Category: Covid-19

With flu and cold season coming around, it might be helpful to keep track of the different viruses spreading, coming and going to a city near you.

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department is providing ongoing data for the 2023-2024 influenza season. The chart shows the number of positive tests and the total number of specimens tested for SARS-Cov-2, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus provided by laboratories.

The 2023-2024 season began on Oct. 1, 2023. The data shows the number of people testing for the flu has greatly increased, but so have the positive tests. From the beginning of October up until Nov. 25, there was a 7.1% increase in positive flu cases.

As of early October, 177 people tested positive for COVID-19. Later in early November, COVID-19 cases dropped by 1.1%. Fast forwarding to Thanksgiving week, cases rose 3.3% from Nov. 4.

With a noticeable uptick in the number of people getting tested for the flu, it's essential to note the corresponding 7.1% increase in positive cases from Oct. 1 to Nov. 25. Going through the winter season, staying informed about the prevalence of viruses becomes important for safeguarding health as the holidays come closer.

Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

The data provided by the LA County Public Health Department offers valuable insights into the dynamics of the 2023-2024 influenza season and will continue to report on COVID, RSV and more viruses until late September 2024.

Read the original post:

LA County Health Department provides data on flu and COVID-19 cases - NBC Southern California

George Clooney faced challenges while directing the historical drama The Boys in the Boat, including a COVID-19 outbreak on set.

I was really sick, Clooney, 62, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview this weekend. It was my first time getting COVID.

As a result of contracting the virus, he was forced to temporarily run the movie which was filmed in 2022 and stars Callum Turner as amateur crew team member Joe Rantz, who helps bring the University of Washingtons underdog team to the 1936 Olympics remotely, though with the help of some modern technology.

I'm on an iPad hacking away from my bedroom, recalls Clooney, whose producing partner Grant Heslov helped him from the set. Grant was sitting on the camera and they'd hold up the iPad to Cal and I'd go, Ah, go fast. I'd rasp out Faster whatever that was.

Thankfully, the scenario didnt last long. We only had to do it for a week, he says.

Several other people who worked on the movie also got sick, including Joel Edgerton, who plays stoic team coach Al Ulbrickson.

He went down first, by the way, in fairness, Clooney quips of Edgerton. So if we're looking for ground zero

At a virtual press conference for the movie Saturday, Edgerton told reporters he went down hard.

Laurie Sparham/ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

Remarkably, Turner and Heslov both managed to avoid catching the virus. Yeah, everyone one by one went down around me, Turner tells PEOPLE. It was only me and Grant that didn't get it for some reason.

It was funny, he continues. George on his iPhone directing in his dressing gown from somewhere.

Clooney joked at the press conference that directing via iPad is something Im going to continue to do.

The Oscar winner suspects an intimate group dinner with key cast members was the culprit, even though he explains that we've all tested, we've all been vaccinated.

We all landed in London. We're going to shoot the next day. And so we have a tiny dinner for the crew. Meaning the rowers, our kids, and [costars] Hadley [Robinson] and Courtney [Henggeler] and [Edgerton] and me, he continues. That's it. A tiny room. And out of that tiny room, let's say there were 18 people there, 17 people got Covid.

Laurie Sparham/ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Clooney, who noted the polarized atmosphere of the country, said at the press conference he hopes the movie, about this group of eager, working-class college kids who bring home Olympic gold,sends a unifying message.

[Its] a film that talks about the idea that we're all in this together. And probably the only way we're going to make it out intact is with one another and in supporting one another, he said. And the better everyone else is, the better you will be. And so I liked that theme for this film.

The Boys in the Boat, which is based on the New York Times bestselling book from Daniel James Brown, is in theaters nationwide Christmas Day.

