A healthcare facility lost its bid to dismiss a former employees religious discrimination claims over its Covid-19 vaccine policy.
Katina E. Hernandez sued Bayhealth Medical Center Inc. after the company terminated her for refusing to get the vaccine, the US District Court for the District of Delaware said. The medical center mandated Hernandez either get vaccinated or obtain a medical or religious exemption.
Hernandez said she doesnt support vaccines that have abortion-derived origins and asserted that the vaccine utilized fetal cells obtained from aborted babies, which violates her religious beliefs. Other district courts handling similar religious discrimination cases involving the ...
Recent research indicates that COVID-19 vaccines offer moderate protection against long COVID in children, with greater effectiveness observed in adolescents.
Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, reduces the risk of serious acute illness in children and adolescents. However, its role in protecting against persistent health problems in the months after COVID-19, or long COVID, was less clear.
Now, researchers from 17 health systems in the U.S., in work led by investigators at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), have found that vaccination provides moderate protection against long COVID. Vaccination also has a stronger effect in adolescents, who have a higher risk of developing long COVID than young children.
The findings of the large retrospective study, based on electronic health records analyzed as part of the National Institutes of Healths Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative, were published today (January 16) in the journal Pediatrics.
While overall severity of COVID-19 has been lower in children than adults, the burden of long COVID has been difficult to accurately describe since the symptoms can vary widely and the exact ways the virus causes them are unknown. Some symptoms include brain fog, dyspnea, gastrointestinal dysfunction, generalized pain and fatigue, while others are more acute, like inflammatory reaction or heart problems.
To date, no studies have assessed clinical data for large, diverse groups of children to address this important question, said lead study author Hanieh Razzaghi, PhD, MPH, Director of Analytics in the PEDSnet and RECOVER/PCORnet EHR Coordinating Centers in the Applied Clinical Research Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Using clinical data from across health care networks allowed us to have a large enough sample of patients to identify rare effects of the virus and its impact on children.
The researchers analyzed results from a large-scale collaboration of health systems from PCORnet as part of the National Institutes of Healths Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative, which was created to learn about the long-term effects of COVID-19. Data from 17 health systems were used to assess vaccine effectiveness against long COVID in two groups of patients between 5 and 11 years old and 12 and 17 years old, respectively, as well as the time period in which patients were impacted. The vaccination rate was 56% in the cohort of 1,037,936 children.
The incidence of probable long COVID was 4.5% among patients with COVID-19, though only 0.7% of patients were clinically diagnosed with long COVID. The study estimated effectiveness of the vaccine within 12 months of administration as 35.4% against probable long COVID and 41.7% against diagnosed long COVID. The estimate was higher in adolescents compared with younger children (50.3% vs. 23.8%), and higher at six months (61.4%) but decreased to 10.6% at 18 months. Children who were vaccinated after recovering from COVID-19 also appeared to benefit, with vaccine effectiveness of 46% against probable long COVID after a subsequent episode of COVID-19.
This study provides us with important data showing the protective effects of the vaccine against long-haul COVID and suggests that this protection is mostly from preventing visible infections. We hope this means that as vaccines are improved to be more effective against current strains of SARS-CoV-2, their protection against long COVID will get better, too, said senior study author Charles Bailey, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and co-principal investigator for the PEDSnet and RECOVER/PCORnet EHR Coordinating Centers in the Applied Clinical Research Center at CHOP.
These retrospective data provide guidance for additional research into the ways long COVID develops, and how we can better protect children and adolescents, Bailey concludes.
Reference: Vaccine Effectiveness Against Long COVID in Children by Hanieh Razzaghi, PhD, MPH; Christopher B. Forrest, MD, PhD; Kathryn Hirabayashi, MPH; Qiong Wu, PhD; Andrea Allen, MS; Suchitra Rao, MBBS, MSCS; Yong Chen, PhD; H. Timothy Bunnell, PhD; Elizabeth A. Chrischilles, PhD; Lindsay G. Cowell, PhD, MS; Mollie R. Cummins, PhD, RN; David A. Hanauer, MD, MS; Miranda Higginbotham, MSHA; Benjamin D. Horne, PhD, MStat, MPH; Carol R. Horowitz, MD, MPH; Ravi Jhaveri, MD; Susan Kim, MD, MMSc; Aaron Mishkin, MD; Jennifer A. Muszynski, MD, MPH; Susanna Naggie, MD; Nathan M. Pajor, MD, MS; Anuradha Paranjape, MD, MPH; Hayden T. Schwenk, MD, MPH; Marion R. Sills, MD, MPH; Yacob G. Tedla, PhD; David A. Williams, PhD; Charles Bailey, MD, PhD on behalf of the RECOVER Consortium, 16 January 2024, Pediatrics. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2023-064446
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Agreement OT2HL161847-01 as part of the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) program of research.
