The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness headed above 181.4 million on Tuesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while deaths climbed above 3.93 million. The U.S. continues to lead the world in total cases at 33.6 million, and by deaths that total 604,115. The number of fully vaccinated Americans rose to 153.8 million, or 46.3% of the total population, according to the latest data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up rom 46.1% a day ago. The number of adults 18-years-and-older that are fully vaccinated rose to 57%, while the number of U.S. adults receiving at least one dose increased to 66.1%. The World Health Organization is recommending that fully vaccinated people continue to wear face masks in public, breaking with the guidance offered by the CDC. The WHO is concerned about the rapid spread of the highly infectious delta variant of the virus that is racing across the world. On a global basis, India is second in total cases at 30.3 million and third by fatalities at 397,637, although those numbers are expected to be undercounted given a shortage of tests. Brazil has the third-highest caseload at 18.4 million, according to JHU data, and is second in deaths at 514,092. Mexico has fourth-highest death toll at 232,608 and 2.5 million cases. In Europe, Russia has overtaken the U.K. by deaths. Russia has 132,314 fatalities, while the U.K. has 128,367, making Russia the country with the fifth-highest death toll in the world and highest in Europe.
Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is an infection caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Almost 1 in 3 people will have shingles at some point in their lives.
Some people believe that there is a direct connection between the appearance of shingles symptoms and the COVID-19 coronavirus as well as its vaccines. Some have even suggested that COVID-19 causes shingles and that vaccines given to protect against the virus can cause shingles, too.
Current scientific research indicates that neither COVID-19 itself nor any vaccine given to protect against it causes shingles. But that does not mean that there is not a link between the two.
In some cases, the COVID-19 coronavirus does seem to reactivate the herpes zoster virus if a person already has had shingles or chickenpox. This can cause symptoms of shingles.
Lets take a look at what we know and do not know about COVID-19 and the shingles virus.
Theres currently no evidence to clear up the question of whether having COVID-19 or getting vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes it increases your risk for developing shingles in any statistically significant way.
But it seems clear that neither the virus nor the vaccines can cause a shingles outbreak since shingles is caused by a different virus entirely.
To better understand the relationship between the two, lets look at some details about the herpes zoster virus and SARS-CoV-2, responsible for shingles and COVID-19, respectively, as well as what the research currently suggests about the link between the two conditions.
Herpes zoster is a virus that first takes the form of chickenpox. Many people contract this virus during childhood. You can also be vaccinated against the virus.
Whether you have acquired varicella or been vaccinated against it, the virus lies dormant in certain nerve cells after your exposure.
Years after your first encounter with chickenpox, the virus can be reactivated in the form of shingles. Symptoms of shingles will typically include a rash on your trunk or your buttocks. The rash can be itchy and painful. Even after the rash fades, you may notice pain in the area where the rash appeared.
Most people only get shingles once in their lifetime, but the virus can be reactivated multiple times.
People over age 60 years old or who have a compromised immune system are at a higher risk for reactivation of herpes zoster and developing symptoms of shingles. In fact, people who are at a higher risk for shingles are also at a higher risk for severe symptoms of COVID-19.
COVID-19 is a highly transmissible respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Its primarily transmitted through the air when people who have contracted the coronavirus breathe out respiratory particles that contain viral material.
COVID-19 has a wide range of symptoms. Some people who have contracted SARS-COV-2 may not present any symptoms at all (asymptomatic), while others may experience severe symptoms and require hospitalization. Symptoms may include:
While COVID-19 symptoms can be flu-like, the coronavirus that causes it is much different than the virus that causes the annual flu. Researchers are still working to understand COVID-19s short- and long-term effects on the body.
What we do know is that when your immune system is compromised or distracted fighting off another virus, it tends to give the herpes zoster virus a chance to reactivate.
Past research has established that immune-suppressing medications like chemotherapy and corticosteroids as well as health conditions that attack your immune system like Crohns disease, HIV, and lupus increase your risk for a shingles outbreak.
Researchers are currently trying to understand whether COVID-19 may do the same thing.
Preliminary data suggests that this could be the case, but we do not know yet.
A small 2021 study involving 491 vaccinated people in Israel showed that six participants experienced shingles for the first time after getting their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. All six individuals had pre-existing conditions that lowered their natural immune response, and all six fully recovered after developing shingles.
This study prompted researchers to advocate for more studies on COVID-19 vaccines as possible triggers for (not cause of) the shingles virus.
