Tuesday, May 31, 2022 | Kaiser Health News

CIDRAP:
Asymptomatic COVID-19 May Not Spread As Easily As Symptomatic

Symptomatic COVID-19 cases are responsible for more viral transmission than asymptomatic infections, suggests an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 130 studies published yesterday in PLOS Medicine. … In 46 contact-tracing or outbreak studies, the total share of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases was 19%. Relative to symptomatic infections, the rate of viral spread from asymptomatic index patients to contacts was about two-thirds lower. (5/27)

San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID Symptoms Charted By New Coronavirus Study

A yearlong study of more than 60,000 people tested for the coronavirus in San Francisco found intriguing shifts in COVID-19 symptoms over three different surges — including fewer reports of loss of smell, once considered a trademark of the illness — probably because of changes in the virus itself as well as individuals’ immunity. More people with COVID reported symptoms of upper respiratory infection — including cough, sore throat and congestion — during the omicron surge than earlier waves, researchers found. Patients also experienced fewer instances of systemic issues such as fever and body aches. Loss of smell was reported by 20% of those who tested positive during the delta surge, but only 5% during omicron. (Allday, 5/29)

The Atlantic:
You Are Going To Get COVID Again … And Again … And Again

“I personally know several individuals who have had COVID in almost every wave,” says Salim Abdool Karim, a clinical infectious-diseases epidemiologist and the director of the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa, which has experienced five meticulously tracked surges, and where just one-third of the population is vaccinated. Experts doubt that clip of reinfection—several times a year—will continue over the long term, given the continued ratcheting up of immunity and potential slowdown of variant emergence. But a more sluggish rate would still lead to lots of comeback cases. Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, told me that her best guess for the future has the virus infiltrating each of us, on average, every three years or so. “Barring some intervention that really changes the landscape,” she said, “we will all get SARS-CoV-2 multiple times in our life.” (Wu, 5/27)

The New York Times:
Can I Stop Isolating If I’m Still Testing Positive For The Virus? 

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus moves fast. Symptoms typically appear just a few days after infection, with viral levels peaking less than five days after the pathogen first becomes detectable. But for some people, the virus seems to linger, with at-home tests coming back positive day after day, even after other people in the household return to work or school. So why do some people test positive for the virus for 10 or 12 or even 14 days — and are they still infectious after so long? (Anthes, 5/29)

In covid updates from California, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, and Louisiana —

Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Newsom Tests Positive For COVID-19, Has ‘Mild Symptoms’

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday, making him the latest government official to contract the virus that relentlessly continues to challenge healthcare systems across the nation and around the world. “This a.m. I tested positive for COVID-19,” Newsom, who is vaccinated and has received two booster shots — the most recent on May 18 — announced in a tweet, “and am currently experiencing mild symptoms.” “Grateful to be vaccinated, and for treatments like Paxlovid,” he added, referring to the Pfizer antiviral medication. “I am following health guidelines and will be isolating while I work remotely.” (Sahagun, 5/28)

WUSF Public Media:
Health Officials Urge Caution And Mask-Wearing As Florida Coronavirus Cases Climb 

Federal health officials are recommending more Floridians wear masks indoors as the coronavirus spreads. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a number of counties across Florida are now categorized as “at a high risk” of COVID-19 as cases continue to climb across the state — and hospitalizations increase as well. Counties on the CDC lists are Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Sarasota, Alachua, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. The CDC’s “COVID Community Level” measure is different from one that tracks transmission — and factors hospitalizations in as well. (Colombini, 5/27)

WFSU:
A State Probe Finds Rebekah Jones’ Claims Of Data Manipulation Is Unsubstantiated And Unfounded 

