Medical experts have called on policy-makers to ramp up their COVID-19 response as the winter omicron wave continues to put Australia's health system under strain.
The country's two largest states are dealing with their highest level of hospitalisations since February, but Victoria's Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Roderick McRae, said the situation is about to get much worse.
"We have BA.4 and 5 (omicron variants) which is hitting us in the middle of winter," he said.
"It's a massive problem."
He called on increased health restrictions to be implemented immediately to help healthcare workers battle spiking case numbers.
"Yet again I call on the Victorian Minister for Health to review the decision about the limited range of mask mandates in circumstances where we know there is massive transmission of a highly transmissible virus," McRae said.
"The health care workers are holding the hose like bush firefighters and a lot of other policy decisions are pouring kerosene on the fire on the other side.
"Everything needs to be reviewed constantly."
The state currently has more than 2000 people undergoing treatment in hospital, with 63 people in intensive care.
The current 2057 hospitalisations is the highest the state has had since February 8.
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Thursday, July 14, 2022
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and their collaborators have discovered that people of European and African ancestries who were hospitalized for COVID-19 are more likely to carry a particular combination of genetic variants in a gene known as OAS1 than patients with mild disease who were not hospitalized. People with this combination of genetic variants also remain positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection longer. However, interferon treatment may reduce the severity of COVID-19 in people with these genetic factors. Interferons are a type of protein that can help the bodys immune system fight infection and other diseases, such as cancer.
The study appears July 14 in Nature Genetics.
These findings build on previous studies that have suggested that genetic factors, such as genetic variants affecting OAS antiviral proteins that facilitate the detection and breakdown of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, may influence the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The NCI researchers and their collaborators found that treatment of cells with an interferon decreased the viral load of SARS-CoV-2. The researchers also analyzed data from a clinical trial in which patients with COVID-19 who were not hospitalized were treated with the recombinant interferon pegIFN-1 and found that treatment improved viral clearance in all patients; those with the OAS1 risk variants benefitted the most. The results suggest that interferon treatment may improve COVID-19 outcomes and specifically in patients with certain OAS1 genetic variants who have impaired ability to clear infection.
Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson, Ph.D., and Oscar Florez-Vargas, Ph.D., Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute
Genetic regulation of OAS1 nonsense-mediated decay underlies association with COVID-19 hospitalization in patients of European and African ancestries appears July 14 in Nature Genetics.
About the National Cancer Institute (NCI): NCI leads the National Cancer Program and NIHs efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of people with cancer. NCI supports a wide range of cancer research and training extramurally through grants and contracts. NCIs intramural research program conducts innovative, transdisciplinary basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiological research on the causes of cancer, avenues for prevention, risk prediction, early detection, and treatment, including research at the NIH Clinical Centerthe worlds largest research hospital. Learn more about NCIs intramural research from the Center for Cancer Research and the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI website at cancer.gov or call NCIs contact center at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIHTurning Discovery Into Health
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The WHO Therapeutics and COVID-19: living guideline contains the Organizations most up-to-date recommendations for the use of therapeutics in the treatment of COVID-19. The latest version of this living guideline is available in pdf format (via the Download button) and via an online platform, and is updated regularly as new evidence emerges.
This tenth version of the WHO living guideline now contains 19 recommendations, including two new recommendations regarding fluvoxamine and colchicine. No further updates to the previous existing recommendations were made in this latest version.
Other COVID-19 therapeutics that are currently under consideration by WHO include fluvoxamine, colchicine and anticoagulants. This guideline will be updated if/when sufficient new evidence warrants this.
Guidelines regarding the clinical management of COVID-19 patients are included in a further document, COVID-19 Clinical management: Living guideline, that can be accessed via an online platform and in pdf format (or click PDF in top right corner of online platform).
To view previous (now outdated) versions of this guideline, please see the links below:
This document was updated on 14 July 2022
Health experts have growing concerns regarding reinfections of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, especially as more data suggest that immunity from previous infection is not as protective against the newest omicron variants. Australias health officials have recommended that the immune period post-infection be shortened, which would affect how often people would need to test and quarantine if exposed to a COVID case.
According to a report from July 8, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee acknowledge that reinfections can occur as early as within 28 days and advises that the reinfection period be reduced from 12 weeks to 28 days.
People who test positive to COVID-19 more than 28 days after ending isolation due to previous infection should be reported and managed as new cases, the report stated.
Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere and is experiencing winter now. There was a BA.1 omicron wave in January, and there is currently a wave driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants. These two subvariants are more able to evade immunity gained from previous infection and vaccination reinfection is more likely and possible just weeks after a prior infection, said New South Wales Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant to Cosmos Magazine. Were urging people who have recently had COVID-19, even if they left isolation in the past four weeks, not to be complacent. If you develop symptoms again, make sure to test and isolate.
