12/30/2020
First case of highly infectious coronavirus variant detected in Colorado
The variant has a higher attack rate, according to the UK report, which bolsters the hypothesis that the variant has outcompeted other versions of the coronavirus and is now the dominant variant across much of the United Kingdom.
AND AN EVEN BETTER PEDI ARTICLE THAN YESTERDAY’S FROM S. KOREA WHERE THE GOV. TESTS WHO AND WHAT THEY WANT — AND DO IT VERY WELL.
“Data from multiple affected countries have corroborated that children are clearly susceptible to infection and may develop severe primary and unique secondary inflammatory complications of infection,… However, the vast majority of infected children have mild or unrecognized disease, and this population may play important epidemiologic roles by potentiating spread of infection through communities and/or boosting herd immunity. …In this study, the authors estimate that 85 infected children (93%) would have been missed using a testing strategy focused on testing of symptomatic patients alone. A surveillance strategy that tests only symptomatic children will fail to identify children who are silently shedding virus while moving about their community and schools. In regions where use of face masks is not widely accepted or used by the general public, asymptomatic carriers may serve as an important reservoir that may facilitate silent spread through a community.
The second important take-home point from this study is that the duration of symptoms in symptomatic infected pediatric patients varies widely. The median (range) duration of symptoms for the full cohort was 11 (1-36) days.13 However, the group of children who were presymptomatic at the time of laboratory diagnosis had the shortest median (range) duration of symptoms (3.5 [1-21] days), which was significantly shorter than the median (range) duration of symptoms in children who had symptoms develop concomitant with diagnosis (6.5 [1-12] days) and those who were symptomatic preceding their diagnosis (13 [3-36] days). Although the majority of symptomatic children (41 of 71)….had upper respiratory tract disease, there was no difference in the duration of symptoms between those with upper vs mild or moderate lower respiratory tract infection. This suggests that even mild and moderately affected children remain symptomatic for long periods of time.
“The third and most important take-home point from this study relates to the duration of viral shedding in infected pediatric patients. Virus was detectable for a mean (SD) of 17.6 (6.7) days overall and was detectable for a prolonged period of time in all cohorts of children, whether symptoms were present or not.13 Asymptomatic children had detectable virus for a mean (SD) of 14.1 (7.7) days after their initial positive test result, and 4 asymptomatic children (20%) continued to have detectable virus 21 days after initial detection. The authors appropriately note that the duration of viral shedding in asymptomatic patients could have been even longer because the date of initial infection cannot be known with clarity….. Fully half of symptomatic children with both upper and lower tract disease were still shedding virus at 21 days. These are striking data, particularly since 86 of 88 diagnosed children (98%) either had no symptoms or mild or moderate disease.
“… Multiple studies have now demonstrated that virus is detectable from additional body fluids, including stool, for prolonged periods.”
Current Recomendations for Covid treatment.
DON’T USE
NOT AVAILABLE IN US
BECKERS HOSP REVIEW
1. ‘More than 2 million Americans have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,… Over the next week, another 7.7 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 8 million doses of Moderna’s are set to be distributed in the U.S., according to the CDC. This supply is enough to vaccinate about three-fourths of healthcare workers and nursing home residents and staff…”
2. Following holiday travel, the pandemic will likely worsen in January, Anthony Fauci …the U.S. is experiencing a surge that has gotten “out of control,” Dr. Fauci said, adding that those who traveled for the holidays should try not to gather with large groups.
3. Novavax has started a phase 3 clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the U.S., the drugmaker said Dec. 28. Novavax is the fifth drugmaker to enter phase 3 trials in the U.S. Its vaccine uses more traditional technology than Pfizer’s and Moderna’s, and doesn’t require ultra-cold storage, reports The Hill.
A backward poet writes inverse.
If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you’d be in Seine
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