Amit Sonawane, 35, an engineer at a district health office, gets his first vaccine dose in Palghar, India. Viraj Nayar for NPR hide caption
Amit Sonawane, 35, an engineer at a district health office, gets his first vaccine dose in Palghar, India.
The world has a new coronavirus mutant spreading from one continent to another and it looks like a tough one to stop.
The World Health Organization declared Monday the variant that emerged in India, known as B.1.617, is officially a "variant of concern."
"There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of B.1.617," the WHO's Marie Van Kerkhove said Monday from Geneva. Last week, NPR published a story explaining why B.1.617 could be the fastest-spreading mutant on the planet.
At the same time, researchers around the globe have been rushing to figure out if the COVID-19 vaccines available will still be effective against this new mutant. Some preliminary data, published on Sunday and Monday, offers a glimmer of hope.
Like other variants of concern, B.1.617 has more than a dozen mutations. But two mutations in particular have been most concerning, said Ravindra Gupta, a microbiologist at the University of Cambridge. These mutations are found on an important part of the virus where the immune system attacks.
"So that's why this variant was labeled 'a double mutant,' " Gupta says. "It had these two big mutations, in two big places, and that's what caused all the worries."
The world is very worried about coronavirus variants. As the virus mutates which all viruses do variant strains emerge. Some of these variants are more effective at infecting humans and may even cause more severe disease. Variants that appear to fall into this category have been identified in Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom and now India. And in an interconnected world, they can spread from one country to another. How does a mutated version of the virus improve its chances of being transmitted to humans? If you imagine viruses as puzzle pieces, as this video does, that can help explain what is happening when a coronavirus variant comes into contact with human cells.
Each of these mutations or similar versions of them have cropped up separately in other parts of the world, including one in California and one in Brazil. Previous studies have shown that these mutations, individually, give the virus an advantage against the immune system. It reduces the ability of antibodies to fight off the virus.
So what happens when the two mutations come together? The concern, Gupta said, is that the effect of the mutations would add up or even amplify each other. In other words, could the "double mutant" be double trouble for the vaccine?
"So we set up quickly to try and figure out whether this was a real concern," he said.
The Palghar Rural Hospital in India has chairs lined up at a safe distance for vaccine patients. But so far there are more chairs than vaccine candidates. Viraj Nayar for NPR hide caption
Gupta and his team took antibodies from people vaccinated with the Pfizer shot and then looked to see how much the two mutations, when combined together, decreased the ability of these antibodies to kill the virus. What they saw was hopeful. The double mutant behaved a lot like the single mutant. It wasn't double trouble.
"There didn't seem to be the addition of one mutant on top of the other," Gupta said. "And that was really quite important because that assumption has caused panic."
The team published its findings online Sunday. At the same time, researchers at Emory University performed similar studies with antibodies taken from 15 people who have been vaccinated with either the Pfizer or Moderna shots. In these studies, the antibodies could still neutralize the B.1.617 variant, but the potency of the antibodies dropped by about sevenfold on average, the authors reported.
"Despite this reduction, all vaccine blood samples ... still maintained the ability to block the B.1.617 variant," said immunologist Mehul Suthar at Emory, who led the study.
Together the data suggests the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will still work well against B.1.617, just as they do for the variant from South Africa, known as B.1.351. In both cases, the shots will likely offer high protection from death and severe illness, but they may lose some ability to stop mild or asymptomatic infections.
"These findings highlight the need to increase vaccination rates," Suthar said.
That's great news for people in the U.S., where these vaccines are available. But in India, the most common vaccine is the one developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute, called Covishield. How will this vaccine fare against B.1.617?
Preliminary evidence suggests this vaccine will also be able to prevent severe cases and deaths, said Rakesh Mishra, adviser to the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, India.
He and his colleagues have been running experiments similar to the ones Suthar and his colleagues have performed, except with Covishield. The team hasn't published its results yet, but Mishra said they look similar to what other researchers have found with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
"We were actually very relieved," Mishra said, "because this means this variant has not managed to resist the vaccines."
And the world has once again gotten lucky, he said; the best tools to fight COVID-19, not only still work, but they are also still powerful.
After over a year of living in fear, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said the words we have been waiting to hear: It's finally time to begin taking off our masks.
That news comes as confirmation that with enough vaccinations, we as a country can begin to let people go back to some semblance of normalcy at least in small groups.
Youd think many people would immediately leap to joy knowing that its safe to let people see your face in public, but I am still seeing so many people online and off especially progressives openly pushing back on the CDCs decision and the science behind it with distrust.
