Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

While pandemic protocols like two weeks to flatten the COVID-19 curve and the following mask and vaccine mandates are pretty much in the rearview mirror for most Florida residents, businesses and institutions, the virus is still circulating and sickening people.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to monitor the presence of COVID-19, and as it does institutions like Hillsborough County Public Schools are looking to the agency for ongoing guidance to set policies and inform families and students who have questions.

The district continues to communicate CDC guidelines if and when a parent seeks guidance from our student health professionals, said Hillsborough County Public Schools Chief of Chief of Communications Tanya Arja.

Arja added that a doctor is the best person to determine a students health status, and a basic guideline is that feeling unwell is a sign to stay home and not stress too much over out-of-class time.

We let parents know that they should follow the instructions from their doctor, which is typically to isolate for five days. Overall, if students and staff do not feel well, they should stay home. Our staff works with parents on make-up assignments that were missed due to illness.

Participation in one district education program that may involve stricter COVID-19 rules regarding masking and vaccinations is the EMT training program operated out of Aparicio-Levy Technical College. Students working with the programs clinical partners are generally required to follow their masking and vaccine requirements.

Free COVID-19 tests are available from the CDC by visiting http://www.covidtests.gov, where you can also find additional information about the current state of the disease and recommended precautions. According to the agencys website, each home in the country can order four at-home tests at no charge. If the household has not requested any tests so far in 2023, a total of eight tests can be ordered.

The CDC states on its website that if you know you have been exposed to COVID-19, you should wait at least five days before taking a test. The CDC also suggests testing might be appropriate before visiting someone, such as an older or chronically ill person, or attending some social gatherings.

As for how the virus may affect things like operating schools in Hillsborough County, Arja said, The health and wellbeing of our students and staff is a priority for the district.

The CDCs http://www.vaccines.gov website provides information about getting vaccinated.

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COVID-19 Still Around As Agencies Monitor And Advise - Osprey Observer

Data on this page is reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Population and demographic data is from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hospitalization data is reported by individual hospitals to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it includes confirmed and suspected adult and pediatric patients. The C.D.C. does not provide complete vaccinations data for some counties and caps its vaccination rate figures at 95 percent.

The C.D.C. may make historical updates as more data is reported.

The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on Covid cases in May 2023.

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Covid-19 in the U.S.: Track Places Near You - The New York Times

COVID-positive numbers in the daily official communique may be in single digit, but the new virus strain JN.1 has clearly transmitted to a majority of population in the twin cities, as per an analysis from the waste water sampling being conducted by scientists of the CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB), CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) and Tata Institute for Genetics & Society (TIGS-Bengaluru).

This new strain, a close relative of Omicron variant, is an interesting and peculiar one evading the immunity obtained through previous infections or vaccines infecting people. It is spreading silently as most cases are asymptomatic or even mild where an infected person may not even know. But, it has not shown any major illness in clinical context, says TIGS director Rakesh Mishra, also former CCMB director.

In an exclusive interaction, the top scientist points out that the number of hospitalisations is very low but waste water sampling being conducted across cities of Hyderabad (18 open drains), Bengaluru (26 sewage treatment plants that cover most of the city), Vijayawada, Pune and others, have been showing increasing trend in virus being discharged through the toilets into the drains in all the municipal areas since the beginning of last month.

The virus load has been climbing rapidly since the past few weeks and soon, we will know if the trend of infections is increasing or beginning to decrease, by constantly checking the wastewater samples. The peak is generally reached within six to eight weeks of the initiation across the population, he explains.

Since the wave is silent with little or no usual symptoms of cold or throat pain, headache or mild fever (or all three), it is imperative for the medical and health authorities to conduct molecular testing of the hospitalised cases to understand the nature of the infection and variant in case of SARS-CoV-2.

