Each week, we answer frequently asked questions about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." See an archive of our FAQs here.
One of the most frightening aspects of COVID-19 now seems to be the potential that symptoms could linger after an infection. What is my risk of having long COVID if I become infected? And does being vaccinated change that?
Over the past year, there's been a flurry of research published about long COVID. Dozens of these studies try to estimate the risk of having lingering symptoms months after a COVID infection.
But when you look closely at the data, a huge inconsistency emerges: The estimates of the prevalence of long COVID range wildly, from less than 5% to nearly 60% of total COVID cases. So what's going on?
"It can be really confusing, even to scientists," says Christina Pagel, who directs the Clinical Operational Research Unit at University College of London.
One of the major problems is with this term "long COVID." What scientists, doctors and the media have been calling "long COVID" isn't just one disease or disorder. "It's looking like what has been grouped together as 'long COVID' is actually two or three different groups of disorders," Pagel says.
Each one of those disorders may have a particular set of symptoms and causes. Some affect populations differently than others, or linger for a different period of time.
Many of the early studies focused primarily on people who have been hospitalized with COVID. "Obviously, these people will have more severe illnesses," says geriatrician Dr. Claire Steves at King's College London. Some people spend time in the ICU or on a ventilator.
With this severe illness comes a high risk of organ damage, either due to the virus itself or the body's response to fight it. "Some people may have respiratory scarring and a kind of fibrosis that comes from having had inflammation in the lungs," she says.
Some people have inflammation in their heart muscle, called myocarditis. Some have inflammation in their blood vessels or their brains. "In some individuals, there's definite evidence of changes in the areas of the brain that are sensitive to smell," Steves says.
This tissue damage and inflammation can cause a whole host of lingering symptoms, including a fast heart rate, severe fatigue, breathing problems and cognitive problems.
And organ damage can take a long time to heal, no matter the cause of it. In fact, whenever a person is critically ill in the hospital, symptoms can linger, says primary care doctor and bioethicist Dr. Zackary Berger at Johns Hopkins University.
"It's well known that people take a long time to recover after a critical illness," Berger says. "So I think it's not surprising that people who end up in the ICU would take longer to recover."
Studies have found that for people hospitalized with COVID, the risk of lingering symptoms six months after COVID is quite high, around 50%, Steves says.
Many news reports have suggested that the risk of getting long COVID after a mild or moderate infection appears similar to the risk after a severe case. Indeed, some studies have found that up to 60% of people report one or more lingering symptoms six months after catching SARS-CoV-2, including fatigue, brain fog, difficulty breathing, chest pain, coughing, joint and muscle pain, abdominal symptoms, headaches and anxiety or depression.
But many of these studies are missing what's known as a control group. That is, they don't take into account that these symptoms may be common in people who haven't had COVID or who have had other kinds of infections. In other words, scientists aren't sure whether these symptoms are linked specifically to COVID, or are typical for recovery from many infectious diseases that no one has paid attention to.
"There's this belief that you have an infectious disease, you get your treatment for it and you're finished with it. You go back to work and you're fine," Berger says. "But for a lot of people, being sick isn't like that."
Take, for instance, a bout of pneumonia caused by bacteria. Antibiotics can end the infection. But then many people endure symptoms weeks later. "Half of the people have problems breathing a month after pneumonia," Berger says. "That's a lot of people, right?
The same goes for the flu. And a study, published in September, demonstrates this idea clearly. Researchers in England analyzed the electronic health records of nearly 400,000 people with either a confirmed flu or COVID diagnosis. Then they looked to see who had lingering symptoms. Nearly 60% of people with COVID had at least one symptom lasting six months, but nearly 40% of people with the flu also had at least one persisting symptom, similar to those seen in people with COVID.
"Plenty of people have lingering symptoms after infectious diseases," Berger says. "I think that's something we need to realize."
Thus, another type of "long COVID" may be people who take longer to recover from an infection, whether it's the flu, pneumonia or COVID. In other words, there may have been "long flu," or "long pneumonia," all along, but it simply went unappreciated.
