Category: Covid-19

A total of 526 COVID-19 cases were linked to Washington schools between August 2020 and February 2021, according to a report compiled by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH).

According to the report, there were 134 separate outbreaks at Washington schools between August and February with most involving two to three cases each. Overall, 15 counties reported outbreaks in schools. King County reported 16 outbreaks, Snohomish reported 18 outbreaks, Yakima reported 11 outbreaks, and Spokane County reported the most outbreaks with 36.

Nearly half of all COVID-19 cases associated with schools occurred in students under 18 years of age, according to the report. Students between the ages of 10 and 19 accounted for 34% of all cases.

Outbreaks occurred at a higher rate starting in October and lasting through November. Outbreaks began to decline in frequency in February, according to the report.

No deaths were reported as a result of cases linked to schools. Less than 10 people were hospitalized overnight due to COVID-19. Of hospitalized cases, 80% were among adult staff.

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526 COVID-19 cases linked to schools in Washington between August and February - KING5.com

Since the COVID-19 virus was discovered, the world has waited for a vaccine that would help our lives return to some level of normalcy. Now that vaccine distribution has begun, what will this new normal look like?

In Life After the Vaccine,from the producers of the Big Brains podcast, University of Chicago experts explore what the vaccine rollout has revealed about our cities, and how it will impact our lives within themfrom our health care systems and businesses, to our educational and cultural institutions.

Learn more about the topics and read the video transcripts below:

So the vaccine is a complex gift. It both gives you a sense that you are protected, but it ought not give you a sense that youre free to do anything you want. The fact that you have the vaccine means that youve accepted the gift, and the gift comes with some strings attached.

Its a privilege to live in the city, but its a kind of privilege that carries with it a deep responsibility, a duty thats incumbent on each of us to make the city safe.

The nature of this pandemic is such that your personal choice affects the public realm. So when you say: Im not going to get a vaccine, but I want the right to continue to work. I want the right to get on an airplane and the right to go and hear the opera. What youre doing is youre imposing that risk on me, and on anyone in the community who might be more vulnerable.

Even if people get vaccinated, theres an issue of whether or not its safe to go back to work. Are the other people at work that youre dealing with vaccinated? Do they feel comfortable that youre vaccinated that theyll interact with you?

What vaccine passports can do is eliminate that uncertainty and give people the confidence to engage in activity as they get vaccinated. That is, to say, keeping activity rising in proportion to vaccination rates. In urban areas, where a lot of economic activity hinges on people interacting with each other, and where population density really increases the risk of infection, I think immunity passports may play a more important role in encouraging people as the vaccination campaign continues, of encouraging people to actually engage in economic activity.

Civic leaders need to use their privilege to advocate for communities that have been marginalized and have suffered the disparities that weve seen unveiled through this COVID-19 vaccine.

The public health system has to be set up in such a way that every citizen in every urban area in every state is a part of how care gets delivered within our cities and states, and not with the system of separatism and fragmentation and two systems of health carehealth care for the poor and health care for the affluent. We cant operate a public health system that way.

The use of spatial data can bring great insight into public health efforts and to deployment of the vaccine, in particular. We know, for instance, that low-income communities are at much greater risk, both for coming down with COVID-19, and for dying from COVID-19.

If we can use the data, for instance, from the census, where we know if buildings are multi-dwelling, we know the density of a particular neighborhood. Do they need to use public transit to get to work? All of that information can be brought to bear on characterizing the risk of a community and in understanding how we meet that risk in terms of our public health efforts.

Education is not one-size-fits-all. And we had an opportunity to think about how to support students who have a variety of needs, both academically, but also socially. And we were striving to meet those individual needs during the midst of this pandemic. I dont want us to lose sight of that once we return to the schoolhouse.

The future of urban education needs to be centered on individualizing education as much as possible for our students through a variety of modalities and ensuring that we can meet students and families wherever they are.

Right now in the performing arts, about 70%of our employees arent working. As we think about our world after the vaccine, were thinking really, really carefully about the smartest, most impactful decisions that we can make to further our missions.

Arts organizations will not come back with the same speed that they had before. So I think the artistic decisions that people make will think a lot more about the impact of that work on our audiences, and I think well think a lot less about entertainment.

