As omicron numbers drop at Denver Health, Dr. Anuj Mehta is reminded of the scene in the 1980 comedy The Blues Brothers when John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd pile out of a battered car after a police chase.
Suddenly, all the doors pop off the hinges, the front wheels fall off and smoke pours from the engine.
And thats my fear, said Mehta, a pulmonary and critical care physician. Im worried that as soon as we stop, everythings just going to fall apart.
Across the U.S., the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has tumbled more than 28% over the past three weeks to about 105,000 on average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the ebbing of the omicron surge has left in its wake postponed surgeries, exhausted staff members and uncertainty over whether this is the last big wave or whether another one lies ahead.
What we want to see is that the omicron surge continues to decrease, that we dont see another variant of concern emerge, that we start to come out of the other side of this, said Dr. Chris Beyrer, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
But he added: Weve been proven wrong twice already, with delta and omicron. So that adds to peoples anxiety and uncertainty and sense of like `When does this end?'
Another reason for anxiety: COVID-19 hospitalizations arent even all that low. They are at a level seen in January 2021, amid last winters surge.
Hospitals limped through the omicron surge with workforces that already were depleted after many staff members quit the profession. The remaining health care workers got sick in droves. In some hospitals, office staff was assigned to help make beds.
Now, many hospitals are still in crisis mode, as they work to reschedule people whose hip replacements and even cancer and brain surgeries were put off during the omicron crisis to free up bed space and nurses to care for COVID-19 patients.
Even in North Dakota, which has consistently ranked near the top in the number of COVID-19 cases relative to the population, hospitals have seen a dramatic drop in virus patients. However, executives at Dakotas-based Sanford Health said their hospitals are still full.
Weve been running hard for a couple years here now, but I am not sure that I sense relief, said Dr. Doug Griffin, a vice president and medical officer for Sanford in Fargo, North Dakota. Most of our caregivers are giving care to other patients. We still have some very, very sick people coming in for all sorts of reasons.
At the Cleveland Clinics 13 Ohio hospitals, the number of patients with COVID-19 has fallen to 280, down from an all-time pandemic high of around 1,200. Surgeries began to be delayed at the end of December, and the situation is just now returning to normal, said Dr. Raed Dweik, head of the systems respiratory institute.
The hope, he said, is that this is the last big surge and that the hospitals can begin to catch up.
Weve had our hopes dashed before that. Oh, this is the end of the pandemic and this virus,' he said. Every time we we say something like this, its kind of laughed at us, and it comes back with a new variant.
Dr. Craig Spencer, a New York City emergency room physician, tweeted a week ago: Just worked 12 hours in the ER on a busy Monday and didnt have a single Covid patient. Not one. This aint over. But its a helluva lot better than even just a few weeks ago.
Spencer said Tuesday that he had another COVID-free shift during the overnight hours Friday and Saturday.
I am getting a somewhat random sample, of course, but just compared to a month ago, its a complete sea change, which is great, he said.
Mary Turner, who is president of the Minnesota Nurses Association and works as a COVID-19 ICU nurse, said patient numbers remain high because of all the other people who didnt go to their appointments or their follow-ups who are coming in with all the other conditions.
If there is any relief, Turner said, its being able to walk into a patients room without having to wear full protective gear.
Its like heaven to walk in and just don a pair of gloves, she said.
At the eight-hospital Beaumont Health system in Michigan, the number of COVID-19 patients fell to 250 on Tuesday, down from last months omicron peak of 851.
Dr. Justin Skrzynski, an internal medicine physician who runs a COVID-19 floor at Beaumont Healths hospital in Royal Oak, said patient care is about 90% back to normal and he finds reason for optimism, noting that the combination of vaccinations and immunity from infections should provide some protection.
But he noted: I think there needs to be a lot of awareness of how much a lot of health care has degenerated.
He said nurses subjected to abuse from patients have left the profession in large numbers. Costs have risen.
Right now, theres so much that were doing to prop up the health care system financially, he said, noting the billions of dollars that the federal stimulus package provided to help hospitals deal with the pandemic. Unfortunately, once the dust settles, I think all these things are going to come due.
