Need a COVID-19 test or shot? These U.S. airports can help
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Data should be fully and immediately available for public scrutiny
In the pages of The BMJ a decade ago, in the middle of a different pandemic, it came to light that governments around the world had spent billions stockpiling antivirals for influenza that had not been shown to reduce the risk of complications, hospital admissions, or death. The majority of trials that underpinned regulatory approval and government stockpiling of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) were sponsored by the manufacturer; most were unpublished, those that were published were ghostwritten by writers paid by the manufacturer, the people listed as principal authors lacked access to the raw data, and academics who requested access to the data for independent analysis were denied.1234
The Tamiflu saga heralded a decade of unprecedented attention to the importance of sharing clinical trial data.56 Public battles for drug company data,78 transparency campaigns with thousands of signatures,910 strengthened journal data sharing requirements,1112 explicit commitments from companies to share data,13 new data access website portals,8 and landmark transparency policies from medicines regulators1415 all promised a new era in data transparency.
Progress was made, but clearly not enough. The errors of the last pandemic are being repeated. Memories are short. Today, despite the global rollout of covid-19 vaccines and treatments, the anonymised participant level data underlying the trials for these new products remain inaccessible to doctors, researchers, and the publicand are likely to remain that way for years to come.16 This is morally indefensible for all trials, but especially for those involving major public health interventions.
Pfizers pivotal covid vaccine trial was funded by the company and designed, run, analysed, and authored by Pfizer employees. The company and the contract research organisations that carried out the trial hold all the data.17 And Pfizer has indicated that it will not begin entertaining requests for trial data until May 2025, 24 months after the primary study completion date, which is listed on ClinicalTrials.gov as 15 May 2023 (NCT04368728).
The lack of access to data is consistent across vaccine manufacturers.16 Moderna says data may be available with publication of the final study results in 2022.18 Datasets will be available upon request and subject to review once the trial is complete, which has an estimated primary completion date of 27 October 2022 (NCT04470427).
As of 31 December 2021, AstraZeneca may be ready to entertain requests for data from several of its large phase III trials.19 But actually obtaining data could be slow going. As its website explains, timelines vary per request and can take up to a year upon full submission of the request.20
Underlying data for covid-19 therapeutics are similarly hard to find. Published reports of Regenerons phase III trial of its monoclonal antibody therapy REGEN-COV flatly state that participant level data will not be made available to others.21 Should the drug be approved (and not just emergency authorised), sharing will be considered. For remdesivir, the US National Institutes of Health, which funded the trial, created a new portal to share data (https://accessclinicaldata.niaid.nih.gov/), but the dataset on offer is limited. An accompanying document explains: The longitudinal data set only contains a small subset of the protocol and statistical analysis plan objectives.
We are left with publications but no access to the underlying data on reasonable request. This is worrying for trial participants, researchers, clinicians, journal editors, policy makers, and the public. The journals that have published these primary studies may argue that they faced an awkward dilemma, caught between making the summary findings available quickly and upholding the best ethical values that support timely access to underlying data. In our view, there is no dilemma; the anonymised individual participant data from clinical trials must be made available for independent scrutiny.
Journal editors, systematic reviewers, and the writers of clinical practice guideline generally obtain little beyond a journal publication, but regulatory agencies receive far more granular data as part of the regulatory review process. In the words of the European Medicine Agencys former executive director and senior medical officer, relying solely on the publications of clinical trials in scientific journals as the basis of healthcare decisions is not a good idea ... Drug regulators have been aware of this limitation for a long time and routinely obtain and assess the full documentation (rather than just publications).22
Among regulators, the US Food and Drug Administration is believed to receive the most raw data but does not proactively release them. After a freedom of information request to the agency for Pfizers vaccine data, the FDA offered to release 500 pages a month, a process that would take decades to complete, arguing in court that publicly releasing data was slow owing to the need to first redact sensitive information.23 This month, however, a judge rejected the FDAs offer and ordered the data be released at a rate of 55000 pages a month. The data are to be made available on the requesting organisations website (phmpt.org).
In releasing thousands of pages of clinical trial documents, Health Canada and the EMA have also provided a degree of transparency that deserves acknowledgment.2425 Until recently, however, the data remained of limited utility, with copious redactions aimed at protecting trial blinding. But study reports with fewer redactions have been available since September 2021,2425 and missing appendices may be accessible through freedom of information requests.