A state investigation into allegations that the Florida Department of Health fudged COVID-19 case numbers to support Gov. Ron DeSantis’ effort to reopen the state after a shutdown in April 2020, has found no evidence of wrongdoing. Fired department analyst Rebecca Jones claimed she was let go from her job managing the state’s COVID-19 dashboard after she refused to manipulate the data. Jones gained national media attention for her claims, even starting a rival dashboard system. She also became a high-profile critic of DeSantis amid his efforts to restart the state’s economy and reopen schools. The investigation, done by Department of Health Chief Inspector General Michael Bennett, found there wasn’t enough evidence to support or disprove many of Jones’ accusations. Other claims were unfounded, meaning that the issue raised did not occur. (Hatter, 5/28)

Bangor Daily News:
Funding That Boosted Maine’s Pandemic Response May Not Be There For The Next One

Maine was among those catching up. When Gov. Janet Mills took office in 2019, her administration moved to fill dozens of Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention positions left empty by former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, raising the workforce from 174 to 230 by the time the pandemic began. Federal funding has helped grow the ranks to more than 300. But public health is more than its emergencies, experts warn. They say the boom-and-bust nature of crisis spending can leave out the everyday services that make a population more resilient and that the state and federal governments should continue to focus on preventing COVID-19 and improving other services. (Andrews, 5/31)

New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Hospitals Adjust To Changes In COVID Data 

For Dr. Matt Dunn, Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Hospital in North Conway, data has been an essential tool in the fight against COVID-19. Every day, he consults global data on new variants and other data modeling from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. He also religiously checks New Hampshire’s online COVID-19 dashboard. Having reliable numbers about how COVID-19 is spreading — and how the virus is evolving — helps Dunn and other hospital leaders make decisions about staffing and plan for potential strains on their health system. But that data is becoming trickier to navigate. (Fam, 5/27)

AP:
State Suspends In-Person Visits At Juvenile Facilities 

The Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice says it is temporarily suspending in-person visits at all secure care facilities due to confirmed COVID-19 cases. State health officials report 1,279 new cases of COVID in Louisiana with four new deaths and 197 people hospitalized with the virus as of Friday. Those not fully vaccinated account for 65% of the COVID hospitalizations, the Louisiana Department of Health said. (5/28)

CIDRAP:
Vaccines Lower Risk Of Long COVID 15%, Death By 34%, Data Show 

Long COVID-19 symptoms can affect even fully vaccinated people after mild breakthrough infections, but their risk of serious complications such as lung and blood-clotting disorders is much lower than that of their unvaccinated peers, finds a study of more than 13 million US veterans published this week in Nature Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 5/27)

Fortune:
Do I Have Long COVID? As Many As 23 Million Americans Want To Know, As More Than 200 Symptoms Emerge 

One Long COVID patient complains of fatigue, loss of smell, and a persistent cough weeks after his initial COVID infection. Another experiences hallucinations and an inability to record new memories, and begins speaking unrecognizable words. It gets stranger. Among the 200-plus symptoms identified so far are ear numbness, a sensation of “brain on fire,” erectile dysfunction, irregular menstrual periods, constipation, peeling skin, and double vision, according to a landmark July study published in British medical journal The Lancet. (Prater, 5/29)

Fortune:
Kids Get Long COVID, Too. Experts Are Racing To Understand It 

A year ago this month, Dr. Alexandra Brugler Yonts opened a clinic with hopes to shutter it quickly. “When we started, we weren’t sure how long we’d be open—we thought only a couple of months,” says Brugler Yonts, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. She’s the head of the hospital’s new Pediatric Post-COVID Program, launched in May of last year to treat children who developed a slew of mysterious symptoms after COVID infection—and those whose symptoms never stopped. (Prater, 5/28)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Long COVID And Heart Conditions — Even Mild Cases Can Cause Long-Term Problems