There's growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can sometimes trigger several post-viral syndromes, or diseases known to occur after an infection. These include a chronic fatigue syndrome, also called ME/CFS, and a blood circulation disorder, called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS.
For example, one study, which included 130 patients hospitalized with COVID, found that 13% of them met the criteria for ME/CFS six months after their diagnosis.
Dr. Peter Rowe at Johns Hopkins University has evidence that mild illness can also trigger this disease. "We have a small sample size, but in those [patients] in whom function remains impaired [six months] after COVID-19 infection ... all have met criteria for ME/CFS," he wrote in an email to NPR. "I am referring here to the patients who have prolonged symptoms after mild COVID infections, not the hospitalized group, or those with organ damage after more severe acute COVID-19."
So after you take into account these other causes of so-called "long COVID," what's left is possibly a disorder that's specific to SARS-CoV-2. "There's no standard definition for this syndrome yet," says infectious disease epidemiologist Ira Longini at the University of Florida. "It's a collection of symptoms, including shortness of breath, brain fog, fatigue, but also an issue with one particular organ or tissue, such as the heart or brain."
This disorder could be tied to the virus invading an organ or tissue and persisting there, or some lingering inflammation left over from the body fighting off the virus, Longini says.
It's not known yet exactly what percentage of people will have this collection of symptoms months after COVID, but Steves at King's College London says her analyses indicate the risk is much lower in people who weren't hospitalized in the U.K.
She says the Office of National Statistics in the U.K. has the best estimate, right now, for the prevalence of these long COVID symptoms in this population. That data includes self-reporting from more than a million people with positive COVID diagnoses.
"Generally speaking, in the whole population, that data show that the rate of long COVID, more than 12 weeks after an infection, is just under 5% of people," Steves says.
Given the enormous number of COVID cases in the U.S. (and around the world), even a rate of 5% means that more than 2 million Americans (and nearly 13 million people globally) will be affected by this specific cluster of COVID symptoms for at least several months (and even more will struggle with other post-viral problems).
Luckily, Steves says, the percentage of people who have these lingering COVID symptoms drops off drastically a year after the infection. "There are definitely individuals who still have symptoms for more than a year, even up to 18 months now," she says. "But there's a very small percentage of those individuals. Gradually most people are getting better. I see that in my clinic."
Still though, because so many people are affected, health care workers need to be on the lookout for signs of any type of long COVID and keep an open mind about it, says Dr. Paddy Ssentongo, an epidemiologist at Pennsylvania State University. "Doctors have to listen to the patient. They tell you what's happening to them. They don't make up symptoms. Patients know best what's going on with their bodies."
The best way to reduce your risk of any type of long COVID is to reduce your risk of getting a severe case of COVID. And to do that, Steves says, being vaccinated is at the top of the list. She and her colleagues have found that being vaccinated with two doses cuts the risk in half for having the COVID-specific cluster of symptoms after an infection.
But the overall effect of the vaccine on your risk of any kind of long COVID is much greater, says Longini at the University of Florida. "The vaccine reduces the probability of an infection with illness by maybe 70%. So overall, the reduction in long COVID among vaccinated people is more like 80 or 90%.
"That just shows you the power of the COVID-19 vaccines," he adds. They protect not just against acute disease but also the various types of chronic illnesses associated with SARS-CoV-2.
People are the likely source, but that doesn't mean the virus can't evolve among these animals and then spill back into humans, and researchers are worried about what this spread means for the risk of future pandemics.
There's little doubt SARS-Cov-2, the virus that caused the ongoing pandemic, came from an animal -- almost certainly a bat. And the prevailing scientific opinion is that there as an intermediate host, an animal of some sort, that was infected by a bat or bats and then infected people.
It's also clear that people can infect animals. Pets such as cats, zoo animals such as gorillas and snow leopards and farmed mink can all be infected. Multiple cases have been reported, and evidence of changes in the viruses infecting mink have led to mass culls of those animals on fur farms.