Even so, anyone looking for participant level datasets may be disappointed because Health Canada and the EMA do not receive or analyse these data, and it remains to be seen how the FDA responds to the court order. Moreover, the FDA is producing data only for Pfizers vaccine; other manufacturers data cannot be requested until the vaccines are approved, which the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are not. Industry, which holds the raw data, is not legally required to honour requests for access from independent researchers.
Like the FDA, and unlike its Canadian and European counterparts, the UKs regulatorthe Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agencydoes not proactively release clinical trial documents, and it has also stopped posting information released in response to freedom of information requests on its website.26
As well as access to the underlying data, transparent decision making is essential. Regulators and public health bodies could release details27 such as why vaccine trials were not designed to test efficacy against infection and spread of SARS-CoV-2.28 Had regulators insisted on this outcome, countries would have learnt sooner about the effect of vaccines on transmission and been able to plan accordingly.29
Big pharma is the least trusted industry.30 At least three of the many companies making covid-19 vaccines have past criminal and civil settlements costing them billions of dollars.31 One pleaded guilty to fraud.31 Other companies have no pre-covid track record. Now the covid pandemic has minted many new pharma billionaires, and vaccine manufacturers have reported tens of billions in revenue.32
The BMJ supports vaccination policies based on sound evidence. As the global vaccine rollout continues, it cannot be justifiable or in the best interests of patients and the public that we are left to just trust in the system, with the distant hope that the underlying data may become available for independent scrutiny at some point in the future. The same applies to treatments for covid-19. Transparency is the key to building trust and an important route to answering peoples legitimate questions about the efficacy and safety of vaccines and treatments and the clinical and public health policies established for their use.
Twelve years ago we called for the immediate release of raw data from clinical trials.1 We reiterate that call now. Data must be available when trial results are announced, published, or used to justify regulatory decisions. There is no place for wholesale exemptions from good practice during a pandemic. The public has paid for covid-19 vaccines through vast public funding of research, and it is the public that takes on the balance of benefits and harms that accompany vaccination. The public, therefore, has a right and entitlement to those data, as well as to the interrogation of those data by experts.
Pharmaceutical companies are reaping vast profits without adequate independent scrutiny of their scientific claims.33 The purpose of regulators is not to dance to the tune of rich global corporations and enrich them further; it is to protect the health of their populations. We need complete data transparency for all studies, we need it in the public interest, and we need it now.
Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and declare that The BMJ is a co-founder of the AllTrials campaign. PD was one of the Cochrane reviewers studying influenza antivirals beginning in 2009, who campaigned for access to data. He also helped organise the Coalition Advocating for Adequately Licensed Medicines (CAALM), which formally petitioned the FDA to refrain from fully approving any covid-19 vaccine this year (docket FDA-2021-P-0786). PD is also a member of Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency, which has sued the FDA to obtain the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine data. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Maryland.
Provenance and peer review: Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Seven businesses filed suit against the city of Minneapolis and Mayor Jacob Frey on Thursday over a new rule requiring customers to show proof they have received a full series of a COVID-19 vaccine or tested negative for the virus within 72 hours before entering bars and restaurants.
The rule went into effect on Wednesday in Minneapolis and applies to all businesses that serve food and beverages that are consumed on-site including restaurants, bars and concert venues. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter issued an identical mandate.
The lawsuit was filed by owners of the Gay 90s, Sneaky Petes, Smack Shack, Urban Forage, Wild Gregs Saloon, a Jimmy Johns franchisee and Bunkers Music Bar & Grill, who say the requirement is a misuse of mayoral power and puts an unfair burden on them.
Minneapolis bars and restaurants are being used as pawns to further Mayor Freys agenda of pushing for and convincing the public to get vaccinated, the complaint reads. Whether the end being sought is noble, the scheme is forcing restaurants and bars to lose additional patrons and business.
The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul said they needed to implement the requirement to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. But the business owners argue there is currently no emergency that warrants such a requirement.
They point to the fact that Gov. Tim Walz allowed a statewide peacetime emergency to expire in July 2021.
COVID-19 has been a pandemic for over nearly [sic] two years, and while certainly tragic in its effects upon society during that time, developments have occurred reducing its emergent nature, the complaint reads.
The business owners are asking the court to declare the mandate invalid and prohibit the city from enforcing it.
Other cities across the country, including New York, San Francisco and Chicago, have implemented similar mandates despite also facing legal challenges.
Some Twin Cities businesses have already been requiring patrons to show their vaccination cards or a negative COVID-19 test, including First Avenue, the Guthrie, Fair State Brewing and others.