The debate thats currently playing out among liberals is a version of one thats been going on in the queer community for years: The battle to get people to begin taking the HIV prevention drug PrEP is a prime case of how stigma and shame only allow viruses to continue.
Since the first shutdowns began in March 2020, the pandemic has been extremely politicized, with masks becoming the symbol of our polarization in this country. Former President Donald Trump openly mocked mask use before eventually adopting it himself once getting sick. According to a 2020 Pew study, the divide on masks and political parties stood at 63 percent of Democrats believing people should wear masks outside compared to 29 percent of Republicans.
I remember talking to queer men older than me at the time about the new pill. Many of them resented me for having this level of protection available. (Some still do to this day.)
At the time, Democrats were entirely correct. The virus was raging and masks were our first line of defense. But those who are vaccinated on the left seem to think overcaution now is the way to go, which is making people on the right question the effectiveness of the vaccines, Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine at University of California at San Francisco, recently told The Atlantic.
Which brings me back to PrEP. In 2012, the FDA approved PrEP after it was scientifically shown to be up to 99 percent effective in preventing acquisition of the HIV virus. I remember talking to queer men older than me at the time about the new pill. Many of them resented me for having this level of protection available. (Some still do to this day.)
Its not hard to understand why. They had survived the height of the HIV epidemic in America during the 1980s and 90s, burying more people than theyd like to count. They had been the ones who popularized condoms as the No. 1 prevention tool in fighting HIV/AIDS.
But this new drug was not only going to be just as powerful as a condom, it allowed for men to consider not wearing condoms at all. Since then, even as more and more ads roll out explaining how safe it is and its upsides, we still see queer men hesitating to use the pill that could stop the epidemic in its tracks.
Like the viruses and thevaccine, theres no way to tell by looking at someone if theyre taking PrEP. Its a pill I take myself, but still to this day find THAT people will make snide remarks about why folks are taking it and not just wearing condoms. Those remarks are never because they actually care about ending HIV/AIDS theyre coming from people obsessed with slut shaming those taking measures to protect themselves.
Their rationale a belief that only sluts need a pill like this is rhetoric that folks taking birth control have also historically faced. Its the logical outgrowth of the prevailing rhetoric of the early epidemic, which came from both inside and outside the community, that we as gay men just need to have less sex, or just one partner, or no sex at all.
In 2019, Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims, a Democrat, came out as a politician who takes PrEP, at least in part to push back on a stigma that he saw as blocking a future where HIV/AIDS was eradicated.
Think this is an invite to talk about my sex life? It's not. Think it's an invite to shame me or anyone else? Grow up. he wrote in his Instagram post. 'Stigma' is the thing our enemies want us to be stunted by. It literally kills us. It's stupid and we control our own fate. No shame in this game. Just Pride."
Hes 100 percent correct that stigma is what's killing us at this point not just HIV itself. For years, people have been opting out of getting tested or telling their doctor their full sexual health behaviors for fear of being shamed about it. And instead of that shame pushing folks to maybe wear more condoms, it instead had them performing riskier behaviors, which they then decided to not talk about with anyone, downplaying the need for their partners to get tested. That cycle is partially why HIV/AIDS will turn 40 years old this June, and why community health organizations are doing everything they can to get people to trust PrEP.
If this sounds similar to the underground parties weve seen reported all around the country that were superspreader events, it should. Shaming people about partying only made them go deeper underground and made the pandemic worse.
And while I do plan to take off my mask as someone who is vaccinated, I do understand some hesitancy from people who have experienced the darkest points of this pandemic. We cannot forget that we as a country are still traumatized. These changes, coming so quickly after more than a year of oppressive sameness, are happening in the midst of an epidemic of grief, as the founder of Modern Loss, Rebecca Soffer, wrote in an NBC THINK essay.
These two things don't have to contradict each other. Doctors and medical professionals now heavily rely on more harm reduction practices that have them engaging with people in ways that dont perpetuate shame. Instead, the focus is on making people feel good in all their decisions by knowing their risks in whatever they do. We should apply similar practices to a world where, like PrEP, we are needing more and more people to adopt a life-saving medicine so we can control this disease forever and end the pandemic.
We have to learn how to talk about our health status, clearly and without shame
Vaccines, masks in crowded spaces, and having intentional conversations with friends and family are all practices we need to be more people to support. But not listening to science when it tells you to relax more in favor of telling people to keep masks on if they dont want to is not the way to a more normal society for all of us.
We have to learn how to talk about our health status, clearly and without shame. If we dont, similar to HIV/AIDS, we will be talking about finally eradicating Covid-19 for decades.
Zach Stafford is an award-winning journalist who recently served as editor-at-large of BuzzFeed, was the first Black editor-in-chief of The Advocate, and worked as an investigative journalist at The Guardian.
