Category: Covid-19

Watch CBS News

A sharp uptick in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for COVID-19, influenza and RSV began in mid-December, and a COVID variant called JN.1 is rapidly spreading.. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, joins CBS News with the data and what to know about the variant.

Be the first to know

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.

More here:

COVID-19 JN.1 variant is spreading across the U.S. - CBS News

Getting COVID-19 today is much less scary and more common than it was three years ago. By now, many people have had it not just once, but two, three, or even more times. Most of the time, repeat infections aren't as severe as they were the first time, leading to a sense of complacency about getting COVID-19 over and over.

But reinfections aren't harmless. As cases continue to rise and more variants arrive on the scene, infectious-disease experts are warning that repeat infections could have cumulative, lasting effects.

There is some early evidence starting to show that if you had COVID-19, there can be all sorts of problems after getting infected and reinfected, says Dr. Robert Murphy, professor of medicine and executive director of the Havey Institute for Global Health at Northwesterns Feinberg School of Medicine. We are just at the beginning of learning about them.

Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, studies Long COVID: a condition marked by health effects that linger after infection. Reinfection remains consequential, he says.

In a paper published in Nature Medicine in 2022, he found that people who had gotten COVID-19 at least twice experienced higher rates of short- and long-term health effects, including heart, lung, and brain issues, compared to those who were only infected once.

But why? Dr. Davey Smith, a virologist and head of infectious diseases at University of California San Diego, says that certain characteristicssuch as older agemay make people more vulnerable to complications after repeat bouts. The older you get, the worse you do with viruses in general, but specifically with SARS-CoV-2, he says. Every time you get COVID-19 again and again, you increase the likelihood of having a worse infection just based on age."

Underlying health conditions that people may not necessarily be aware oflike prediabetes or increased inflammationcould also put them at higher risk after each infection. For somebody who is already on the edge of developing diabetes and then gets COVID-19, that could damage the pancreas and the endocrine system enough to change things, Smith says. Similarly, having high rates of inflammation before COVID-19 could raise the risk of heart events such as stroke or a heart attack after an infection.

Regardless of a person's health status, each COVID-19 infection can raise the risk of developing blood clots, which can travel to the brain or lungs. Thats why Smith believes anyone who is eligible for antiviral drugs such as Paxlovid should take them, since controlling the virus as quickly as possible can reduce any potential long-term or lingering effects an infection can have on the body.

At this point, many people view COVID-19 as relatively benign. But even if you've already recovered from a mild case, there's no guarantee that next time will go as smoothly. "Just because you did okay with it last year doesnt mean youll do okay with it this year, Smith says.

There is a mischaracterization in the public understanding that you can get an acute infection with fever, cough, malaise, and fatigue, get over it after a few days or a week or so, then bounce back, and its gone, says Al-Aly. The data are showing that [some] people still display increased risk of problems even two years after an infection.

Thats what he found in his study. People who had multiple infections were three times more likely to be hospitalized for their infection up to six months later than those who only got COVID-19 once, and were also more likely to have problems with clotting, gastrointestinal disorders, kidney, and mental-health symptoms. The risks appeared to increase the more infections people experienced.

Understanding why SARS-CoV-2 has a uniquely lasting effect on the body remains a challenge. Historically, when the immune system meets a new pathogen like a virus, it generates novel defenses and remembers the intruder, so it has a head start if the virus returns. Thats certainly the case with SARS-CoV-2which is why vaccines work, and why getting reinfected generally leads to milder symptoms.

But there is also growing evidence that in some people, getting COVID-19 the first time may compromise the immune response in a way that makes the body less likely to respond effectively the next time it sees the virus. That could leave certain organs and body systems, such as the brain, weaker for months after infectionand subsequent ones. Its the balance of these two opposing forcesthe immune system learning from the past and knowing how to deal with a virus and do a better job the second and third time around, and the idea that a first encounter with a virus might alter the immune system in some way that it becomes less efficientthat could explain why some people get Long COVID, says Al-Aly.

Data also continue to show that even vaccinated people can get Long COVIDalthough the risk may be lowersince the protection provided by vaccines wanes over time, just as it does from infections. Vaccines are therefore a strong but not absolute barrier to the virus.

Each time you get hit, it does impact your body, so lets try not to get it too many times, says Smith. Thats easier said than done, since after three years, people are tired of taking precautions such as wearing masks and avoiding crowded public spaces. Weve lost the public-health battle; there is no appetite for public masking or stringent public health measures, says Al-Aly.

That means other strategies need to become available, including universal vaccines that can protect against multiple variants and nasal spray vaccines that stand guard at the nose, which is where SARS-CoV-2 generally enters. Researchers are currently testing these next generation shots, so while the good news is that these technologies do exist, they need to be accelerated and brought to market as soon as possible to protect the public, says Al-Aly.

