Last month, the Food and Drug Administration approved an updated Covid vaccine that specifically targets the dominant BA.5 subvariant. A few days later, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reviewed and recommended these vaccines as boosters (from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older, and from Moderna for people ages 18 years and older). Federal health officials have expressed optimism that this booster could provide extended protection, transitioning us to an annual Covid vaccine updated for current variants, similar to, and administered alongside, yearly flu shots.
Although the U.S. has 4.25% of the worlds population, it has now borne approximately 16% of worldwide deaths from Covid-19.
But whether many will receive the updated vaccine remains in doubt, in no small part because it arrives at a time when much of the U.S. has decided it is simply done with the pandemic.
Few schools will maintain mask mandates or surveillance testing this fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shortened the isolation period for Covid illness to five days, even though many studies suggest high rates of infectiousness beyond this window. The U.S. vaccination rate currently sits below the average for high-income countries. Successful administration rates have declined with each successive available booster. As school resumes, a minority of younger children have received Covid vaccines. And government sponsorship of Covid vaccines will fall off this autumn, a move that will decrease access, particularly among those without a regular source of care and without adequate insurance coverage.
With the current high cost of over-the-counter tests, the uncertain status of future Covid testing supply, the absence of test-to-return policies, the widespread removal of masking and distancing guidelines, the high transmissibility and the immune escape of more recent strains, conditions are ripe for ongoing surges in transmission.
Our done-ness a combination of mental fatigue, frustration, denial, apathy, unearned optimism and callousness across individuals, organizations and policymakers has little to do with clear metrics of success: The pandemic is marching along quite robustly. Although the U.S. has 4.25% of the worlds population, it has now borne approximately 16% of worldwide deaths from Covid-19. It is the primary cause of the sharp drop in U.S. life expectancy over the past two years. This summer, we reached a bleak plateau of around 40,000 hospitalizations each day and 500 daily Covid deaths, with more than 30,000 deaths between June and August.
Alongside the severe outcomes of acute illness, were seeing a steady emergence of disturbing data on the prolonged disability that can occur even if (and this is key) the initial illness is only mild. Thus, wildly rampant mild disease is difficult to celebrate. And metrics earlier believed to herald the end of the pandemic phase of Covid, such as its predictability, are not yet in sight.
Pandemics are curbed by caring and by persistent urgency. The lack of these may cost us as a nation in many ways.
First, dismissing the pandemic is callous dismissal of those most affected. Every time we peel back protections against Covid and other infectious diseases, we leave people performing essential in-person work along with racial and ethnic minority populations, the elderly, and those who are disabled, immunocompromised or poor to bear the largest burden of disease and death, while having the least amount of sick leave, access to health care and therapies, and financial reserve to buffer a period of illness.
Inequities, already drastically widened by the pandemic, will widen further. And heaping the burdens of the virus on groups that have been socially and economically marginalized has grave long-term consequences for the whole population.
Viruses just keep busting the myth that we're discreet beings, that we're not connected to each other, sociologist and journalist Steven Thrasher told me in a phone call earlier this summer. They keep reminding us that we're not alone in this. Therefore we can't act for our self-interest. We have to act in an interdependent way.
Pandemics are curbed by caring, and by persistent urgency. The lack of these may cost us as a nation in many ways.
The existence of long Covid also defies the national desire to dismiss Covid. Ignoring it has been feasible thus far because knowledge gaps, the recency of the disease and its protean manifestations have made it underdiagnosed, understudied and untreated. As Covid cases run rampant, long Covid which affects a steady, significant percentage of those who are infected will be increasingly visible: Already, prolonged post-Covid symptoms are currently keeping 2 to 4 million people out of work. Without appreciation of the gravity of this situation, we will remain in a scientific void that abandons some to despair and others to quackery.
Further, maintaining vigilance about managing Covid and its aftermath will determine our future with respect to other infectious diseases and future epidemics and pandemics. One spillover effect of the misinformation that proliferated around Covid vaccines was to reduce influenza vaccine uptake in some populations (ahead of an upcoming flu season that promises to be severe). Meanwhile, the emergence of polio in the U.S. this year was made possible by pockets of low vaccination rates, and disruptions in usual care and supply chain problems have led to a worldwide reduction in routine childhood vaccination rates. Regaining ground on all vaccines must occur alongside efforts to increase booster uptake, an additional challenge to a depleted public health and health care workforce, especially without the force of public and political will.
Our nation is facing dual realities: One, that we have prematurely declared the pandemic is over; and two, having done so threatens to exacerbate the ongoing suffering of the pandemic and other health threats.
