Category: Covid-19

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A new study of almost 200,000 newborns in Sweden and Norway shows that maternal receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy poses no risk to infants, and instead prevents babies from suffering serious complications.

Moreover, the mortality rate for babies born to mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy was half the rate of those whose mothers were unvaccinated. The study appeared yesterday in JAMA. The authors caution, however, that they were unable to explain why the mortality risk was so reduced among infants whose mothers were vaccinated.

"A direct vaccine effect is unlikely," said Mikael Norman, PhD, first author of the study in a press release from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, where he practices. "Previous studies have shown that the vaccine does not cross the placenta and that it cannot be found in umbilical cord bloodNo matter how we look at it, the finding remains and therefore, we cannot say what the lower risk of death among infants of vaccinated women relates to."

The study included national birth registry data from births from gestational week 22 and onwards after COVID-19 vaccines were available in both countries. Babies included in the study were born from June 2021 to January 2023.

In total, 48% of mothers had been vaccinated with one or more doses of an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 in pregnancies of 196,470 newborns.

In addition to lower mortality rates by a half, infants born to vaccinated mothers had lower odds for neonatal nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage (event rate, 1.7 vs 3.2/1,000; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61 to 0.99), and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (1.8 vs 2.7/1000; aOR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.96).

There were no cases of myocarditis or thrombocytopenia seen in the study, as well as no increased risk for respiratory distress syndrome or necrotizing enterocolitis.

These findings may provide reassurance to public health authorities, clinicians, pregnant individuals,and their families.

"These findings may provide reassurance to public health authorities, clinicians, pregnant individuals, and their families that infants are not at higher risk of adverse events due to COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy," the authors concluded.

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COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy found safe for infants - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Denise Perkins was a registered nurse when she posted anti-vax comments on her public Facebook page in late 2021 which attracted a complaint to the Health and Disability Commissioner.

A nurse with influence over her community posted anti-vax comments on Facebook during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and described a person who complained as a Nazi scumbag liar.

Denise Georgina Perkins told a professional conduct committee [PCC] she believed what she was writing during Covid-19 vaccine mandates in 2021 was backed by science.

But the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal has today found her guilty of professional misconduct for behaviour it described as malpractice bringing discredit to the nursing profession.

Perkins, who is the wife of the late House of Shem lead singer Carl Perkins, was a registered nurse at Ruapehu Health Ltd in Raetihi in November 2021 when she posted anti-vaccination and anti-government sentiment on her public Facebook page which had 7500 followers.

In a post about then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern abandoning an event in Whanganui due to protestors Perkins wrote: Good job... Go back to your wasps nest ohh I could see the sell-outs come out in support of their leaders whohoo VICTORY whanau!!!!!. [sic]

On another date, she shared links to anti-vaccination groups and posted: A lot of GP clinics are not reporting the so-called covid vaccine adverse affects or deaths [sic]. Its up to you to do that, PLEASE!!! ...Unborn babies are dying as a result of mums being forced into getting the so-called vaccine, and these are NOT being reported...

Another post read: WAKE UP all you followers of the one who is leading our nation into this pit of decline!!! ALL you so-called Iwi leaders SHAME on you for taking the bribe and allowing this evil woman to lead you all by a chain and try and take your people with you. There is already blood shed [sic] people are dying NOT of covid but suicide because of pending job loss, homelessness, division, separation, isolation and bullying all because of a damn vaccine!!!.

Two complaints were made to the Health and Disability Commissioner who referred them to the Nursing Council of New Zealand after which Perkins posted that the complainants had done her a favour.

Whoever you are take this back to the teacher of the nurses council I honestly dont give a @#%&... whoever you are GO TO HELL!!!

In comments on a post showing the complaint Perkins wrote: ...shes actually removed herself from my Facebook little NAZI scumbag liar that she is but as I said shell keep!!!.

