Category: Covid-19

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Newport Daily News

Rhode Island reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 2,614 new cases. That's down 20.7% from the previous week's tally of 3,298 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Rhode Island ranked 16th 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 0.9% from the week before, with 753,773 cases reported. With 0.32% of the country's population, Rhode Island had 0.35% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 31 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Newport County reported 224 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 290 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 22,571 cases and 93 deaths.

Across Rhode Island, cases fell in four counties, with the best declines in Providence County, with 1,661 cases from 2,231 a week earlier; in Kent County, with 498 cases from 625; and in Newport County, with 224 cases from 290.

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

Within Rhode Island, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Washington County with 607 cases per 100,000 per week; Kent County with 303; and Newport County with 273. 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 Providence County, with 1,661 cases; Washington County, with 762 cases; and Kent County, with 498.

In Rhode Island, seven people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, six people were reported dead.

A total of 397,187 people in Rhode Island have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 3,590 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 85,515,795 people have tested positive and 1,011,275 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 12.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 30 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 31 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 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.

Read more:

Newport County reported 224 additional COVID-19 cases this week - newportri.com

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of June 14, 2022, there are currently 1,854 active COVID-19 cases statewide. There have been 12 deaths reported since the last report, with a total of 7,013 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 91-year old female from Fayette County, an 82-year old male from Kanawha County, an 83-year old male from Fayette County, a 93-year old male from Harrison County, and a 74-year old male from Fayette County.

Included in the total deaths reported on the dashboard as a result of the Bureau for Public Healths continuing data reconciliation with the official death certificate are a 48-year old male from Mercer County, an 88-year old female from Ohio County, an 85-year old female from Wyoming County, a 60-year old male from Cabell County, a 93-year old female from Ohio County, an 87-year old female from Ohio County, and a 70-year old female from Randolph County. These deaths range from February through May 2022, with two deaths occurring in December 2021.

Todays news of more losses is a heartbreaking reminder of the threat this virus presents, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. We extend our sympathy to all of the loved ones impacted by these deaths.

Please note that from June 6-20, 2022, the National Center for Health Statistics will be unable to certify deaths due to a system update affecting all 50 states. This may impact West Virginia's ability to report COVID-19 deaths. The Bureau for Public Healths Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services will continue to certify and report deaths using the death reconciliation process; however, there may be a decrease in deaths reported during this time period.

CURRENT ACTIVE CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (21), Berkeley (131), Boone (34), Braxton (13), Brooke (23), Cabell (100), Calhoun (6), Clay (3), Doddridge (6), Fayette (44), Gilmer (9), Grant (14), Greenbrier (39), Hampshire (24), Hancock (26), Hardy (11), Harrison (104), Jackson (11), Jefferson (53), Kanawha (156), Lewis (16), Lincoln (21), Logan (44), Marion (74), Marshall (12), Mason (37), McDowell (16), Mercer (88), Mineral (25), Mingo (30), Monongalia (115), Monroe (24), Morgan (9), Nicholas (28), Ohio (38), Pendleton (1), Pleasants (1), Pocahontas (7), Preston (21), Putnam (58), Raleigh (97), Randolph (18), Ritchie (8), Roane (16), Summers (6), Taylor (28), Tucker (13), Tyler (7), Upshur (23), Wayne (31), Webster (5), Wetzel (20), Wirt (2), Wood (68), Wyoming (19). 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 5 and older are recommended to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot when due. Second booster shots for those age 50 and over who are 4 months or greater from their first booster are recommended, as well as for younger individuals over 12 years old with serious and chronic health conditions that lead to being considered moderately to severely immunocompromised.

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 site near you, visit vaccinate.wv.gov or call 1-833-734-0965.

To locate COVID-19 testing near you, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.

See the original post here:

COVID-19 Daily Update 6-14-2022 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Deming Headlight

New coronavirus cases leaped in New Mexico in the week ending Sunday, rising 31% as 6,238 cases were reported. The previous week had 4,762 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

New Mexico ranked seventh 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 0.9% from the week before, with 753,773 cases reported. With 0.63% of the country's population, New Mexico had 0.83% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 31 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Luna County reported 62 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 31 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,867 cases and 131 deaths.

Within New Mexico, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Los Alamos County with 1,156 cases per 100,000 per week; Grant County with 622; and Cibola County with 611. 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 Bernalillo County, with 2,798 cases; Santa Fe County, with 782 cases; and Sandoval County, with 610. Weekly case counts rose in 31 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Doa Ana counties.

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

In New Mexico, 48 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 47 people were reported dead.

A total of 544,867 people in New Mexico have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 7,873 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 85,515,795 people have tested positive and 1,011,275 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 12.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 30 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 31 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 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.

