CLEVELAND, Ohio The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio barely changed this week, going from 7,197 last week to 7,199 this week.
The slight uptick halted a five-week run of falling weekly case numbers.
As recently as early January, weekly case numbers hit 15,046.
At least 1,289,693 Ohioans have received the updated one-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an increase of 13,715 people from the prior week, the state reported. This represents 11.0% of the states population.
The total COVID-19 case count since early 2020 in Ohio has reached 3,712,548.
There were 270 Ohioans newly hospitalized in the last week, raising the total since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to 149,913. There were 12 people admitted into the ICU, bringing the total since 2020 to 15,734.
There were also 60 Ohioans who died from COVID-19-related issues, raising the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 43,668. Death reporting sometimes lags by weeks.
Feb. 15 recap
* Total reported cases: 3,712,548, up 7,199.
* Total individuals with updated vaccine: 1,289,693, up 13,715.
* Total reported deaths: 43,668, up 60.
* Total reported hospitalizations: 149,913, up 270.
* Total reported ICU admissions: 15,734, up 12.
Feb. 8 recap
* Total reported cases: 3,705,349, up 7,197.
* Total individuals with updated vaccine: 1,275,978, up 11,638.
* Total reported deaths: 43,608, up 91.
* Total reported hospitalizations: 149,643, up 236.
* Total reported ICU admissions: 15,722, up 12.
Julie Washington covers healthcare for cleveland.com. Read previous stories at this link.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. At New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Toby Philpart and Dr. Dwight Reynolds have been working on a big project.
"You don't have to die because of COVID," Philpart told WPTV.
With special permission from the state of Florida, they're giving away thousands of doses of Paxlovid, which is used to treat COVID during the first five days of symptoms, every Sunday to those who can't afford the medication.
One dose of Paxlovid typically costs around $1,390 for those without health insurance.
"The major need that we're trying to address are those in neighborhoods typically, people that look like Pastor Toby and myself, that do not have access to it, do not have vehicles to drive to a doctor's office or go to a pharmacist to get the medication," Reynolds said.
WPTV
It's a message that Dr. Imran Ali, assistant professor of medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, echoes.
"Paxlovid is a breakthrough antiviral treatment for coronavirus," Ali told WPTV.
Ali said research shows the coronavirus is still greatly impacting many vulnerable communities in Florida.
"COVID can particularly be difficult for those who are, you know, not having health insurance, who have not seen a doctor, those who may be in a lower socioeconomic class," Ali said. "From the data, even from different Florida counties from last year, we can see that those who have been hospitalized and have succumbed to COVID fit into these categories."
That's what Philpart and Reynolds are hoping to help fight, by making life-saving drugs, like Paxlovid, more accessible.
WPTV
"One in three people that get COVID happen to be African American," Reynolds said. "They will have severe disease, hospitalizations, intensive care unit and perhaps, death. So, there's been such an outcry."
The giveaway is taking place every Sunday at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach starting at 8:45 a.m. The church will host these events while supplies last.
Reynolds said each box of Paxlovid has a special label on it, directing people to call doctors at the Centers for Health Promotion before they take their first dose.
Each person must also provide all of their information to the doctors at the event before going home with the medication.
Coronavirus
People who are fever-free for one day could reportedly return to regular routines, in change that White House has not signed off on
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly planning to eliminate its recommendation that people testing positive for Covid-19 should isolate for five days the first time its guidelines on Covid-19 have changed since December 2021.
People with mild symptoms would be able to return to school or work if they are fever-free for at least 24 hours, the Washington Post reported, citing three people familiar with internal discussions on the policy change.
The Biden administration has not signed off on the changes, with the updated policy expected to be publicized in April for public comment. One official told the Post that timing around announcing the updated policy could move around a bit.
The CDC said that there were no updates to Covid guidelines to announce at this time, in a statement shared with the Guardian.
We will continue to make decisions based on the best evidence and science to keep communities healthy and safe, the CDC spokesperson said.
Other states have already loosened their Covid-19 isolation policies, such as Oregon and California, the New York Times reported.
Both states have said that infected people who are asymptomatic are able to return to their school or work without any isolation period.
Changes to the CDCs isolation policy have been in the works since August, the Post reported. They were temporarily paused when Covid-19 cases rose in the fall.
