Category: Covid-19

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 538.9 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 6.31 million. More than 11.99 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as six months, allowing a nationwide rollout to start imminently. The move came after a panel of advisers to the institution voted to recommend COVID-19 vaccines for children of that age.

People infected with the earliest version of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus first identified in South Africa in November may be vulnerable to reinfection with later versions of Omicron even if they have been vaccinated and boosted, new findings suggest.

Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, began its second day of mass COVID-19 testing on Monday after dozens of locally transmitted cases were discovered over the weekend, with most businesses shut but casinos remaining open.

North Korea has recorded another 18,820 new fever cases amid its first official COVID-19 outbreak, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, as daily reported infections continued to drop and no new deaths were reported.

The European Medicines Agency has launched a rolling review of a variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, as cases of new Omicron sub-variants are on the rise. Clinical trial data will be added to the rolling submission, which is designed to speed up any approval, BioNTech and Pfizer said in a joint statement.

The Swiss parliament has refused to fully finance the government's plan to buy COVID-19 vaccines in 2023. It means the government could initially procure only 3.5 million additional vaccine doses each from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech instead of seven million each for 2023 it announced in March.

US healthcare giant Pfizer has agreed to buy an 8.1% stake in French vaccines company Valneva. The French company is working on a COVID-19 vaccine.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries

Image: Our World in Data

The odds of developing long COVID after infection were 20% to 50% lower during the Omicron wave in the UK compared to Delta, researchers at King's College London found, using data from the ZOE COVID Symptom study app. The figure varied depending on the patient's age and the timing of their last vaccination.

Long COVID, which includes prolonged symptoms ranging from fatigue to "brain fog", can be debilitating and continue for weeks or months. It is increasingly being recognized as a public health problem, and researchers have been racing to find out whether Omicron presents as big a risk of long COVID as previously dominant variants.

The study from King's is believed to be the first academic research to show Omicron does not present as great a risk of long COVID, but that does not mean long COVID patient numbers are dropping, the team said.

While the risk of long COVID was lower during Omicron, more people were infected, so the absolute number now suffering is higher. The UK's Office for National Statistics said in May that 438,000 people in the country have long COVID after Omicron infection, representing 24% of all long COVID patients.

The G20 group of major economies aims to raise $1.5 billion this year for a fund set up to better prepare for future pandemics, the health minister of current G20 president Indonesia has said.

G20 countries have provisionally agreed to set up a multi-billion-dollar fund that health officials have said will finance efforts such as surveillance, research and better access to vaccination for lower-to-middle income countries.

Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in an interview that the United States, European Union, Indonesia, Singapore and Germany have pledged about $1.1 billion to the fund so far.

"If we can get by the end of this year $1.5 billion of fresh funding, we will be very, very happy," he told Reuters, adding that he hopes the group can raise another $1.5 billion next year.

The World Bank, which will house the fund, and the World Health Organization, which is advising, estimate that the annual funding gap for pandemic preparedness is $10.5 billion.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: Top stories about the pandemic in mid-June 2022 - World Economic Forum

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Plaquemine Post South

Louisiana reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 6,649 new cases. That's down 16.1% from the previous week's tally of 7,921 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Louisiana ranked 38th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 0.7% from the week before, with 730,572 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 0.91% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 15 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Iberville Parish reported 52 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 202 cases and minus one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 8,989 cases and 152 deaths.

Across Louisiana, cases fell in 34 parishes, with the best declines in Bossier Parish, with 292 cases from 644 a week earlier; in Jefferson Parish, with 659 cases from 928; and in Orleans Parish, with 612 cases from 831.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in St. James Parish with 280 cases per 100,000 per week; De Soto Parish with 240; and Bossier Parish with 230. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were East Baton Rouge Parish, with 727 cases; Jefferson Parish, with 659 cases; and Orleans Parish, with 612. Weekly case counts rose in 26 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Rapides, Lafayette and Ouachita parishes.

In Louisiana, 17 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 15 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,210,760 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 17,373 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 86,246,101 people have tested positive and 1,013,413 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 19.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 29 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 25 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 31 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

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Iberville Parish reported 52 additional COVID-19 cases this week - Post South

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Bluffton Today

New coronavirus cases increased 9.4% in South Carolina in the week ending Sunday as the state added 10,348 cases. The previous week had 9,456 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

South Carolina ranked 17th among the states where the coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 0.7% from the week before, with 730,572 cases reported.

