Amref Health Africa selected as implementing partner to provide technical assistance for the new peer-to-peer learning network
NAIROBI, Kenya, August 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation announces the launch of the Vaccination Action Network (VAN), a USD$7.4 million locally-led, peer-to-peer learning initiative designed to engage public health decision-makers across sub-Saharan Africa and bolster their efforts to strengthen health systems while scaling up Covid-19 vaccine demand strategies. Sabin Vaccine Institute and Dalberg are the secretariat for the network, while Amref Health Africa(Amref) is playing a key role to guide and administer subgrants to local organizations in participating countries so that they can implement vaccine demand generation strategies discussed during the learning sessions.
The network is already connecting ministry of health officials, implementing partners, and other key actors across Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda through activities designed to take place within and between countries (intra- and cross-country), so participants can share lessons learned and best practices for boosting local demand for Covid-19 vaccines. Plans to expand to other countries in the region are underway as well.
"The Vaccination Action Network's community-based approach brings together our counterparts from across the region and country. This collaboration is the key to finding and implementing the right vaccination approach," said Dr. Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Uganda. In a recent VAN learning session focused on Wakiso district, Dr. Mathias Lugoloobi, District Health Officer in Uganda's central Wakiso District echoed this sentiment, saying that "for strategies to be successful, the community alone must have the final say."
While more than 60 percent of people have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 globally, just 20 percent of people in Africa have received full doses. Inconsistent and inequitable access to supplies initially hindered the continent's vaccination campaigns. However, uptake is now primarily impacted by complex delivery scenarios, limited access to vaccination centers, and other ongoing demand barriers, such as vaccine hesitancy and waning concerns about Covid-19 infection.
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VAN's objective is to help decision-makers understand the drivers behind vaccination and support initiatives that will increase Covid-19 vaccine uptake, while strengthening routine immunization so that health systems are better equipped to respond when the next pandemic strikes.This reflects The Rockefeller Foundation's regional commitment to support localized solutions, empower community representatives, and create more resilient health systems.
"The Vaccination Action Network is helping to establish new channels of communication that will consistently elevate regional learnings, solutions, and leadership," said William Asiko, Vice President of The Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional Office. "By making these discussions country-led, we want to create a space where those directly involved in vaccination campaigns are able to voice what is working, what isn't, and what needs to change to improve vaccination rates."
Peer-to-peer learning is an important tool for officials who are working to address these challenges. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, this type of intra- and inter-country coordination has helped the continent scale up genomic sequencing and secure essential tools, including personal protective equipment and diagnostic tests.
"By encouraging officials to come together, the Vaccination Action Network is opening new dialogues that emphasize regional solutions to local challenges," said Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO at Amref. "This is essential to tackle vaccine equity issues, which are tied to national and regional contexts, but also offers countries an opportunity for longer-term coordination on other priorities."
VAN will host monthly intra-country sessions and multiple cross-country discussions before the end of the calendar year, with the goal of turning learnings from these sessions into actionable solutions. To facilitate this, VAN is supporting Amref through a USD$5 million grant to design and implement tailored strategies that better reflect local needs and address demand barriers for increased vaccine uptake.
Prior to the launch, VAN hosted two cross-country and five intra-country discussions, which have already yielded results. Following a May VAN session focused on improving vaccine understanding and uptake, the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda is now working to train "vaccination champions" in the Wakiso district. The goal is for champions to connect with communities about the benefits of vaccines, address their questions and concerns, and ultimately encourage vaccination through community-based strategies that have proved successful in past epidemic control settings in Uganda.
"One of our biggest takeaways from the VAN conversation was that we needed to do more to engage communities with accurate and approachable information on Covid-19 vaccines, leaning on lessons learned from other health challenges such as HIV and Ebola," said Mohammed Lamorde, Head of Global Health Security at IDI. "That's why our program focuses on working with trusted community members and leaders to equip them with the tools they need to encourage greater uptake of vaccines within their communities."