The 65-plus age group and those with co-morbidities having chronic illnesses should exercise caution by using masks, avoiding crowded places and maintaining hand hygiene as even if largely mild or asymptomatic, it could harm them. Available diagnostic kits are able to detect the current variant so it is always better to get tested when symptoms surface, as it is similar to flu, cautions Mr.Mishra.

Even otherwise, it is advisable to mask up (surgical mask or N-95) at crowded places to minimise the chances of getting infected since unchecked and higher level of infections will allow the virus to circulate further and, thereby, enhance probability of it to evolve into variants which could compromise the bodys immunity, worse clinical symptoms and cause more problems.

The senior scientist advocates a heterologous booster dose (having a vaccine different from the previous two/three doses), with clinical consultations, including the available indigenously made mRNA vaccine from Genova Biopharmaceuticals Gemcovac-OM, for the senior citizens and those constantly exposed to the virus.

It is an approved sophisticated, self-replicating mRNA vaccine and could help because the even the third dose after few months may not prevent infection as the antibody levels go down gradually. Cellular immunity though has long-lasting memory that kicks in when the virus enters the body, and prevent severe disease conditions he says.

Mr.Mishra reiterates his call for a more robust sewage and environmental surveillance system to be in place in the cities to keep constant watch on the emerging viruses or pathogens so that an advance warning can be given to minimise deleterious effects. Such system will enable civic bodies to be prepared for future and pre-empt the number of emergency situations.

This virus is not worrisome, but constant monitoring is needed to avoid surprises. Environmental surveillance is a powerful smart technology tool to be proactive with minimum fuss and maximum benefit with less cost, he adds.

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Silent wave of JN.1 COVID virus in Hyderabad, Secunderabad - The Hindu

ODonnell said that before the pandemic, flu cases would typically increase in December and peak in January.

Main Line Health has also seen a lot more patients who are sick with flu, said Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Stallkamp.

He added that the flu usually kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. per year, so it is not a disease to be taken lightly.

If youve ever had flu, it is like getting hit by a truck, he said. You feel horrible. It is not like your typical nose cold where youre blowing your nose for a couple days and maybe Ill just be better the next day. You can be out for days.

Fortunately, so far, the situation is not as bad as it was last winter, when there were record numbers of COVID-19, RSV or respiratory syncytial virus, and flu patients at the same time, said Dr. Ericka Hayes, senior medical director of infection, prevention, and control at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.

COVID-19 remains an unpredictable wild card, she said. It may do nothing or we may see a surge in January not unlike what we saw in January of 22 with the omicron surge. So I think the thing that worries and concerns me the most is the fact that we cant know.

Hayes said the number of RSV cases at CHOP peaked in late November, and is starting to decrease. While the CDC alerted health care providers about low vaccination rates for COVID-19, flu, and RSV, she noted that there was also an issue with the supply of RSV vaccines earlier this year.

So far, the biggest concern is that the number of flu and COVID-19 patients in hospitals could peak at around the same time and strain capacity, said Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, Philadelphias health commissioner.

The newer variants that are circulating dont appear to be worse. They dont appear to be more likely to put people in the hospital, she said. But you get enough virus circulating, youre going to see large enough numbers that hospitalization rates could go up. And staffing for hospitals can be a challenge as these viruses circulate because the hospital personnel cant work if they themselves are sick.

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COVID and flu cases are on the rise as vaccination rates remain low, CDC warns - WHYY

Vaccines help boost the production of antibodies, providing effective protection against serious illness and death, Mona Hyster Fenstad says.

She is a senior consultant at the blood bank at St. Olavs Hospital in Central Norway.

The Covid-19 virus is rife all over Norway. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health recommends people in risk groups to get vaccinated.

They point out that elderly people in particular will be vulnerable to serious illness if they are infected with Covid-19. However, since the vast majority of us have already had Covid-19 at least once, do we really need to think about getting vaccinated?

Yes, the scientists say.

