Health

Mandatory lockdowns may not be any better at controlling COVID-19 than less restrictive measures, study finds

Mandatory stay-at-home orders and business closures may not be more effective at controlling the spread of the coronavirus than less restrictive, voluntary measures, a new study found.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Sweden and South Korea did not implement mandatory lockdowns in the form of stay-at-home orders and business closures, though many people still isolated and followed measures to mitigate the spread of the virus voluntarily.

Sweden relied on “social distancing guidelines, discouraging of international and domestic travel, and a ban on large gatherings,” while South Korea relied on “intensive investments in testing, contact tracing, and isolation of infected cases and close contacts.”

The findings appeared in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation.

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The Stanford University researchers compared the spread of COVID-19 in Sweden and South Korea to the spread in eight countries that did implement more restrictive mandatory lockdowns: Britain, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United States.

They found that nonpharmaceutical interventions were effective in nine out of 10 countries, but there was “no clear, significant beneficial effect of [more restrictive non-pharmaceutical interventions] on case growth in any country.”

The researchers pointed out that while they found “no evidence of large anti-contagion effects from mandatory stay-at-home and business closure policies,” cross-country comparisons were difficult because “countries may have different rules, cultures, and relationships between the government and citizenry.”

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This does not mean that measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 are ineffective, just that more restrictive nonpharmaceutical interventions may not provide more benefits than less restrictive voluntary measures, according to these researchers.

“While small benefits cannot be excluded, we do not find significant benefits on case growth of more restrictive [nonpharmaceutical interventions],” the study concluded. “Similar reductions in case growth may be achievable with less restrictive interventions.”

Other studies have found that lockdowns do work.

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For instance, researchers from Rice University found in a study last month that “states that are more open are susceptible to higher COVID-19 death rates.”

“The increasingly strong relationship between high levels of openness and high [daily deaths per million] suggests that lockdowns have been effective in both reducing [daily deaths per million] in highly infected states and in preventing new spikes in deaths.”

Another study by researchers at Columbia University found that “school closures and voluntary or mandated stay-at-home measures” reduced the spread of COVID-19 in New York City last spring by 70%.

What should I know about COVID-19 vaccines if I’m pregnant?

Vaccination is likely the best way to prevent COVID-19 in pregnancy when risks for severe illness and death from the virus are higher than usual.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says COVID-19 vaccinations should not be withheld from pregnant women, and that women should discuss individual risks and benefits with their health care providers.

The U.S. government’s emergency authorization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines being rolled out for priority groups doesn’t list pregnancy as a reason to withhold the shots.

But the OB-GYN group says women should consult their doctors, since COVID-19 vaccines have not yet been tested in pregnant women. Evidence about safety and effectiveness is reassuring from studies that inadvertently included some women who didn’t know they were pregnant when they enrolled.

More answers are expected from upcoming research, including a study by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech expected to start early this year that will include pregnant women.

Experts say there’s no reason to think the two authorized vaccines would harm fetuses. They might even protect them from developing COVID-19, although that hasn’t yet been proven, said Dr. Denise Jamieson, chair of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine.

That thinking comes in part from experience with vaccines for influenza and whooping cough, which are approved for use in pregnancy and protect newborns and their mothers from developing those diseases.

‘Tourists’ are flying to Florida to score COVID-19 vaccine early

Great Demand for COVID-19 Vaccine from Florida Seniors

Senior citizens in Florida who are eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine are struggling to book appointments due to high demand. For some, who spend hours a day going to different health department websites, it feels hopeless.

Seniors are jetting off to Florida — but it’s not warm weather they’re seeking.

The state was one of the first to begin offering vaccines to people ages 65 and older, by executive order on Dec. 23. According to local news reports in Florida, the state is seeing an influx of “vaccine tourists,” out-of-state travelers hoping to jump ahead in line for the coronavirus vaccine.

It’s not just impatient Americans scurrying to the front. Momentum Jets, a Toronto-based private airline, told the Wall Street Journal that wealthy Canadians have been willing to pay between $25,000 to $80,000 for same day, round-trip flights with the carrier.

A spokesperson for Travel Secure Inc., a travel insurance brokerage agency, added that some 30% of clientele booked flights for the Southern US during the month of November — believing those folks had gone to receive their first dose of vaccine or set an appointment for one.

