An Adelaide public servant is set to receive compensation for a heart condition he developed from a reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Daniel Shepherd, 44, developed pericarditis after a rare reaction to his third Pfizer COVID-19 jab, which he was required to have before beginning a job with the Department of Child Protection.
Shepherd told 9News he now has the heart of a 90-year-old.
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He was vaccinated against COVID-19 twice.
Both jabs made him unwell but he chose to get a third dose because of the government mandate.
The day after his booster shot he was rushed to hospital.
Shepherd said it felt like someone was holding a knee down on his chest.
"Even today with just mild exertion [I get] chest pains and then it's followed by fatigue, like severe fatigue," Shepard said.
The father of a five-year-old now finds it difficult to keep up with his son.
"It's heartbreaking to have to say 'sorry buddy, daddy's tired'," Shepard said.
READ MORE: Major bank to close dozens of branches across Australia
After he was unable to work, Shepard launched a workers compensation claim against the government.
In a landmark ruling in mid-January, the South Australian Employment Tribunal agreed to pay weekly compensation and medical bills to Shepherd.
Doctors were unanimous in his case that the vaccine was the cause but the government argued emergency directions trumped the laws around workplace injury.
Pericarditis is meant to clear within a few months but Shepherd's symptoms have plagued him for almost two years.
The condition affects two in every 100,000 people.
31 January 2024
Image source, Laura Foster/BBC
Sarah Steven became clinically vulnerable six months into the pandemic after being diagnosed with breast cancer
A woman classed as clinically vulnerable has said she is concerned about the end to the Covid-19 booster vaccination programme.
Sarah Steven, from Buckinghamshire, believes people "need vaccines to protect them all year round because there are no mitigations in place".
The former actress was shielding between October 2020 and March 2022 while being treated for breast cancer.
The Department of Health and Social Care was approached for a comment.
People who develop new health conditions or start treatments that weaken their immune system may be able to receive a vaccine earlier.
Image source, Laura Foster/BBC
Sarah Steven said the clinically vulnerable "need vaccines"
"It is pretty alarming that we are going to put Covid vaccination into the annual booster pot like flu," said Ms Steven, who has appeared in ITV's Grantchester and in theatre, but is also an advocate for Clinically Vulnerable Families.
"There is no clean air policy in schools, there's no mask policy in healthcare and work offices are a free-for-all.
"Learning to live with the virus does not mean just pretend it has gone away."
Image source, Laura Foster/BBC
Stephen Griffin from the Independent SAGE group is concerned stopping the vaccine programme will put vulnerable people at risk
Prof Stephen Griffin, co-chair of the Independent SAGE group which provides the UK government with scientific advice, also criticised the decision to end the programme.
The academic, who lectures in cancer virology at Leeds University of Medicine, said the policy to live with Covid was discriminatory to vulnerable people who "are being put [at a] disadvantage".
Mr Griffin explained there was a "dangerous narrative where it is acceptable to be infected [in order to] become immune to the thing that just infected them".
"We are unfortunately relying on population-scale infection to promote short-lasting immunity [which] involves more harm than a wider scale vaccine programme," he said.
There is not a significant association between COVID-19 vaccination and preterm birth, according to a recent study published in Vaccines.1
Pregnant women have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as physiological changes during pregnancy often impact immune responses. Compared to non-pregnant women, pregnant women have a significantly increased risk of severe illness and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth.
COVID-19 infection has been associated with a 50% increased risk of preterm birth. COVID-19 vaccination during postpartum has also been greatly evaluated, with data indicating the vaccine does not increase the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. As the vaccine reduces COVID-19 infection risk, it may decrease preterm birth incidence.
To determine the association between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and preterm birth, investigators conducted a systematic review. The PubMed, Embase, and Scopus articles were evaluated for literature published up to 2023.1
Search terms related to COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccination, vaccination during pregnancy, maternal health, neonatal outcomes, and preterm birth were used as keywords. Eligibility criteria included being published in English and assessing the association between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and preterm birth.
Studies evaluating this association included those that looked at pregnant patients vaccinated against COVID-19, measured preterm birth-related outcomes, had clear methodology for evaluating vaccination status and timing, had a detailed explanation on preterm birth assessment, and were a clinical trial, cohort study, case-control study, or case series. Births occurring before 37 weeks gestation were considered preterm.
Articles were screened based on abstracts, then underwent full-text review by 2 independent reviewers with a third consulted to settle disagreements. Data extraction was performed by 2 researchers and included study design, participant demographics, vaccine type and dosing, vaccination timing, and outcomes related to post-COVID syndrome.