The latest species to capture the attention of wildlife biologists are white-tailed deer. It's little surprise that farmed deer would catch the virus from people. Any visitor to a deer farm knows the animals behave like goats, shoving their wet noses into the pockets, hands and faces of human visitors or caregivers as they clamor for food and treats -- and setting themselves up for infection.
But how are wild deer catching it?
Viral spread among deer
Sewage has been found to carry the virus, so polluted water might be a source, he added, or people spitting or contaminating the environment in other ways. The deer may then spread the virus to one another.
"Keep in mind these are highly susceptible animals and while you do not know how much virus they need to be infected," Kuchipudi told CNN. "It raises the urgent question -- we know the deer are effectively transmitting virus among themselves, and then who are they giving it to?"
It's also possible another species could be picking up the virus from people and infecting deer.
"We don't know what's going on in our very own country and we need to find out," said Hon Ip of the United States Geological Survey in Wisconsin.
Viral hotspots among the rodents
Ip and colleagues tested animals they found around a mink farm that was the site of an outbreak in Utah and found skunks, mice and other animals were susceptible to a variety of coronaviruses.
They were originally worried that the mink, which caught the virus that causes Covid-19 from people, might infect the local wildlife. They found no indication of that. "It was a very pleasant surprise," Ip told CNN.
But the mice, raccoons, skunks and other animals carried a load of other coronaviruses. "The number of coronaviruses and the diversity was a surprise," Ip said.
Researchers like Ip and Kuchipudi say much more study like this is needed.
There are several reasons scientists do not want to see a virus like the one that causes Covid-19 infecting animals. For one, it creates what's known as a reservoir -- so that even in the unlikely case that everyone got vaccinated and the virus stopped circulating among people, it would still circulate among animals and could re-infect people eventually.
More likely however, is the risk that it could change and evolve. That can happen in two ways.
One is steady adaptation. As it infects different species, the virus will change to better adapt to those species and that could make it either more or less dangerous to humans.
Another route to change: viruses can take shortcuts by swapping big chunks of genetic material in a process called recombination. Influenza is especially good at this, but coronaviruses can do it, as well. If an animal is infected with more than one coronavirus at a time, the two types can mix and match genes and potentially come up with new variants.
"Recombination is one of the major mechanisms for coronavirus evolution," Ip said. So if animals are already carrying their own varieties of coronavirus, and people are then infecting them with strains that cause pandemics among humans -- the potential exists for these viruses to infect animals at the same time, trade genetic material, and give rise to new pandemic viral species.
Pandemic origins
"This raises very urgent questions about the trajectory of this pandemic," Kuchipudi said.
If there are animals out there like white-tailed deer that are so easily infected and that so easily transmit the virus among themselves, that's a red flag.
That means much better surveillance is needed to see what other animals might be getting infected by people or by other animals, and what threat they might pose to other animals and to people.
"We need to be prepared for any variants that might emerge," he said.
Plus, Ip said, surveillance is needed to know what coronaviruses are living in animals that might be the source of the next pandemic -- not just among bats in remote caves in southeast Asia, but perhaps among mice or deer or raccoons in the backyards of the US Midwest.
And people need to remember that humans are the primary source of the spread of the virus. Even if Covid-19 originally came from animals, humans are the species that have amplified and spread it.
And there's one answer to that spread. "Vaccination rates are not uniform across the world," Kuchipudi said. "As long as there are susceptible human beings, we give opportunities for the virus to circulate and change. There need to be more concerted efforts to vaccinate as many people as possible so that we can at least minimize transmission among human beings."
Is a mandate a law? How will Biden's vaccine mandate be enforced?
Republican governors have threatened lawsuits, but the employers affected by the mandate hold the most ground to sue.
Staff video, USA TODAY
America's recovery from the delta variant surge dropped the pace of new infections to under 500,000 per week in late October. Now cases are above 600,000 per week and are rising in 34 states, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
The numbers are not close to January, when weekly infections peaked at 1.7 million. But the recovery from one wave has reversed into another wave, more than six months after free, safe, effective vaccines became widely available to all adults. The United States is again reporting an average ofmore than 1 case every second.
