Category: Covid-19

President Biden tested positive for the coronavirus again Saturday, the White House said, an example of Covid-19 rebound that can occur after people take the oral antiviral Paxlovid.

Biden is not experiencing any symptoms but is isolating again, according to his physician, Kevin OConnor. Biden, who is vaccinated and has received two boosters, is not starting any Covid treatments at this time.

Biden, 79, first tested positive on July 21, and after a mild case, tested negative this past Tuesday. He tested negative each day the rest of the week the White House said he had upped his testing frequency following his infection but tested positive again Saturday morning.

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This in fact represents rebound positivity, OConnor wrote in a memo Saturday.

Such rebound cases following treatment with Pfizers five-day oral antiviral have stumped physicians as theyve tried to understand how frequently its occurring and whats allowing the virus to come back a second time.

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While some rebound cases are asymptomatic like Bidens thus far other people see their symptoms return.

Rebound cases have raised such questions as whether Paxlovid should be prescribed for longer courses and for which patients it should be recommended.

Pfizers clinical trials showed rebound in 1% to 2% of patients, but in both patients who took Paxlovid and those who received placebo. But there have been enough anecdotes about Paxlovid rebound that many infectious disease physicians believe the rate could be higher. Anthony Fauci also had a rebound case after taking Paxlovid.

One theory for whats allowing rebound is that the drug wipes out most of the virus before the body has a chance to recognize whats happening and build up its full immune arsenal. If there are little pockets that manage to survive the treatment, they can start replicating again once the course of Paxlovid is finished. Other experts have wondered if it has something to do with the Omicron variant specifically. (The trials took place when the Delta variant was dominant.)

Research to determine the cause is ongoing.

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Biden tests positive for Covid-19 again in a case of 'Paxlovid rebound' - STAT

The ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemics influence on nearly every aspect of health in America are becoming clear.

Covid-19 has killed more than one million people in the U.S., a toll mounting by some 350 people a day. A range of other chronic diseases and acute threats to health also worsened during the pandemic, data show, as people missed screenings, abandoned routines and experienced loss and isolation.

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How the Covid-19 Pandemic Changed Americans Health for the Worse - The Wall Street Journal

Texas Bishop Andy Doyle, left, Bishop Christopher Chessun of the Diocese of Southwark in the Church of England, and Bishop Pradeep Samantaroy of the Diocese of Amritsar in the Church of North India, right, spoke during a seminar on Models of Partnership co-chaired by the Rev. Stephanie Spellers, canon to the presiding bishop for evangelism, reconciliation and creation care, at the microphone, on July 30. Photo: Lynette Wilson/Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service Canterbury, England] The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a light on well-entrenched global inequality and inequity, a fact that will likely re-shape and challenge the way churches engage in 21st-century partnerships.

That reality came into focus for Bishop Pradeep Samantaroy, of the Diocese of Amritsar in the Church of North India, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the world went into lockdown. As he began to get to know his own neighbors in his immediate community, he was reminded that God entrusts us to love our neighbors.

Extending the love thy neighbor sentiment into partnership relationships can lead to discovering your neighbor in unexpected places, Samantaroy said.

He was one of three Anglican and Episcopal bishops to talk about partnerships during a July 30 seminar at the Lambeth Conference on Models of Partnership, which explored the promise of mutual, interdependent church and diocesan partnerships across the globe. The other bishops were Texas Bishop Andy Doyle and Southwark Bishop Christopher Chessun, of the Church of England.

The Lambeth seminars focus on building relationships across the Anglican Communion, highlighting a variety of voices and offering an opportunity to learn about ministry in context while discussing issues impacting church life and the world today. The seminars will take place on designated days throughout the conference. In addition to Models of Partnership, topics discussed on July 30 included, Thy Kingdom Come: Life-changing Prayer for Evangelism, Leading with Integrity with Those of Other Faiths and Missional Formation with Young People.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the poor have become poorer and the most vulnerable and desperate have suffered disproportionately, said the Rev. Stephanie Spellers, canon to the presiding bishop for evangelism, reconciliation and creation care. Spellers co-chaired and moderated the Models of Partnership seminar alongside Archbishop Nick Drayson, primate of the Anglican Church of South America and bishop of Northern Argentina.

Weve known these inequities and inequalities were part of our common life, but COVID-19 has shed light on the pain all around. Lives on the line, for all to see, Spellers said. Now more than ever, she added, its important to ask, How do we walk together, partner together, pursue the will and kingdom of God together?

