Category: Covid-19

State officials report 217 fully vaccinated Washingtonians have tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 3. That's about 0.01% of fully vaccinated people.

SEATTLE The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has identified more than 100 additional breakthrough COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated people.

A breakthrough case is when a person tests positive for COVID-19 at least two weeks after their final dose of the vaccine.

As of April 3, there were 217 breakthrough cases reported in Washington, according to DOH. This is more than double the number of breakthrough cases DOH reported two weeks ago when the state said it had seen 102 breakthrough cases through March 30.

DOH is investigating three additional suspected deaths related to breakthrough cases. A total of five people are suspected to have died after contracting COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, most of whom the department said are between 67 and 94 years old and had multiple underlying health conditions. Four were long-term care residents.

Most breakthrough cases in Washington reported mild or no symptoms, according to DOH. However, among the cases where hospitalization data was available, 12% of patients were hospitalized. DOH said it is still gathering information from about half of the cases.

Since DOH first reported breakthrough cases last month, the agency says the median age of the cases has shifted younger with more people in the 40- to 59-year-old range becoming infected after vaccination.

The Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines reduced the risk of getting COVID-19 in vaccinated people by up to 95%, according to the studies. However, the vaccines are not 100% effective, and DOH said a small number of vaccinated people could still get sick.

As of April 10, about 22% of Washingtonians, or roughly 1.7 million people, were fully vaccinated for COVID-19, according to DOH data. That means the breakthrough cases represent about 0.01% of vaccinated people in Washington.

Breakthrough cases were reported in 24 Washington counties.

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More breakthrough COVID-19 cases reported among vaccinated people in Washington - KING5.com

A department store at Novis Twelve Oaks Mall and a high school in the Upper Peninsula are among 12 workplaces cited for not following COVID-19 precautions in Michigan.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the latest batch of citations on Friday. Fines ranged from $0 to $7,400, although some fines also included non-pandemic violations.

More than 200 businesses have been cited so far, with most of them receiving fines.

Violations include not having employees do a daily self-screening, not enforcing the mask mandate and not having a written COVID-19 response plan.

Workplaces are one of the most common places COVID-19 is spreading in Michigan. In the past week, K-12 schools had 48 new coronavirus outbreaks, manufacturing/construction settings had 39 outbreaks, retailers had 29 new outbreaks, bars/restaurants had 23 new outbreaks and offices also had 23 new outbreaks.

If cited businesses fix the problems and agree not to appeal, they only have to pay 50% of the fine. They have 15 working days to appeal the MIOSHA citations.

Employers and employees with questions about COVID-19 workplace policies can call the MIOSHA hotline at 855-723-3219. To file a complaint against a workplace, go to Michigan.gov/MIOSHAcomplaint.

Heres the list of the latest citations handed down by MIOSHA. To read the full citation, click the workplace name, if available.

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Mall department store, high school among workplaces fined for COVID-19 violations - MLive.com

3:14 AM ET

Tim BontempsESPN

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said Tuesday night that he is still dealing with the after-effects of contracting for COVID-19 three months ago and has been using an inhaler before games as a means to combat them.

"Close," he said, after scoring 32 points, along with nine rebounds and five assists, in a 116-115 Boston victory in Portland, when asked whether he's back to 100 percent. "Very close.

"It's a process. It takes a long time. I take an inhaler before the game since I've tested positive. This has kind of helped with that and opened up my lungs, and, you know, I never took an inhaler before. So that's something different.

"I for sure feel better now than I did a month ago."

He added that he isn't sure how long he's going to have to use the inhaler, saying it will be until he feels good enough to play without it.

"There's no exact timetable," Tatum said. "[It's] just when I feel comfortable enough and I think I don't need it."

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Tatum's strong performance Tuesday night -- including hitting the clinching 3-pointer with 8.5 seconds to go -- was his latest in a series of them of late, which so happens to have coincided with Boston's best stretch of the season. The win in Portland was Boston's sixth in its past seven games, and the Celtics have a chance to go 3-0 on this West Coast swing if they can beat their forever rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, at Staples Center on Thursday night.