So far, five states in Australia have updated their official health advice to reflect the shorter reinfection period. All adults over the age of 50 are also advised to get their winter booster shots.
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions advice says that reinfections can occur within 90 days of a first infection.U.S. government officials are warning that the BA.5 omicron variant may lead to a wave of new cases. Positivity rate, cases and hospitalizations aretrending up after plateauing for a few months following the original omicron wave. Community level transmission is high or medium in many parts of the country, although many people in cities around the country like New York seem to be ambivalent about it.
The World Health Organizations Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns that this combined with the fact that surveillance is lacking could be a problem, saying in a statement on July 12 that surveillance has reduced significantly including testing and sequencing making it increasingly difficult to assess the impact of variants on transmission, disease characteristics, and the effectiveness of counter-measures.
Many health experts are prioritizing looking at testing positivity rate as a more accurate indicator of COVID trends, rather than number of cases. In New York, the positivity rate has risen rapidly in the last few weeks and currently is at 15 percent for the seven-day average. This rate is as high as it was in January in the middle of the first omicron wave.
New waves of the virus demonstrate again that the COVID-19 is nowhere near over. We have safe and effective tools that prevent infections, hospitalizations and deaths. However, we should not take them for granted, Tedros said.
Published on Jul. 14, 2022
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Employers will need to assess pandemic and workplace circumstances in order to justify mandatory COVID-19 testing of employees going forward, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a July 12 guidance update.
We've rounded up resources and articles fromSHRM Onlineand other trusted outlets on the news.
Job-Related and Necessary
The EEOC saidemployers must show that coronavirus testing is job-related and consistent with business necessity, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Until now, worksite COVID-19 testing was permitted without any required justification or assessment.
The agency provided several possible factors to consider when making an assessment, including:
"This change is not meant to suggest that such testing is or is not warranted," the EEOC said. "Rather, the revised [guidance] acknowledges that evolving pandemic circumstances will require an individualized assessment by employers to determine whether such testing is warranted."
(U.S. EEOC)
EEOC Continues to Update COVID-19-Related Guidance
Throughout the pandemic, the EEOC has answered key employer questions and provided guidance about the evolving COVID-19-related issues employers face. EEOC Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels and Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas spoke at the SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference 2022in March to keep attendees up-to-date.
(SHRM Online)
SHRM's Coronavirus ResourcesPage
This page contains COVID-19 vaccination resources, as well as information onreturn-to-work and remote-work issues.
(SHRM Online)
When Workers Refuse a COVID-19 Vaccination
The EEOC allows workplace vaccination mandates when they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. Employers must consider reasonable accommodations when employees refuse to get vaccinated for medical reasons, including pregnancy-related reasons, or based on sincerely held religious beliefs, unless an accommodation would cause undue hardship for the business.
(SHRM Online)
Handling Religious Objections to Workplace Vaccine Mandates
Employers generally must explore reasonable accommodations for employees who refuse to get vaccinated against the coronavirus based on a sincerely held religious beliefbut objections based on personal or political views are not protected under federal anti-discrimination laws.
(SHRM Online)
EEOC Answers HR's COVID-19-Related Questions
EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows and Commissioner Keith Sonderling responded to lingering questions about compliance with anti-discrimination laws during the pandemic during a session atthe SHRM Annual Conference & Expo in 2021. The pair touched on issues like remote work, COVID-19 testing and vaccination, and other pandemic-related policies.
(SHRM Online)
One coronavirus infection wards off another but only if it's a similar variant Nature.com
WELLINGTON/TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - A new wave of coronavirus infections is rapidly spreading through Asia, prompting warnings for residents from New Zealand to Japan to take precautions to slow the outbreak and help prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed.
The renewed surge in cases, mostly of the BA.4/5 Omicron variants, provides a further challenge for authorities grappling with the economic fallout of earlier waves of the pandemic while trying to avoid extending or reintroducing unpopular restrictions.
The New Zealand government on Thursday announced free masks and rapid antigen tests as it tries to relieve pressure on the country's health system, which is dealing with an influx of both COVID and influenza patients during the southern hemisphere winter. read more
Register
"There's no question the combination of a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations, the worst flu season in recent memory and corresponding staff absences are putting health workers and the whole health system under extreme pressure," Ayesha Verrall, Minister for COVID-19 Response, said in a statement.
New Zealand, which has a population of 5.1 million, has almost 69,000 currently infected with the virus. Of those, 765 cases are in hospital, which has caused increases in wait times and surgeries to be cancelled.
In Japan, new COVID-19 cases have surged to levels not seen since early this year. The government has called on people to be especially careful ahead of an upcoming long weekend and imminent summer school vacations. read more
Japan reported almost 95,000 cases on Wednesday and newly infected patients have increased by 2.14-fold compared to the last week, according to a government spokesperson.
"The number of new cases is rising in every prefecture in Japan, and it seems to be rapidly spreading," Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto said at the start of a committee meeting on dealing with the coronavirus.