(Precision Vaccinations News)
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)COVIDVaxView data, about 11% (CI 10.1 to 11.8) of children under the age of 18 are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations.
From a state perspective, as of January 23, 2024,Massachusetts has reached about a third of children with COVID-19 vaccinations.
Furthermore, Louisana was the lowest-ranked state, with only3.1% (CI 1.2 to 5.0) of children up to date.
The CDC says up to date with the updated 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccine is defined as receipt of at least one vaccination since September 14, 2023, for children 5 years; for children <5 years, up-to-date status was defined based on the current recommendations that also take into account number of doses and brand of vaccine.
Up-to-date status was determined by survey questions on the month and year of the most recent COVID vaccine, and for children <5 years, the total number of COVID vaccinations received and brand of the most recent COVID vaccine.
Each week, estimates for prior weeks are recalculated by the CDC using the additional interviews conducted that week.
COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and offspring neurodevelopment | Image Credit: adipurnatama - adipurnatama - stock.adobe.com.
The increase in COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant people has brought on safety concerns for the unborn child and questions of neurodevelopment. Results of a prospective cohort study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggest that in utero vaccination was safe for the infant regarding neurodevelopment up to 18 months of age.
Pregnant individuals were excluded from early, large-scale clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines, leaving questions about the impact from vaccine exposure that the offspring could face.
Ranging genetic and environmental factors could underline neurodevelopmental disorders, with fetal exposure to maternal inflammation presenting a potential source for risk.
For example, the authors wrote. In utero exposures to other infections including influenza and rubella have been linked to subsequent increases in lifelong neurodevelopmental and psychiatric impairments including autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression."
To determine if in utero exposure to maternal COVID-19 vaccination was associated with risk for neurodevelopmental impairment in 12- and 18-month-old infants, investigators designed the prospective cohort Assessing the Safety of Pregnancy During the Coronavirus Pandemic (ASPIRE) study.
From May 2020 to August 2021, the study enrolled pregnant people aged 18 years and older at 10 weeks gestation or less. Completing study activities remotely, participants were followed up through pregnancy and for up to 2 years postpartum.
Completion of the baseline demographics questionnaire, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (3rd edition [ASQ-3]) at 12 and 18 months postpartum, and of the vaccine history questionnaire (monthly) were inclusion criteria.
An abnormal screen on the ASQ-3, which would indicate risk for developmental delay, was the primary outcome of the study. The investigators established that, An abnormal screen was defined as falling below the established threshold score (<2 SDs below the normative data average) on any of 5 subdomains: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and social skills.
The ASQ-3 featured 30 questions to indicate the frequency in which their child performed expected milestones, as scores ranged from 0 to 60 (worst to best, respectively). According to authors, the screener is valid, reliable, and ubiquitous in clinical and research settings, with sensitivity of 86%, specificity 85%,and positive and negative predictive values of 54% and 78%, respectively.
Vaccination for COVID-19 during pregnancy was the primary exposure, which was indicated by self-report and confirmed by investigators using dates of vaccinations compared to estimated dates of conception and delivery. Any dose of a vaccine series qualified as exposure, with the majority being messenger RNA vaccines.
In all, 2487 pregnant individuals were enrolled at less than 10 weeks gestation. With completed research activities, a total of 2261 aged 12 months and 1940 aged 18 months with neurodevelopmental assessments were included.
At 12 months, the prevalence of abnormal screens for developmental delay (ASQ-3 scores below established cutoff on at least 1 domain) was 30.6% among exposed. The prevalence of abnormal screens for unexposed at 12 months was 23.2% (2= 2.35;P=.13).
