RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) A prototype created by North Carolina State University researchers just might lead to a new method of protection against COVID-19a vaccine without the needle.
In a July 5 press release, the university said the vaccine prototype is shelf stable at room temperature for up to three months and targets the lungs specifically and effectively.
The big difference from what is currently used is how its administered.
This vaccine is designed to easily be self-administered using an inhaler.
According to researchers, the delivery mechanism for the vaccine, called LSC-Exo (a lung-derived exosome) has proven to be more effective at evading the lungs mucosal lining than what is typically used now, which are lipid-based nanoparticles.
Simply put, the leaders behind this new vaccine prototype say it would boost effectiveness while also creating a solution to the current shelf-life dilemma.
mRNA vaccines in their current formulation require cold storage and trained medical personnel to deliver them. A vaccine that is stable at room temperature and that could be self-administered would greatly reduce wait times for patients as well as stress on the medical profession during a pandemic, said Ke Cheng, the Randall B. Terry Jr. Distinguished Professor in Regenerative Medicine at NCState.
Cheng also said that taking the vaccine by way of intramuscular shot is less efficient at getting the vaccine to its intended destinationthe pulmonary system.
Inhaled vaccines would increase their benefit against COVID-19, Cheng added.
So, now the big question. Does it actually work?
Researchers say they have conducted rodent models to test the effectiveness of this prototype and what they found was promising.
In these models, N.C. State reports that the prototype did create a production of antibodies and actually did protect the rodents, after two vaccine doses, from infection when exposed to live SARS-CoV-2.
The rodent model also proved the vaccine was capable of being kept on a shelf at room temperature for the duration of three months.
An inhalable vaccine will confer both mucosal and systemic immunity, its more convenient to store and distribute, and could be self-administered on a large scale, Cheng said. So while there are still challenges associated with scaling up production, we believe that this is a promising vaccine worthy of further research and development.
Time will tell if this promising, and unique take on a COVID-19 vaccine will hit the market and become available for at-home use. In the meantime, the work continues in a collaborative effort with the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.
North Carolina State University has filed a provisional patent on the technologies reported in those publications and the patent right has been exclusively licensed to Xsome Biotech, an N.C.State startup company co-founded by Cheng.
For more information and scientific details on this prototype vaccine, see the full release from N.C. State University.
OLD LYME Ledge Light Health District hosts a COVID-19 vaccine clinic today, Monday, July 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lymes Senior Center, 26 Town Woods Rd. in Old Lyme.
Only the Moderna vaccine will be available at this clinic for individuals 18 years or olderwho need a 1st or 2nd dose or are eligible for a 1st or 2nd booster dose. This clinic is free and open to the public. No appointment, insurance, or ID is necessary. Bring your CDC vaccination card if you have one.
The following groups are eligible for a 1stbooster shot at this clinic:
The following groups are eligible for a 2ndbooster shot at this clinic:
CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get their primary series of COVID-19 vaccine, and that everyone ages 5 years and older also receive a booster.
Another COVID-19 vaccination clinic will be held on Wednesday, July 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ledyard Senior Center, 12 Van Tassel Drive, Gales Ferry.
For a complete list of community clinics including those where vaccinations are available for people younger than 18, please visithttps://llhd.org/coronavirus-covid-19-situation/covid-19-vaccine/covid-19-vaccine-find-a-vaccination/
Community members and businesses are urged to access up-to-date information regarding the pandemic from reputable sources, including the Ledge Light Health District website (www.LLHD.org), Facebook (@LedgeLightHD), Twitter (@LedgeLightHD), and Instagram (@LedgeLightHD).
Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) serves as the local health department for East Lyme, Groton, Ledyard, Lyme, New London, North Stonington, Old Lyme, Stonington and Waterford, Connecticut. As a health district, formed under Connecticut General Statutes Section 19a-241, LLHD is a special unit of government, allowing member municipalities to provide comprehensive public health services to residents in a more efficient manner by consolidating the services within one organization.