Infections and hospitalizations from respiratory viruses, including Covid, rose in the US during December and January, largely fueled by travel and gatherings during the holiday season.
The rise in illness caused some hospitals and healthcare facilities to bring back mask mandates and limited-visitation policies.
As of 5 February, more than 90% of Covid-infections are caused by the JN.1 variant, CBS News reported. New data from the CDC showed that the most updated Covid-19 vaccines are only 49% effective against the symptomatic JN.1 variant for those who have received their shots within two to four months, CBS reported.
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On average, a mild to moderate COVID-19 infection lasts for 10 days. However, how quickly you bounce back from a COVID-19 infection depends on various factors, including your health before the infection, any underlying conditions you may have, and which variant of the virus you have contracted.
This article will cover how long you can expect to have symptoms, pass your infection to others, and fully recover from the newest variants that cause COVID-19 infection.
AnastasiaNurullina / Getty Images
The average recovery time of COVID-19 infections can vary based on what you consider "recovered." Some people never develop any symptoms with a COVID-19 infection, some have mild infections, and others go on to fight severe illness.
People with a mild to moderate COVID-19 infection have symptoms like:
Symptoms like shortness of breath don't usually occur with mild to moderate COVID-19, and blood oxygen levels don't typically fall below normal limits.
Mild to moderate illness from COVID-19 usually lasts an average of 10 days. For some people, symptoms fade in a matter of days; for others, it takes weeks.
Even mild COVID-19 cases can progress to long COVID or post-COVID syndrome, in which ongoing symptoms remain long after the initial infection. A healthcare provider may diagnose you with long COVID if you've had unresolved symptoms for more than one month.
According to one report, 10% to 30% of people infected with asymptomatic, mild, or moderate infections develop long COVID.
Generally, the incubation period between your initial exposure to the virus and when you begin to notice symptoms is between two and five days. You can be infectious to others during this time, especially in the two days before your symptoms start. You can also pass a COVID-19 infection to others if you have a COVID-19 infection but never develop symptoms.
Beyond the incubation period, the duration of your symptoms and overall illness varies, but how long your incubation period lasts could be linked to how long you are sick and can pass the illness to others.
People vaccinated against COVID-19 or those who have natural immunity (having acquired the disease through infection) can still be infected with COVID-19 again.
The severity and duration of the repeated illness depends on what strain you were vaccinated against, what strain is causing your current infection, and how much time has passed since your most recent COVID-19 infection and/or immunization.
One study suggests that infections in people vaccinated against COVID-19 can last as little as two days, and these infections are usually less severe compared to those in people who are not immunized against COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all Americans over age 12 have at least one dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine, released in September 2023, regardless of prior infection or vaccination status.
Newer COVID-19 strains have shorter incubation periods. Older variants could incubate for up to 14 days, but two to five days for incubation is more common for more recent versions of the virus.
Some studies suggest that the length of the incubation period predicts the length of illness, with a shorter incubation period leading to a faster recovery.
The recommendation from the CDC is to isolate yourself for the first five days of symptoms. Most people recover around day 10 but may still be contagious to others. The CDC recommends masking between days five and 10 to minimize transmission.
Symptoms can continue for days to weeks if you have mild to moderate illness with a COVID-19 infection. Long COVID is a diagnosis that healthcare providers may consider when you have ongoing problems related to your COVID-19 infection for four weeks or more.
One of the distinguishing features of long-term COVID-19 is an evolving set of symptoms. Active COVID-19 infections can feature 20 symptoms or more during the infection, and symptoms may change or come and go throughout the recovery period. One study found that post-acute COVID symptoms ranged anywhere from two weeks to 100 days.
It is unclear exactly how long post-COVID syndrome can last. Some of the earliest people infected have reported long COVID symptoms for months to years after the initial illness.
Severe or critical illness from a COVID-19 infection is most common in people over 50 and those with weakened immune systems or multiple health problems. Severe infections or those requiring hospitalization can take weeks to recover from, and long-term symptoms will depend on what complications or co-infections that develop during your treatment.
The specific variant that causes your COVID-19 infection has a lot to do with how long your illness lasts. However, additional factors can contribute to infection duration, such as:
Some people never develop any symptoms of their COVID-19 infection, but most people infected with recent variants develop symptoms between two and five days after exposure. Symptoms can last for around two weeks.