It was an important topic before, she said, and one that feels more urgent now that we are here together. [There is] much that separates us: geography, economics, theology, ideology. Those differences can keep us apart, keep us from making common cause in the gospel. Pray they do not.

One way to approach partnership across differences is through the heart, as Samantaroy explained.

Partnership is a matter of heart. We are human beings and have minds and sometimes we are swayed away by our thinking and forget that in heart we feel something different. The language of heart is huge, he said.

If you approach partnership through the heart, partnership has no boundaries.

In England, the approach has always been to care for those in your immediate parish community, said Chessun, who has been the bishop of Southwark since 2011. But when he arrived in the community, it was pretty siloed.

He recommended speaking well of one another and modeling that behavior in all structures and relationships. Embracing diversity isnt always easy. Good disagreement is a result of understanding [and] presuming the good faith of the other person even when they dont presume yours.

Doyle looks at partnership as an invitation to be holy and as a form of living out the mission that is given to us as a form of Gods love into the world. And by no means is that going to be we are aspiring to holiness, he said. And given all this, this life I believe is lived out in kinship.

That kinship comes partly through the idea of welcoming the stranger.

I dont make the kinship Kinship is given as a gift of God who is Trinity, he said. And Gods perfect love in the spirit is pouring out to all people in creation and that this kind of heavy theology, gives us an understanding that there are no limits to the vision of Jesus in the world.

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Lambeth seminar explores 'Models of Partnership' in the wake of COVID-19 - Episcopal News Service

This is the first installment in a two part series which analyzes biological sex differences in immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. This article focuses primarily on Covid-19 related viral entry as well as innate and adaptive immune responses Covid-19 and their correlation to epidemiological evidence. Part two will highlight the role of sex hormones in SARS-CoV-2 immune responses, examine sex differences in response to several vaccines, and consider their possible therapeutic implications.

Paper cut out illustration of a man and woman facing each other

Men and women experience Covid-19 differently. Epidemiological studies show that, while males and females have similar infection rates, males are more likely to experience severe Covid-19 and die from SAR-CoV-2 infection. Women tend to have better prognoses; pregnant females are the exception, as they have an increased risk of severe illness, hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mortality and preterm delivery. After excluding societal and behavioral factors, a question remains: what are the biological mechanisms driving these observed differences? Ho et al. attempt to answer this question in their review, The Immune Response to Covid-19: Does sex matter? They consider several biological mechanisms in their work. This article will specifically examine differences in three stages of SARS-CoV-2 immune response: viral entry, activation of host innate immunity, and activation of adaptive immunity.

Sex Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Immune Response

Immune interaction to SARS-CoV-2 entails viral entry, then recognition of the virus and activation of host innate immunity, followed by activation of adaptive immunity. Ho et al. found several potential mechanisms in these three stages which may explain the stronger immune responses seen in females.

Viral Entry

In viral entry, SARS-CoV-2 attaches to and enters the host cell by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors in upper respiratory tract cells. ACE2 receptors usually decrease inflammation, but the binding alters this function. As a result, ACE2 receptors critically influence SARS-CoV-2 entry to cells and can worsen SARS-CoV-2-caused tissue damage through inflammation.

Ho et al. explain some known sex differences in ACE2 levels which could contribue to in the worse clinical outcomes seen in men. Some studies show that men express higher levels of ACE2, a factor which might increase vulnerability to infection. Males and females have similar soluble ACE2 (sACE2) levels up until 12 years old; after, male sACE2 levels exceed levels found in females. One paper demonstrated that females required a lower dose of ACE inhibitors to achieve optimal therapeutic effect. These data demonstrate potential in targeting ACE2 for Covid-19 treatments and for study on SARS-CoV-2 viral susceptibility, but Ho et al. note that more research is needed to further understand this relationship.

Innate Immunity

Sex differences were also found when comparing innate immune responses. The initial innate immune response involves viral detection, interferon (IFN) production and inflammasome activation. Innate immune responses are considered crucial to determining disease outcome.

Ho et al. found that females exhibit stronger innate immune responses than their male counterparts. This is seen in sex-specific expression of toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7). Toll-like receptor 7 is important for detecting single RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. It is believed that the more toll-like receptor 7 is expressed, the quicker Covid-19 can be recognized and cleared from the system. Toll-like receptor 7 expression can be upregulated by female sex steroid estrogen. It is also thought to escape X chromosome inactivation in some cells; by evading inactivation, toll-like receptor 7 is therefore expressed more highly in females, who have two copies of the X chromosome.