In the meantime, Smith says its important for people to understand that they still need to do everything they can to avoid getting COVID-19. That means staying up to date with vaccinations and taking some basic precautions, such as wearing high-quality masks indoors when cases are high, especially in crowded places and on public transportation.

I wish we lived in a world where getting repeat infections doesnt matter," says Al-Aly, "but the reality is thats not the case."

Go here to see the original:

Is It Dangerous to Keep Getting COVID-19? - TIME

It's winter, that cozy season that brings crackling fireplaces, indoor gatherings and a wave of respiratory illness. Nearly four years since the pandemic emerged, people are growing weary of dealing with it, but the virus is not done with us.

Nationally, a sharp uptick in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, began in mid-December and appears to be gaining momentum.

Here are a few things to know this time around:

click to expand

The COVID virus is continually changing, and a recent version is rapidly climbing the charts. Even though it appeared only in September, the variant known as JN.1, a descendant of omicron, is rapidly spreading, representing between 39% to half of the cases, according to pre-holiday stats from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lab data indicates that the updated vaccines, as well as existing COVID rapid tests and medical treatments, are effective with this latest iteration. More good news is that it "does not appear to pose additional risks to public health beyond that of other recent variants," according to the CDC. Even so, new COVID hospitalizations 34,798 for the week that ended Dec. 30 are trending upward, although rates are still substantially lower than last December's tally. It's early in the season, though. Levels of virus in wastewater one indicator of how infections are spreading are "very high," exceeding the levels seen this time last year.

And don't forget, other nasty bugs are going around. More than 20,000 people were hospitalized for influenza the week ending Dec. 30, and the CDC reports that RSV remains elevated in many areas.

"The numbers so far are definitely going in the not-so-good direction," said Ziyad Al-Aly, the chief of the research and development service at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Healthcare System and a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. "We're likely to see a big uptick in January now that everyone is back home from the holidays."

Certainly, compared with the first COVID winter, things are better now. Far fewer people are dying or becoming seriously ill, with vaccines and prior infections providing some immunity and reducing severity of illness. Even compared with last winter, when omicron was surging, the situation is better. New hospitalizations, for example, are about one-third of what they were around the 2022 holidays. Weekly deaths dropped slightly the last week of December to 839 and are also substantially below levels from a year ago.

"The ratio of mild disease to serious clearly has changed," said William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.

Even so, the definition of "mild" is broad, basically referring to anything short of being sick enough to be hospitalized.

While some patients may have no more than the sniffles, others experiencing "mild" COVID can be "miserable for three to five days," Schaffner said.

"Am I going to be really sick? Do I have to mask up again?" It is important to know the basics.

For starters, symptoms of the COVID variants currently circulating will likely be familiar such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fatigue, fever, and muscle aches.

So if you feel ill, stay home, said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. "It can make a big difference."

Dust off those at-home COVID test kits, check the extended expiration dates on the FDA website, and throw away the ones that have aged out. Tests can be bought at most pharmacies and, if you haven't ordered yours yet, free test kits are still available through a federal program at COVID.gov.

Test more than once, especially if your symptoms are mild. The at-home rapid tests may not detect COVID infection in the first couple of days, according to the FDA, which recommends using "multiple tests over a certain time period, such as two to three days."

With all three viruses, those most at risk include the very young, older adults, pregnant people, and those with compromised immune systems or underlying diseases, including cancer or heart problems. But those without high-risk factors can also be adversely affected.

While mask-wearing has dropped in most places, you may start to see more people wearing them in public spaces, including stores, public transit, or entertainment venues.

Although a federal mask mandate is unlikely, health officials and hospitals in at least four states California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York have again told staff and patients to don masks. Such requirements were loosened last year when the public health emergency officially ended.

Such policies are advanced through county-level directives. The CDC data indicates that, nationally, about 46.7% of counties are seeing moderate to high hospital admission rates of COVID.

"We are not going to see widespread mask mandates as our population will not find that acceptable," Schaffner noted. "That said, on an individual basis, mask-wearing is a very intelligent and reasonable thing to do as an additional layer of protection."

The N95, KN95, and KF94 masks are the most protective. Cloth and paper are not as effective.

And, finally, if you haven't yet been vaccinated with an updated COVID vaccine or gotten a flu shot, it's not too late. There are also new vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to protect against RSV recommended for certain populations, which include older adults, pregnant people, and young children.

Generally, flu peaks in midwinter and runs into spring. COVID, while not technically seasonal, has higher rates in winter as people crowd together indoors.

"If you haven't received vaccines," Schaffner said, "we urge you to get them and don't linger."