Saved on the Siuslaw
On Dec. 31, 2021, I was thrown into a very cold Siuslaw River when my drift boat flipped over on me while attempting to land a steelhead.
The outpouring of kindness from people, many of whom I didn't know, has been overwhelming and humbling.
I would like to thank the young man who helped me onto shore and up the steep bank to the road. Unfortunately, I was unable to get his name, but won't forget what he did for me.
Also, I would like to thank the state trooper from Florence and the Veneta EMS for administering first aid to my injuries.
This experience has reinforced to me how lucky we are in this country to have so many caring and helpful people.
One last comment wear your life jacket. It helped save me.
Steve Tenhaeff, Springfield
One hears over and over how unhappy Oregonians are with the economy, COVID-19 restrictions, forest fires, crime and issue after issue. And yet as an old adage goes, the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Voters elected John Kitzhaber, then Kate Brown and then re-elected Brown. In 2022, its time to elect a governor again. Maybe its time to try something different. Just saying.
Stan Kluth, Eugene
Nick Kristof is barking up the wrong tree.
Since he feels rules don't apply to him, instead of trying to hoodwink Oregon folks he needs to apply for a job in the Trump organization. That way the two of them can deceive, fool, connive, pretend, promise but not deliver and in other ways carry on the tradition of Donald Trump. What a great team they would make.
Barry C. Smith, Eugene
The other night my husband and I watched the old movie Silverado. In it, when Danny Glovers character is refused a drink in the saloon because hes Black, he says, It aint right. All the white guys sit quietly and watch him get beat up and thrown out. It aint right, but it works for white people.
We know it aint right that an overwhelmingly white and male mob sought to take back by force what they could not accomplish in a peaceful and democratically conducted election.
We know it aint right to refuse to turn over records to a deadly riot.
We also know that when you cast a ballot in another state you are no longer a resident of Oregon.
Democrats in red states are fighting tooth and nail for the right to vote. Meanwhile, Democrats in Oregon live in a blue bubble. Bending the rules in Oregon muddies the water. You cant claim to live in one state, then vote in another. Isnt that voter fraud? If Nicholas Kristof wants to run for governor of Oregon, he wont get my vote because it aint right. I wont compromise the argument for voting rights elsewhere. Plain and simple.
Margaret Moore, Eugene
Its ironic that in this era when Republicans are doing all they can to restrict voting access and transform elections to selections, Oregons Democratic secretary of state chose to deny voters the opportunity to vote for Oregon native Nick Kristof.Her decision, if allowed to stand, removes the biggest obstacle to electoral success for other career Democrats who work alongside her in the Capitol Building.
Kristof happens to be a political outsider, the kind that Oregon could really use now. Fortunately, the Oregon Supreme Court recognizes that determinations of ballot eligibility fall squarely within the domain of the judicial branch of government.
Retired Supreme Court Justice William Riggs wrote a legal opinion two weeks ago on this topic and concluded that Kristof is indeed an Oregon resident, even though his job required him to live in other places around the world during his lengthy, brilliant career as an acclaimed journalist and humanitarian.Three former Oregon secretaries of state agree with Riggs.
I attended law school with current and former members of the Oregon Supreme Court, and unlike the U.S. Supreme Court (and our secretary of state), I know they will decide Kristofs eligibility based on the facts and the law.
Dan Neal, Eugene
I watched the videos of the people attacking the U.S. Capitol as they shoved and stole and yelled. I know them. They are my neighbors, townspeople, sports fans. Many are my age raised to revere democracy and freedom. I want to shout at them, "Knock it off!" If you want to be owned by Trump, be owned by Trump.
If you want to serve him and adore him, then serve him and adore him. Give up your freedom if you want. This is America. But don't try to force me to give up mine. I love my freedom from dictatorship. This is America for me, too. Go serve your false god, but leave me alone.
Candy Neville, Eugene
I was in a local market today and there were three customers not wearing masks. I was shocked to see this as I believe that mask wearing indoors is a state mandate.
I asked an employee about it and was told they offer masks to customers, but if they refuse, the customers are allowed to shop unmasked. Apparently, weve entered a new phase where the people claiming their individual rights for going unmasked have acted in such threatening and violent ways that store owners have given up.