With 1.55% of the country's population, South Carolina had 1.42% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 15 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Beaufort County reported 292 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 343 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 44,887 cases and 383 deaths.

Jasper County reported 35 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 29 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,054 cases and 93 deaths.

Within South Carolina, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Dorchester County with 351 cases per 100,000 per week; Richland County with 305; and Charleston County with 297. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Richland County, with 1,270 cases; Charleston County, with 1,222 cases; and Greenville County, with 889. Weekly case counts rose in 32 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Richland, Charleston and Dorchester counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Across South Carolina, cases fell in 13 counties, with the best declines in Lexington County, with 644 cases from 701 a week earlier; in Beaufort County, with 292 cases from 343; and in Greenwood County, with 32 cases from 69.

In South Carolina, 25 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 63 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,524,771 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 17,995 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 86,246,101 people have tested positive and 1,013,413 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 19.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 29 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 25 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 31 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

Originally posted here:

292 new COVID-19 cases last week in Beaufort County, 35 in Jasper County - Bluffton Today

In an ideal world, COVID-19 would be a thing of the past, and another pandemic would be a distant possibility. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world, and there is no way to predict when the next dangerous COVID-19 variant or pandemic will emerge. Case in point: monkeypox. We need to be ready. Given the risks to the U.S. of another variant or pandemic, it is in the nations best interest to accelerate our research and development today. As members of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, we know all too well the importance of being prepared for biological threats. We lived through an anthrax attack that changed our understanding of the steps needed to be prepared for future threats and have been examining our nations ability to defend against biological threats for seven years. One thing is clear: Preparedness requires significant and sustained investment in research and development.

This lesson has never been clearer than today. There may be no breathing room between Omicron and now its BA.2 subvariant and the next dangerous COVID-19 variant, or between COVID-19 and the next pandemic. In fact, they may occur simultaneously. If the United States does not treat these threats as certainties and invest proactively in research and development, we will continuously play catch-up. Waiting for disaster to strike before taking action once again will leave our country open to needless deaths and disability, necessitate enormous sums of emergency spending, and result in economic chaos disastrous to Americans and businesses small and large across the nation. In our country alone, the pandemic has taken more than 1 million lives. Globally, the death toll to date is 6.12 million. And up to 23 million Americans infected with SARS-CoV-2 have experienced Long COVID, which can result in debilitating symptoms as serious as heart or kidney failure that persist long after the infection subsides.

As devastating as COVID-19 has been for our nation and the world, the next pandemic could be even worse. What is certain is that the risk of pandemics is growing. According to a study by the Duke University Global Health Institute, Based on the increasing rate at which novel pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 have broken loose in human populations in the past 50 years the probability of novel disease outbreaks will likely grow three-fold in the next few decades.

Inaction in the face of this clear threat poses a grave national security risk to our country. Congress must immediately take steps to prioritize research and development. Important progress has been made toward a vaccine effective against numerous COVID-19 variants. With further work, this vaccine would not only be effective against present and future COVID-19 variants but would also offer protection against future threats from the larger viral family to which COVID-19 belongs. In our recent report, Athena Agenda: Advancing the Apollo Program for Biodefense, we urged Congress to go even further and develop at least one vaccine candidate for each of the 26 viral families that infect humans. Congress should also invest in research to develop important new treatments to mitigate symptoms and prevent severe disease outcomes from COVID-19 and other high-priority viruses, as well as develop needle-free methods for delivering vaccines and other medicines, among other technology priorities.

The president and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have an opportunity to come together in the coming weeks to reinvigorate research and development to address COVID-19, eliminate dangerous gaps in what we know about other pandemic threats, and develop preemptive, diagnostic, and treatment countermeasures. With $10 billion every year for ten years, an Apollo Program for Biodefense could eliminate the threat of pandemics entirely.

The last two years have proven that tremendous scientific achievements are possible given sufficient funding and prioritization. Our nation has the power to prevent further human suffering and economic chaos. Now is the time to act, before we find ourselves yet again at the mercy of another natural, manmade, or accidental biological disaster.