Data gathered in Brazil also showed an increase of 10.7 cases of shingles per million inhabitants during the time of the pandemic.
Its impossible to know exactly how and to what extent the effect of increased stress of the pandemic and other factors played into these numbers increasing during that span of time. Stress has long been suspected to be a possible factor in developing shingles.
A small study published in October 2020 by the University of California showed that there was no statistical evidence to support claims of a link between the herpes zoster virus and COVID-19.
This conclusion was based on 608 cases of herpes zoster in which only 2.1 percent of people (13) with shingles tested positive for COVID-19 between March 2020 and August 2020.
If you are currently experiencing a shingles outbreak, its natural to question and want to know what caused it.
Besides the herpes zoster virus being reactivated in your system, other more complicated, less well-known triggers for the virus include:
Whether you suspect that you have shingles, COVID-19, or both, seek medical attention immediately if you notice one or more of the following:
If you have a compromised immune system, are pregnant, or are over age 65 years, see a doctor right away if you suspect you have COVID-19 orshingles regardless of your specific symptoms.
Shingles is typically treated with antiviral medication. The earlier you get a confirmed diagnosis, the more effective the medication will be at managing your symptoms.
Acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir are antiviral medications that may be prescribed to treat a shingles outbreak.
Acyclovir is currently seen as promising for the treatment of COVID-19 as well. But how well it works is still being established.
Remdesivir, another antiviral, is currently the only drug that is FDA approved for treating COVID-19.
Other treatments for shingles include:
COVID-19 does not cause shingles neither do any of the currently available vaccines designed to protect you against COVID-19.
We know this because shingles is caused by a different virus entirely. What we do not yet know is whether getting a COVID-19 vaccine or contracting SARS-CoV-2 might increase your risk for reactivating the virus that causes shingles.
Speak with a doctor if you have any concerns about getting vaccinated.
Shares of Moderna Inc. MRNA, +5.27% gained 6.3% in trading on Tuesday after the company said its COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for adults in India. Moderna's shot has already been authorized in more than 50 countries, including the U.S. Moderna's stock is up 118.5% this year, while the broader S&P 500 SPX, +0.12% has gained 14.2%.
ANN ARBOR, MI Researchers surveying wastewater systems for COVID-19 at the University of Michigan can increase testing sites and continue monitoring until 2023 after receiving $5.3 million from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The funding is part of MDHHSs $49 million to support 19 projects to continue COVID-19 wastewater surveillance and implement COVID-19 variant strain testing of wastewater, according to university officials.
Testing wastewater for coronavirus will continue into 2023 thanks to $49M grant
Grants include $2.5 million for Krista Wigginton, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Kevin Bakker, an assistant researcher scientist at UMs School of Public Health; and $2.7 million for Chuanwu Xi, a professor of environmental sciences at the School of Public Health, officials said.
This new grant will allow us to monitor more frequently and for an extended period of time the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, including a few variant strains, in sewage from several buildings off campus in addition to sites on campus that we have been monitoring, Xi said. Data collected will allow us to evaluate the situation of COVID-19 spread in the community and the effectiveness of vaccination and other public health interventions.
That data will be shared in real-time fashion with Washtenaw County, state health departments and UMs COVID-19 response committees to assist the development of data-driven public health policies, Xi said.
The funds will allow Wigginton to add three new members to her team, she said, and expand their work with wastewater treatment systems in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to Jackson and Flint. The team will be able to analyze influent and solid samples nearly daily to monitor for the prevalence of COVID-19 in those communities, and data from those sample analyses will be shared to a statewide dashboard, officials said.
Wiggintons team will also be partnering with Washtenaw, Genesee and Jackson counties to inform their local responses to COVID-19.
Were excited to participate in this important project for the state of Michigan to continue fighting COVID-19, Wigginton said. Wastewater-based epidemiology has shown to be a valuable tool to inform public health officials of case levels and infection trends in a community.
Wigginton has also worked with Stanford University, which has informed the methodology for the solid sampling procedure and analysis they will conduct in the four Michigan communities, officials said.
Other colleges in the state have used wastewater testing to monitor COVID-19, including Eastern Michigan University, which began testing wastewater in September 2020, and Grand Valley State University, where SARS-CoV-2 was detected in more than 50% of all samples collected.
Previously, the state received $10 million in grant funding for its three-month pilot program from September through December 2020. The program testing samples from 280 sites across 41 counties and the city of Detroit.