To borrow from one of the great literary minds of our time, the Fresh Prince, its summertime. And in order to maximize your and your familys ability to have fun while school is out (and its sort of a buzz), were here to help you to untangle and make sense of all the different guidance floating around when it comes to COVID vaccines. That way you can take time to sit back and unwind safely.
But first, just to point out how maddeningly confusing it can be as to who should be getting boosted and when this week well start things off with a little quiz.
HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION:You are 48 years old. Your spouse, who just turned 46, has an underlying health condition that necessitated her getting a second COVID vaccine booster. Your kids, one of whom is 12 and the other, who is 16 and suffers with asthma, have both been vaccinated and boosted. The older one recently contracted the virus and was prescribed Paxlovid by the family doctor. Your mother, who lives in Canada and you plan on visiting in two weeks, is currently going through chemotherapy, but shes been vaccinated and boosted as well. Are you eligible for a second booster? Solve for x.
Right. So, its a tad complicated.
To answer tough questions like these and plenty of others we chatted with Danielle Scheurer, M.D., MUSC Health System chief quality officer, who oversees all things COVID for the hospital system.
Q. If youre under 50 and its been more than five months since your first booster, should you be getting another one, even if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is only recommending it for those 50 and older? I ask because I imagine there arent lines out the door these days.
A. Its a good question, and you make a fair point. As far as should you, the CDC has released no new guidance for those age 49 and younger. And youre right; a lot of those folks are hitting their six-, seven-, eight-month windows, so theyre wondering what they should do. To be honest, we always ask people if theyre eligible for the booster, but if they come in seeking a vaccine, we dont pester them or over-screen. We never turn away people wanting to get a vaccine. Its an honor system.
Q. Same scenario, but lets turn the question on its head: are the boosters even that effective against the latest strains of COVID anyway?
A. For the most part the mindset has changed quite a bit on vaccines and boosters its less about can we prevent you from altogether getting COVID, and its shifted more to a focus on reducing how sick you get if you happen to get COVID. The boosters are still very good, but theres a lot we just dont know. The bottom line is and this gets back to some of the old boring and tiresome public health messaging if you want to prevent getting COVID, you need to social distance, wash hands frequently, wear a mask. That sort of thing.
Q. I keep reading about how the Food and Drug Administration says the next round of boosters should focus on the Omicron subvariants. How are scientists supposed to make a vaccine for variations that havent even happened yet?
A. Youre right. There is some work being done and I dont know how far theyve gotten with it to produce an Omicron-specific booster with some projection of what may happen based on the pattern of behavior. Just like with the flu, COVID is constantly changing. How flu vaccines are made from season to season is based on historical data and projections. Basically, its our best scientific guess, for lack of a better way of putting it. Some years we nail it, and flu numbers are low. Sometimes we dont, and its maybe 30% effective, and a lot more people get sick. So yes, it is possible for the vaccine makers to get a future COVID booster right, but its still based on their best guess, which is usually pretty good. My only concern is that this new round of boosters is only going to be good if the variants quit mutating. And the more time the virus has the luxury of hanging around, the more likely it is to keep mutating and varying. Every iteration of these variants, the vaccine becomes less and less of a shield against transmission. But its still very good at preventing hospitalization and death.
Q. Kids age 5 and younger were recently approved to get the vaccine. What kind of numbers are we seeing at MUSC Healths vaccine sites for kids in that age range?
A. The turnout has been pretty low for little kids. Maybe some of it has to do with it being so early in the approval process. Maybe parents are just overly cautious. Either way, theres not a high uptake yet.
Q. Basic question, but one that I know most people still care about: Regardless of age, does getting a COVID vaccine/booster at any of the MUSC Health sites cost anything?
A. We have chosen not to charge people for the vaccine. And that applies to everybody.
Q. Why does my pediatricians office charge for it?
A. Im not 100% sure, but my guess is theyre not charging you for the vaccine but rather an administration fee, like a payment for their time.
