Category: Covid-19

China isreinstatingmeasures to limit the spread of the coronavirus in several cities amid a spike in infections.

Thus far, China has shut down an industrial city, urged residents not to leave Beijing and closed down schools in Shanghai due to an increase in cases.

Chinese officials reported 588 new confirmed cases in the 24 hours ending on Friday, but no deaths. That included 134 confirmed cases in the northeastern Jilin province, a number which prompted a shutdown of Changchun, a city with 9 million residents, The Associated Press reported.

On Saturday, the mayor of Jilin was replaced, as was the mayor of Changchun, according to the AP.

China operates under a "zero tolerance" strategy, finding and isolating every case and sometimes conducting mass testing in cities and towns.

Hong Kong has also battled a wave of the novel coronavirus since February, and hospitals, morgues and isolation centers are overflowing. On Friday, 29,381 new infections and 196 deaths were reported in the city,according to Reuters.

The city's leader, Carrie Lam, warned they were not at the peak of the wave yet, and urged more residents to get vaccinated.Ninety percent of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but only 53 percent of those over 80 years old have been vaccinated, Reuters reported.

"Over 90 percent of the deaths were those who had not been fully vaccinated. We need to catch up and vaccinate every Hong Kong citizen," Lam said at a news briefing, per Reuters.

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China reinstates COVID-19 restrictions amid a rise in infections | TheHill - The Hill

Heres the latest news from the pandemic.

Epidemiologists have long feared a twin Covid-flu pandemic. This week, we learned that while omicron was surging across the U.S., the flu vaccine Americans received this year didnt work well enough to keepmild to moderate illness at bay.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that the efficacy of this years flu-shot formulation was estimated at just 16%, which the federal health agency said is little different from simply going without the vaccine. To be sure, U.S. health officials still advocate vaccination for everyone except the youngest infants as long as the flu is circulating. And more, the data gave no indication of how good the shot was at preventing flu infections that could land someone in the hospital, or even kill.

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Coronavirus Daily: What You Missed This Week on Covid-19 - Bloomberg

Residents in Elmhurst, Queens, one of the citys neighborhoods hit hardest by Covid-19 during the early months of the pandemic, were particularly wary. Neha Shah, 25, worried about her diabetic father, and said she had been trying to avoid tightly packed restaurants and cafes.

I just feel like its for public safety, Ms. Shah said. Im not OK with them being dropped.

For Emily Suardy, a barista at Furmans Coffee in Brooklyn, masks could not come off soon enough. They made work in her small coffee shop hot and uncomfortable, and she felt safe going about her daily life given that she and her co-workers, friends and family were vaccinated.

Even if there is a spike in positive Covid-19 cases or another variant pops up, she said, she would be reluctant to go back to masking up inside unless the city reinstates its mandate.

Im really tired of it, Ms. Suardy said. If its not mandatory, I wont use it.

That was not the case with one of New Yorks most well-known recovering Covid-19 patients, the Broadway icon Patti LuPone.

For two years, Ms. LuPone said she had taken every precaution. But as Omicron ebbed, she said, she had started going out and grown a bit lax about mask-wearing. Then, late last month, she tested positive before a performance of Stephen Sondheims Company, and had to leave the theater.

For 10 days, Ms. LuPone had to isolate, a lady who lunched alone in her apartment as she coped with flulike symptoms and fatigue.

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The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Lasted 2 Years. The Next Steps Are Divisive. - The New York Times

As of Friday, it's officially been two years since the World Health Organization first declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Numerous U.S. states are relaxing Covid mandates, amid a nationwide drop in daily new cases.

But a major new report warns: Don't let your guard down, because there's a lot more work to do before the pandemic officially ends.

The report, written by an independent group of 53 doctors and public health policy experts including former government health officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations is a 136-page roadmap for getting to the "next normal," and safely living with Covid for the foreseeable future. It provides recommendations to local, state and federal governments on how to deal with the virus, which it describes as "here to stay."

While the report says that "omicron won't be the last variant," it says that with the right public health policies, people can go back to something close to their "pre-pandemic routines and lives." To achieve this, the report offers recommendations to help firmly shift Covid into its endemic phase, and bring the U.S. into post-pandemic life.

Here are its biggest takeaways:

To successfully transition into a new normal, the report says that Covid-19 death rates will need to decline to a similar level as influenza, a comparable endemic disease that kills more than 50,000 Americans in a year. That means fewer than 165 new deaths per day, on average.

As of Thursday, the seven-day average of daily new U.S. deaths is 1,259, according to Johns Hopkins University data. That's roughly seven times higher than the report's recommended target, meaning there's still significant work ahead before the country is in the clear.