No differences were observed in risk of abnormal screen on the ASQ-3 after in utero exposure to vaccination at 12 or 18 months after adjusting for baseline race, ethnicity, maternal age, education, household income, depression, and anxiety (12 months: aRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.97-1.33; 18 months: aRR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.72-1.07).
Without regard to exposure status, investigators observed more abnormal screens for developmental delay among male infants at 12 and 18 months of age compared to female infants, respectively (12 months: 325 of 980 [33.2%] vs 278 of 984 [28.3%]; 2= 5.57;P=.02; 18 months: 210 of 872 [24.1%] vs 161 of 836 [19.3%]; 2= 5.84;P=.02).
For female infants, a divergent pattern was demonstrated, as at 12 months, there was no difference in risk of abnormal ASQ-3 screen among exposed vs unexposed (aRR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.81-1.30), though a reduction of risk was observed for exposed female infants at age 18 months (aRR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.51-0.93).
Findings from the cohort study suggest that, maternal vaccination against COVID-19 during pregnancy was safe from the perspective of offspring neurodevelopment through 18 months of age, the study authors concluded.
Reference:
Jaswa EG,Cedars MI,Lindquist KJ, et al. In utero exposure to maternal COVID-19 vaccination and offspring neurodevelopment at 12 and 18 months.JAMA Pediatr.Published online January 22, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.5743
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Winter usually brings its share of runny noses, and this season has been no exception. What has long been known as cold and flu season now typically includes a surge of COVID-19. But just how big of a surge are we dealing with?
Its a harder question to answer in 2024 than it was in the pandemics early years, when laboratory-confirmed tests for COVID were common. A glance at Austin Public Healths COVID-19 surveillance dashboard shows low numbers of positive tests in recent months compared to earlier stages of the pandemic. But now that many folks use home tests, laboratory testing data paints a limited picture of COVID activity.
Heather Cooks-Sinclair, the epidemiology and disease surveillance unit manager at APH, said she now uses a patchwork of data sources to assess COVID trends.
[COVID] isnt the only disease for which we have a limited amount of data thats coming in; flu has been with us for years and years, Cooks-Sinclair said. We have to have a variety of different metrics that kind of give us a picture of what the overall thing is.
One metric Cooks-Sinclair says is valuable is something called the influenza-like illness rate, or ILI. ILI is the percentage of patients seen by local health care providers who present with a fever of 100 degrees or higher and cough or sore throat symptoms that could indicate flu, COVID or other respiratory illnesses. In the Austin-Round Rock area, ILI activity is high, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control & Prevention report from Jan. 13, but on a downward trend from late December.
Another important tool is wastewater data, which represents the concentration of COVID found in wastewater samples from various sites. As of Jan. 11, aggregated CDC data shows very high viral activity in wastewater in Texas and many other states. On Jan. 5, the CDC said wastewater activity was 27% higher than it was a year prior, making it the highest activity measured since the initial Omicron surge of early 2022. The most common variant detected now is JN.1, a descendent of the original Omicron variant.
However, there have been challenges over the past couple of months getting useful data from local wastewater collection sites in Travis County. After the CDC contracted with a new wastewater data provider last fall, there was a lag in Travis County data. Several wastewater testing sites run by Austin Water are now active again, but show conflicting trends from the past month.
Cooks-Sinclair said APH needs to see a longer data history before she will consider it reliable.
I would love to be able to say that I have really great wastewater data and to be able to provide you with trends and what they mean but thats just not what we have right now, she said.
From a public health perspective, Cooks-Sinclair said hospital admission rates are still one of the most valuable metrics. Currently, the CDC considers Travis County hospital admission rates to be low, although Cooks-Sinclair pointed out that rates are rising. And while the CDC notes that deaths associated with COVID have increased in recent weeks, it also reports that COVID hospitalizations and deaths are substantially lower year-over-year.
Regardless of what the data show at a nitty-gritty level, Cooks-Sinclair said her advice is the same as it is during any winter respiratory season.
Our message for flu season is you stay home if you're sick, you cover your cough, you wash your hands, you get vaccinated for both COVID and flu, she said.
Updated COVID vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were released last fall and remain available. In addition to lowering the risk of severe disease from COVID, research suggests that vaccinated individuals are less likely to develop long-term effects from the virus such as long COVID.