Q. Why isnt everybody who gets a positive COVID test prescribed Paxlovid?
A. The CDC has guidelines for prescribers, and just like with the vaccine, its all about the risk-benefit ratio. In other words, it comes down to the patients age, health history and timing: it needs to be started within five days of coming down with the virus. But that doesnt mean theres a hard and fast rule as to who can get it and who cant. Just like any prescription, it boils down to the expertise of the prescriber as to whether its a good fit for the patient. That said, getting Paxlovid is much easier than ever. More drugstores have it, and now pharmacists themselves are able to prescribe it, saving the patient the headache of having to scramble to find a prescriber and then a location that actually has the pills.
Q. Last one. Were in a weird time where were in a spike, but nobody really seems to be behaving like we have in the past: i.e., social distancing, masking, etc. To what do you attribute infection numbers being medium to high but hospitalizations and deaths so low? Is it because the strains are less severe or maybe were approaching some sort of herd immunity?
A. I think it might be both. There is pretty good evidence that were pretty close to, if not already at, herd immunity. Most Americans have evidence of antibodies in their systems, whether its from vaccine or natural antibodies. So, combine that with the fact that Omicron seems to be a little less severe, and thats my best guess as to why things havent spiraled out of control.
**Got a vaccine question you'd like answered? Email it to donovanb@musc.edu with subject line "Vaccine Q."
City of Columbia and DHEC are offering COVID-19 vaccinations and tests at are parks
Jul 10, 2022 10:15 AM EDT
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) Looking for a COVID-19 vaccine?
The City of Columbia and DHEC are offering COVID-19 vaccinations and tests at area parks.
SC DHEC will be handing out self-administering tests kits and providing vaccinations at each clinic, say officials.
For the month of July, the following clinics will be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
CNN
The much-awaited summer lull in coronavirus cases doesnt appear to be happening as Covid-19 infections continue to increase in much of the United States.
An earlier rise in cases this year was driven by the BA.2 Omicron subvariant. Now, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that two other subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, constitute more than 70% of new infections in the country. These subvariants may partially escape the immunity produced by the vaccine and by prior infection, though vaccination still likely protects against severe illness.
These developments are occurring as more people resume travel and other pre-pandemic activities. How should people think about their risk from Covid-19 right now? If they are vaccinated and boosted, are they safe? What about those who recently had Covid-19? What kind of precautions should people take if they still want to avoid Covid-19? And if someone tests positive for the coronavirus, should this person still isolate?
To help with these questions, I spoke with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also author of Lifelines: A Doctors Journey in the Fight for Public Health.
CNN: Do current Covid-19 trends indicate that there is another surge of cases in the United States?
Dr. Leana Wen: Im not sure this would be called another surge because the numbers didnt really come down from the previous rise. In the winter, from December 2021 to about February 2022, we saw a huge surge in cases from the original Omicron subvariant, BA.1. There was a small lull; then BA.2 came along with that rise in cases. Now, BA.4 and BA.5 are displacing previous Omicron subvariants and are causing most of the infections in the US. Many places are seeing an increase in infections from a high baseline of cases.
We also have to keep in mind that the number of reported cases is much lower than the actual number of cases. I think we could have anywhere from five to 10 times as many cases as are reported, considering how many cases are diagnosed by home antigen tests and are not reported to public health authorities.
The good news is that these recent surges have not been accompanied by hospitals being overwhelmed, which illustrates the powerful effect of the vaccines in mostly decoupling infection from severe illness.
CNN: With these kinds of numbers, how should people think about their Covid-19 risk? Does that mean people should cancel travel and bring back restrictions?
Wen: I dont think that most people should have to change their daily activities, but I do think people need to be aware of their risk of contracting Covid-19 if they dont take additional precautions.