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Life after the COVID-19 vaccine: Envisioning the 'new normal' - UChicago News

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) A Ramsey County judge has ruled a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota can proceed against the Minnesota Department of Corrections over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge Sara Grewing ruled this week that all Minnesota inmates could be included in a class-action suit, and that Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm can be added as defendants, WCCO-TV reported. The lawsuit alleges that just one-fifth of Minnesotas approximately 7,600 inmates have been fully vaccinated. Grewing will later decide whether or not the states inmate vaccination effort violated state law.

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Lawsuit over correction's handling of COVID-19 will proceed - KTTC

Alabama will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone 16 years and older beginning April 5, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday.

Ivey made the announcement during a visit to the Alabama National Guard mobile vaccination clinic in Wilcox County.

Our goal is simple. That is to get shots off the shelf and into the arms of Alabamians, Ivey said.

The clinic was at Wilcox Central High School in Camden, Iveys hometown.

I have committed to the people of Alabama that we are on a path forward, and while there is more work to be done, I remain hopeful and optimistic in where we are going. Recent findings from the CDC show preliminary data suggesting that vaccinated individuals do not appear to be spreading the virus, so that is hopeful, underscores the effectiveness of the vaccine and is yet another reason to get the shot, Governor Ivey said. Truly, this vaccine is our ticket back to normal life. We are so close to getting COVID-19 in the rearview, and until then, we should all keep wearing our masks, get vaccinated and use the common sense the good Lord gave us.

Currently the Pfizer vaccine is available to individuals age 16 and up, and the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are both available to individuals 18 years of age and older.

Follow AL.com coverage of the coronavirus

With the expansion, there will be close to 4 million eligible individuals in the state of Alabama, according to Iveys announcement. The state is receiving about 115,000 first doses each week, according to the governors statement.

We believe that everyone ought to receive this vaccine, State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said. Its the way that Alabama gets back to normal. Its the way that we put all this behind us.

Harris, who joined Ivey for the announcement, said slightly more than 1.7 million shots have been given in Alabama.

These shots have gone to more than 1.1 million Alabamians most at risk of illness and death due to COVID-19, Harris said in a press release. As progress has been made, equitable vaccine distribution has been and remains a driving force in immunizing state residents. The increased supply of safe and effective vaccines means all adults who wish to be vaccinated are now eligible to receive the protection vaccines offer.

As of April 1, 1,724,463 doses have been administered, according to Iveys statement.

Dr. Mary McIntyre, chief medical officer for the Department of Public Health, spoke at the press conference and encouraged people to get the vaccine that is available to them soonest and not wait in a specific vaccine. McIntyre also said the temporary side effects that affect some should not dissuade people from getting shots.

That really means the vaccine is working, McIntyre said. Your body is actually mounting the immune response it needs to mount. So if you get a little headache, or you get a little fever for a few days or some chills, that is not unexpected. And it may occur in some people and not in others. But thats not a reason to not take the vaccine.

More than 99 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of a vaccine, the Associated Press reported. But cases have risen slightly, with an average of 64,000 new cases a day this week compared to 55,000 two weeks ago, AP said.

Harris said that uptick has not shown up in Alabama yet.

Obviously we are monitoring that and are concerned with what we see around the country, Harris said. But the fact that our deaths have remained low and our hospitalization numbers have remained low lead us to believe our actual case numbers are low. So, were pleased with that right now.

Harris, as he has done before previous holiday weekends, urged caution about gatherings for Easter.

We still want people to be alert, to be careful, to remember that the pandemic is not over yet, Harris said. We still have a ways to go before we can put this behind us.

For those people who are vulnerable, in particular those people who are older or those people with chronic health problems, our advice still remains the same. Please be careful about getting together in groups. Please wear masks when youre able to do that. Please make sure you are careful about sanitation and hygiene.

Harris reinforced several of the basic guidelines for social events.

Smaller gatherings are better than larger gatherings. Outdoors is better than indoors. A short amount of time is better than a longer amount of time. So, please just do your best to protect yourself and especially protect those most vulnerable people around you, he said.