Daschle served in the Senate from 1987 to 2005 and as Senate majority leader from 2001 to 2003. Ridge served as governor of Pennsylvania and Homeland Security secretary. Both serve on the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense.

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Out-innovating the next COVID-19 variant and the next pandemic - The Hill

People with diabetes are prone to a number of complications from this condition. But one of the newest pandemic era developments seems to show a link between diabetes and more severe illness from those with COVID-19.

A particular enzyme thats often overactive in people with diabetes is angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). It may be at least partly to blame for this predisposition to severe COVID-19 symptoms, as well as other non-COVID-19 complications.

This article explores the relationship between diabetes and ACE2 and how it relates to COVID-19.

ACE2 is a substance in your body that helps regulate several critical functions. Amino acids (peptides) are the chemicals that help build proteins in your body, and in general, these ACE peptides are major players in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) that regulates how the body controls things such as:

An imbalance of these enzymes and peptides can contribute to the development of a number of conditions, such as high blood pressure, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease.

According to a 2011 study, people with diabetes particularly those with diabetes-related kidney disease often have overactive or early expression of ACE2 enzymes. The amplification of these enzymes can lead to complications alone, but that complication risk increases when combined with a virus that binds to these same receptors as these enzymes.

Diabetes is associated with increased complications with all kinds of conditions, and COVID-19 is no exception.

Several studies have highlighted the increased risk of infection, severe illness, and even death in people with diabetes who have COVID-19.

The reason for this increase may be becoming clearer.

Researchers found that in China, 20 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 also had diabetes as their most common comorbidity. That research also shows that a third of the people who died from their COVID-19 also lived with diabetes. Another study linked diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer to two-thirds of COVID-19 deaths in Italy.

Many theories exist on why a diabetes diagnosis appears to make COVID-19 illness worse. Two leading theories are that worsened illness is:

However, the real answer may have more to do with the types of cells that the SARS-CoV-2 virus targets in the first place, leading to COVID-19.

In many people with diabetes, ACE2 levels are increased, or these enzymes are more active. The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is particularly attracted to these ACE sites because the spiked proteins that coat the virus attach to the body at ACE2 receptor sites.

In people with elevated ACE activity, this means there are more host sites for the virus to attach to once it enters your body.

COVID-19 is known to cause severe lung, heart, and even kidney complications, and developing research reveals that this may be in part due to how active ACE2 cells are in these tissues in people who are infected with the virus. ACE2 levels have been found to be abnormally high in people with severe COVID-19, particularly in the lung tissues of people who died from COVID-19.

While this all isnt yet fully understood, it appears that the elevated expression of ACE2 in people with diabetes may set the stage for additional problems once the COVID-19 virus is introduced.

Early overexpression of ACE2 may contribute to the development of some forms of diabetes, as well as the appearance of diabetes-related complications.

The ACE2 enzyme and the peptides it helps to control contribute to:

A lack of balance in these areas is believed to contribute to many of the microvascular changes that occur in people with diabetes, including loss of kidney function and nerve damage (neuropathy).

Our bodies depend on balance to function properly, and any time even the smallest components of our system are disrupted, problems can arise. People with diabetes already face a number of complications, but now it appears that some of the chemical imbalances that can contribute to diabetes complications can also increase the risk and severity of a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Talk with a doctor or healthcare professional about how to control your blood glucose and protect yourself from all sorts of infections including SARS-CoV-2 infection if you have diabetes.

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Diabetes and COVID-19: What To Know About ACE2 - Healthline

Introduction

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues, it may be useful to elucidate its impact on services in the emergency department (ED). This research project aims to identify and analyze changes in patient presentations and disease severity within the ED at Hurley Medical Center (HMC) in Flint, Michigan, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study is a retrospective chart review focusing on adults 18 years and above who presented to HMCs ED. The data collected for the study was obtained from patient charts from February 1, 2019, to July 31, 2019, and from February 1, 2020, to July 31, 2020. Data from the years 2019 and 2020 were analyzed using a combination of independent t-test, chi-square analysis, and regression modeling.

There were a total of 59,345 visits analyzed within the study; 33,648 ED visits within the study were in 2019 compared to 25,697 visits in 2020. There was a significant difference in patient sex between 2019 and 2020 with a larger percentage of males presenting in 2020 versus 2019 (p<0.001). Dispositions also significantly differed in 2020 compared to 2019 with more patients being admitted or dying in the ED (p<0.001). Patients who presented to the ED often presented with more severe illness in 2020 as reflected in increased length of stay in 2020 (p=0.01) and increased case mix index (p<0.001).