Over his past 10 games, Tatum is averaging 29.4 points while shooting just under 50% from the field and just under 40% from 3-point range -- including a career-best 53 points in Boston's overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Perhaps some of that can be tied back to Tatum's continued progress from the impact of COVID-19, something that several of his teammates have also had to go through over the past few months. Tatum pointed to that after the game to explain, in part, Boston's disappointing season to date.

"I don't think our record shows what kind of team that we are," Tatum said. "I think even though it's been a weird year, obviously we've dealt with some, excuse me, a bunch of things obviously. Stuff, a lot of guys tested positive, certain guys have been injured. But you know right now for the most part, we're missing Evan [Fournier]. But most of the guys, they're healthy. I just like the way that we're playing. Every game is important right now, and we know it's kind of coming down to the stretch.

"Obviously, we want to win. But I think for myself, us, playing the right way and feeling good about ourselves. We're not going to win every game, but I think we're playing the right way and we're for sure trending in the right direction."

Celtics coach Brad Stevens, however, sees his young star doing the same thing he did around this same point last season, when he took off in the weeks leading up to the All-Star Game in Chicago and never looked back.

"This is about the time, number of games, where last year he started taking off," Stevens said. "And you can kind of see that in the last so many weeks. You can kind of see he's really into a rhythm of knowing what he wants to do on a given possession and also where his opportunities are going to come from. And, again, it helps when they have all four of those guys out there because then you just can't load up on him like maybe earlier in the year at times."

Boston has needed that brilliance in each of the past three games, in which Tatum has scored more than 100 total points and reached the free throw line a combined 34 times. And, having finally garnered some momentum, the Celtics are hoping they can keep it going.

"We're not excited, we're not complacent, we're not content with it," Marcus Smart said. "It's a start, beginning of what we know we have to do. We dug ourselves a hole. We know we have to continue to fight, but it's encouraging. We use that as momentum to build off and on to the next game and try to bring that same energy with these wins to the next game. And that's really our spirit. We're not too high on the highs, and we're not too low on the lows."

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Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum still dealing with COVID-19 effects but 'close' to 100 percent as performance picks up - ESPN

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A Buffalo man who was seen being punched repeatedly in the head by a Buffalo police officer in a viral video last May, has pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of a weapon in a separate incident.

It happened on September 8, 2019, around Midnight. Police say a female driver was speeding eastbound on Broadway. So, they initiated a traffic stop.

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15 new cases of COVID-19 reported among students at Canisius High School - WIVB.com - News 4

Band practice might never be the same.

With Covid-19 continuing to spread and new coronavirus variants on the march, poorly ventilated, tightly packed practice rooms are considered too risky for musiciansespecially young ones, few of whom have been vaccinated against the virus.

But researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Maryland have found simple ways they say can mitigate the risk posed by the potentially virus-laden aerosols spewed into the air by singing and playing wind instruments, including placing covers on the bells of wind instruments.

With this approach, we think its very safe, said Shelly Miller, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and one of the scientists involved in the research on mitigation strategies. That has played out in our anecdotal data collection. We havent heard of any reported outbreaks from programs that have used our mitigation recommendations.

School bands and choirs across the country have adopted their recommendations, the researchers said.

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Band Practice in the Age of Covid-19 - The Wall Street Journal

Minnesota Twins SS Andrelton Simmons was placed on the Covid-19 list and the team confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the shortstop has tested positive for the virus. Simmons was in the lineup on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox, so well see if this has any impact on Wednesdays double-header. The first game is set to begin at 2:10 p.m. ET and the second game is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. ET.

With Simmons being placed on the COVID-19 related injured list, the Twins selected the contract of JT Riddle and promoted top prospect Alex Kirilloff. According to Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota will active veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson for the second game of the doubleheader. Furthermore, the Twins reportedly have people going through contact tracing.

Simmons joined the Twins on a one-year, $10 million deal after spending the last five years with the Los Angeles Angels. The defensive-minded shortstop was off to a good start at the plate for Minnesota this season. In 10 games played, Simmons is slashing .355/.474/.452 with zero home runs and six RBI.