More here:

George Clooney Directed The Boys in the Boat From iPad amid COVID Outbreak: 'I Was Really Sick' (Exclusive) - PEOPLE

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

The rest is here:

COVID-19 Pneumonia and Increased Insulin Requirement in Known Diabetic Patients: A Prospective Observational ... - Cureus

Governments continued their work to negotiate and draft an agreement to strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response to prevent a repeat of the health, social and economic impacts that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This seventh meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) ended on 6 December 2023 at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva. Over two sessions, running from 610 November and 46 December, governments completed the review of the pandemic agreement negotiating text presented by the Member State-appointed Bureau of the INB.

Delegations from WHO Member States discussed a wide range of critical elements, including pandemic and public health surveillance, One Health and boosting pandemic preparedness, readiness and resilience in countries.

Equity and the right to health are among the guiding principles of the draft text of the proposed pandemic agreement under discussion. In this light, governments discussed the sustainable production of pandemic-related products; the transfer of technology and know-how to produce such items; and a multilateral system for access to pathogens and the sharing of benefits derived from them, such as vaccines and other pandemic-related products, to support prevention, preparedness and response.

Among other topics considered by Member States were the transfer to developing countries of technical and scientific expertise, and technology support, and sustainable financing to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

During the meeting, the challenge posed by the torrent of fake news, and disinformation and misinformation, directed at the pandemic agreement negotiations, was raised by the WHO Director-General, including on the false claim that any agreement would result in countries ceding sovereignty to WHO.

Thedraft pandemic agreement text, which is the basis for the negotiations, reaffirms the principle of sovereignty of States Parties in addressing public health matters,and that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the general principles of international law, the sovereign right to legislate and to implement legislation in pursuance of their health policies.

To accelerate its progress, the INB established four drafting subgroups led by the INB Bureau Vice Chairs, and co-facilitated by Member States, to consider the proposed articles on each topic. The INB recommended subgroups continue holding informal discussions with Member States and propose text for their respective articles by 15 January 2024 for consideration at the eighth INB meeting to be held from 19 February1 March 2024. The ninth will take place from 1828 March 2024.

The meeting was led by INB Co-Chairs Mr Roland Driece of the Netherlands and Ms Precious Matsoso of South Africa, and Vice-Chairs Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes of Brazil, Ambassador Amr Ramadan of Egypt, Ambassador Kozo Honsei of Japan, and Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien of Thailand. Ambassador Ramadan has replaced Mr Ahmed Salama Soliman of Egypt, whose contribution to the process was recognized by the INB.

The INB was established in December 2021 at a special session of the World Health Assembly, and was tasked with organizing a series of meetings to negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument under WHOs Constitution to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

The INBs work to negotiate a pandemic agreement is based on the principles of inclusiveness, transparency, efficiency, Member State leadership and consensus. Governments lead the discussions on the pandemic agreement process and are currently expected to decide on any text at the next World Health Assembly in May 2024. WHO staff serve as the Secretariat to these discussions, supporting countries in their work, but do not participate in decision-making.

In parallel with the pandemic agreement process, governments are also negotiating amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR). The latest meeting began on 7 December 2023; the proposed amendments are scheduled for consideration and adoption at the next World Health Assembly.

Read the original here:

Governments continue discussions on pandemic agreement negotiating text - World Health Organization