When questioned by the PCC, Perkins said she stood by her comments and did not regret doing so, that she had researched it and had backing and felt she and other nurses had unfairly lost their jobs.

Perkins did not attend the tribunal hearing today but told the PCC she would continue to stand her ground and although she was not anti-government, she believed what she had written was backed by science and research.

She had chosen not to be vaccinated after almost dying from a flu vaccination four years ago and did not agree with being vaccinated against her will.

Perkins was no longer a registered nurse and described herself on Facebook as a digital creator.

Lawyer for the PCC, Matthew McClelland submitted Perkins conduct amounted to professional misconduct and deserved disciplinary sanction to protect the public, set a deterrent, and set appropriate professional standards.

...identifying herself as a nurse and making overt attempts to influence the choices of others through the use of highly emotive language, extreme claims made without evidence, and disparaging and offensive comments made about other health professionals are of great concern, McClelland said.

He noted Perkins comments were made when there was fear and uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccine roll-out.

Perkins alleged, with no evidence to support her claims, that GP clinics were not reporting vaccine adverse events of deaths, that unborn babies were dying, and that people were dying of suicide due to the impact of the vaccine and not of Covid.

All of these claims were designed to incite fear and deter people from receiving the vaccine.

McClelland noted the highly inflammatory language such as, sheer evil, inhumane, tyranny and yet that evil will persist, standing against the evil that looms and forced into something that is surely NOT of God!!.

While the PCC recognised Perkins right to freedom of expression, McClelland said that must yield in the context of professional responsibility.

He submitted her statements were unquestionably the type of excessively aggressive or scandalous conduct that breached her obligations as a registered nurse.

Perkins audience was likely to attach more weight to her words because she was a registered nurse and her comments about one complainant being a little Nazi scumbag liar were reprehensible and could be interpreted as threats, McClelland said.

He said the conduct was both negligent and malpractice because it was deliberate and brought the profession into disrepute and the tribunal agreed, finding the charges against Perkins made out.

It ordered a 12-month suspension and censure, and on return to nursing Perkins must disclose the decision to employers, and complete a course on professional ethics and cultural safety. Costs of $8000 were awarded against her.

Natalie Akoorie is a senior reporter based in Waikato and covering crime and justice nationally. Natalie first joined the Herald in 2011 and has been a journalist in New Zealand and overseas for 28 years, more recently covering health, social issues, local government, and the regions.

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Nurses anti-vax posts designed to deter others from getting Covid-19 vaccine - New Zealand Herald

Capital Region researchers awarded $3.9 million dollar grant to study long-COVID19

by Emani Payne

Long Covid Research (WRGB)

While the COVID-19 pandemic and the virus in general may seem like a thing of the past for many, its never left the minds of millions of Americans who are still struggling with long covid every day.

Its a far-reaching problem that Albany Medical College Professor Dr. Ariel Jaitovich and his team of researchers are working to better identify and understand.

Those lingering symptoms including things like shortness of breath, loss of smell and brain fog, are now identified as long covid.

Dr. Jaitovich and his team were recently awarded a 3.9 million dollar grant from the National Institutues of Health (NIH) to study long covid.

We havent been able to identify a blood test that can specifically make the diagnosis of long covid. We are conducting a study that is intended to identify substances in the blood called biomarkers in lab tests that can define objectively that a patient has long covid, said Jaitovich.

The team is also working to develop a way to better monitor disease progress, to more clearly identify if a patient is improving or getting worse. The study, which is still in its early stages, has already recruited hundreds of participants, desperate to find relief.

Saying this work is just the first step in hopefully one day slowing the virus down for good.

"Its extraordinarily difficult to investigate this disease on a large scale and without investigating the disease, its very difficult to understand it and potentially cure it," said Jaitovich.

The team is also partnering up with scientists at the University of Wisconsin on this research.

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Capital Region researchers awarded $3.9 million dollar grant to study long COVID - WRGB

CLEVELAND, Ohio The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio continued a downward trend for the fifth week, from 7,468 last week to 7,197 this week.