In a country now numb to infection health risks and the sheer devastation of the pandemic, we must yet find a way to maintain a collective sensibility about measures that will blunt the impact of ongoing threats to our health, including the structural investments that relate to all epidemics and pandemics and are the foundational work of public health.
Whether we are heading toward the next surge or the beginning of a true post-Covid-pandemic era, we cannot afford to be this done.
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There are almost three million missing neuter/spay surgeries in the US due to the COVID pandemic, researchers report.
Along with veterinarian and staff shortages, the missing surgeries are contributing to widespread overcrowding at pet shelters.
The findings come from a new study of over 200 clinics from 2019 to 2021.
Progress made over decades to control overpopulation of dogs and cats through high-volume spay-neuter surgeries is now at risk thanks to the ongoing pandemic, the researchers say.
The impactfelt both at community shelters and veterinary clinicsincludes sharp declines in spay-neuter surgeries after the initial pandemic-triggered lockdowns, followed by staffing shortages in clinics and shelters, overcrowding, and lagging pet adoption rates.
All of these problems are compounded by a nationwide shortage of veterinarians, which has been felt even more acutely in shelters and spay-neuter clinics, according to the study in Frontiers of Veterinary Science.
The study focused on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volume of surgical procedures performed by spay-neuter clinics, says lead author Simone Guerios, a clinical assistant professor of shelter medicine at the University of Florida.
The team drew its research from 212 clinics nationally, all of which make use of the cloud-based clinic management software program Clinic HQ, which is specifically designed for facilities that focus on spay-neuter and preventive health care services.
The high level of spay-neuter achieved over the past five decades is the single most important driver of reduced pet overpopulation and euthanasia in animal shelters, Guerios says. The rise in subsidized spay-neuter access helped drive the euthanasia of shelter pets in the United States from an estimated 13.5 million in 1973 to 1.5 million in 2019.
Using 2019 as a baseline, the researchers aimed to determine the impact of the pandemic on the volume of spay-neuter procedures performed in 2020-2021 at the 212 clinics, which collectively performed more than 1 million surgeries per year and were on track to increase surgeries by 5% over the previous year.
But in the 24 months from January 2020 through December 2021, 190,818 fewer surgeries were performed at the clinics studied than expected had 2019 levels been maintained, the researchers found.
If a similar pattern was experienced by other spay-neuter programs in the United States, it would suggest there is a deficit of more than 2.7 million spay-neuter surgeries that animal welfare organizations have yet to address, says coauthor Julie Levy, professor of shelter medicine education.
All the impacts of the pandemic combined have the potential to undermine progress made in controlling pet populations and euthanasia in shelters, Levy adds.
Currently, shelters are in crisis mode, with overcrowding and lagging adoptions, Guerios says. Pet overpopulation seems to be increasing, leading to increased shelter euthanasia for the first time in many years.
Source: University of Florida
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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to definitively end pandemic-era tenant protections at the end of the year.
The decision means that after Dec. 31, many renters in the nations largest county will no longer be protected from eviction if they cannot pay rent due to economic hardship related to COVID-19.
Given the resources we put into play the financial resources to help both tenants and landlords to collect back rent it's time for us to begin moving forward, said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who presented the plan for a Dec. 31 phase-out.
That Dec. 31 date isnt new. Under the current rules passed by county leaders in January, COVID-19 tenant protections are only scheduled to last through Dec. 31. However, the county has repeatedly extended the protections as previous deadlines approached.
Tuesdays vote is the first to explicitly set Dec. 31 as the defined end date for the countys pandemic tenant protections. Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis cast the two dissenting votes, saying it was too soon to commit to ending all pandemic tenant protections.
I think the headline will be: This board must love homeless people. They are going to make so many more of them, said Supervisor Kuehl.
Many homelessness policy experts credit local eviction protections and bans on rent increases with reducing the number of Angelenos falling into homelessness during the pandemic.
Last week, the regions latest homeless count found a 4.1% rise in homelessness in L.A. County over the last two years. That number was significantly lower than the 26% increase observed between 2018 and 2020, before COVID-19 tenant protections were enacted.
The countys tenant protection efforts during the pandemic dont just apply to evictions for those unable to pay due to COVID-19. In unincorporated parts of L.A. County, they also guard against rent hikes in rent-controlled housing. And they have allowed tenants to add additional people and pets to their households during the pandemic without fear of eviction. With Tuesdays vote, all of that is slated to end on Dec. 31.
