Featured Headlines
Idaho allows overwhelmed hospitals across the state to ration care if necessary – NYT
With its hospitals struggling to cope with a flood of patients, Idaho officials activated “crisis standards of care” across the state on Thursday, allowing overwhelmed facilities to ration treatment if needed.
Covid-19 Study in England Shows Few Deaths Among Vaccinated People – WSJ
Survey finds 640 coronavirus deaths in the first half of 2021 among people who had received two shots and more than 50,000 among those who hadn’t
CDC Advisers Set Meeting for Next Week on Covid Booster Shots – Bloomberg
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices posted notice of the meeting, which will be held Sept. 22-23, on its website on Wednesday. The panel of outside experts advises the CDC on how best to administer new vaccines.
Sorry, a Coronavirus Infection Might Not Be Enough to Protect You – The Atlantic
Anyone who’d rather have COVID-19 than get vaccinated is taking two gambles: that immunity will stick around, and that symptoms won’t.
Throughout the pandemic, fears about the coronavirus have driven many people to skip doctors’ appointments and avoid hospitals. Now, with the highly contagious delta variant surging across the United States, those worries may be resurfacing. But doctors say that risk can be managed with vaccinations and other safety measures, and there are potentially greater consequences to delaying medical care.
North and Central America are driving a surge in Covid cases – NYT
North and Central America are leading a surge of new coronavirus cases at a time when many other parts of the world have managed to slow the spread of the virus. In the Western Hemisphere, new reported cases have risen by 20 percent in the past week. The increase has been driven by North America, where new cases are up by one-third.
More than 400 coronavirus infections linked to pre-K-12 schools in Minnesota – Star Tribune
More than 400 coronavirus infections were reported in the week ending Sept. 4 among pre-K-12 students and workers who were likely infectious while inside school buildings.
Overwhelmed With COVID Patients, Oregon Hospitals Postpone Surgeries And Cancer Care – NPR
It’s a bad time to get sick in Oregon. That’s what many doctors are telling their patients and the public as hospitals full of COVID-19 patients have been forced to postpone some treatments of other medical conditions.
Massive Study of Long COVID Launched – Infection Control Today
The National Institutes of Health yesterday unveiled a $470 million study that it hopes will mine data from 30,000–40,000 people who suffer from long COVID. Right now, there are more questions than answers.
Covid Cover Up? Court Rules on Austrian Pandemic Party Town – Bloomberg
A massive Covid-19 outbreak at the hard-partying ski resort of Ischgl was covered up and then downplayed by Austrian officials to save last year’s lucrative spring season, a Vienna court was told on Friday.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis and politicians in Texas say research does not support mask mandates. Many studies show they are wrong
Vaccine Headlines
By The Numbers: Who’s Refusing Covid Vaccinations—And Why – Forbes
ver 100,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid-19, and over 1,000 people are dying every day. These are people from all walks of life – rich and poor, white collar and blue collar, old and young. But according to an estimate from the Kaiser Family Foundation, over 98% of them have one thing in common: despite the ready availability of Covid vaccines, they chose not to get them.
Booster Debate Comes Down to Pivotal Meeting of FDA Advisers – Bloomberg
The meeting is taking place as an extraordinary public debate plays out among administration officials, pharmaceutical executives, scientists, public health experts and global activists about whether boosters are even needed, and whether those doses would do more good being sent to poorer nations whose residents haven’t received even a single shot.
Pfizer Makes Its Case for COVID Booster Shots – MedPageToday
Data from an ongoing clinical trial showed that a booster dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty) produced an immune response and no increased risk of severe adverse events, FDA staff said in briefing documents released Wednesday. (Related FDA Document)
Countries making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory – Reuters
A sharp upturn in infections due to the Delta variant and a slowdown in vaccinations have pushed governments to make COVID-19 shots mandatory for health workers, other high-risk groups or dining out.
Booster Dose Slashes Rates of Covid Infection in Israeli Study – Bloomberg
A third dose of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid vaccine can dramatically reduce rates of Covid-related illness in people 60 and older, according to data from a short-term study in Israel.
Clinical Considerations
Covid likely led to a rare disorder that left 8-year-old girl paralyzed – NBC News
A Minnesota woman whose daughter has been hospitalized since March is urging people to get vaccinated and wear masks as the delta variant spreads and children return to the classroom.
Why the Delta Variant Is Giving More Children Covid – Bloomberg
More States Seeing Uptick of Pregnant COVID Patients in ICUs – MedPageToday
A report from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in August revealed that there had been a sharp increase in the number of pregnant patients who were being hospitalized with COVID-19. Nearly a month later, physicians from other states have started to voice similar concerns about the growing number of unvaccinated pregnant patients who have been admitted to ICUs with severe infection.
How Common Is Long COVID? – MedPageToday
Self-reported symptoms of the disease persisted for 1 to 2 months after initial diagnosis in up to 13% of patients; 4.5% experienced symptoms beyond 2 months, and 2.6% for 3 months or longer, according to mobile app data from U.K., U.S., and Swedish populations.
Official Reporting for September 17, 2021
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update September 14, 2021 (latest release)
New Cases: 527,831
Confirmed Cases: 226,236,577
Deaths: 4,654,548
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 227,138,937
Deaths: 4,671,945
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 41,593,179 (+155,882 New Cases)
Total deaths: 666,440 (+1,942 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
The engines of SARS-CoV-2 spread – Science
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly across the globe, causing epidemics that range from quickly controlled local outbreaks (such as New Zealand) to large ongoing epidemics infecting millions (such as the United States). A tremendous volume of scientific literature has followed, as has vigorous debate about poorly understood facets of the disease, including the relative importance of various routes of transmission, the roles of asymptomatic and presymptomatic infections, and the susceptibility and transmissibility of specific age groups. This discussion may create the impression that our understanding of transmission is frequently overturned. Although our knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is constantly deepening in important ways, the fundamental engines that drive the pandemic are well established and provide a framework for interpreting this new information.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
‘Just Get Me a Box’: Inside the Brutal Realities of Supply Chain Hell – Bloomberg
Logistics managers are battling the pandemic, a labor shortage, and huge demand to get goods to your front door.
Steep BMI Increase for Kids, Teens During the Pandemic – MedPageToday
Kids and teens’ rate of body mass index (BMI) increase almost doubled during the pandemic compared with prior years, and the percentage with obesity also increased, researchers found.
NYC hostess attacked after asking diners for proof of vaccination – NBC News
Three people were arrested for allegedly assaulting a New York City restaurant hostess on Thursday after she asked a group of diners visiting from Texas to show proof they had been vaccinated before seating them.
Published Research
Postacute Sequelae of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection: A State-of-the-Art Review – JACC
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
So, this happened this week…
The White House offers a call to Nicki Minaj to discuss vaccine safety – NYT
Because this happened…
But wait, there’s more…
After her husband was infected with the coronavirus and entered an intensive care unit this month, Angela Underwood pushed for the Louisville hospital that was treating him to administer ivermectin to her husband — the deworming drug some people have used to try to treat or prevent covid-19 in recent months.
Coping with COVID
