'We don't know where that peak is': Hospitals stretched thin by post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 surge AZCentral.com
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For Immediate Release: December 15, 2020
Espaol
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is a rapid, lateral flow antigen test, a type of test that runs a liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules. The test detects fragments of proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from a nasal swab sample from any individual 2 years of age or older.
Todays authorization is a major milestone in diagnostic testing for COVID-19. By authorizing a test for over- the-counter use, the FDA allows it to be sold in places like drug stores, where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes, said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. As we continue to authorize additional tests for home use, we are helping expand Americans access to testing, reducing the burden on laboratories and test supplies, and giving Americans more testing options from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
The announcement today of the first fully at-home OTC COVID-19 diagnostic test follows last months authorization of the first prescription COVID-19 test for home use and last weeks announcement of the first non-prescription test system, in which a lab processes the self-collected sample. The FDA has authorized more than 225 diagnostic tests for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 25 tests that allow for home collection of samples, which are then sent to a lab for testing. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is the first COVID-19 test that can be used completely at home without a prescription.
The FDA strongly supports innovation in test development and we have worked tirelessly with test developers to support the shared goal of getting more accurate and reliable tests to Americans who need them. Today is a promising step forward and we are eager to continue advancing additional innovation in COVID-19 testing that the science supports, said Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of FDAs Center for Devices and Radiological Health. This test, like other antigen tests, is less sensitive and less specific than typical molecular tests run in a lab. However, the fact that it can be used completely at home and return results quickly means that it can play an important role in response to the pandemic.
Similar to other antigen tests, a small percentage of positive and negative results from this test may be false. Therefore, for patients without symptoms, positive results should be treated as presumptively positive until confirmed by another test as soon as possible. This is especially true if there are fewer infections in a particular community, as false positive results can be more common when antigen tests are used in populations where there is little COVID-19 (low prevalence).
The FDA reminds patients that all tests can experience false negative and false positive results. Individuals with positive results should self-isolate and seek additional care from their health care provider. Individuals who test negative and experience COVID-like symptoms should follow up with their health care provider as negative results do not preclude an individual from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test uses a mid-turbinate nasal swab (sample is collected further back than the usual nasal swab, but not as far back as nasopharyngeal swabs, which are only appropriate for use by a trained health care provider) to detect certain proteins of the virus known as antigens. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test correctly identified 96% of positive samples and 100% of negative samples in individuals with symptoms. In people without symptoms, the test correctly identified 91% of positive samples and 96% of negative samples. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test uses an analyzer that connects with a software application on a smartphone to help users perform the test and interpret results. Results are delivered in as little as 20 minutes to individuals via their smartphone. The mobile application requires individuals to input their zip code and date of birth, with optional fields including name and e-mail address, and reports the results as appropriate to public health authorities to monitor disease prevalence. Ellume expects to produce more than three million tests in January 2021.
The FDA continues to work with test developers to expand access to COVID-19 testing and supports further development of COVID-19 tests that can be used completely at home.
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nations food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.
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12/15/2020
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PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Twenty-one new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Saturdays update from the South Dakota Department of Health.
The death toll is now at 1,350. There have been 404 deaths reported in December. The new deaths were 14 men and 7 women in the following age ranges: 50-59 (3); 60-69 (5); 70-79 (6) and 80+ (7).
On Saturday, 564 new total coronavirus cases were reported bringing the states total case count to 94,336, up from Friday (93,772). Total recovered cases are now at 84,490, up from Thursday. (83,670).
Active cases are now at 8,496, down from Friday (8,773).
Current hospitalizations are now at 365, down from Friday (406). Total hospitalizations are at 5,385, up from Thursday (5,348).
Total persons tested negative is now at 265,846, up from Friday (264,794).
There were 1,616 new persons tested reported on Saturday. Saturdays new person tested positivity rate is 35%.
The latest 7-day all test positivity rate, reported by the DOH, is 17.9%. The DOH calculates that based on the results of the PCR test results but doesnt release total numbers for how many PCR tests are done daily. The latest 1-day PCR test positivity rate is 16.1%.
Only 9 of South Dakotas 66 counties are listed as not having substantial community spread.
Vaccine tracking is now being reported by the state, as of Saturday, 6,198 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered to 6,198 total persons. Vaccine data does not include vaccine given to South Dakota Indian Reservations because that is federally allocated.