Tenant advocates worry that thousands of low-income renters who suffered job loss or the death of a family breadwinner will be vulnerable to losing their housing at the start of the new year. Theyre calling for the county to enact permanent tenant protections before lifting the COVID-19 rules.
We can't go back to the way things were before the pandemic, said Carla De Paz, the director of organizational strategy for Community Power Collective, a nonprofit aligned with the Keep L.A. Housed coalition. Folks really need permanent protections to stay housed.
De Paz said moving forward, theyre seeking rights for tenants such as:
Without new permanent protections, De Paz said L.A. will soon see a return to previous spikes in homelessness.
We have a housing crisis. We have a homelessness crisis in L.A. We can't ignore that, she said. We need to have a systemic approach to it and a systemic response. Doing whatever we can to keep people housed right now is critical.
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For many months, landlords have called for the immediate cancellation of local tenant protections. They argue the economy has recovered, COVID-19 vaccines are available and most other pandemic restrictions have relaxed but rules against evictions and raising rents remain.
Californias rent relief program has compensated many landlords who lost rental income during the pandemic. A state program called Housing is Key has paid out more than $2.4 billion in rent relief throughout L.A. County, with most of that money going directly to landlords.
However, that program ended in April. Its not clear if landlords can receive compensation for more recent rent debt. And some small landlords in L.A. have not received relief for rental income lost during the pandemic.
Patty Leon rents out a single-family home she owns in La Puente, and supported the vote to end COVID-19 eviction protections. She said eviction restrictions ended up costing her tens of thousands of dollars, because she could not remove a non-paying tenant against whom she initiated eviction proceedings in Nov. 2019.
As a landlord, you do your best to take care of everything, pay your taxes, pay the property insurance and follow all the rules just to have your state turn your back on you, Leon said.
The tenants non-payment of rent predated the pandemic and had nothing to do with COVID-19, Leon said, but it took her until Oct. 2020 to get the L.A. County Sheriffs Department to carry out a formal eviction. She blames the pandemic eviction rules for the delay, and said she was barred from receiving rent relief due to the tenants ineligibility.
Where is my protection during this time? Leon asked. I have bills. I have a life that I have to live. I need food, shelter and medical attention just like tenants do. But if you remove my income, I can't do those things.
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Tuesdays vote will apply to unincorporated parts of L.A. County, as well as any cities within the county that do not have their own stronger tenant protections in place.
The vote will not apply to the city of Los Angeles, which has rules that continue to limit evictions and ban rent hikes due to COVID-19. The citys rules currently have no end date, but city leaders are also mulling proposals to begin phasing out protections starting on Dec. 31.
COVID-19 tenant protections have already gone away in many other parts of California. Statewide eviction protections lapsed in July.
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What questions do you have about housing in Southern California?
Within days of one another, the Australian and New Zealand governments have announced the abrupt ending of daily COVID reporting, sharply curtailing their populations access to information about rates of infection, hospitalisations, vaccinations and deaths. Both countries will move to a stripped-back weekly report.
The change has been made as the fatality and case rates in both countries for 2022 dwarf those of the first two years of the pandemic, after their governments abolished successful public health measures and turned to a profit-driven let it rip program.
Under these conditions, the shift in reporting, declared without a hint of democratic discussion, much less a popular mandate, has the character of an internationally-coordinated conspiracy against working people.
It is of global significance, marking the overturn of the very last vestiges of a coordinated, public health response to the pandemic in any advanced capitalist country.
In Australia, the change to weekly reporting was quietly made last Friday, and was the subject of only a handful of cursory and uncritical reports in the domestic media. In New Zealand, Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the end of daily reporting yesterday, without any forewarning.
The decision has no scientific or medical basis. It has been sharply condemned by principled epidemiologists in both countries as an attack on the populations right to know about the still unfolding medical emergency and the ability of public health experts to track it.
The governments, however, are simply not interested. Instead, they are openly proclaiming that business interests are the supreme priority.
Ardern bluntly stated: This is the time when finally, rather than feeling that COVID dictates what happens to us, our lives and our future, we take control back, as we continue to drive economic activity and our recovery. In other words, all public health measures, however limited, must be dispensed with to ensure full workforce participation in a bid to drive up production and corporate profits.
In line with this program, Ardern announced the end of all previous mask mandates, except in health and aged care settings. People who live with a COVID-positive individual will no longer be required to isolate, in a blow to the most basic infection control, while the last vaccination mandates, including for health workers, have been abolished.
