- Undercounted Covid-19 cases leave US with a blind spot as BA.5 variant becomes dominant
- Baby formula production resumes at Abbott's Michigan plant
- WHO to reconsider if monkeypox outbreak is public health emergency of international concern
- Contraception demand up after Roe reversal, doctors say
|
| |
Undercounted Covid-19 cases leave US with a blind spot as BA.5 variant becomes dominant |
Official Covid-19 case metrics severely undercount the true number of infections, leaving the United States with a critical blind spot as the most transmissible coronavirus variant yet takes hold. The Omicron offshoot BA.5 recently became the dominant variant in the US, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the subvariant carries key mutations that help it escape antibodies generated by vaccines and prior infection, aiding its rapid spread. With that will come "escalating numbers of cases and more hospitalizations," Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, said on CNNi Monday. "One good thing is it doesn't appear to be accompanied by the ICU admissions and the deaths as previous variants, but this is definitely concerning." But to look at official case counts, it's hard to tell. The share of cases that are officially reported is at an "all-time low," said Dr. Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and chief science officer at telehealth company eMed. "There's no doubt about that." Covid-19 cases have been undercounted to some degree throughout the pandemic for reasons including a lack of available tests at some points and asymptomatic cases that may have been missed. But as people increasingly rely on rapid at-home tests -- and as attitudes toward the pandemic shift overall -- the US hasn't landed on a reliable way to track transmission levels. Now that BA.5 is here, "we know that there is going to be a wave in the fall -- there's almost no doubt about that -- if not before. So you just have to be really cognitive that that is what might happen," Mina said. There's no evidence that BA.5 causes more severe disease, but studies have shown BA.5 can evade antibodies from vaccination or previous infection -- even from another Omicron subvariant. Vaccines are still expected to provide protection against severe disease, and for fall, vaccine makers are developing updated booster shots that incorporate Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains. There are treatments available, such the antiviral pill Paxlovid, that sharply reduce risk of death or severe disease. And high-quality masks, ventilation, physical distancing, and quarantine and isolation can still help reduce spread from any variant, including BA.5. But currently, more than 5,000 people are being admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 each day, CDC data shows, and more than 300 are dying each day, according to Johns Hopkins University data. For now, the US is in a "sustained management phase," with continued efforts to keep things under control compared with "what was much more of a reactive, emergent -- and emerging -- approach of the past," said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. But the federal government recently reallocated resources away from testing because Congress did not approve additional Covid funds, a move that Mina says will leave the US "pretty blind as we move into the fall." |
|
|
Sponsor Content by InsideTracker |
|
|
Baby formula production resumes at Abbott's Michigan plant |
The Abbott formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan, resumed production of EleCare formula on July 1 after a three-week shutdown caused by flooding from severe storms, a company spokesperson said on Saturday. A previous months-long closure of the plant had helped to drive a nationwide baby formula shortage. At the time of the latest closure, Abbott said it had stopped production of EleCare in order to "assess damage caused by the storm and clean and re-sanitize the plant." The US Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the "agency expects the measures and steps it is taking, and the resumption of production at the Abbott Nutrition's Sturgis, Mich., facility, will mean more and more supply is on the way or on store shelves moving forward." Abbott had said it would restart EleCare production, followed by specialty and metabolic formulas, after it reopened. The plant had previously been shut down for months after an FDA inspection that found Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, which can be deadly to infants, in several areas. Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered infant formulas made at the plant were recalled, and the closure exacerbated shortages caused by supply chain disruptions. Families across the United States have struggled for months to find formula for infants and for people with specific nutrition needs. Production had been underway for less than two weeks before the closure from the storm. |
|
|
WHO to reconsider if monkeypox outbreak is public health emergency of international concern |
As monkeypox cases continue to rise globally, the World Health Organization plans to reassess whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. In late June, WHO's Emergency Committee determined that the outbreak did not meet the criteria for such a declaration. But as the virus continues to spread, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wants the committee to take up the issue again, based on the latest data around the epidemiology and evolution of the outbreak. Tedros said on Tuesday he will convene the committee during the week of July 18. WHO defines a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, as "an extraordinary event" that constitutes a "public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease" and that may "potentially require a coordinated international response." "On monkeypox, there are now 9,200 cases in 63 countries," Tedros said Tuesday. "The emergency committee for monkeypox will reconvene next week and look at trends, how effective the countermeasures are and make recommendations for what countries and communities should do to tackle the outbreak." About 41,500 courses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine have been distributed to states and other jurisdictions across the United States, according to data published last week by the US Department of Health and Human Services. A course of Jynneos involves two doses four weeks apart. Efforts are also underway to ramp up testing for the virus in the US. The commercial laboratory company Labcorp began monkeypox testing last week at its largest facility in the United States, doubling the nation's capacity to test for the virus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And CDC announced on Monday that Mayo Clinic Laboratories can now test for monkeypox in specimens from all over the country. Mayo Clinic Laboratories expects to be able to do up to 10,000 tests per week. |