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced the total number of ED visits to HMC in Flint, Michigan, in 2020 than in 2019. Notably, patients were more likely to have a longer length of stay, present with more severe illness, andbe admitted or die in the ED when compared to 2019. The results from this study can be used for future planning for the next public health emergency.

This article was previously presented as a meeting abstract at the 2021 ACEP Annual Scientific Meeting Research Forum on October 25-28, 2021.

The World Health Organization marked March 11, 2020, as the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. The state of Michigan declared a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 on March 10, 2020, and enacted a lockdown order on March 23, 2020, via an executive order from the Michigan Governors office [2]. As the pandemic continues, there is a need to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on patients accessing services in the emergency department (ED). Current investigations highlight trends in volume, diagnoses, and disease severity. Ultimately, the current data demonstrate how COVID-19 has affected which patients are presenting and when they are presenting.

The National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) has been collecting real-time data regarding emergency department visits in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic and comparing the data to the same time period in 2019. The NSSP data suggests that the number of emergency department visits declined by 42% during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic; visits decreased from 2.1 million per week in March and April 2019 to 1.2 million per week in March and April 2020 [3]. Not only did the volume of emergency department visits change, but the conditions for which patients sought treatment also changed. Eight of the most common diagnostic categories saw an increase in visits, including diagnoses related to exposure and screening for infectious disease, pneumonia, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest [3]. Similarly, emergency department services for opioid overdoses have also increased in regional studies [4]. Other diagnostic categories, however, saw declines in visits. In particular, visits for abdominal pain, musculoskeletal pain, essential hypertension, and nonspecific chest pain decreased [3].Most concerning, however, is the steep decline in visits for acute, life-threatening conditions. NSSP data indicates a 23% decline in visits for myocardial infarction, a 20% decline for cerebrovascular accidents, and a 10% decline for a hyperglycemic crisis [5].

While it is clear that COVID-19 has altered the number of patients utilizing the ED and impacted what complaints people are willing to come to the ED for, data also suggests that COVID-19 has impacted the severity of presentations. In a multicenter study across five healthcare systems in five states, increases in hospital admission rates in the ED ranged from 22% to 149%, suggesting that patients were presenting with more severe concerns [6]. While limited studies in the United States suggest that ED visits have increased in severity, other studies conducted outside of the United States also found similar results. In one international study, individuals with scores of 1 or 2 on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale corresponding to threat to immediate life/limb requiring resuscitation and those potentially requiring resuscitation, respectively, saw the steepest decline in ED visits in comparison to less severe triage scores [7]. The correlation between increased disease severity upon presentation and COVID-19 is not entirely clear as other international studies found no significant difference in triage levels between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 [8].

Despite the robust data collection by NSSP, several gaps remain in the knowledge regarding COVID-19 and emergency department changes. First, the current data is largely national and regional. There are no current studies detailing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department visits in Michiganor communities in Michigan such as Flint. Furthermore, although data elucidating the changes in severity for emergency department visits suggests an increase in severity, some studies internationally suggest that there has been no increase in severity, perhaps indicating that severity changes are more specific to geographical locations.

This study was reviewed by the institutional review board (IRB) and was found to be an exempt study. It was a retrospective chart review study investigating emergency department patient visits. The datacollected for the study was obtained from existing information recorded in medical charts from February 1, 2019, to July 31, 2019, and from February 1, 2020, to July 31, 2020. Data were aggregated based on month, and each months data in 2020 were compared to its respective month in 2019. These six months in 2020 were chosen as this was a six-month snapshot of ED visits that reflect the impact of the pandemic at various times of viral impact in the community.

This work was conducted at Hurley Medical Center (HMC) in Flint, Michigan, a Level I Trauma Center, Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, and regional burn center that services the Genesee, Lapeer, and Shiawassee counties in Michigan. From the United States Census data, we found that Flint has a larger minority population, lower average property values, lower overall education rate, and higher poverty and unemployment rates than the national average [9].

The study population included adults 18 years and older. We obtained data via the health information technology (HIT) departments summary of patient medical records from emergency visits during the time period studied.