The average positivity rate of all samples was 66.3% between Oct. 1 and Dec. 30, 2020. During that time, Michigan was experiencing its second significant wave, which peaked at 7,270 new cases reported per day on Nov. 21. A few sites didnt include any positive detections, while many sites had 100% of their samples test positive.
Funding will continue through July 31, 2023.
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Now, toddlers and babies as young as 6 months old are testing Covid-19 vaccines to help make sure they're safe for other young children. If the pediatric trials go well, children under 12 might be eligible to get vaccinated in fall or winter.
For many parents, the decision to volunteer their kids was easy.
One family knows the anguish of suddenly losing a healthy child to unexpected illness and doesn't want any other family to endure the same.
And one family is so passionate about helping protect kids, they've enrolled all three children -- ages 6, 3, and 14 months -- in a Covid-19 vaccine trial.
Here's what parents who have stepped up to volunteer their children want other families to know:
'You don't want to be that statistic'
Rebecca and Michael Calloway never imagined they would lose their healthy, energetic toddler to an unexpected illness.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, 3-year-old Ailish became severely sick and was hospitalized with swelling in her brain. She died just a few days later.
"We lost our daughter to something we couldn't control," Calloway said.
"We can be part of showing people that yes, this is safe," the mother from rural Maryland said.
"This is going to keep your children safe. It's going to keep (those) who cannot be vaccinated safe. We want to be part of that."
So her 7-year-old daughter Georgia is testing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
Their youngest child, 2-year-old Lochlan, is already a vaccine trial veteran. When he was 2 months old, he started participating in a meningitis vaccine trial.
"They want to work towards improving it for younger children because meningitis is something that young children are still getting and dying from," Calloway said.
"You don't want to be that statistic," she said. "I would never, ever want someone to go through the pain of losing a child. It's devastating beyond anything that you can imagine."
Even before Ailish's death, the Calloways planned to support vaccine trials because their relatives suffered consequences from not being vaccinated in the past.
"My family and my husband's family have a history with fallout from not having vaccines," Calloway said.
"We've seen the effects of what can happen without vaccines. Those are very real to us in our family," Rebecca Calloway said.
Even at age 3, Ailish also had a passion for helping others. She started telling everyone she wanted to be a doctor.
Calloway said Ailish would have been so proud of her sister Georgia for testing the Covid-19 vaccine.
"Georgia was her hero," their mother said.
Without vaccinating kids, it's 'going to be impossible to get to herd immunity'
Dr. CJ Bui is a pediatric neurosurgeon. But when Covid-19 started overwhelming hospitals, he and other doctors from different specialties volunteered to help treat Covid-19 patients.
"Seeing how bad it can be for adults, (even) young adults" was sobering, the Louisiana doctor said. "I've seen a healthy 30-something-year-old die a miserable death."
"We both saw how terribly Covid affected patients," said Bui's wife, neurosurgeon Dr. Erin Biro. "We felt strongly about participating in the research -- obviously for the opportunity to have our kids vaccinated (and) to continue to move the needle forward in the battle against Covid."
Their 6-year-old daughter Ellie got her first shot June 8. Her younger brother Christian, 3, and baby sister Sloane, 14 months, received their first injections June 21.
This Phase 2/3 of the Pfizer study is double-blinded, so the family doesn't know whether each child received a dose of Covid-19 vaccine or a placebo. Six months after the second injections, the study will be "unblinded," and those who got a placebo will be able to get the real vaccine.
None of three Bui children had side effects after their injections, their parents said.
Before volunteering their children, Bui and Biro evaluated the risks and benefits -- from the perspectives of both doctors and parents.
"If you really look at the data, the risk is exponentially lower from this vaccine than a lot of common medications. So that played a role," Bui said.
As more variants develop and spread among unvaccinated people, the bar for reaching herd immunity may become higher.
"We're potentially one variant away from removing all this progress," he said.
The doctors also share a desire echoed by many parents: They want children to learn in classrooms, "full time and back to school safely," Biro said.
"And safely, for us, meant vaccination."
How children's Covid-19 vaccine trials work
Both Pfizer and Moderna have started Covid-19 vaccine trials in children between ages 6 months and 11 years.
Some may be surprised babies could test adult doses. But parents don't need to worry about a so-called overdose, said pediatrician Dr. James Campbell, lead investigator of the Moderna children's vaccine study at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
"These are very, very small amounts," he told CNN. "So when you're talking half or double of a very small amount, it's still a very small amount. You cannot overdose on vaccine doses."