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12/19/2020
Today, the Florida Department of Health issued an update on COVID-19.This week, the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were received in Florida, and are being administered to front-line health care workers and long-term care facility staff and residents. To provide Floridians with the latest information about vaccinations in the state, the Florida Department of Health has issued a COVID-19 vaccine report that will be updated daily. This report includes information on the COVID-19 vaccine by county, race, sex and age. Find the first COVID-19 vaccine report here.Please find all daily reports here.
Vaccinations:
As of today at 7 a.m., 32,707 individuals have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Florida.
Hospitalizations:
As posted on the Agency for Health Care Administrations hospitalization dashboard at 4:15 p.m., there are 5,086 current hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19.
Positive test results:
Fatalities by date of passing:
Today, data reported to DOH shows there has been a steady decline in the number of reported Florida resident deaths who were previously diagnosed with COVID-19.
Florida long-term care facility data:
Overall testing:
In order to make the daily COVID-19 report easier to download and more accessible, the daily report separates case line data in a separate PDF. The case line data report is available here. The state also provides a report detailing surveillance data for every Florida county, which is available here.The antibody COVID-19 test results report will be provided once a week and contains county, race and lab information on antibody COVID-19 tests conducted in Florida. The report for antibody tests conducted by private health care providers is available here and the report for antibody tests conducted at state-supported COVID-19 testing sites is available here.
More information on a case-by-case basis can also be found here.
To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, please visit the Department of Healths dedicatedCOVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), please visit the CDC COVID-19 website, this website is also available in Spanish and Creole.For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, please visit the travel advisory website.
For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Departments dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling1-866-779-6121.The Call Center is available 24 hours per day.Inquiries may also beemailed toCOVID-19@flhealth.gov.
About the Florida Department of Health
The Florida Department of Health, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information please visit http://www.FloridaHealth.gov.
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20201219 Florida Department of Health Issues Update on COVID-19 - Florida Disaster
Issued on: 18/12/2020 - 18:22Modified: 18/12/2020 - 18:24
By: Constantin SIMON | Justin McCURRY | Florian NMARD | Sejeong LEE
For the third straight day, South Korea hasreported more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases. Although the country is facing a third wave of the coronavirus, cases and deaths remainrelatively low compared to other parts of the world.In addition to facemasks and social distancing, South Korea has used patrols, robotsand makeshift ICUs to stop the spread of the virus.But critics say the strategy has curtailed personal freedoms. Our correspondentsreport.
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Focus - South Korea finds creative ways to fight Covid-19 - FRANCE 24
The largest burden of Covid-19 has undoubtedly fallen on people older than 65; they account for around 80 percent of deaths in the United States. But if we momentarily eclipse that from our minds eye, something else becomes visible: The corona of this virus.
Young adults are dying at historic rates. In research published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, we found that among U.S. adults ages 25 to 44, from March through the end of July, there were almost 12,000 more deaths than were expected based on historical norms.
In fact, July appears to have been the deadliest month among this age group in modern American history. Over the past 20 years, an average of 11,000 young American adults died each July. This year that number swelled to over 16,000.
The trends continued this fall. Based on prior trends, around 154,000 in this demographic had been projected to die in 2020. We surpassed that total in mid-November. Even if death rates suddenly return to normal in December and we know that they will not we would anticipate well over 170,000 deaths among U.S. adults in this demographic by the end of 2020.
While detailed data are not yet available for all areas, we know Covid-19 is the driving force behind these excess deaths. Consider New York State. In April and May, Covid-19 killed 1,081 adults ages 20 to 49, according to statistics we gathered from the New York State Health Department. Remarkably, this figure towers over the states usual leading cause of death in that age group unintentional accidents including drug overdoses and road accidents which combined to cause 495 deaths in this demographic during April and May of 2018, the most recent year for which data are available to the public.
After the Northeasts horrific first surge this spring subsided, similar trends began to become apparent in other regions over the summer. As caseloads among the younger population rose nationwide, Covid-19 became a leading cause of death among younger adults in other regions. While deaths from the virus temporarily exceeded opioid deaths among young adults in some areas this year, we are also concerned that unintentional overdose deaths have increased during the pandemic as well.
Nor is it an illusion that people of color constitute a disproportionate fraction of the dead. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among adults 25 to 44, Black and Hispanic people make up not just a disproportionate number but a majority of Covid-19 deaths through Sept. 30.
Stay-at-home policies have saved lives, but their benefits have not been equally distributed. Among essential workers, many of whom are people of color, sheltering-in-place was never a real option.
