Featured Headlines
China Returns to Its Strict Covid Limits to Fight a New Outbreak – NYT
Foreign businesses worry that tough quarantines and restrictions could persist into next year as Beijing struggles with variants and questions about its vaccines.
Indonesia’s coronavirus spike has health experts worried the worst is yet to come – CNN
A jump in coronavirus cases on Indonesia’s two most populous islands has health experts worried the worst could be yet to come, with few curbs on movement at a time when dangerous variants drive record fatalities elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Delta coronavirus variant believed to have 60% transmission advantage – UK epidemiologist – Reuters
The Delta coronavirus variant of concern, first identified in India, is believed to be 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant which was previously dominant in Britain, a prominent UK epidemiologist said on Wednesday.
Early last year, New York Times science writer Donald G. McNeil Jr. reported on a controversial theory about the coronavirus that had begun to sweep around the planet — that it may have started in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, not as a random and naturally occurring pathogen.
What Covid-19’s long tail is revealing about disease – BBC
Many months after their initial infection, some Covid-19 patients are still suffering a baffling constellation of symptoms. More than a year since the pandemic began, scientists are starting to unravel what is causing long Covid and how they can treat it.
New study highlights potential role of diet – MedNewsToday
For some people, COVID-19 is a life threatening illness, while for others, it is little more than a short-term annoyance. To some extent, this is a function of an individual’s comorbidities. However, why SARS-CoV-2 manifests so differently in different people remains a mystery.
How COVID-19 variants evade immune response – NIH
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses a protein called the spike protein to recognize and enter host cells. Recent SARS-CoV-2 variants contain changes, or mutations, at a key site on the spike protein called the receptor-binding site (RBS).
Delta variant: NI reduces time between Covid-19 vaccine doses – BBC
Currently, there is a gap of about 10 to 12 weeks between the two doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech. This will now be reduced to a maximum of eight weeks, the Department of Health has confirmed.
Two guests onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise test COVID-19 positive – Reuters
Cruise operator Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) said on Thursday two guests onboard its Celebrity Millennium ship have tested positive for COVID-19, but are asymptomatic and currently in isolation.
Vaccine Headlines
U.S. is in discussions with Moderna on buying Covid vaccine doses for other nations – CNBC
The U.S. government is in negotiations with Moderna to potentially secure additional Covid-19 vaccine doses to supply to the world, according to a person familiar. The discussions may lead to a similar number of doses purchased as a deal revealed Wednesday with Pfizer, said the person, who declined to be named because the negotiations aren’t public.
AstraZenica Side Effects in Scotland – Nature
In Scotland, the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was associated with a modest increase in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, as well as arterial thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events.
New Evidence Suggests COVID-19 Vaccines Remain Effective Against Variants – NPR
The emergence of new and more infectious variants of the coronavirus has raised a troubling question: Will the current crop of COVID-19 vaccine prevent these variants from causing disease? Yes.
Should we vaccinate children against SARS-CoV-2? – The Lancet
Following sharing with regulatory bodies of phase 3 trial data showing that Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine was efficacious, immunogenic, and safe in children aged 12–15 years, several countries have authorised the use of the vaccine in this age group. Reactions to this news have been mixed. Although it is considered likely that children will have to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 eventually, there is the question of whether now is the right time. Many public health figures think not, considering that children typically experience only mild illness and many of the world’s low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) are reporting vaccine shortages. Countries with enough doses to cover their children might consider donating excess doses to countries that do not have enough vaccine to immunise the extremely vulnerable, older people, and front-line health workers.
FDA advisers debate standards on a coronavirus vaccine for young children – Washington Post
With coronavirus vaccines available to adolescents and adults, regulators are now turning their attention to younger children and the level of proof needed before authorizing shots for children as young as 6 months.
Clinical Considerations
Migraine Patients Report Higher COVID Incidence – MedPageToday
People with migraine had a higher incidence of COVID-19 and heightened COVID symptoms, a cross-sectional study suggested. They also were less likely to use healthcare resources if they tested positive for COVID, reported Robert Shapiro, MD, PhD, of the University of Vermont in Burlington, in a presentation at the American Headache Society virtual meeting.
Case Series Offers Solution for Post-COVID Vax Clotting?
Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) helped resolve the effects of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) in three patients following receipt of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, a case series in Canada found.
Brain Vein Clots Less Likely With Vaccine Than With Severe COVID – MedPageToday
Severe COVID-19 has led to a higher rate of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) than COVID-19 vaccination, a study affirmed. The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine had a CVST rate of 0.9 per million (99% CI 0.2-2.3 per million) as of April 13, 2021, when the CDC reported six cases out of 6.85 million vaccinated people.
Can COVID-19 lead to diabetes? Here’s what you need to know – National Geographic
During the spring of 2020, physicians in New York City, the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic at the time, noticed a considerable number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 had too much sugar in their blood, a condition called hyperglycemia that is a signature feature of diabetes.
Official Reporting for June 11, 2021
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update June 8, 2021
Confirmed Cases: 174,061,995
Deaths: 3,758,560
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 174,909,515
Deaths: 3,774,561
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 33,246,578 (+14,283 New Cases)
Total deaths: 596,059 (+398 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
Treating COVID-19: Are we overusing antimicrobials? – MedNewsToday
Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health concern that threatens the ability to deal with common infections. Optimizing the use of antimicrobial, or antibiotic, medicines plays a critical role in effectively treating infections and limiting antibiotic resistance. This optimization is known as antimicrobial stewardshipTrusted Source.
Waste water sequencing analysis picked up key mutations of SARS-CoV-2 – IndianExpress
A study in Pune’s open wast water drains from December 2020 to March 2021 has not only been able to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid, but also picked up key mutations circulating in the community. The study provides evidence on how waste water sequencing identified mutations, and shows variants in circulation before being observed through clinical data.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
How to Talk to People Again – NY Times
As we re-emerge from our homes, here’s some advice from people whose jobs require them to make friends with strangers every single day.
Published Research
First-dose ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccines and thrombocytopenic, thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events in Scotland – Nature
Immunogenicity of Ad26.COV2.S vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants in humans – Nature
Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in lung tissue after mild COVID-19 – The Lancet
Incidence of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Among US Persons Infected With SARS-CoV-2 – JAMA
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Hot New Conspiracy Theory: Vaccines Turn You Into a Magnet – The Inteligencer
On Tuesday, dozens of people packed into a Cleveland, Ohio, health committee meeting to review a bill in the legislature that would weaken the state’s vaccination laws. Then a physician and “expert witness” stepped forward with an awesome claim: The shots magnetize people, causing metal objects from pennies to forks to stick to their bodies.
Wow. An anti-vaccine nurse in Ohio tried to prove the Vaccines Cause Magnetism theory in an state legislative committee. The demonstration did not go to plan pic.twitter.com/0ubELst4E8
— Tyler Buchanan (@Tylerjoelb) June 9, 2021
Coping in 2020 (and probably most of 2021)