How dare these self-centered individuals put others in peril not just by threatening someone who asks them to follow the rules but also by subjecting every stranger they come in contact with? Then I thought about how my individual rights are curtailed by other laws protecting our community. For instance, sometimes Im in a hurry but have to stop for a stop sign. That silly law infringes on my right to drive down the road unimpeded. Why should I have to inconvenience myself for the safety of others?
Wearing a mask to protect yourself and others is so easy to do why make such a big deal out of it?
Teresa Dobles, Eugene
Steve Mozena is right. We must demand return to normal life, as urged back in October 2020 in theGreat Barrington Declarationby three distinguished Harvard, Stanford and Oxford epidemiologists, signed by 61,678 health professionals and scientists worldwide.
Yet seemingly entranced, media-terrorized citizens mask themselves in open air and their own cars, oblivious toCOVID-19 case recovery rates over 99% for age groups under 55, with almost all fatalitiesinvolving serious co-morbiditiesmaking cause-of-death uncertain. TheNuremberg Coderequires informed consent for all medical procedures, including risk-benefit comparison. With little fatality risk there is little benefit and no legal justification underFDA regulationsforexperimental lipid-mRNAinjections with adverse events documented in CDCsOpen VAERS*including 21,382 deaths, 36,758 permanent disabilities and 39,678 heart and vascular emergenciesthrough December 2021 that havent spared the young.
Moreover, case identifications arehighly questionableand effective early treatments have beensuppressedby public health bureaucrats, causing thousands of needless deaths among co-morbid elderly. Lockdown measures have caused appallingdestruction of Main Street economiesand publicwealth transferto billionaires and multi-national corporations.Preventing normal human interactions causes severesocial, psychologicalandhealthimpacts.SCOTUS has rightlystayed vaccine mandates.
This begs criminal investigation.
Jack Dresser, Springfield
*Editor's note:Should you visit openvaers.com/covid-data, read the CDC Disclaimer.
It looks to me the Eugene Police Department is learning from past fatal mistakes when responding to the mentally ill.
I recently called 911 when a friend threatened suicide with a knife. Instead of sending CAHOOTS, EPD sent about a half-dozen armed policemen, so I feared the worst. However, EPD also sent a negotiator, who was able to talk my friend into dropping the knife and letting them take him to the hospital.
I was impressed with the kindness and compassion shown by the whole group. Kudos to the EPD.
Joella Ewing, Eugene
How can we move forward with such division in our country and government?What do we all have in common?
We all love this country and worry about the future.Some fear oppressed minorities will win control and treat white Americans as badly as they have been treated.Others fear a future in which armed, ultra-right extremists, like those that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will overturn our democracy and terrorize any who oppose them.But we all worry about the future of this wonderful country.
Rage at the other side might feel good, but we must stop fearing, hating and loathing each other.We must turn off Fox and Friends, put away our guns and listen to and respect each other.There is no path back to the America made great by the shared suffering and sacrifice of our parents and grandparents.Anyone who tells you so is lying and trying to make a fool out of you.
We can only make America great by overcoming fear. We must listen to andwork with those different than ourselves regardless of income level, race, religion, creed, gender identification, sexual orientation or place of national origin.
Donald M. Brasted-Maki, Eugene
I read with sadness The Register-Guard'sdecision to stop publication of its print newspaper on Saturdaybeginning on March 24. I don't know if this is just the beginning of an overall halt in delivery services.
First, newspaper size was reduced, then delivery was halted on importantholidays, and now once a week there will be no print newspaper. As we all know, print publications have been facing a multitude of challenges, including higher operating costs, competition from online media and decreased readership.
Even though The Register-Guard claims to have ample online offerings, not everyone, including myself, wants the eye strain or sleep disruption that comes from constant exposure to bright screens and prefer tangible print instead. This is not to mention potentially alienating a large customer base for print publications, the elderly, some of whom may struggle with accessing the online version. The R-G needs to focus on retaining its existing customer base, not further driving them away in what already appears to be a downwarddeath-spiral.
Erica Lyon, Eugene
Somebody sent me a free sample copy of The Epoch Times. After paging through it, I noticed that there are no advertisers, except for ads for other reading materials produced by The Epoch Times. It made me wonder how it can afford to pay its workers without advertising revenue. The stories sound like they were written my brother in Ohio or my brother-in-law in Nevada.
Does it actually hire reporters who go into the field, or do its writers just read what other newspapers report, then make up their own stories?
I would have written to The Epoch Times, but there is no letters-to-the-editor section in The Epoch Times.