Take a step back and compare what we are experiencing to what happened in the H.I.V./AIDS epidemic. Before effective treatments became available, we watched in horror as a contagious but preventable disease ravaged young adults in the prime of their lives. It claimed the lives of thousands of working-age adults every month. While too many still become infected, and too many die, public health messaging helped ease the epidemic.
Now we must deal with Covid-19. For too long, the message has been repeated by us and our colleagues, by government officials and the public that Covid-19 is dangerous for the old and that younger people do well. Its true that deaths among adults ages 25 to 44 account for fewer than 3 percent of Covid-19 deaths in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
But what we believed before about the relative harmlessness of Covid-19 among younger adults has simply not been borne out by emerging data. In the past, it took us too long to respond to the epidemics of opioids and H.I.V./AIDS when the young started dying in large numbers. Now that we have similar information about Covid-19, we must immediately address it.
We need to amend our messaging and our policies now. Outreach in the coming weeks and months is imperative. We know it can help. The use of lifesaving medications like methadone and buprenorphine increased after awareness of the devastation of the opioid epidemic became commonly understood, saving many lives. We need to tell young people that they are at risk and that they need to wear masks and make safer choices about social distancing.
This is even more important now that safe and effective vaccines are a reality. Young, healthy people are low on the priority list for the vaccine rollout. That means that modifying behavior now can save thousands of young lives next year.
And that is the crux of it. Our messaging is no longer about merely flattening the curve to prevent hospitals from overflowing. Now with vaccines, our policies and our individual choices can together save a far larger number of lives.
That challenge is ours to confront. The sooner that reality sets in, the better.
Jeremy Samuel Faust is an attending physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine in Boston and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. Harlan M. Krumholz is a professor of medicine at Yale University. Rochelle P. Walensky, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, has been nominated by President-elect Biden to be the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The West VirginiaDepartment of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of December 17, 2020, there have been 1,353,347total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 68,485 total cases and 1,071deaths.
DHHRhas confirmed the deaths of a 98-year old female fromBarbour County, a 78-year old male from Barbour County, an 81-year old malefrom Monongalia County, a 92-year old female from Brooke County, a 105-year oldfemale from Jefferson County, a 57-year old female from Ohio County, a 70-yearold female from Marshall County, an 84-year old male from Boone County, a 92-yearold female from Ohio County, an 85-year old male from Preston County, an 89-yearold female from Marshall County, a 100-year old female from Boone County, a 74-yearold female from Wood County, a 92-year old female from Brooke County, an 81-yearold male from Brooke County, an 80-year old male from Marshall County, a 75-yearold female from Hardy County, a 76-year old male from Mercer County, a 71-yearold male from Lewis County, an 85-year old female from Preston County, a 92-yearold female from Brooke County, a 76-year old male from Mercer County, a 59-yearold female from Harrison County, a 66-year old female from Wood County, a 61-yearold male from Wood County, a 76-year old male from Tucker County, a 60-year oldfemale from Barbour County, a 93-year old female from Kanawha County, a 74-yearold male from Monongalia County, a 90-year old female from Raleigh County, an 83-yearold female from Raleigh County, and an 81-year old male from Raleigh County.
Every life lost to this deadly virus leavesa hole in a family, a community and our state, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHRCabinet Secretary. I offer my deepest sympathies to all who are mourning aloved one today.
CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour (577), Berkeley (4,916),Boone (859), Braxton (190), Brooke (1,083), Cabell (4,221), Calhoun (112), Clay(216), Doddridge (183), Fayette (1,429), Gilmer (262), Grant (624), Greenbrier(1025), Hampshire (724), Hancock (1,441), Hardy (578), Harrison (2,205),Jackson (949), Jefferson (1,961), Kanawha (7,412), Lewis (369), Lincoln (596),Logan (1,292), Marion (1,347), Marshall (1,724), Mason (856), McDowell (773),Mercer (2,006), Mineral (1,941), Mingo (1,172), Monongalia (4,422), Monroe(505), Morgan (499), Nicholas (529), Ohio (2,102), Pendleton (202), Pleasants(228), Pocahontas (304), Preston (1,188), Putnam (2,560), Raleigh (2,212),Randolph (969), Ritchie (272), Roane (248), Summers (343), Taylor (530), Tucker(252), Tyler (254), Upshur (675), Wayne (1,417), Webster (114), Wetzel (549),Wirt (167), Wood (3,913), Wyoming (988).
Please note that delaysmay be experienced with the reporting of information from the local healthdepartment to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local healthdepartment level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may notbe a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in questionmay have crossed the state border to be tested.