The saying what doesnt kill you makes you stronger is not true in this context. The inflammation that occurs in the body during infections such as influenza, Covid-19, and pneumonia can be harmful. Especially for people with heart or lung disease, or where other risk factors are involved, Fenstad says.

Fenstand and her international colleagues have recently published a study that looked at the effect of vaccination on people who became ill with Covid-19 before vaccines were available. This work has been closely linked to the search for antibodies that can be used as medicine against Covid-19.

At the beginning of 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) asked scientists and therapists around the world to look for treatments for Covid-19. Among the treatments proposed was convalescent plasma therapy, which uses plasma from blood donors who have recovered from the illness," Fenstad says.

Along with NTNU colleagues, the researchers chose to take a closer look at how the antibodies in this plasma were able to neutralise new virus variants that emerged.

While big pharmaceutical companies were working hard to develop vaccines and medicines, researchers had already begun to look at the use of blood plasma from Covid-19 patients as a possible treatment.

Many of these patients had large amounts of antibodies in their blood. Plasma containing these antibodies was therefore given to seriously ill patients to help them fight the virus. It turned out that convalescent plasma therapy was primarily effective in patients who had immunodeficiencies, Fenstad says.

We were looking for so-called super-neutralisers, people who develop specific antibodies that effectively neutralise different variants of SARS-CoV-2, Denis Kainov says. He is a professor in NTNUs Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, and was part of the research team.

These antibodies were eventually cultivated and cloned, and then turned into medicines used to fight Covid-19.

In Norway, the first Covid-19 outbreak occurred in February 2020. The first Alpha variant was quickly followed by new, mutated variants named Beta and Delta. Omicron, which is currently the prevailing variant, was first reported in late 2021.

By April 2020, blood banks across Norway had begun collecting blood plasma from patients who had recovered from Covid-19. At St. Olavs Hospital, 72 patients were selected for a more detailed study of the antibodies in their blood plasma.

It turned out that half of these patients had serum containing antibodies that effectively neutralised the Beta variant, Kainov says.

Kainov has been searching for active substances to use in the treatment of Covid-19 and other viral diseases.

He is now looking for antibodies that could provide wider protection, including against new Covid-19 variants that might emerge.

They noticed that four patients had antibodies that effectively neutralised the Covid-19 variant that was dominant in Trondheim, Central Norway, at the time.

We followed up by taking new samples from these patients and found that their antibodies also neutralised other Covid-19 variants. In fact, they were also effective on new virus variants, Kainov says.

The conclusion is thus that it is a good idea to get vaccinated even if you have already had Covid-19 and even if the virus has mutated since the vaccine was made.

Out of the four patients, the researchers picked the one whose antibodies had been least effective against the Omicron variant. This patient had received their first vaccine dose four months after recovering from Covid-19. The efficacy of the vaccine was striking.

The vaccine boosted the production of immune cells and antibodies against all tested variants of the virus, including Omicron, Kainov says.

Kainovs colleagues in Estonia could then proceed with blood plasma from the patient, cloning and cultivating antibodies that neutralised Covid-19 viruses on a wide scale.

The results have also provided the scientists with useful knowledge about the effect of the vaccine on convalescents.

When it comes to vaccines, it is always a race. The virus is always one step ahead, and the vaccines and medicines will never be completely up to date, Fenstad says.

Their study is an in-depth study of just one patient, and it constitutes only a tiny piece of research in this field.

"However, large studies in other countries confirm our findings. Vaccines boost the production of antibodies that are also effective against new variants of the virus, she says.

The finding demonstrate that it is a good idea to get vaccinated even if you have already had Covid-19 and even if the virus has mutated since the vaccine was made. It may not prevent you from being reinfected, but it will provide protection against serious illness and death.

When you get sick with Covid-19, you develop antibodies, but the effects of these diminish and are gone after six to nine months. This is why people can get infected again and again by new variants of SARS-CoV-2. The virus mutates to avoid the immune response we have developed through previous infections or vaccines, Kainov says.