Health officials on Friday released the first nationally representative estimate of how many U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome: 3.3 million.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's number is larger than previous studies have suggested and is likely boosted by some of the patients with long-term COVID-19. The condition clearly "is not a rare illness," said the CDC's Dr. Elizabeth Unger, one of the report's co-authors.Chronic fatigue is characterized by at least six months of severe exhaustion not helped by bed rest. Patients also report pain, brain fog and other symptoms that can get worse after exercise, work or other activities. There is no cure, and no blood test or scan to enable a quick diagnosis.Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause, although research suggests it is a body's prolonged overreaction to an infection or other jolt to the immune system.The condition rose to prominence nearly 40 years ago, when clusters of cases were reported in Incline Village, Nevada, and Lyndonville, New York. Some doctors dismissed it as psychosomatic and called it "yuppie flu."Some physicians still hold that opinion, experts and patients say.Doctors "called me a hypochondriac and said it was just anxiety and depression," said Hannah Powell, a 26-year-old Utah woman who went undiagnosed for five years.The new CDC report is based on a survey of 57,000 U.S. adults in 2021 and 2022. Participants were asked if a doctor or other health-care professional had ever told them they had myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome, and whether they still have it. About 1.3% said yes to both questions.That translated to about 3.3 million U.S. adults, CDC officials said.Among the other findings: The syndrome was more common in women than men, and in white people compared with some other racial and ethnic groups. Those findings are consistent with earlier, smaller studies.However, the findings also contradicted long-held perceptions that chronic fatigue syndrome is a rich white woman's disease.There was less of a gap between women and men than some previous studies suggested, and there was hardly any difference between white and Black people. The study also found that a higher percentage of poor people said they had it than affluent people.Those misperceptions may stem from the fact that patients who are diagnosed and treated "traditionally tend to have a little more access to health care, and maybe are a little more believed when they say they're fatigued and continue to be fatigued and can't go to work," said Dr. Brayden Yellman, a specialist at the Bateman Horne Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.The report relied on patients' memories, without verifying their diagnoses through medical records.That could lead to some overcounting, but experts believe only a fraction of the people with chronic fatigue syndrome are diagnosed, said Dr. Daniel Clauw, director of the University of Michigan's Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center."It's never, in the U.S., become a clinically popular diagnosis to give because there's no drugs approved for it. There's no treatment guidelines for it," Clauw saidThe tally likely includes some patients with long COVID-19 who were suffering from prolonged exhaustion, CDC officials said.Long COVID-19 is broadly defined as chronic health problems weeks, months or years after an acute COVID-19 infection. Symptoms vary, but a subset of patients have the same problems seen in people with chronic fatigue syndrome."We think it's the same illness," Yellman said. But long COVID-19 is more widely accepted by doctors, and is being diagnosed much more quickly, he said.Powell, one of Yellman's patients, was a high school athlete who came down with an illness during a trip to Belize before senior year. Doctors thought it was malaria, and she seemed to recover. But she developed a persistent exhaustion, had trouble sleeping and had recurrent vomiting. She gradually had to stop playing sports, and had trouble doing schoolwork, she said.After five years, she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and began to achieve some stability through regular infusions of fluids and medications. She graduated from the University of Utah and now works for an organization that helps domestic violence victims.Getting care is still a struggle, she said."When I go to the ER or to another doctor's visit, instead of saying I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I usually say I have long COVID," Powell said. "And I am believed almost immediately."

Health officials on Friday released the first nationally representative estimate of how many U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome: 3.3 million.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's number is larger than previous studies have suggested and is likely boosted by some of the patients with long-term COVID-19. The condition clearly "is not a rare illness," said the CDC's Dr. Elizabeth Unger, one of the report's co-authors.

Chronic fatigue is characterized by at least six months of severe exhaustion not helped by bed rest. Patients also report pain, brain fog and other symptoms that can get worse after exercise, work or other activities. There is no cure, and no blood test or scan to enable a quick diagnosis.

Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause, although research suggests it is a body's prolonged overreaction to an infection or other jolt to the immune system.

The condition rose to prominence nearly 40 years ago, when clusters of cases were reported in Incline Village, Nevada, and Lyndonville, New York. Some doctors dismissed it as psychosomatic and called it "yuppie flu."

Some physicians still hold that opinion, experts and patients say.

Doctors "called me a hypochondriac and said it was just anxiety and depression," said Hannah Powell, a 26-year-old Utah woman who went undiagnosed for five years.

The new CDC report is based on a survey of 57,000 U.S. adults in 2021 and 2022. Participants were asked if a doctor or other health-care professional had ever told them they had myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome, and whether they still have it. About 1.3% said yes to both questions.

That translated to about 3.3 million U.S. adults, CDC officials said.

Among the other findings: The syndrome was more common in women than men, and in white people compared with some other racial and ethnic groups. Those findings are consistent with earlier, smaller studies.