In early January, weekly case numbers hit 15,046.

At least 1,275,978 Ohioans have received the updated one-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an increase of 11,638 people from the prior week, the state reported. This represents 10.9% of the states population.

The total COVID-19 case count since early 2020 in Ohio has reached 3,705,349.

There were 236 Ohioans newly hospitalized in the last week, raising the total since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to 149,643. There were 12 people admitted into the ICU, bringing the total since 2020 to 15,722.

There were also 91 Ohioans who died from COVID-19-related issues, raising the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 43,608. Death reporting sometimes lags by weeks.

Feb. 8 recap

* Total reported cases: 3,705,349, up 7,197.

* Total individuals with updated vaccine: 1,275,978, up 11,638.

* Total reported deaths: 43,608, up 91.

* Total reported hospitalizations: 149,643, up 236.

* Total reported ICU admissions: 15,722, up 12.

Feb. 1 recap

* Total reported cases: 3,698,152, up 7,468.

* Total individuals with updated vaccine: 1,264,340, up 14,589.

* Total reported deaths: 43,517, up 73.

* Total reported hospitalizations: 149,407, up 247.

* Total reported ICU admissions: 15,710, up 13.

Julie Washington covers healthcare for cleveland.com. Read previous stories at this link.

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Weekly Covid-19 cases drop for 5th week: Coronavirus update for Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 - cleveland.com

According to the results of a new survey given to Vietnamese patients and published in Frontiers in Public Health yesterday, 76% people who reported mild COVID-19 infections in the previous 6 months said they now experience insomnia, with 22.8% of those respondents saying their insomnia is severe.

The study was based on surveys given to 1,056 adults who had been diagnosed as having COVID-19 in the past 6 months. All study participants were reached through a national Vietnamese register of confirmed COVID cases. No one was hospitalized for their COVID infections, and participants reported no history of insomnia or psychiatric conditions.

Surveys on a range of symptoms following COVID-19 were completed from June to September 2022. In addition to demographic information, participants were asked about the duration and severity of COVID-19 infections, anxiety, depression, or stress symptoms.

Patients were also asked to compare how well they slept, how long they slept, and how easy it was to fall asleep in the previous 2 weeks, compared to before contracting COVID-19.

Among the 76.1% who said they now experienced insomnia, half reported new and frequent episodes of waking up at night since contracting COVID-19. One-third said they experienced difficulty falling asleep.

The 76% figure is much higher than reports of insomnia among the general population, which is between 10% and 20%, the authors note.

The authors found no correlation between initial COVID symptom severity and insomnia. In fact, even people who reported asymptomatic COVID-19 infections reported subsequent insomnia. The researchers also found no correlation between COVID duration and insomnia.

If you experience insomnia after COVID-19, don't think that is normal.

Study participants who saw an increase in depressive or anxiety symptoms following COVID were most at risk for insomnia. Participants with high depression scores (odds ratio [OR], 3.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.87 to 6.34) or anxiety scores (OR, 3.93; 95% CI, 2.52 to 6.13) had more than triple the odds of developing insomnia.

Correlations between insomnia, depression, and anxiety were strong to moderate in the study, the authors said, suggesting a role for pharmacologic treatment of insomnia following COVID-19.

"Our findings add to current literature on insomnia after COVID-19 infection and underscores the crucial need to implement comprehensive interventions to address the psychological and sleep health of COVID-19 patients after recovery," the authors concluded.

In a Frontiers press release on the study, first author Huong T. X. Hoang, MD, of Phenikaa University, Vietnam, said the study confirmed what he had found anecdotally as a sleep researcher: More people reported insomnia after minor COVID-19 infections.

"I received many questions and complaints from relatives, friends, and colleagues about their sleep disturbances after recovering from COVID-19," said Hoang. "If you experience insomnia after COVID-19, don't think that is normal."