The good news is that the vaccines and boosters continue to provide excellent protection against severe disease. However, we also know that immunity wanes over time, and there does appear to be some immune (evasion) with BA.4 and BA.5 in particular. That means people who are vaccinated and boosted are unlikely to become severely ill if they contract Covid-19, but they could still become infected.
The question people should ask is this: How much do they want to continue to avoid infection? There is so much virus around us, and the variants are so contagious. That means avoiding infection requires additional consideration. Many people may not want to plan their lives around Covid-19 precautions anymore, especially if they are generally healthy and well-protected from severe illness.
On the other hand, many people may still prioritize not contracting Covid-19 because of the risk of long-haul symptoms. They may also have underlying medical conditions that predispose to more severe outcomes themselves, or they may live with others who are more vulnerable and want to reduce their risk to those around them.
CNN: For people who want to be cautious, what do you recommend?
Wen: For individuals who want to prioritize reducing their risk of Covid-19 infection, Id advise first that they follow the CDC guidance and stay up to date on their boosters. Everyone ages 5 and older can receive a first booster. Those 50 and older can receive a second booster for a total of four shots.
Certain individuals (who are moderately or severely immunocompromised) can receive five shots. (These individuals should also find out if they are eligible for Evusheld, the preventive antibody that can further aid in reducing the progression to severe illness.)
Id also urge that they wear a high-quality N95 mask or equivalent in indoor, crowded settings. Mask mandates being lifted does not mean that people shouldnt wear masks. A lot of people dont find masks to be inconvenient. If thats the case, Id continue to wear masks in all indoor public settings. For those who find masks uncomfortable, Id encourage mask-wearing in the highest-risk settings for example, mask while in a crowded security line at the airport and during boarding and deplaning.
Of course, remember that outdoor gatherings continue to be much lower risk than indoors. People who want to be very cautious should try to go to outdoor gatherings if possible and then go to indoor gatherings only if others all have negative tests that day.
CNN: A lot of people are sick of hearing about these precautions. What if they just want to live their lives but dont want to infect vulnerable people?
Wen: I certainly understand this sentiment. Its very hard for society to impose restrictions on individuals and ask people to forever put gatherings like weddings and birthday parties on hold or to forgo going to activities they love like indoor restaurants and gyms. My best advice here is to recognize that if you go to indoor settings, you could contract Covid-19. Be aware of your risk and take precautions accordingly.
For example, perhaps you can go about living your life as you wish, but before you visit grandma in a nursing home, take a rapid test that day. If you go to a crowded indoor wedding, take a test a few days after to make sure you didnt contract the coronavirus. And if you have symptoms at any point, immediately test and do not expose others around you.
CNN: Are you safe if you recently had Covid-19?
Wen: Recent infection produces some protection that probably lasts for about three months. Reinfection can certainly happen though, and some studies suggest that getting the original Omicron BA.1 does not protect against the newer variants. Vaccination in addition to recent recovery conveys better protection, so make sure you are up to date with your vaccines and boosters, even if youve had Covid-19.
CNN: And what if you do test positive should you still isolate?
Wen: Yes, because you dont want to spread Covid-19 to others. The CDC guidance is that you isolate for five days and then wear a mask around others for an additional five days after that if symptoms are improving. I think a testing policy is even better than this because people remain infected for different lengths of time. Id encourage people to take home tests daily from day four and to end isolation once their home rapid antigen test is negative. Now is the time to make sure you have plenty of home tests!
Move the Needle - Episode 10
There is new guidance needed for pediatric immunizations, and pharmacists should be prepared for what's to come.
In this month's episode, Ed Cohen and John Beckner from NCPA are joined by Mitchel Rothholz, RPh, MBA, Chief of Governance & State Affiliates- American Pharmacists Association, and Executive Director, APhA Foundation, about pediatric COVID-19 doses and preparation for flu season.
