Category: Covid-19

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The state has set up eight community sites for Coloradans to get newly-approved COVID-19 vaccines tailored to be more effective against the Omicron variant, with two additional locations opening this week.

Driving the news: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized the booster shots last week, recommending the new booster for people ages 12 and older who got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and individuals 18 years and up who received the Moderna shot.

Details: The following sites are now open, with varied hours, and appointments available for scheduling online:

What's next: These sites will open tomorrow:

Of note: The sites will provide primary vaccine doses for children 6 months and older, and third doses for kids between the ages of 5-11.

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Here's where to get a COVID-19 booster in Colorado - Axios

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of September 13, 2022, there are currently 2,654 active COVID-19 cases statewide. There have been 10 deaths reported since the last report, with a total of 7,344 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 92-year old female from Raleigh County, a 54-year old male from Raleigh County, a 97-year old female from Wood County, an 83-year old male from Mercer County, a 95-year old female from Raleigh County, a 74-year old male from Lincoln County, an 85-year old female from Wayne County, an 87-year old male from Mercer County, an 81-year old male from Kanawha County, and a 79-year old male from Kanawha County.

Every life lost is one too many, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. Protect your loved ones by scheduling your vaccine or booster today.

CURRENT ACTIVE CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (22), Berkeley (139), Boone (45), Braxton (4), Brooke (24), Cabell (135), Calhoun (6), Clay (8), Doddridge (2), Fayette (60), Gilmer (11), Grant (20), Greenbrier (87), Hampshire (21), Hancock (37), Hardy (35), Harrison (119), Jackson (13), Jefferson (74), Kanawha (177), Lewis (20), Lincoln (19), Logan (83), Marion (107), Marshall (38), Mason (39), McDowell (34), Mercer (204), Mineral (43), Mingo (36), Monongalia (131), Monroe (36), Morgan (13), Nicholas (42), Ohio (54), Pendleton (9), Pleasants (3), Pocahontas (10), Preston (47), Putnam (72), Raleigh (147), Randolph (50), Ritchie (3), Roane (39), Summers (33), Taylor (29), Tucker (16), Tyler (15), Upshur (62), Wayne (17), Webster (9), Wetzel (26), Wirt (4), Wood (66), Wyoming (59). To find the cumulative cases per county, please visit coronavirus.wv.gov and look on the Cumulative Summary tab which is sortable by county.

West Virginians ages 6 months and older are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. All individuals ages 6 months and older should receive a primary series of vaccination, the initial set of shots that teaches the body to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Those ages 5-11 years are recommended to get an original (monovalent) booster shot when due, and those ages 12 years and older are recommended to get an Omicron booster shot (bivalent) at least two months after completing their primary series.

Visit the WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator, a free, online tool that helps individuals figure out when they may be due for a COVID-19 shot, making it easier to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination. To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, or to find a vaccine, visit vaccines.gov, vaccinate.wv.gov, or call 1-833-734-0965. Please visit the COVID-19 testing locations page to locate COVID-19 testing near you.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 9-13-2022 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes associated with rheumatoid arthritis and phenotypic subgroups: a retrospective, comparative, multicentre cohort study  The Lancet

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Risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes associated with rheumatoid arthritis and phenotypic subgroups: a retrospective, comparative, multicentre cohort study...

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The new school year is in full swing, and while some coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions were eased for students and staff members in New York City public schools, some vaccine mandates remain in place -- a situation that Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) calls absurd.

Borelli, who is part of the Common Sense Caucus in the City Council, explained that the group met with Mayor Eric Adams and city Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan last week to discuss easing coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandates for public and private employees, which includes teachers and school staff, and allow all vaccinated and unvaccinated students to participate in sports and after-school activities. The caucus also asked for an end to a vaccine mandate for all visitors -- including parents -- to school buildings.

We confronted the mayor and the health commissioner on the need to rescind these mandates that no longer have any basis in public health rationale, said Borelli.

The conversation came after Staten Island elected officials also called for an end to the requirement of the coronavirus vaccine for students in extracurriculars and sports programs deemed high-risk, as well as parents and visitors entering school buildings.

Borough President Vito J. Fossella and other officials sent a letter last week to Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David Banks and Vasan requesting that the agencies reconsider the COVID-19 guidance ahead of the new school year. Borelli also signed the letter.

According to the DOE, the coronavirus vaccine is still required for the following people:

Sports considered high-risk include football, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, lacrosse, stunt and rugby.

Additionally, a COVID-19 vaccination requirement applies to students participating in high-risk after-school extracurricular activities like chorus, musical theater, dance/dance team, band/orchestra (with concern for woodwinds), marching band and cheerleading/step team/flag team.