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Insomnia common months after even mild COVID-19 - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Japanese researchers studying functional decline among patients aged 80 years and older hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 Omicron pneumonia find significantly higher rates of decline in those also infected with bacteria than in those with primary viral pneumonia 1 year later, though both groups had substantial levels of impairment.

The study, published yesterday in Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, was conducted at five Japanese hospitals and clinics from December 2021 to August 2022. Attending physicians calculated the difference in activities-of-daily-living (ADL) scores from hospital admission to release.

"During the period when the ancestral [SARS-CoV-2] strain, Alpha variant, and Delta variant were dominant, bacterial coinfection and secondary bacterial infection in patients with COVID-19 were low," the study authors wrote. "In the Omicron period, however, the pattern of pneumonia changed from primarily viral pneumonia to pneumonia mixed with bacteria, mainly aspiration pneumonia."

Of the 891 patients with pneumonia due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, 303 had primary viral pneumonia and 326 patients had pneumonia mixed with bacteria (primarily aspiration pneumonia).

Among patients with primary viral pneumonia, 112 cases were sequenced as the Omicron BA.1 subvariant, 70 were BA.2, and 121 cases were BA.5. Among patients with pneumonia mixed with bacteria, 118 cases were caused by Omicron BA.1, 72 were BA.2, and 136 were BA.5.The proportion of subvariants and vaccination status was the same between the two groups.

Functional decline rates at hospital release were significantly higher in patients with primary viral pneumonia than in those with pneumonia mixed with bacteria (52.3% vs 40.3%).

It is necessary to consider early rehabilitation and treatment in elderly patients even when the predominant strain is the Omicron variant.

But by 1 year, 139 of 171 (81.3%) patients with pneumonia mixed with bacteria who experienced reduced physical function at hospital release still showed functional decline. In comparison, 20.5% of patients with primary viral pneumonia had functional decline at 1 year. Among the Omicron subvariant groups, functional decline rates at hospital release and 1year later were similar in both pneumonia groups.

The researchers noted thatthe bacterial-coinfection group had higher rates of cerebrovascular disease and chronic kidney disease than those with primary viral pneumonia. "Thus, it is quite possible that comorbid conditions affect the physical functional decline in elderly COVID-19 patients with bacterial coinfection," they wrote.

Because functional decline during or after hospitalization is tied to adverse health outcomes, prolonged hospital stays, and more episodes of early hospital admission, the authors wrote, "it is necessary to consider early rehabilitation and treatment in elderly patients even when the predominant strain is the Omicron variant."

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Elderly with Omicron pneumonia and bacterial infection often have functional decline a year later - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

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Spokane plant expansion looks to accelerate production of life-saving COVID-19 medicines - KXLY Spokane

Seven of 10 kindergarteners in Cincinnati Public Schoolsthe vast majority racial minority studentswere deemed not ready to learn in the classroom in 2021, confirming the damaging effects of COVID-19 pandemicdisruptions, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics.

Before the pandemic, 60% were not ready for kindergarten, the findings revealed.

A team led by Cincinnati Children's Hospital researchers analyzed the scores of 4,755 kindergarteners who took the state-required Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) in 2018, 2019, or 2021 (no test was administered in 2020 owing to pandemic restrictions). They did the same with 3,204 matched children with electronic health record data from the hospital's primary care clinics.

The KRA measures skills in early reading and math, gross and fine motor tasks, self-regulation, and attention through 27 teacher-administered questions and tasks.The assessments are scored on a scale of 0 to 300, with 270 considered passing. Average participant age was 5.6 years, 50.3% were boys, 82.5% were Black, 7.6% were White, and 2.9% were Hispanic.

"Early experiences, relationships, and socioeconomic conditions are foundational for early brain development, school readiness, and health outcomes," the study authors wrote. "Racial and socioeconomic opportunity gapsin the skills necessary to learn and succeed in school (including language, preliteracy, math and socioemotional skills such as executive function and self-regulation) start before kindergarten."