We aggregated yearly data on demographic variables in terms of sex and race, severity markers such as length of stay hours, and case mix index from the EPIC electronic medical record system. Diagnoses through the categorization of ICD-10 codes were also collected. Each of these elements was compared between data collected in February 2019-July 2019 and February 2020-July 2020. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test and chi-square, as appropriate, using SPSS version 27.0(IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

There were a total of 59,345 visits analyzed within the study, of which 33,648 ED visits occurredin 2019 compared to 25,697 visits in 2020 (Table 1).

There was a significant difference in patient sex between 2019 and 2020 with an increase in males in 2020 at 47% (n=12,067) in comparison to 2019 at 44.2% (n=15,025). However, there was a decrease in the presentation of females in 2020 at 53% (n=13,630) in comparison to 2019 at 55.8% (n=18,791). There was no statistical difference in the presentation of racial demographics between 2019 and 2020 (Table 2).

The length of stay and case mix index were used as proxy indicators of severity, which displayed a statistically significant increase in 2020. The average length of stay was measured at 6.97 hours in 2020 in comparison to 6.81 hours in 2019. Additionally, the case mix index was 1.93 in 2020 in comparison to 1.65 in 2019 (Table 3). There were also statistically significant changes in disposition with an increase in patient admissions, discharges, and deaths but a decrease in disposition to skilled nursing facilities (Table 4).

Multiple ICD-10 diagnoses differed between 2019 and 2020. There was an increase in the percentage of infectious diseases, COVID-19, and pneumonia. Respiratory failure/insufficiency/arrest increased in comparison to 2019 (4% (n=1,035) in 2020 versus 2.9% (n=989) in 2019). There was also an increase in nausea/vomiting and generalized signs and symptoms at 8.2% (n=2,107) and 3.7% (n=942) in comparison to 2019 at 6.9% (n=2,320) and 3.2% (n=1,089).

In addition, there was an increase in patients with socioeconomic factors and mental health diagnoses. Socioeconomic factors increased to 1.8% (n=437) in 2020 from 1.6% (n=542) in 2019, and mental health increased to 4.5% (n=1,161) from 4.1% (n=1,376).

An increase in patients with a history or family history of chronic disease and disorders of lipid metabolism was also seen in 2020. In addition, 24.8% (6,373) of the patients with a personal or family history of chronic disease and 6.5% (n=1,660) of patients with disorder of lipid metabolism presented to the ED in 2020 in comparison to 22.9% (n=7,691) and 5.8% (n=1,941) in 2019 (Table 5).

There was a significant increase in indicators of severity such as emergency department length of stay, overall admissions to the hospital, and case mix index (CMI) in 2020 when compared to 2019. There was a statistically significant difference in patient presentation in 2020 by sex, but not by race. In regard to patient disposition, there was a statistically significant increase in the percentage of hospital admissions, discharges, and deaths in 2020 compared to 2019. There was a statistically significant decrease in the number of patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities in 2020 compared to 2019.

The diagnoses for which individuals visited the emergency department also varied between 2019 and 2020. There was a statistically significant increase in the percentage of infectious disease, COVID-19, generalized symptoms, pneumonia, respiratory failure/insufficiency/arrest, patients with socioeconomic factors, mental health, nausea/vomiting, and myocardial infarction presentations in 2020 compared to 2019.

Despite increases in the percentage of the diagnoses listed above, there was an overall decrease in the number of patients presenting with the above diagnoses except for COVID-19, pneumonia, and respiratory failure/insufficiency/arrest. There was a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of sprain, unspecified injury, urinary tract infection, and sexually transmitted infection presentations in 2020 compared to 2019.

This study is the first of its kind to study the impact of COVID-19 on patient presentations to the emergency department in our region in Michigan. The information gathered from this study can be used to prepare the emergency department and downstream hospital operations for subsequent public health emergencies.

Our data further suggestthat there was no statistically significant decline in time-sensitive emergencies for myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, or cardiac arrest despite the constraints of COVID-19. Further work should be directed to investigate the interplay between the social determinants of health in Flint, Michigan, and the safety net in place at HMC in the context of COVID-19.