Australias Labor government has similarly slashed the isolation time for COVID-infected people from seven to five days. The move, which experts have warned will result in up to half of all COVID cases mingling in the community while infectious, is transparently aimed at keeping workers on the job, even if they are carrying a potentially deadly virus. Masks will also no longer be required on domestic flights.
The clear purpose of the suppression of information is to promote the fraud that the pandemic is over, or at least the worst is behind us, to justify these dangerous measures.
But nothing could be further from the truth. In Australia, September 9, the last day of daily reporting, was the sixth deadliest of the entire pandemic, with 133 fatalities confirmed across the country. August witnessed the most deaths of any month, with 2,056 people losing their lives to the virus.
In New Zealand, deaths have soared from fewer than 30 late last year to almost 2,000. That has repeatedly placed the nation of five million people near the top of the list of global per capita fatalities, while the coronavirus has become the countrys leading cause of death.
The Australian and New Zealand governments are following a blueprint laid out by the Biden administration in the US on behalf of the major US banks and corporations.
In February, the US Department of Health and Human Services ended its system for hospitals to report daily COVID-19 deaths to the federal government.
At the time, the World Socialist Web Site was the only publication to draw attention to the change and to highlight its far-reaching significance in the suppression of knowledge about the devastation wrought by the pandemic. Business Insider called the WSWSs coverage misleading but has never issued a correction, despite the end of daily COVID-19 reporting throughout almost the entire United States. All but four US states have ended their own daily reporting, making it impossible to chart fatalities on a day-by-day basis.
Britain announced the ending of its own daily reporting system the very same month as in the United States. Similar measures are underway in a host of countries and jurisdictions. In Canada, for instance, Ontario and several other provinces have already abolished their daily reporting.
The shift in Australia and New Zealand is particularly notable, because of the relative success of both countries in limiting deaths and infections earlier in the pandemic. They are thus a microcosm of the gulf between a scientifically-grounded response to the pandemic, even with limitations, and the naked herd immunity policy that both countries have since adopted.
The Australian state and federal governments always rejected a program to eliminate the virus, on the grounds that it would be too costly. They were nevertheless compelled under pressure from key sections of workers and health experts to institute safety measures, including lockdowns, which, notwithstanding a host of pro-business exemptions, repeatedly stamped out the virus. New Zealand was the only country in the world outside of China to consistently pursue elimination.
In the first two years of the pandemic, there were fewer than 400,000 infections in Australia and deaths stood at 2,239. For extended periods, safety measures ended all transmission of the virus.
As a consequence of the full reopening of the economy last December, those figures have skyrocketed to 10.1 million infections and 14,357 deaths. Because of the crashing of the testing system, a substantial majority of the countrys 25 million people have likely been affected this year. Long COVID, a set of serious conditions associated with even mild cases, has debilitated up to 10 percent of the workforce.
In New Zealand, there had been fewer than 5,000 total infections and 30 deaths before the Ardern government overturned its elimination program in October last year. Now, official infections are at 1.76 million and deaths almost 2,000.
The transformation is a warning of what would occur if China dispensed with its elimination strategy, as has been demanded by the major imperialist governments, corporations and media. Hundreds of thousands or millions would die in the country of 1.4 billion, joining the estimated 20 million who have perished around the world since the pandemic began.
The protracted assault on Chinas elimination program is not only because of its impact on the activities of global finance and big business, but also because it demonstrates that there is an alternative to the homicidal policies of herd immunity implemented everywhere else.
The developments in Australia and New Zealand are also of note because in both countries the untrammeled spread of the virus is being presided over by a social-democratic government.
In New Zealand, Ardern, presented in the media as a saint-like figure, brushes away the mass infection and death her government has unleashed, instead proclaiming the all-importance of economic activity. In Australia, Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says nothing about the record daily fatalities, and pledges to business that there will never be a return to lockdowns.
This line goes hand in hand with the Labor governments presiding over Australia and New Zealands ever greater integration into the US confrontations with Russia and China, threatening world war, and the implementation of budget austerity and attacks on the wages, jobs and conditions of workers.
The let it rip program underscores not only that the social-democratic parties have completely abandoned any pretense of representing working people, and have become the most aggressive proponents of corporate interests, it also demonstrates that the fight to end the pandemic and eliminate the deadly virus will not be carried out by capitalist governments or in one country alone.
Instead, what is required is an international fight for the scientific measures required to progressively halt transmission and to finally end the pandemic. The international working class, whose interests are in health and life, not profit, is the only social force capable of carrying this out. The fight against the pandemic must be inscribed upon the banner of its resurgent strikes, protests and class battles.
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The working class must have a political voice, which the Australian ruling class is seeking to stifle with this legislation.