Another Russian women's hockey player has tested positive for the coronavirus after playing against Canada in the Beijing Olympics.
Russian Olympic Committee team coach Evgeny Bobariko tells state news agency RIA Novosti that Polina Bolgareva tested positive.
The forward played against Canada in a game Monday that was delayed because of virus concerns on both teams before the Russians and Canadians agreed to start the game in masks. The Canadians kept their masks on and won 6-1.
The Russians removed theirs at the start of the third period. Bobariko says the team found out about the positive test after arriving back at the Olympic village following the game.
Russia has eight players unavailable in Beijing because of the virus and another player was left in Moscow after a positive test.
"I don't know how it's happening," Bobariko said.
Total vaccine doses distributed: 670,573,355
Patients who've received the first dose: 251,176,199
Patients whove received the second dose: 212,920,278
% of population fully vaccinated: 64.1%
% of infections tied to the Omicron Variant: 99.9%
% of infections tied to the Delta Variant: 0.1%
Two years after the death of Li Wenliang, the doctor who tried to warn China about the coronavirus only to succumb to it himself, his memory remains a source of equal parts grief, anger and hope for many Chinese.
Dr. Li, an ophthalmologist from Wuhan, where the pandemic began, rose to national attention after he warned friends on social media in late December 2019 of a mysterious new virus in his hospital, only to be reprimanded by the local police for spreading rumors. When the government belatedly confirmed that there was an outbreak at hand, Dr. Li became a national hero, seen as an embodiment of the importance of free expression.
But Dr. Li soon fell ill with the virus himself. On Feb. 6, 2020, he died.
Chinese social media exploded in fury and grief, at both Dr. Lis fate and the governments sluggish response to the outbreak generally. Many users flocked to Dr. Lis profile on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform. They thanked him for his bravery in speaking up, apologized for his treatment by the authorities and shared a quote he gave in an interview with Chinese media before his death: A healthy society should have more than one voice.
Two years later, much of that anger has faded from view, because of both censorship and the governments subsequent success at controlling the outbreak. But Dr. Lis Weibo profile suggests that the memory of those early days remains strong.
In the days before the anniversary of his death, a torrent of comments accumulated under his last post, in which he had shared the news that he had tested positive.
Some urged him to rest in peace, telling him not to worry about the pandemic in China anymore and that the Beijing Winter Olympics were proceeding well. Others treated him like a confidante or guardian angel. Dr. Li, please bless me to find somebody I love, wrote one user.
The construction industry is having mass layoffs, wrote a man who said he worried about his career prospects.
Other posts were more explicitly political. Several commenters quoted the written apology that police forced Dr. Li to sign after he was reprimanded. Others mentioned recent news events that have stoked public anger, including officials tepid response to the case of a mentally ill woman who was found chained in a shed this month. Theyre ignoring peoples anger, one user wrote.
Users have left more than one million comments under Dr. Lis last post in the past two years, though it is not clear how many have been deleted by censors.
As tens of millions of at-home COVID-19 tests from the government make their way to Americans in the mail, many parts of the country are facing sub-zero temperatures.
So what happens if your test kit freezes on the way to your house? Can you still use it?
All at-home COVID-19 tests should be stored within a certain temperature range, usually 3686F (230C).
The temperature range for your test will be listed on the instructions that came with the box or on the manufacturers website.
Storage of these kinds of rapid antigen tests for extended periods outside this range can produce less accurate results, according to a study last year in the Journal of Clinical Virology.
How much the results are impacted depends on how long the kit has been hot or cold and whether it went through repeated cycles of freezing and thawing.
At-home COVID-19 tests contain liquid and other components that, if frozen or too cold for a long time, can skew the results.
To ensure that the test will work as intended, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that people follow the instructions that come with the test or online, which includes temperature and other storage guidelines.
Manufacturers have also developed the tests with temperature fluctuations during shipping in mind.
Since shipping conditions may vary, test developers perform stability testing to ensure that the test performance will remain stable when tests are stored at various temperatures, the FDA said, including shipping during the summer in very hot regions and in the winter in very cold regions.