There were 6 studies published between 2021 and 2022 included in the final analysis. Of studies, 3 were prospective cohort designs and 3 retrospective cohort designs. The studies included 35,612 participants, 227 of whom were vaccinated and 608 unvaccinated.
A range of comorbidities was reported across studies. In one study, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were reported in 1.1% of participants and gestational diabetes in 9.6%. One study reported obesity in 19.6% of vaccinated patients and 22.4% of unvaccinated patients. Higher rates of previous miscarriage and cesarean delivery were reported in vaccinated women.
The average reported birth weights were 3149 g among infants born to vaccinated mothers and 3207 g among infants born to unvaccinated mothers. Five-minute APGAR scores below 7 were seen in 6.3% and 6.6% of newborns, respectively.
In one study, 96% of infants born to vaccinated mothers were born at 37 weeks of gestation or greater. Vaccination had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.87 for adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Various results were found for preterm birth risk following vaccination, with ORs of 0.59, 1.01, and 1.49 reported. These indicated reduced, neutral, and increased risk, respectively. However, the increased risk was only found for second-trimester vaccination in the single study. Overall, the pooled OR for preterm birth after vaccination was 1.03, indicating a marginal risk.
These results indicated COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is not significantly associated with increased preterm birth risk. Investigators concluded this data should inform public health policy and reassure providers and expectant mothers.
This article originally appeared in Contemporary OB/GYN.
With the virulence of SARS-CoV-2 had gradually diminished, China declared the end of its containment measures at the end of 2022. Owing to stringent domestic controls, there had been no widespread infections nationwide in China. Following the removal of relevant containment measures, numerous individuals infected with the current circulating strain emerged. Due to its weakened virulence, the majority of infected individuals experienced mild symptoms and could recover within one to two weeks after infection, but for older infected people, they might develop severe or critical illness. In this study, we found the plasma antibody level of the severe/critical group was significantly lower than that of the mild group. We thought this difference may be caused by the age of the participants and found there was indeed an association between plasma antibody levels and age in SARS-CoV-2 infectors. Previous reports suggest that older patients exhibit a reduced humoral immune response to vaccination, lower peak antibody titers, and a more rapid decline compared to younger patients8,9,10,11. Clemens A. Schmitt et al.6 reported COVID-19 brought bigger influence in the elderly based on cellular senescence. Furthermore, Parker et al.'s investigation revealed that individuals aged 4160years exhibited higher plasma antibody levels than other age groups12. Our finding was consistent with these reported studies. It was a negative correlation between age and plasma antibody levels in our severe/critical group. That means in severe and critical patients, older age is associated with an increased risk. Besides, age was positive correlated with antibody levels in the mild group in this study. Combining the results of the two groups, there may be an age interval where the correlation between age and antibody levels changes from positive to negative as patients age.
Strong epidemiological evidence exists that sex is an important biologic variable in immunity7. Some data demonstrate female immune system may generate stronger antibody responses13,14,15,16. Whether gender differences in the humoral immune response occur in COVID-19 remains unanswered. In our study, it seemed that plasma antibody levels were not associated with gender. But it could be observed from Table1 that the proportion of female patients was lower than that of male patients. More studies with larger sample sizes are needed to explore this association.
In addition to the factors above, we also found there existed a strong correlation between vaccination status and antibody levels in severe/critical patients. This suggests vaccination is meaningful for improving antibody levels and combating COVID-19.
There are several limitations to our study. These include the relatively small sample size, the lack of data on patients at younger ages, and the lack of clinical testing data. Besides, most patients in the mild group doesnt have basic disease, expect two individuals, which may influence the analysis results of this part. The host immune response is complex, and factors such as vaccine type, vaccination time, sample collection time, genetic factors, therapeutic intervention, and others may affect antibody levels. Most of the participants were vaccinated with inactivated virus vaccines (see Tables1, S1, and S2). Unfortunately, due to the difficulties in the actual information collection process, the data of vaccination type and vaccination time of all participants could not be obtained. The severe and critical patients in this study were older, the complications were common and the treatment situation was very complex and unavoidable. Thus, we regret that we were unable to deduct the impact of these factors. However, all the data were collected based on the reality. And the current study design allows for a preliminary assessment of the factors in the severe and critical COVID-19 patients. During the study period, there were no second infections among the included individuals. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings. We are also focusing on genetic factors and will conduct studies to discuss the correlation of antibody levels in patients with their immune profiles and genes.
This article represents the opinion of the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board.
COVID-19 still poses a risk, especially to Floridas large senior population. So why ask for trouble by avoiding the vaccine? Getting the updated dose is quick and easy. Nursing homes in particular need to take the lead as deaths and infections from the virus continue to rise.