Read more:

Luna County reported 62 additional COVID-19 cases this week this week - The Deming Headlight

How much protection do you currently have against COVID-19? The answer depends on so much: whether youve already had COVID-19 (and if so, how long ago); whether youve been vaccinated (and if so, how many times, and how recently); whether you have any medical conditions that could weaken your immune system; and so on. Even antibody testing only approximates immunity to COVID-19, so theres no simple way to know.

But an international group of researchers recently developed a different tool to help assess COVID-19 immunity: a blood test that can measure T cells, white blood cells that work alongside virus-fighting antibodies to mount an immune response. Their work is described in a new study published in Nature Biotechnology.

T-cell testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus isnt totally newthe U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization to another T-cell test, called T-Detect, last yearbut it tends to be labor- and time-intensive, says study co-author Ernesto Guccione, a professor of oncological sciences at New York Citys Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai. His group, which includes other researchers from Mount Sinai and institutions including Singapores Duke-NUS Medical School, aimed to simplify it by using technology that is widely accessible and can turn around results in less than 24 hours.

Their process starts with mixing a persons blood sample with material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If there are T cells specific to SARS-CoV-2 in the blood, theyll react to the viral material and produce a substance that can be detected via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, like that used to run COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Measured levels of that compound serve as a proxy for cellular immunity.

The test has been licensed to the U.K.-based biotechnology company Hyris and is already in use in Europe. The FDA is still reviewing the technology, so its not yet available in the U.S. (Hyris employees served as co-authors on the Nature Biotechnology paper, and its technology was used in the study; Guccione consults for therapeutic companies and receives compensation through a licensing agreement between Hyris and Mount Sinai.)

Why test for T cells when antibody tests are already widely available? There are a few reasons, Guccione says.

Testing for antibodies only tells part of the story, since T cells are also a critical piece of the bodys immune response. And while antibody levels drop off significantly within a few months of vaccination or infection, cellular immunity can last up to a year, Guccione says. Monitoring both will give us a much clearer picture [of immunity] and will hopefully inform our re-vaccination strategies, Guccione says. The wide use of this test could help define how long protection lasts and how often booster doses are needed.

Plus, some immunocompromised people do not produce antibodieseven after multiple vaccine dosesbut they usually do have some T cell response. T-cell testing could help those individuals learn whether they have any defenses against COVID-19.

There are limits to what the test can reveal. Experts are still trying to find what are known as correlates of protection for COVID-19: measurable indicators that suggest an individual is protected enough that they are unlikely to get sick. For now, testing for antibodies or T cells cant give you a yes-or-no answer about whether its safe to go to a concert or party without fear of catching the virus, for example. It just gives you one more data point to factor into your risk calculation.

Guccione says widespread T-cell testing could help define those elusive correlates of protection by making immunity easier to study. A scalable, affordable testing strategy could facilitate larger studies that bring much-needed answers.

With large numbers comes clarity, Guccione says. Thats the hope: by using this test, we can finally get those numbers that were totally unavailable with the previous technology.

Correction, June 13

The original version of this story misstated the financial relationship between Hyris and Guccione. He does not receive royalty payments directly from Hyris.

More Must-Read Stories From TIME

Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie.ducharme@time.com.

Read the rest here:

A New Test Can Help Reveal If You're Immune to COVID-19 - TIME

While living in the midst of a prolonged era of COVID-19, investigators are still working to comprehend the impact the pandemic continues to have on various aspects of health. A presentation titled "Sleep in the Time of COVID: An Update on How Sleep Affects the Immune System" addressed this at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (SLEEP) 2022 Annual Meeting.

Aric Prather, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Interim Director, UCSF Center for Health and Community University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has focused his career on understanding relationship of sleep and the immune system.

In an interview with HCPLive, he explained that while he's conducted research that demonstrated lack of sleep (6 hours or less) was associated with a 4 times higher risk of becoming sick after rhinovirus exposure, there's not much information at this time on the relationship between COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccination and sleep.

Currently, Prather and his team at UCSF are working with a large naive population for a study that began in March 2021. They've been able to evaluate various aspects of health by following individuals through the COVID-19 vaccination and booster process.

According to Prather, the aim is to identify psychological, behavioral, sleep, and biological predictors of who mounts and maintains protection.

"We got emergency funding from NIH and we just set it up," he said, "and we're on the radio, we were on television, we were doing anything we could to get people when everyone was racing to get their vaccines."

While Prather predicted there's likely to be plenty of research on how people respond to the booster shots, it was much more challenging to attempt to examine a naive population beginning with the first vaccine dose.

"I'm hopeful that we'll learn something about sleep and circadian science as it's related to vaccination response," he said.