The CDC recommends isolating for the first five days after a positive COVID-19 test or the start of symptoms and masking around others to prevent transmission until the 10th day after a positive test or the onset of symptoms.
Maintaining good health practices can help you build a robust immune system that can fight viruses like SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). You can also protect yourself by practicing good hand hygiene and avoiding people you know are sick.
Vaccination is another strategy that can help shorten the duration of a COVID-19 infection. Vaccines may not protect you against COVID-19 100% of the time, but they have been shown to lessen the duration and severity of the illness if you become infected.
COVID-19 is a viral illness that can appear with various symptoms lasting days to weeks. People who get COVID-19 can develop long COVIDongoing problems from the infection that lasts yearsregardless of illness severity.
Individuals with weakened immune systems or multiple health problems also usually have a longer road to recovery after COVID-19. Maintaining your overall health and staying up-to-date on your COVID-19 vaccinations can help reduce the severity and duration of the illness.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) The five-day isolation period for COVID-19 could be done as a federal guideline later this year.
The CDC has not confirmed this widely reported change, but should they make the change, it would be the first major change to the isolation protocol since 2021.
Instead of the five-day isolation period, people would be able to leave their homes if theyve been fever-free, without medication, for 24 hours, but these new isolation recommendations would not apply to hospitals and other healthcare settings with more vulnerable populations.
Dr. Lara Jirmanus from the watchdog group, The Peoples CDC said to CBS News that this proposed change does not follow the science.
Most people continue to be shedding virus for about 9 days with a range of 6-11 days, she said. The more doses of vaccine you have, younger patients will tend to be infectious for maybe one day less than that. Older patients and patients with severe disease can shed the virus for a longer time.
Local pediatrician Dr. Edward Lewis says should this guidance be changed:
Practically speaking, I think a lot of people have been operating under this premise anyways. but in general, were sort of at a point before things went upside down and COVID is a virus, he said. Coronavirus has been around for years and it causes really bad colds.
NYSDOH said in a statement they continue to follow CDCs COVID-19 guidance, and if CDCs isolation guidance changes, so too will ours.
An analysis of mortality statistics suggests the death count in the United States from COVID-19 is higher than the 1.1 million officially linked to the disease, according to new University of Minnesota research.
A U sociologist teamed up with public health researchers in Boston and Philadelphia to analyze excess deaths mortality from natural causes that surpasses historical norms. They found a pattern that only makes sense if COVID played a key role. Excess deaths not ascribed to COVID almost always occurred at the beginning of pandemic waves, and then disappeared when those waves reached peak levels of illness, the researchers found.
"If these excess natural cause deaths had nothing to do with COVID, you would probably see them happening throughout this period, irrespective of when the COVID waves are," said Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, the U sociologist and demographer who coauthored the study.
The results were published in a prestigious science journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and argue that many of the 162,000 excess deaths assigned to other causes during the first 30 months of the pandemic should actually be tied to COVID. Exactly how many isn't specified.
The accuracy of COVID death reporting remains divisive, even after the federal COVID public health emergency ended last spring. Donald Trump as president in 2020 had questioned whether doctors were inflating COVID death counts to obtain more federal relief money. Some lawmakers in Minnesota early in the pandemic questioned whether the state's death toll was inflated by as much as 40%.
The latest findings come amid a decline in COVID activity, following an increase in illnesses driven by holiday gatherings and the fast-spreading JN.1 coronavirus variant that made up 78% of infections at the end of 2023. Testing in wastewater treatment plants is showing the lowest viral levels in Minnesota since Thanksgiving.
The most likely explanation for non-COVID deaths surging right before pandemic waves is that people weren't worrying about COVID as much or testing for it at those times. So deaths related to the infectious disease were missed, the study concluded. Testing then rapidly increased as the pandemic waves became apparent, which reduced the share of excess deaths attributed to other causes.
Minnesota's official count was updated Thursday to 15,776 COVID-19 deaths, including 220 deaths in 2024 that were mostly among people 75 and older.
The latest research suggests that Minnesota's total is close to the mark; throughout COVID waves, far fewer of the state's excess deaths were attributed to causes other than the infectious disease. Federal estimates show that COVID caused almost 4,000 more deaths than expected in the winter 2020 pandemic wave in Minnesota, for example, compared to 150 more deaths than expected from other causes.