HIGH DEMAND FOR COVID-19 VACCINE LEAVES FLORIDA SENIORS STRUGGLING TO GET THE JAB: ‘IT SEEMS HOPELESS’

Governor Ron DeSantis insisted on Tuesday that the state would not allow one-time visitors arriving for the vaccine, clarifying that so-called “snowbirds,” or dual-state residents who weather their winters in the South, would be permitted, the Orlando-Sentinel reported.

“We’re not doing any tourists,” he said during a press conference, broadcast from Florida retirement community the Villages.

Nearly 800,000 have already received the first poke, according to the Florida Department of Health, where almost 500,000 of them were part of the 65 and over age group.

The trend is putting the squeeze on already strained hospitals, clinics and local health officials, who complained of a lack of support from the state and federal governments in terms of vaccine implementation.

FLORIDA ‘NOT WASTING VACCINE’ LIKE NEW YORK, PRIORITIZING ELDERLY: LT. GOV. JEANETTE NINEZ

“It’s very unstable and very frustrating for the population,” Dr. Mary Jo Trepka, an epidemiologist at Florida International University, told WSJ. “There are many worried people who want a vaccine and can’t get it.”

In Miami, the Jackson Health System, a network of more than 40 hospitals and health centers, stated they’re taking all measures to verify state residency among vaccine recipients, but they won’t turn away part-time residents, either.

“Regardless of where someone lives, if they are spending time in our community — on our beaches, in our restaurants, in our malls — they can be spreaders of this virus,” they said in a statement.

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The DOH stressed that vaccine tourism, those who “come into Florida for one day to receive the vaccine and leave the next,” is prohibited. They’re asking that “all suspected incidents … immediately” be reported to a local health department branch.

When news broke earlier this week that Yanina Latorre, an Argentinian television personality, had enlisted fans to help bring her 80-year-old mother to Miami for the vaccine, Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez vowed to take action.

“I’m totally in disagreement with people from out of town coming and getting the vaccine before City of Miami residents,” said Mayor Suarez. “I will look into all legal options to prevent this from happening.”

This article originally appeared on NYPost.com.

Moderna using mRNA technology to create vaccines for seasonal flu, HIV and Nipah virus, company says

Biotech giant Moderna is using what some experts have called “21st-century science” to create three new vaccines to protect against the seasonal flu, HIV and Nipah virus, respectively, the company announced on Monday.

Moderna — the company that created one of the two COVID-19 vaccines that were approved late last year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use — said on Monday that it will pursue the development of three new vaccines: one for the seasonal flu, one for HIV, and one for Nipah virus using mRNA technology, according to a news release.

As for the flu vaccine, in particular, Moderna said it “plans to explore potential combination vaccines against flu, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and human metapneumovirus (hMPV).”

Phase 1 clinical trials for the flu vaccine program are expected to begin sometime this year, Moderna said.

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The company’s potential vaccine agist HIV, a virus that can lead to AIDS, is being developed in collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Moderna said, noting that Phase 1 clinical trails for this vaccine are also expected to begin this year.

Lastly, the company is also exploring a vaccine to protect against Nipah virus, “a zoonotic virus transmitted to humans from animals, contaminated food, or through direct human-to-human transmission and causes a range of illnesses including fatal encephalitis,” per Moderna. Outbreaks have largely occurred in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore.

“The uniquely challenging year of 2020 for all of society proved to be an extraordinary proof-of-concept period for Moderna,” said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel in a statement.

“Even as we have shown that our mRNA-based vaccine can prevent COVID-19, this has encouraged us to pursue more-ambitious development programs within our prophylactic vaccines modality,” he added.

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Unlike conventional vaccines, which are produced by growing weakened forms of a virus in chicken eggs or certain mammalian cells in a lab, RNA vaccines only require the pathogen’s genetic code; they do not use an active or dormant virus.

This new, gene-based technology has proven effective in the development of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech in addition to the one created by Moderna. The success seen with this technology in creating an effective vaccine against the novel virus has given scientists hope that the same technology can be used to fight against other viral diseases, as Moderna is attempting to do, with some experts saying the technology could even be used to fight against cancer.

For a basic overview of the differences between conventional vaccines and those made with RNA technology, you can read more here.