Unvaccinated people remain at highest risk for infection. The good news: 80%of Americans 12 and over have had at least one coronavirus vaccine shot.
Melissa Nolan, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatisticsat the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, told USA TODAY that seasonal flu infection increases risk in winter.
"Sadly, this virus will never leave our society," Nolan said. "To help mitigate spread as we go into this next winter respiratory disease season, it is vitally important that Americans get both their booster shot and their flu shot."
Also in the news:
A Los Angeles couple convicted of using phony or stolen identities to try andsteal $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds were sentenced tofederal prison, although they remain fugitives.Richard Ayvazyan, 43, was sentenced in absentia to 17 years and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, 37, got six years.
The Detroitschool district said it will switch to online learning on Fridays in December in response to rising COVID-19 cases and the need for mental health relief.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who just returned from quarantine overseas after developing COVID-19 in Scotland, warned that a holiday season coronavirus surge was likelyand urged vaccinationsto keep infections and hospitalizations down.
German lawmakers approved new measures Thursday to rein in record coronavirus infections after the head of the countrys disease control agency warned Germany could face a really terrible Christmas.
Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit1,251 Thursday, breaking the record of 1,247 deaths fromWednesday. However,new daily cases appeared to be on a downward trend.
Today's numbers:The U.S. has recorded more than 47 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than767,000 deaths,accordingtoJohns Hopkins Universitydata. Global totals: More than 255million cases and 5million deaths. More than 195 million Americans nearly 59% of the populationare fully vaccinated,according to theCDC.
What we're reading:The pandemic has spurred many workers to reevaluate their livesand the role work plays in them, leading some to set fresh boundaries,find new jobs or maintain the side hustles that got them through the shutdowns and layoffs. Some workers shared their stories with USA TODAY.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more?Sign up forUSA TODAY's Coronavirus Watch newsletterto receive updates directly to your inbox, andjoin ourFacebook group.
For parents who decline to vaccinate their children against the coronavirus because they believe COVID-19 only affects older people, pediatric specialists have some stark statistics:
Beyond the numbers, there are the heartbreaking stories of children struggling to breathe as desperate parents lament not getting them vaccinated even when eligible.
Dr. Kenneth Alexander, chief of infectious diseases at Nemours Childrens Health in Orlando, Florida, said the hospital has not treated many kids with the most serious form of COVID acute viral pneumonia but just a few instances leave a deep impression.
When these kids come to our hospital, theyre not getting enough oxygen; theyre gasping, theyre miserable, Alexander said. At best, theyre going to be in a hospital bed for five days on oxygen. But its those kids that end up in our intensive care unit on ventilators and with breathing tubes. They get blood clots in their lungs. Its very, very scary.
Alexander joined Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and other experts Thursday in a media session organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote COVID vaccines for children, which are now authorized for those age 5 and older.
Their general message: The benefits of vaccines outweigh many times over any small risks they may carry.
While as a parent your primary concern is understandably the well-being of your child, its also important to know that vaccines have the power to stop epidemics, said Dr. Lee Savio Beers, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children make up a significant part of our population, and vaccinating children will help control this virus so it cant continue to spread.
Jorge L. Ortiz
More than 60 health care organizations and public health experts on Thursday urged the business community to support the federal requirement that employeesfor companies with at least 100 employees be vaccinated for COVID. The American Medical Association and former CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden were among those signing the statement.
Instead of wasting time in court trying to overturn these mandates, business leaders should be focused on how to protect their employees from COVID through vaccination," said Dr. EzekielEmanuel, vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, who organized the statement. "Thats the only way well be able to return to normal and stabilize our economy.
Obstacles to Emanuel's plan,however, include governors and lawmakersin many states that are backing lawsuits to block the requirement and putting forward legislation that would prevent k firms from requiring vaccination.
The U.S. government will pay Pfizer $5.29 billion for 10 million treatments of its COVID-19 drug if regulators approve it.Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to authorize the experimental pill, which has been shown to significantly cut the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among people with coronavirus infections.The FDA is already reviewing a competing pill from Merck and will hold a public meeting on it later this month.