Interferon (IFN) production involves the creation of proteins called cytokines which aid viral suppression after viral recognition. Chemokines, such as interferons, are a subclass of cytokines which encourage immune cells to move towards a target. Important to note are plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), immune cells which secrete interferons in response to viral infection.

Women have higher plasma concentrations of IFN and can produce more IFN from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) than men due to estrogen. They express greater INF regulatory 5 (IFN5), a significant transcription factor in IFN signaling, in their plasmacytoid dendritic cells than males as well. In contrast, one study found that autoantibodies inhibited type I IFN signaling in older males with severe Covid-19.

The last consideration of innate immunity revolves around pro-inflammatory cytokines. Clinical studies associate increased inflammatory cytokine levels with severe Covid-19 pathology. In some cases, elevated cytokine levels lead to a cytokine storm: the flooding of cytokines in the bloodstream that damages tissues and organs.

In this regard, males typically have higher levels of innate proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 8 (IL-8) and 18 (IL-18) than their female counterparts. They also have higher serum levels of IL-8, IL-18 and chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5). A significant correlation exists between high IL-8 levels and reduction in antiviral white blood cells. In comparison, research suggests the lower levels of cytokine levelsinterleukin 6 (IL-6) especiallyseen in women with Covid-19 are associated with better clinical outcomes; this is unusual, as women typically have stronger cytokine responses than men.

Adaptive Immunity

Adaptive immunity is a specialized mechanism which deploys immune cells (lymphocytes) and antibodies to target and destroy pathogens directly. Ho et al. observed sex differences in antibody production, T cell responses and the epigenetic status of immune cells.

Generally, females show higher antibody-mediated immune responses to viral infection and vaccination. This positive effect could be tempered by the greater autoreactivity also noted in this sex. Elevated humoral responses in women could be influenced by several estrogen-mediated mechanisms, including but not limited to germinal center formation, selection against autoreactive B cells, and epigenetic accessibility of B-cell specific loci.

Sex-different T cell interactions seem to impact Covid-19 recovery. Men with Covid-19 have weaker T cell activation during early disease than women; in comparison, elderly women with early Covid-19 have more robust T-cell activation. Weak T cell activation, in conjunction with lower lymphocyte count, higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and greater serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations, could explain the poorer outcomes seen in males with Covid-19. Ho et al. state more research is necessary to understand sex differences in the role of T cells in acute infection, lung injury, and vaccine targets.

Another divergence seen in adaptive immunity is in the epigenetic status of immune cellsin other words, physical changes in immune cell DNA structure which do not impact its genetic sequence. One example of this is aging. Between ages 62 to 64 years, males undergo changes in epigenetic landscape which majorly impact the immune system. There is increased expression of innate proinflammatory genes and decreased expression of adaptive immune system genes. In addition, B cell levels and nave T cell levels decline faster in older men than in their female counterparts. Women exhibit similar epigenetic changes approximately five to six years later than men. A possible biological mechanism is the overexpression of immune genes on the X chromosome of T cells. This overexpression seems to correlate with incomplete X inactivationas similarly seen in toll-like receptor 7 expressionand epigenetic modifications.

Conclusions

Current knowledge of immunity suggests that strong innate immune responses likely contribute to the lower disease severity and mortality outcomes associated with females. Elevated levels of toll-like receptor 7 and IFN, along with decreased levels of interleukin 6, may correlate to better prognoses in women. On the other hand, the worse clinical outcomes observed in men could be explained by their higher levels of ACE2 and epigenetic changes in their immune cells, These mechanisms leave important clues to understanding the relationship between biological sex and immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, but these associations are not linear. More research is needed to further our understanding.

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Covid-19, Gender And Immune Response: What's The Relationship? - Forbes

Two lines appear on your at-home COVID-19 test, indicating you've tested positive. Now what?

The answer can vary by county. Public health officials at the state and local level have advised that those who test positive stay home for at least five days if they have symptoms.

After five days, a negative test and improved symptoms are generally the ticket out of isolation. People are also not encouraged to seek additional PCR testing after the initial positive antigen test, which is sufficient on its own to seek treatment such as antiviral medication.

Across the Bay Area and Central Coast, only Marin and Sonoma counties encourage residents to report their at-home test results. Those who report a positive test will subsequently receive isolation and treatment guidelines and resources.

The other nine counties in the region either do not accept results from at-home tests or only request them in the context of an outbreak at a workplace, office, or school. Those seeking to report an outbreak can do so via the School and Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracking, which is run out of the California Department of Public Health.