That is why vaccination is important now that it is winter.

The studies we have conducted here on Covid-19 patients are extremely important, because there will be new outbreaks of the virus. Almost seven million people have died from Covid-19. We must avoid getting into the same situation again, Kainov says.

Reference:

Fenstad et al. Boosted production of antibodies that neutralized different SARS-CoV-2 variants in a COVID-19 convalescent following messenger RNA vaccination a case study, International Journal of Infectious Diseases,2023.

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Why you should be vaccinated even if you have already had Covid-19 - ScienceNorway

With the holiday season coming to a close, flu cases are taking off and COVID-19 continues to be a looming threat.

When asked if COVID has become more dangerous, Ann Weiss, Clinical Director at Primary Health, replied, "I really don't think we know. Especially with the component of long COVID thrown in there. It's really significant for a lot of people. I don't see COVID just becoming flu any time soon."

Covid continues to mutate and change, but Weiss, clinical director at Primary Health says the latest boosters seem to be effective against it. Even still, some are reluctant to get their booster shots.

Idaho resident John Nargiel says, "The only reason I got it was I was taking a trip to the Philippines and I wouldn't have been able to go on the trip without it."

If you do get sick, doctors advise that you stay at home except to see a doctor who can quickly determine if you have the flu. Tests for COVID-19, however, take much longer because the viral load has to build up over several days.

According to the CDC, there are still concerns that some hospitals across the country could be overwhelmed by the combination of COVID and a spike in flu cases but so far, Idaho is keeping up.

Weiss says, "We're nowhere near where we were with hospitalizations two years ago so I think we're ready to handle it.

It's still not too late to get your flu vaccine or your COVID booster, though keep in mind that both vaccines take around 2 weeks to reach their maximum effectiveness in the body.

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COVID-19 concerns after the holidays - Idaho News 6 Boise Twin Falls

Theres some good news and bad news in the world of vaccines. Most nursing home residents in Arizona still havent gotten their COVID-19 booster. And for the first time, vaccines are available to protect against four respiratory illnesses.

Only 16% of nursing home residents have been vaccinated with the new COVID booster and slightly more than 3% of staff have gotten the jab. Thats according to the most recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

Will Humble is the executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. In many of the states that have higher vaccination rates for people in assisted living in skilled nursing facilities, it's because those state health departments are requiring that the facilities offer the vaccine, they don't compel anyone to get the vaccine,he said.

He says thats not the case in Arizona.

At first you might think, well, it's a red state-blue state thing. Well, no, because North and South Dakota, which are by all accounts, really conservative states, have terrific vaccination rates for COVID-19 in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.

They also have much higher RSV vaccination rates.

As for the good news: The big four respiratory illnesses influenza, RSV, COVID-19 and pneumococcal disease are all now vaccine preventable. Unfortunately, he says, it's just disappointing to see the uptake rate for some of these vaccines being so low.

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Most nursing home residents in Arizona still haven't gotten their COVID-19 booster - KJZZ

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COVID, flu, RSV, cold, strep: What is everyone catching this winter? - USA TODAY

With 19 coronavirus positive cases detected in Visakhapatnam in the last two days, the doctors opine that compliance with standard safety protocols such as wearing masks can check the spread of the virus. The city reported nine positive cases on December 31 (Sunday) while 10 cases were confirmed on January 1 (Monday).

In total, 4,103 COVID-19 tests have been done since December 1, 2023 in Andhra Pradesh, of which 152 cases have been confirmed positive. The positive cases include 25 from Visakhapatnam (including 20 undergoing treatment in home isolation and five hospital admissions); 16 from NTR district, 11 from Kurnool, eight from Guntur, five from Eluru and four from East Godavari district, according to State Public Health and Family Welfare Director K. Padmavathi.