Pfizer and Moderna are each testing flu shots made with the same mRNA technology used with their highly-safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, Bloomberg news reported on Wednesday.
The trials will take place over the course of the upcoming flu season and the companies hope to have the new vaccines approved and available by late next year or early 2024. Trials taking place in multiple countries will involve more than 50,000 people.
The hope is that the mRNA technology, which allows vaccines to be produced at a faster pace, will lead to a more effective flu shot.
New Delhi: Cases of common cold and flu (influenza) are on the rise. However, because both viral respiratory illnesses cause similar, often overlapping symptoms, distinguishing between them can be difficult.
Dr Agam Vora, Chest Physician, Advanced Multi Specialty Hospitals, Vile Parle (West). Assoc. Hon. & In-Charge, Department of Chest & TB, Dr R.N. Cooper Municipal General Hospital said, "With seasonal changes and sudden shifts in the weather during the monsoon season, we witness a rise of various viral infections ranging from the flu to common cold. It is especially important to recognizethe differences across conditions to effectively treat them and speed up the process of recovery. Further, to avoid these seasonal infections, understanding and adopting preventive measures are also important to keep people healthyand protected."
It is critical for individuals to be able to quickly determine whether they are suffering from a cold or the flu so that they can seek the appropriate medical attention. To distinguish the two, there are a few notable differences to keep in mind.
Here are four key differences between a cold and the flu:While both spread easily from person to person through the air, personal contact and bodily discharge (like saliva or from fluids from coughing or sneezing), they are caused by different viruses. The flu is caused by different strains or types of the influenza virus specifically, while a common cold can be derived from multiple viruses, the most common one being rhinovirus. To understand if an individual is experiencing the flu, consulting a doctor is recommended. They will assess one's symptoms and might recommend getting tested to determine the nature of the virus.
Symptoms common to both conditions include body aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat, cough and nasal congestion or a runny or stuffy nose. However, the flu typically involves high grade fever as well (often 101 degrees Fahrenheit or higher), unlike a cold. Another distinguishing symptom is chills (shaking or shivering), which are common with influenza but not with colds. And overall, cold symptoms are usually milder than flu symptoms.
There are also differences in the onset of conditions, with a cold's symptoms starting more gradually, while the flu's symptoms begin more abruptly and rapidly escalate. Cold symptoms tend to improve after a week. In the case of the flu, it can gradually improve over two to five days, but effects can also last over a week.
The flu can also lead to more serious complications when compared to a cold. Influenza can become a serious condition leading to hospitalization, especially amongst at-risk individuals with comorbidities, including lung or heart problems, diabetes or hypertension. Lung infections or pneumonia are also associated complications.
Understanding these distinctions is critical for guiding needed care. At the same time, as the flu season begins this year, it is critical to remember that there are preventive measures that can be taken. As a result, recognising the steps to avoid these conditions this season can be beneficial.
As per the WHO, vaccination is one of the key steps to prevent flu infections. This is recommended annually as immune protection from the flu shot can decline over time. Annual shots, in accordance with WHO recommendations, enhance protection against the evolving influenza virus, which changes its structure every year. Meanwhile, there is no vaccine against the common cold, but maintaining good hygiene is key to avoid it.
Dr. Jejoe Karan Kumar, Director, Medical Affairs at Abbott said, "By educating the population on the need for a range of preventive measures against respiratory illnesses, including vaccination, we can empower people to protect themselves and others from such conditions. This can prevent unnecessary complications down the line, particularly for children, the elderly and individuals with underlying conditions."
Other common preventive measures for both the flu and the common cold, in addition to influenza vaccination, include washing hands more frequently (for at least 20 seconds), limiting close contact with anyone who has cold or flu symptoms, and avoiding touching one's eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. Take precautions to avoid infection this season, but also be aware of the warning signs so you can seek appropriate care in a timely manner.
For fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the teams 54-20 drubbing at the hands of the rival Winnipeg Blue Bombers during Saturdays Banjo Bowl was a hellish nightmare.
That result didnt hold a candle to the horror taking place behind closed doors in the Riders dressing room.
It started with walking into the locker room and it looked like a triage in there, quarterback Cody Fajardo told the Regina media post-game. The amount of guys that were sick, throwing up, coming out both ends; it was pretty ridiculous.
Shortly before warm-ups, word broke that the Riders were experiencing what was believed to be an outbreak of stomach flu, placing the status of several players in jeopardy. The effect the illness would have on the game was not known at that time but as the exhausted and dehydrated team left the field, there was no downplaying the ravages of the virus.