Due to the large sample size of the study, it is difficult to visualize substantial changes in patient presentations using percentages alone. When analyzing large numerical populations, it is observed that small percentage changes represent hundreds of patients. Variable percentages may also be attributed to the decrease in patient presentations in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Our study compared data from February 1, 2019, to July 31, 2019, and February 1, 2020, to July 31, 2020. Therefore, the conclusions and discussion made reflect only part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this study evaluated emergency department hospital visits at a single hospital in Flint, Michigan. Thus, this data is specific to the local population and may not indicate what other hospitals or geographic areas are experiencing in Michigan or the United States. Lastly, one investigative measure, severity, may not be directly comparable to other studies looking at ED visit severity as there are other markers to assess for severity.

During the first major wave of COVID-19 at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, emergency department visits dropped approximately 13% compared to the previous year. However, patients who did present to the emergency department were found to be sicker and tended to get admitted to the hospital. Unlike previous research on this topic, the rate of time-sensitive emergencies (myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiac arrest) remained flat despite COVID-19 constraints.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Patient Presentations to the Emergency Department - Cureus

There were more positive COVID-19 cases in the Watertown School District during the 2021-22 school year than the previous year.

That's something members of the Watertown School Board learned recently during their June meeting.

In conjunction with the American Rescue Plan, we had a Safe Return to School Plan for 2021-22. It was probably much less strict than the 2021 plan, said Superintendent Jeff Danielsen.

He explained that part of theplan was that masks were optional. Changes were also made to how the school handled positive cases and close contacts.

We only kept COVID positives home, Danielsen said, not close contacts.

During the 2021-22 school year, Watertown schools saw647 COVID-19 cases, of which 525 were in students.

Compared to a total of 575 last year, we had more positives this year, Danielsen said.

There were times when the district struggled to keep classrooms staffed because there were 122 COVID-19 cases among teachers.

We saw a couple of big spikes this year, said Danielsen. In September, we had 14 staff and 96 students. Our big month was in January. We had 58 COVID-positive staff members and 250 students.

Watertown schools had to depend on their substitute teacher pool, and Danielsen said the district is again seeking substitute teacher applicants.

I want to thank the principals and staff members for helping to keep the school running. There was a lot of coverage to be done with our substitute pool, said Danielsen. We feel our year went fairly well with the reduced options this year.

Next years Safe Return to School plan will be ready closer to the start of school. The district is waiting for guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Controland the state.

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Watertown schools saw higher COVID-19 cases this year - Watertown Public Opinion

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The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected peoples health, but also their economic security, mental well-being and ability to work.

To shed light on the pandemics adverse impacts across multiple dimensions beyond the direct effects of COVID-19 itself, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization is debuting its first quarterly public health report.

The report, Health Effects and Views of COVID-19 in Hawaii, takes a detailed and comprehensive look at numerous aspects of the pandemic how it has affected peoples jobs, their ability to buy food and their mental well-being, as well as how vaccination status factors into the picture.

It looks at a variety of impacts on public health, which obviously impacts economics, said Ruben Juarez, an economics professor at the UH Manoa College of Social Sciences. Its just a start at this point. Im hoping this will service policymakers and the community to continue the conversation with stakeholders on what strategies we need to move forward.

The report is based on survey responses from a cohort of more than 2,000 Hawaii adults from across the state in May, when the state was in the midst of its fourth wave of COVID-19 cases, according to Juarez, also UHEROs HMSA Endowed Professor of Health Economics.

UHERO put the cohort together in partnership with the state, and will be conducting monthly surveys following the same individuals for a long period of time.

What the report found is that the pandemic has had a significant, negative impact on much of the population two out of every three people surveyed.

It also has caused economic hardship, with about 23% of respondents reporting that their savings were depleted due to the pandemic, while about 15% say they were unable to pay their bills, 9% lost their jobs and 8% did not have enough food for their household.

Additionally, 12.5% reported having been furloughed or having their work hours reduced.

In other aspects of life, nearly 18% reported troubles with the education of their children and 8.7% had trouble with child care.

There was also personal loss, with 12.4% reporting a close friend who died and 9.2% reporting the loss of a family member due to COVID-19.

Accessing medical care, however, did not seem to be a major concern, with only 2.6% saying they were unable to get medical care for serious problems for themselves and 3% saying they were unable to get medical care for serious problems for their family members.