We look forward to continuing discussions with governments around the world to help ensure broad access for people everywhere,Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said.
With Republicans touting their defense of personal freedom and Democrats condemning the special sessioncalled by Gov. Ron DeSantisas a political stunt, Florida lawmakers have approved measuresaimed at blocking any kind of COVID vaccine or test mandates.The Republican-controlled state legislature finished work Wednesday night on apackage of billsthat both defy the Biden administrations vaccine-or-test requirements for larger businesses and stop local governments from enacting such standards.
DeSantis called lawmakers back to the Capitol primarily to fight the White House in what Democrats condemned as a political ploy to enhance the governors national image and affirm his support among Floridians who refuse vaccinations.Republicans disagreed.
Today were doing something to protect peoples rights, said Rep. Cord Byrd, R-Neptune Beach. We are a legislature and governor who believe in individual rights, including liberty. Its not a charade. Its not a stunt.
John Kennedy, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee released avideotrying to persuade officers to join the state's highway patrol because it doesn't have any coronavirus-relatedmandates.During the 71-second video released to YouTube, Lee said the Tennessee Highway Patrol "won't get between you and your doctor," adding THP is offering to cover all moving expenses for any officer who leaves another state to join its force.
Earlier this month,Lee signed a new state lawbanning vaccine mandates and curtailing when mask mandates can be enacted. Lee specifically mentioned New York City and Los Angeles in the video. New York requirespolice officers and sheriff deputies to be vaccinated against COVID-19; Los Angeles does provide a testing option.
Adam Friedman,Nashville Tennessean
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize as soon as today a COVID-19 booster shot for anyone who wants one and is at least six months past their initial vaccination. Vaccines do a great job of preventing hospitalization and death, but their protection against infection starts to fade at about six months even in young, healthy people.That's why booster dosesmay be recommended for all adults or at least those over 30.
Ted Ross, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Georgia in Athenswho recently got a booster shot himself, said theU.S. government bought so many doses so long ago that many will go to waste if they aren't used soon.
"The thing boosters might help with is to help dampen the surge or increase we're going to see this winter," as people travel and spend more time indoors, Ross said. "That peak or that slope will hopefully not be as steep."
Karen Weintraub
Vaccine-or-test work rules are proving to be a costly compromise for governments. Virginias Department of Corrections requires unvaccinated employees who work in crowded settings to get tested every three days, and the restevery seven days. It cost the department nearly $7,000 to test 442 staff members over two days in October. The state is tapping federal COVIDrelief funds to pay for the testing.
Securing scarce testing supplies also can be difficult. The Virginia State Police had to wait more than a month to start a testing program in part because of delays in delivery.
Some experts say the option just isn't as effective as mandating vaccines anyway.
A vaccine-and/or-testing policy is second best, said Jeffrey Levi, a professor of health management and policy at George Washington University. A testing policy catches a problem early. It doesn't prevent a problem, whereas the vaccination requirement helps to prevent it.
Amanda Michelle Gomez and Phil Galewitz,KHN
Nearly 100 Maryland elementary school students received an incorrect dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a clinic last week, health officials said.Officials were notifying the parents of 98 students at South Lake Elementary School that doses of vaccine administered at a clinic at the Montgomery Village school on Nov. 10 were diluted more than recommended, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release.Students were given additional doses at a clinic Wednesday. Acting county Health Officer Dr. James Bridgers said staff already received more training on childrens doses.
Over the weekend, a health clinic in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Antioch gave 14 children under age 12 the wrong dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, raising a furor among parents.
Contributing: Mike Stucka, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
With Thanksgiving around the corner, many Michiganders are questioning how best to enjoy the holiday season with family and friends while also being mindful of the states high coronavirus transmission rates.
One reader asked if they should include their non-vaccinated relatives in their Thanksgiving dinner plans if the majority is vaccinated and there are no known underlying health conditions amongst the group. Additionally, they expressed concern about asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic spread from the vaccinated attendees to those non-vaccinated.
