Featured Headlines

Hong Kong Seniors Who Refused Vaccines Are ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ – Bloomberg

Only 43% of seniors who are 80 or over have received even one dose, according to government data. While that’s up from 22% in early January, it still isn’t enough to protect the segment of the population most at risk, according to Karen Grepin, an associate professor in the school of public health at the University of Hong Kong. Elderly patients have already made up the majority of the 311 deaths in this outbreak so far.

Avian influenza discovered for 1st time in Maine – AP

A highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected for the first time in Maine, federal officials said Sunday. State officials quarantined the property in Knox County and the backyard flock will be eliminated to prevent the spread of the disease, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Covid Still Threatens Millions of Americans. Why Are We So Eager to Move On? – KHN

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a strict definition of who is considered moderately or severely immunocompromised, such as cancer patients undergoing active treatment and organ transplant recipients. Still, millions of other people are living with chronic illnesses or disabilities that also make them especially susceptible to the disease. Though vulnerability differs based on each person and their health condition — and can depend on circumstances — catching covid is a risk they cannot take.

The Coronavirus Menagerie – NYT

With the virus widespread in white-tailed deer, scientists wonder which animals might be next. Barbara Han, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, knew it was a question of when, not if, the coronavirus would spread to animals. As the first reports of infected animals appeared in 2020, she began working on an artificial intelligence model that would predict which creatures might be next.

Here’s how long Covid takes a toll on the body – NYT

Millions of people continue to suffer from exhaustion, cognitive problems and other long-lasting symptoms after a coronavirus infection. The exact causes of the illness, known as long Covid, are not known. But new research offers clues, describing the toll the illness takes on the body and why it can be so debilitating.

Vaccine Headlines

FDA Plans For Possible Fourth Covid Shot This Fall – KHN

The Wall Street Journal reports that the FDA is looking ahead to potentially authorizing a second booster dose of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA covid vaccines, if studies show a benefit to maintaining protection.

Clinical Considerations

Reinfections with Omicron subvariants are rare, Danish study finds – Reuters

Getting infected twice with two different Omicron variants is highly unlikely, according to a Danish study

Five months post-covid, Nicole Murphy’s heart rate is still doing strange things – Washington Post

The prevalence of such symptoms has experts projecting a ‘tidal wave’ of cardiovascular cases related directly and indirectly to the coronavirus

Official Reporting for February 22, 2022

World Health Organization

Weekly Epi Update Feb 22 (latest release)

New Cases: 1,246,843

Confirmed Cases: 424,822,073

Deaths: 5,890,312

Johns Hopkins

Confirmed Cases: 427,108,891
Deaths: 5,901,612

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Total cases: 78,269,789 (+108,159 New Cases)
Total deaths: 930,811 (+2,088 New Deaths)

Science and Tech

Hoist with Its Own Petard – Harvard Medical School

Scientists have discovered a possible new way to fight COVID-19 by turning part of SARS-CoV-2 against itself. This new strategy shows promise in mice and in human cells in a lab dish, according to the team led by researchers from the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital.

The Science Behind Why Children Fare Better With Covid-19 – WSJ

Children’s innate immune systems help fend off the virus more effectively than those of adults. Children’s seeming imperviousness to Covid-19’s worst effects has been one of the biggest mysteries—and reliefs—of the pandemic. Now the reasons are coming into focus, scientists say: Children mobilize a first line of defense known as the innate immune system more effectively than adults.

Psychological and Sociological Impact

Large study reveals clearer links between COVID-19, mental health risks – CIDRAP

“Long COVID” refers to lingering symptoms after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Generally, people with mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 get better within 1–2 weeks, but severe cases can go on for months.

Costs of COVID-Related Hospitalization; Loneliness and Self-Harm – MedPageToday

This week’s topics include waning immunity to COVID after vaccination, costs of hospitalization for COVID, self-harm and loneliness, and treatment for respiratory syncytial virus.

Published Research

Pre-infection 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and association with severity of COVID-19 illness – PLoS

Duration of effectiveness of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease: results of a systematic review and meta-regression – The Lancet

Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories

Ivermectin Flops Again for COVID, This Time in High-Risk Adults – MedPageToday

Malaysian trial finds no difference in progression to severe disease over standard of care

Talk of ‘vaccine hesitancy’ lets governments off the hook – Nature

Go beyond the attitudes of individuals and focus more on what governments must do to build people’s trust and ensure easy access to vaccines for all.

Coping with COVID

In Memoriam: Paul Farmer – Harvard Medical School

Paul Edward Farmer, a pioneering Harvard Medical School global health physician and medical anthropologist who dedicated his life to improving and providing health care in some of the world’s most underserved countries and communities, died in his sleep from an acute cardiac event in Rwanda on Feb. 21. He was 62.