However, the findings also contradicted long-held perceptions that chronic fatigue syndrome is a rich white woman's disease.

There was less of a gap between women and men than some previous studies suggested, and there was hardly any difference between white and Black people. The study also found that a higher percentage of poor people said they had it than affluent people.

Those misperceptions may stem from the fact that patients who are diagnosed and treated "traditionally tend to have a little more access to health care, and maybe are a little more believed when they say they're fatigued and continue to be fatigued and can't go to work," said Dr. Brayden Yellman, a specialist at the Bateman Horne Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The report relied on patients' memories, without verifying their diagnoses through medical records.

That could lead to some overcounting, but experts believe only a fraction of the people with chronic fatigue syndrome are diagnosed, said Dr. Daniel Clauw, director of the University of Michigan's Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center.

"It's never, in the U.S., become a clinically popular diagnosis to give because there's no drugs approved for it. There's no treatment guidelines for it," Clauw said

The tally likely includes some patients with long COVID-19 who were suffering from prolonged exhaustion, CDC officials said.

Long COVID-19 is broadly defined as chronic health problems weeks, months or years after an acute COVID-19 infection. Symptoms vary, but a subset of patients have the same problems seen in people with chronic fatigue syndrome.

"We think it's the same illness," Yellman said. But long COVID-19 is more widely accepted by doctors, and is being diagnosed much more quickly, he said.

Powell, one of Yellman's patients, was a high school athlete who came down with an illness during a trip to Belize before senior year. Doctors thought it was malaria, and she seemed to recover. But she developed a persistent exhaustion, had trouble sleeping and had recurrent vomiting. She gradually had to stop playing sports, and had trouble doing schoolwork, she said.

After five years, she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and began to achieve some stability through regular infusions of fluids and medications. She graduated from the University of Utah and now works for an organization that helps domestic violence victims.

Getting care is still a struggle, she said.

"When I go to the ER or to another doctor's visit, instead of saying I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I usually say I have long COVID," Powell said. "And I am believed almost immediately."

The rest is here:

Chronic fatigue syndrome is not rare, says new CDC survey - WXII12 Winston-Salem

Health

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share by Email

Posted: December 08, 2023 Last Updated: 6 Hours Ago

Show more

It's another busy fall in Canadian hospitals, with emergency department closures, long wait times, and ongoing staff shortages all making headlines.

The situationcan turn deadly: Two people died while waiting for care at the Anna-Laberge hospital in Chteauguay, Que., just last week.

And as health-care teams remain dangerously overstretched, they're also grappling with the pressure of what some physicians are calling a "new norm" for seasonal illnesses a range of viral and bacterial infections all back in circulation, with COVID-19 still chief among them.

"This is probably the first year since COVID started where we are seeing the anticipated viruses, the anticipated escalation of volumes, that we saw before we were faced with a pandemic," warned Dr. Laurie Plotnick, medical director of the emergency department at the Montreal Children's Hospital, where the average occupancy rate was close to 160 per cent throughout much of November.

Two pediatric facilities in Montreal held a joint news conference on Wednesday to hammer home the challenges ahead, while urging families to rely on community-based clinics rather than overflowing emergency departments whenever possible.

Children are coming in with an array of ailments, from fevers to bronchitis to pneumonia, officials said. Those high volumes add pressure at a time when hospitals are short-staffed on their inpatient units, leaving few beds available when children need to be hospitalized on the wards.

But telling families to avoid emergency rooms and seek care elsewhere may be a tough pill to swallow. Plenty of children simply don't have family physicians, Plotnick noted.

It's a Canada-wide problem: Data shows millions of Canadians don't have a regular health-care provider, while a new report from Ontario's acting auditor general suggests in that province, one in five patients who visited emergency departments were only there because they lack a family doctor.

Meanwhile emergency departments from Alberta to Ontario to Quebec are reporting hours-long wait times in the face of those ongoing pressures.