Oxygen beds are ready in government hospitals, while RT-PCR test is being done at the King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam. There is no cause for alarm. However, non-compliance with the safety protocols such as wearing masks in large gatherings may lead to problems, especially those with existing health issues, says Dr. K. Rambabu, Director of Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS).

The nine positive cases identified at the KGH on December 31 came from different districts of north Andhra region. All the patients are responding well to treatment. The 51-year-old woman, who had died at KGH on Dec 26 had pre-existing conditions, though she tested positive, said Dr. G. Butchi Raju, Principal of Andhra Medical College (AMC).

Referring to the new variant, P.V. Sudhakar, Dean of NRI Institute of Medical Sciences said the JN.1 variant is a sub-type of Omicron and its symptoms are the same. RT-PCR test can detect the presence of the virus, while genome sequencing can detect the variant. Though the transmissibility of JN.1 variant is high, it is rarely causing severe complications, he said.

Deaths caused by the JN.1 variant were reported in some countries. Those with co-morbid conditions and using immuno-suppressive drugs should avoid large gatherings. They should invariably wear a mask, maintain social distance and sanitise their hands frequently to minimise the risk of infection, he said.

There is no cause for alarm as the hospitals are equipped to tackle the eventualities, observed K. Phaninder, a pulmonologist from the city.

However, awareness among the people is important to check the spread of the virus. Most cases are responding to treatment, he said.

The spurt in cases after a gap of 225 days has alerted us and we are planning a mass campaign to educate the people, especially those living in slums on the need to wear masks in social gatherings and to adopt safety precautions, said Praja Arogya Vedika general secretary T. Kameswara Rao.

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Compliance with safety protocols in crowded places can help check COVID-19 spread: experts - The Hindu

After reporting 34 cases of JN.1 on December 25, an additional 165 cases from Karnataka are found to be infected with the highly transmissible new sub-variant of Omicron. With this, the total JN.1 cases in the State has now touched 199.

This follows whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 601 samples at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, and NCBS in Bengaluru. As of Monday, of the results of 262 samples that have been received, while 76% have been found to be infected with JN.1, 11% (28) are found to be positive for XBB and the remaining are other variants.

While the district-wise break up of the JN.1 cases was not made available, officials said over 60% are from Bengaluru. In the first lot of 34 JN.1 cases, 20 were from Bengaluru.

On Monday, one more death and 296 new cases were reported, taking the total number of active cases to 1,245. The total number of deaths reported since December 15 has now touched 14. A 55-year-old male from Mysuru, who was diagnosed with SARI and admitted to a government hospital on December 26, died on December 29. He also had diabetes, hypertension and was on dialysis.

Of the 296 cases, as many as 131 are from Bengaluru. The city now has 634 active cases. Of the 1,245 active patients, 66 are being treated in hospitals. While 20 are being treated in ICUs, the remaining have been isolated in general wards.

As many as 5,021 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours of which 4,036 are RTPCR tests. With this the days test positivity rate (TPR) touched 5.89%.

Meanwhile, the State has received 30,000 doses of Corbevax from the Centre on Sunday (December 31). According to an official press release, the doses have been distributed to the districts based on the requirement.

Of the 30,000 doses, as many as 5,680 doses have been allotted to BBMP followed by 2,280 to Belagavi. While Mysuru has been allotted 1,360 doses, Tumkuru 1,300 and Dakshina Kannada 1,140 doses.

As per guidelines issued by the Centre, Corbevax will be used to administer heterologous precaution dose to those who have not yet taken the third dose. A list of elderly, immunocompromised citizens and those with other comorbidities who have not taken the precaution dose will be downloaded from COWIN portal to prioritise beneficiaries.

The vaccine will be available in district hospitals and taluk hospitals identified by the districts. The health department will take up IEC activities to inform people about the vaccine availability and vaccination centres, stated an official press release.

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COVID-19: Karnataka reports 165 more JN.1 cases, taking total to 199 - The Hindu