With respect to the student ones [vaccine mandates] and the activity ones, as parents, they have been shown these are now demonstrably absurd, Borelli said. Kyrie Irving is in no greater danger than some sophomore playing basketball, nor are kids in any more danger playing sports than they are in the classroom, nor are parents anymore the cause of danger whether theyre vaccinated or unvaccinated. And thats directly from the CDC. So if we want to encourage student after-school activities, and parental involvement, the way to do that is to end these mandates.

Borelli added he doesnt want to see students miss yet another year of a sport or activity, especially one that can be an entrance to college, a potential career, or a chance to lift many youth and their families out of poverty.

Its simply absurd, he said.

The Common Sense Caucus said in a statement that there is more work to do, but based on the conversations with the mayor and health commissioner, the group is optimistic that some positive changes to these policies may be forthcoming.

When asked for a comment about the Common Sense Caucuss statement, Patrick Gallahue, spokesperson for the city Health Department, said the agencys statement in regard to Fossellas letter last week still stands.

We thank the authors of this letter for raising these important issues with us and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with them in the days ahead, said Gallahue in response to Fossellas letter. We fully recognize the toll that COVID has taken on New Yorkers mental health, especially youth. We have made services for young people a high priority and aim to do even more.

Gallahue continued: We must add, however, that vaccination remains the single best protection against severe illness caused by COVID-19. Every action weve taken has been directed at preventing any more suffering from this terrible virus. We want to keep our children safe in class, in their school communities, and safe from COVID.

According to the city Health Department, many high-risk extracurricular activities are performed indoors, are strenuous, and entail closer contact than classroom activities.

The coronavirus vaccine is not mandated for public school students in New York City, though it is highly encouraged. The DOE stated on its website that vaccination is the best way to reduce COVID-19 risk and encourages up-to-date vaccination for everyone 6 months or older.

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Simply absurd: NYC urged to ease COVID-19 vaccine mandates in public schools - SILive.com

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 41,000 New Yorkers. It has reshaped neighborhoods and lives. So many people are no longer here. Collectively, New York City has lost so much.

Over the next few months, Missing Them, THE CITYs COVID-19 memorial and journalism project, will be spending time in neighborhoods across the city that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Our goal is to listen to and connect with New Yorkers, in their own communities, to understand how weve been collectively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Join us this Saturday, Sept. 17 at Moore Homestead Playground in Elmhurst, Queens from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. for the first in a series of neighborhood conversations about how COVID-19 has changed the lives of New Yorkers.

Residents and neighbors will have the opportunity to connect with journalists and volunteers and share the ripple effects of the pandemic in Elmhurst and nearby communities from jobs and healthcare to housing, mental health and more. Well have journalists and volunteers engaging neighbors in English, Spanish, Chinese and Tagalog.

Woodside On The Move, a local nonprofit organization, will be distributing free food and PPE (personal protective equipment) items.

What would you like to share about the losses youve endured or lessons and insights that youve gained along the way? What are some of the questions you have that we as journalists can help find answers to? What are the issues that matter to you related to the COVID-19 pandemic? Were listening.

We also welcome neighbors to share stories ofloved ones lost to COVID-19. We will honor their legacy together through an obituary on our digital memorial.

THE CITY launched MISSING THEM in May 2020 as a collaborative effort to name every New Yorker who died of COVID-19 and tell a story about them. Throughout the past two years, weve heard from thousands of New Yorkers. Weve recorded over 2,600 names and published more than 500 obituaries.

The project has also produced in-depth accountability journalism on the pandemic and the response in city jails, nursing homes and Hart Island, the citys potters field, where an estimated 1 in 10 New Yorkers who died are buried.

Weve also brought New Yorkers together online through virtual events and a theatrical adaptation with the Working Theater, an award-winning off-Broadway theater company.

If youd like to reach out to the MISSING THEM team to share ideas or volunteer, please email us at memorial@thecity.nyc.

Moore Homestead Playground is located at Broadway and 82nd Street in Queens, near the Elmhurst Ave. E-M-R Station. We hope to meet you there.

MISSING THEM is supported, in part, by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia Journalism School.

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How Has COVID-19 Impacted You And Your Community? - THE CITY

The findings by a team of USC researchers could help scientists predict new coronavirus variants and subvariants and give them a leg up on producing effective vaccines.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, produces variants much more frequently than most coronaviruses. USC Dornsife scientists figured out why. (Image Source: Unsplash.)

Researchers have found the first experimental evidence explaining why the COVID-19 virus produces variants, such as delta and omicron, so quickly.