Thank you, Register-Guard, for your quality journalism. I dont always agree with the opinions, but at least I can trust the stories.
Margaret Moore, Eugene
As cases seem to begin plateauing, Covid-19 hospitalizations in the Northeast are down by about 11% after reaching a peak about a week ago and have also dropped slightly -- about 6% -- in the Midwest region, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. And new Covid-19 hospital admissions are beginning to decline nationwide, a sign total hospitalizations may soon begin going down too in every part of the country.
The HHS data includes both patients who are hospitalized because of Covid-19 complications and patients who may have been admitted for something else but tested positive for Covid-19. That has been true throughout the pandemic, but the share of patients who fall into each category may have changed over time.
"All of the current data is showing very encouraging trends, with many of our key health metrics consistently and substantially declining," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday. "But we're not out of the woods. Even though we have been able to attain considerable drops in the metrics, and they're continuing to drop, they're still much higher than they have been or where we need to be."
Also this week, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker announced the state was seeing a decline in Covid-19 hospitalizations, and ICU and ventilator usage, and in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont said cases and hospitalizations were also going down.
And in New York, the state's "percent positivity is in the single-digits," for the first time since December 20, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday.
But in other parts of the country, a different picture. Covid-19 hospitalization numbers were up about 15% over the past week in the West and up by about 6% in the South -- with many hospitals stretched thin from the surge in patients and the severe staffing shortages.
In Washington state, King County hospitals and healthcare leaders issued an "urgent plea" to residents to help relieve the pressure local healthcare systems are facing.
"While there are promising signs with cases on the decline the past few days, King County hospitals are still under tremendous strain from increased hospitalizations, staff shortages and difficulty discharging patients who no longer need care," their news release said. "In the previous month, COVID-19 hospitalizations increased over 700 percent."
Washington State Hospital Association President and CEO Cassie Sauer described it as "the most challenging situation we've seen to date" and noted the patients who are most severely impacted by the virus are almost all unvaccinated and not boosted.
"We've already had to cancel most surgeries delaying care that would help someone live a better, healthier life," the release added.
Hospitals urged residents to get vaccinated, get their booster shots, upgrade their masks and avoid crowded indoor places, among other recommendations.
CDC weighs 'pivot' on language on vaccinations
As the highly contagious Omicron variant continues to spread, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to "pivot" its language around what it means to be fully vaccinated, Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a White House briefing Friday.
But the director stopped short of saying the definition of fully vaccinated needs to change, and instead focused on what it means to be "up-to-date" on Covid-19 vaccinations.
Fully vaccinated people who are eligible to receive a booster dose of vaccine but are not boosted are not considered "up-to-date" on their vaccinations, Walensky said.
"What we really are working to do is pivot the language to make sure that everybody is as up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines as they personally could be, should be, based on when they got their last vaccine," Walensky said.
"So, importantly, right now, we're pivoting our language. We really want to make sure people are up-to-date," she added.
Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the CDC has not updated its definition of "fully vaccinated" because their recommendations are about "how well you are protected rather than a definition."
"It becomes almost a matter of semantics," said Fauci, who noted the terminology can confuse people.
"One of the things that we're talking about from a purely public health standpoint is how well you are protected, rather than what a definition is to get someone to be required or not required," said Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert.
New studies make powerful argument for boosters
Getting boosted was 90% effective at preventing hospitalizations during a period in December and January when Omicron was the dominant variant, according to a CDC study which looked at nearly 88,000 hospitalizations across 10 states. In comparison, getting two shots was 57% effective when it had been at least six months past the second shot.
Getting boosted was 82% effective at preventing visits to emergency rooms and urgent care centers, according to the study, which looked at more than 200,000 visits in 10 states. In comparison, getting two shots was only 38% effective at preventing those visits when it had been at least six months past the second shot. The study was published Friday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
A second study, published in the same place, concluded people with three shots were less likely to get infected with Omicron. And the third study, to be published in the medical journal JAMA, showed having a booster helped prevent people from becoming ill with Omicron.
"I think it's the third dose that really gives you the solid, the very best protection," Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime CDC vaccine adviser who was not involved with the studies, said.
CNN's Mirna Alsharif, Deidre McPhillips, Katherine Dillinger,and Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report.
Scientists who worked on the study discovered a potential cause for this drop in lightning activity: a decrease in atmospheric aerosols, tiny particles of pollution suspended in the air around us.
These aerosols -- produced through the burning of fossil fuels, among other things -- can paint a picture of what's going on across the earth's atmosphere, from weather patterns to natural and man-made events, experts say.