Tokyo raised its alert level to the highest tier."Tomorrow, we will hold a meeting of the task force to decide on measures to be taken this summer, taking into consideration the national trend and the opinions of experts," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said at a meeting.
Like New Zealand, South Korea was praised for its response early in the pandemic, but by Wednesday, daily cases there had tripled in a week to more than 39,000. read more
Officials and experts expect South Korea's new daily cases to reach 200,000 by around mid-August to end-September and are expanding inoculations of booster shots but not planning renewed curbs.
Australia warned it could be hit with its worst COVID-19 outbreak over the next few weeks fuelled by the BA.4/5 Omicron variants. Authorities said "millions" of new infections could be expected, but ruled out any tough restrictions to contain the spread.
"We've moved beyond that ... we're not in the era of lockdowns and those sorts of things," Federal Health Minister Mark Butler told radio station 2GB on Thursday, even as he urged Australians to consider working from home again.
Australian hospital admissions are already hovering near levels seen in the last major Omicron outbreak earlier this year with its health system also under pressure from high COVID and influenza numbers.
While cases in Thailand have trended down, infections in Indonesia have picked up, reaching the highest since March.
New infections and hospitalisations in the Philippines remain low, but the government has warned case numbers could rise at least 20-fold by the end of the month.
Manila is urging more people to get their booster shots as health ministry data shows only a quarter of eligible adults have received their first booster as of July 12.
Mainland China has reported an average of over 300 locally transmitted COVID daily infections in July, higher than around 70 in June, as Beijing's strict dynamic COVID-zero policy helps keep local clusters in check and has prevented any overwhelming of hospitals.
Register
Reporting by Lucy Cramer in Wellington, Elaine Lies and Mariko Katsumura in Tokyo, Renju Jose in Sydney, Stanley Widianto in Jakarta; Neil Jerome Morales in Manila, Chayut Setboonsarng in Bangkok, Roxanne Liu in Beijing;Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Kim Coghill
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
New Jersey on Thursday reported another 3,532 confirmed COVID-19 positive tests and 12 confirmed deaths as positive tests have begun to rise again after declining through June.
The states seven-day average for confirmed positive tests increased Thursday to 2,792, a 24% increase from a week ago and 14% increase from last month.
The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted Saturday the most recent day with available data was 18.16%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers positivity rates above 10% to be high. However, the positivity rate is substantially lower than its peak of 40.83% on Jan. 1 during the height of the omicron variant.
New Jerseys rate of transmission was 1.06 on Thursday, up from 1.05 Wednesday. When the transmission rate is above 1, that means each new case is leading to at least one additional infection. A transmission rate below 1 is an indication that the coronavirus outbreak is declining.
The states coronavirus dashboard had incomplete numbers for hospitalizations on Thursday with just 60 of 71 hospitals reporting data. Hospitals reported 1,013 patients as of Tuesday night, the highest number since Feb. 20.
There were 1,013 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reported across the states 71 hospitals as of Tuesday night. Thats the highest number of patients since Feb. 20.
Despite the recent rise in cases however, hospitalizations remain significantly lower than when they peaked at 6,089 on Jan. 10 during the omicron wave.
Six New Jersey counties are now considered high risk for COVID-19 transmission Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Monmouth and Morris. Those in high-risk areas are recommended to wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation and stay up to date on vaccinations, according to the CDC.
The states 15 other counties are in the medium-risk category: Bergen, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Masks are not recommended in the medium- and low-risk regions.
New Jersey has reported 2,164,884 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the more than two years since the state reported its first known case March 4, 2020.
The Garden State has also recorded 370,183 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases. And there are numerous cases that have likely never been counted, including at-home positive tests that are not included in the states numbers.
The state of 9.2 million residents has reported 34,145 COVID-19 deaths 31,055 confirmed fatalities and 3,090 probable ones.
New Jersey has the seventh-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S. behind Mississippi, Arizona, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma as of the latest data reported July 4. Last summer, the state had the most deaths per capita in the nation.
More than 6.96 million people who work, live, or study in the Garden State have reached fully vaccinated status.
Over 7.86 million have received a first dose since vaccinations began in the state on Dec. 15, 2020.
More than 4 million people in the state eligible for boosters have received one. That number may rise after the Food and Drug Administration approved booster shots for healthy children between the ages of 5 and 11. U.S. regulators authorized the booster for kids, hoping an extra vaccine dose will enhance their protection as infections continue to spread.
At least 9,375 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data.
Of the active outbreaks at 367 facilities, there are 4,655 current cases among residents and 4,735 cases among staff, as of the latest data.
As of Wednesday, there have been nearly 600 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys coronavirus database, and more than 6.36 million people have died because of the virus.
The U.S. has reported the most COVID cases (more than 89.2 million) and deaths (at least 1.02 million) of any nation.
There have been more than 11.8 billion vaccine doses administered globally.
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