"I got my COVID-19 vaccine" is on a sticker with the Yard Goats mascot as the City of Hartford and its Department of Public Health and Services host a vaccination clinic for Hartford residents 75+ at Dunkin' Donuts Park Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, in Hartford. (Kassi Jackson/Kassi Jackson)
As the state continues to push toward its goal of vaccinating 70% of Michiganders over 16, the government making way for its own workers to take the time to get it done.
Starting May 16, anyone employed by the state will receive eight hours of sick leave for the purpose of COVID-19 vaccination.
The change was announced Thursday by the Michigan Civil Service Commission.
The extra sick time is intended as a one-time allowance for use to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine sometime in 2021. Use of the time is subject to the same conditions as regular sick leave and does not take away from any other accrued paid leave, the commission said.
The Civil Service Commission on Thursday also announced an end to policies established in 2020 that added 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave and child care absences that were needed during the worst of the pandemic.
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A man wearing a protective suit touches the body of his relative, who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before his cremation on the banks of the river Ganges at Garhmukteshwar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, May 6, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
Bodies of COVID-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government letter seen by Reuters says, in the first official acknowledgement of the alarming practice, which it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in remote areas.
Images of corpses drifting down the Ganges river, which is considered holy in Hinduism, have shocked the country, reeling under the world's worst surge in COVID-19 cases.
Although media reports have linked the increase in the number of bodies found floating in the river and its tributaries in recent days to the pandemic, Indias northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, has until now not publicly revealed the cause of the deaths.
"The administration has information that bodies of those who have succumbed to COVID-19 or any other disease are being thrown into rivers instead of being disposed of as per proper rituals," a senior state official, Manoj Kumar Singh, said in a letter dated May 14 to district heads that was reviewed by Reuters.
"As a result, bodies have been recovered from rivers in many places."
Singh was not immediately reachable for comment.
The acknowledgment comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called on officials to strengthen healthcare resources in rural areas and step up surveillance as the virus spreads rapidly in those areas after ravaging the cities.
Uttar Pradesh, home to more people than Brazil or Pakistan, has been badly hit by Indias dramatic second surge in COVID-19 cases. Health experts say many cases are now going undetected in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, where most of its people live.
Singh in the memo to district heads said a lack of funds to buy materials like firewood for cremation, religious beliefs in some communities, and families abandoning COVID-19 victims for fear of the disease, were among the likely reasons for the surge in body dumpings.
He asked village-level officials to ensure no corpses are thrown into water and said the state government would pay poor families of the dead 5,000 rupees ($68) each to cremate or bury bodies. The state has also asked police to patrol rivers to stop the practice.
India has been officially reporting around 4,000 deaths each day from the disease for nearly two weeks, but health experts say the toll is likely much higher due to poor testing in rural areas and other factors.
The jump in deaths has in many places led to backlogs at crematoriums and multiplied the cost of last rites.
Uttar Pradesh spokesman Navneet Sehgal on Saturday denied local media reports that as many as 2,000 corpses of potential COVID-19 victims had been recovered from rivers in the state and neighbouring Bihar in recent days.
"We keep recovering 10 to 20 bodies every now and then," Sehgal told Reuters, adding that some riverside villages did not cremate their dead due to Hindu traditions during some periods of religious significance.
Bihar officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Virginia is ending its universal mask mandate and will lift all COVID-19 mitigation restrictions on May 28, two weeks earlier than planned, Gov. Ralph Northam announced late Friday afternoon.
In a brief video message, Northam said the state would follow the new guidance from the Centers of Disease Control and Preventionand no longer require fully vaccinated Virginians to wear masks indoors, except in certain circumstances, effective Friday at midnight. The move comes about 11 1/2 months after Northam put the mask mandate in place in late May 2020, as COVID-19 cases were soaring statewide.
Northam said businesses may still require patrons to wear masks indoors and that masks would still be required to be worn in schools. He cited the low rates of vaccinations among children as a reason for continuing to require masks in schools. Vaccines were just approved this week for adolescents aged 12 to 15, and no vaccine has been approved for children under age 12.
Northam previously had announced a plan to lift all of the state's coronavirus restrictions, such as capacity limits indoors and social-distancing requirements, on June 15. However, based on the state'simproving numbers, he said the restrictions would all be ended on May 28. This will follow a previously announced easing of many restrictions beginning tomorrow.
"Virginians have been doing the right thing and we're seeing the results," Northam said in the video. The state's number of new COVID-19 cases is at its lowest level since early last summer, and Northern Virginia's numbers are at their lowest since the first month of the pandemic.