The pandemic took a toll on mental health, as well, with one out of every three residents surveyed reporting some symptoms of depression. Even more alarming, 4.2% of survey respondents said they had contemplated suicide during the past year.

UHERO also found that 31.3% of respondents that tested positive for COVID were suffering from long COVID, or long-term symptoms following the infection.

The most common symptoms were cough and shortness of breath, followed by extreme fatigue, mental fog and headaches.

Of those suffering from long COVID, about half reported symptoms that were medium to severe.

This potentially affects the size of Hawaiis workforce when many sectors of the economy are struggling from staffing shortages, said Juarez.

The report also takes a dive into the characteristics of those who remain unvaccinated, including where they get their sources of information on the pandemic, and how they are faring.

The unvaccinated tend to be younger, the report found, with a higher percentage among those in their 30s than those ages 50 and older.

Also, the higher the level of education, the more likely individuals were to be vaccinated, the survey found. Individuals with an advanced or bachelors degree reported very low rates of being unvaccinated, at 3% and 4%, respectively. The highest percentage of those unvaccinated, 41%, had no high school diploma.

Those who were unvaccinated tended to get more of their information from social media and faith leaders than from medical providers, government sources or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There continue to be disparities among ethnic groups, and the highest percentage of unvaccinated in the state at 21% are Pacific Islanders.

This could be useful for the state Health Department, said Juarez, in refining its messaging or target strategies for vaccination outreach.

Those who remain unvaccinated tended to experience greater hardship, food insecurity and depression, the survey found, likely reflecting socioeconomic disparities.

Most respondents, about 58%, saw the current impact of COVID-19 on their life as a health concern, while about 31% found it to be more of an inconvenience; 7% found it to be neither, and about 4% were unsure how it affects them.

Should there be another large COVID-19 wave, the majority of respondents, 92%, expressed a willingness to wear a mask in indoor public spaces.

In a separate question, however, 8.2% said they believed the pandemic was already over.

The May survey included 2,030 adults statewide, with a higher proportion of females, at 62%, and age range of 18 to 70 and above. More than 40% were ages 60 or older. The sample cohort was also more educated than the state as a whole.

Of those surveyed, about 25% had reported testing positive for COVID.

The report noted that the data has limitations, and that participants who self- report can provide more socially desirable answers.

UHERO conducted the surveys in partnership with the Pacific Alliance Against COVID-19. The surveys are supported, in part, by federal coronavirus funding.

Juarez said in coming months the surveys will offer a better understanding of the states public health issues, document changes over time and offer insight into new challenges that may arise.

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COVID-19 pandemic takes a toll on Hawaiis population - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

In a recent study posted to the Research Square* preprint server, researchers demonstrated that impaired type I interferon (IFN-I) immunity is associated with increasing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity.

The response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is highly variable, resulting in diverse clinical outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe disease and even death. A better understanding of such heterogeneity in responses to IFN-based COVID-19 treatment could help identify alternative therapeutic strategies.

Studies have shown that while blood type I interferon (IFN-I) responses are critical in early acute infection, they get impaired preceding clinical worsening of COVID-19. Hence, researchers have observed a dichotomous clinical response to IFN-I-based treatments in late-stage COVID-19.

Consistent with these observations, studies have also identified mutations in genetic loci that govern toll-like receptor (TLR)3- and interferon regulatory factor (IRF)7-dependent IFN-I immunity. Likewise, autoantibodies against IFN, IFN, or IFN, and TLR7 pathway are critical in conferring early immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Yet, exogenous IFN-I treatment does not improve clinical outcomes for COVID-19.

Here, it is also important to note the importance of deploying sensitive immunoassays when studying type I IFN directly from patient samples. As is known, IFN protein levels remain below the detection limits of conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Luminex assays. More importantly, plasma IFN levels at the time of patient sampling do not depict how patients cells respond to viral exposure.

In the current study, researchers enrolled healthy controls and SARS-CoV-2 infected participants at St. Jamess Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, between March and June 2020. The control group comprised 61 healthy individuals who matched the study cohort in age, 5 years.

At the time of enrollment, the team assigned all the study participants with disease severity grades based on hospital admission and supplemental oxygen requirements. The patients who did not require hospitalization were classified as moderately ill, while those hospitalized and given supplemental oxygen via nasal cannula were considered severe. Those classified as critical required more than six liters of oxygen per minute, delivered via high-flow nasal oxygen or a venturi mask.

