan-coronavirus vaccines. Some of these challenges include limitations in blocking asymptomatic infections that continue to cause viral transmission, inadequate mounting of immune responses in non-seroconverters such as those with inborn immunological errors, lack of durability of the immune response, absence of mucosal administrative routes that can increase vaccine uptake in the population, and the limited cross-reactive immunity of existing vaccines.

The scientists believe that the ideal pan-coronavirus vaccine should address these limitations by offering durable immunity against a wide range of Coronaviridae viruses in people of all age groups and prevent viral shedding, infection, or onward transmission of the virus.

The ideal vaccine would also provide lifelong immunity after a specific number of doses. Furthermore, vaccine design and development also need to involve a thorough understanding of the complex immunological responses that contribute to the most effective protection against coronaviruses, such as the contributions of non-neutralizing antibodies, natural killer cells, and T-cell responses.

Additionally, the researchers discussed in detail some pan-coronavirus vaccine approaches that are either in the preclinical stages or being clinically tested.

Numerous vaccines that use ferritin or mosaic nanoparticles for vaccine delivery and target either the receptor binding domain or the spike protein region of -coronavirus or sarbecovirus are in the preclinical stages of development.

Another approach involves using vaccine antigens consisting of either a consensus sequence or a string of conserved B and T-cell epitopes.

Other approaches to pan-coronavirus vaccine development include the use of computationally designed antigens using bioinformatics methods, the inclusion of antigens for eliciting antibody and T-cell responses in the same messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine, the use of the S2 subunit alone to elicit a stronger vaccine response, and many more vaccine types.

The broadly reactive vaccines that are currently in the clinical trial stage include a ferritin nanoparticle platform, an enveloped vaccine with a virus-like particle, a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine, and a live-attenuated vaccine against parainfluenza viruses.

Overall, the scientists provided a detailed overview of the current state of pan-coronavirus vaccine development.

They also discussed many of the shortcomings of the currently used coronavirus vaccines that need to be addressed in the pursuit of developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine that can provide broad protection against a wide range of human coronaviruses.

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Are pan-coronavirus vaccines an achievable goal in providing broad protection against human coronaviruses? - News-Medical.Net

Published: Jan 03, 2024, 08:10 IST,

Nepal got Sinovac vaccines in April 2021 as a grant from China. China refused to take the vaccines back. The vaccines were in storage for over two years. W.H.O recommended Pfizer, Moderna, Covishield over SINOVAC. Watch to know more!

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Nepal to destroy 4 million Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines, 2.5 years after buying them from China - WION