Cooks-Sinclair also recommends following CDC guidance for masking and isolating if you are exposed to COVID or test positive for the virus.
A limited number of free tests per household are available for order at USPS.com.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences have revealed that COVID-19 vaccines were effective in reducing the risk of long COVID symptoms.
The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) and supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, offers valuable insights to better inform public health strategies and worldwide vaccination campaigns.
Published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, the study extensively analysed primary care electronic health records from the UK, Spain and Estonia, involving data from more than 20 million vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
The team also identified cases of long COVID based on the World Health Organizations (WHO) specific criteria, particularly focusing on adults who were registered for around 180 days in each country.
According to WHO, long COVID is the continuation or development of new symptoms up to three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, with symptoms lasting for at least two months.
Affecting around one in ten people, persistent symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, pain, exercise intolerance and cognitive dysfunction.
After testing eight different COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer/BioNTechs BNT162b2 vaccine and Oxford/AstraZenecas (AZ) ChAdOx1 vaccine, researchers were able to demonstrate how the vaccines prevented the development of persistent COVID symptoms, said Dr Annika Jodicke, senior pharmacoepidemiologist, University of Oxford.
Results from the study demonstrated a significant decrease in the occurrence of long COVID among vaccinated individuals in comparison to those who were unvaccinated.
Dr Marti Catala, senior data scientist, University of Oxford, explained: Our findings were consistent across the three countries and many different populations, emphasising the critical role that vaccination plays in protecting individuals from the long-term consequences of COVID-19.
Furthermore, after comparing different vaccinations, the team found that Pfizer/BioNTechs COVID-19 vaccine provided better protection against long COVID in comparison to Oxford/AZs, added Jodicke.
The study was funded 19.6m by the NIHR through a call to research long COVID prevention and treatment in 2021.
Last November, WHO and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at Kings College London identified a Core Outcome Measure Set, to accelerate the understanding and development of treatments for long COVID with major global impacts.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Maternal COVID-19 vaccination is associated with reduced frequency of neonatal respiratory distress (RD), according to a study published online Jan. 24 in Nature Communications.
Olivia M. Man, from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues examined the association between maternal COVID-19 vaccination and neonatal RD using a longitudinal cohort of mother-infant pairs. The study included 221 mothers with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during pregnancy and 227 exposed fetuses.
The researchers found that SARS-CoV-2-exposed uninfected (SEU) infants had unusually high rates of RD (17 percent), with an odds ratio of 3.06 for RD in term neonates born to unvaccinated individuals compared with those born to individuals vaccinated before maternal infection. A robust inflammatory response associated with ciliary dysregulation and enhanced immunoglobulin E production was seen in a proteomic analysis among SEU infants with RD.
"Maternal vaccination against COVID-19 reduced maternal disease severity and the frequency of neonatal RD. Pregnant persons should be encouraged to receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, regardless of history of prior COVID-19 infection," the authors write. "More research is needed to understand the impact of maternal COVID-19 vaccination on long-term infant health and development, including chronic pulmonary conditions."
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Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found direct evidence that exposure to common cold coronaviruses can train T cells to fight SARS-CoV-2. In fact, prior exposure to a common cold coronavirus appears to partially protect mice from lung damage during a subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The new research, published recently in Nature Communications, provides an important first look at how "cross-reactive" T cellswhich can fight multiple viruses from the same familydevelop in an animal model. "We are learning how these immune cells develop and function," says study co-leader LJI Research Instructor Annie Elong Ngono, Ph.D.
The Shresta Laboratory is now working to develop novel vaccines purposefully designed to harness these powerful T cells. Those vaccines would protect against SARS-CoV-2 and provide immunity against several other coronaviruses with pandemic potential.
"Our research will help scientists design and improve 'pan-coronavirus' vaccines that elicit broad, cross-protective responses," adds LJI Professor Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., study senior leader and member of LJI's Center for Vaccine Innovation.
T cells tend to be specialists. They learn to hunt down specific molecular targets, called epitopes, that belong to specific pathogens. "Cross-reactive" T cells are important for human health because they recognize epitope targets on differentbut closely relatedpathogens, such as different members of the coronavirus family. This viral family includes common cold coronaviruses and serious pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.