"The vaccines are clearly working and they are saving lives," Northam said.
Nearly 4.1 million Virginians have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and over 3 million are fully vaccinated. Northam urged all Virginians to get vaccinated.
"It's very simple," he said. "It's either a shot or a mask. It's up to you."
The CDC guidelines state that fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear masks in most indoor settings, except on public transit, in health care facilities and in congregate settings. Employees in certain sectors including restaurants, retail, fitness, personal care, and entertainment must continue to wear masks unless fully vaccinated under the CDC guidance.
Northam's office said in a news release that Virginia's state of emergency for the pandemic will remain in place at least through June 30 to give local governments flexibility and support vaccination efforts. Northam plans to take executive action to ensure individuals have the option to wear masks up to and after that date, as masks typically are otherwise illegal in Virginia.
Watch Gov. Ralph Northam's video update ending Virginia's mask mandate.
by: Robert Pandolfino, Nexstar Media Wire
FILE This Jan. 24, 2021, file photo shows a vial of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 in Seattle. U.S. regulators on Monday, May 10, 2021, expanded use of Pfizers shot to those as young as 12, sparking a race to protect middle and high school students before they head back to class in the fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
TAMPA (WFLA) In a move that took the country one step closer to pre-pandemic daily life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased the indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places.
But many are wondering what that will mean for the workplace will employers have the right to ask workers if they have received the COVID-19 vaccine? Or request proof of vaccination?
Companies including Delta have implemented new rules requiring new employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting Monday. The airline wont impose the same requirement on current employees, more than 60% of whom are vaccinated, a Delta spokesman said Friday.
Unlike Delta, airlines including American, United, Southwest and Alaska said they do not plan to require vaccination for current employees or new hires. But, American Airlines said it will give vaccinated employees an extra vacation day and a $50 gift card.
Jascha Clark, a shareholder at Salt Lake City law firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker, told KTVX there is guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on this topic.
Employers may ask employees if theyve been vaccinated against COVID-19 and may also ask employees to provide proof of vaccination, and the reason that this is allowed is because the EEOC generally prohibits inquiries that are disability related, he explained.
The Americans with Disabilities Act states that an employer can have a policy with a requirement that an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.
An unvaccinated person is not automatically a threat to others, however, and the employer might also have to make accommodations depending on the reasons behind the vaccine hesitancy.
An employee with a religious objection or a disability may need to be excused from the mandate or otherwise accommodated, John Lomax, an attorney with Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix, told the Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, if an objecting employee is a union-represented employee, the employer may need to bargain and reach an agreement with the union before mandating vaccines.
Clark says he has been counseling clients that employers really do have a legitimate business reason to keep track of employees who have been vaccinated for safety reasons.
Employers can then use this information, together with the risk of transmission by people whove been vaccinated, to inform decisions about reopening and expanding the number of individuals in the area and that sort of thing.
But does asking for proof of vaccination violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, more commonly known as HIPAA? Clark says it doesnt.
Generally, HIPAA prevents healthcare providers from sharing information. Here, youre asking the employee themself to provide the information and so its their information theyre able to share it if they want to, he stated.
Could an incentive be the way to go for employers?
AsurveybyJobvites 2021 Job Seeker Nation Report, found that employers who incentivize getting the vaccine helps. Of the surveyed workers who disagreed with vaccine mandates in the workplace, one-third saidthey would get the vaccine if their employer incentivized them.
In a survey conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles, more than 75,000 unvaccinated people were interviewed, and about a third of them said a cash payment of as much as $100 would make them more likely to get the COVID-19 shot.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made a splash Wednesday when he announced that a special lottery for people who choose to get vaccinated.
Five lucky adult residents who get shots will receive $1 million during a series of weekly drawings. Five children between the ages of 12 and 17 will be able to will a full-ride scholarship to an Ohio state-run University.
Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Monika Deupala/File Photo
An international expedition abandoned its attempt to scale Mount Everest on Saturday, citing risks posed by an increasing number of COVID-19 cases at the base camp, the organisers said.
Some climbers were evacuated from Everest base camp in April after they fell ill with COVID-19 symptoms as Nepal battles a brutal second wave of infections.
Lukas Furtenbach, of Austrian expedition organising company Furtenbach Adventures, said his team of climbers from America, Norway, Israel, Germany, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg and Romania were abandoning the climb for safety reasons as the number of COVID-19 infections at the base camp was increasing.
"To climb ... with these massively increasing coronavirus numbers and risk the lives of our 20 climbers, 4 mountain guides and 27 Sherpas carelessly, would be irresponsible," Furtenbach said in a statement.
