J&J VACCINE AVAILABLE LOCALLY
We have appointments available to get the J&J COVID 19 vaccine in our office on Monday, March 29th. Sign up through our website https://mhchd.org/. Anyone 18 years old and older is now eligible to get the vaccine.
Jennifer Hancock, RN, BSN
Executive Director – Marshall-Harrison County Health District
FROM THE NYTIMES SAT:
| States are racing to vaccinate as many people as possible as the coronavirus infection curve continues its plateau for a third week. |
| At least 34 states are giving all adults vaccine access by mid-April, and at least 14 more have announced plans to expand eligibility on or before May 1, a goal set by President Biden. Track your state here. Above, a vaccine clinic in Coraopolis, Pa. |
| The expansion comes at a critical juncture. The U.S. is logging more than 54,000 new cases per day, a level that health experts warn could rapidly escalate into a new wave. |
| As U.S. manufacturers hit their stride, vaccine scarcity will soon turn to glut. And then there’s the battle against disinformation: Far-right extremist groups have shifted their focus from “stop the steal” to bashing the safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines.******** |
READ THIS AND WEEP Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm on what the UK variant means for the pandemic’s 3rd act
J. Harris: Unfortunately, the events predicted in this piece are likely to come true. Very readable and extremely important. You may be vaccinated, but most folks are not.
Don’t quit being careful yet.
(J. Harris: Fabulous article worth keeping if you have Long Haul problems. Fairly readable for civilians.)
How the US Failed to Prioritize SARS-CoV-2 Variant Surveillance
“Despite leading the world in infections, the nation ranked 43rd globally for its percentage of cases sequenced. At the time, the US had sequenced about 50 000 of its more than 18 million cases—just 0.3%. Britain, another high-income nation with a large outbreak, had sequenced almost 160 000 samples, 7.4% of its 2.1 million cases…there’s no consensus on what number of sequences is ideal. Modeling by genomic sequencing company Illumina Inc, suggests that 5% of tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 must be sequenced to detect a new variant early on, before it causes more than 1% of cases. Some US experts are arguing for more volume—even up to 30% of cases.”
(J. Harris: Readable article, and we are making progress.)
From Hopkins Edits:
1. UNITED STATES: The US CDC reported 29.8 million cumulative cases and 542,584 deaths. Daily incidence has increased slightly over the past 5 days, up from 53,501 new cases per day to 57,249 (+7%). It is too early to determine if this is the beginning of a longer-term trend, but this is the highest daily incidence since March 7. Daily mortality continues to level off, hovering at slightly more than 1,000 deaths per day for more than a week.
2. MORE ON DOGS AND CATS:
The B.1.1.7 variant has been identified for the first time in household pets. In a preprint study published in bioRxiv, veterinarians from a specialty veterinary clinic located in the southeast of England describe the first cases of B.1.1.7 infection among 8 cats and 3 dogs, all of which required veterinary visits due to new-onset symptoms, including lethargy, loss of appetite, rapid breathing, and severe cardiac abnormalities. All of the owners had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 prior to their pets developing symptoms. In another report, researchers from Texas A&M University, as part of an ongoing research project funded by the US CDC, describe a cat and dog from the same household infected with the B.1.1.7 variant but showing no symptoms at the time of initial testing. Their owner was diagnosed with the B.1.1.7 variant only two days prior to the pets’ tests. The report notes both pets later developed symptoms, including sneezing, that resolved after one month. The researchers say these cases raise questions regarding the risk companion animals may play in the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly given the enhanced infectivity and transmissibility of the B.1.1.7 variant, and encourage additional research.
FROM THE WASHINGTON POST FRIDAY EVENING:
The latest
Outside of big cities, where office buildings remain vacant, people in America are becoming more active. That’s according to cellphone data The Washington Post analyzed showing that in certain regions – parts of the Deep South and Mountain West – mobility is higher than it was before the coronavirus hit. This spring fever is palpable across much of the country, and as people are on the move so is the virus: There is increasing evidence of a new bump in cases.
(J. Harris: Extensive article and pod cast for Long Haulers with diminished sense of taste)
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