Chadwick Knight weathered a rough bout of COVID-19 back in January 2021 without being hospitalized, but he never bounced back to his former healthy self. He got winded all the time. He experienced brain fog. Then, well over a year since catching the coronavirus, the 47-year-old collapsed on his living room floor last month. He was rushed to an emergency room with a new, life-threatening post-COVID complication: a blood clot in an artery going from his heart to his lungs. “You get sick, and you think you’re pretty much better and then you are still having issues. And now, it just seems like more things on top of things, and you don’t know what the future holds,” said Knight, who lived in metro Atlanta for several years before recently moving to Dothan, Alabama. “It causes you to worry a lot and weighs you down a lot mentally.” (Oliviero, 5/27)

KHN:
Got Long Covid? Medical Expertise Is Vital, And Seniors Should Prepare To Go Slow

Older adults who have survived covid-19 are more likely than younger patients to have persistent symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, muscle aches, heart palpitations, headaches, joint pain, and difficulty with memory and concentration — problems linked to long covid. But it can be hard to distinguish lingering aftereffects of covid from conditions common in older adults such as lung disease, heart disease, and mild cognitive impairment. There are no diagnostic tests or recommended treatments for long covid, and the biological mechanisms that underlie its effects remain poorly understood. (Graham, 5/31)

In updates on the vaccine rollout —

USA Today:
COVID Vaccine Kids Under 5: What To Know About Pfizer, Moderna Doses

An FDA advisory committee plans to meet on June 15 to discuss both vaccines for kids as young as 6 months. Pfizer and BioNTech have not yet provided their complete data to the FDA but expect to within about a week, according to the companies. Moderna said it completed its application for the youngest children last month. Assuming the committee recommends one or both vaccines and the FDA authorizes them, an advisory committee with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will evaluate the data before it would need to be signed off by the agency’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. If federal agencies follow a timeline similar to previous COVID-19 vaccine authorizations, health experts say parents should be able to vaccinate their little ones by the end of June or earlier. (Rodriguez, 5/29)

Stat:
A Physician And Parent Weighs The Covid Vaccine Options For Kids Under 5

After months of delays and setbacks, there finally appears to be hope that there will be Covid-19 vaccine authorized for children under 5. Next month, the Food and Drug Administration plans to convene its vaccine advisory panel, known as VRBPAC, to review both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s shots for the youngest kids. The vaccines are not identical: Moderna’s is two doses of 25 micrograms each, a quarter of Moderna’s adult dose. Its efficacy was between 37% and 51% in a trial against symptomatic Covid during the Omicron wave. Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine is three doses of 3 micrograms each, a tenth the adult dose. A preliminary efficacy figure based on only 10 cases seen in the trial was 80%, although that could change once more cases accrue. (Feuerstein and Tirrell, 5/27)

KHN:
Politics And Pandemic Fatigue Doom California’s Covid Vaccine Mandates

In January, progressive California Democrats vowed to adopt the toughest covid vaccine requirements in the country. Their proposals would have required most Californians to get the shots to go to school or work — without allowing exemptions to get out of them. Months later, the lawmakers pulled their bills before the first votes. (Bluth, 5/31)

The Conversation:
How Nasal COVID-19 Vaccines Can Help Prepare For Infection Where It Starts

Imagine inhaling just a few drops of liquid or mist to get protected from COVID-19. That is the idea behind nasal COVID-19 vaccines, and they have been getting a lot of attention recently as a spray or liquid. These nasal vaccines would be based on the same technology as normal vaccines given by injection. But as Mayuresh Abhyankar, a University of Virginia researcher who studies infectious diseases and works on nasal vaccines, explains, vaccinating someone right where the coronavirus is likely to start its attack comes with many immunological benefits. (Abhyankar, 5/30)

The Wall Street Journal:
Paxlovid Becomes Household Name For Covid-19 Patients

Pfizer’s antiviral drug, called Paxlovid, totaled more than 412,000 prescriptions through May 6, compared with about 110,000 prescriptions of molnupiravir, an antiviral from Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, according to drug-data firm Iqvia Holdings Inc. (Hopkins, 5/30)