Against that backdrop, federal data shows the country's respiratory virus season is well underway, adding fuel to the fire.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity is rising and above expected levels, and flu activity is increasing as well.

COVID, meanwhile, is still circulating widely.

From Nov. 21 to 28, the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital increased, the latest national figures show. Public Health Ontario's respiratory virus dashboard currently shows 20 per cent test positivity for COVID, far higher than any other viral threat.

"On top of an already elevated baseline, now we're seeing all of the usual fall respiratory illnesses coming in, plus COVID, which never existed four years ago," Dr. Lisa Salamon, an emergency physician in Toronto, told CBC News.

"That's making a situation that's always bad in the fall even worse. I think we have to get used to this new norm."

Multiple countries are also reporting unusual upticks in mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes a bacterial infection commonly known as "walking pneumonia" that's typically a milder form of the disease.

Parts of the U.S., China, Denmark, and several other European countries are all reporting higher levels of pneumonia infections, while South Korean health officials announced hospitalizations for the illness have doubled in the last month, mostly among children.

"Could it be going on in Canada? The answer is, almost certainly," said Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious diseases specialist with McGill University.

"There's nothing special about our borders, that's for sure, but it's tough to know because you need an active surveillance program to know what's going on. And if there's no surveillance program, either at the provincial or national levels, it could very well be in our backyard and we don't know."

While there is no formal laboratory-based monitoring happening here in Canada, public health laboratories will be on the lookout for any unusual mycoplasma pneumonia activity, the Public Health Agency of Canada told CBC News.

Medical experts say this bacteria typically rears its head every few years, with this season potentially worse than usual because of a lack of exposure to this pathogen throughout the pandemic, much like how RSV surged last year following the lifting of COVID-related restrictions.

"Immunity to mycoplasma may have fallen, because many people may not have been exposed to it during times of social distancing," explained Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

"And now, people are interacting normally again, so we see mycoplasma coming back. And that's kind of synergizing with the natural cycles that this bacteria has as well."

WATCH | What seniors need to know about vaccines this fall:

Show more

Though it's clear a slate of infectious diseases is putting pressure on hospitals, Salamon said clinicians are hopeful that various seasonal illnesses will surge at different times. COVID seems to be spiking this fall, she said, while flu season hasn't quite taken off.

But there's a downside to that possibility: The potential for another long, drawn-out respiratory virus season that strains the health-care system for months on end.

There is no quick fix, but Salamon said there need to be system-level solutions from policymakers and government officials to prevent deaths and ease overcrowding both this year, and in the years to come.

Adalja said the current situation isn't surprising, given that respiratory infections were always a challenge in the winter, with COVID now firmly in that mix.

"This is sort of going to be the new norm going forward that we're going to have this level of infection," Adalja said.

Lauren Pelley Senior Health & Medical Reporter

Lauren Pelley covers health and medical science for CBC News, including the global spread of infectious diseases, Canadian health policy, pandemic preparedness, and the crucial intersection between human health and climate change. Two-time RNAO Media Award winner for in-depth health reporting in 2020 and 2022. Contact her at: lauren.pelley@cbc.ca

Continue reading here:

It's not just COVID anymore, or a triple-demic. Welcome to the 'new norm' of seasonal illnesses - CBC.ca

The proportion of JN.1 Omicron subvariant detections jumped dramatically last week, which could supercharge a rise in COVID-19 activity as the United States approaches its winter holiday weeks, according to updates today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Also, the CDC today reported more steady rises in flu activity, especially in the Southeast and South-Central regions, as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity across the nation remains elevated.

In a video message posted on Twitter earlier this week, CDC Director Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, said it's not too late to be vaccinated against the three respiratory viruses for those who haven't already, and she urged people to take additional measures like avoiding sick people, washing hands, improving ventilation, and wearing a mask.

JN.1 is proving to be the fastest-growing member of the BA.2.86 family, and variant trackers have projected that it could trigger the next COVID surges. Some countries in Europe have already reported sharp JN.1 spikes.

