Featured Headlines
First week in nearly a year with no COVID death reported in Yellowstone County – Billings Gazette
For the first time since May 2021, Yellowstone County has had an entire week with no residents dying of COVID-19 illness. The pandemic death toll stands at 550 residents lost to the virus, the same number reported on March 28. Sixty-three of those deaths occurred in 2022.
New England sees uptick in COVID-19 cases – CIDRAP
States in New England are reporting a steep increase in daily COVID-19 cases as the Omicron subvariant, BA.2, takes dominance. Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey have seen COVID-19 cases jump more than 40% over the latest 14-day period, the New York Times reports.
26 million people in Shanghai are locked down due to a surge in COVID cases – Washington Post
There are no funeral ceremonies for some of the hundreds of elderly Hong Kong residents dying every day of covid. Their bodies are instead sealed in plastic bags and then quickly cremated, freeing up space at the morgue for more arrivals.
Omicron much more infectious in US preschoolers than Delta – CIDRAP
A new study in JAMA Pediatrics shows the Omicron variant has caused six to eight times the rate of Omicron infections in US preschoolers as the Delta variant, but cases were less severe with Omicron. The study looked at outcomes in US children ages 4 and younger—the last group eligible for vaccination in the country. Outcomes were emergency room visits, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mechanical ventilation use within 14 days of COVID-19 diagnosis.
A New Wave of Covid-19 Is Coming. Here’s How to Prepare. – NYT
The next wave of Covid-19 is coming, and in some parts of the United States, it’s already here. Are you ready? The culprit this time is BA.2, a subvariant of the highly infectious Omicron variant. Nobody knows for sure how much havoc it will cause, but BA.2 has already led to a surge of cases in Europe and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the United States and around the world.
COVID outbreak ‘extremely grim’ as Shanghai extends lockdown – ABC News
The COVID-19 outbreak in China’s largest metropolis of Shanghai remains “extremely grim” amid an ongoing lockdown confining around 26 million people to their homes, a city official said Tuesday.
What One Million COVID Dead Mean for the U.S.’s Future – Scientific American
The country is about to reach an unthinkably grim milestone. Nearly 200,000 children have lost parents, many more elderly have been killed, and family well-being has been ripped apart
Vaccine Headlines
Many say they’re confused about whether, when to get second booster – Washington Post
A blizzard of questions from bewildered patients, friends and even other doctors have inundated Maryland primary care doctor Kavita Patel in the last few days, since the Biden administration authorized a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine for millions of Americans 50 and older.
Clinical Considerations
What is ‘medium COVID’ and is it really a thing? Health experts aren’t convinced. – USA Today
After two years of living with COVID-19, health experts have learned the disease can come in many forms. People can experience mild COVID-19, asymptomatic COVID-19 or long COVID-19.
Nine new symptoms added to official list – BBC
Symptoms includes a further nine: shortness of breath, feeling tired or exhausted, aching body, headache, sore throat, blocked or runny nose, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, feeling sick or being sick.
Persistent Brain Fog After Mild COVID Infection Tied to CSF Markers – MedPageToday
People with persistent cognitive changes after mild COVID had elevated levels of immune activation and immunovascular markers in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 10 months after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, a small study showed.
Heart problems much more likely with COVID infection than vaccine – CIDRAP
Myocarditis or pericarditis are much more likely to follow infection with SARS-CoV2 compared with COVID-19 vaccinations, according to research published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Official Reporting for April 5, 2022
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update March 30, 2022 (latest release)
New Cases: 872,868
Confirmed Cases: 490,853,129
Deaths: 6,155,344
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 493,168,985
Deaths: 6,157,502
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 79,991,833 (+25,074 New Cases)
Total deaths: 978,108 (+572 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
What We Know About Omicron’s BA.2 Variant So Far – Scientific American
Does the new strain sweeping the globe mean COVID will become ever more contagious? On March 22 the World Health Organization announced that the Omicron subvariant BA.2 had become the dominant form of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, worldwide. BA.2 shares many genetic similarities with its close relative BA.1, which fueled a global resurgence in COVID infections in recent months. But BA.2 is between 30 percent and 50 percent more contagious than BA.1.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
Study explores long-lasting psychological implications of long COVID – Medical News
The persistence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) symptoms developed during or following acute COVID 2019 (COVID-19) that cannot be explained by alternative diagnoses is known as long COVID. Nearly 10% of SARS-CoV-2 patients are estimated to be affected by long COVID following 12 weeks of initial infection, with a large percentage of people experiencing symptoms for up to six months.
Published Research
Cardiac Complications After SARS-CoV-2 Infection and mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination — PCORnet, United States, January 2021–January 2022 – CDC
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
The Latest Covid Misinformation Star Says He Invented the Vaccines – NYT
Dr. Robert Malone says he helped invent mRNA vaccines and has been wronged for decades. Now he’s spreading unfounded claims about the vaccines and the virus.
Coping with COVID