|
|
Contraception demand up after Roe reversal, doctors say |
Doctors and prescribers are now seeing an increase in demand for different forms of contraception, including emergency contraception and longer-lasting forms of birth control. Since the US Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and overturned Roe v. Wade, reproductive health care has needed to operate in a new landscape. Some national pharmacy chains imposed limits on purchases of emergency contraception, even temporarily. Nurx, an online pharmaceutical company that prescribes birth control along with other medications, saw increases in demand for emergency contraception after the leak of the Dobbs opinion in May as well as after the decision came down in June. "When that decision was leaked, we saw a massive demand for emergency contraception. We saw a 300% increase in prescriptions being asked for and by our patients," said Kelly Gardiner, vice president of communications with Thirty Madison, Nurx's parent company. The company then saw a "huge surge" in demand after the decision was final. "We saw a 10 [times] surge for prescription-only Ella, and even though demand has leveled out right now, what we're starting to see is birth control requests are [three to four] times higher than usual," Gardiner said. Ella is an emergency contraceptive pill that can be taken up to five days after sex. Emergency contraceptives work by delaying ovulation or preventing implantation and cannot terminate a pregnancy. More people were also buying multiple forms of birth control. According to Gardiner, before the decision was released, about 30% of Nurx customers who had traditional birth control prescriptions would add Ella to their order. After the decision, that number rose to 60%. For health care providers, the Supreme Court decision has brought more questions and concerns from patients. "I am definitely seeing people who are saying, you know, 'My IUD expires in a year. Should I get a new one? That way if I can't access it, I've got coverage for another five years,' " said Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, a board-certified OB-GYN in Portland, Oregon, and a fellow with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Some of the demand might be driven by concerns that certain types of birth control won't be available. "People are confused," Lincoln said. "They hear that they can no longer have abortions or be able to control their reproductive future, and they're wondering if things like IUDs [intrauterine devices] are going to be next, if emergency contraception might be next, if their birth control might be next." |
|
|
| Abortion reversal raises fear among LGBTQ families that other rights will be rolled back. Here's how they can protect themselves. |
|
|
It was just in May that the country was dealing with Omicron subvariant BA.2, and BA.2.12.1 was quickly gaining traction. Today, the Omicron offshoot BA.5 is the dominant variant in the United States. The latest update shows it accounts for two-thirds of Covid-19 cases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As I've shared before, this is our new normal. We all have to accept what expert after expert has said – that Covid-19 is not going away. We're all going to be living with this virus for a long time. There's now evidence that Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 appear to escape antibody responses among people who had previous Covid-19 infection and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted. So, what's next? That can be determined by all of us. The same safety measures that protected from earlier variants still work – masks, ventilation, staying outside and keeping away from others if you're sick. While most people will not experience severe illness, there is emerging evidence that repeatedly catching Covid-19 increases the chances that a person will face new and sometimes lasting health problems after their infection. Get vaccinated and get boosted. If you are eligible and haven't received a shot in 2022, you should get one, particularly if you are over the age of 50. Since late March, second boosters have been available for adults 50 and older and people with weakened immune systems. Now, US health officials are working on a plan to allow a second Covid-19 booster for all adults. The current Covid-19 vaccine is still expected to provide substantial protection against severe disease, and we will probably see an updated vaccine in the fall that might have a stronger immune response against the variants. According to the CDC, as of last week, about half of Americans 18 and up who are eligible for the first booster have gotten it, and just over a quarter of eligible adults 50 and over have received their second booster. A reminder for all of us: We have the tools to survive, but it's up to each of us to decide if and how to use them. |
|
|
| We're always waiting for something, whether it's in line for your morning coffee, on hold with customer service, or waiting for life-changing medical results. So how can we get better at waiting and make it feel less excruciating... maybe even fun? |
|
|
CNN Health's The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows up in your inbox every Tuesday.
Want to easily manage your newsletter subscriptions? Create your account. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let us know.
Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign yourself up! |
|
|
|
Comments
Post a Comment