People who have dodged COVID entirely are in the minority.

At the same time, repeat infections are common. Fifteen percent of respondents to a recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll said they'd had COVID two or three times. A Canadian survey released in December found 1 in 5 residents said they had gotten COVID more than once as of last June.

Aside from the drag of being sick and missing work or school for days, debate continues over whether repeat infections pose smaller or larger risks of serious health effects. There are no definitive answers, although experts continue to study the issue.

Two research efforts suggest repeat infections may increase a person's chances of developing serious illness or even long COVID which is defined various ways but generally means having one or more effects lingering for a month or more following infection. The precise percentage of cases and underlying factors of long COVID and why people get it are among the many unanswered questions about the condition. However, there is a growing consensus among researchers that vaccination is protective.

Still, the VA's Al-Aly said a study he co-authored that was published in November 2022 found that getting COVID more than once raises an "additional risk of problems in the acute phase, be it hospitalization or even dying," and makes a person two times as likely to experience long COVID symptoms.

The Canadian survey also found a higher risk of long COVID among those who self-reported two or more infections. Both studies have their limitations: Most of the 6 million in the VA database were male and older, and the data studied came from the first two years of the pandemic, so some of it reflected illnesses from before vaccines became available. The Canadian survey, although more recent, relied on self-reporting of infections and conditions, which may not be accurate.

Still, Al-Aly and other experts say taking preventive steps, such as getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in higher-risk situations, can hedge your bets.

"Even if in a prior infection you dodged the bullet of long COVID," Al-Aly said, "it doesn't' mean you will dodge the bullet every single time."

KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Read this article:

There's a new COVID-19 variant and cases are ticking up. What do you need to know? - CBS News

Watch CBS News

The page may have been removed, had its name changed, or is just temporarily unavailable.

Be the first to know

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.

Read this article:

Anthony Fauci begins 2 days of interviews with House panel on COVID-19 - CBS News

The head of the U.N. health agency says holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month

January 10, 2024, 12:10 PM ET

2 min read

GENEVA -- The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries mostly in Europe and the Americas that shared such trend information.

"Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable," the World Health Organization director-general told reporters from its headquarters in Geneva.

He said it was certain that cases were on the rise in other places that haven't been reporting, calling on governments to keep up surveillance and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines.

Tedros said the JN.1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. It is an omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection.

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at WHO for COVID-19, cited an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe due to the coronavirus but also flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.

We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere, she said, while noting increases in COVID-19 in the southern hemisphere where it's now summer.

While bouts of coughs, sniffling, fever and fatigue in the winter are nothing new, Van Kerkhove said this year in particular, "we are seeing co-circulation of many different types of pathogens.

WHO officials recommend that people get vaccinated when possible, wear masks, and make sure indoor areas are well ventilated.

The vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying, said Dr. Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at WHO.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

More here:

Nearly 10,000 died from COVID-19 last month, fueled by holiday gatherings and new variant, WHO says - ABC News

Geneva, Jan 13: Public health risks resulting from the Covid-19 virus remain high globally, with the virus circulating in all countries, a senior expert from the World Health Organization (WHO) said here.

According to estimates based on wastewater analysis, the actual circulation of Covid-19 is two to 19 times higher than the number of reported cases, Maria van Kerkhove, the interim director of WHO responsible for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, told a special briefing in Geneva.

She also expressed concerns regarding the emergence of post-Covid conditions (also called "long Covid") affecting multiple organs.

While there has been a drastic reduction in Covid-related deaths since the peak, around 10,000 deaths per month are still reported from 50 countries.

Van Kerkhove expressed concerns about the evolving nature of the virus, with the Covid-19 JN.1 variant representing around 57 percent of global sequences analysed by the WHO.

Follow this link:

WHO warns of persistent threats from Covid - Greater Kashmir

FILE - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks to journalists during a press conference at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday April 6, 2023. The head of the U.N. health agency says holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File)

GENEVA (AP) The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries mostly in Europe and the Americas that shared such trend information.

Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable, the World Health Organization director-general told reporters from its headquarters in Geneva.

He said it was certain that cases were on the rise in other places that havent been reporting, calling on governments to keep up surveillance and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines.

Tedros said the JN.1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. It is an omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection.

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at WHO for COVID-19, cited an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe due to the coronavirus but also flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.

We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere, she said, while noting increases in COVID-19 in the southern hemisphere where its now summer.

While bouts of coughs, sniffling, fever and fatigue in the winter are nothing new, Van Kerkhove said this year in particular, we are seeing co-circulation of many different types of pathogens.

WHO officials recommend that people get vaccinated when possible, wear masks, and make sure indoor areas are well ventilated.

The vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying, said Dr. Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at WHO.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Here is the original post:

Nearly 10,000 died from COVID-19 last month, fueled by holiday gatherings and new variant, WHO says - WJMN - UPMatters.com

[Originally published: March 10, 2022. Updated: Jan. 10, 2024]

Note: Information in this article was accurate at the time of original publication. Because information about COVID-19 changes rapidly, we encourage you to visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and your state and local government for the latest information.

Paxlovid, the pill that has become the go-to treatment for COVID-19 treatment, was granted full approval in May by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults at high risk for severe disease, including hospitalization and death. The drug also remains available to everyone 12 and older (weighing at least 88 pounds) who has mild-to-moderate disease and is at high risk for severe disease under an FDA Emergency Use Authorization.

Paxlovid is an oral antiviral pill that can be taken at home to help keep high-risk patients from getting so sick that they need to be hospitalized. So, if you are eligible to take the pills, you can take them at home and lower your risk of going to the hospital.

The drug, developed by Pfizer, had an 89% reduction in the risk of hospitalization and death in unvaccinated people in the clinical trial that supported the EUA, a number that was high enough to prompt the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to prioritize it over other COVID-19 treatments. Studies outside of the laboratory have since confirmed Paxlovids effectiveness among people who have been vaccinated. Its cheaper than many other COVID-19 drugs (at this time, U.S. residents eligible for Paxlovid will continue to receive the medicine at no charge), and it is expected to work against the latest Omicron subvariants.

It's really our first efficacious oral antiviral pill for this virus, says Scott Roberts, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist. It shows clear benefit, and it really can prevent hospitalization and death in people who are at high risk.

FDA approval will allow Paxlovid to remain available for adults indefinitely. Meanwhile, Pfizer continues to gather pediatric data to submit for FDA approval in children at a future date.

As far as convenience, this medication is considered an improvement over treatments like remdesivir (approved by the FDA in October 2020), which is administered by intravenous (IV) injection. The FDA also granted an EUA in December to a pill from Merck called molnupiravir (Lagevrio), but some studies suggest that molnupiravir has only a 30% reduction in the risk for hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

We asked Yale Medicine infectious diseases experts common questions about Paxlovid. Below are their responses.

Excerpt from:

13 Things To Know About Paxlovid, the Latest COVID-19 Pill - Yale Medicine

California has rules to keep workplaces safe from COVID-19. Learn how you can keep yourself protected.

Employers must follow workplace safety and health regulations to protect workers. That includes protecting workers from COVID-19.

Follow the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 Prevention Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations and Frequently Asked Questions to keep your workplace safe. They cover:

Workers who are at much higher risk of being exposed to someone with an infectious disease spread in the air are protected by the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Disease (ATD) Standard.

Examples include workers in healthcare and correctional facilities. Visit the ATD Safety & Health Fact Sheet to learn more.

Youre protected by California laws that prohibit retaliation for exercising workplace rights. If your employer retaliates because you requested exclusion pay, file a retaliation complaint. Contact the California Labor Commissioners Office for help.

If long COVID affects your ability to work, you may be able to ask your employer for accommodations to help you do your job. Visit theUS Department of Labor websitefor more information.

Learn more about resources on the Post-COVID conditions (Long COVID) Coronavirus COVID-19 Response (ca.gov) page and the CDPH Post-COVID Conditions (Long COVID) Questions & Answers (ca.gov).

See original here:

Safety in the workplace - Coronavirus COVID-19 Response - COVID-19.CA.gov

Specialty

Please choose I'm not a medical professional. Allergy and Immunology Anatomy Anesthesiology Cardiac/Thoracic/Vascular Surgery Cardiology Critical Care Dentistry Dermatology Diabetes and Endocrinology Emergency Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Family Medicine Forensic Medicine Gastroenterology General Practice Genetics Geriatrics Health Policy Hematology HIV/AIDS Hospital-based Medicine I'm not a medical professional. Infectious Disease Integrative/Complementary Medicine Internal Medicine Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Medical Education and Simulation Medical Physics Medical Student Nephrology Neurological Surgery Neurology Nuclear Medicine Nutrition Obstetrics and Gynecology Occupational Health Oncology Ophthalmology Optometry Oral Medicine Orthopaedics Osteopathic Medicine Otolaryngology Pain Management Palliative Care Pathology Pediatrics Pediatric Surgery Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Plastic Surgery Podiatry Preventive Medicine Psychiatry Psychology Pulmonology Radiation Oncology Radiology Rheumatology Substance Use and Addiction Surgery Therapeutics Trauma Urology Miscellaneous

See the rest here:

Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Patients: An Experience From a Tertiary Care Center in Northeast India - Cureus