Today in its latest variant proportion update, the CDC singled out JN.1 from under the BA.2.86 umbrella, showing that over the last 2 weeks, the JN.1 level jumped from 8.1% to 21.4%. Also, JN.1 is now the second-most commonly detected variant, led only by HV.1, which is part of the XBB.1.9.2 lineage.

In a separate update on JN.1 today, the CDC said the continued growth of JN.1 suggests it is either more transmissible or better at evading the immune system. However, it added that there's no evidence that it poses an increased risk compared to other variants.

The CDC said it's not known to what extent JN.1 is contributing to increases under way in December but said COVID activity is likely to increase over the next month and that lab data suggest the updated COVID vaccine protects against JN.1 and other variants.

Meanwhile, the CDC's two severity indicators for COVIDhospitalizations and deathsboth showed notable rises over the past week, with hospitalizations up 17.6% and deaths up 25% compared to the week before, still at a lower rate than the CDC saw in November 2022. For hospitalizations, moderate levels were reported, mostly in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, with pockets in parts of some states at the high level, such as Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

For deaths, states reporting some of the biggest increases last week included Alabama, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, and West Virginia. In its weekly respiratory virus snapshot, the CDC said COVID-19 is still the main driver of viral respiratory deaths.

The CDC's early indicators also showed rises, with test positivity up 0.9% and emergency department visits up 4%. Test positivity was higher in the Midwest, Mountain West, and Northeast than in other parts of the country. And of ED visits for COVID, infants and seniors had the highest levels, with levels also elevated for young children.

Wastewater SARS-CoV-2 tracking, another early indicator, continued to show high levels, especially in the Midwest.

As health systems brace for more COVID activity, seasonal flu activity continues to rise in most areas, with all 10 regions either at or above their baselines for flulike illness outpatient visits, the CDC said today in its weekly flu update. Virus testing at public health labs shows that influenza A makes up 80% of positive samples, and of subtyped viruses, 2009 H1N1 is still dominant, at 74.1%.

Flu hospitalizations are still low but are rising, with the highest levels in seniors, followed by adults ages 50 to 64 and children ages 4 and younger.

Four more pediatric flu deaths were reported last week, raising the season's total to 12. All occurred in November, three involving H1N1 and one due to influenza B.

For RSV, hospitalizations remain elevated in children but are on the rise in older adults, the CDC said in its weekly respiratory virus snapshot. It noted that only 15.9% of adults who are eligible to be vaccinated against RSV had been immunized.

Overall, though, RSV hospitalizations are down a bit, as is test positivity for the virus.

Follow this link:

US COVID activity jumps as JN.1 expands, brisk flu and RSV levels continue - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Illinois health officials warned Friday that a number of respiratory viruses are "mounting" in the state, with hospitalizations for COVID, flu and RSV all rising this holiday season.

The Illinois health department said 44 counties in Illinois were at an elevated level for COVID-19 hospitalizations. In total, 39 counties were at a medium level and five are under the "high" alert as the state saw a 20% increase in hospitalizations within the last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, data also showed that "broad acute respiratory hospitalizations" were increasing for COVID, flu and RSV, and officials said they were particularly concerned about pediatric ICU capacity, which is already limited in some areas of the state.

As we anticipated, we are seeing an increase in respiratory viruses including COVID-19, flu and RSV - both in Illinois and across the nation, IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. IDPH is closely working with our health partners to educate the public, monitor our hospital capacity, and develop effective mitigation strategies as we experience this surge."

In response to the surge, IDPH launched a new, infectious respiratory surveillance dashboard, set to be updated every Friday to offer public access to data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data, according to the department. The new site is expected to launch at 3 p.m. Friday here.