For head coach Craig Dickenson, the first sign of trouble began shortly after dinner on Friday night. Having just enjoyed a delicious burrito, something felt off.
I walked home at about nine oclock, I knew something was not right. So I thought maybe I got something bad and I went to the bathroom and threw up, he recalled at the podium. But then once I did that for the fourth and fifth times in the evening, I knew it was a little more than just food poisoning.
A call to the teams training staff revealed that he was far from the only Rider in gastrointestinal distress. While Dickenson managed to recover somewhat overnight, others were not so lucky, including backup quarterback Mason Fine.
Mason was my roommate and they had to move me rooms, Fajardo said. He was down pretty bad and I got to watch it firsthand and it did not look pleasant.
Fine was the first player to be officially ruled out for Saturdays game and the Riders were able to arrange for third-stringer Jake Dolegala to fly in last-minute as a replacement. As the situation grew more dire, other reinforcements were not so lucky.
Team president Craig Reynolds was enlisted to drive defensive back Blace Brown and offensive lineman Diego Alatorre-Montoya nearly six hours from Regina to Winnipeg in his personal vehicle. The group arrived late to the stadium, reportedly nine minutes after kickoff, but were spared from some of the worst of the situation as a result.
There was about 20 guys that were not feeling right and the bathroom in there, there was only two stalls and it was filled up for every second of the pregame, Fajardo noted, painting a disturbing picture of the locker room.
Dickenson said that roughly 15 Riders players were down with the illness, as well as seven or eight coaches. Along with Fine, the team scratched defensive back Jeremy Clark and fullback James Tuck prior to kickoff but other players were forced to dress to meet roster requirements despite being violently sick.
Four players were simply unable to play from the opening snap, including star receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker, while two more were ruled out by half-time. The offensive line, in particular, was struggling to keep themselves upright.
They were in big trouble. They had like two or three guys out and [right tackle] Kooper Richardson was sick the whole time, he was throwing up in the bus on the drive over and played the whole game, Dickenson acknowledged.
I have a lot of heart for those guys, Fajardo said, grateful to have only been sacked four times. Our entire offensive line was sick and they went out there. They were giving them IVs just to get them on the field. We didnt have anything else to do. There are a lot of guys that gutted that game out for us to perform as well as we did.
The situation affected the Riders game plan right from the beginning. With some players still in the locker room hooked up to fluids, Dickenson wasnt even certain which offensive players would be available to his team at kickoff. He chose to defer the coin toss as a result and the Bombers got off to a hot start on the opening drive, one that never seemed to dissipate.
The defence allowed 415 yards of total offence and 54 points on the evening, while Fajardos group mustered a respectable 251 yards considering the circumstances. Even though he was not one of those making heavy use of IG Fields limited restroom facilities, the quarterback does believe his play was affected by the bug.
I just felt kind of weak out there. My stomach was okay, I didnt puke or anything, but just didnt feel like I quite had the energy and I know a lot of guys felt the same way, Fajardo said. If you guys had seen what the locker room looked like before kickoff, I think you would be proud of how this team fought.
The team believes that the virus was contracted back in Regina, as several practice roster players still at home have reported similar symptoms. The illness is expected to pass through the team in the next 24 to 48 hours and Dickenson is ordering much-needed rest and hydration for his players once they get home, before preparations will begin for next Fridays game against Edmonton.
He credits athletic therapists Ryan Raftis and Trevor Len, along with team physician Dr. Mike Nicholls, for somehow pulling the team through the unprecedented situation.
They did a great job, short staffed and they were up all night to try to take care of all of these guys, including myself, with some pills and just some stuff to try to get us through the night, Dickenson said. They did a great job and we appreciate it.
The latest loosened COVID guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the advent of Omicron boosters make it exceedingly clear: Employers that want workers to return to the office can demand it, and will.
Social-distancing is no longer recommendednor is quarantining if youve been in close contact with someone with the sometimes deadly virus. The suggested quarantine length was lowered to five daysa time at which many people still spread the virus, according to researchers. Protection from Omicron boosters seemingly serves as further permission for employers to compel workers to return. Boosters are expected to provide good protection against severe disease and death from dominant circulating strains BA.4, BA.5, and their offspring. A point often missed: Theyre not expected to provide protection from infection and arent known to prevent long COVID (though they may reduce the likelihood of it).
If it wasnt clear before, it is now: Working from home is no longer a veritable right for those eligible, but a privilege.
In the workplace, at least, COVID seems over this fall.