Amid faulty disinfection, coronavirus patients battled deadly, drug-resistant fungus: CDC

As if the latest deadly novel pathogen wasn’t enough, the federal health agency recently documented a summer-time outbreak of a serious, multidrug-resistant fungus in a Florida COVID-19 unit.

Health department officials were flagged to four cases of the so-called Candida auris infections; three manifesting in the bloodstream, one presenting in a urinary tract infection.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN NURSING HOMES MAY REFLECT COMMUNITY INFECTION TRENDS: CDC

The CDC says this yeast can cause serious infections and death, especially in patients with underlying medical conditions. Worse yet, it’s difficult to identify, can be asymptomatic and lingers on surfaces.

After the first four cases were found in an unspecified “hospital A,” the CDC, state health department and the hospital launched a joint investigation to observe staffers’ hand hygiene, disinfection and PPE practices, per a recent CDC report.

The CDC noted 35 additional test results among coronavirus patients, and of 20 with available records, eight died within about a month of screening, though it isn’t clear what role the fungus had in these deaths.

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Hospital staff missed opportunities for hand washing, and other disinfection practices, thereby potentially contributing to transmission of the fungus, the CDC said. (iStock)

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Health care providers were faulty in their practices, raising the risk of further fungal spread; they wore gear like gowns and gloves throughout entire shifts, and didn’t consistently disinfect computers and equipment, according to the findings.

Of note, the hospital staff wore multiple layers of gowns, which the CDC suggested was likely due to fear of coronavirus infection. However, the CDC noted this practice is counterintuitive and wasteful; “Such practices among HCP [health care providers] might be motivated by fear of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 but instead might increase risks for self-contamination when doffing and for transmission of other pathogens among patients and exacerbate PPE supply shortages,” reads the CDC report.

The CDC does not advise donning more than one gown or pair of gloves at a time.

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Further, after the hospital took several steps to improve cleaning and other related practices, no additional cases of the Candida auris fungus cropped up on surveys.

The CDC said the outbreak demonstrates the need to follow infection control recommendations and continue monitoring for health threats, like the deadly fungus.

Gorillas test positive for coronavirus at San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Members of the gorilla troop at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19, the zoo confirmed Monday, adding that it is believed the animals contracted the virus from an asymptotic staff member. It is said to be the first known instance of such transmission.

Two gorillas had been observed coughing on Jan. 6, prompting California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System researchers to perform testing on fecal samples, according to a news release posted Monday. Preliminary results showed the presence of the virus, which was then confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories.

It was not immediately clear how many gorillas tested positive for the virus. The news release also did not detail if the gorillas that tested positive were male or female or any information relating to age.

The gorillas are “doing well” and quarantining with the rest of the gorilla troop, the news release said.

The gorillas are said to be doing well aside from “some congestion and coughing.”
(Christina Simmons San Diego Zoo Safari Park)

“Aside from some congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well.” Lisa Peterson, executive director of San Diego Zoo Safari Park, said in the news release. “The troop remains quarantined together and are eating and drinking. We are hopeful for a full recovery.”

5 CASES OF UK VARIANT FOUND IN MINNESOTA, OFFICIALS SAY

It is not known if the gorillas will suffer severe illness from the virus.

“For almost one year our team members have been working tirelessly, with the utmost determination to protect each other and the wildlife in our care from this highly contagious virus,” Peterson said. “The safety of our staff and the wildlife in our care remains our number one priority.”

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The safari park has been closed to the public since Dec. 6 as a result of pandemic lockdown measures. San Diego County has seen 191,888 cases of coronavirus, according to public health data, including an additional 3,288 illnesses that were reported on Saturday.

Hospitalized coronavirus patients still suffer symptoms 6 months post-infection: study

A study published over the weekend has furthered existing evidence that so-called “long-COVID” is very much a reality for many who have contracted the novel coronavirus, with researchers finding in what is said to be the largest cohort study on the topic to date that for some, certain COVID-19 symptoms — namely fatigue and muscle weakness — stick around for up to six months following the initial infection.

The study, published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet, studied more than 1,700 hospitalized coronavirus patients from Wuhan, China, where the pandemic first began last year.

The researchers found that an estimated 76% of patients reported at least one symptom of the novel virus months after they were discharged, with fatigue or muscle weakness and sleep difficulties being the most common.

Of the patients studied, 63% reported suffering from fatigue or muscle weakness six months post-infection, while 26% of patients reported continued sleep difficulties after the same amount of time.