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Alabama expands COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone 16 and older beginning April 5 - AL.com

NEW YORK, April 2, 2021The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) is working with a community health center in Brooklyn to expand access to COVID-19 vaccinations in underserved neighborhoods, including supporting the opening of a vaccination site today in an area of East New York with one of the city's lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.

Doctors Without Borders is working with BMS Family Health and Wellness Centers(BMS), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) providing free primary and specialized health care in Brownsville and East New York. While BMS had access to COVID-19 vaccines from government agencies, it requested additional administrative and logistical support from MSF to ensure as many people as possible could be vaccinated. After initially expanding vaccination activities in its existing health facilities, BMS has now opened a vaccination hub at St. Paul Community Baptist Church in East New York with the capacity to vaccinate at least 1,000 people per week.

"BMS has been providing some Covid-19 vaccination since January, but capacity has been significantly limited by insufficient staff, space and funding," said Kerry Dierberg, MSF project coordinator. "It is unfortunate that it has taken longer for people in Brownsville and East New York to have access to a vaccination site with greater capacity, while other areas of New York City had the resources to scale up months ago. It takes more than nurses and vaccines to administer COVID-19 vaccinations, and a one-size-fits-all approach of providing communities with vaccines is inadequate. Underserved communities should have equal access to the resources and assistance required to vaccinate as many people as possible. It is vital to locate vaccination sites close to people in underserved areas, and to ensure adequate staffing and funding for administrative tasks, such as scheduling appointments."

The comparatively lower COVID-19 vaccination rates in low-income and predominantly Black or Hispanic communities such as Brownsville and East New York are emblematic of broader racial and economic disparities in access to health care in the United States. Vaccinations lag behind the city average, while mortality rates are higher. East New York, for example, includes the ZIP code with the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in New York City.

"As an FQHC, BMS's mission is to provide high-quality, affordable, health care for medically underserved communities," said Dr. Camille Taylor-Mullings, Chief Medical Officer, BMS Family Health and Wellness Centers. "Many area residents and patients were disproportionately affected by the pandemic and we are excited to have the opportunity to provide added COVID-19 services for our community through the launch of the BMS@St. Paul Community Baptist Church Vaccine Hub. Without the assistance and partnership of MSF and the partnership with Reverend Brawley and St. Paul's, this would not have been possible. This collaboration of supportive relationships is the hallmark of our collective organizations' commitment to community health."

People in Brownsville and East New York face substantial barriers to obtaining COVID-19 vaccinations. Many are unable to take time off from work or family responsibilities to attend medical appointments. Transportation time and costs pose additional challenges, especially if vaccination sites are distant. Scheduling vaccinations online is also more difficult due to limited internet connectivity, and language barriers present obstacles in scheduling appointments or obtaining information about vaccines.

Vaccines that require two doses may also increase the burden, underlining the importance of making the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine available as an option in areas where poverty or geographic isolation make it more difficult for individuals to reach appointments. For example, MSF is involved in an effort in Puerto Rico to provide the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to 6,000 people who have not otherwise had access to COVID-19 vaccinations, decreasing the time it takes for people to become fully vaccinated.

"Now that vaccines are more widely available in the U.S., the social inequities in health care can be seen in the vaccination rates of underserved communities," Dierberg said. "Reducing the barriers to COVID-19 vaccination is as essential as the vaccines themselvesvaccines only work when people can access them. In Brownsville and East New York, the capacity for vaccination is increasing, but now more efforts and investments are needed to ensure people will effectively reach the site and get vaccinated."

MSF's support for BMS:

BMS requested support from MSF to coordinate its COVID-19 vaccination activities and launch a new vaccination site, after MSF previously supported the organization in running a COVID-19 testing site during the first wave of the pandemic. In recent weeks, MSF provided administrative and logistical support to increase COVID-19 vaccinations at three BMS clinics by mobilizing volunteers and hiring administrative staff. To set up the new site at St. Paul Community Baptist Church, MSF supported aspects of planning, budget development, human resources, training, procurement and the establishment of a "cold chain" for the storage of vaccines. MSF staff are not administering the vaccines to patients, which is done by BMS and other contracted partners.