Infections at Everest base camp have surged as "elementary precautionary measures were simply not observed" by some teams, he said, without naming any expeditions.
Tendi Sherpa of the Iceland Trekking and Expedition company, which provided local support to the team, confirmed climbers were returning for fear of the disease.
Department of Tourism Director Mira Acharya said she had no information of any expedition evacuating due to COVID-19 fears.
"Doctors at the base camp said the situation was not as serious as it was reported," she told Reuters. "I did not see any terrible situation there," said Acharya, who returned this week after overseeing preparations at the base camp.
Nepal has reported 447,704 coronavirus cases and 4,856 deaths, according to government data.
The Himalayan nation, which earns millions of dollars from climbers every year, closed the mountain in March 2020 due to the pandemic, but reopened for this year's climbing season that started in April. It issued a record 408 permits to climbers attempting to scale the 8,848.86-metre (29,031.69-foot) peak.
Acharya said more than 150 people had climbed the mountain this month and others were waiting for a new weather window to open up.
Two climbers died of exhaustion on the mountain this week.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
In this Article In this Article In this Article
Researchers continue to learn more about COVID-19s long-term impact on our bodies. Now theyre looking into the link between the virus and erectile dysfunction (ED). Thats when a person has a hard time getting or keeping their penis firm enough to have sex.
Researchers think three things may trigger ED in COVID-19 survivors:
Cardiovascular problems. ED can be an early sign of heart disease. Research also shows COVID-19 can affect heart health. Thats because it can lead to inflammation in various parts of your body. This includes your heart and the blood vessels and veins nearby.
COVID-19 has also been linked to endothelial dysfunction. Thats when the inner lining or wall of blood vessels stays stiff instead of expanding and contracting to allow blood flow. This can affect how blood is pumped and carried through your body, including tissue in the penis. Disrupted blood supply to your penis can make it difficult to get or keep an erection.
Mental issues. COVID-19-related stress, anxiety, and depression can also impact sexual health and possibly lead to ED.
Poor overall health. Experts say ED is usually a symptom of another medical condition. If your health isnt great to begin with, youre more likely to have severe or unwanted symptoms from COVID-19, such as ED.
Older age can also increase your risk for both ED and a severe form of COVID-19 infection.
One study found that people infected with the virus were more than 5 times more likely to develop ED. In another small study, researchers took penis tissue samples from two men whod been infected with COVID-19. One had had severe symptoms, the other mild. The samples were taken before both men had surgery for severe ED symptoms. The scientists found COVID-19 viral particles and endothelial dysfunction long after the two men first had their infections.
Its still too early to know for sure what the long-term effects of the virus are on sexual and reproductive health.
ED as a side effect of COVID-19 can be short- or long-term. But experts aren't not sure if these complications can lead to issues with fertility.
Tell your doctor right away if you think you have ED, especially after a COVID-19 infection. Theyll ask about your medical history and give you a physical exam. They might also order lab tests or refer you to a urologist. Thats a doctor who specializes in treating problems in the male reproductive tract. Theyll figure out whats causing your ED and come up with a treatment plan.
Experts recommend getting the COVID-19 vaccine to lower your risk of ED as a side effect.
SOURCES:
Andrology: Mask up to keep it up: Preliminary evidence of the association between erectile dysfunction and COVID19.
World Journal of Men's Health: COVID-19 Endothelial Dysfunction Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction: Histopathological, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study of the Human Penis.
Cleveland Clinic: Yes, COVID-19 Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction.
Urology Care Foundation: What is Erectile Dysfunction?
Stanford Healthcare: Endothelial Dysfunction.
Medscape: Risk for Erectile Dysfunction Sixfold Higher in Men With COVID-19.
Pagination
For the past year, whenever Jillian Seroka picks up her usual almond milk cortado from Oslo Coffee Roasters in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, she is presented with a prompt on the point-of-sale iPad asking how much gratuity to add on top of her $6 bill. She typically tips $3.
Sometimes, I walk away and Im like, I probably could have gotten an appetizer at a restaurant for that price, says Ms. Seroka, a 29-year-old who works as an advertising account manager.
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, she says she has found herself tipping service workers 30% or more to champion businesses that have struggled to stay afloat.
I feel good about it for supporting them but sometimes, by the time the tip is done and your different specifications with your coffee, youre like, Oh my God, I need to get my spending under control.
Tipping on credit cards increased nationwide last summer, according to Mike Lynn, researcher and professor at Cornell Universitys School of Hotel Administration. Analyzing data from payment company Square, Prof. Lynn found that credit-card tips for quick-service and full-service restaurant delivery orders jumped from below 11% before the pandemic to above 15% in May of last year.