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Anxiety and depression followed, with these symptoms being reported among 23% of patients studied six most post-infection.

More severely ill hospitalized patients, meanwhile, “had increasingly impaired pulmonary diffusion capacities and abnormal chest imaging manifestations” post-infection, the researchers wrote.

“These results support that those with severe disease need post-discharge care,” the researchers concluded. “Longer follow-up studies in a larger population are necessary to understand the full spectrum of health consequences from COVID-19.”

The study follows separate research from the U.K.’s King’s College London in late October. At the time, researchers analyzed symptoms of 4,182 coronavirus patients who had logged their illness using a COVID Symptom Study app. They noted 558 of the patients saw symptoms last longer than 28 days, while 189 suffered for over eight weeks, and 95 patients with symptoms reported that they lasted longer than 12 weeks.

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The researchers found that among the long-COVID patients, symptoms were most commonly listed as fatigue, headache, dyspnea and anosmia, and were more likely to occur in older patients, those with a higher BMI and in patients who were female.

As for another possible long-COVID side effect, some coronavirus survivors have reported experiencing a distorted sense of smell, describing an unpleasant fishy or sulfur smell.

Fox News’ Alexandria Hein and Kayla Rivas contributed to this report.

5 cases of UK coronavirus variant found in Minnesota: officials

Minnesota health officials over the weekend identified five cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom, adding to a growing list of states that have confirmed cases of the mutation and furthering concerns that the variant is likely already widespread across the country.

The U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7, was “identified by genomic sequencing in positive specimens from five residents of four different counties in the Twin Cities metro area,” officials with the Minnesota Department of Health said in a Saturday news release, which noted that four of the cases were identified by state health officials while the fifth was identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

None of the cases, which range in age from 15 to 37, have been hospitalized, the state health department said. Illness onset was in mid-to-late December, from Dec. 16 to Dec. 31, per the news release.

At least two of the cases had recently traveled internationally, though it’s not clear where. One of the cases had no recent travel, while the others have “unknown” travel history, state health officials said.

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Health department epidemiologists “are re-interviewing the cases to gather more information about how they were likely exposed and who their close contacts were. That investigation is continuing,” officials said.

The B.1.1.7 mutation was first discovered in the U.K. several weeks ago but has since appeared in several U.S. states, including Colorado, where it was first identified in the country, as well as New York, California, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, among others.

Last week, the CDC said that more than 50 cases of the mutated coronavirus strain have been identified across the U.S.

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The strain is thought to be more transmissible than COVID-19. At this time, however, experts appear confident that existing coronavirus vaccines will work against the variant.

Minnesota State Epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield said in a statement that officials were “expecting to find the virus [variant]” in the state.

“Knowing that it is now here does not change our current public health recommendations,” she added.

“While it is thought to be more easily spread from one person to another, it has not been found to cause more serious disease,” Lynfield continued. “With RNA viruses, like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, it is not unexpected to see new, more successful strains emerge.”

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“This virus makes it really hard for people to know whether they or the person next to them is infected – whether this strain or another strain – so we all need to do our part to protect ourselves and each other,” added Minnesota Director of Infectious Disease Kris Ehresmann, in a statement.

So far, officials with Pfizer and BioNTech — the companies whose COVID-19 vaccine candidate proved highly efficacious in late-stage clinical trials and was the first jab to see emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — have voiced confidence in its ability to protect against the strain while also touting the flexibility of the technology should a tweak need to be made.

Coronavirus cases in nursing homes may reflect community infection trends: CDC

Trends in community infections from the novel coronavirus appear to run on par with cases among nursing home staff and residents, per a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This finding underscores the need to monitor local virus spread and prevent exposure to facilities, especially among staff potentially infected by family and others, and isolating newly admitted residents with unknown COVID-19 status.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

The CDC advised steps to prevent bringing the virus into nursing homes, like isolating newly admitted patients until their COVID-19 status is confirmed negative. (iStock)

The federal health agency documented summer-time high case numbers among nursing home residents at 11.5 cases per 1,000 resident-weeks, a measure of occupied beds on weekly reporting of data. The incidence dipped to 6.3 cases/1,000 resident-weeks in the early fall, only to see a surge in late November at 23.2 cases/1,000 resident-weeks. The incidence among nursing home staff nearly matched those figures at 10.9 per 1,000 resident-weeks in June and July, dropping to 6.3 in September and spiking to 21.3 during the week of Nov. 22.