Health officials continue to recommend the available vaccines as the best way to reduce risk of infection, limit spread of the virus and prevent severe illness in the event of a breakthrough infection. More than 227 million Americans have gotten at least one dose of vaccine, including more than 5.6 million Michiganders, with reports of adverse reactions continuing to be rare.
Doctors said vaccination status should be paramount for choosing who to gather with this holiday season, and they recommended picking small groups of vaccinated people to celebrate with.
If youre planning to celebrate Thanksgiving indoors with individuals who are not vaccinated, one local health officer recommends asking them to take a rapid COVID test earlier that morning. These tests, which can provide results in minutes, are more readily available at local pharmacies as of mid-November, compared to weeks earlier.
Testing helps reduce risk of transmission, but it shouldnt be a vaccine replacement, said Dr. Adnan Munkarah, executive vice president and chief clinical officer for Henry Ford Health System. He also recommends opening windows if you are hosting a gathering to allow for better air circulation, and to avoid gathering if youre feeling ill, even with cold-like symptoms.
By all means, if you not feeling well, if you are running a fever, are short of breath, or tired, and suspect your might have flu or COVID, please stay at home so you can protect your loved ones and those around you, Munkarah said.
Rather than leaving some family members out of your holidays, consider offering a virtual option to safely stay connected.
Below are some additional questions MLive received. If you have a COVID-related inquiry, send it to covidquestions@mlive.com. Your question could be featured in a future Q&A segment with an answer from local, federal and world health officials and studies.
Q: I was diagnosed with COVID-19 back in July 2020 and I have still not regained my sense of smell or taste. Its been over a year, will it ever come back?
This line of questioning prompted MLive to interview a couple ear, nose and throat experts earlier this month to better understand the process of registering smells, and what COVID-19 does to it.
In summary, viral infections like COVID-19 can cause damage to the nerve fibers in the roof of the nose and the support cells around them. That damage, as well as the inflammatory response to the infection, make it difficult for molecules to get to the nerve fibers, resulting in the loss of smell.
In most documented cases, the sense has returned after a few weeks/months, but there are cases in which an individual has gone years or never regained their full sense of smell. Doctors said thats not because the virus is continuing to live in your cells, but rather the damage is too severe or the environment isnt conducive to regeneration. More research is needed to determine if certain conditions make an individual more susceptible for long-term sense loss.
There are a few remedies that have proven useful to some. They involve the use of nasal steroids to reduce inflammation, and/or a neti pot to clean and moisturize the nose. There is also a technique in which the individual undergoes olfactory training therapy with the use of essential oils to regain some sense of smell. For more on that, check out the full MLive article.
Q: Do you ever question the so-called experts who say mask-up but never say anything about eye goggles?
Masks are useful in reducing the spread of coronavirus because they limit the amount of respiratory droplets released, from the wearer, into the air, as well as reducing the distance that the droplets carrying the virus can travel. They also keep you from touching your nose and mouth with potentially contaminated hands.
It is possible for a viral infection to occur through the mucous membranes of the eye, but there doesnt appear to be much evidence that coronavirus infections are commonly occurring this way. The most common means of transmission is through the respiratory tract, and thus masks that cover the nose and mouth are more beneficial.
Health officials dont recommend individuals wear eye protection like goggles as a means to slow coronavirus transmission, with the exception of health care workers. They are encouraged to wear face and eye coverings because of the conditions they work in and their proximity to seriously ill patients.
For everyone else, eye goggles wont hurt but they likely arent going to greatly reduce your risk of infection.
To submit your question, send an email to covidquestions@mlive.com.
To find a vaccine near you, eligible residents can visit Michigans COVID-19 vaccine website or go to VaccineFinder.org. Shots are available through health systems, pharmacies, health departments, physicians offices and other enrolled providers.