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of July 11, 2022, there are currently 2,858 active COVID-19 cases statewide. There have been 22 deaths reported since the last report, with a total of 7,091 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 96-year old female from Wayne County, a 91-year old male from Kanawha County, a 91-year old female from Mason County, a 94-year old female from Roane County, a 91-year old female from Kanawha County, a 95-year old male from Cabell County, a 71-year old male from Kanawha County, an 87-year old male from Wyoming County, a 75-year old male from Hancock County, a 56-year old male from Wood County, an 81-year old female from Roane County, an 85-year old female from Harrison County, an 88-year old male from Kanawha County, an 87-year old female from Cabell County, a 79-year old female from Kanawha County, a 92-year old female from Fayette County, an 83-year old male from Kanawha County, a 44-year old female from Jefferson County, a 78-year old male from Lewis County, an 80-year old male from Wayne County, a 79-year old female from Wyoming County, and a 78-year old female from Upshur County.
In West Virginia, we have a high percentage of children who are cared for by a grandparent, said Bill J. Crouch. We cannot afford to lose these family pillars, who provide critical love and care, to COVID-19. Please protect your family with the vaccine and boosters.
CURRENT ACTIVE CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (12), Berkeley (181), Boone (40), Braxton (15), Brooke (20), Cabell (141), Calhoun (7), Clay (8), Doddridge (5), Fayette (92), Gilmer (10), Grant (13), Greenbrier (68), Hampshire (21), Hancock (43), Hardy (22), Harrison (137), Jackson (31), Jefferson (82), Kanawha (337), Lewis (25), Lincoln (22), Logan (53), Marion (97), Marshall (71), Mason (41), McDowell (67), Mercer (118), Mineral (34), Mingo (38), Monongalia (140), Monroe (21), Morgan (11), Nicholas (47), Ohio (58), Pendleton (7), Pleasants (16), Pocahontas (2), Preston (43), Putnam (96), Raleigh (145), Randolph (18), Ritchie (13), Roane (13), Summers (24), Taylor (27), Tucker (14), Tyler (5), Upshur (62), Wayne (17), Webster (24), Wetzel (24), Wirt (6), Wood (128), Wyoming (59). To find the cumulative cases per county, please visit coronavirus.wv.gov and look on the Cumulative Summary tab which is sortable by county.
West Virginians ages 6 months and older are recommended to get vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19. Those 5 years and older should receive a booster shot when due. Second booster shots for those age 50 and over who are 4 months or greater from their first booster are recommended, as well as for younger individuals over 12 years old with serious and chronic health conditions that lead to being considered moderately to severely immunocompromised.
Visit the WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator, a free, online tool that helps individuals figure out when they may be due for a COVID-19 shot, making it easier to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination. To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, or to find a vaccine site near you, visit vaccinate.wv.gov or call 1-833-734-0965.
To locate COVID-19 testing near you, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
No matter the situation, the health leaders and advisory teams explore new options to discover one that ensures more robust and durable immunity, doing away with the need for the frequency of booster shots.
The overall pace of COVID-19 spread in the United States has slowed, with more incidences observed in Western areas than in its traditional hotbeds of activity. For example, California recorded a massive surge in new infections, the only sight of respite being slightly less number of hospitalizations and a low and stable fatality rate. Under the influence of the Delta virus, the state clocked over 2k cases of corona positivity in ICUs. However, the latest wave has resulted in some 300 such cases. The experts believe that better diagnosis, advanced treatments, and vaccination drive can prevent severe illnesses from viral infection.
However, the virus today is not necessarily the virus tomorrow. The virus can change and cause new problems. Hence, there is a need to have a ready response system. In this effort, The US Food and Drug Administration advisory board continues to discuss the emergency use of new vaccines and other treatment options that offer promising outcomes. A case in point is the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Novavax, a biotechnology firm from Maryland. The advisory board gives the nod to the vaccine for emergency use authorization (EUA) for people in the age group of 18 and more. While it has obtained a recommendation, the actual authorization will be effective once the agency has done the investigation of its development and manufacturing process.