“Rates of COVID-19 in the surrounding communities followed similar trends,” reads the report released Friday. “Increases in community rates might be associated with increases in nursing home COVID-19 incidence, and nursing home mitigation strategies need to include a comprehensive plan to monitor local SARS-CoV-2 transmission and minimize high-risk exposures within facilities.”

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The findings stemmed from data reported from late May to November 2020, as part of the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), which includes COVID-19 surveillance in nursing homes. CMS-certified facilities were federally mandated to report the data, including the number of occupied beds and confirmed cases among residents and staff.

The CDC said some facilities made mistakes in reporting the data, like entering cumulative case counts each week instead of new confirmed cases, though the federal health agency accounted for these errors in its report released Friday.

The CDC then superimposed the data, 572,135 cases from some 15,300 nursing homes, on regions across the U.S. designated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Of note, reported coronavirus cases among nursing home residents and staff were split about down the middle at 51.8% to 48.2%, respectively.

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Outside of the nursing home setting, the CDC said case rates across the HHS-designated regions nationwide ranged from 17-67 cases per 100,000 people in May, increasing to over 178 per 100,000 in the summer-time July peak across the South. These rates fell nationwide in August and September, only to pick up again in October, topping 615 cases per 100,000 in late November across the Midwest.

Generally speaking, estimates list long-term care facilities as responsible for about 40% of the country’s total COVID-19 deaths; residents of nursing homes are at heightened risk for poor outcomes from SARS-CoV-2 infection due to old age and underlying conditions. These facilities were therefore recommended to receive the highest priority in the initial phases of vaccination, alongside front-line medical workers.

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“Increased COVID-19 incidence in communities with nursing homes increases the risk for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 by staff members,” the CDC report continues.

The CDC highlighted Minnesota in particular. At least 34% of “high-risk exposures” among health care staffers came from household contacts and others in their social circles in the state, highlighting the gaps in mask use and social distancing. To confront this issue, the agency advised teaching staff about potential for community exposure, consistently adhering to CDC guidance, ensuring enough supplies of PPE (personal protective equipment), routine testing for staff and isolating new residents where COVID-19 status is unknown.

These steps can lower the risk of bringing the deadly virus into nursing homes, especially in communities where virus transmission is on the rise, the CDC says.

Tennessee mom warns of coronavirus-related illness in children after son hospitalized: ‘I felt helpless’

A mom whose son was hospitalized after developing the coronavirus-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is warning others to be wary of the condition should their child battle COVID-19 or be exposed to the virus.

“I felt helpless, I couldn’t do anything to help him,” said Amber Allen, of Nashville, of her 5-year-old son Matthew who was recently treated for the inflammatory condition at Monroe Carrel Junior Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Children with MIS-C often have a fever, as well as symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, and fatigue. (iStock)

“His feet and his knees and his hands were all swollen and I just knew something more was wrong,” she told local news outlet WKRN.

“His health just started declining,” she added, noting that Matthew required hospitalization for five nights and six days. He is now recovering, however.

LOUISIANA CHILD’S POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS-LINKED MIS-C DEATH THE FIRST IN STATE

MIS-C causes inflammation in different body parts, namely the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. It has been compared to Kawasaki disease, which causes swelling in arteries throughout the body, though the two conditions are not the same.

Children with MIS-C often have a fever, as well as symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes and fatigue.

Experts don’t know exactly what causes MIS-C at this time but have identified it as a syndrome associated with COVID-19. Most children who develop MIS-C were previously ill with COVID-19 or had been exposed to someone with the virus.

SERIOUS CORONAVIRUS-RELATED INFLAMMATORY CONDITION AMONG CHILDREN NOW REPORTED IN ADULTS: CDC

Since the pandemic began, there have been various reports of the syndrome, with most cases occurring in children. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in October identified the condition among adults, drawing on reports of 27 adult patients to describe a new, similar condition known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Adults (MIS-A).

“Findings indicate that adult patients of all ages with current or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection can develop a hyperinflammatory syndrome resembling MIS-C,” the authors wrote at the time, adding that measures to limit COVID-19 spread may help prevent MIS-A.

Fox News’ Kayla Rivas contributed to this report.

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