Dr. Amy Karger, chair of the College of American Pathologists Point-of-Care Testing Committee, thinks we need more independent study of the impact of temperature fluctuations during shipping on at-home tests.
However, there havent been any reports or any evidence to suggest that the kits are compromised by shipping temperatures, she said. So I would cautiously say that they should be fine.
In addition, a single freeze-thaw isnt going to destroy the rapid antigen test, epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina wrote on Twitter. [It] may reduce sensitivity a little bit, but not much.
A spokesperson for Abbott Laboratories, maker of the BinaxNOW test, confirmed this.
If the test is stored outside the [35.686F] temperature range for a relatively short period of time for a couple of hours up to a day or two it will be fine to use, the spokesperson told Healthline.
If your at-home test arrives in the mail very cold or frozen, the FDA recommends that you bring the package inside your home and leave it unopened at room temperature for at least two hours before opening it.
If you were to perform the test with a kit thats too cold or too hot, that does affect the accuracy of the test, said Karger.
Room temperature for most at-home tests is approximately 5986F (1530C). But again, check the instructions that came with your test.
You probably wont know if your at-home test froze and thawed several times during shipping, but Karger said there are some signs that a test may not be working properly.
Most tests have a control line that should always appear whether youre positive or negative for the coronavirus.
Karger said if the control line doesnt show up, takes longer to appear than indicated on the instructions or appears before you run the test, you should not rely on the result.
The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test has an internal control that will trigger a Test Error result if the product is exposed to extreme temperature and humidity that could be damaging to the test reagents.
If you think your test may not be working properly, take another test, either an at-home test or a PCR test.
High temperatures can also cause a problem with at-home COVID-19 tests.
The maximum storage temperature for most COVID-19 tests is 86F (30C), but check the instructions that came with the test.
Very high heat can cause a lot of damage to a rapid antigen test, wrote Mina on Twitter. Dont let your test boil in the sun in the summer the proteins can fall apart and the test can be irreparably harmed.
The instructions for some tests also recommend against placing the test in direct sunlight, which may damage the components in the test. This is a good rule of thumb to follow for all tests.
If your at-home COVID-19 test is positive, thats a good indication that you have a coronavirus infection. For most tests, the chance of a false positive occurring is small.
In this case, follow the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions guidelines, including isolating and wearing a well-fitting face mask if you have to be around others.
A negative test indicates that no coronavirus was detected in your sample.
This might be because you dont have a coronavirus infection. However, a negative result can also happen for other reasons.
If you get a negative result, especially if you have [COVID-19] symptoms, you should take that negative with a grain of salt, said Karger.
For example, if you take the test early during a coronavirus infection, the test can give a negative result because the amount of virus in your body isnt high enough for the test to detect. There could also be a problem with the test kit.
If you do get a negative result and youre symptomatic, you should still stay at home, said Karger.
You should still behave as if you have COVID and continue to test on a daily basis, for a few days at least, because some people are reporting not turning positive until day three and even four.
LANSING, Mich. The Michigan House has passed a $1.2 billion plan that would expand aid for COVID-19 patients, healthcare employees and students.
Rep. Thomas Albert says if the bill is signed into law, it would keep students in the classroom, address shortages in hospitals and expand capacity for early treatment for patients battling COVID-19.
This plan addresses some of the most important COVID-related issues facing Michigan today, says Albert. It will help more people infected with the virus recover faster and more fully. It will help keep our kids in school so they can catch up on lost learning. And it will provide reinforcements for weary workers at short-staffed hospitals and other health care providers who have bravely battled this pandemic the past two years.
Albert highlights the following details laid out in House Bill 5523:
The bill is currently awaiting Senate approval.
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Abstract
While the COVID-19 pandemic affected mental health and increased food insecurity across the general population, less is known about the viruss impact on college students. A fall 2020 survey of more than 100,000 students at 202 colleges and universities in 42 states reveals sociodemographic variation in self-reported infections, as well as associations between self-reported infection and food insecurity and mental health. We find that 7% of students self-reported a COVID-19 infection, with sizable differences by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, parenting status, and student athlete status. Students who self-reported COVID-19 infections were more likely to experience food insecurity, anxiety, and depression. Implications for higher education institutions, policy makers, and students are discussed.