VAN represents the Global Vaccination Initiative (GVI)'s first major investment in overcoming low vaccine demand in Africa. Launched in April 2022, GVI is The Rockefeller Foundation's USD$55 million effort to support country-led efforts to fully vaccinate 90% of the most at-risk populations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean over the next two years.
About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation to enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We work to promote the well-being of humanity and make opportunity universal. Our focus is on scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to healthy and nutritious food. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.organd follow us on Twitter@RockefellerFdn.
AboutAmref Health Africa
Amref Health Africa, headquartered in Kenya, is the largest Africa-based International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO). With a focus on increasing sustainable health access, Amref runs programmes in over 35 countries in Africa, with lessons learnt over 60 years of engagement with governments, communities, and partners. Amref Health Africa also engages in programme development, fundraising, partnership, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation, and has offices in Europe and North America as well as subsidiaries:Amref Flying Doctors,Amref Enterprisesand theAmref International University.
About Dalberg
Dalberg is a leading social impact advisory group that brings together strategy consulting, design thinking, big data analytics, and research to address complex social and environmental challenges. It works collaboratively with communities, institutions, governments, and corporations to develop solutions that create impact at scale. The Dalberg Group is comprised of six businesses:Dalberg Advisors,Dalberg Data Insights, Dalberg Design, Dalberg Implement, Dalberg Media, and Dalberg Research, and a not-for-profit, Dalberg Catalyst. For more information, visitwww.dalberg.com.
About the Sabin Vaccine Institute
The Sabin Vaccine Instituteis a leading advocate for expanding vaccine access and uptake globally, advancing vaccine research and development, and amplifying vaccine knowledge and innovation. Unlocking the potential of vaccines through partnership, Sabin has built a robust ecosystem of funders, innovators, implementers, practitioners, policy makers and public stakeholders to advance its vision of a future free from preventable diseases. As a non-profit with more than two decades of experience, Sabin is committed to finding solutions that last and extending the full benefits of vaccines to all people, regardless of who they are or where they live. At Sabin, we believe in the power of vaccines to change the world. For more information, visitwww.sabin.organd follow us on Twitter,@SabinVaccine.
Cision
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SOURCE The Rockefeller Foundation
A research team at St. Mary's Hospital has discovered that T cell, which causes autoimmune liver disease, appears after a liver biopsy on patients who received the Covid-19 vaccine.
The research, conducted by Professors Sung Pil-soo at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital and Lee Sun-kyu at Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, supports the research result by research at Germany's University Medical Center Freiburg in April that "specific CD8+ T cells induced by Covid-19 vaccination can cause liver damage, which can cause autoimmune liver disease."
The St. Mary's Hospital research is the world's first to report a hepatic overlap syndrome, in which autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis co-occur after Covid-19 vaccination.
According to Professor Sung, the patient was a 57-year-old woman with no history of taking drugs for underlying diseases, alcohol, or liver disease. Still, she was referred to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital for general weakness.
The patient visited the hospital two weeks after receiving the first dose of the vaccine as she felt tired and weak in general. However, an initial physical examination showed that everything was normal. However, as a result of a blood test performed at the next visit, the hospital confirmed that the patient's liver scores related to the diagnosis of liver disease were elevated.
The team tested to determine the cause and confirmed that the results of hepatitis A, B, C, and E and viral hepatitis, such as cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2, were negative. There were no specific findings in liver ultrasound.
In contrast, the autoantibody test showed positive antinuclear antibody and anti-mitochondrial antibodies, confirming the high possibility of autoimmune liver disease, including hepatic overlap syndrome.
Therefore, the team performed a liver tissue biopsy for diagnosis and confirmed that T cells were concentrated in the portal vein, causing infiltration and necrosis of the liver tissue.
The team also observed interfacial hepatitis and non-purulent cholangitis, in which plasma cell infiltration, fragmentary necrosis, and inflammation and necrosis of the portal vein were extended to the periphery of the portal vein.
In conclusion, the research team confirmed that the patient had hepatic overlap syndrome.
Combining these findings, the team treated the patient with high-dose ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), and the patient recovered back to normal within two weeks.