Mask mandates and other pandemic-era restrictions are long gone. But COVID-19 continues to spread across the region and Florida. While hospitalizations have not spiked to previous waves, the number of people admitted to Florida hospitals has increased. Statewide, more than 2,000 people with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals during the week ending Jan. 13, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 16-hospital BayCare Health System was treating about 150 virus patients in mid-January, officials reported a spike of more than 300% from early December. While those totals dont come close to earlier peaks, they represent real lives and real health care crises. They also reflect how people can better protect themselves by keeping updated on vaccines.
Federal health officials recommended new Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in mid-September to better target virus variants. But roughly 85% of Florida adults are behind on their shots, according to the most recent federal estimates. While Floridas nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, as of Jan. 21 only 27% had gotten new vaccines tailored to combat virus variants. That figure has not only dropped in recent weeks, but its far below the share of nursing home residents nationwide (38%) that have received the updated shot. The same also holds true for nursing home staff; only 6% of nursing home workers in Florida have received the update, a figure that has dropped since the new vaccines became available, even as a greater share of nursing home workers nationwide have updated their shots.
These are worrisome trendlines. Fewer people getting inoculated means the virus has more opportunities to spread and cause severe illness. Nursing homes in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties have seen at least five COVID-19 deaths and over 700 cases among residents since federal health authorities recommended the latest shot, according to a recent Tampa Bay Times analysis. Florida has the fifth-lowest percentage of nursing home residents up to date with COVID shots in the U.S., according to federal data through the week ending Jan. 14.
It hasnt helped that Gov. Ron DeSantis and his hand-picked state surgeon general have downplayed vaccines. But its been four years since the outbreak, and nobody at this stage should be waiting for responsible COVID leadership from Tallahassee. Floridians need to resist the politicization of COVID and pandemic fatigue, and realize the risks of infection are hardly rare or benign.
Nursing homes and senior communities especially need to be proactive in ensuring residents have ready, accurate information about the vaccines and access to updated shots. Residents in these communities typically congregate daily in communal dining and recreation halls, indoor settings that only heighten the risks of infection when inoculations are so lagging. Staff members at nursing homes also often hold down several jobs, opening the door to more viral contacts that employees could bring to these senior settings.
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Every death or illness is consequential. Floridians have the means to better protect themselves and a real self-interest in curbing more infections.
Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Editor of Editorials Graham Brink, Sherri Day, Sebastian Dortch, John Hill, Jim Verhulst and Chairman and CEO Conan Gallaty. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news.
COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy not linked to preterm birth | Image Credit: Leigh Prather - Leigh Prather - stock.adobe.com.
There is not a significant association between COVID-19 vaccination and preterm birth, according to a recent study published in Vaccines.
Pregnant women have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as physiological changes during pregnancy often impact immune responses. Compared to non-pregnant women, pregnant women have a significantly increased risk of severe illness and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth.
COVID-19 infection has been associated with a 50% increased risk of preterm birth. COVID-19 vaccination during postpartum has also been greatly evaluated, with data indicating the vaccine does not increase the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. As the vaccine reduces COVID-19 infection risk, it may decrease preterm birth incidence.
To determine the association between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and preterm birth, investigators conducted a systematic review. The PubMed, Embase, and Scopus articles were evaluated for literature published up to 2023.
Search terms related to COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccination, vaccination during pregnancy, maternal health, neonatal outcomes, and preterm birth were used as keywords. Eligibility criteria included being published in English and assessing the association between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and preterm birth.
Studies evaluating this association included pregnant patients vaccinated against COVID-19, measured preterm birth-related outcomes, had clear methodology for evaluating vaccination status and timing, had a detailed explanation on preterm birth assessment, and were a clinical trial, cohort study, case-control study, or case series. Births occurring before 37 weeks gestation were considered preterm.
Articles were screened based on abstracts, then underwent full-text review by 2 independent reviewers with a third consulted to settle disagreements. Data extraction was performed by 2 researchers and included study design, participant demographics, vaccine type and dosing, vaccination timing, and outcomes related to post-COVID syndrome.
There were 6 studies published between 2021 and 2022 included in the final analysis. Of studies, 3 were prospective cohort designs and 3 retrospective cohort designs. The studies included 35,612 participants, 227 of whom were vaccinated and 608 unvaccinated.
A range of comorbidities was reported across studies. In one study, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were reported in 1.1% of participants and gestational diabetes in 9.6%. One study reported obesity in 19.6% of vaccinated patients and 22.4% of unvaccinated patients. Higher rates of previous miscarriage and cesarean delivery were reported in vaccinated women.