The uniqueness of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
It is a different type of vaccine than we have in the United States. We have two types of vaccines the adenovirus vector vaccine by Johnson & Johnson and RNA/ mRNA vaccines. These vaccines inject the genetic recipe into the body cells, and those cells, in turn, produce the protein so that our immunity can fight the disease. The other vaccine contains an adenovirus vector. Scientists have changed this virus so that it cant make you sick. It is a good virus that helps us make more protein to fight the infection.
However, the Novavax vaccine leverages the older vaccine development techniques, where the injection introduces the protein and not the genetic recipe. So, the main difference is that this vaccine uses proteins made outside the body and injects them into the system to aid immunity. These proteins are put together in a special way to create nanoparticles, which further help your body make more proteins. This vaccine also contains immune stimulants like adjuvant. Adjuvants can trigger better action from your immunity.
Other vaccines that use the same model as Novavax include diphtheria toxoid vaccines, tetanus toxoid vaccines, the hepatitis B virus, and others. These are not COVID-related, though.
Novavax vaccine side effects
These vaccine types usually dont cause any risk apart from inflammation (redness or soreness) at the injection site. In its clinical trial of nearly 40,000 people, 6 cases of myocarditis and one in the placebo group occurred. And mainly, a tiny fraction of young men reported these issues. mRNA vaccines didnt reveal such side effects in clinical tests, but these cases appeared only after administering millions of injections. Hence, such results of Novavax during clinical trials made FDA advisors warn against it if this gets the EUA nod.
Vaccine hesitancy among the Americans
Novavax vaccines efficacy in the clinical trial stood at 90% overall and 80% in people older than 65. But the delay in its approval creates an uncertain atmosphere around it. About 80% of Americans have had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and two-thirds have completed both rounds. Nearly 50% of the eligible candidates have taken their booster shots. But vaccine trend seems to have hit a plateau in the US. On digging into a recent survey by MyBioSource, you will realize that places like Louisiana, South Dakota, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, and others either displayed a higher number of people opposing the public policies around COVID or remained equally divided over the same. The same poll also suggests growing resentment toward the safety steps, with Louisiana and Montana seeing nearly 15% and 31% rise, respectively.
It is unclear what change this new vaccine can bring about, but the makers promote it as a traditional protein-style vaccine. Experts opine that there can be a marginal improvement in the outlook, and one cannot expect colossal demand to surge from this.
No matter the situation, the health leaders and advisory teams explore new options to discover one that ensures more robust and durable immunity, doing away with the need for the frequency of booster shots. The vaccine should be easy to apply and store. Also, it should be able to offer protection against all types of mutating COVID viruses. More precisely, it should have a ubiquitous impact with few risks. In terms of these, Novavax can be a solution, mainly in countries with low to medium economies, if not the US, because those places lack the cold storage capacity required for most mRNA vaccines.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified before a Senate hearing in June.Credit...Haiyun Jiang The New York Times
As the coronavirus pandemic entered its third year, the American public had lost much of its trust both in public health experts and in government leaders, and was less worried than before about Covid-19, according to a survey conducted in early May and released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.
Confidence ratings for public health officials, like those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; for state and local elected officials; and for President Biden fell in a range from 43 percent to 54 percent in the survey much lower than during the early stages of the pandemic.
The survey found a wide partisan gap in attitudes. Overall, 52 percent of respondents said that public health officials had done an excellent or good job at managing the pandemic. But while 72 percent of Democrats in the survey said they felt that way, only 29 percent of Republicans did.
Democrats were also more likely than Republicans 67 percent to 51 percent to say they had at least some confidence in how prepared the nations health care system was to address a future global health emergency.
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Stanford Medicine who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases, said the pandemic only widened the countrys partisan divide over those issues.
I think that mistrust in government and politicians, and even to a certain extent science, started well before the pandemic, and it just was exacerbated, Dr. Maldonado said.