Excerpt from:

Sleeping Through Infectious Disease and the COVID-19 Vaccine - MD Magazine

Practically since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have noticed neurological and mental health symptoms among recovered patients and expressed concern. Much as the polio pandemic of the mid-20th century left a generation of children in wheelchairs and crutches, it is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic could leave a future generation struggling with neurodevelopmental diseases. The challenge, at least when it comes to diagnosing these ailments in younger patients, is that it can take years for experts to build up the necessary body of research.

A new study in the journal JAMA Network Open is now doing its own small part to fill that void and its news is not promising.

RELATED:Did your at-home COVID test yield a false negative? You're not alone here's what's going on

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham studied 7,772 infants who were delivered during the pandemic. Within that cohort, 222 were born to mothers who had "a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test during pregnancy" in other words, were exposed to the virus that caused COVID-19. The researchers found that infants whose mothers had this exposure were "more likely to receive a neurodevelopmental diagnosis in the first 12 months after delivery, even after accounting for preterm delivery." Most of these disorders that were diagnosed involved either movement or speech and language.

The news might seem immediately alarming to those who had COVID-19 while pregnant. But it is crucial to note the limitations to this type of research, many of which have to do with how neurodevelopmental diseases are diagnosed in the first place. For example, autism is not usually diagnosed until a child's second birthday at the earliest, and children conceived during the early days of the pandemic have not yet reached that milestone.

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe toSalon's weekly newsletter The Vulgar Scientist.

Indeed, experts with whom Salon spoke emphasized that there is no "definitive" link yet.

"This study is 'hypothesis generating' but, as the authors state, their findings do not suggest a definitive link between COVID exposure in utero and neurodevelopmental delays," Dr. Monica Gandhi,an infectious disease doctor and professor of medicine at the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco, told Salon by email. "In fact, a mother diagnosed with COVID during pregnancy may experience significant stress, and we saw in the 1918 pandemicthat stress experienced by mothers during the pandemic led to significant effects on the children later on in terms of health and socioeconomic attainment."

"This observation is a serious concern and must be taken seriously," Dr. Benjamin wrote to Salon, describing it as "another example of how early evidence raises red flags."

Gandhi argued that a logical conclusion of the study is that "pregnant women should be vaccinated against COVID to avoid COVID infection during pregnancy (since the vaccines are safe and effective), and that physicians should help pregnant women with stress management during pregnancy."

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, echoed Gandhi's belief that the study reinforces the public need for widespread vaccination. (Neither Gandhi nor Benjamin were involved in the study.)

"This observation is a serious concern and must be taken seriously," Benjamin wrote to Salon, describing it as "another example of how early evidence raises red flags.It also gives more evidence on the need for pregnant women to get vaccinated to protect their babies to reduce the risks of preventable developmental problems. We will continue to learn more about these risks with more study."

Questions about the effect of COVID-19 on a developing fetus have swirled since the onset of the pandemic. Indeed, research reveals that pregnant people face a higher risk of experiencing severe illness from COVID-19 compared to the rest of the population. Likewise, several studies have having COVID-19 during pregnancy increases the risk ofpreterm birth, stillbirth,preeclampsia, and other complications.

In contrast, vaccination during pregnancy seems to offer a host of benefits. Indeed, previous studies found that being vaccinated while pregnant is very safe.

For more Salon articles on COVID-19:

See the original post here:

Having COVID-19 during pregnancy is linked to neurodevelopment delays in infants - Salon

DENVER (KDVR) COVID-19 transmission in Denver County is considered high, according to the CDC. The countys average one-week positivity rate is 12.3%, per the latest available state data.

Things like the Stanley Cup and watch parties could throw a curve ball to our projections, but right now CDPHE thinks we will be coming down shortly, Denver Health Medical Director of Infection Prevention Dr. Heather Young, said.

Young says medical experts believe cases in the area have plateaued and are expected to soon decline.

Over the last two years weve found out that COVID does seem to have some season variation, Young said.

She recommends masking up indoors, particularly immunocompromised seniors, and urges people to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 booster shots.

Masks are not currently required at Ball Arena.

Read the original here:

COVID-19 concerns ahead of Stanley Cup - FOX 31 Denver

Ports are running out of space to store containers. That is leading to a land rush in an obscure corner of the real-estate market.

Logistics companies and port operators are racing to lease vacant land close to container terminals, driving up rents and property values and spurring more investment in coastal outdoor-storage properties.

Originally posted here:

Covid-19 Shipping Boom Drives Land Rush Near Ports - The Wall Street Journal

Notice

Unless you are an existing client, before communicating with WilmerHale by e-mail (or otherwise), please read the Disclaimer referenced by this link.(The Disclaimer is also accessible from the opening of this website). As noted therein, until you have received from us a written statement that we represent you in a particular manner (an "engagement letter") you should not send to us any confidential information about any such matter. After we have undertaken representation of you concerning a matter, you will be our client, and we may thereafter exchange confidential information freely.