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Twins Covid-19 update: SS Andrelton Simmons tests positive for Covid-19 - DraftKings Nation

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Our COVID Q&A with Watson is an AI-powered chatbot that addresses consumers' questions and concerns about COVID-19. It's built on the IBM Watson Ads Builder platform, which utilizes Watson Natural Language Understanding, and proprietary, natural- language-generation technology. The chatbot utilizes approved content from the CDC and WHO. Incidents information is provided by USAFacts.org.

To populate our Interactive Incidents Map, Watson AI looks for the latest and most up-to- date information. To understand and extract the information necessary to feed the maps, we use Watson Natural Language Understandingfor extracting insights from natural language text and Watson Discovery for extracting insights from PDFs, HTML, tables, images and more.COVID Impact Survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Data Foundation

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Alpharetta, GA Coronavirus Information - Safety Updates ...

COVID-19 vaccines have passed rigorous reviewsandare highly effective.

Scientists had a significant head start developing the COVID-19 vaccines. COVID-19 is very similar to other viruses, which already have vaccines.

Testing was thorough and successful. All COVID-19 vaccines were tested in clinical trials involving tens of thousands of people to make sure they meet safety standards and protect adults of different races, ethnicities, and ages, including adults over the age of 65.

There is no COVID-19 virus in the vaccine.The vaccine imitates the infection so that our bodies create antibody defenses to fight off COVID-19.

Side effects are mild, temporary, and normal signs that your body is building protection. You may experience pain and swelling in the arm of the injection. Throughout the rest of your body, you may experience fever, chills, tiredness, and headaches.

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COVID Vaccine | Georgia Department of Public Health

Although European health systems have faced the most challenging public health threat they have ever experienced, the promising side effects have undoubtedly been the disruptions catalysed by digital health. During this time of crisis, digital health has stepped in to provide expedient health care services that offer effectiveness, safety and even humanity for patients suffering from chronic conditions or who need immediate health care. In recognition of this, the European Commission recently proposed the EU4Health programme as part of a COVID-19 recovery response programme. The initiative aims to raise 5.1 billion for the digital transformation of the EU health sector and ensure preparedness for future cross border health threats.

Germany has steadfastly remained at the forefront of the digital health transformation during the pandemic by continually innovating and adapting legislation accordingly.In 2019, DiGA Fast-Track was created by the Digital Healthcare Act (DVG) and various legislative changes, which meant that apps could be prescribed by doctors and costs are reimbursed through German health insurance. On 5 October, eleven months after the Germany federal government passed the DVG, two health apps officially became available for prescription.

However, the acceptance of digital health has not always been so widely present in Germany. Dr Susanne Ozegowski, head of corporate development and digitisation atTechniker Krankenkasse (TK) and HIMSS EMEA advisory board member, told Healthcare IT News: "In Germany, until three years ago, digital health didn't play a big role. There were a few fitness and wellness apps but hardly any digital health applications which had a relevant impact when it came to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

"That changed when the minister of health, Jens Spahn, came into office three and a halfyears ago who really pushed the issue of digital health overall."

Since January 2021, all statutorily insured 72 million German citizens have been legally entitled to a national electronic patient record (ePA).Discussing this recent initiative, DrOzegowski added:"The technical infrastructure is in place, it is clear now what the parameters are. Patients already actually have access, becauseas of January 1 of this year, they have the opportunity to use an electronic health record, which is part of that telematics infrastructure. The decisive next step will be that providers get access and that the ePA really becomes a relevant part in the standard procedures of care.

"I think the electronic patient record is one of the major things that we need in Germany. Otherwise, you're going to have all this fragmented health data here and there, but you need a common digital infrastructure in order to have real exchange of information, and the opportunity for better care decisions based on each individual's health data."

Reflecting on the region-wide benefits to come from the pandemic, Dr Ozegowski explained: "COVID has also helped in the acceptance that we need to do more in healthcare on a European level. Here two things came together: COVID, of course, but then also the fact that Germany had the EU presidency in the second half of 2020."

"That has led to Germany pushing for a European health data space - which requires interoperability on a European level - but also the implementation of the EU patient summary in Germany, which is in essence a shortened version of the electronic health record that will be interoperable with the EU standard."