Go here to read the rest:

MSF helps expand access to COVID-19 vaccinations in Brownsville and East New York - Doctors Without Borders

Among the common symptoms of long COVID are dizziness, tinnitus, and ear pain, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom.

Other viral infections including rubella, measles, and cytomegalovirus are known to cause hearing problems, but research into possible links between COVID-19 and hearing issues remains at an early stage.

In June 2020, specialists at the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD) in the U.K. reviewed seven studies that hinted at a link between hearing and balance, or audiovestibular, problems and COVID-19.

Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

At that time, however, the quality of the evidence supporting a possible association was poor.

The same researchers have now updated their review to include 56 studies published in 2020.

Although the evidence remains tentative, the researchers have estimated the prevalence of audiovestibular problems among people who have recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Their analysis suggests that around 14.8% of patients experience tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, 7.6% have hearing loss, and 7.2% have rotatory vertigo, which is a sensation of spinning.

The review appears in the International Journal of Audiology.

The authors emphasize that these figures may overestimate the true scale of the problem.

This is because the reports that they reviewed do not always make it clear whether the symptoms were new or whether they were preexisting symptoms that had temporarily become worse.

In addition, most of the studies were based on medical records or questionnaires in which patients reported their own symptoms, rather than the appropriate hearing tests.

There is an urgent need for a carefully conducted clinical and diagnostic study to understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the auditory system, says senior author Kevin Munro, professor of audiology at ManCAD.

Though this review provides further evidence for an association, the studies we looked at were of varying quality, so more work needs to be done, he adds.

Prof. Munro is leading a year-long study in the U.K. that will compare control patients with patients who recovered after being hospitalized with COVID-19.

He and his colleagues hope to get a more accurate picture of the incidence and severity of COVID-related hearing issues, as well as which parts of the auditory system are affected.

They will also investigate possible associations between audiovestibular problems and other factors, such as lifestyle, other medical conditions, and the treatments the patients received in intensive care.

Prof. Munro explains:

Over the last few months, I have received numerous emails from people who reported a change in their hearing, or tinnitus after having COVID-19. While this is alarming, caution is required, as it is unclear if changes to hearing are directly attributed to COVID-19 or to other factors, such as treatments to deliver urgent care.

The inner ear contains the sound-sensing spiral cavity of the cochlea, and the fluid-filled semicircular canals, which are involved in balance.

In their paper, the researchers note some of the proposed explanations for damage to the inner ear that occurred when people had COVID-19.

These include:

The authors conclude their paper by urging caution when interpreting their estimates of the prevalence of hearing problems associated with COVID-19.

They write that some of the problems may have been preexisting, pointing out that around 11% of adult population in the U.K. already have some hearing disability and that 17% have tinnitus.

Moreover, they say that in around half of the studies reviewed, they were unable to determine whether the authors were reporting a new symptom or a worsening of an existing one.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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COVID-19 linked to tinnitus, hearing loss, and vertigo - Medical News Today

Campus & Community

Dear Students, Families, Faculty and Staff:

Over the last several days, our campus surveillance testing has identified a very significant and troubling increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases among our students. This afternoon, we will report 44 new COVID infections on the COVID dashboard. Based on case investigations and timing, the data strongly suggests that the current surge of infection largely stems from off-campus parties and gatherings that occurred last weekend.

Our public health professionals areextremely concernedwith the current situation. Yesterday alone, we moved more students into isolation housing than was typical of an entire week during the fall semester. If this pace and scale of new infection continue, the University will have no choice but to implement additional and likely dramatic preventative actions, designed to break the current chain of transmission and spread among our student population. I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is that all members of our community act now to undercut the current outbreak. Specifically:

The University has petitioned New York State to allow us to hold on-campus vaccination clinics to expedite the vaccination of our community, including students. We are currently awaiting a response from New York State. Until then, securing vaccination appointments through the state and county, combined with good public health behaviors, is the most immediate path to address our current situation.

I appreciate that for many of us, watching or reading the news is generating a sense of relief and optimism that the end of the pandemic is in sight. While I share that optimism, the fact is that COVID remains a real and present risk to our staff, faculty and students. Please do everything in your power to keep yourself, those around you and the broader Central New York community safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

J. Michael HaynieVice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

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Public Health Advisory: COVID-19 Cases on the Rise - Syracuse University News

The current evidence on the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients is inconclusive. Until more data is available, WHO recommends that the drug only be used within clinical trials.