Read more on MLive:
What were experiencing today is unprecedented, Spectrum Health says as patient levels climb
West Michigan healthcare coalition says its resources are being overwhelmed by COVID and other patients
Michigan reports highest single-day positivity rate since start of pandemic, 21,034 new COVID cases
Hurley Medical Center hits 100 percent capacity as Flint area COVID-19 numbers surge
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Sanford Health is reporting more COVID-19 patients in its hospitals compared with last week.
Right now, there are more than 200 coronavirus patients across all of Sanfords hospitals. About 90 percent of those patients are unvaccinated.
Most of the COVID-19 patients in the ICU and on ventilators are also unvaccinated.
Here are the latest numbers of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. Getting vaccinated can help protect against COVID-19 infection or severe complications. Learn about the benefits and how you can schedule a vaccine appointment: https://t.co/2aoKpVgT4l pic.twitter.com/VOQrOU3g7x
Sanford isnt the only South Dakota hospital seeing more COVID-19 patients.The latest update from the Department of Health said the ICUs were full at Monument Health in Rapid City and Avera Sacred Heart in Yankton.
The states website says Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls is also busy with the coronavirus.
Half of the patients in the hospitals ICU had COVID-19, and 95 percent of McKennans ICU beds were full.
Soaring demand for Covid testing in the Netherlands, combined with a shortage of workers to book them, is pushing the limits of the countrys health services, officials have said.
In a statement on Tuesday, the association of regional health services in the Netherlands called the increase in demand for new testing appointments explosive, adding that it was taking the approach of all hands on deck.
Officials said that they aimed to reach up to 120,000 tests a day, depending on workers availability. On Monday, at least 116,000 new appointments were scheduled and 91,000 people were tested new daily records according to Jaap Eikelboom, a Covid program director for the health service association.
We are reaching the maximum of our capacity on all sides, he said.
Virus cases have been rising in the Netherlands, with more than 110,000 people testing positive over the past week, an increase of almost 44 percent compared with the week before, according to official figures. Last week, the government announced a national partial lockdown for three weeks, including limited operating hours for restaurants, bars and shops.
It is also now largely impossible to book most Covid testing appointments online because of the high demand, the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported, saying that there was only one place in the Netherlands in the southern province of Zeeland where people were able to do so.
Speaking at a news conference this month, Prime Minister Mark Rutte hailed the importance of testing to stop the spread of the virus, even for people who are vaccinated.
Stay home if you have symptoms, and get tested, he said.
At least a dozen staffers, family members and associates of the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns tested positive for COVID-19 during the 2021 NBA Finals in July, according to a Rolling Stone story by Matt Sullivan.
Rolling Stone reported that:
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The story suggests the NBA dodged a bullet four months ago. A senior Bucks employee is quoted using that exact phrase, adding that the team "didn't know who else was gonna come up positive" after Thanasis did.
The league's position, essentially, is that the system worked. In response to the COVID Delta variant spreading at an alarming rate, it ramped up some of its restrictions.
"Because of a high vaccination rate, the enhancements to our protocols -- including increasing testing frequency, reinstituting face masks at team facilities for all players, and limiting the number of staff who could interact with players -- and the diligence from the Bucks' and Suns' players and staff, we were able to prevent any coronavirus transmission among players and safely complete the Finals," said David Weiss, the NBA's senior vice president of player matters.
"There was no outbreak," Weiss said, adding that the league never considered postponing a Finals game. The NBA official who was traveling with the Bucks, however, said that the team wasn't worried about a potential postponement, but rather the possibility that Giannis would have to join his brother in the health and safety protocols -- and miss the rest of the series. Rolling Stone cited team officials on both sides describing panic, frustration with uncooperative family members and, in the hours before Game 6, "a lot of nervousness" as they waited for test results.
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A new surge in coronavirus cases in Europe is causing concern in the United States, with some doctors and researchers predicting an equally troubling spike in the U.S.
Ive been predicting a pretty bad winter wave again, and it looks like its starting to happen, Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told The Guardian. Theres just too many unvaccinated and too many partially vaccinated [people].