Telemedicine platforms are also a large component of Germany's plans to rapidly roll-out digital health services. Earlier this month, operators of telemedicine platforms reported a growth rate of over 1,000%, with more than 20,000 medical doctors and psychotherapists offering appointments through video-consultations. Online appointments are reimbursed, provided that one of the 20 platforms certified by the Federal Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) is used.

Discussing the increase in teleconsultations, in a Q&A for the Deutsches rzteblatt, Professor Jrgen Debatin, head of the Health Innovation Hub of the German Federal Ministry of Health, said: "[]it is above all digital technologies that keep us together as a society in this situation.This also applies to medicine."

As a consequence, manufacturers of practice software are bolstering investments in integrated solutions for online health consultations. During the pandemic, German CompuGroup Medical (CGM) decided to create its own video-consultation solutioncalled Clickdoc available to all doctors free of charge until further notice. According to CGM, since its launch, around 5,000 doctors have registered for this KBV-certified video-consultation.

German video-consultation platform, Doctor Konsultation.deis also one of the providers who have experiencedstrong growth in demand in the wake of the pandemic. "We are currently experiencing an openness to the video-consultation that is new to this extent," said a company spokesperson.

France adopted a new healthcare act in 2019, based on the government's 'My Health 2022' plan which seeks to expand the country's eHealth focus. Amongst its plans, France wants to improve interoperability; roll-out nationwide electronic health records (EHR) to become the cornerstone of eHealth platforms; leverage the use of AI in health; establish a data hub for healthcare data sets; and invest further in the recent introduction of telemedicine by the public health system.

Telemedicine usagehas been breaking records in the country, prompting health minister, Olivier Vran to announcea decree to ease the conditions for the practice of telemedicine. Furthermore, the country has recently kick-startedtrials for a digital vaccine passportand is showing promising progress in utilising health tech to get the country back to normality. Starting from this month, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) AOKpass app will be trialled for passengers travelling to the French Caribbean territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

In Norway, the Directorate for eHealth has encouraged healthcare professionals to leverage video-consultations and hassetup an overview of solutions already in use in the sector - either as a standalone video platform or from the EHR system. The main EPR solutions with video for doctors in Norway are The PatientSky, which works directly in the browser, and Pridok, a cloud-based system with integration of standalone video solutions, Confrere, Helseboka and Helsenorge.

For psychologists and psychiatrists, the directorate has suggested a number of standalone video solutions and EHRsolutions with integrated video such as Aspit Psykbasewhichintegrates withAspit MeetorConfrere(on request).

The Norwegian Health Network (NHN) / Helsenorge is actively encouraging more providers to offer video-consultations in collaboration with helsenorge.no, enabling more widespread access to video solutions forresidents.

The Norwegian Directorate of Health and the Norwegian Directorate for eHealth have recently put together a 'corona portfolio' to collate input from small and large actors on digital solutions that can help solve the crisis. The input is categorised and disseminated for further assessment from various working groups with representatives from NIPH, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, the Norwegian Health Network or others if relevant.

Rune Pedersen, director of Patient Pathways, at the Norwegian Centre for eHealth Research told Healthcare IT News: "A large national digital platform is currently planned and partly operative. This platform will in the future contain interoperability and semantic solutions. FHIR is a national interoperability standard, and SNOMED-CT has been chosen as common terminology.

"National services for patients and professionals are included. These are several and in progress. The work is hosted at the Directorate of eHealth, and led by the government. One of for regions has bought and will implement EPIC in both the primary and specialist healthcare. The implementation is planned started in 2022. The municipalities are planning a national procurement of common HER systems through KS, a municipal common organisation."

Although this procurement is at an early stage, three of four regions haveadopted an open EHR driven system for specialist healthcare, which is being implemented from 2021. Pedersen added that this approach aims for efficiency and safety, with a large focus on interoperability between services.

As a result of the pandemic, the use of virtual care and telemedicine has been established as a major component of delivering care. Europe's health system governance will continue to invest and reimagine health systems to ensure that telemedicine and other digital health technologies are improved and adapted to emerging regulations and ever-changing patient demand.

These digital health models reduce the risk of infection for the patient and for hospital staff and also free up hospital resources for prioritised areas. Most importantly, and paradoxically, digital health models that were once critised for dehumanising care have played an invaluable role in connecting clinicians and patients across Europe. As this area evolves, the European Commission's Communication on Digital Transformation of Health and Care aimsto continue gaining support and momentum in empowering citizens and building a healthier society through the greater use of digital products in the sector.