The report suggests that getting more people vaccinated would substantially help. Ideally, it says, at least 85% of the U.S. population should get at least two doses of a Covid vaccine. Currently, the U.S. is approximately 65% fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To live with Covid long-term, the report says, the country needs more therapeutic drugs likely "a cocktail of two or three drugs" that can prevent serious illness and hospitalization after you become infected.

The report's authors recommend a new Operation Warp Speed originally a partnership between the U.S. federal government and private companies to fast-track Covid vaccine production in 2020 and 2021 to accelerate the progress of some antiviral Covid drugs already in development.

Two such drugs, developed by Pfizer and Merck, have already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The report says two isn't enough, calling for a wider array of available therapeutic treatment options.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced a new, upcoming "Test to Treat" program in his State of the Union address. Once live, the program intends to offer free antiviral pills immediately to people who test positive for Covid at major pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and long-term care facilities.

For now, the program is operational in only a few hundred locations. It's expected to ramp up to tens of thousands of locations in the next few weeks. A federal "Test to Treat" website where you can find participating facilities is expected to launch in mid-March. More information on the program can be found here.

Citing poor communication from health officials during the pandemic, the report calls for a centralized "information and communication center" that would oversee the sharing of data about infectious diseases. The new entity would also communicate when and where you should wear masks, if Covid-19 cases surge.

Under recently revised CDC guidelines, masks are no longer actively recommended if you live in an area where Covid cases are less than 200 per 100,000 residents, there are fewer than 10 Covid-related hospital admissions per 100,000 people over the previous week and Covid patients are taking up less than 10% of available hospital beds, based on a seven-day average.

You can learn whether masks are currently recommended in your county at theCDC's website.

The report says that more research and funding from Congress and state legislators should be provided to mitigate Covid-related health disparities disproportionately impacting people of color, rural communities, tribal lands, and other underserved groups and locations. These groups tend to have less access to medical care and higher mortality rates, compared to the rest of the U.S. population.

The report's authors recommend a few ways to reach those underserved areas, like funding the local health efforts of community leaders and faith-based organizations. Those communities are more inclined to distrust government agencies and the healthcare system in general, the report notes.

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The Covid pandemic is officially 2 years old heres how it could finally end, experts say - CNBC

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McClinton renews fight to free COVID-19 relief dollars on one year anniversary of the American Rescue Plan - Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus

Mar 11, 2022 10:00 AM

In March, we observe the two-year anniversary of providing care to COVID-19 patients at University of Utah Health. Similar to the year prior, 2021 was unprecedented and marked with uncertainty over new emerging virus variants. Utah saw the number of daily positive infections and hospitalizations reach levels it has never seen before.

Delta surge

1,690 positive COVID-19 cases (highest 7-day average)

580 hospitalizations (highest 7-day average)

Omicron surge

10,600 positive COVID-19 cases (highest 7-day average)

830 hospitalizations (highest 7-day average)

COVID-19 Variants

Much of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic focused around new virus variants. In the last year, at least fourprominent COVID-19 variants were identified. While the Brazil and South Africa variants did not have a direct impact on Utah, the Delta variant caused more severe disease and steadily drove up daily positive cases and ICU admissions at U of U Health.

During the peak of Delta (mid-September 2021), U of U Health saw:

In December 2021, Omicron became the next predominant variant in the U.S. and quickly made its way to Utah for another surge. Omicron, identified as more transmissible and contagious than Delta, once again put a strain on health care systems across the country and caused a heightened demand for COVID-19 testing. Because of this, U of U Health saw more hospitalizations than with any other previous variant. However, ICU admissions were less than half during the Delta surge due to Omicron causing much less severe disease.

During the peak of Omicron (mid-January 2022), U of U Health saw:

During both surges, COVID-19 vaccines helped prevent infection, hospitalization, and death. Though less effective at preventing infection (and breakthrough infection), the vaccines have been extremely effective in preventing hospitalization and death.

COVID-19 Vaccines

Several major milestones were achieved over the last year with COVID-19 vaccines. COVID-19 vaccines became available for children ages 5 years and older, and full licensure was granted to both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Additionally, COVID-19 booster vaccines were authorized for anyone ages 12 and older to further protect them from severe disease and hospitalization.

At U of U Health, COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots were administered at all community health centers. In the last year, U of U Health administered at least 150,370 COVID-19 vaccinations, including:

Since receiving COVD-19 vaccines at U of U Health, nearly 190,300 total vaccinations have been administered.

