Featured Headlines
Maternal Deaths Rose During the First Year of the Pandemic – NYT
Deaths during pregnancy and the first six weeks after childbirth increased, especially for Black and Hispanic women, according to a new report.
Entering A Cautiously Relaxed Phase Of The Pandemic – NPR
As winter begins to fade, COVID-19 maps are changing colors from those ominous dark shades to a more hopeful outlook. Infections are down dramatically in the past few weeks and death and hospitalization rates are dropping too. But there’s also reason for caution.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not an on-off switch – Science News
During the winter surge of COVID-19, it felt like the coronavirus was everywhere. Colder weather pushed people inside where the virus can linger in the air, and the surge-dominating omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had the troublesome ability to dodge some immune responses (SN: 5/18/21). That meant that both vaccinated or previously infected people were more susceptible to getting infected than they were with previous coronavirus variants. Perhaps that shouldn’t have been a surprise given the vaccines’ primary goal is to prevent severe disease and death (not to prevent infection at all, what’s called sterilizing immunity). Still, omicron caught everyone off guard.
Watch How COVID-19 Climbed to Being a Top U.S. Killer – MedPageToday
Month over month, heart disease and cancer have been the leading causes of death in the U.S. for years, but the pandemic introduced a major disruption to this trend. After the first U.S. deaths were reported in early 2020, COVID quickly climbed to become the third leading cause of death, before surpassing cancer to take the second spot in early spring. Toward the end of 2020, COVID-19 briefly replaced heart disease as the leading cause of death. For the year overall, COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death.
When Chan, a Hong Kong construction worker, tested positive for the coronavirus, he had nowhere to go. The 38-year-old shared a cramped apartment with seven others, including a toddler and his aging father. So he moved into the stairwell.
Over 5 Million Kids Have Been Orphaned From COVID-19, Estimates Show – MedPageToday
Globally, approximately 3.5 million children have lost a primary caregiver, while an additional 1.65 million have lost a secondary caregiver such as a grandparent, reported Susan Hillis, PhD, of the CDC COVID-19 International Task Force, and colleagues.
CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday – AP
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics it uses to determine whether to recommend face coverings, shifting from looking at COVID-19 case counts to a more holistic view of risk from the coronavirus to a community. Under current guidelines, masks are recommended for people residing in communities of substantial or high transmission — roughly 95% of U.S. counties, according to the latest data.
Vaccine Headlines
CDC Advising Some To Wait 8 Weeks Between Doses Of MRNA Vaccines – Kaiser Family Foundation
In an update to its guidance, the CDC now recommends that some space out their initial two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer covid shots. The latest research shows that the longer interval can boost protection levels and lower the risk of rare side effects. People with weakened immune systems and those 65 and older should stick with the original, shorter schedule.
Coronavirus vaccine protection was much weaker against omicron, data shows – Washington Post
While coronavirus shots still provided protection during the omicron wave, the shield of coverage they offered was weaker than during other surges, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The change resulted in much higher rates of infection, hospitalization and death for fully vaccinated adults and even for people who had received boosters.
We Might Not Need Annual COVID Shots – The Atlantic
The vaccines will need an update at some point. But not every variant of concern will warrant one. Last June, as the Delta variant sat poised to take the globe by storm, Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bourla, promised the world speed. Should an ultra-mutated version of SARS-CoV-2 sprout, he said, his company could have a variant-specific shot ready for rollout in about 100 days—a pledge he echoed in November when Omicron reared its head.
Why Lengthen mRNA Vaccine Dosing Interval? CDC Staff Explain – MedPageToday
Extended dosing intervals for Pfizer or Moderna vaccines may be considered for certain individuals ages 12 to 64 years, not only to lower the risk of vaccine-associated myocarditis, but to potentially improve vaccine effectiveness, CDC staff said on Thursday.
Clinical Considerations
In a recent study posted to Research Square*, researchers investigated whether residual severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigens and ribonucleic acid (RNA) are present in tissues samples of long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (LC) patients beyond the convalescent phase of COVID-19.
Therapeutic Management of Hospitalized Adults With COVID-19 – NIH
Two main processes are thought to drive the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Early in the clinical course, the disease is primarily driven by the replication of SARS-CoV-2. Subsequently, the disease appears to be also driven by a dysregulated immune/inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 that leads to tissue damage and thrombosis. Based on this understanding, therapies that directly target SARS-CoV-2 are anticipated to have the greatest effect early in the course of the disease, whereas immunosuppressive/anti-inflammatory/antithrombotic therapies are likely to be more beneficial after COVID-19 has progressed to stages characterized by hypoxemia.
As long COVID cases grow, clues emerge about who is most at risk – National Geographic
Tens of millions of people now have an array of lingering symptoms. Figuring out their common risk factors could help tailor treatments. Eliana Uku wasn’t too worried when she got sick from COVID-19 in March 2020. She was 26 and healthy, she exercised most days, and at first her symptoms were mild. Even with a low fever, cough, fatigue, and mild headache, she kept working in her job as a corporate strategist in New York City. Three weeks after her first symptoms appeared she felt well enough to resume running.
Official Reporting for February 22, 2022
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update Feb 22 (latest release)
New Cases: 1,693,437
Confirmed Cases: 430,257,564
Deaths: 5,922,049
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 432,127,008
Deaths: 5,932,306
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 78,595,529 (+77,458 New Cases)
Total deaths: 939,654 (+2,800 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
SARS-CoV-2 Induces Cytokine Responses in Human Basophils – Frontiers in Immunology
Basophils play a key role in the orientation of immune responses. Though the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with various immune cells has been relatively well studied, the response of basophils to this pandemic virus is not characterized yet. In this study, we report that SARS-CoV-2 induces cytokine responses and in particular IL-13, in both resting and IL-3 primed basophils. The response was prominent under IL-3 primed condition. However, either SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-CoV-2-infected epithelial cells did not alter the expression of surface markers associated with the activation of basophils, such as CD69, CD13 and/or degranulation marker CD107a. We also validate that human basophils are not permissive to SARS-CoV-2 replication. Though increased expression of immune checkpoint molecule PD-L1 has been reported on the basophils from COVID-19 patients, we observed that SARS-CoV-2 does not induce PD-L1 on the basophils. Our data suggest that basophil cytokine responses to SARS-CoV-2 might help in reducing the inflammation and also to promote antibody responses to the virus.
Geographic and Temporal Mapping of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the United States – Labcorp
Psychological and Sociological Impact
Are we ready for COVID-19 as a central theme in literature? – NPR
Nearly two years after the start of COVID-19 social-distancing protocols and lockdowns, the pandemic is still a thing we think about — and live with — daily. Its constant presence and the way it has changed our world has had an impact on everything, including literature.
COVID-19 survivors: Increased risk of mental health issues – MedNewsToday
The study finds that people who have survived COVID-19 are at increased risk of mental health issues in the first year after the illness. The study’s senior investigator is Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development service at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System and a clinical epidemiologist and assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis. In an opinion pieceTrusted Source published alongside the research, he says:
Published Research
Variation in the COVID-19 infection–fatality ratio by age, time, and geography during the pre-vaccine era: a systematic analysis – The Lancet
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence showing that COVID-19 vaccines are a safe and effective means to prevent severe cases of a disease that has killed nearly one million people in the U.S., there has been a proliferation of false and misleading claims trying to undermine the public’s confidence in their safety and uptake.
Coping with COVID