"This study clarifies the mechanism that can cause liver damage and liver function abnormalities due to immune response after vaccination." Professor Lee said. "It is also important to identify and treat such symptoms through detailed questionnaires and examinations during patient treatment."
Professor Sung also said, "This paper is the first report on hepatic overlap syndrome after vaccination, and careful observation and confirmation of immune response and liver disease is required."
Sung added that his team would continue to study such liver diseases to help patients, Sung added.
Journal of Hepatology published the result of the research.
Yahoo Life Videos
The Walker Odette Annable, 37, took to Instagram on Friday to share photos of herself getting ready to welcome her second child with husband and former Brothers & Sisters co-star Dave Annable. She captioned the photos, which revealed her pregnant stomach, The very hot, very pregnant Summer.
Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Montgomery Advertiser
Alabama reported 16,712 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, down 3.8% from the previous week. The previous week had 17,366 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Alabama ranked sixth among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 7.4% from the week before, with 906,593 cases reported. With 1.47% of the country's population, Alabama had 1.84% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 28 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Montgomery County reported 957 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 989 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 62,703 cases and 965 deaths.
Elmore County reported 372 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 431 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 25,963 cases and 352 deaths.
Autauga County reported 200 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 231 cases and three deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 17,468 cases and 220 deaths.
More: I got COVID (again). I'm staying home (again). Why are so few following the rules?
Dallas County reported 180 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 203 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 9,511 cases and 247 deaths.
Lowndes County reported 26 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 35 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 2,890 cases and 79 deaths.
Across Alabama, cases fell in 41 counties, with the best declines in Mobile County, with 1,261 cases from 1,393 a week earlier; in Escambia County, with 84 cases from 185; and in Baldwin County, with 699 cases from 790.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within Alabama, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Monroe County with 550 cases per 100,000 per week; Dallas County with 484; and Morgan County with 474. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Jefferson County, with 2,531 cases; Madison County, with 1,278 cases; and Mobile County, with 1,261. Weekly case counts rose in 26 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Tuscaloosa, Madison and Marshall counties.
In Alabama, 19 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 50 people were reported dead.
A total of 1,424,411 people in Alabama have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 19,891 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 91,316,648 people have tested positive and 1,029,926 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, July 31. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Hospitals in 24 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 21 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
This DIY box helps clear indoor air of the coronavirus. Why arent more people using them?
When cholera ravaged Europe and North America in the 19th century, people revolutionized sewage by creating the modern sewage system, said AndrewNoymer, an associate professor of population health and disease prevention at UC Irvine. They could have just said, Boil your water. But they didnt do that. They gave people clean drinking water.Ensuring clean air indoors is the 21st century equivalent,Noymersaid. But its a long-term solution, and people are still hoping that COVID is just going to go away.
This is the weekly edition of CNNs coronavirus newsletter. Look out for your roundup every Wednesday. If you havent subscribed yet, sign up here.
CNN
The number of new Covid-19 cases is rising once again and while the virus isnt killing nearly as many people as it used to thanks to vaccinations it is still causing havoc around the world.
With labor shortages already paralyzing airports and wrecking the hospitality sector, a wave of worker absences due to sickness is the last thing the economy needs.
The latest wave of infections is driven by the most infectious and transmissible variant identified so far BA.5.
Based on the sequencing data reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), about half of all coronavirus cases globally are now caused by this variant. In the US, BA.5 accounts for about 80% of new cases, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The variant is keeping experts on their toes because of its ability to evade immunity and cause reinfection.
It is important that we continue to talk about Covid, WHOs technical lead on Covid-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said in a briefing on Tuesday, stressing the need to keep up the efforts to vaccinate the most vulnerable.
People who are more likely to die, and this is consistent across all countries, are people who have not been vaccinated.
According to WHO, about a third of the new cases reported last week were in Europe, a third in the Western Pacific region and 25% in the Americas.
The latest surge is having a huge impact on the economy.
The International Monetary Fund slashed its world economic forecast on Tuesday, as it predicted major slowdowns in the three biggest economies: The United States, China and Europe.