The Minnesota Department of Health for the first three years of the pandemic had workers verify that deaths linked to COVID on death certificates were actually caused by the infectious disease. The state halted that costly process at the start of 2023 and started counting all deaths as related to COVID when people had tested positive for the infectious disease and their death certificates listed it as a cause, said Lydia Fess, an epidemiologist in the Health Department's emerging infectious diseases section.
Internal research showed little change with this switch, and that COVID death reporting remained consistent across age, race and other demographic categories, she said.
Other factors beyond underreporting of COVID could have resulted in more excess deaths from non-COVID causes during pandemic waves. Minnesota hospital leaders warned during the pandemic that overcrowding threatened to delay or worsen care and increased risks of harm for all patients. However, the authors of the latest study noted that excess deaths from non-COVID causes tended to decline at the peak of pandemics, when the consequences of hospital overcrowding should have been at their worst.
The authors called for more consistency in the U.S. system of reporting deaths, because excess deaths from non-COVID causes appeared inflated in some rural counties and regions of the country where political appointees and others lacking medical training were responsible for declaring official causes. Those officials may have allowed political views about COVID and the nation's pandemic response to influence their determinations, or have been persuaded by family members who didn't want COVID listed on death certificates, they wrote.
Northeastern states such as Massachusetts and Rhode Island attributed so many of their excess deaths during the pandemic to COVID that it raises the potential of an overcount. However, Wrigley-Field said those states probably had fewer deaths from non-COVID causes, because their aggressive responses to the pandemic reduced the threat of other infections such as influenza.
Acknowledging that we are now at a different point in time with reduced impacts from COVID-19 compared to previous years, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has updated its COVID-19 isolation guidelines in an effort to minimize workplace disruption when a person tests positive for the virus.
Under the new guidelines, those who test positive for COVID-19 but have mild and improving symptoms need only isolate until 24 hours have passed with no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications. Moreover, people who test positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms need not isolate at all. However, the CDPH still advises any person who tests positive for COVID-19 to wear a mask and avoid contact with those at higher risk of severe disease for 10 days.
Please consult the guidelines for updated definitions of close contact as well.
In response to these updates, Cal/OSHA has provided new testing guidance for the COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations. Now, in isolated cases of COVID-19, employers must only test people with new COVID-19 symptoms and close contacts who are at higher risk of severe disease or who have contact with people who are at higher risk of severe disease rather than all close contacts.
However, employers are still required to make free COVID-19 testing available to all close contacts (except for asymptomatic employees who recently recovered from COVID-19) during paid time.
The definition of outbreak has also been relaxed in non-healthcare settingsan outbreak is now at least three COVID-19 cases in a seven-day period rather than three or more COVID-19 cases in a fourteen-day period. If an outbreak occurs under the new definition, employers must still follow the testing, investigation and other rules outlined in California Code of Regulations 3205.1.
You can find more information in Cal/OSHAs recently updated COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Standards Frequently Asked Questions.
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health website has updated its instructions for COVID-19 cases to conform to the CDPHs new guidelines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reportedly plans to follow Californias lead and drop its five-day COVID-19 isolation recommendation under new guidance expected to be released in April for public feedback.
L.L. Bean has just added a third shift at its factory in Brunswick, Maine, in an attempt to keep up with demand for its iconic boot.
Orders have quadrupled in the past few years as the boots have become more popular among a younger, more urban crowd.
The company says it saw the trend coming and tried to prepare, but orders outpaced projections. They expect to sell 450,000 pairs of boots in 2014.
People hoping to have the boots in time for Christmas are likely going to be disappointed. The bootsare back ordered through February and even March.
"I've been told it's a good problem to have but I"m disappointed that customers not getting what they want as quickly as they want," said Senior Manufacturing Manager Royce Haines.
Customers like, Mary Clifford, tried to order boots on line, but they were back ordered until January.
"I was very surprised this is what they are known for and at Christmas time you can't get them when you need them," said Clifford.
People who do have boots are trying to capitalize on the shortage and are selling them on Ebay at a much higher cost.
L.L. Bean says it has hired dozens of new boot makers, but it takes up to six months to train someone to make a boot.
The company has also spent a million dollars on new equipment to try and keep pace with demand.
Some customers are having luck at the retail stores. They have a separate inventory, and while sizes are limited, those stores have boots on the shelves.
