Analysis

Study indicates that statewide mask manadates results in up to 5.5. % reduction in hospitalization growth rates ation

Mon, 2021-02-08 19:09 — mike kraft

Decline in COVID-19 Hospitalization Growth Rates Associated with Statewide Mask Mandates — 10 States, March–October 2020

(MMWR) During March 22–October 17, 2020, 10 sites participating in the COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network in states with statewide mask mandates reported a decline in weekly COVID-19–associated hospitalization growth rates by up to 5.5 percentage points for adults aged 18–64 years after mandate implementation, compared with growth rates during the 4 weeks preceding implementation of the mandate. Mask-wearing is a component of a multipronged strategy to decrease exposure to and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and reduce strain on the health care system, with likely direct effects on COVID-19 morbidity and associated mortality. ...

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UPDATE: Global health suggest AstraZeneca vaccine alarm from South Africa study was premature.rings alarm

Mon, 2021-02-08 17:56 — mike kraft

Global health officials back AstraZeneca vaccine after South Africa study rings alarm Health officials around the world gave their backing to the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, after a study showing it had little effect against mild disease caused by the variant now spreading quickly in South Africa rang global alarm. John Revill U.S.

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Americans went out more after face masks were mandated--study

Mon, 2021-02-08 12:19 — mike kraft

Study finds Americans went out more after face mask mandates Face masks mandates have led people to spend less time at home, but whether this has exposed Americans to more risk is still a question, according to a new study published Thursday in Scientific Reports. Science X staff

Face masks mandates have led people to spend less time at home, but whether this has exposed Americans to more risk is still a question, according to a new study published Thursday in Scientific Reports.

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Vaccine distribution problems: complicated by use of algorithms

Mon, 2021-02-08 11:22 — mike kraft

Faced with the daunting task of parceling out a limited supply of coronavirus vaccines, Trump administration officials came up with a seemingly simple formula last year to streamline distribution of the shots.

First, federal administrators would run an automated algorithm to divide vaccine doses nationwide, based on the size of each state’s adult population. Then each state would decide how to dole out the shots to local hospitals, nursing homes and clinics.

But rather than streamline vaccine distribution, public health experts say, the algorithm has increased the burden for many states. It requires them to come up with multiple delivery plans for their weekly quotas of Pfizer and Moderna shots, even if the different shipments are destined for the same clinics and hospitals.

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ANALYSIS: Small pharmacies beat big chains at delivering vaccines.

Sun, 2021-02-07 22:32 — mike kraft

Perspective | Small pharmacies beat big chains at delivering vaccines. Don’t look so shocked. Americans think large enterprises are invariably more efficient. They aren’t. Stacy Mitchell Washington Post

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OPINION: Until Africans get the Covid vaccinations they need, the whole world will suffer

Sun, 2021-02-07 22:08 — mike kraft

Until Africans get the Covid vaccinations they need, the whole world will suffer | Paul Kagame We’re not asking for charity, but fairness – instead of hoarding and protectionism, says Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda the Guardian

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Africa

Conakry

Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Overview of What scientists know about variants and Covid-19 vaccines

Sun, 2021-02-07 12:42 — mike kraft

What scientists know about the new variants and the Covid-19 vaccines When it comes to the new variants and the Covid-19 vaccines, some of the news is very good. But some is potentially very bad indeed. Andrew Joseph STAT

here is now real evidence that at least one coronavirus variant seems to elude some of the power of Covid-19 vaccines. What, exactly, that means for the pandemic is still being sussed out.

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Calls grow for US to rely on rapid tests to fight pandemic

Sat, 2021-02-06 13:49 — mike kraft

Associated Press News News from The Associated Press, the definitive source for independent journalism from every corner of the globe. AP NEWS

WASHINGTON (AP) — When a Halloween party sparked a COVID-19 outbreak at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, school officials conducted rapid screening on more than 1,000 students in a week, including many who didn’t have symptoms.

Although such asymptomatic screening isn’t approved by regulators and the 15-minute tests aren’t as sensitive as the genetic one that can take days to yield results, the testing director at the historically Black college credits the approach with quickly containing the infections and allowing the campus to remain open.

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STUDY: Younger adults are the main spreaders of COVID-19

Thu, 2021-02-04 19:23 — mike kraft

Age groups that sustain resurging COVID-19 epidemics in the United States Following initial declines, in mid 2020 a resurgence in transmission of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in the US and Europe. As COVID19 disease control efforts are re-intensified, understanding the age demographics driving transmission and how these affect the loosening of interventions is crucial. We analyze aggregated, age-specific mobility trends from more than 10 million individuals in the US and link these mechanistically to age-specific COVID-19 mortality data.

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OPINION AND MAPS: Proposal for Community Health Corps

Thu, 2021-02-04 10:22 — mike kraft

Mapping the New Politics of Care

COVID-19 affects our communities differently. Health and social vulnerabilities that predate the pandemic have fueled uneven effects across the United States. Unless we address the long-standing inequalities embedded in the social and political landscape of the country along with the immediate needs produced by the pandemic, we will come out of the current crisis just as vulnerable as when this all began.

We propose a New Deal for Public Health, with a Community Health Corps of one million community health workers (CHWs), to attend to the health needs of America's residents. CHWs will help people get tested for COVID-19 and trace their contacts, but they will have to tackle more than that in the short term. They will have to take on the role of social workers, navigating the web of services that address the social and economic burdens of social distancing and isolation; they will also have to deliver food and medicine, supply rent assistance and protection from eviction, and offer child care and elder care.