Even before the August revision to CDCs COVID guidance and the September deployment of Omicron boosters, remote-eligible jobs were on the decline, according to a summer report from Coresignal, a business that compiles data for investment intelligence, lead generation, and trend forecasting, among other purposes.
U.S. remote working peaked during the summer of 2021, when the Delta variant became dominant in the U.S., scuttling the return-to-office plans of many businesses. The percent of jobs available for remote work increased by nearly 67% from June through August of last year, according to the report, which examined more than 40 million public job postings from August 2020 through March of this year.
But remote jobs, as a share of overall jobs, have been on a downward trend this year. As of February, only 10% to 15% of job offerings allowed remote work, the study found. Return-to-work mandates and hybrid policies are on the rise, though some workers are still defying them. As of this summer, slightly less than half of workers whose employers expected them to return to the office were going in five days a week.
But most of those workers arent sheltering at home because theyre concerned about COVID, according to a February Pew Research Center report. They say they prefer to work from homeand some say theyve relocated away from the office altogether.
Those working from home at least some of the time told Pew that doing so allows them to better balance work with their personal lives, and that its made finishing work and meeting deadlines easier, not harder. And nearly 75% say they dont feel the move home has affected their ability to work their way up the ladder.
Plus, pajamas.
Of those who are working at home all or most of the time, only a fifth say theyd be very comfortable returning to the office if they were compelled to, and only a third say theyd be somewhat comfortable. This is likely because most employees who work solely from home are not fully satisfied with coronavirus-prevention measures put in place by their employers, according to Pew.
Its the conclusion weve all been seeking: an end to the nearly three-year scourge called COVID, which has caused nearly 1 billion illnesses and more than 1 million deaths in the U.S. alone.
But theres not a lot ofor anypartying in the streets to be witnessedcertainly not among workers. More than 60% who are employed outside of the home and have a choice do not go into the office, according to Pew.
To be fair, its hard to celebrate a manufactured ending.
The pandemic is far from overeven if, as presidential physician Dr. Anthony Fauci declared earlier this year, its acute phase is. While cases appear to have plateaued to a persistent, endemic level in the U.S., more than 70,000 cases are being diagnosed each dayand this while testing reported to public health authorities is at an all-time low. Deaths still sit around 310 a day, a number society has collectively numbed to over the months and years, or flat-out chosen to ignore.
Wastewater levels of COVIDperhaps the best tell we currently have of the diseases spread in a communitywere recently at or around all-time highs in many U.S. locations, belying testing data.
And were still unsure of whats to come.
The White House this spring warned that the U.S. could see 100 million COVID infections this fall and winter, and potentially a sizable wave of deaths.
Its currently unknown what might fuel this wave, as the current surge of BA.4 and BA.5 and spawns appears to be leveling off. Possible contenders include Omicron spinoffs BA.4.6 and BA.2.75, Dr. Andrew Pekosz, a virologist and professor at the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said Thursday.
Both variants are able to partially evade vaccine immunity but should be recognized by the new booster. Still, more variants are expected this fall, he said.
Pekosz expects a moderate fall/winter surge. When asked about the CDCs projections, a spokesman this week told Fortune that most scenarios indicate that hospitalization rates from COVID-19 infection will be similar to current rates or decline slowly over the next few weeks, though there is, of course, a high level of uncertainty.
As of press time, a White House spokesperson had not replied to a request for an updated fall/winter COVID forecast.
Annual COVID vaccines, much like annual flu shots, will likely be a thing of the near future, White House officials including Fauci and COVID czar Dr. Ashish declared this week. The announcement further bolstered the case that the pandemic has (kind of) drawn to a close, or at least reached a more manageable point.
While the hope is that the vaccines hold up to variants this fall and perhaps even as long as a year, some experts are already warning that the duos expectations are unrealisticif only because vaccine immunity currently only lasts four to six months.
I dont see any evidence for how an annual COVID shot will provide durable protection without better vaccines, Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research and founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said this week in a tweet.
To give a false impression of year-long protection ([against] severe disease and death) with the data in hand is not acceptable, he later added.
Even the flu vaccine doesnt offer year-long protection, Dr. Lee Altenberg, a theoretical biologist and professor at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, pointed out via tweet, citing a 2019 article from Clinical Infectious Diseases that says the flu shots protection lasts only 90 to 160 days at most.
Such a length of protection may generally work with a seasonal virus like the flu. But COVID isnt seasonal, Altenberg and other experts say, with surges primarily driven by new variants.
This annual COVID shot is more urgency-of-normal denial of the pandemics realityan attempt to pretend it is like the fluto gaslight people [that] its the flu, Altenberg tweeted.