It said that Covid-19 lockdowns in China have continued to hamper the economy, triggering a slowdown that has been worse than anticipated.
A recent example of the crushing effect of Covid on the economy is the gaming hub of Macao.
Governed by China, Macao is subject to its zero Covid policy, which means that the region has been under stay-at-home restrictions since last week. Gaming accounts for more than 80% of government revenue and is Macaos most important industry. Because casinos are also part of the shutdown, the government revenue is plummeting.
Then theres the impact of long Covid. A study published Wednesday by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a London-based economic think tank, said one in 10 UK workers with long Covid have stopped working while sick, which means an estimated 110,000 workers are currently missing from the countrys labor market.
Q: What are the Covid-19 vaccine side effects in young kids?
A: Yes now more than ever. The Omicron BA.5 subvariant, which is dominant in the US, is causing more reinfections than earlier strains, a new analysis has found.
Gene sequencing company Helix looked at how many times the same individuals were testing positive with Covid-19 and found that, of around 300,000 US infections since March 2021, the number of reinfections had nearly doubled from 3.6% during the BA.2 wave in May to 6.4% during the BA.5 wave in July.
Shishi Luo, associate director of bioinformatics and infectious disease at Helix, called it a jump, saying that their latest data showed that the fraction of all infections that are reinfections have increased quite a bit.
Luo thinks this could be happening for a range of reasons, such as mutations to BA.5 and waning immunity, adding that statistically speaking, youre more likely to get reinfected the longer it has been since your last infection, just based on the data weve generated.
Send your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting Covid-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges youre facing: +1 347-322-0415.
The hope is to shore up the defenses right there in the nose so that the virus cant even replicate in the nose, said Dr. Ellen Foxman, an immunobiologist at the Yale School of Medicine. And then someone who has a really effective mucosal vaccination cant even really support viral replication or make viruses that can infect other people.
Animals sold at Wuhan market most likely started Covid-19 pandemic, studies find
Two studies looking into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic were published on Tuesday in the journal Science. Both arrived at the same conclusion: The Hunan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, was likely the epicenter for the virus that rippled across the world.
One study did a spatial and environmental analysis, finding that, while the exact circumstances remain obscure, the coronavirus was most likely present in live animals sold at the market in 2019. The other study looked at when the virus was first transmitted from animals to humans, suggesting it was around November 18, 2019 that infections first appeared in people who had a direct connection to the market.
Kristian Andersen, the co-author of the first study and professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, said while the studies do not disprove the lab leak theory, they were persuasive enough to change his mind. I was quite convinced of the lab leak myself (but) based on data and analysis Ive done over the last decade on many other viruses, Ive convinced myself that actually the data points to this particular market, he said.
On Wednesday, Wuhan shut down a district of nearly a million people in the latest action of Chinas zero-Covid policy after four asymptomatic Covid cases were detected. Authorities in the Jiangxia district said it would enforce three days of temporary control measures.
Over 40% of parents to young kids will not get them vaccinated
According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 43% of parents to under-5s in the US say they will not get them vaccinated against Covid-19 the highest figure since the KFFs Vaccine Monitor survey began asking the question, Virginia Langmaid reports.
Only 17% of parents of children between 6 months and 5 years old say their child has been vaccinated or will be as soon as possible, the study found. Another 27% say they will wait to see how effective they are in other children, and 13% said they will only vaccinate if required to do so for school or childcare.
Concerns over side effects are a major reason for the hesitancy. More than 8 in 10 parents of unvaccinated young children said they were concerned over side effects, a concern shared by many parents of vaccinated children too.
The US Food and Drug Administration authorized Covid-19 vaccinations in children as young as 6 months in mid-June.
Top Chinese officials including President receive domestic vaccine amid public concern over safety
Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top state officials have been given domestic Covid-19 vaccines, the ruling Communist Party said in a rare public statement aimed at encouraging booster uptake in the nation.
Deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC) Zeng Yixin said on Saturday that all Chinas incumbent state and party leaders have been vaccinated against Covid-19 with domestically made shots, referring to top officials at the national and deputy national level a category that includes Xi, Premier Li Keqiang and other senior leaders.
Information regarding the health of Chinese leaders is seldom disclosed to the public; Xis vaccination status had previously not been revealed.
Nearly 90% of Chinas eligible population has been fully vaccinated. But among over 80-year-olds, only 61% have been fully vaccinated and 38.4% have received boosters, the NHC added.
While it seems like summer romances and frolicking in the sea and sun may once again be drowned out by the latest Covid-19 variant, we can still make it a season to remember.
CNNs Scottie Andrew suggests some ways to fill the long, hot days, from heading to the beach to catching the first rays during the sunrise when it will be cooler and less crowded, to ice cream dates complete with cones in places with ample outdoor seating.
But wherever you are, remember to protect yourself from the scorching heat weve been seeing in the US and around the world. Take an umbrella or a makeshift parasol if you will and live your best life in a Bridgerton-esque world.
Read more here.
Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| The Taunton Daily Gazette
Massachusetts reported 11,075 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, down 3.9% from the previous week. The previous week had 11,525 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Massachusetts ranked 45th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 7.4% from the week before, with 906,593 cases reported. With 2.07% of the country's population, Massachusetts had 1.22% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 28 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Bristol County reported 844 cases and five deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 702 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 164,400 cases and 2,224 deaths.
Across Massachusetts, cases fell in eight counties, with the best declines in Middlesex County, with 2,325 cases from 2,505 a week earlier; in Suffolk County, with 1,219 cases from 1,322; and in Hampshire County, with 223 cases from 265.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within Massachusetts, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Hampden County with 193 cases per 100,000 per week; Berkshire County with 187; and Barnstable County with 165. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Middlesex County, with 2,325 cases; Essex County, with 1,251 cases; and Suffolk County, with 1,219. Weekly case counts rose in four counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Bristol, Essex and Berkshire counties.
In Massachusetts, 49 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 59 people were reported dead.
A total of 1,966,919 people in Massachusetts have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 21,176 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 91,316,648 people have tested positive and 1,029,926 people have died.
Note: For Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins University reports data in a combined health department for Dukes and Nantucket counties. Those two counties may appear without any cases, and this will skew rankings of counties.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, July 31. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Hospitals in 24 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 21 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
Florida and New York COVID cultures are worlds apart
USA TODAY Network journalists compare the differences in COVID culture between New York and Florida.
Rob Landers, Florida Today
About 2,000 New Yorkers got tested for COVID-19 while traveling in Florida during the initial omicron variant wave this winter, state data show.
The newly reported test numbers offered the first glimpse of omicrons impact on New Yorkers visiting Florida, as debates raged over the two states drastically different pandemic responses.
But the full scope of interstate coronavirus infections remains unclear because few states share test data, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis of state records obtained via public records request.
Among the findings of COVID-19 test data spanning from Nov. 1, 2021 through Feb. 3, 2022:
DATA: New York and Florida approached COVID-19 differently. What does the data say?
COVID: NY COVID-19 cases stay flat as nation continues to fight BA.5 subvariant
As authorities brace for a COVID-19 surge this fall, interstate testing gaps joined a growing list of potential blind spots for catching and containing outbreaks early. Others include limited at-home test result reporting, as well as the end of most contact tracing efforts.
Meanwhile, New Yorks plan for combating COVID-19 allows for ramping up a range of shelved infectious-disease control tools used earlier in the pandemic, such as mass testing and vaccination sites, which closed during lulls in cases.
Heading into the school year, state officials further aim to limit threats by urging students and educators to use at-home tests before returning to classrooms. The state plans to distribute nearly 20 million test kits in the coming weeks.
New Yorkers seeking prescription COVID-19 antiviral pills also have access to 44 test-to-treat sites statewide, as well as a recently launched state hotline 888-873-2869 offering telehealth consults to access the pills.
If anything, this pandemic and COVID has taught us, preparations are the key to literally survival, Gov. Kathy Hocul said recently, detailing the fall strategy.