This study examines self-reported COVID-19 infection rates among American college students enrolled during fall 2020 (n = 100,488). While some colleges and universities collect information about which of their students contracted COVID-19, the majority do not (1). As college students are returning to classes this fall, this study offers insights into which students have been affected by the disease, and its association with their health and well-being. Conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with increased anxiety and depressive symptoms (25), and food insecurity (6, 7), among college students. The effects of COVID-19 infection, including perceived infection, are much less clear.
In fall 2020, we sent an electronic survey to more than 1.8 million undergraduates enrolled in 202 colleges and universities in 42 states, with a fairly typical response rate of 11% (8, 9). This paper analyzes the results for 100,488 students who responded to questions about whether they had been infected with COVID-19, and how COVID was related to their mental health and food security at the time they took the survey. Given the fact that those most disadvantaged are least likely to respond to surveys, we anticipate the findings here are an underrepresentation of the true infection rates among college students (10). The findings suggest the need for additional, ongoing support for student health and well-being.
We assessed COVID-19 infection rates by asking students whether or not they were sick with COVID at any point during or since the spring 2020 academic term. Incomplete reporting is possible, as some students may have been asymptomatic, unaware they had the virus, or experiencing delayed effects. A study of adults in the United Kingdom found that 24% believed they had the virus but just 4% had tested positive (11). However, there are several reasons why the gap between self-reports and positive tests are likely smaller than reported by the aforementioned study. First, we know that surveys during the pandemic likely underrepresent those most marginalized, as these individuals have lower response rates than those less marginalized (10). Related to this, those who are most marginalized are more likely to have been infected by COVID (12). Finally, as this study examines the association between COVID and mental health, perceptions of infection are equally important, as they are clearly related to mental health and other factors of daily life, given the global recommendations for response upon suspicion of infection (13).
Almost 7% of enrolled students (n = 6,823; 6.79%) reported that they had COVID-19 (Fig. 1).
Prevalence of self-reported COVID-19 contraction among college students (n = 100,488). Observed rates of self-reports of contracting COVID-19 are sorted by student background characteristics. All subgroups are mutually exclusive. Low socioeconomic status is indicated by whether students received a Pell Grant. * = P < 0.05, ** = P < 0.01, *** = P < 0.001.
Self-reported infection rates were higher among racial/ethnic minorities. For example, 14% of Indigenous students, 10% of Latinx students, and 7% of Black students reported having had the virus, compared to 6% of White students (P < 0.01) (Fig. 1). We do not detect differences in self-reported infection rates between female and male students, nor do we find differences based on LGBTQ status, although rates are higher for multigendered students. Students from households of lower socioeconomic standing had substantially higher self-reported rates of infection compared to others (8% vs. 6%, P < 0.01).
Several aspects of students lives appeared to put them at higher risk of COVID-19 infection. Having children was associated with a higher risk of a self-reported infection (P < 0.01). This is not due to age differences between parents and nonparents but might be due to childrens exposure at daycare or school; however, we cannot evaluate those hypotheses with these data. Both working students and college athletes were approximately two percentage points more likely to self-report a COVID-19 infection than nonworking or nonathlete students (P < 0.01). For college athletes, it is possible that this difference is not due to heightened risk of infection but rather that student athletes were tested more often and thus more aware of their infection status.
We implemented multivariate regression analyses to examine whether disparities in reported infection remained after adjusting for the risk factors listed in SI Appendix. These adjustments fully accounted for the higher rate of self-reported COVID-19 infection among Black students, but not among Indigenous and Latinx students. Net of observable factors, the odds of self-reported infection were 2.3 times greater (95% CI: 1.2 to 4.8, P value: 0.015) for Indigenous students and 1.5 times greater (95% CI: 1.4 to 1.7, P value: <0.001) for Latinx students, compared to White students (Fig. 2). Indeed, most of the disparities discussed earlier persist, or even increase, with multivariate modeling.