The average reported birth weights were 3149 g among infants born to vaccinated mothers and 3207 g among infants born to unvaccinated mothers. Five-minute APGAR scores below 7 were seen in 6.3% and 6.6% of newborns, respectively.
In one study, 96% of infants born to vaccinated mothers were born at 37 weeks of gestation or greater. Vaccination had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.87 for adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Various results were found for preterm birth risk following vaccination, with ORs of 0.59, 1.01, and 1.49 reported. These indicated reduced, neutral, and increased risk, respectively. However, the increased risk was only found for second-trimester vaccination in the single study. Overall, the pooled OR for preterm birth after vaccination was 1.03, indicating a marginal risk.
These results indicated COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is not significantly associated with increased preterm birth risk. Investigators concluded this data should inform public health policy and reassure providers and expectant mothers.
Reference
Uta M, Craina M, Marc F, Enatescu I. Assessing the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on preterm birth: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Vaccines. 2024;12(1):102. doi:10.3390/vaccines12010102
CHICAGO Public health leaders are urging Chicagoans to stay current with their COVID-19 vaccine, especially Black and Latino neighbors.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends anyone 6 months or older receive the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 booster, which was made available in September and more closely targets the Omicron variant, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The updated vaccine is also intended to restore protection against severe COVID-19 cases, according to the states health department.
But according to data from the Chicago Department of Public Health, less than 14 percent of the city is up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, and Black and Latino Chicagoans are less likely to have received the updated shot compared to their white neighbors.
About 20 percent of white Chicagoans are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, compared to 8 percent and 8.3 percent of Latino and Black neighbors, respectively.
The West, Southwest and South sides which are Black- and Latino-majority neighborhoods have the lowest updated vaccine rates, data shows.
On the Southwest Side, about 7 percent of all neighbors have received the updated vaccine, while 9 percent of people on the Near South and Far South sides have gotten theirs.
This trend follows what was seen when the first COVID-19 vaccines rolled out in 2021.
Fewer Black and Latino Chicagoans were getting the initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccines compared to white neighbors, Block Club reported at the time. These were the demographics of people most affected by COVID-19 deaths and cases.
Structural barriers like lack of access to health care and low trust in health providers and public officials played a part back then and are still affecting peoples willingness to get vaccinated, said Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director with the city health department.
If youre not provided with the information in the right language or cultural concordance, you cant make much out of that information, it doesnt make sense to you, she said. For decision making, this is so important.
Luna said the city has recently doubled down on partnering with community-based organizations to tell neighbors to get vaccinated through means they trust and can understand because we arent out of the woods.
The city saw an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the fall, with a peak in December, but both have been decreasing since, Luna said.
Its been downtrending with less cases reported. We dont see the hotspots that we were seeing by community. So, those are very, very good news, she said. But remember that for anyone 65 years old and over, or anyone with immune-compromised conditions, COVID-19 is still very real. There is no good reason not to get your free vaccine today.
Anyone can get a free COVID-19 vaccine through the city, regardless of immigration or insurance status, Luna said. People can call the citys hotline at 312-746-4835 to get their questions answered about the vaccine and how to get it.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
Thousands of frontline workers may have survived the COVID-19 pandemic if the US regulatory system had better protected them, report the authors of an analysis published yesterday in BMJ.
The study is the first in a series that discusses the lessons learned from COVID-19 and the steps needed to avert deaths in the next pandemic and improve public health.
Frontline workers are those who couldn't work from home and thus were at higher risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Black and Hispanic workers and immigrants make up high proportions of "essential" workers, or those in healthcare, meatpacking plants, agricultural production, and public transportation.
"Federal policies on workplace exposure were developed to protect the supply chain of food or other vital products, or to prevent staff shortages at healthcare facilities, rather than to protect frontline workers from virus exposure," wrote the George Washington Universityled study authors. "Some employers, with the support (and encouragement) of elected officials, put production and profits ahead of worker safety and health."
The study authors said social, legal, and economic provisions for low-wage workers were weak even before the pandemic, noting that the United States is one of only six countries without a national paid sick-leave policy and the only country in the 37-nation Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development without a national health insurance program.
Some employers, with the support (and encouragement) of elected officials, put production and profits ahead of worker safety and health.
Frontline workers "were more likely to have precarious work arrangements with unpredictable scheduling and less control over the conditions of work," they wrote. "This lack of underlying protections created a perfect storm for vulnerable workers that was only partially mitigated by emergency measures during the early stages of the pandemic."
Governmental social and economic protections during the pandemic (eg, stimulus checks, expansion of the federal child tax credit) gave workers some financial relief and better access to health insurance and to COVID-19 testing and care, averting some infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, the authors said.