Pandemic fatigue and a growing notion that Covid is now a part of everyday life probably played a role in the changing public attitudes identified in the Pew survey, according to Dr. Robert Wachter, a professor and the chair of the medicine department at the University of California, San Francisco.
I think peoples thinking is very much influenced by the fact that the chances youre going to die of Covid have gone down substantially on a per-case basis, Dr. Wachter said.
Public confidence in medical centers and hospitals remained high: Eight out of ten respondents said those institutions were continuing to manage the pandemic well, a small decline from 88 percent two years ago.
The survey found that Americans have grown less worried about catching the virus or unintentionally spreading it to others. Most respondents said they thought the worst of the pandemic was over, and only about a quarter saw the coronavirus as a significant threat to their personal health, down from 30 percent in January.
The average number of new confirmed cases reported daily across the United States surged to record highs in January, driven by the Omicron variant. The surge receded swiftly as the winter ended, but the average started to rise again in the spring. In recent weeks since the survey was taken, the number of new confirmed cases has been around 100,000 a day, according to a New York Times database.
Those figures are thought to understate the true number of infections, however, because of increasing reliance on at-home testing, the closings of mass testing sites and reduced frequency in data reporting by states. New deaths have fallen significantly since the winter surge, and Covid now kills fewer than 400 people daily in the United States.
Though many people are still becoming infected, survey data shows that public concern about the virus has declined substantially. The Pew survey found that 76 percent of respondents in May thought the worst of the pandemic was over, compared with about half in January.
Thats the first time during the entire outbreak that weve had a majority of Americans saying this, said Alec Tyson, an associate director of research at the Pew Research Center and a lead author of the survey.
A narrow majority of respondents in the latest survey 55 percent said they thought vaccination had been somewhat or very effective at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. About half felt that way about wearing masks indoors. Respondents were more skeptical about the efficacy of people staying at least six feet apart indoors, with only 34 percent considering that practice at least somewhat effective.
The survey found very wide partisan gaps in attitudes toward all those preventive measures, especially mask-wearing, with Republicans far more likely than Democrats to say they did little or no good.
The poll included 10,282 adults who were surveyed online between May 2 and May 8.
The dominance of the coronavirus variants BA.4 and BA.5 as well as the ending of any protective measures against COVID-19 have produced a rapid increase in the number of infections. On Thursday, the Robert Koch Institute, Germanys central agency for infectious diseases, reported 135,402 new coronavirus infections, and on Tuesday there were as many as 147,489. The 7-day incidence rose to over 690 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, from 650 on Monday.
These figures do not even begin to reflect the real extent of the disaster. The abolition of free testing, the scrapping of compulsory testing for certain activities, and the dramatic reduction of testing options mean that only a portion of total infections is registered. Every day, 100 to 200 people are dying of COVID-19. Officially, there have already been 142,000 coronavirus deaths in Germany.
As a result of the murderous policy of mass infection, the hospitals, which have been at their limits for two-and-a-half years, are once again on the brink of collapse. On Monday, according to the daily report of the Intensive Care Register of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), the number of coronavirus intensive care patients rose above 1,000. This is the highest number of patients since mid-May.
The scientific director of the DIVI, Christian Karagiannidis, warned that the hospital bed occupancy rate for the summer season was relatively high. The number of available beds will continue to decline due to staff shortages, he added. It is not only the increasing number of hospital admissions that is pushing the entire health care system to the limit. Ever-increasing numbers of employees are getting infected and are therefore absent from the workplace.
The chief executive of the German Hospital Society (DKG), Gerald Ga, told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND): We receive reports from all federal states that individual wards and departments must be closed due to staff shortages. At times, even emergency room admissions are affected.
We see bottlenecks in hospitals, especially in Schleswig-Holstein with its particularly high infection rates, said Susanne Johna, chairwoman of the Marburger Bund doctors union, in Handelsblatt. The health system is reaching its limits in places. In the third year of the pandemic, this is a real disaster.
