Tulane Outbreak – September 10, 2021

Featured Headlines

Fauci: ‘Dramatic Data’ From Israel Support COVID-19 Boosters – MedPageToday

Researchers have found that, even with the country’s very high vaccination rate, “we see new PCR-positive infections and new severe COVID cases in fully vaccinated people during the Delta wave in Israel from June 1 up to August 1. So clearly, Delta is dominant, and is responsible for new cases, including severe disease,” said Fauci, who is also director of the NIAID.

US data show child COVID-19 cases rising exponentially – CIDRAP

For the first time during the pandemic, children now account for more than one quarter of new weekly US COVID-19 cases, according to the latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

When Was the First U.S. Covid Death? C.D.C. Investigates 4 Early Cases – NYT

The deaths, spread out across four states in January 2020, have become part of a scattershot collection of clues about the virus’s early spread.

Coronavirus Case At D.C. Middle School Forces Entire Sixth Grade Into Quarantine – NPR

The 129 students at John Hayden Johnson Middle School in Southeast are learning from home after contact tracers determined the students were in close contact with a person who tested positive, according to a statement from D.C. Public Schools, which educates about 50,000 students.

Stillbirths have doubled during covid in Mississippi. Officials are sounding the alarm. – Washington Post

Mississippi has recorded 72 fetal deaths in unvaccinated pregnant women infected with the coronavirus, state health officials announced Wednesday, sounding the alarm on the virus’s danger in pregnancy.

German Covid super-spreader event driven by poor ventilation, study finds – Guardian

Low-grade ventilation system at indoor carnival in Gangelt leading factor in outbreak among partygoers

France bans unvaccinated American travelers – CNN

France has become the latest European country — and the most significant tourism destination — to remove the United States from its safe travel list, following EU recommendations in the wake of a US Covid spike.

Singapore Shifts Covid Focus to Hospitalizations as Cases Set Daily Record – Bloomberg

Singapore is shifting the focus of its daily reports to turn attention to its medical capacity alongside the country’s plans to live with the virus, amid an increase of its daily count of Covid cases in the local community to the highest it’s ever been.

At Least 13 Miami-Dade School Workers Have Died Of COVID-19 In Less Than A Month – NPR

At least 13 employees of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools have died from complications of COVID-19 since Aug. 16, according to district officials. Those who died include teachers, school bus drivers, a security worker and a cafeteria manager.

Least Vaccinated States Lead Spike in Children’s Cases, Leaving Some Hospitals Stretched – New York Times

Pediatric hospitalizations, driven by a record rise in coronavirus infections among children, have swelled across the country, overwhelming children’s hospitals and intensive care units in states like Louisiana and Texas.

COVID Continues to Shrink in Israel, Serious Cases in Decline – Haaretz

The R number, representing the average number of people a COVID patient will go on to infect, dropped to 0.8

Thailand’s Tourist Gateway Lines Up Booster Shots for Residents – Bloomberg

Residents on the Thai resort island of Phuket will get a third dose of vaccine to shield them from a resurgence in Covid-19 outbreak ahead of an expected rush in vaccinated tourists in the fourth quarter.

COVID Long Haulers are Fighting for their Future – The Atlantic

Many people with long COVID feel that science is failing them. Neglecting them could make the pandemic even worse.

Are We Wearing the Wrong Masks? – MedPageToday

The results of a cluster RCT of surgical and cloth masking conducted in Bangladesh are now available as a preprint (not yet peer reviewed), and have made a huge splash. Here are my thoughts on what the authors found, and more importantly, what it means for us going forward. Related Study

Vaccine Headlines

Los Angeles Is Now The Largest School District To Require Vaccines For Students – NPR

Los Angeles Unified School District — the second largest in the country — has approved a measure mandating that students 12 and over must be vaccinated for COVID-19 if they want to attend in-person classes.

We’re Asking the Impossible of Vaccines – The Atlantic

Complete protection against infection has long been hailed as the holy grail of vaccination. It might simply be unachievable.

Top 11 Best Selling COVID-19 Vaccines – Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

The debate over whether and how broadly to approve additional “booster” doses of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to play out this month. This much is certain: The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will discuss whether to recommend booster doses for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (COMIRNATY®, BNT162b2) meets on September 17.

‘Vaccinate the children’: Fauci outlines the case for offering Covid shots to young people – MSNBC

In a speech to a U.K. audience, the U.S.′ top infectious disease expert discussed the significance of long Covid, the benefits of a move to a three-dose vaccination drive and why he believes it is important to vaccinate children.

Clinical Considerations

Babies, The Delta Variant And COVID: What Parents Need To Know – NPR

If you have a baby at home or are expecting one in the next few months, you might be on edge for all sorts of reasons, but particularly because of COVID-19. The delta variant of the coronavirus has turned nearly every community in the country into a bright red hot spot of viral infection. Babies can’t get vaccinated against COVID-19 yet — and the youngest age included in current vaccine clinical studies is 6 months old.

COVID-19 vaccines don’t raise miscarriage risk, 3 studies show – CIDRAP

Pregnant women who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine were not at higher risk for miscarriage than their unvaccinated counterparts, according to a trio of new US studies.

Official Reporting for September 10, 2021

World Health Organization

Weekly Epi Update September 6, 2021 (latest release)

New Cases: 569,073

Confirmed Cases: 222,406,582

Deaths: 4,592,934

Johns Hopkins

Confirmed Cases: 223,369,412
Deaths: 4,608,983

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Total cases: 40,523,954 (+163,164 New Cases)
Total deaths: 652,480 (+1,647 New Deaths)

Science and Tech

 

Psychological and Sociological Impact

We Need to Understand the Difference Between Isolation and Loneliness – NYT

How many close friends and relatives do you have with whom you feel at ease and can discuss private matters? How many of them do you see at least once a month? Do you participate in any groups? These are among the questions on a survey called the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index, which physicians use to determine whether someone is “socially isolated.” People are considered isolated if they have fewer than six confidants, no spouse and no group affiliations. Those conditions make them less likely to report that they have someone they can count on to listen if they need to talk, give advice about a problem or show them love and affection.

Published Research

Hospitalisation among vaccine breakthrough COVID-19 infections – The Lancet

Estimates of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Among Nursing Home Residents Not Reported in Federal Data – JAMA

Spontaneous Abortion Following COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy – JAMA

Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories

An Anti-Vaccine Book Tops Amazon’s COVID Search Results – NPR

Amazon is under pressure from Democrats in Congress over how its algorithms promote hoax COVID-19 cures, including the livestock dewormer ivermectin, as well as anti-vaccination claims and other medical misinformation.

Coping with COVID

What the internet brings us today for vaccination memes

Colorado nurse transforms Covid vaccine vials into chandelier