This recommendation, which applies to patients with COVID-19 of any disease severity, is now part of WHOs guidelines on COVID-19 treatments.

Ivermectin is a broad spectrum anti-parasitic agent, included in WHO essential medicines list for several parasitic diseases. It is used in the treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness), strongyloidiasis and other diseases caused by soil transmitted helminthiasis. It is also used to treat scabies.

A guideline development group was convened in response to the increased international attention on ivermectin as a potential treatment for COVID-19. This group is an independent, international panel of experts, which includes clinical care experts in multiple specialties and also include an ethicist and patient-partners.

The group reviewed pooled data from 16 randomized controlled trials (total enrolled 2407), including both inpatients and outpatients with COVID-19. They determined that the evidence on whether ivermectin reduces mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, need for hospital admission and time to clinical improvement in COVID-19 patients is of very low certainty, due to the small sizes and methodological limitations of available trial data, including small number of events.

The panel did not look at the use of ivermectin to prevent COVID-19, which is outside of scope of the current guidelines.

Note to the editor:

Previous recommendations on the use of therapeutics for COVID-19:

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WHO advises that ivermectin only be used to treat COVID-19 within clinical trials - World Health Organization

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis  The Lancet

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Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis - The Lancet

As part of the Biden administrations plans to facilitate more equitable access to vaccinations, the administration has formed a partnership with community health centers, known for providing health care to some of the hardest-to-reach populations. This partnership, called the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program, directly supplies health centers with a limited number of doses to increase vaccinations among people of color, low-income communities, and other underserved populations that make up a large share of health center patients. The first phase of the program kicked off February 15, 2021 and invited 250 health centers to participate, aiming to provide them with 1 million vaccine doses over the course of 4 weeks. Currently, the program is in the process of adding 700 more health centers, phasing in participation over a period of six weeks, and, by May, the administration expects to open the program to all 1,400 health center organizations across the U.S.

As of March 22, 2021, there were 325 health centers participating in the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program and they had received over 1 million vaccine doses. Based on 2019 data, 75% of all patients visiting these health centers were people of color and 92% had incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Prior KFF research has shown that health centers are vaccinating people of color at higher rates than vaccine efforts nationally, and that is especially true for health centers participating in the federal program where, according to federal officials, over 65% of the allocated doses have been administered to people of color.

The first 325 health centers to participate in the program have the capacity to reach very specific, high-need populations that may require more resource-intensive vaccination efforts. Many of the health centers participating in the early phase of the program receive designated funding to treat agricultural workers, patients experiencing homeless, and/or patients living in or near public housing. They are also larger, on average, than other health centers. Our analysis shows that these health centers served just under half of all health center patients in 2019, as well as 80% of all health center patients who are agricultural workers, 69% of all patients living in or near public housing, 62% of patients with limited English proficiency, and just over half (54%) of patients experiencing homelessness (Figure 1). Although health centers provide services to only a subset of these individuals, reaching high-need populations as well as others facing barriers to vaccinations in the greatest numbers possible will be helpful in achieving population-level immunity.

Although the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program represents a small portion of vaccinations nationally to date, increased federal funding for the program will enable participating health centers to reach many more people. On March 25, 2021, the Biden administration announced $6 billion in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan would be directed to health centers to expand vaccine access. This investment, coupled with new flexibility allowing health centers to vaccinate people in ACIPs Phase 1c priority group along with other state priority populations, will enable health centers to reach more of their patients and other higher-risk individuals in their communities. Currently, the program is onboarding 700 more health centers as part of the second phase of the program, including those serving large shares of people with low incomes and people of color, those located in rural and frontier areas, those serving tribal communities, and health centers operating mobile vans with the ability to take vaccinations out into the community. Ensuring more equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine will be a meaningful step in mitigating the disparate impacts of the pandemic and limiting health disparities in the future.

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The Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program is Prioritizing Hard-to-Reach Communities - Kaiser Family Foundation