Adjusted odds of self-reported COVID-19 contraction by student characteristics (n = 100,488). Odds ratios and 95% CIs for each subgroup are in comparison to the reference group. Low socioeconomic status is indicated by whether students received a Pell Grant.
We next considered the association between a self-reported COVID-19 infection and mental health and food insecurity as measured by the US Department of Agriculture food security measure. This measure examines multiple factors related to food security based on the ability to maintain consistent, healthy, and affordable access to food. We again used multivariate regression analyses to control for observable differences between students with and without self-reported COVID. Notably, the associations with anxiety, depression, and food insecurity remained nearly the same or increased slightly, after controlling for a range of covariates. Net of observable factors, the odds of experiencing anxiety was 1.4 times greater (95% CI: 1.3 to 1.4, P value: <0.001) for a student who self-reported COVID-19 infection than one who did not. Similarly, the odds of experiencing depression were 1.4 times greater (95% CI: 1.3 to 1.5, P value: <0.001), while the odds for experiencing food insecurity was 1.7 times greater (95% CI: 1.6 to 1.8, P value: <0.001) (Fig. 3).
Unadjusted and adjusted odds of anxiety, depression, and food insecurity by self-reported COVID-19 contraction (n = 100,488). Unadjusted odds of experiencing anxiety, depression, and food insecurity are compared to adjusted odds. Error bars included in the figure relate to a 95% CI.
These findings are consistent with those initially provided by The Hope Center for College Community and Justice (14).
To summarize, this study identifies inequities in self-reported COVID-19 infections among American undergraduates, and negative associations between self-reported COVID-19 infection and depression, anxiety, and food insecurity. With the assumption that our surveys self-reported COVID-19 infection rate of 7% is generalizable, there could be an estimated 1.4 million college students who have been infected since January 2020. If, as we note above, actual rates of infection exceed self-reports in this survey, then the number of students affected is much larger.
The negative associations between self-reported COVID-19 infection and food insecurity, anxiety, and depression may have several explanations, but new research does suggest increased psychiatric diagnosis after severe COVID-19 infection (15). Given that the longer-term health implications of COVID-19 infections are still being documented (16), it would be prudent for colleges to be prepared to support students who report having been infected with COVID-19. Particular attention should be paid to groups with high rates of self-reported infection, including racially minoritized students, lower-income students, and college athletes.
Data in this study yield from the annual #RealCollege survey fielded in the 2020 fall term at 202 postsecondary colleges and universities across the United States (17). Among the full set of participants in the survey, analyses for this report are from a subset of respondents who had complete information pertaining to whether the student contracted COVID-19, experienced anxiety, experienced depression, experienced food insecurity, and had trouble concentrating. To determine whether significant differences in prevalence of self-reported COVID-19 infection existed across various student subgroups in comparison to specific reference groups, we conducted a series of two-tailed, 2 goodness-of-fit tests with multiple comparison corrections. To estimate differences in self-reported COVID-19 infection by student and institution characteristics and differences in experiences of anxiety, depression, or food insecurity according to whether the student contracted COVID-19, we implemented a series of multivariate logistic regression models run both unconditionally and fully conditionally. Fully conditional models included controls for race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), parenting status, student age, student athlete status, employment status, learning modality, LGBTQ status, college sector, college regionality, urbanicity, and state.
This study was approved by the Research, Integrity, and Compliance department of the Institutional Review Board at Temple University. A consent form was provided on the first page of the electronic survey such that participants would consent by proceeding through to the survey on the website.
Anonymized data, materials, and analysis code are publicly available on the Open Science Framework website (https://osf.io/s4bcv/).
We thank the students and institutions that participated in the fall 2020 #RealCollege Survey. We also thank Dr. Steve Houser, Dr. Heather Clauss, and Dr. David Figlio at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University for reviewing the paper.
Author contributions: S.G.-R. designed research; S.G.-R. and V.C. performed research; S.G.-R., V.C., and J.G. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; V.C., J.G., and M.P. analyzed data; and S.G.-R., V.C., J.G., M.P., K.C., and E.L. wrote the paper.