Please visit the dashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.
Free COVID-19 testing daily events scheduled fortoday, Thursday, December 17, 2020:
Berkeley County
1:00 PM-5:00PM,Shenandoah Community Health, 99 Tavern Road, Martinsburg
4:30 PM 8:00 PM, Dorothy McCormack Building, 2000 Foundation Way, Martinsburg, WV(pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Boone County
Hampshire County
9:00 AM 3:00 PM, Hampshire County Fair Grounds (at the dining hall), Fairground Drive,Augusta, WV 26704
Hardy County
Jackson County
9:00 AM 12:00 PM, Jackson County Health Department, 504 Church Street South, Ripley, WV
Mingo County
11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Kermit Volunteer Fire Department, 49 Main Street, Kermit, WV
9:00 AM 3:00 PM, Williamson Health and Wellness Center, under the tent, 183 2ndAvenue, Williamson, WV
10:00 AM 4:00 PM, Hurley Drug Company, 210 Logan Street, Williamson, WV
Ohio County
11:00AM 4:00 PM, Valley Grove Volunteer Fire Department, 355 Fire House Lane,Valley Grove, WV (pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
11:00AM 4:00 PM, Warwood Fire Station #9, 1301 Richland Avenue, Wheeling, WV (pre-registration:https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
11:00AM 4:00 PM, Wheeling Island Fire Station #5, 11 North Wabash Street,Wheeling, WV (pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Putnam County
9:00AM 5:00 PM, Liberty Square, 613 Putnam Village, Hurricane, WV(pre-registration: bit.ly/pchd-covid)
Taylor County
Wayne County
10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Wayne County Health Department, 217 Kenova Avenue, Wayne, WV
Wood County
12:00 PM 3:00 PM, New Hope Baptist Church, 1777 Rosemar Road, Vienna, WV
Additional testing will be held on Friday,December 18, 2020 in Berkeley, Brooke, Grant, Harrison, Logan, Marshall, Mason,Mercer, Mingo, Ohio, Putnam, Taylor, Wayne, Wood, and Wyoming counties.
There are many ways to obtain free COVID-19 testing in WestVirginia. Please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
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COVID-19 Daily Update 12-17-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
In June of 2020, three months after the COVID pandemic began in earnest in the United States, we wrote a report suggesting that the public health crisis and associated recession would result in 300,000 to 500,000 fewer births in 2021. Six months later, we have been asked several times if we have an updated estimate. We have revisited the issue and stand by our initial prediction of a large reduction in births. Based on our previous methodology and a labor market that improved somewhat more quickly than we anticipated, we place more emphasis on the lower range of our original estimate, likely closer to 300,000 fewer births. However, additional factors that we did not incorporate into our model in particular, ongoing school and day care closures might very well mean a larger reduction in births than that.
It will still be several months before birth data will become available that will enable us to count the missing births. Additional survey evidence has come out, though, since we released our initial report that supports a coming baby bust. Corroborating evidence generated since our June report supports our prediction of a baby bust next year. A survey conducted by Laura D. Lindberg, Alicia VandeVusse, Jennifer Mueller and Marielle Kirstein of the Guttmacher Institute reveals that that 34 percent of American women have either delayed their plans to have a child or reduced the number of children they expect to have as a result of the pandemic. A different survey conducted by Francesca Luppi, Bruno Arpino, and Alessandro Rosina shows that European women similarly report that they plan to postpone giving birth or have fewer children.
Levels of sexual activity have also fallen. In one survey (conducted by Justin Lehmiller, Justin Garcia, Amanda Gesselman, and Kristen Mark of the Kinsey Institute), almost half of adults surveyed report a decline in their sex lives. In another (conducted by Devel Hensel, Molly Rosenberg, Maya Luetke, Tsungchieh Fu, and Debby Herbenick at the University of Indiana), those with young children and, particularly, those with school-age children report the largest declines in intercourse.
One way to gauge individual behavior is to examine what they search for in Google; these data are available through Google Trends. A study by Joshua Wilde, Wei Chen, and Sophie Lohmann based on these data supports our prediction of reduced fertility. The authors report that searches for pregnancy-related terms, such as ClearBlue (a pregnancy test), ultrasound, and morning sickness have fallen since the pandemic began. Based on the reduced searches for pregnancy-related terms, the authors of that study forecast a reduction of births on the order of 15 percent, an even larger drop than what we forecasted.