The COVID-19 pandemic put cross-reactive T cells in the spotlight. In early 2020, LJI Professors Shane Crotty, Ph.D., and Alessandro Sette, Dr.Biol.Sci., discovered that many peoplewho had never been exposed to SARS-CoV-2already had T cells that recognized the novel coronavirus. How did these T cells know what to look for?
SARS-CoV-2 only emerged in 2019, but many people had contracted common cold coronaviruses long before then. LJI scientists showed that cross-reactive T cells could recognize targets on both viruses. In follow-up studies, researchers even found an association between cross-reactive T cells and a lower risk of developing severe COVID-19.
If T cells could learn to target both viruses at once, perhaps scientists could design a vaccine against many types of coronaviruses, including new SARS-CoV-2 variants. That was the hopebut there was still a lot to learn.
"To design better vaccines we need to know exactly how these protective T cells develop and how long that window of protection lasts," says LJI Postdoctoral Fellow Rbens Alves, Ph.D., who served as first author of the new study.
The Shresta Lab is working to answer those questions. The lab members specialize in developing humanized mouse models, which allows them to study infectious diseases and human-relevant immune cell responses in a controlled environment.
For the new study, the researchers used mouse strains that can produce the exact same variety of T cells as the ones found in humans. The researchers infected these mice with one of the most widespread common cold coronaviruses, called OC43. SARS-CoV-2 and OC43 are both betacoronaviruses.
The scientists found that mice infected with OC43 produced CD4+ "helper" T cells and CD8+ "killer" T cells that cross-reacted with SARS-CoV-2. Those cells targeted the same epitopes as T cells collected from humans with SARS-CoV-2 exposure.
Next, the researchers developed a model of sequential infectionwith OC43 infection followed by SARS-CoV-2 in these humanized mice. They examined whether the cross-reactive T cells actually helped protect the mice from severe COVID-19.
Cross-reactive CD4+ "helper" T cells did indeed help counteract the virus's assault on the respiratory system. Mice with previous OC43 exposure showed lower levels of SARS-CoV-2 infection in their airways and were less likely to develop pneumonia and lung damage. Cross-reactive T cells really did help prevent severe disease.
"Our lab's expertise in mouse models has allowed us to go deeper into what human studies have suggested," says Elong Ngono.
SARS-CoV-2 is not the first coronavirus to cause a deadly outbreak. SARS, which caused a deadly outbreak in 2003, was also a coronavirus. So is MERS. This new study is an important step in understanding how T cells might learn to recognize and cross-react to many coronaviruses at onceincluding emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and other family members with pandemic potential.
Going forward, the team would like to investigate how exposure to other kinds of common cold coronaviruses affects T cells. Will cross-reactive T cells still develop? Would they seek the same shared epitopes or different targets?
"We now have the mouse model to study different human infection scenarios, such as the common situation when a person has been infected many times by different common cold coronaviruses before encountering SARS-CoV-2," says Shresta. "We even have a model now to characterize different SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-elicited human relevant T cell responses and determine the contribution of these T cells to the vaccine-induced protection."
Shresta says the Institute is well equipped to move forward with this pandemic prevention research. She credits the LJI for making sure LJI scientists have the vital training and facilities for infectious disease research. Shresta also emphasizes that philanthropic support made it possible for the Institute to construct a biosafety level 3 laboratory for thisand many othercritical studies.
Additional authors of the study, "Common cold coronavirus-elicited CD4+ T cells protect against SARS-CoV-2 in HLA transgenic mice," include Julia Timis, Robyn Miller, Kristen Valentine, Paolla Beatriz Almeida Pinto, Andrew Gonzalez, Jose Angel Regla-Nava, Erin Maule, Michael N Nguyen, Norazizah Shafee, Sara Landeras Bueno, Eduardo Olmedillas, Brett Laffey, Katarzyna Dobaczewska, Zbigniew Mikulski, Sara McArdle, Sarah R. Leist, Kenneth Kim, Ralph S. Baric, and Erica Ollmann Saphire.
More information: Rbens Prince dos Santos Alves et al, Human coronavirus OC43-elicited CD4+ T cells protect against SARS-CoV-2 in HLA transgenic mice, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45043-2
Journal information: Nature Communications
CLEVELAND, Ohio The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio showed another marked decrease, from 9,428 last week to 7,719 this week.