The team characterized all 13 IFN-alpha subtypes, especially IFN2 proteins using highly sensitive assays, IFN function, interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), and autoantibodies neutralizing IFN-I. The researchers also selected a patient subset and stimulated their whole blood samples with relevant viral antagonists to better assess the functionality of their immune system to external stimuli. Likewise, they obtained plasma samples from 342 and 212 for cytokine and autoantibody analysis, respectively. Further, they used plasma samples from a small subset of 31 patients for cellular phenotyping.

The authors observed multiple disturbances in the IFN-I response with increasing COVID-19 severity. Late stimulation with exogenous IFN-I did not benefit patients; moreover, it compromised any apparent clinical benefit of viral agonists. Notably, IFN secretion was more disturbed than IFN, which was unanticipated given its low levels in patient plasma. This finding further indicated the challenges in accurately detecting and quantifying IFN in the blood.

Gyros assay identified four male patients as anti-IFN autoantibody-positive in the hospitalized group, with two moderately, one severely, and one critically ill. Since the majority of patients remained negative for anti-IFN autoantibodies, this factor could not have driven severe disease in patients.

The authors also observed that stimulating the whole blood from hospitalized COVID-19 patients with ex vivo IFN-I induced a non-canonical inflammatory response. Further, TLR gene expression data from whole blood revealed similar TLR7 expression in all groups, lower TLR3 expression, and higher TLR4 and TLR8 expression in hospitalized patients. In addition, the authors found eight additional cytokines with significant differences in hospitalized patients, primarily after TLR3 stimulation.

The IFN-I response to stimulations, including polyinosinic: polycytidylic acid (Poly: IC), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and R848 (a TLR7/8 agonist) was disturbed in critically ill patients. In fact, Poly: IC stimulation significantly reduced the IFN response in moderate and severe disease groups but reduced after R848- and LPS-stimulation in the hospitalized groups.

The blunting of broad IFN responses in severe COVID-19 patients remains unexplained. Studies showed that this phenotype was not attributable to SARS-CoV-2 interference with the hosts immunity. Consequently, with increasing severity, pDCs remained capable of producing IFN intracellularly. Future works should investigate the functionality of intracellular pathways in cells isolated from severe COVID-19 patients. It could help better understand this phenotype and provide targets for new treatment strategies.

The study highlighted the critical role IFN-I mediated immunity plays in dictating COVID-19 outcomes. Other studies have implicated IFN in long COVID-19, thus further emphasizing the need to understand the regulation of IFN-I during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The current study also identified two main reasons for an impaired IFN-I response in severe COVID-19. They showed decreased circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and dysregulated monocytes which secreted fewer IFN. Second, IFN-I stimulation of leukocytes promoted an inflammatory response in severe COVID-19 patients but not in moderately ill patients.

Furthermore, physiological concentrations of IFN proteins are often below pg/mL levels. The study results, therefore, highlighted the significance of using sensitive assays to measure circulating IFN levels in severe COVID-19 patients. The authors also observed differences in IFN2 protein plasma levels between moderately and severely ill COVID-19 patients.

As new experimental tools become available, they will help the researchers fully understand the functions of all 13 IFN subtypes in COVID-19 patients, which might also be relevant for other viral infections. Most importantly, clinical studies should test IFN-I intervention strategies early, i.e., before the disease symptoms appear, and target them toward patients with known risk factors.

Research Square publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Continue reading here:

Implications of impaired type I interferon immunity and increasing COVID-19 severity - News-Medical.Net

Courtesy Image An illustration of the coronavirus provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ALPENA Residents can get free COVID-19 tests and vaccinations tomorrow at the Alpena County Fairgrounds, thanks to District Health Department No. 4.

No appointments are needed for the event, to be held from 10 a.m to 3 p.m.

Participants will be asked but not required to share insurance information and identification.

Health officials will text or email results, with rapid results available within 30 to 45 minutes and other results available within two to three days. All three approved vaccination brands will be available, but participants will not be able to access pediatric vaccines for children younger than one year.

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COVID-19 texting, vaccination event tomorrow | News, Sports, Jobs - Alpena News