They noted that fewer families, especially Black families, used early childhood education (ECE) services and developmental therapies during pandemic disruptions. "Many parents chose not to enroll their children in ECE out of fear of COVID-19 and difficulties navigating the arduous enrollment process," they wrote.

In total, 817 parents (25.5%) reported reading to their child 0 or 1 day a week at least once during the study period, and 865 children (27.0%) didn't pass the age-appropriate, parent-completed Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) screening questionnaire at least once. Overall, 2,675 children (83.5%) had Medicaid coverage most of the time, 384 (12.0%) experienced food insecurity, and 855 (26.7%) lived with housing insecurity.

Average KRA scores among the primary care patients were significantly lower (260.0; 214 of 998 [21.4%]) in 2021 than in 2019 (262.7; 317 of 1,114 [28.5%]) and 2018 (263.5; 351 of 1,092 [32.1%]), a pattern also seen in the larger school district.

Only 30% of students were deemed kindergarten-ready in 2021, a significant drop from 40% in 2018. Primary care patients displayed a similar pattern, with 21.5% ready for kindergarten in 2021, compared with 32% in 2018.

A final linear regression model involving 2,883 participants identified risk factors for a failing KRA score as a low ASQ score after 18 months of age (6.7 points below average score of 270.8); Medicaid coverage (5.7 points), Hispanic ethnicity (3.8), need for an interpreter (3.6), 2021 testing year (3.5), male sex (2.7), rare parental reading to child (1.5), and food insecurity (1.2). Race, caregiver depression, housing insecurity, and difficulty receiving benefits weren't linked to KRA scores.

"This means that 7 of every 10 children in the Cincinnati Public Schools were considered not ready to learn when they entered kindergarten during the pandemic," lead author Kristen Copeland, MD, said in a hospital news release. "It will take intense effort on multiple levels to help these children overcome this disruption."

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70% of kindergarteners didn't pass readiness test in pandemic, study estimates - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

A federal appeals court in New Jersey ruled Monday that residents refusal to wear face masks at a school board meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic is not protected as a free speech right.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in two similar cases that stemmed from lawsuits against officials in Freehold and Cranford, N.J. The plaintiffs refused to wear masks during public meetings and say they were retaliated against by the school board, The Associated Press reported.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal, state, and local governments scrambled to implement policies to control the spread of the disease. These measureswhich included mandates to wear face masks in public indoor spaces such as schools, businesses, and restaurantsspawned skepticism and debate, the court wrote in its ruling Monday. Some objectors voices their discontent online, some turned to their elected representatives, and some asked the courts to intervene.

The court sent one case, by George Falcone, back to a lower court and said in the other lawsuit, by Gwyneth Murray-Nolan, that the plaintiff failed to show she was retaliated against.

While the cases were dismissed for different reasons, the court ruled that like all courts to address this issue, refusing to wear a protective mask required by health and safety orders during a public health emergency is not protected as a First Amendment right.

Skeptics are free toand didvoice their opposition through multiple means, but disobeying a masking requirement is not one of them, the ruling said. One could not, for example, refuse to pay taxes to express the belief that taxes are theft. Nor could one refuse to wear a motorcycle helmet as a symbolic protest against a state law requiring them.

New Jerseys statewide order for public mask wearing in schools ended in March 2022, shortly after the incidents in the lawsuits, the AP noted.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

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Not wearing mask during COVID-19 outbreak isn't protected by free speech, court rules - Yahoo News

From February 2-7, 2024, the City of Port Arthur Health Department is reporting 35 COVID-19-positive cases for Port Arthur, Groves, Nederland, and Port Neches.

Please contact the PAHD for questions at 409-983-8800 (main line), or (409) 983-8832. Staff are happy to help in any way!

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News Flash PAHD Reports 35 Positive COVID-19-Cases from Fe - City of Port Arthur