Analysis

Products - Data Briefs - Number 447 - October 2022 (cdc.gov)

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Death rates in the United States are higher in rural than urban areas, and the difference has grown over the last 2 decades (1). Death rates for all of the 10 leading causes of death in 2019 were higher in rural than urban areas (1). In 2020, deaths due to COVID-19 became the third leading cause of death in the United States (2). This report presents COVID-19 death rates for rural and urban areas in 2020 by sex and age group (under age 65 and 65 and over). Rates are presented for the six categories of urbanicity according to the decedent’s county of residence (3). Urban areas include large central metropolitan, large fringe metropolitan, medium metropolitan, and small metropolitan; rural areas include micropolitan and noncore (nonmetropolitan).

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Ivermectin: Still on a Losing Streak as COVID-19 Treatment | MedPage Today

WASHINGTON -- There were no differences in relief from mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms for patients on ivermectin versus placebo, according to the ongoing ACTIV-6 trial.

Among >1,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, the median time to recovery was 12 days for those in the ivermectin group and 13 days in the placebo group, reported Matthew McCarthy, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, at IDWeek.

As a result, the hazard ratio for improvement in time to recovery was 1.07 (95% credible interval 0.96-1.17, posterior P=0.91), McCarthy and colleagues stated in JAMA, where the results were simultaneously published.

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The main COVID symptoms have changed, research shows | The Hill

 ... like all viruses, the primary symptoms associated with COVID have changed and can vary based on your vaccination status, according to a new list released last week.

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Researchers have found that for participants in all three groups — fully vaccinated, those who received just one dose, and unvaccinated — four of the five most commonly reported symptoms are the same: sore throat, runny nose, persistent cough, and headache.

Their prevalences across the groups, however, vary, as does the fifth symptom.

For those who are vaccinated, a blocked nose is the third-most frequently reported symptom. Among the partially vaccinated, it’s sneezing, and the unvaccinated, fever.

Below are the symptoms most commonly reported among the three groups, ranked in order of how often they are reported.  ...

FDA’s vaccines chief sees possibility of more Covid boosters — sooner than he’d like The FDA’s vaccines chief sees the possibility of more Covid boosters for some people before next fall. Helen Branswell STAT

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