What might happen is higher doses may lead to more side effects. That's what investigators are trying to determine, Campbell said.
"Could it be that 100 micrograms leads to 10% of people having fever, and 50 micrograms leads to 5% having fever? ... That's what we're looking for," he said.
Scientists are trying to see which doses yield the best combination of high efficacy and minimal side effects.
Of course, 6-month-olds can't describe any side effects they might get. So how would parents know if their young child is having side effects?
"It's the same as any other child who gets ill -- they get fussy," said Dr. Julia Garcia-Diaz, a lead investigator for Pfizer's pediatric vaccine study at New Orleans' Ochsner Hospital for Children.
"They're not eating the same, or they're fussy and they just cry. Parents are attuned to how their child behaves," she told CNN.
Garcia-Diaz agreed with that time frame.
"After that, your body has made the antibodies. It has done what it is supposed to do," she said. "So most likely things that are outside that window are not related."
While some families are hesitant to vaccinate their children, many have been eager to participate in the vaccine trials, Campbell and Garcia-Diaz said.
"There has been a great deal of interest," said Garcia-Diaz, director of clinical infectious diseases research at Ochsner Health.
"The parents had been calling us for weeks on end trying to find out when the trial starts."
Pfizer's trial for young children started in March, and it expects to ask the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for ages 2 to 11 years in September, the company said.
Moderna said if trials go well, its vaccine may be available for children under 12 years old this winter or in early 2022.
A 9-year-old feels like he's helping 'save the world'
Dr. Charles Mugera has seen patients rapidly deteriorate with Covid-19.
"I was admitting patients every day, sending them to the ICU -- some of them dying on the floor," said Mugera, an internist in Maryland. "Going to work every day was scary, not only for what's going to happen to patients but what's going to happen to us" health care workers.
"This vaccine has just changed the game entirely."
"So it becomes very clear that for this pandemic to end, we have to not only protect ourselves from severe disease but (also) get the children vaccinated. Because even though the children have not been perceived as being at risk for death and severe disease, they transmit it."
His wife, Dr. Kabuiya Ruth Mugera, is a pediatrician who also believes children need to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
So they asked their two sons -- Gerald, then 11, and Christian, 9 -- if they would participate in the Moderna vaccine trial.
"Educating them and getting them on board -- yeah, that took a little bit of convincing," Mugera said, especially given a fear of needles.
Their mother "explained how it works, what it does, how it protects you, and how you get your life back. You can travel. Go back to having birthday parties. Go back to school (in-person)," Mugera said.
"That crystallized in their minds very quickly that this is the path to normalcy."
But because the trial requires blood draws to monitor for antibodies, and Gerald had difficulty getting blood drawn, only Christian was selected for the trial.
The 9-year-old has received both doses of the Moderna vaccine -- the full adult dosage each time.
Christian had a sore arm after his first dose and a fever, muscle aches and lethargy after his second dose. But 24 hours later, he was fine.
Mugera admits the family was on high alert for anything that might resemble an adverse side effect. He got nervous when Christian developed a rash.
"Initially we were like, oh my goodness, is this something from the vaccine?" he said.
But Gerald -- who was not vaccinated -- later broke out with the same rash. It turned out to be contact dermatitis after both boys played outside and climbed a tree.
Gerald recently turned 12 and was able to get the Pfizer vaccine. Now the entire family is looking forward to an overseas vacation.
Though Christian was initially hesitant to get vaccinated, he's now excited to play with friends without masks and go back to his normal childhood without worry, Mugera said.
He's also proud to help other kids by testing the vaccine for them. Christian's dad said his younger son has developed a new mantra:
"We're going to save the world. We're going to change the world."
The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday revised its Pfizer and Moderna guidance for patients and providers to include a warning about myocarditis and pericarditis.
The update follows a Wednesday meeting of the CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, during which the adverse event of heart inflammation was discussed.
The fact sheets for health care providers now warn about the incidents and advise medical attention for patients experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, or fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heart after vaccination.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and is typically more common in teen boys and younger men.
Unlike myocarditis caused by the vaccines, traditional myocarditis is most often caused by viruses, such as Hepatitis C, HIV, and Influenza A. Heart inflammation can also be caused by parasitic, fungal, and bacterial agents, as well as illicit drugs, prescription medications, and immunological syndromes.
