Category: COVID

Categories : COVIDTags :

As Lockdowns Ease, Masks and Social Distancing are Still Needed

On By ModernMedia

A new model suggests that as lockdowns ease, other control measures such as mask use must be enhanced in order to prevent additional COVID outbreaks.

The mathematical model, developed by scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Liverpool, provides general insights about how COVID will spread under different potential control scenarios.

They considered ‘non spatial’ control measures involving facemasks, handwashing and metre-scale social distancing can all limit the number of virus particles being spread between people. The other, ‘spatial’ control measures included lockdown and travel restrictions, which reduce how far virus particles can spread. Different combinations of COVID control measures showed that non-spatial control needs to be ramped up as lockdown is lifted.

“More effective use of control measures like facemasks and handwashing would help us to stop the pandemic faster, or to get better results in halting transmission through the vaccination programme. This also means we could avoid another potential lockdown,” said Dr. Yevhen Suprunenko, a Research Associate in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences and first author of the paper. The authors stress that their predictions rely on such non-spatial control measures being implemented effectively.

Their model took into account the socio-economic impact of the measures. The costs of spatial measures of lockdown increased over time, while costs for non-spatial measures decreased due to falling prices and greater availability of items such as masks, and usage becoming a habit.

“Measures such as lockdowns that limit how far potentially infected people move can have a stronger impact on controlling the spread of disease, but methods that reduce the risk of transmission whenever people mix provide an inexpensive way to supplement them,” explained co-author Dr Stephen Cornell at the University of Liverpool.

The model was derived from identifying control strategies for plant diseases threatening staple crops. Instead of the usual computer simulation model, mathematical approach allowed the authors to identify insights on how to control newly emerging infectious diseases of plants and animals.

“Our new model will help us study how different infectious diseases can spread and become endemic. This will enable us to find better control strategies, and stop future epidemics faster and more efficiently,” said co-author Professor Chris Gilligan in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences.

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: Analytical approximation for invasion and endemic thresholds, and the optimal control of epidemics in spatially explicit individual-based models, Journal of the Royal Society Interface,rsif.royalsocietypublishing.or … .1098/rsif.2020.0966

Categories : COVIDTags :

Sunlight Vulnerability of SARS-CoV-2 not Just from UV-B

On By ModernMedia

A team of researchers have found that the sunlight vulnerability of SARS-CoV-2 cannot be explained by the effect of UV-B rays alone.

Most of the COVID management concepts remain as true as in the first days of the pandemic, such as handwashing with soap and social distancing, though some have changed such as the notion of the virus mainly transmitted through droplets whereas evidence showed it can linger suspended in aerosol.

The researchers, from UC Santa Barbara, Oregon State University, University of Manchester and ETH Zurich. examined the well-known vulnerability of SARS-CoV-2 to sunlight. They concluded that exposure to UV-B radiation doesn’t completely account for its inactivation by sunlight.

The idea that an additional mechanism might be in play came when the team compared data from a July 2020 study that reported rapid sunlight inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in a lab setting, with a theory of coronavirus inactivation by solar radiation that was published just a month earlier.

“The theory assumes that inactivation works by having UV-B hit the RNA of the virus, damaging it,” said lead author Paolo Luzzatto-Fegiz, UC Santa Barbara mechanical engineering professor. “Judging from the discrepancies between the experimental results and the predictions of the theoretical model, however, the research team felt that RNA inactivation by UV-B “might not be the whole story.”

Experimentation showed 10-20 minutes to reach virus inactivation—much faster than the theory’s predictions. Viruses in simulated saliva were inactivated over eight times faster when irradiated by UV-B lamps than would have been predicted by the theory, while those cultured in a complete growth medium before exposure to UV-B were inactivated over three times faster. In order to match theory, SARS-CoV-2 would then have greater UV-B sensitivity than any currently known virus.

“The theory predicts that inactivation should happen an order of magnitude slower,” Prof Luzzatto-Fegiz said.

There might be another mechanism involved besides UV-B effects on RNA; such as the synergistic effect of the less energetic UV-A rays.

“People think of UV-A as not having much of an effect, but it might be interacting with some of the molecules in the medium,” he said. Such reactive intermediate molecules could be hastening virus inactivation, a concept known in wastewater treatment and other environmental science fields.

“So, scientists don’t yet know what’s going on,” Luzzatto-Fegiz said. “Our analysis points to the need for additional experiments to separately test the effects of specific light wavelengths and medium composition.”

These findings could help develop ways to control the virus with widely available UV-A and UV-B sources. Sources which emit UV-C, which is otherwise blocked by the atmosphere, has proven effective in certain settings such as air filtration but its high energy limits applications and raises safety concerns.

“UV-C is great for hospitals,” said co-author Julie McMurry. “But in other environments—for instance kitchens or subways—UV-C would interact with the particulates to produce harmful ozone.”

Co-author and UCSB mechanical engineering professor Yangying Zhu added that UV-A’s possible effectiveness meant that inexpensive UV-A LEDs many times brighter than UV-A in normal sunlight could be used. UV-A could be used more for air filtration for example, but the specifics of each setting warrant consideration, said co-author Fernando Temprano-Coleto.

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: Paolo Luzzatto-Fegiz et al. UVB Radiation Alone May Not Explain Sunlight Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2, The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2021). DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiab070

Categories : COVID General InterestTags :

CDC Director Fears ‘Impending Doom’ as COVID Cases Rise Again

On By ModernMedia

Rochelle Walensky, MD, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director, says that she fears “impending doom” as COVID deaths in the US edge upwards as people increasingly ignore health restrictions and start to travel.