According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average of new daily coronavirus cases in the U.S.has surpassed 85,000, a more than 14 percent increase from a week ago.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) projected about 863,000 total deaths from the coronavirus pandemic by March 2022. However, the CDC reports 762,994 people have already died in the U.S. from COVID-19. The IHMEs worst-case scenario projection predictsnearly 2 million coronavirus deaths by March 2022.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
Only 58.9 percent of the U.S. population are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
However, some experts are optimistic, citing the protection from vaccinations, vaccines becoming available to children, as well as the possibility of new treatments, such as antiviral medications.
I do expect to see cases increasing weve started to see this in the last week or so, David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, told The Guardian. I dont think what were seeing in Europe means were in for a huge surge of serious illness and death as we [saw] here in the US in winter 2020.
People can still get Covid, there can still be breakthrough infections, added Rupali Limaye, an associate scientist at Johns Hopkins University. But the great news is if you have been vaccinated you are very much less likely to be hospitalized or have severe infection.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reported 1,114 new COVID-19 cases and an active case increase of 472 on Thursday. The DHHR also confirmed 1,114 19 additional deaths in its report.
On Wednesday, it confirmed 970 new COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths.
The DHHR has reported 286,249 (+1,114) total cases and 4,717 (+19) total deaths.According to the DHHR dashboard, there are currently 6,934 (+472) active cases.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a73-year old female from Raleigh County, a 58-year old male from Nicholas County, a 74-year old female from Putnam County, a 63-year old male from Webster County, a 45-year old female from Kanawha County, a 62-year old male from Preston County, a 78-year old male from Kanawha County, a 71-year old female from Preston County, a 77-year old female from Ohio County, an 86-year old female from Barbour County, a 56-year old male from Wirt County, a 77-year old female from Marion County, a 62-year old female from Putnam County, a 36-year old male from Marion County, a 54-year old male from Putnam County, an 80-year old female from Wood County, a 68-year old male from Mercer County, an 81-year old female from Wood County, and a 67-year old male from Jefferson County.
With the holiday season approaching, we must do all we can to protect our loved ones and assure many more years of family celebrations, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. COVID-19 vaccination is free and available statewide to every West Virginian ages 5 years and older.
CURRENT ACTIVE CASES PER COUNTY:Barbour (94), Berkeley (559), Boone (110), Braxton (53), Brooke (82), Cabell (258), Calhoun (48), Clay (36), Doddridge (14), Fayette (195), Gilmer (19), Grant (94), Greenbrier (88), Hampshire (111), Hancock (85), Hardy (80), Harrison (286), Jackson (85), Jefferson (215), Kanawha (482), Lewis (65), Lincoln (128), Logan (109), Marion (283), Marshall (137), Mason (93), McDowell (70), Mercer (286), Mineral (97), Mingo (121), Monongalia (256), Monroe (36), Morgan (61), Nicholas (165), Ohio (200), Pendleton (46), Pleasants (18), Pocahontas (25), Preston (161), Putnam (292), Raleigh (256), Randolph (101), Ritchie (24), Roane (67), Summers (26), Taylor (76), Tucker (20), Tyler (18), Upshur (125), Wayne (103), Webster (74), Wetzel (77), Wirt (24), Wood (233), Wyoming (67).
According to the dashboard, 1,063,158 first doses of the vaccine have been administered to West Virginians, and 912,460 people have been fully vaccinated. The dashboard also reports that 53,425 fully vaccinated West Virginians have received an additional dose.
West Virginians five and older are now eligible for the COVID vaccine. Most West Virginians who are 18 and over now qualify for the COVID booster vaccine. To learn more about the vaccine or to find a vaccine site near you, visitvaccinate.wv.govor call 1-833-734-0965.
Free COVID-19 testing is available daily to all West Virginia residents.Click hereto view the testing site map and location list.
West Virginians may now register for their COVID-19 vaccinationby clicking here.
Editors note: The numbers received from the West Virginia DHHR include cases that have already been resolved. Therefore, these counts need to be viewed as historical cases, rather than active cases.
Editors note 2: The total number of cases confirmed by the DHHR now includes probable cases, which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody) or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but no confirmatory test.