Competing interest statement: S.G.-R. is a consultant to Edquity, a student emergency aid company, where she holds stock.
This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.2111787119/-/DCSupplemental.
February 08, 2022
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the winter emergence of the omicron variant made it clear that we need to think harder about COVID-19 testing.
Join us on Thursday,February10, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. to hear from Michael Mina, M.D., Chief Science Officer at eMed and a strong, public advocate for more and smarter testing as a method of COVID-19 mitigation. Dr. Mina will discuss the different types of COVID-19 tests, share data on their accuracy and discuss optimal uses of testing during the current surge of COVID-19 and in future stages of the pandemic.
Also presenting will be Wilbur Lam, M.D., Ph.D., Professor at Emory University and W. Paul Bowers Research Chair who will discuss the role of the academic scientific community and government agencies in ensuring safe and effective consumer testing.
This one-hour webinarCOVID-19 Testing: During and After the Omicron Surgeis free to all interested parties. No CME credit will be given for participation and the webinar will not be recorded.
For immediate release: February 8, 2022(22-025)Spanish
Contact: DOH Communications
Rapid antigen tests can be ordered and shipped directly to Washington households at no-cost
OLYMPIA The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is re-opening a statewide portal that allows people to order COVID-19 rapid tests online, then have them shipped to their doorsteps. This time, 1.45 million tests will be available, serving 290,000 households.
Washington state residents can go to www.sayyescovidhometest.org to order one at-home test kit (up to 5 tests). Recipients will get those tests delivered at no cost, but only while supplies last. When more supplies become available, the state will open the portal again.
This is the third time the state has made tests available like this and, in the two prior openings, the system worked successfully. On Friday, Jan. 21, the state opened the portal for the first time with 1.4 million tests available for order. Within eight hours, all tests had been claimed, and approximately 340,000 households received tests. In round two, 130,000 households were served.
Tests are expected to arrive within a few days of the order being placed.
People can still get COVID-19 tests through any of the following options:
It is possible to report a positive test result from an at-home test through the states COVID-19 hotline. The state hotline, 1-800-525-0127 (then press #), is available Monday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Tuesday to Sunday (and observed holidays) 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Language assistance is available.
DOH encourages all smartphone users to download or enable WA Notify for not just exposure notifications but plugging in positive results. For anyone using WA Notify at the time they test positive for COVID-19, they can record their positive test results directly into WA Notify on their devices.
If you have symptoms, you should assume you have COVID-19 even if you dont have a test to confirm it and stay home if youre sick.
Tests can be ordered here:
The DOHwebsite is your source for a healthy dose of information. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sign up for the DOH blog,Public Health Connection.
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FIFA is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to encourage football fans, world leaders and policymakers to #ACTogether to end the COVID-19 pandemic, with a special campaign running throughout the FIFA Club World Cup 2021 in Abu Dhabi.
Football provides a unique platform to convey positive impactful messages for society, said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Health comes first and during the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021, FIFA is united with all participating clubs to highlight the need for equitable access to tools to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide. Teamwork is essential, as nobody is safe until everyone is safe, and that is why we are calling again on everyone to #ACTogether.
Teamwork is essential for success on the football field and in ensuring health for all people around the world, added WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. That is why the World Health Organization is proud to work with FIFA and our ACT-Accelerator partners at the FIFA Club World Cup to promote the need to share vaccines, tests and treatments fairly to protect people from COVID-19. If we all act together, we can end the pandemic.
The #ACTogether branding has been a familiar sight on the pitchside perimeter boards so far during the FIFA Club World Cup, while the campaign video has been played on giant screens at the stadiums. The #ACTogether campaign calls on the world to come together to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
Football fans are being encouraged to get vaccinated and keep following public health measures daily to prevent the spread of COVID-19.The campaign also appeals to world leaders and policymakers to support the WHOsAccess to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Acceleratorinitiative, which is aimed at providing fair access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.
FIFA and the WHO signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019 and have since worked on a range of initiatives that use the power of football to promote health throughout the world. This collaboration has become all the more important during the coronavirus pandemic.