Symptoms can include chest pain, pressure or discomfort, shortness of breath, and palpitations. Traditional myocarditis can be treated with supportive care, such as oxygen or fluids, anti-inflammatory medicines, or in severe cases, with mechanical support or a heart transplant. Unlike the incidents related to the vaccines, traditional myocarditis is usually more severe. But for both cases, patients must reduce exercise for three to six months.
There are viruses that cause myocarditis and it can be quite severe, meaning it can cause chronic disease, which can lead to a heart transplant. It can cause severe acute disease that can lead to death and ICU admission. So thats not this, said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.
The myocarditis following these MrNA vaccines is short-lived, temporary, self-resolving, a mild inflammation of the heart that goes away. Its not based, obviously, on viruses reproducing themselves to the heart muscle because youre not getting the virus So this is a very different thing.
People who develop myocarditis after the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine should talk to their doctors before getting the second shot.
Experts say the benefits far outweigh the risks. The overall efficacy of the MrNA vaccine is 95%. In December, there were about 250,000 COVID-19 cases and 3,000 deaths per day. By comparison, after millions of Americans were vaccinated by June, there were about 13,000 COVID cases and 300 deaths per day.
June 29 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (J&J) (JNJ.N) said on Tuesday it was in talks with the Indian government to explore ways to speed up delivery of its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
The Economic Times newspaper reported earlier on Tuesday that the company would no longer undertake local trials for its vaccine, after India's decision to scrap bridging clinical trials for vaccines approved by regulators in other nations. (https://bit.ly/3h2x358)
J&J did not specify in its comment whether it has scrapped the trial.
The U.S.-based company said in April it was seeking an approval to conduct a bridging clinical study of its Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India. read more
In late-May, however, the country scrapped local trials for "well-established" vaccines manufactured in other countries. read more
More than 41 million vaccine doses were administered across India in just the last one week, at a time when experts have said that widespread vaccination remains one of the best tools to avoid the kind of devastation the country saw during the pandemic's second wave. read more
Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Governments around the world are trying to capitalize on rising Covid-19 vaccination rates to kick-start international travel again, but officials and travel-industry executives are clashing over how.
The European Union is slated to roll out a digital health certificate this weekallowing vaccinated residents to travel restriction-free across the bloc. Canada and the U.K., meanwhile, have said residents can travel overseas again without having to quarantine on their returnas long as they are fully vaccinated. South Korea has said it would allow vaccinated visitors into the country without quarantine restrictions, and Ecuador has dropped testing requirements for vaccinated visitors.
Industry executives complain that the vaccine-related easings arent being coordinated adequately and are being rolled out too slowly.
Its really confusing and thats part of the challenge, Virginia Messina, senior vice president at the World Travel & Tourism Council, said. Its understanding what the rules are in the country youre going to and then what the rules are when you return.
Meanwhile, the so-called Delta variant, first identified in India, has sent Covid-19 cases rising again in countries that not too long ago seemed to have the virus under control. That has governments reconsidering earlier plans to lift travel restrictions. On Monday, Hong Kong banned travelers from the U.K., citing the variant.
There are many questions about returning to work, and a lot of those questions have to do with the COVID-19 vaccine.
It turns out, both employers and employees have to adhere to strict rules about what can and can't be asked when it comes to vaccines.
Many businesses are throwing incentives at employees to encourage them to get vaccinated bonuses, time off, gift cards, food vouchers, even marijuana to those who prove they're vaccinated. But even that has some guidelines.
Amber Clayton, a human resources expert, says employees shouldn't feel like they're being coerced into sharing medical records. She says that would be against guidelines set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"They should be careful about the types of incentives they're offering, especially if they're voluntary," Clayton said.
Clayton works at the knowledge center within the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). They have 300,000 members across 165 countries, and many of them are asking many questions.
Clayton says employers first need to decide whether they will require vaccinations or whether to make them voluntary.
If a company sets a mandatory policy, they can ask questions sort of.
"They should not be asking questions that might elicit disability with regards to vaccinations," Clayton said. "It may be something as simple as their vaccination card showing the date or where they had the vaccination."
A third of their members would rather work remotely than deal with any of it. Communication, she says, is the best policy all around, regardless of vaccination status.
"One of the things they should be doing is educating the employees about what they're doing in the workplace to keep safety measures in place," Clayton said. "Some are still doing social distancing and some still requiring a mask, some are loosening based on local area restrictions being lifted."
Some employers are still weighing in. Some aren't addressing it at all, as everyone tries to figure out what's best for both employer and employee.