The increase in easily available at-home tests has lessened the testing burden on local public health agencies and larger multi-county health care providers, but officials have noted that fewer and fewer test results are being recorded at testing sites run by local governments or health care providers, both of which do report their positive COVID tests to the CDPH.

As a result, health officials have said in recent months, the true number of active COVID cases at any one time is likely higher than the figures that are tracked and publicly available.

"The testing in the community is now people testing at home, the antigen tests," San Mateo County Health Chief Louise Rogers told the county's Board of Supervisors Tuesday. "Which is great that it's so accessible, but we don't receive those results."

Health officials have pivoted away from tracking raw COVID case numbers as an indicator of local virus transmission, focusing instead on hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and the amount of virus present in local wastewater systems. In any case, those who test positive are encouraged to contact their health care provider for further instruction on treatment, isolation and contact tracing.

COVID-positive people should also alert potential close contacts that they may have been exposed to the virus.

Full guidance from the CDPH about isolation after a positive COVID test can be found at bit.ly/3PwXfUg. In addition, specific COVID-positive guidance in a given county can be found via a county's public health department. Those living in Marin County can report their positive at-home COVID test at bit.ly/3RIxuSx. Sonoma County residents can do the same at bit.ly/3RN8jhA.

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Reporting of Positive Home COVID-19 Tests May Depend on Where You Live - Livermore Independent

Coronavirus activity in San Diego County continues to increase, but slowed significantly in the past week, providing a bit of positive news as doses of Novavax, the latest COVID-19 vaccine, begin to arrive.

The latest wastewater data shows that the amount of virus detected in effluent increased from 15.5 million to 19.8 million coronavirus copies per liter of sewage as of Tuesday, before falling to 18.1 million Wednesday. That figure represents a 17 percent increase over a week earlier, but is much less robust than the spike from 8.1 million to 15.5 million observed from July 13 to July 20.

Confirmed cases, though, have not tracked wastewater trends as closely as they have in the past. There were 1,678 positive test results communicated to the countys epidemiology department Wednesday, 329 fewer than the 2,007 cases reported one week earlier.

The previous pattern was for wastewater to increase first, followed by case rates, and to begin declining a bit before cases did.

Why that doesnt seem to be the case at the moment has not yet been fully explained, but Dr. Cameron Kaiser, deputy public health officer for the county health department, said the move to home testing certainly plays a role. County testing centers, he said, are performing about half as many tests as they did during the winter Omicron wave, and home tests generally dont get reported. It also may be that BA.5, the current dominant coronavirus subvariant, causes infected people to shed more virus than previous versions of the virus did, he said.

If theyre shedding more virus per case, then thats a potential explanation, and there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that this might be true for the early Omicron variants like BA.2, Kaiser said. BA.5 is really too new for us to know how big an effect this is.

Thus far, BA.5 is not showing an ability to cause problems in hospitals as Omicron did.

There were 450 confirmed and suspected patients with positive COVID-19 tests in local non-military hospital beds Thursday, slightly lower than the 473 reported one week earlier.

Kaiser said that county monoclonal antibody clinics, which offer a treatment for those newly infected that can significantly decrease the odds of developing severe illness, have recently been quite busy. Such treatment, he said, is likely contributing to COVIDs lower hospital impact, which surpassed 1,200 occupied beds this past winter.

People are definitely getting sick enough to seek treatment, but thats keeping them out of the hospital, Kaiser said.

A loss of critical health care workers due to widespread transmission of the virus causing a wave of sick calls, as occurred with the Omicron wave in late December and early January, seems to have so far been avoided. Sharp HealthCare, the regions largest medical provider, indicated that callouts have held steady at about 500 per day out of its more than 20,000 employees.

A significant update to the vaccination arsenal is also starting to arrive.

It took about two weeks for the Novavax vaccine, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on July 13, to start showing up in vaccination clinics and medical provider pharmacies, but officials reported receiving shipments this week.

Virologist Shane Crotty at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology collaborated with the vaccines manufacturer to confirm its potency, publishing two recent papers that compared Novavax to mRNA vaccines already in wide circulation.

The data indicate that it, broadly speaking, works just as well as the mRNA vaccine, Crotty said in an interview earlier this month.

Unlike mRNA versions from Pfizer and Moderna, the Novavax product is more traditional, delivering coronavirus spike proteins grown in moth cells. These spikes are harvested and packaged into a vaccine with helper compounds made from chemicals found in tree bark that help activate an immune system response. By comparison, mRNA vaccines use snippets of genetic code to prod the bodys own cells to make coronavirus proteins that can train the immune system to recognize coronavirus.