During this critical period with hospitalizations rising, I encourage all of our residents to use the tools available to keep yourself and your families healthy and protected, Vohra said.These tools include COVID-19 testing (especially if visiting someone at risk for severe disease); enhanced ventilation; good hand hygiene; staying home and seeking treatment if sick; masking in crowded places; AND getting the COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines for which you or your loved ones are eligible.These tools are especially critical for those most at-risk for severe disease including those who are over 65, immunocompromised, or have chronic medical conditions.And parents and caregivers: please also protect those young children given the limited pediatric ICU capacity in many areas of the state.

The state is now urging health care settings to once again consider masking "in patient care areas."

The Illinois Department of Human Services' State-Operated Developmental Centers also announced they will ramp of COVID testing and "infection-prevention policies" as a result of an outbreak in COVID cases among both residents and staff.

"IDPH has been working closely with our counterparts at IDHS facilities to monitor conditions, to offer strategies to contain any outbreaks, and to provide resources, direct consultations and assessments, Dr. Hillary Spencer, leader of the IDPH Infection Prevention Team, said in a statement.

When it comes to holiday gatherings, Vohra urged hosts to consider "proper indoor ventilation" and encourage good hand hygiene.

"If someone is feeling symptoms of a respiratory virus such as coughing, sneezing, sore throat, a runny nose or fever - its best to get tested and stay home so as not to spread illness," IDPH said in a release.

The surge comes after officials warned of rising virus levels both before and after the Thanksgiving holiday.

"What we're seeing now, you know, is not necessarily unexpected, as the weather has been getting colder as people have been gathering with their family members and loved ones for Thanksgiving," Dr. Brian Borah, medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases surveillance with the Chicago Department of Public Health, told NBC Chicago this week. "And now in anticipation of the winter holidays, you know, we have seen the start of an increase again."

In Chicago, Borah said RSV levels have been increasing for a few weeks, while flu more recently started to climb.

While hospitalization levels in Cook County have not yet reached concerning numbers, Borah said there is fear that as cases climb, it could once again strain area hospitals.

"CDC is predicting that this year will have similar hospitalization numbers for all respiratory viruses that we saw last year. We're hoping to have a even a better season, you know, we're always hoping for a better season," he said. "But last year, as you know, we had peaks of the three major respiratory diseases around very similar times and because all those peaks coincided, there was quite a bit of strain placed on our hospital systems, in terms of, you know, person power. There was a difficulty in finding beds for for patients to some degree."

Health officials continued to urge people to get vaccinated for COVID and flu, and, if eligible, for RSV.

When it comes to testing for the holidays, every household in the U.S. is eligible for free at-home tests at COVID.gov.

For guidelines on when to test and how often, click here.

Original post:

Respiratory virus cases mounting' in Illinois ahead of the holidays, health officials warn - NBC Chicago

Healthcare personnel (HCP) at the highest risk for COVID-19 were also the most likely to report their spotty adherence to infection-prevention (IP) protocols, finds a single-center study published yesterday in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Pittsburgh and colleagues surveyed 191 HCP at the University of North Carolina Medical Center to identify factors that may have affected adherence to infection-control measures (eg, personal protective equipment [PPE], hand hygiene errors) during the previous 2 weeks. The survey period was July 2020 to January 2021.

The researchers also routinely observed HCP and tracked their compliance with infection measures for validation purposes.

Respondents were physicians, advanced practice providers, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners (45%); registered nurses (27%); and other (eg, therapists, dieticians, food and environmental services personnel [28%]).

PPE adherence differed by job role, with nonphysician and nonnursing HCP reporting significantly fewer errors (9.6%) than physicians (26.5%) and registered nurses (RNs; 33.3%). The most common type of nonadherence was with hand and glove hygiene; study observers noted that these protocols were followed only 40% of the time between visits to different COVID-19 patient rooms.

Risks of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 varied by job role (eg, 57.4% of RNs performed high-risk tasks, compared with nearly 29% of physicians and 38% of "other" workers). Respondents at highest risk for COVID-19 exposure were 5.74 times more likely than lower-risk workers to report nonadherence.