Find out more about the European digital health strategy at the 'A New Agenda for Europe: Leveraging the European Health Data Space' sessionat theHIMSS21 & Health 2.0 European Health Conferenceon 7 June, 2021.

Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

Original post:

The European digital health revolution in the wake of COVID-19 - Healthcare IT News

Harrisburg, PA - The Department of Health today announced that beginning Wednesday, April 14 an indoor walk-in COVID-19 testing site will open to the public in Monroe County. This site is available through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (AMI).

The virus is still present in our communities, which is evident by the recent rise in COVID-19 cases statewide, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. This reinforces the need for continued testing across the state. We encourage anyone who feels they need or want a test to take advantage of all COVID-19 testing clinics if they think they have been exposed to COVID-19. Much of the news and attention has shifted to COVID-19 vaccines, but testing is still a critical part of our response to ultimately stop the spread of COVID-19.

Beginning Wednesday, April 14 through Sunday, April 18, testing will be available daily from 10 AM to 7 PM at the Middle Smithfield Community Center, 5200 Milford Road, East Stroudsburg, PA, 18302.

Up to 450 people can be tested per day. Mid-nasal passage swab PCR tests will be performed. Testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is completely free. No appointment is necessary. Testing is also open to individuals who are not county residents. Patients must be ages 3 and older and are not required to show symptoms of COVID-19 in order to be tested. Patients are encouraged to bring a photo-ID or insurance card. Registration will also be completed on-site. The turnaround time for testing results is two to seven days after testing.

The AMI testing site will be open to anyone who feels they need a test. It is important that even people with no symptoms who have tested positive isolate in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.

There are three other COVID-19 testing sites currently operating across the commonwealth in Centre, Delaware, and Luzerne counties. Delaware County extended its testing site through April 30. Luzerne County continues to make COVID-19 testing accessible for elderly individuals who do not drive or have access to transportation.

In addition, Pennsylvanians can find testing sites in their area on the locator map here.

Individuals who are tested should self-quarantine while they await their test results. Individuals who live with other people should self-quarantine in a private room and use a private bathroom, if possible. Others living in the home with the individual awaiting test results should also stay at home. The department has additional instructions for individuals waiting for a COVID-19 test result. Individuals who test positive will receive a phone call from AMI while individuals who test negative will receive a secured-PDF emailed to them from AMI.

The department believes that increased testing in counties will help determine the prevalence of the virus and assist the county in moving forward. There are currently 46 counties in the commonwealth where the percent of positive cases is above 5 percent on the Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard. Each county is being monitored as the state continues to examine all available data.

The department has contracted with AMI to perform pop-up COVID-19 testing in counties across the state since September 2020. The contracts were funded by the federal Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Enhancing Detection grant. Counties under the initial contract, as well as the total number of patients tested, can be found here.

From March 2020 through April 11, 2021, the department has received 12,212,240 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results. From May 2020 through April 11, 2021, the department has received 2,507,706 antigen test results. The total combined number of tests reported to the department is 14,719,946 since COVID-19 testing began in the commonwealth. The number of Pennsylvanians who have been tested by PCR or antigen tests is 5,597,173, which roughly equates to 43.7 percent of the Pennsylvania population. Some people have been tested more than once.

Counties in need of a long-term COVID-19 testing site should contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health to discuss the possibility of setting up a pop-up site through AMI.

For the latest information for individuals, families, businesses and schools, visit Responding to COVID-19 on pa.gov.

While vaccine supply from the federal government remains limited, the Department of Health is working to ensure the vaccine is provided in a way that is ethical, equitable and efficient. To keep Pennsylvanians informed about vaccination efforts:

The Wolf Administration stresses the role Pennsylvanians play in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19:

Updated Coronavirus Links: Press Releases, State Lab Photos, Graphics

MEDIA CONTACT: Barry Ciccocioppo - ra-dhpressoffice@pa.gov

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Department of Health Announces Free COVID-19 Testing Site in Monroe County - Pennsylvania Pressroom