In the six months that have elapsed since our original June report, labor market conditions have improved more rapidly than experts were predicting back in June. A key element of our forecast for declining births was based on our empirical analysis that found that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a one percent drop in the birth rate. We applied that estimated relationship to the expectation of a seven to 10 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, which was in line with Federal Reserve expectations.
From todays vantage point, it looks more likely that unemployment will have risen by around 5.5 percentage points in the year following the start of the pandemic (April 2020 through March 2021) from 3.5 percent to roughly nine percent. This estimate is based on observed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for April through November and assumes little change in the next few months. Using this revised expected change in unemployment, we would predict a 5.5 percent reduction in births from the unemployment effect alone. Applying that to the number of births in 2019 (3.75 million) suggests 206,000 fewer births in 2021.
Our original forecast also incorporated an additional reduction in births coming from the anxiety and social conditions associated with the public health crisis. We incorporated this into our forecast by examining the experience of the 1918 Spanish Flu. Back then, every spike in the death rate attributable to the flu was associated with a dramatic reduction in births nine months later. We relied on that evidence to increase our forecast based solely on labor market conditions by one to three additional percent, or another 38,000 to 114,000 fewer births.
The public health crisis has unfolded much as anticipated in the spring and similar in magnitude to the 1918 experience. That pandemic led to 408,000 deaths in the year after it began. Currently 290,000 deaths have occurred as of December 8 and 539,000 deaths are forecast to occur by April 1. The population of the United States is three times as large today as it was in 1918, but medical care has significantly improved, which should have reduced the death rate for a similar level of disease. We see no reason to alter our forecast based on these data. Combining the updated impact of the recession with our earlier additional impact of the public health crisis indicates that we should expect a baby bust in the range of about 245,000 to 320,000.
Yet there are reasons to believe that our July prediction might understate the impact on fertility. Ongoing school closures are putting tremendous strain on families that may reduce their willingness to have more children. Restrictions on public gatherings and social encounters might mean fewer new couplings that could lead to pregnancies, intended or otherwise. The extended nature of this crisis also is likely to create large structural changes in the economy; a sizable share of the jobs lost will be permanent. The longer the duration of the income loss that workers expect, the more likely it is that delayed births will never happen. We did not attempt to make any predictions based on these additional factors because we had no previous context or data from which to draw empirical conclusions.
It will still be several months before data will be available on the number of post-pandemic births that we can use to begin to assess our forecast. In the meantime, we have revisited our prediction based on the most recent evidence available. As of now, we stand by our prediction of a COVID baby bust of around 300,000 fewer births. But the longer the pandemic lasts, and the deeper the economic and social anxiety runs, it is feasible that we will see an even larger reduction in births with an increasing share of them averted permanently.
The authors did not receive financial support from any firm or person for this article or from any firm or person with a financial or political interest in this article. They are currently not an officer, director, or board member of any organization with an interest in this article.
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The coming COVID-19 baby bust: Update - Brookings Institution
The Psychology and Social Work Clinic at Ohio University will offer low-cost sessions on coping with stress and anxiety from COVID-19 to both campus and community members starting in January.
These virtual sessions with trained professionals in the Psychology and Social Work Clinic can be teen-focused and or adult-focused and are open to residents of Ohio.
As we transition from 2020 and a life-altering global pandemic to a hopeful but uncertain future, fear and anxiety are expected, said Dr. Nicholas Allan, assistant professor of clinical psychology. However, if anxiety is too overwhelming or uncertainty too distressing, the return to normal can be unnecessarily unpleasant. At the PSWC, we are offering individual and group virtual interventions designed to give you the tools to navigate this future more successfully using empirically supported research tools.
These interventions are available via telehealth (virtual) for convenience and include use of a mobile app to provide increased support. Fee waivers are available.
Allan noted that the center offers different types of sessions for various needs.
These services are offered by trained professionals at the Psychology and Social Work Clinic, a supportive, affirming outpatient mental health clinic that is primarily staffed by doctoral student therapists of the Ohio University clinical psychology program.
The PSWC offers evidence-based therapy and comprehensive assessment services for children, adolescents, and adults. Individual therapy services are available for a broad range of behavioral health concerns including: depression, anxiety and phobias, disordered eating, trauma, OCD, personality disorders, self-harm, school refusal, poor sleep/insomnia, bereavement, adjustment issues, ADHD, conduct problems, and more.
Affordable rates apply, and fee waivers are available.
For more information or to enroll, call 740-593-0902 or email PSWC@ohio.edu.
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Clinic offers sessions on coping with stress and anxiety from COVID-19 - Ohio University