The findings, published Sept. 13 in the journal Scientific Reports, could help scientists predict the emergence of new coronavirus strains and possibly even produce vaccines before those strains arrive.

The relatively rapid emergence of multiple COVID-19 virus variants has baffled researchers because most coronaviruses dont mutate and evolve so quickly. Thats because they possess a built-in proofreading mechanism to prevent mutations as they make copies of themselves while growing and multiplying in our cells.

But scientists at USC figured out the COVID-19 virus strategy for bypassing the proofreading: It hijacks enzymes within human cells that normally defend against viral infections, using those enzymes to alter its genome and make variants.

According to lead researcher Xiaojiang Chen, professor of biological sciences and chemistry at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the findings could prove vital to curbing the pandemic by helping to prevent new surges in infection caused by new variants.

New strains can become increasingly more contagious and evade the existing vaccines protection, Chen said. Predicting new variants and preparing effective vaccines ahead of time could stop new variants before they spread.

The best offense is a good defense

Chen and the USC team infected human cells with the coronavirus in the lab and then studied changes to the virus genome as it multiplied, making copies of itself, within the cells.

The genetic code sequence of the virus, which is composed of DNAs close cousin RNA, uses four letters to identify component nucleotides: A, C, G, U. During their analysis, Chen and the team noticed an interesting pattern: Many mutations that arose as the virus replicated itself were caused by changing one particular nucleotide in the code to another the letter C changed to U.

The high frequency of C-to-U mutations pointed them toward a group of enzymes that cells often use to defend against viruses. Called APOBEC, the enzymes convert Cs in the virus genome to Us with the aim of causing fatal mutations.

But Chen and the team found that for the COVID-19 virus growing in the human cells, not only are the C-to-U mutations not fatal, they actually benefit the virus by providing a way for the virus to mutate, evolve and develop new strains faster than expected.

We have provided the first experimental evidence that our own enzymes can help the COVID-19 virus to mutate quickly, Chen said. Somehow the virus learned to turn the tables on these host APOBEC enzymes for its evolution and fitness.

Turning the tables back around

Fortunately for researchers looking to overcome COVID-19, every good offense has its weakness. In this case, the mutations created by APOBEC enzymes are not random they convert C to U in specific places in the genetic sequence where a U or A is just ahead of the C (like UC or AC).

With this insight, scientists can look for every UC and AC in the COVID-19 virus genome and, using powerful computational and experimental methods, predict and test what will happen if any of them change to a U. This can help them predict what new COVID-19 variants might emerge and suggest how to update vaccines so they protect against any new variants that are likely to spread.

Chen and the team aim to do just that, studying what potential effects C-to-U mutations caused by APOBEC enzymes might have on the COVID-19 virus life cycle and its ability to spread and cause disease. Over time, this information can help scientists produce new drugs and vaccines to defeat drug-resistant and vaccine-evading COVID-19 virus strains.

About the study

In addition to Chen, authors on the study include, from USC Dornsife, PhD students Kyumin Kim (first author on the study) and Shanshan Wang, and Associate Professor (Teaching) of Quantitative and Computational Biology Peter Calabrese; and from Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, Professor and Section Chair of Infection and Immunity Pinghui Feng, Research Associate Chao Qin and researcher Youliang Rao.

The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grant number AI150524.

Link:

COVID-19 mutations accelerated by virus-fighting enzyme in human cells, according to new research > News > USC Dornsife - USC Dornsife College...

Vaccine experts discuss coinfection with COVID-19 and influenza.

Jason Lee, M.S., Ph.D.(c): Obviously, weve been talking a lot about influenza, but we cant forget about COVID-19. Were still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we wouldnt expect it to disappear this fall. What are your thoughts about cocirculation of both COVID-19 and influenza? Also, from a practice perspective, how do you treat patients who may be coming in with both flu and COVID-19 and having to juggle the different vaccinations on top of all of that?

John J. Russell, M.D.: Were looking at the study out of Wuhan, China, very early on, but the twindemic never came. There were some studies in April out of Northern California that talked about 20% of people having multiple viruses early on, but we havent seen the full force of it. But some of the good changes that have come out of it include moving multiplex testing into primary care offices. If Im unsure whether this person has COVID-19, influenza, or RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], if I can do one swab and have an answer, that might be really helpful. Maybe Id use some of the new medicines we have for COVID-19. Maybe Id use some of the medicines we have for influenza. I dont have a treatment for RSV, but having a diagnosis makes it much less likely that Im going to give someone antibiotics that they dont necessarily need. Moving diagnostic testing from the ED [emergency department] to a primary care office can lead to better care for our patients.