Treatments

More potential relief for SARS-CoV-2 infection became available to patients at U of U Health over the last year. While not as effective as COVID-19 vaccines, these COVID-19 treatments help reduce a persons risk of becoming sicker and help those who may be more vulnerable to severe disease from the virus. Current COVID-19 treatments include:

Testing

U of U Health saw a demand for COVID-19 testing during the Delta and Omicron surges. At the peak of Delta, the health system tested about 250 patients a day in early September. However, during the Omicron surge, COVID-19 testing at U of U Health exceeded its testing capacity because of how contagious and transmissible Omicron became. At the peak of Omicron, test volumes reached more than 350 a day in mid-January.

At U of U Health:

Testing for SARS-CoV-2 is now more convenient than ever for patients at U of U Health with self-serve COVID-19 testing. In early 2022, U of U Health transformed COVID-19 testing by providing self-serve kiosks at seven community health centers just in time for the Omicron surge. These outdoor, temperature-controlled kiosks offer kits for saliva PCR or nasal swab PCR.

Research

The University of Utah campus helped shape and unfold a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 over the last year. The research response to COVID-19 has been life-changing and continues to be recognized on a global scale. To date, the research response to COVID-19 involves:

Some U of U Health research projects includes:

Campus, Community, and State Partnerships

coronavirus covid-19

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Two Years Into the COVID-19 Pandemic at University of Utah Health - University of Utah Health Care

South Korea beat back that potentially catastrophic outbreak, and continued to greatly limit its cases. They had fewer than 1,000 deaths in all of 2020. In the United States, that would translate to fewer than 7,000 deaths from Covid in 2020. Instead, estimates place the number of deaths at more than 375,000.

What happened: When vaccines were developed, rich countries hoarded them.

The greatest scientific achievement of the pandemic may have been the speedy development of safe, effective vaccines.

In January 2020, the C.E.O. of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, started designing vaccines as soon as he read The Lancet study noting the case without symptoms, which convinced him that a pandemic was likely. He then persuaded Pfizer, his initially skeptical investor, to back him.

On May 15, 2020, the United States began Operation Warp Speed, which financed the development of six vaccine candidates. Five of them quickly proved to be highly effective not at all a given. The first to deliver spectacular results was that produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. Modernas quickly followed.

Supply was an immediate problem. Pfizer initially estimated it could make as many as 1.35 billion doses in 2021 enough for about only 8.5 percent of the worlds people to get two doses. Moderna, a much smaller company, wasnt expected to exceed that. AstraZenecas vaccine, too, would not cover the gap quickly enough.

There also was too little commitment to how vaccines could be distributed fairly around the world.

Instead, wealthy countries that had preordered or financed research got most of the initial doses.

Vaccine production grew, but too slowly. There was no consortium or sharing of resources to ramp up supply. Technology wasnt transferred to lower- and middle-income countries. Patents were left in place. The W.H.O. initiative to get vaccines to poorer countries, known as Covax, was not able to buy enough doses, and what donations were made were insufficient and haphazard.

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Opinion | The Covid-19 Pandemic Didnt Have to Be This Way - The New York Times

WASHINGTONThe Biden administration is warning that it might have to scrap critical Covid-19 programs, a potential blow to its efforts to combat the pandemic, unless Congress moves quickly to approve funding left out of the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package.

The administration initially floated a $30 billion request, which it then formally cut to $22.5 billion, only to be reduced further to $15.6 billion by congressional negotiators. With Republicans insisting that no new money be allocated until previous funding rounds were exhausted, rank-and-file Democrats then balked at a proposal to reuse unspent funds intended for state governments, prompting party leaders to pull the provision altogether.

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White House Warns of Blow to Covid-19 Fight as Funding Stalls - The Wall Street Journal

Forget temperature checks and deep-cleaning surfaces. The best way to protect people from Covid-19 as they return to offices and other indoor spaces is to bolster air quality and vaccination coverage, experts on the transmission of the virus say.

Their consensus reflects an evolving understanding of the spread of a virus that the World Health Organization declared the cause of a pandemic two years ago this Friday. Deep-cleaning surfaces and temperature checksstill a mainstay at many businesseshave been understood for many months to be of relatively little help stopping the virus from spreading. Rather, as businesses and communities across the U.S. begin what is shaping up to be the broadest return yet to pre-pandemic behaviors, transmission and infectious-disease experts said broad vaccine coverage and good air hygiene stand out as the most important mitigation efforts.

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Ventilation, Vaccination Key to Suppressing Covid-19 as People Head Back Indoors - The Wall Street Journal

When Cinequest was canceled midway through its 30th anniversary festival two years ago this month, nobody had any idea what the future of Silicon Valleys film and creativity festival would hold. Well, almost nobody.

Co-founder Halfdan Hussey knew Cinequest had the ability to stream movies and recreate the festival experience in a virtual setting it actually already had done it.