China aside, most countries have shifted to an approach of learning to live with the virus and, thus, letting it spread freely. Demands that workers return to the office are a natural extension of this approach in the workplace.
But employers might be careful what they wish for.
Vaccinations dont prevent the spread of COVIDand while they may help reduce the chances of getting long COVID, the jury is still out.
Up to one in five American adults whove lived through COVID-19 are living with long COVID, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis said this summer. Its a condition defined by symptoms that persist or appear long after the initial COVID infection is gone. An estimated 1 million Americans have been forced to leave the labor force because of medical complications from the nascent condition.
I have treated many nurses and physicianssome have not been able to return to the operating room or to the front line or the patient bedside, Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, a physiatrist from the University of Texas Health Science Center, testified before the committee this summer.
Marathon runners who cannot even walk a mile. A young mother who cant run after her children without her heart rate going to 180 and getting short of breath.
Overseas, labor force participation in the U.K. has dropped by around 1.3% for the population aged 16 to 64, a Bank of England representative reportedly said this summer. Similar trends are being seen in the U.S. and abroad.
Employers can learn to live with the virus at the officebut the impact of long COVID on the workforce may come back to haunt them.
This fall and forevermore, one thing is certain. In the words of Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, COVID isnt going anywhere.
The virus can never be eradicated, never be eliminated, he recently told Fortune.
But, welcome back.
No less than 220 commercial poultry farms in the Netherlands were hit by prevention measures to stop the spread of avian influenza. Bird flu was again diagnosed at a poultry farm in Barneveld end of August, in a time the virus usually recedes during summer.
This is a hard blow, says Bart-Jan Oplaat of the Dutch Union of Poultry Farmers. He points out that there are companies in the region that have had no birds since an earlier infection in April. That means no income for more than 6 months.
The most recent outbreak (at one farm) had grave consequences. A transport ban applies to poultry farms within a radius of 10 km around the company to prevent further contamination. Thus far, 220 companies in the heart of the poultry sector are affected as a result.
There are no other poultry farms in the immediate vicinity of the now affected company. The Dutch authorities will, however, keep a close eye on 34 farms within a radius of 3 km over the next 2 weeks.
Bird flu has been diagnosed several times this year in the region, where many poultry farms are traditionally located. For example, a transport ban had been in force in the area since mid-August.
The Dutch farmers Union foreman finds it worrying that the infections persist in the summer. That is very worrying. Every virus disappears due to the sun and heat, but we are dealing with a virus that remains. That has never happened before.
Current avian influenza prevention zones in the Netherlands can be found here.
New research has suggested that recommended vaccinia virus (VACV)-based vaccines will mount a robust immune response against the monkeypox virus observed in the current outbreak (MPXV-2022).
Since the new virus was first observed in early May 2022, over 52,000 cases have been confirmed in more than 90 countries, including Australia, where 124 cases have been diagnosed (confirmed and probable).
The study, co-led by University of Melbourne Professor Matthew McKay, ARC Future Fellow and Honorary Professor at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, and Professor Ahmed Abdul Quadeer, Research Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, was published in the international journalViruses.
Weeks after the new strain emerged, the teamundertook genomic research to find out if the genetic mutations observed in MPXV-2022 may affect vaccine-induced immune responses against monkeypox.
Specific VACV-based vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy against monkeypox viruses in the past and are considered an important outbreak control measure, Professor McKay said.
However, given this is a novel monkeypox virus, we still lack scientific data on how well human immune responses triggered by VACV-based vaccines will recognise MPXV-2022 and provide protection against disease.
Using genomic and immunological data, the team evaluated the genetic similaritiesanddifferences between VACV and MPXV-2022, specifically within the protein regions that are targeted by vaccine-induced neutralising antibodies or T cells.
While we identified a small number of distinct mutations in MPXV-2022, our study more broadly demonstrates that VACV and MPXV-2022 are highly genetically similar in the regions targeted by the immune system through vaccination, Professor McKay said.
Professor Quadeer said that the findings are reassuring.
Based on our analysis, we anticipate that the immune responses generated by VACV-based vaccines would continue to do a good job of recognising and responding to MPXV-2022, as was the case for monkeypox viruses in the past. Our data lends further support to the use of vaccines being recommended globally for combating MPXV-2022, Professor Quadeer said.
Professor McKay said: While bringing together sequencing and immunological data provides evidence to anticipate a strong immune response, clinical studies are required to determine the exact efficacy of these vaccines against MPXV-2022.