This different route might help produce a response in those with weak immune systems who did not benefit from mRNA inoculation, he said.

If a person gets two shots of an mRNA vaccine, and they respond poorly, yes, I think it probably makes sense for them and their physicians to say, well, OK, lets try Novavax, Crotty said.

There is also some hope that those who have so far refused to get vaccinated might decide that the Novavax shot, because of its more traditional manufacturing method, is acceptable.

In San Diego County, which surpassed 3 million residents with at least one dose on July 14, about 340,000 eligible residents age 6 months and older remain unvaccinated. And an additional 350,000 got their first dose but not their second.

If concern over the manufacturing method is what led people to look for another option, then I have great hopes that Novavax can be that option, Kaiser said.

He pushed back against those who look at dramatically lower COVID-19 death rates and decline to move forward. Thus far, he said, there have been 35 COVID-related deaths in June and 31 in July, though the case review process often causes long delays before deaths are added to the official count.

We dont see months with more than 30 deaths very often with the flu, and certainly not in summertime, Kaiser said.

Novavax is approved only for those age 18 and older.

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Spread of COVID-19 appears to be slowing in San Diego County - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Companies across the U.S. are contending with acute staffing challenges as some workers call out sick with COVID-19 while others take planned summer vacations.

The latest wave of COVID-19 infections, driven by the spread of the BA.5 subvariant, has left some businesses so short-staffed that they've had to reduce their normal business hours or even close temporarily.

Robert Fleming, owner of Capri Club in Los Angeles which opened in June, said he has so few workers that in addition to owning the restaurant, he's also bussing tables.

"I'm the owner-operator and now that means I'm the busboy, the food runner and I'm sweeping and mopping. It means that everyone's got to pitch in and you do what you got to do to keep the doors open," Fleming told CBS MoneyWatch.

Earlier this month, after a number of his staffers were either exposed to or infected with COVID-19, Fleming had to close the restaurant for a night.

"Many staffers were exposed and got sick, and with a skeleton crew, you have no backups," he said. "If someone goes on vacation or calls in sick and you're barely getting by as it is, then you have to make the decision as to whether or not you keep your doors open."

Restaurateurs and other business owners across the U.S. are fielding increased calls from workers who say they can't come to work because they have coronavirus.

From June 29 to July 11, 3.9 million Americans said they did not work because they had COVID-19 or were caring for someone with symptoms, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. That's more than double the 1.8 million people who didn't work for the same reasons during the same period last year.

In addition to being absent from work due to COVID-19, employees are also taking planned summer breaks.

During the same week as the Census Bureau's household survey, 4.8 million U.S. workers took vacation or personal days, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That's up from 3.7 million workers who took time off during the same period a year earlier.

Many business owners were already challenged by staffing shortages before the new COVID subvariant arrived, just as the summer season was swinging into gear.

Fleming acknowledged an exodus of restaurant industry workers who, at the beginning of the pandemic, traded their jobs for more flexible gig economy work.

"Peoples' lifestyles changed and operating a restaurant at night is maybe not as enticing as it once was for someone's employment," he said. "A lot of back-of-house staff found other jobs in the gig economy or driving for Uber or doing other work during the day, and they get to go home and spend time with their families at night. It's hard for those people to come back to going home at 12 or 1 in the morning."

Americans are also taking the opportunity to travel internationally again, finally taking trips originally scheduled for the summer of 2020.

Steven Hartenstein, who operates Lucca Osteria & Bar in Oak Brook, Illinois, said that all things considered, he is relatively well-staffed.

"We are fortunate to have a decent amount of loyalty," he told CBS MoneyWatch. "About 70% of my original staff is still with me, which for this industry and these times is pretty huge."

Still, this past Tuesday, Hartenstein found himself short three servers, a bartender and a busser.

Two of the servers and the busser were on vacation. The bartender had recently quit and an additional server was sick with a cold.

The rest of the team rallied: the restaurant's general manager tended bar and a hostess helped clear tables.

It was a record night of business at Lucca Osteria.

"We got through it and it was actually a great night," Hartensteain said. "We don't mind being hands-on but it's tough and you struggle. You can't do it every night."

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Businesses struggle as many workers are either out sick with COVID-19 or on vacation - CBS News

Sixty-two Berkeley residents have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to city data. That puts Berkeleys COVID-19 death rate 53 per 100,000 residents among the lowest in California.