Looking ahead to the upcoming autumn wave, Johna explained: Then we will not only be dealing with a coronavirus, but probably also with an aggressive flu wave. This combination of coronavirus and influenza waves would be a real problem, as the health care system would then have to deal with two serious diseases on a large scale.
Entire departments of large hospitals are already paralysed. The University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) had to close several wards at its Kiel and Lbeck sites due to staff shortages. On July 1, 479 employees were in isolation, a number that rose to over 600 by July 8.
The shortage of personnel, which has been rampant for a long time, is also having a major impact in other federal states. The situation in Saxonys hospitals is also extremely tenuous due to coronavirus cases in the workforce and the general lack of nursing staff. The economic situation and staff shortages make the situation more difficult, said the deputy managing director of the Saxony Hospital Association Friedrich R. Mnchen. He pointed out that future service restrictions cannot be ruled out.
The provision of care has already deteriorated compared to the time before the pandemic. At the St. Georg Clinic in Leipzig, around a quarter fewer beds are currently in operation. This is due to staff shortages and COVID-19 absences.
According to a spokeswoman for the hospital, more nurses than ever before have decided to leave the health care system in the last two years. Only the dedicated commitment of our employees has so far prevented the closure of entire wards, she said.
Only five of 11 operating theatres were in operation in the Asklepios Klinik Nord Heidberg in Hamburg last week, according to the company. All areas of the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) are also affected by staff shortages. Around 250 of more than 14,400 employees are currently in isolation. Therefore, since the beginning of the pandemic, planned and non-urgent operations have had to be postponed again and again and beds have had to be closed, the hospital said.
Throughout Germany, dozens of other hospitals have agreed to reduce their operating capacities.
At the hospital in Erding, Bavaria, an average of 140 out of 800 employees are currently ill every day. In addition, there are numerous vacancies that cannot be filled. In the meantime, one ward is completely closed, while others can only be operated to a limited extent and some planned operations cant be carried out.
The Merkurnewspaper reported on a doctor at a Munich hospital. There are currently only three out of eight operating theatres in operation, he explained. Ongoing operations are sometimes aborted due to an emergency. And its now midsummer, not winter. The doctor said he has never experienced such a dramatic shortage of personnel.
The strike by nurses at the university hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia also demonstrates the catastrophic situation in health care. Employees are now in their tenth week of strike action at six university hospitals. While the Verdi trade union is working to break the strike by concluding a so-called relief collective agreement, the workers are protesting against the unsustainable conditions that endanger the lives and well-being of patients and employees.
Even in the face of these disastrous developments, the government is sticking to its pandemic policy. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (Social Democrats) and other government representatives have made it clear that effective measures such as lockdowns and school and business closures will no longer be considered under any circumstances. Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated in his summer interview with public broadcaster ARD: School closures should no longer take place.
Some states have repealed the last few remaining measures. In Bavaria, the state government recently abolished the compulsory requirement to wear a mask on public transport. Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (Christian Social Union) defended the decision with the right-wing mantra: We are thus focusing more on the personal responsibility of the citizens.
Under conditions of staff shortages due to coronavirus infections, Free Democratic Party Vice-President Wolfgang Kubicki called for a further reduction of the quarantine period for people who test positive to three days.
The trade unions are also defending the profits before lives policy. Maike Finnern of the teachers union (GEW) told the RND that new school and day care closures in the autumn must be prevented. It is precisely the reopening of child care facilities and schools that have led to an explosive increase in infections and facilitated the spread of virus mutations.
In Berlin, the Social Democrat/Left Party/Green state government, the so-called red-red-green Senate, is implementing an austerity policy on health care. The district of Neuklln alone is to reduce its coronavirus staff from 54 to 10 employees. Neukllns public health doctor Nicolai Savaskan stated that this will no longer guarantee the protection of vulnerable groups in old peoples homes and nursing homes. That means serious cases and deaths, said the doctor.