While schools are currently poised to open without mask mandates, Hochul said she would consider requiring masks in classrooms again, if pandemic conditions warranted, such as hospitalizations skyrocketing or a variant emerging that caused more severe illness in children.
State agencies and health providers are also once again stockpiling masks, gowns, and other personal protective equipment, under measures intended to prevent the dire shortages that cost countless lives in early 2020.
Despite recent moves to relax many COVID-19 restrictions, New York fueled politically charged debates over outbreaks spreading between states earlier in the pandemic.
Many of the policy clashes focused on New Yorks various attempts at imposing domestic travel restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus outbreaks. Many health experts, however, asserted the policies had limited impact due to the contagiousness of COVID-19 and enforcement hurdles.
In 2020, New York imposed a 14-day quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers visiting the state.
The complex web of rules applied to those spending more than 24 hours outside New York, and eventually included a test-out option to shorten the quarantine period based on a negative result.
Enforcement of the travel restrictions relied mostly on the honor system, although COVID-19 contact tracers for months asked domestic air and rail travelers arriving in New York to fill out questionnaires related to the effort.
In August 2020, about 67,000 out-of-state students also arrived in New York to hunker down in dorms, apartments and hotel rooms for mandatory 14-day quarantine periods.
Despite the travel restrictions, COVID-19 cases eventually spiked in New York in the late fall of 2020, as holiday gatherings proved the most effective means of spreading the virus.
In April 2021, New York ended the domestic travel restrictions as COVID-19 vaccines became more widely available.
Now, widespread access to COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral pills makes the prospect of a return of domestic travel bans unlikely, as many people are protected against severe illness and death, said Dr. Aaron Glatt, an Infectious Diseases Society of America expert.
But people should still weigh risk factors, such as higher infection rates and hospitalizations, when considering traveling, said Glatt, who oversees infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital.
Intensive care unit usage and death rates, he added, have recently become the most accurate gauge of COVID-19 risk levels for a specific community due to gaps in case tracking and incidental COVID-19 positives involving hospital patients with unrelated illness.
People need to make individual decisions, taking into account the data as best as they possibly can, he said, adding: Its a far more nuanced approach than it was previously.
COVID policy: Florida and New York share an interstate, but their COVID cultures are worldsapart
Polio in NY: Polio in Rockland wastewater as early as June, samples show
Many of the out-of-state COVID-19 test results involved New Yorkers getting tested in New Jersey, or New York specimens outsourced to New Jersey labs.
A total of about 66,000 of the tests fell into the New Jersey category, while Florida accounted for most of the remaining tests. The five other states reported a total of just 13 test results to New York.
Health care: NY health insurers propose nearly 19% rate hike, say COVID-19 costs, inflation are to blame
Of the 68,100 tests, about 6,000 were deemed positive. Another roughly 1,200 test reports either lacked result details or were deemed invalid.
About 270 of the 2,000 tests in Florida were positive, with another 205 lacking result details.
While New York received test data from ordering facilities in just seven states, some of the cases involved providers from a handful of other states, suggesting links to additional travel-related testing where specimen processing was outsourced.
Yet the lack of detailed testing information from 43 states and massive scope of the initial omicron wave suggested thousands of additional New Yorkers contracted COVID-19 while traveling in other states.
For example, New York reported a total of about 6.8 million new COVID-19 cases during the wave, which excluded countless additional at-home test results.
Still, Glatt described ever-evolving efforts to keep tracking the virus spread as key to reducing preventable suffering if a resurgence unfolds in coming months.
All of the data that we have has to be understood as being one part of many important factors, he said.
In a recent study published in the Clinical & Translational Immunology journal, researchers assessed the immunopathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in children.
Symptoms and outcomes associated with pediatric severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections differ significantly from those in adult patients, with lower mortality and morbidity rates. Understanding the factors responsible for the lesser number of adverse effects of COVID-19 on pediatric populations could play an important role in assessing COVID-19 disease severity in adults and developing novel therapies against SARS-CoV-2.