Transcript Edited for Clarity

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COVID-19 and Influenza - Medical Economics

You might want to add a Neti pot to your next Target run. A study out of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University has found that flushing your nose twice daily with a mild saline solution shortly after testing positive for COVID-19 can drastically decrease your chances of hospitalization and death.

Simply mix a half teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of boiled (and cooled) or distilled water, then pour it into a sinus rinse bottle. A squeeze bottle or bulb syringe works, too.

Dr. Amy Baxter, the study author and emergency medicine physician at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, says providing extra hydration to sinuses makes them function better.

If you have a contaminant, the more you flush it out, the better you are able to get rid of dirt, viruses and anything else, she says in a press release about the study.

Participants who performed nasal irrigation were more than eight times less likely to be hospitalized than the national rate. About 1.3% of study participants who used nasal irrigation were hospitalized after testing positive for COVID, compared to 9.47% of those who didnt. Study participants, who were aged 55 and older, were enrolled in the study within 24 hours of a positive PCR COVID-19 test between September 24 and December 21, 2020.

One of our thoughts was: If we can rinse out some of the virus within 24 hours of them testing positive, then maybe we can lower the severity of that whole trajectory, says Baxter, who drew inspiration from her visits to Southeast Asia, where nasal irrigation is a regular part of peoples daily personal hygiene regimen. She also noted lower death rates from COVID-19 in countries such as Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

As part of the study, participants self-administered nasal irrigation using either povidone-iodine or baking soda. Those who did so twice a day reported quicker resolution of symptoms, according to the study.

This is not the first time researchers have found that saline can help combat COVID-19. A 2020 study shows that gargling with a saline-based solution can reduce viral load, while a 2021 study suggests saline can be used as a first-line intervention for COVID-19.

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Nasal irrigation could reduce COVID-19 symptoms and complications in 2022 - Fortune

The recurrence of COVID-19 clinical symptoms after completing treatment is a cause for concern. Rebound COVID-19 infection after nirmatrelvirritonavir (Paxlovid) therapy famously occurred in President Joe Biden, bringing national attention to the Pfizer treatment.

According to a recent study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, The frequency and clinical implications of potential recurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are unknown. The phase 2-3, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial EPIC-HR reviewed data on the frequency of COVID-19 viral load rebound.

EPIC-HR included 2246 unvaccinated adults who developed symptomatic COVID-19 infection. The study participants were at high risk of severe disease progression. Every 12 hours, for 5 days, the participants received either 300 mg nirmatrelvir and 100 mg ritonavir or placebo.

After an average of 27 days, the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir cohort had an 88% reduced risk of COVID-19-induced hospitalization or death, compared to the placebo recipients. By day 34, there were no deaths in the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group and 13 deaths in the placebo group.

The investigators collected nasopharyngeal swab samples at baseline (day 1 of enrollment), and subsequently on days 3, 5, 10, and 14 of the trial. Patients were enrolled and sampled from July-December 2021.

COVID-19 recurrence was defined by a half-log increase in viral load on day 10 or on day 14, a definition developed to determine patient resistance to nirmatrelvir.

By the data cutoff in December 2021, there were 990 nirmatrelvirritonavir recipients and 980 placebo recipients with viral load measurement data from day 5 and the rebound period. From baseline through day 14, viral load rebound occurred in 2.3% of the nirmatrelvirritonavir cohort (n = 23) and 1.7% of the placebo group (n = 17).

Viral load rebound rates were similar between the 2 cohorts, when comparing by coexisting illnesses, nirmatrelvir exposure, nirmatrelvir resistance, recurrence of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 symptoms, baseline COVID-19 serologic status, and occurrence of hospitalization or death. No hospitalizations occurred in the placebo patients with viral load rebound, and no deaths occurred in either group with rebound.

The study authors found COVID-19 viral load rebound was similar between the nirmatrelvirritonavir and placebo cohorts. A potential limitation may be that the EPIC-HR study was conducted while Delta was the predominant COVID-19 variant, whereas now Omicron and its subvariants are responsible for the vast majority of infections. However, nirmatrelvirritonavir is also believed to effectively neutralize Omicron.

The investigators concluded that viral load rebound may be a facet of some COVID-19 infections, recommending further study into this evasive virus.

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Rebound of COVID-19 After Treatment With Paxlovid - Contagionlive.com

At the end of the week, the 153 homeless Denverites living in an emergency shelter at the Quality Inn on Zuni Street, who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, will be forced to leave their rooms where they have lived during the pandemic. A contract between the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, which has been running the facility, and the City of Denver, which has funded it through emergency federal money, is ending.