In Michigan, the state health department still follows the CDC guidelines,offering direct links to the CDCs recommendation for people who have been exposed to COVID or who have tested positive.
Related:
As of Friday, those recommendations remain to isolate for five days.
The confusion began this week when the Washington Post and New York Times reported that the CDC plans to change its recommendations for the first time since 2021. The new guidelines, the news outlets reported, would mirror guidance on how to avoid transmitting flu and RSV.
But another news report suggested that wasnt going to happen any time soon.
Meanwhile, COVID continues to circulate in Michigan, with an average of 521 new cases every day, according to state data released Tuesday. And COVID remains deadly, especially for those over 80 years old.
The CDC now recommends several steps if you test positive for COVID:
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services considers CDC recommendations first when making recommendations to Michigan families, spokesperson Chelsea Wuth said in an email to Bridge.
We encourage Michiganders to use tools available to them including staying up-to-date on vaccinations, staying home if unwell, keeping a supply of tests handy, and other hygiene to prevent illness including hand-washing, she said.
The recommendations pit science COVID is still contagious and even deadly for a few, against the practical against economic and practical concerns, as not everyone can afford or wants to miss school or work for the sniffles or less.
And an unknown number of people unknowingly work and go to school or socialize without knowing they are COVID-positive because they have no symptoms. Moreover, nearly every American had some sort of antibodies from previous infection or vaccination, according to the CDCs own report.
All of this makes it difficult to persuade people to stay home, said Dr. Teena Chopra, an infectious disease expert at Wayne State University.
If theres 100% protection in the public policy, but zero compliance to that policy, the outcome is still zero, she said.
To be clear, shes not suggesting ignoring the current guidelines. Rather, she said, its the reality of everyday life deep into a fourth year alongside the virus.
President of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Beena Nagappala said CDC recommendations should stay in place, at least for now, smack-dab in the middle of respiratory season.
Most of her patients with COVID are not severely ill, but serious cases still happen, she said. One of her patients less than two weeks ago was hospitalized with COVID.
Immunity from past infections or the vaccine are reassuring, she said, but they are no guarantee.
Others say changes are long overdue.
If the CDC were to drop the recommendations, theyd be catching up to where the rest of the world has been for about a year and a half, said Brian Calley, president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan.
People have been treating (COVID) for at least the last year according to their own risk tolerances, he said.
Insights from Dr. Ralph Barics Transcribed Interview
In a transcribed interview conducted by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Dr. Ralph Baric shared his valuable perspective on the origins of the virus, the global response to the pandemic, as well as the development of vaccines and therapeutics. The full transcript of the interview and related documents will be made publicly accessible at a later date. Dr. Baric emphasized the critical need for ongoing research and preparedness measures to effectively tackle future pandemics.
One of the key aspects discussed by Dr. Baric was the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. Amidst the ongoing debate on the viruss origin, the possibility of the virus originating from zoonotic transfer a process where viruses jump from animals to humans is strongly backed up by scientific evidence. Bats are considered the most probable natural reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, yet differences between bat coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 suggest that humans may have been infected via an intermediate host. Based on genomic sequences and contact tracing, estimates place the origin point of SARS-CoV-2 in humans between mid-October and mid-November 2019.
The theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory, known as the lab leak theory, has gained popularity, particularly in the United States, where it has been promoted by conservative personalities. However, its crucial to note that there is no evidence supporting the existence of the virus in any laboratory before the pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has deemed the possibility of a lab leak highly unlikely, and plans for laboratory audits were rejected by China. Despite the controversy, the majority of the scientific community remains skeptical about a laboratory origin, citing a lack of evidence and abundant support for zoonotic transfer.
Dr. Baric also discussed the global response to the pandemic and the development of vaccines and therapeutics. The rapid development and distribution of vaccines have showcased the incredible capacity of the scientific community to respond to global health crises. However, the pandemic has also highlighted areas for improvement, particularly in terms of global collaboration and equity in vaccine distribution.
Emphasizing the need for continued research and preparedness for future pandemics, Dr. Baric underscored the importance of learning from this pandemic to better equip the global community for future health crises. With the potential for new infectious diseases to emerge through spillover events from animals, either wildlife or farmed animals, ongoing research into zoonotic diseases is crucial. Its clear that understanding the origins and effective responses to pandemics is a complex, multidisciplinary endeavor that requires sustained investment and collaboration across nations.