But the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continued to have limited authority. "On a national level, OSHA has only enough inspectors to visit every workplace once every 190 years," they wrote. "So many of the agency's standards are insufficiently protective that it has taken the unusual step of recommending that employers adhere to standards developed by other agencies and organisations."
In addition, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) promulgated the disproven idea that SARS-CoV-2 was primarily transmitted through droplets and didn't incorporate traditional OSHA strategies for controlling airborne exposures (eg, ventilation, air cleaning).
"It is now clear that the CDC (as well as the World Health Organization) erred in clinging to the droplet dogma," the study authors wrote. "CDC's insistence that the virus could be controlled by limiting exposure to droplets through surgical masks, distancing, and handwashing contributed to OSHA's inability to promote optimal control measures."
Workers also had very limited access to personal protective equipment (PPE) early in the pandemic and faced reprisal for complaining about the lack of protections. When OSHA received thousands of worker complaints, it responded to only a tiny proportion of them and levied small fines that the authors said likely had little deterrent effect.
CDC's insistence that the virus could be controlled by limiting exposure to droplets through surgical masks, distancing, and handwashing contributed to OSHA's inability to promote optimal control measures.
"And at least one other opportunity was completely lost," they wrote. "The US president has the authority under the Defense Production Act to order the expansion of production from the US industrial base. During the pandemic President Trump invoked this power only once, in April 2020, in an attempt to order the meatpacking plants to continue to operate. The act couldand shouldhave been used instead to deal with the shortage of PPE early in the pandemic."
The researchers recommend a multipronged action plan to address future pandemic threats, starting with OSHA issuing two new standards on preventing workplace exposure to airborne pathogens and requiring employers to develop and implement plans to protect workers through the provision of PPE, vaccines, and other protective interventions. OSHA should also require employers covered by the airborne standard to provide paid medical leave, they said.
Other recommendations include:
"The consequences of these failures were appalling and led to tens of thousands of deaths in frontline workers," lead author David Michaels, PhD, MPH, professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health and former OSHA administrator, said in a university news release. "The risk of exposure was exacerbated by race- and labor-related economic inequality, resulting in disproportionally more of the nations Black and Hispanic workers being killed or sickened by the virus."
In a related editorial, Gavin Yamey, MD, MPH, of Duke University, and colleagues said that the United States, despite its scientific resources and decades of pandemic-preparedness exercises, struggled to produce scientific evidence on viral transmission and coordinated policies to mitigate spread.
"Poor communication of existing evidence also contributed to confusion and delayed or inappropriate actions, contributing to the partisan difference in how quickly US states instituted public health protections and in excess death rates during the pandemic,especially after vaccines became available," they wrote.
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Danish seniors who received the quadrivalent (four-strain) high-dose influenza vaccine (QIV-HD) had fewer hospitalizations for flu and other conditions compared to their peers who received the standard quadrivalent flu vaccine (QIV-SD), according to a post-hoc analysis published late last week in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
The trial took place during the Northern Hemisphere's 2021-22 flu season. Researchers enrolled 12,477 participants, 6,245 who received QIV-HD and 6,232 who got the QIV-SD. Overall mean age was 71.1, and 47.1% were women. Just over 20% had underlying cardiovascular disease.
The researchers looked at a number of outcomes when comparing the two groups, beginning 14 days after vaccination until May 2022. Hospitalizations for pneumonia or influenza, respiratory hospitalizations, cardiorespiratory hospitalizations, cardiovascular hospitalizations, all-cause hospitalizations, and all-cause death.
The investigators found that receiving QIV-HD was associated with lower rates of hospitalization for flu and pneumonia10 events in the QIV-HD group compared with 33 in the QIV-SD group. Incidence rate ratio (IRR) was 0.30 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.14 to 0.64), meaning 60% greater protection.
Trends favoring QIV-HD were observed over time, even before the flu season was under way. The team found the first statistically significant reductions in flu and pneumonia hospitalizations by the third calendar week of 2022. There were 5 such events in the QIV-HD group versus 15 in the QIV-SD group. IRR was 0.33 (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.94).
The researchers concluded that the impact on less specific outcomes outside of influenza circulation periods supports earlier findings, including from similar trivalent (three-strain) flu vaccines, that suggest broader effects from flu vaccination.
"Our exploratory results correspond to a number needed to treat of 65 (95% CI 35-840) persons vaccinated with QIV-HD compared with QIV-SD to prevent one additional all-cause hospitalisation per season," the authors wrote. "Further research is needed to confirm these hypothesis-generating findings."