As countries around the world imposed quarantines, lockdowns and curfews aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19, air pollution levels fell drastically, thereby reducing the amount of aerosols released into the air, according to the study.
"The aerosols help give water droplets in the atmosphere something to cling onto, so certainly having more aerosols will help potentially create conditions you need to have lightning," said Chris Vagasky, meteorologist and lightning applications manager at Vaisala, a private environmental monitoring company that tracks lightning around the world.
"Having more droplets in the atmosphere makes it possible to get those collisions of water and ice and things like that to create an electric charge imbalance, which leads to lightning."
Unstable atmosphere created an environment unfavorable to thunderstorms
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tripura University in India and Vaisala Inc., spent a three-month-long lockdown period from March to May 2020 measuring lightning activity by analyzing data from the Global Lightning Detection Network and the World Wide Lightning Location Network.
The study concluded that lightning activity and aerosols dropped significantly throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas during the lockdown period.
Those results were supported by Vaisala's 2020 Annual Lightning Report, which recorded about 170 million lightning events in 2020 across the continental United States, down about 52 million from 2019.
This decrease in lightning marked the greatest change year-over-year ever recorded by Vaisala, according to Vagasky.
"When you look specifically at the March-May 2020 time period across the whole planet, there was higher than normal atmospheric pressure and lower than normal atmospheric instability," Vagasky told CNN.
"This created an environment across the planet that was unfavorable for thunderstorms to develop, and you need to have the right conditions for thunderstorms to develop before you can worry about the aerosols inside the clouds."
While aerosols play a major role in how much lightning we get each year, they are not the only important factor that comes into play, according to Vagasky. From large scale weather patterns to very small scale particle collisions inside of the thunderstorm, he added, it is likely that more than one specific factor resulted in a decrease in the amount of lightning produced.
Updated
Jan. 23, 2022, 11:15 a.m. ET
We asked our readers how the pandemic has changed their relationships. Thanks to all of you who shared your stories.
I entered into my first romantic relationship in a decade during this time. We connected on a dating app, met for a beer and spent three hours on a freezing cold patio. The next date was a hike, and on the way back to the car, I said: Wanna hold hands? Ive got hand sanitizer. We had a very hot makeout session next to my Christmas tree with no kissing (the masks stayed on!) when he dropped me off that day. I informed my pod that night that the masks were coming off for date No. 3. We just celebrated a year together. Linda Anzalone, Portland, Ore.
When the pandemic started, my husband and I were distant ships passing in the night. We have two young children and have been together since we were 17. All of a sudden, we were with each other all the time on opposite ends of the couch. Then, in an effort to escape a little from reality, we decided to try edibles (legal in our state!). For a few hours, were able to be giggly and worry free. We have rediscovered our feelings and love for each other, hidden under years of sleepless nights, hurt feelings and stress. It has been absolutely transformative. Mia Newton, San Jose, Calif.
Im polyamorous and pansexual, so being in multiple relationships at once was a staple of my prepandemic life. With the lockdowns, shelter-in-place orders and wave upon wave of new variants, living a polyamorous life has become almost impossible. While monogamous/ monoamorous folx can just hunker down and pod with their one partner, I have to make difficult decisions about which partner(s) Im going to continue seeing in person and which relationships are going virtual. But I will say that polyamorous folx have an advantage when it comes to navigating around Covid safety protocols. My monogamous friends are all complaining about how awkward and hard it is to negotiate Covid boundaries before a first date, but the polyamorous community is so used to navigating boundaries around multiple partners, sexual health, kink, etc., that navigating around Covid boundaries is second nature. Eliana, Atlanta
In June 2020, my wife left for Greece with the kidsbecause our house was filled with tension. My 13-year-old son felt trapped at home and the streets were empty. Its hard to remember how it was. They were gone for 15 months. I resented their leaving. Things happened while they were away a kidney stone and a torn meniscus. I closed a business. I moved out of our apartment. I visited Greece twice, toward the end of the 15 months. Their life was full of family, food and the Greek version of the lockdown. When my wife returned, we both had changed. We dont have much in common anymore. Our differences age, culture, work have become what defines our relationship more than what we have in common. I still love her, and I think she still loves me, but it is very difficult, and I am not sure if we will make it. Anonymous, New York City
My first date was fully masked, so I didnt know what the person I was dating looked like. At night, in low light, we unmasked about 12 feet from each other. I squinted to try to see what he looked like far away and in low light. Tiffany, Philadelphia
COVID-19: Tips to find at-home tests
Starting January 19, Americans will be able to have at-home COVID-19 tests shipped to their homes, for free.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
While cases of coronavirus may be on the downswing, COVID-19 deaths on the Cape and across Massachusetts are climbing and most likely will continue to do so in the coming weeks, health officials said.