It was the straight third weekly decrease, and the second time case numbers were below 10,000 since November.
Previously, case numbers saw 10 weeks of steady gains that ended the last week of 2023.
At least 1,249,751 Ohioans have received the updated one-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an increase of 15,378 people from the prior week, the state reported. This represents 10.6% of the states population.
The total COVID-19 case count since early 2020 in Ohio has reached 3,690,684.
There were 338 Ohioans newly hospitalized in the last week, raising the total since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to 149,160. There were 22 people admitted into the ICU, bringing the total since 2020 to 15,697.
There were also 80 Ohioans who died from COVID-19-related issues, raising the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 43,444. Death reporting sometimes lags by weeks.
Jan. 25 recap
* Total reported cases: 3,690,684, up 7,719.
* Total individuals with updated vaccine: 1,249,751, up 15,378.
* Total reported deaths: 43,444, up 80.
* Total reported hospitalizations: 149,160, up 338.
* Total reported ICU admissions: 15,697, up 22.
Jan. 18 recap
* Total reported cases: 3,682,965, up 9,428.
* Total individuals with updated vaccine: 1,234,373, up 22,689.
* Total reported deaths: 43,364, up 84.
* Total reported hospitalizations: 148,822, up 366.
* Total reported ICU admissions: 15,675, up 30.
Julie Washington covers healthcare for cleveland.com. Read previous stories at this link.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 86% of new COVID-19 cases stem from the latest mutation, JN.1. The most recent COVID vaccines are expected to help lower chances of serious illness or hospitalization from JN.1. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 86% of new COVID-19 cases stem from the latest mutation, JN.1. The most recent COVID vaccines are expected to help lower chances of serious illness or hospitalization from JN.1.
A new, fast-spreading variant of COVID-19 is sweeping across the nation, making it the most widely circulating iteration of the virus in the U.S. and around the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The mutation, called JN.1, is a subvariant of Omicron that was first detected by the World Health Organization in late August. At the time it appeared to be spreading slowly but as temperatures have dipped, JN.1 has spiked.
In mid-October, CDC data shows JN.1 made up about 0.1% of all COVID-19 cases around the country. As of Jan. 20, the CDC estimates that's now up to approximately 86%.
"Most likely, if you're getting COVID right now, you're getting this particular variant mutation," Eyal Oren, a director and professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at San Diego State University, told NPR.
Oren added that one of the reasons for the latest surge is that the virus continues to evolve so rapidly that "our immune systems have not been able to keep up."
Another reason is that "not enough Americans are vaccinated," according to the CDC. Earlier this month, only 11% of children and 21% of adults were reported to have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, only 40% of adults age 65 and older, which are the highest risk group, have gotten the updated vaccine in the last year.
The CDC says COVID-19 vaccines can reduce severe illness and hospitalizations.
The low rates for COVD-19 vaccinations, along with those against influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), are of such great concern that the CDC issued an alert to health care workers last month. The combination of rising flu, RSV and COVID cases "could lead to more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain in the coming weeks," the agency predicted.
People may be wrongly assuming that the current COVID booster won't protect them from JN.1 or other new strains, Oren said. But the most recent vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax are all expected to help lower chances of serious illness or hospitalization from JN.1.
CDC data indicates that this strain is no more severe than previous iterations, and the list of symptoms remains consistent with what they have been for COVID-19 in recent years: fever, chills, coughing, muscle aches, shortness of breath, sore throat, congestion, headaches, fatigue, and losing one's taste or smell.
Oren noted that most of the list consists of ailments that could be confused with those caused by other viruses common during winter months, including the flu, RSV or the common cold.
"That's why it's so important to get vaccinated and to get tested [for COVID], particularly if someone is at higher risk of severe outcomes," he said.
Oren urged all people, but especially those in high-risk categories, to take precautions by wearing masks, avoiding crowded places, and washing their hands. "And if you're sick stay home," he said.
The CDC reported that over the last 4 weeks, hospitalizations among all age groups increased, by 200% for influenza, 51% for COVID-19, and 60% for RSV.
The federal government offers free rapid COVID-19 tests through the mail. Four free tests can be ordered at COVIDTests.gov and will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