All three groups of healthcare personnel were at risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and were making errors in adherence to infection prevention protocols during the height of the pandemic.

Respondents said they had reliable access to PPE, with the vast majority indicating that they always had access to gowns (93%), gloves (99%), eye shields (98%), and face masks (98%).

"While error rates varied by job type, what this study really shows is that all three groups of healthcare personnel were at risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and were making errors in adherence to infection prevention protocols during the height of the pandemic," lead author Emily Haas, PhD, of NIOSH and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, said in a news release from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), which publishes the journal.

"This is a clear demonstration that we need to improve engagement in our training for emergency preparedness and to create a more strategic response that will help our healthcare workers stay safe even in times of extreme stress," she added.

APIC President Patricia Jackson, RN, who was not involved in the study, said the results revealed opportunities for improvement. "Infection preventionists can use this information in their education and outreach to strengthen preparedness for future outbreaks and to improve the safety of the day-to-day delivery of healthcare," she said.

Read more:

Health workers at highest COVID risk least likely to always follow infection-control protocols, study finds - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Christmas is near, and that means it's time for festive markets, dazzling lights display, and of course, holiday parties.

Whether you're planning to attend a gathering hosted by your employer or a party with friends or family, doctors are urging precautions in wake of a rise in respiratory illnesses.

"...What we're seeing right now in Chicago doesn't come as a surprise," said Dr. Brian Borah, medical director for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Surveillance at the Chicago Department of Public Health. "As the weather has gotten colder as people are moving indoors, we have seen a sustained increase of activity for the three major respiratory viruses."

With a spike of COVID, the flu and RSV reported in recent weeks, you might be wondering about the best steps you can take to stay safe. Doctors overwhelmingly recommend one course of action: getting updated vaccines.

If you've wondered if it's too late to get vaccinated - whether for the flu, COVID or RSV - there's good news: doctors say it isn't.

Under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, everyone 5 years old and above should get the updated COVID-19 vaccine at least two months after receiving an earlier COVID-vaccine dose. People who aremoderately or severely immunocompromisedcan talk to their health care provider about getting additional doses.

Even if you've received previous doses of the COVID vaccine, getting the updated booster is recommended, Borah said, as it's specifically targeted against variants currently circulating in Chicago. While previous vaccination or infection provides some protection against severe illness, that protection may only last around six months, Borah explained.

The influenza vaccine, meanwhile, is recommended for everyone age 6 and older in the U.S. While multiple different vaccines are available, certain options are advised for those 65 years old and above.

And yes, you can get the flu and COVID vaccines at the same time.

Multiple COVID variants, which were initially detected over the summer, have been circulating in recent weeks, possibly due to more people spending time indoors with the colder weather.

"We do know that those are rising and rapidly," said Dr. Nimmi Rajagoal, Associate Chair of Family and Community Medicine at Cook County Health. "And I think the more rapidly is also partly because we're indoors more, right? So people are indoors, more people really need to just read the symptoms and not take chances."

Along with the flu and COVID, RSV rates have increased in recent weeks, especially in younger children, who are often at high risk. Illinois Department of Public Health officials said on Friday they were particularly concerned about pediatric intensive care unit capacity, which is already limited in some. RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, though it can be serious.

A vaccine is available for those 60 years old and above and is especially encouraged for those with underlying health issues.

While getting updated vaccines is doctors' number one recommendation, that's not all they suggest you do.

Vohra, the IDPH director, said that holiday hosts should provide proper indoor ventilation, encourage good hand hygiene, and remind guests to cover coughs and sneezes.

Rajagoal, with Cook County Health, says don't take chances - take precautions instead.

"If you're feeling under the weather, and you're not sure what it is, avoid large gatherings, avoid being outside with others, wear a mask to protect others and yourself," she said. "If you're around people that you notice are coughing, put a mask on. There's still no harm. Even though they're not required, they can still protect us."

View original post here:

Chicago doctors share their top advice for attending holiday parties as COVID spreads - NBC Chicago