Thank you for your interest in WilmerHale.

Read the rest here:

Where Do We Stand on COVID-19? A Conversation with Andy Slavitt - WilmerHale

U.S. regulators have historically inspected baby formula plants at least once a year, but they did not inspect any of the three biggest manufacturers in 2020, according to federal records reviewed by The Associated Press.

When they finally did get inside an Abbott Nutrition formula plant in Michigan after a two-year gap, they found standing water and lax sanitation procedures. But inspectors offered only voluntary suggestions for fixing the problems and issued no formal warning.

Inspectors would return five months later after four infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant suffered bacterial infections. They found bacterial contamination inside the factory, leading to a four-month shutdown and turning a festering supply shortage into a full-blown crisis that sent parents scrambling to find formula and forced the U.S. to airlift products from overseas.

The gap in baby formula plant inspections, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, is getting new scrutiny from Congress and government watchdogs investigating the series of missteps that led to the crisis. A recent bill would require the Food and Drug Administration to inspect infant formula facilities every six months. And the government's inspector general for health has launched an inquiry into the FDA's handling of Abbott's facility, the largest in the U.S.

Abbott resumed production at the plant early this month under a legally binding agreement with the FDA, but the shutdown and nationwide shortage exposed how concentrated the industry has become in the U.S., with a handful of companies accounting for roughly 90% of the market.

As COVID-19 swept across the U.S. in early 2020, the FDA pulled most of its safety inspectors from the field, skipping thousands of routine plant inspections.

The FDA did conduct more than 800 "mission critical" inspections during the first year of the pandemic, the agency said in a statement. Regulators selected facilities for inspections based on whether they carried a specific safety risk or were needed to produce an important medical therapy.

Only three of the nation's 23 facilities that make, package or distribute formula made the cut. The FDA resumed routine inspections in July 2021.

The inspection records reviewed by the AP show gaps as large as 2 1/2 years between FDA's 2019 inspections and when regulators returned to plants owned by the three leading formula manufacturers: Abbott, Reckitt and Gerber.

In fact, the FDA still has yet to return to one key plant owned by Reckitt and two owned by Gerber, according to agency records. All those facilities are operating around the clock to boost U.S. formula production.

"The FDA would have had more chances to catch these issues if they'd been inspecting during the pandemic," said Sarah Sorscher, a food safety specialist with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She acknowledged the difficult trade-off the FDA faced in pulling its inspectors to reduce their exposure to COVID-19. "Certainly there was a price to pay for protecting their workers during that time."

Baby formula manufacturers were "consistently identified as a high priority during the pandemic," and there is currently no backlog of inspections, the agency told the AP in response to inquiries about the gaps. The agency said it skipped about 15,000 U.S. inspections due to COVID, but it has already made up about 5,000 of those, exceeding its own goals.

Under current law, the FDA is only required to inspect formula facilities every three to five years, but the agency has consistently inspected facilities annually until the pandemic.

"Our top priority now is addressing the urgent need for infant formula in the U.S. market, and our teams are working night and day to help make that happen," FDA stated.

But outside experts say the gap in inspections speaks to a blind spot in the government's response effort, which was successful at preventing shortages of drugs and other medical supplies.

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf says regulators knew shutting down Abbott's plant would create supply problems, but there was little evidence of urgency between when inspectors shuttered the plant in February and recent emergency measures to allow more imports from abroad.

Longtime food safety specialists see a deeper problem at the highest levels of the FDA, where physicians and medical scientists for decades have prioritized oversight of drugs and medical products over food.

"It's very challenging for them to get engaged at all in this area because they don't have the background, the knowledge and the experience in it," said Steven Mandernach, executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials, which represents state-level inspectors.

The FDA shares oversight of food production and safety with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FDA inspections of food facilities peaked in 2011 and have declined most years since, despite increased funds and powers by Congress. The FDA said that while U.S. inspections have declined, foreign facility inspections have increased.

There's no certainty that extra inspections during COVID-19 would have prevented the contamination problems at the Sturgis, Michigan, plant that was shut down. And Abbott says that its products have not been directly linked to the infections, two of which were fatal.

But the plant did have earlier problems, including a 2010 formula recall due to possible contamination with insect parts.

"I think facilities that had known problems that could cause a food safety risk should have been part of FDA's mission critical work," Mandernach said. "And this facility would have been among those."

Not having regular inspections or even the threat of them can lead to changes in culture at plants like Abbott's, Mandernach noted.

"If you're driving down the highway and you know the state troopers have been furloughed, might you go a little faster than if you knew there was a trooper on duty?" Mandernach asked.

See original here:

Many baby formula plants weren't inspected because of COVID-19 - CBS News