Only two counties the rural Alpine and Mono counties on the Nevada border have lower death rates than the city of Berkeley, which has its own health department and publishes its COVID-19 data separately from Alameda County. In the rest of the county, the COVID-19 death rate is more than twice as high as in Berkeley, with 124 deaths per 100,000 residents.

In Berkeley, COVID-19 was the seventh-leading cause of death in 2020 and was tied with accidents as the sixth-leading cause of death in 2021, according to state vital records data. In both years, cancer was the leading cause of death, followed by heart disease. In the United States, COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in both 2020 and 2021.

Lisa Hernandez, Berkeleys health officer, attributed the citys low COVID-19 death rate to its high vaccination rate, first and foremost, as well as to a healthier and younger population that is more likely to wear masks than in many other parts of the state.

Almost 80% of Berkeleys COVID-19 deaths came in the first year of the pandemic, before vaccines became universally available. Forty-nine people died by the end of February 2021. Since March 2021, at least 11 more people have died.

The latest surge, driven by omicron sub variant BA.5, has led to a notable uptick in hospitalizations in Alameda County, but there has not been a corresponding rise in deaths in Berkeley, at least at this point in the surge.

Berkeleys data show only people who died from COVID-19, not those who happened to be infected with the virus when they died.

The demographic breakdown of COVID-19 deaths in Berkeley has remained similar since Berkeleyside last analyzed the data in January 2021.

Forty-four of the 62 people whove died in Berkeley since the start of the pandemic were over 70 years old. Fourteen were between 51 and 70 years old. And two were between 31 and 50. No one aged 30 or younger has died from COVID-19 in Berkeley.

Black people are overrepresented in Berkeleys COVID-19 deaths. While Black residents make up just 8% of the citys population, they account for 33% of deaths from the virus.

Latinos are evenly represented in the citys COVID-19 fatalities. About 15% of residents are Latino, and they make up 14% of fatalities.

White and Asian people are underrepresented in the citys deaths. White people make up 50% of Berkeleys population but only 38% of the citys COVID-19 deaths; Asian people, at 20% of the population, make up just 8% of deaths.

Our data shows that we are weathering this pandemic better than many communities in our region, Lisa Warhuus, the citys health director, wrote in an email to Berkeleyside. But, she added, some groups have borne the brunt of serious illness and death.

Berkeley is one of the most vaccinated communities in the state. Ninety-four-percent of residents are vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine and 84% of residents have received at least one booster shot.

The most important thing is that we have a very good vaccination rate overall, and we also have a very high booster rate, said Hernandez. The vaccine and the booster are especially protective against severe disease.

Across California, unvaccinated people were 10 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated people. Berkeley has not published data on the vaccination status of those whove died from COVID-19.

Hernandez said Berkeley has run numerous outreach campaigns to increase access to and knowledge of the vaccine among communities with lower vaccination rates, including door knocking in South and West Berkeley, offering seniors of color rides to get vaccinated, running vaccine clinics at schools with the help of Berkeley Unified School District and recruiting young people to appear on social media ads promoting vaccination, among other strategies.

Ninety-eight-percent of Latinos in Berkeley have received two doses of the vaccine, the most of any racial or ethnic group in the city. Across California, just 56% of Latinos have received two doses.

Ninety-two percent of Asian people, 87% of white people, 79% of Black people and 46% of multi-racial or Native American people have received two doses of the vaccine.

Featured photo: Tracey Taylor

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Berkeley's COVID-19 death rate is among the lowest in California - Berkeleyside

Charley Ding spent weeks early in the pandemic intubating patients sick with Covid-19. The 42-year-old anesthesiologist in South Barrington, Ill., said he has since watched most of the doctors and nurses he works with get infected at some point.

But he has never gotten Covid-19, he said. Its probably a combination of being careful, maybe being blessed with a good immune system, he said. But also just luck.

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Think Youve Never Had Covid-19? Think Again - The Wall Street Journal

President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with his national security team on July 22 from the White House in Washington. Adama Schultz/AP hide caption

President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with his national security team on July 22 from the White House in Washington.

President Biden's symptoms from COVID-19 "have now almost completely resolved," according to a letter from his physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor.

O'Connor says Biden reports "residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness" after four full days of Paxlovid treatment. He also notes Biden's pulse, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and temperature are all normal.

Biden is due to remain in isolation through Tuesday. If he tests negative after that and is feeling well beyond his five-day course of Paxlovid, he may resume normal activities on Wednesday.

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Biden's COVID-19 symptoms are nearly resolved, the White House doctor says - NPR