During the last 14-day interval reported Thursday by the state Department of Public Health, 16 people with COVID-19 in Barnstable County died.
The county 14-day fatality toll reported a week ago on Jan. 13 was even higher, with 21 people dying.
Those sorts of numbers havent been seen on Cape Cod since 18 Cape Codders with coronavirus diedin a two-week periodin late March 2021 during a surge in cases.
Statewide, deaths of people with COVID-19 are in a third wave that on Friday surpassed the daily count recorded in January 2021, when far fewer people were vaccinated than now.
Health officials say that while the hypertransmissible omicron variant may cause less severe disease for most, the sheer number of people being infected means that many susceptible people will have serious illness.
Tracking the virus: Cape records 4,880 new COVID-19 cases in last two weeks
A lot of people are still going to die because of how transmissible omicron has been, University of South Florida epidemiologist Jason Salemi told The Associated Press.
It unfortunately is going to get worse before it gets better.
The AP said models forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die of coronavirus by the time the surge subsides in mid-March.
The number of new daily cases on Cape Cod has declined a bit in recent days.
The trend: Barnstable County has 4,540 new COVID-19 cases in 2 weeks more than twice report last week
State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, estimates that the peak of omicron in Barnstable County was Jan. 3-11, when seven-day case averages crushed previous records and reached into the 400s.
The number of new cases reported Friday, Thursday and Wednesday were 323, 324 and 347 by contrast.
The trend toward hospitalization, intensive care intervention and death tends to trail new case numbers by weeks, said Dr. William Agel, chief medical officer for Cape Cod Hospital and Cape Cod Healthcare.
I dont think were out of the woods yet, Agel said.
The 102 new daily COVID-19 deaths statewidereported by the DPH Fridayrepresents an omicron peak and tops the peak of 94 daily deaths reported Jan. 26, 2021.
Effects of the surge: Record-high COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on Cape Cod omicron likely the cause
On highly vaccinated Cape Cod, the numbers show a slightly different picture. Death counts, while the highest they have been in months, are not as high as this time last winter.
The number of daily COVID-19 deaths in Barnstable County from early January to mid-February 2021 ranged from the low 30s to the mid-40s.
The 14-day death count didnt drop into the 20s until Feb. 24, 2021,when 24 people with coronavirus on Cape Cod were reported to have died during the preceding two weeks.
Through most of the summer and fall, the Cape's death count remained in the single digits, with an upward trend starting Dec. 23, when 11 people were reported to have died in the past 14 days.
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A difference between this year and last winter is that Massachusetts residents with COVID-19 who are currently dying tend to be younger, said Brennan Klein, a postdoctoral researcher in the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University.
The demographics skew younger than the last wave, Klein said.
During last winters surge from Dec. 1 to Jan. 19, 58.6%of those with COVID-19 who died were over 80 years old, compared to 40.5% during that time period this year, he said.
By contrast, the number of people in the five youngest demographic groups who died during the same periods have more than doubled.
The percentage of those up to 19 years old who died climbed from 0.14to 0.40%.
For those 20to 29 years old, the jump was from 0.52to 1.10%; 30to 39 years old, 0.78to 1.95%; and for 40to 49 years old, 1.46to 3.98%. Those in the 50-59 age group went from making up 3.80% of COVID-19 deaths to 9.95%.
The age groups of 60-69 and 70-79 also comprise more of the COVID-19 death toll, going from 12.65to 16.51% and from 21.97to 25.59%, respectively.
The numbers have a lot to do with case demographics andwho is getting infected, Klein said.
Younger people are less likely to be fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said last month that about 75% of people who are unvaccinated are under age 50.
Theres a three tofour times higher likelihood of death for unvaccinated people, and thats not even including booster data, Klein said.
The DPH reported that, as of Jan. 15, 5,152,666 people in Massachusetts have been fully vaccinated.Of that number, 348,510 or 6.8% were diagnosed with breakthrough COVID-19 cases,5,437 of whom were hospitalized and 1,244 of whom died.