Some of the Quality Inn residents have found permanent places to stay after theyre booted. Others are scrambling for vouchers, though a housing voucher isnt the same thing as an available home. While some residents have vouchers they could use towards rent, they are still looking for a place.

A few Quality Inn residents will be relocated to other temporary individual shelters. And many face a move to the group shelter system, which is what the Department of Housing Stability, or HOST, and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, have been able to offer.

As of today, more than 60% of the guests at Quality Inn have discharge plans to go to either housing or other protective action hotels; and all of the remaining Quality Inn guests have been offered a reserved shelter space and transportation, should they choose it, said Derek Woodbury, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing Stability or HOST.

That leaves 40% of the people weighing whether to go to group shelters, back to the streets or find another option.

People experiencing homelessness are best served in a shelter where they can receive case management, services and supports to assist them with attaining stability and pathways to housing, Woodbury noted.

But group shelters have been shown to be less safe than encampments when it comes to COVID-19 transmission, and residents Denverite spoke with told us that the streets feel safer.

But theres a math problem: There arent enough individual shelters the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and HOST have identified for all the people who want an individual room to have one.

So it goes in Denver, a city where home prices and rent have risen dramatically in recent years and where wages havent kept up.

The city is over 50,000 units of income-restricted housing behind what it needs, according to the Denver Housing Authority. A scarcity of rental units continues to drive prices higher. There arent enough individual rooms to allow all people who need individual shelter a bed even in an emergency.

Not that there arent some beds. HOST says the city has enough group shelter beds to accommodate every person who needs one if those beds were activated.

The number one ask encouraging the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless to renew its contract with the City of Denver and run the Quality Inn as a temporary shelter until everybody can find a permanent or stable solution isnt happening.

In lieu of that, theres a lot Denverites can do to help out.

HAND is asking Denverites to donate to a GoFundMe. The money will help residents fund their most basic moving and survival needs.

Residents are also in need of immediate shelter, noted HAND. Let us know about any basement apartments, rooms to rent, cheap housing under $1000 a month a number of Quality Inn residents could afford rent in this price range and are just looking for a place.

The group is also asking members of the community to help pay for storage fees and bus passes.

Because many residents feel safer on the streets than inside the group shelters HOST and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless are offering, HAND is requesting camping supplies. Those include Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible tents, batteries, emergency thermal blankets, carbon-monoxide detectors, and hand and toe warmers, along with portable power banks to charge electronics and supplies for people camping in their cars.

Denver has an urban camping ban, prohibiting sleeping on the streets, that both HAND and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless have argued makes matters worse.

Looking for roommates or have an empty place? HAND also wants people to help identify any apartments, rooms or other cheap housing available for $1,000 a month or less, which many residents could afford.

HAND is looking for help giving residents rides from the Quality Inn to their shelter, along with people available to physically help residents move their belongings to their next place or into storage. Residents also need transportation to find housing, receive medical aid and get their mail.

For more information on how to get involved, HAND asks people to contact the group at 701-484-2634 or info@housekeysactionnetwork.com.

I think all of those options are good ones and helpful ones, especially anything that can assist people with any of their needs while theyre moving, said Colorado Coalition for the Homeless spokesperson Cathy Alderman.

The Coalition and HOST will have staff on site trying to assist with relocating, but largely, they will be transporting people to the places the organizations identified for people to move into.

So if people are working with someone else to go somewhere else, transportation and bus passes, etc., will always be helpful, Alderman added.

While the Coalition is not asking for specific support on the Quality Inn closure, the organization takes donations of items needed when new housing facilities open, Alderman said. That includes the Renaissance Legacy Lofts, which will open 98 units in October.

For more information on how to donate, go to the Colorado Coalition for the Homelesss website or call John Saint at 303-312-9639.

The agency encouraged people to donate to Denvers public/private Housing and Homeless Services Fund, which is administered by Mile High United Way.

The agency also recommended people struggling with housing insecurity check out HOSTs resident resources online, which include information about affordable rentals, rent and utility assistance, property storage, and shelter information.

And as HOST tells it, the work in supporting the residents who will lose their current shelter on Friday is far from over.

We recognize that this transition is a difficult one for those staying in temporary protective action shelters that were part of our emergency COVID response and are now coming to a close, Woodbury wrote in an email. Our service partners continue to work tirelessly to offer and provide individualized case management to all remaining guests.

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Homeless Denverites vulnerable to COVID-19 are about to lose their rooms at the Quality Inn. Advocates say they need your help. - Denverite