(J. Harris: Our Texas counts are low enough that I think it’s safe to get out a bit more, especially while using a mask in crowded places. Note the USA count is up a tad today. I’d like to cut back on these mailouts, but I have more than a few physicians and health care workers who profess to find some of the information valuable. Often, I dig out tidbits a day or two earlier than some sources, although it has become increasingly difficult to beat The New York Times (who currently has a $1.00 per week subscription.)
FROM THE BECKERS’S HOSPITAL REVIEW
BA.2, boosters and billions in funding: The latest notes to start the week
(J. Harris: Absolutely wonderful, concise, readable summary of several medical articles and opinions from several notable physicians. This article includes reasonable predictions and therapies for the spring and summer. Don’t miss.)
FROM HOPKINS SELECTIONS:
Vaccines Protect Against Infection from Omicron Subvariant — But Not for Long (Nature) The Omicron subvariant BA.2 is replacing its sister version, BA.1, as the dominant form of SARS-CoV-2 in many countries, which has led scientists to wonder whether the COVID-19 pandemic is about to throw these regions into disarray yet again. But a study published on 13 March shows that mRNA vaccines offer a similar degree of protection against the two strains — although protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptomatic disease wanes within months of a third dose.
CURRENT BA.2 INFORMATION
How to interpret SARS-CoV-2 Variant Reports
‘He Goes Where the Fire Is’: A Virus Hunter in the Wuhan Market
(J. Harris: This article makes me satisfied that this Pandemic started naturally in the Wuhan Market — good documentation or good enough for me.)
”…One big takeaway: In the era of Omicron and BA.2 — an even more infectious subvariant — vaccinating as many older people as possible should be the top priority…In Hong Kong, a fixation on “zero Covid” — shared with mainland China — meant that vaccination wasn’t a priority, and many older people fell prey to misinformation about the safety of the vaccines. Before Omicron surged, less than a quarter of people age 80 and over had been given two doses…That lesson is most pressing for China, where vaccination in older age groups appears to be lagging and there is little immunity from earlier infections. But it’s also important for the U.S., where subpar vaccination and booster rates in older people have left scientists concerned about a potential surge of BA.2 cases. More than a third of Americans 65 and over have not gotten a booster shot….However, scientists do not expect the U.S. to face nearly as serious a situation in the coming months as Hong Kong did, partly because so many more Americans were infected by the coronavirus during earlier waves [than were infected in China and Hong Kong].
FROM THE LANCET:
Risks and burdens of incident diabetes in long COVID: a cohort study
”…This study did not report the proportion of type 1 or type 2 diabetes…In conclusion, we suggest that in the post-acute phase of the disease, people with COVID-19 exhibit increased risk and burden of diabetes, and antihyperglycaemic use. The risks and burdens were evident among those who were non-hospitalised during the acute phase of the infection and increased according to the severity of the acute infection as proxied by the care setting (non-hospitalised, hospitalised, and admitted to intensive care). Taken together, current evidence suggests that diabetes is a facet of the multifaceted long COVID syndrome and that post-acute care strategies of people with COVID-19 should include identification and management of diabetes.
(J. Harris: This increased risk of diabetes mellitus after Covid infection will be monitored and studies closely — it will give the endocrinologist something to do besides trying to figure out Covid).
AND LASTLY:
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