So far the percentage of those fully vaccinated who have died is 0.02%, state public health officials said.
Klein said he shies away from calling omicron mild. It is quite a risky thing to be infected with.
He said the coronavirus fatality toll will continue to climb for a while since there tends to be lag of as much as four weeks between infection and death.
I expect it will continue to increase over the next two to three weeks, Klein said.
He said people should continue to take preventative measures, including wearing good quality masks and using prudent social behaviors.
Agel said people should get vaccinated and boosted and talk to their physician about alternative treatments if they are immune compromised.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.Cynthia McCormick can be reached at cmccormick@capecodonline.com and @Cmccormickcct.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The Ohio Department of Health has released the latest number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Numbers as of Friday, Jan. 21 follow:
The 21-day case average is above22,000.
The department reported 5,763 people started the vaccination process, bringing the total to 7,130,638 which is 61% of the states population. And 15,178 received booster shots.
The Ohio Hospital Association reported the following numbers related to COVID-19 patients:
Ohio schools reported more than 27,000 new coronavirus cases this week, setting a new record one week after cases shattered a previous record. Local doctors are sending a new warning to COVID-19 test-takers, due to data showing the effectiveness of throat swabs. Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, state health director, gave an update, Thursday, where he expressed hope that the omicron variant might soon decline but remained concerned over hospitalization levels.
The UK is past the worst of the Covid pandemic but should be braced for some possible bumps on the road, according to the scientist who helped shape Britains lockdown strategy.
Prof Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, said things were looking up as the country passed the peak of yet another wave of coronavirus infections.
I am optimistic that the bulk of the pandemic, in terms of deaths and hospitalisations, is behind us. Though we should still be prepared for some possible bumps on the road, he said, adding that any new variants which were highly likely to arise may have a less dramatic impact than Omicron.
The very high level of immunity in the UK population acquired via both vaccination and infection means that the risk of a new variant causing unmanageable levels of healthcare demand is much reduced, he said. An additional positive is that if any new variant arises from Omicron not a certainty there is a fair chance it will retain the reduced severity of that strain.
Ferguson said a key development was Covid vaccines, in particular those based on mRNA technology, while important lessons had also been learned, such as the need for data to make informed decisions. Compared with now, in March 2020 we were basically blundering around in the dark in terms of our real knowledge of how much infection was in the country.
Another lesson was the need to tailor the speed of policymaking to the speed of the virus. That means in particular you may have to make decisions before you have the full picture on severity, he said.
With Omicron spreading rapidly in the UK late last year, ministers were faced with a stark message from scientific advisers: to avoid the potential worst-case scenarios, measures needed to be brought in quickly.
But while the UK government introduced plan B in England, it resisted calls to go further, despite stronger measures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Ferguson said the political stance had evolved over time. I think were in a different place, in terms of how policymakers think about this two years in than we were back in February, March of 2020, he said, adding that the change had led to more nuanced and difficult decisions.
On Wednesday the prime minister announced that plan B measures in England would be lifted as cases were now falling. But Ferguson does not believe this will cause Omicron to come back in force.
Restrictions are always a trade-off between infection control and economic cost, he said. However, given that case numbers are in decline in all regions and that hospitalisations are starting to drop, I dont think lifting restrictions poses a large risk of causing a major resurgence. Though obviously trends will need to continue to be monitored closely.
According to Ferguson, scientists rarely interact with politicians, with Sir Patrick Vallance and Sir Chris Whitty acting as mediators. But at times there were frustrations, such as in autumn 2020 when the Alpha variant took off.
Because then we were seeing case numbers go up. There was a lot of misinformation around, frankly, at that point, he said.
Covid was evolving to become more transmissible and was not yet in a classic endemic disease scenario in the UK, he said. Flu mutated each year and could cause seasonal epidemics, but the immunity we have acquired over our lifetimes means it is manageable. And, as experts have noted, endemic does not necessarily mean mild.
[Covid] is going to become an endemic disease, which unfortunately kills people every year, said Ferguson. But, with careful management and building immunity, he hoped waves of infection would bring a lower toll of hospitalisations and deaths although it may be necessary to expand hospital bed capacity.
But politicians had short memories, he said, and he worries that we may stop preparing for the next pandemic once the immediate shock of coronavirus starts to fade from the national consciousness.
Im sure for the next 10 years, pandemic preparedness will be a top priority for governments, for research funders around the world, Ferguson said. What I worry about is in 15 or 20 years time, does that memory fade? Thats the real risk.