In the present study, researchers summarized reports that investigated cytokine profiles, pre-existing immunity, antibody, B-cell, and innate responses among children diagnosed with multisystem inflammation and acute COVID-19.
Studies have reported multiple phases of the human immune response against COVID-19 infection. Among adult patients, the first phase involves a protective immune response that aims to eliminate the virus. The second phase is characterized by a dysregulated or over-activated host response along with a more severe multi-system disorder. The third phase includes the post-acute COVID-19 sequelae and is called long-COVID. Most pediatric patients have been reported to display an effective first-phase response while a small proportion of patients develop a hyperinflammatory response leading tomultisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
Heterogeneous outcomes observed after SARS-CoV-2 infections are likely a result of pre-existing immunity derived from prior exposure to seasonal Coronaviruseslike HCoV-229E and HCoV-NL63. While most primary Coronavirusinfections are reported in childhood, high incidences of reinfection occur in adults. Moreover, adults residing with children in the same household have an increased risk of exposure to viruses and increased cross-reactive immunity, thus leading to a lower risk of COVID-19 infection proportional to the higher number of children sharing the household.
Furthermore, individuals with a history of previous seasonal Coronavirus infection had a lower chance of experiencing severe COVID-19 as well as better survival probability as opposed to those with no history. A study found that 62% of children and 5% of adults had cross-reactive antibodies, which displayed a neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2. In contrast, another study noted that the cross-reactive antibodies found were rarely neutralizing.
Similarities of MIS-C with other disorders such as toxic shock syndrome, macrophage activation syndrome, and sepsis have triggered further research to understand MIS-C pathogenesis and treatment. These include the measurement of cytokine and the determination of adaptive or innate immune responses in MIS-C.
Studies have demonstrated a remarkable inflammatory profile characterized by an anti-inflammatory response in all the patient groups with slight variations between COVID-19-pneumonia and MIS-C. Interferon-alpha (IFN) was at a comparable or higher proportion in MIS-C as compared to adult COVID-19 infections, while interleukin-10 (IL-10), IL-17, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-) were at higher levels in MIS-C than in adults. Chemokines are involved in the activation and recruitment of several immune cells such as T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, and neutrophils.
Various studies suggest that an early and significant innate response plays a key role in the determination of COVID-19 disease severity. This led to the possibility that an excessive innate response was important in the development of MIS-C. IFN release along with the induction of cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-18, and TNF- resulted in the suppression of viral load and the stimulation of the adaptive immune response. A study highlighted the importance of adequate IFN response by detecting inborn mutations in IFN signaling in 3.5% of lethal COVID-19 cases. In contrast, another study showed that 13% of the patients experiencing severe COVID-19 had autoantibodies against type 1 IFN.
A study showed comparable anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein responses among MIS-C and acute COVID-19 patients and adult donors of convalescent plasma. However, adults diagnosed with COVID-pneumonia displayed the highest concentrations of anti-spike protein responses. While neutralizing antibodies were noted in children after diagnosing varying severities of COVID-19, adults had higher concentrations of neutralizing antibodies than children. At the same time, no such difference was observed among children with acute COVID-19 and MIS-C.
Another study observed broadly normal frequencies of B-cells among MIS-C patients. Furthermore, increased immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgG3 plasmablasts were also detected among children with MIS-C and acute COVID-19.Moreover, MIS-C patients had lower levels of plasmablasts displaying somatic hypermutation. At the same time, the same levels were higher in severe MIS-C casesthan in non-severe MIS-C cases.
The international Best Available Treatment Study (BATS) has provided sufficient evidence to conclude that the commonly used immunomodulatory treatments such as corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), or a combination of corticosteroids and IVIG are related to a faster resolution of inflammation as compared no immunomodulatory therapy. Some studies have displayed rapid resolution of cardiac dysfunction among patients who initially received IVIG and corticosteroid treatment as opposed to those treated with IVIG alone.
Overall, the study summarized the various immunopathogenic aspects of MISC-C and pediatric COVID-19.