We were doing a virtual internet film festival in 2003, 2005, he said. In the early days, People were laughing at internet distribution of movies at that time, believe it or not.

The alpha version of a live, online festival launched that October when people were still reeling from the first big wave of the pandemic. Two more were held in 2021 and the fourth iteration will run April 1-17, with 132 movies and television shows including 82 world and U.S. premieres from 53 countries available to audiences. And special events are still a thing, including virtual red carpets spotlighting that evenings filmmakers and actors, online screening parties where groups can interact with each other after watching a movie, and a virtual VIP lounge where ticketholders can mingle with each other through avatars (though youre on your own for beer, wine and Titos vodka).

This challenge for us wasnt a bummer or a depressing one during COVID, Hussey said. It was an exhilarating challenge, so we called this experience Cinejoy because we wanted to bring people the joy of humanity, the joy of cinema, the joy of discourse that is positive and affirmative.

Cinejoys opening night film is 18, a 1970s-era Watergate conspiracy thriller and dark comedy directed by Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Dan Mirvish that stars Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Bruce Campbell, Richard Kind and Jon Cryer. The screening will be proceeded by a conversation with the stars and filmmakers. In addition to the 15 Spotlight films that will be streamed on specific nights, you can also buy tickets for the other films on the showcase schedule, available to watch 24/7 anytime during the festival run. The easiest option is to pick up a festival pass for $129. You can view the lineup and buy tickets at http://www.creatics.org/cinejoy.

Gemma Arterton, who stars in the short film, Bump (April 10), is the first announced recipient of the Maverick Spirit Award this year. And while the award presentation will be virtual instead of at the palatial California Theatre, Hussey says that has its benefits. If we put Gemma Arterton on a stage, its going to be very electric, but only 1,100 people can see it, he said. And if you dont have a front-row seat, shes going to seem like shes quite a bit away from you.

The in-person version of Cinequest is expected to make a triumphant return to downtown San Jose in August, and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has included a $75,000 funding request in his March budget message to help reboot the festival. But Hussey doesnt expect Cinejoy to disappear once audiences return to in-person screenings.

We feel this is a unique experience that were very excited about, he said. This was not a COVID substitution only. Were going to keep building out new super-cool experiences that fit the world of global access through the internet.

LOOKING FOR LIBRARY RESTORATION: The San Jose Public Library Foundation will be recognized at Tuesdays San Jose City Council meeting for its 35th anniversary. But while the group no doubt appreciates the commendation, it would also like to see something more from the city council: $2 million in funding to restore hours and staffing at the citys 25 library locations to pre-COVID-19 levels.

At a rally at the West Valley Branch Library, Foundation Executive Director Dawn Coppin said before the pandemic, the librarys branches were open 47 hours a week and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library downtown was open 77 hours week, collectively serving 6 million visitors.

What does this $2 million mean? If parents need a safe place for their children go to after school, if they need help with their child to complete homework assignments and prepare for a successful transition to adulthood, if parents need fun and educational activities, the city can provide this, said Coppin, who was joined at the rally by San Jose City Council member Chappie Jones, whose mother was a librarian.

I know first-hand the impact that libraries have on the lives of the members of our community, said Jones, who urged his colleagues to restore hours and staffing in the budget process. To have access to the library for more hours will have a tremendous impact on the lives of our residents.

ST. PATRICKS DAY RETURNS: Its hard to believe its been five years since the last St. Patricks Day bash at Los Gatos venerable C.B. Hannegans, which closed its doors at the end of 2017 and has been replaced by, well, nothing since then. But restaurateur Alexander Hult is hoping to bring back that St. Patricks Day spirit at Mountain Charleys at 15 N Santa Cruz Avenue, where he and Jim Foley, part of the buildings ownership group, are planning a ShamRock-N-Roll Party on March 17.

The festivities get started at noon, with live music, food, DJs and, yes, green beer.

VIETGONE WILL BE HERE SOON: City Lights Theatre Company in San Jose just closed Agatha Christies The Hollow, which had its full run shifted back two weeks because of COVID-19, and is quickly putting together its next show, Vietgone, which opens for a monthlong run March 24.

The play by Qui Nguyen is both a hip-hop comedy and a love story of Vietnamese refugees who settle into American life in Arkansas in the 1970s. Southeast Asian arts group Chopsticks Alley is the City Lights nonprofit partner on the show, and Executive Director Trami Cron brought a group of Vietnamese community leaders to watch rehearsal with the actors and director Jeffrey Lo. You can can get tickets to the real thing at http://www.cltc.org.

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How Cinequest made it through two years of COVID-19 - The Mercury News