Beginning her usual COVID status update,  Dr Walensky spoke as she often did of “concerning trends in the data.”

Dr Walensky spoke about the country surpassing 30 million COVID cases; of a 10% increase in the 7-day average of COVID-19 cases over the past week, to slightly below 60 000 cases; and of an uptick in hospitalisations, from a 7-day average of around 4600 per day to around 4800 per day.

“And deaths, which typically lag behind cases and hospitalizations, have now started to rise,” she said, pointing to a nearly 3% increase to a 7-day average of “approximately 1000 deaths per day.”

“I’m going to pause here,” she said. “I’m going to lose the script and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom.”  

At the start of her tenure, Walensky said she had pledged to always tell the truth even if it wasn’t something Americans wanted to hear.

“We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are, and so much reason for hope. But right now I’m scared,” she said.

She recalled her time caring for COVID patients, saying: “I know what it’s like as a physician to stand in that patient room, gowned, gloved, masked, shielded and to be the last person to touch someone else’s loved one because their loved one couldn’t be there.

“I know what it’s like when you’re the physician, when you’re the healthcare provider, and you’re worried that you don’t have the resources to care for the patients in front of you.” 

She also recalled “that feeling of nausea, when you read the ‘Crisis Standards of Care’ and you wonder whether there are going to be enough ventilators to go around and who’s going to make that choice.”

She emphasised that she was speaking “not only as your CDC director, but as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, to ask you to just please hold on a little while longer.”

She sympathised, she said, with those “wanting to be done” with the pandemic.

“We are just almost there, but not quite yet. And so I’m asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can. So that all of those people that we all love will still be here when this pandemic ends.”

Dr Walensky warned that the US pandemic trajectory was looking dangerously similar to that of European countries like Germany that were still struggling to contain the virus.

“We are not powerless. We can change this trajectory of the pandemic,” she said.

“But it will take all of us recommitting to following the public health prevention strategies consistently while we work to get the American public vaccinated.”

According to the New York Times’  COVID vaccination tracker, 146 million vaccinations have been administered in the US to date, with 2.76 million doses being given daily. At this rate, 70% of the adult population will have been vaccinated by June 16.

She urged community and religious leaders, officials, and other influencers to help support the vaccination programme.

“For the health of our country, we must work together now to prevent a fourth surge.”

Source: MedPage Today

Categories : COVID General InterestTags :

Pandemic Steals the Enjoyment of Terminally Ill Patients’ Last Years

On By ModernMedia

Welsh grandmother Maggie Shaftoe has a terminal brain tumour and doctors have told her she has less than two years to live.

Life with a terminal illness during the coronavirus pandemic and being in lockdown has caused difficulties for one couple making final memories.

Macmillan Cancer Support calls it an “acutely challenging time” for people living with a terminal diagnosis.

In 2017, the 63-year-old great-grandmother was diagnosed with an Anaplastic Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma (APXA) brain tumour, which is very rare and most commonly occurs in children and young people with an average age for diagnosis at 12 years old. Her cancer was discovered by chance through a regular epilepsy check up and an MRI scan.

Mrs Shaftoe said that she has not seen her 11 grandchildren and great-granddaughter and she’s “just waiting for things to get back to normal”.

Together for more than 50 years, Mrs Shaftoe and her husband Chris first met as teenagers in a church choir in London. Mr Shaftoe said at this stage they “should be making the most of the time she has left and making memories with our family”.

“I think we’d like to go somewhere like Disneyland, or Lapland to see the northern lights or she’d love to go to the Cheddar Gorge,” said Mr Shaftoe, 65.

“But the pandemic has buried us in a great big hole and I don’t expect the situation to change.

“We’re noticing that Maggie’s memory is fading quite quickly now and she is getting worse day by day, and we understand what is coming,” he said.

In 2017 Mrs Shaftoe had an operation to remove the tumour and the following year had radiotherapy.

But Mr Shaftoe said this has only “delayed the inevitable” and his wife’s life expectancy “hangs on the effectiveness” of two anti-cancer drugs.

Since the operation, she has suffered difficulty with her memory, impaired speech, balance problems and is partially blind.

Doctors have told the couple that typically life expectancy for a patient with APXA would be five years.

Cancer Research UK said that the pandemic has had a “devastating impact on the lives of cancer patients”.

“Dealing with a cancer diagnosis and treatment is extremely difficult at any time, but the pandemic has added the stress of uncertainty, delays and shielding for some cancer patients,” said Martin Ledwick,  head information nurse at the charity.

Mrs Shaftoe remains positive despite the situation, saying it helps to laugh.

“If you can make a joke of something, make a joke of it,” she said, speaking during Brain Tumour Awareness month.

“You go out to make a cup of tea and you end up peeling potatoes, and come back in and wonder why I haven’t got a cup of tea – you have to laugh at silly little things.”

However managing during lockdown has been “very difficult” and mundane tasks could be a “major headache”, according to her husband, who has medical conditions of his own.

Mr Shaftoe says they now have a carer who comes for an hour each morning.

But he said: “We need more care. We have spent most of the pandemic without a carer and it has been absolutely nightmarish trying to get Maggie one.”

Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales said it has heard from many people in isolation, which makes “a challenging situation even more difficult”.

“We know this is an acutely challenging time for people with cancer, the NHS and cancer care, and particularly for people who are living with a terminal diagnosis,” said Richard Pugh, Macmillan’s head of partnerships.

Source: BBC News

Categories : Cancer COVIDTags :

Despite COVID, Cancer Screenings in the US Picked Up

On By ModernMedia
Woman Receives Mammogram. An Asian female technician positions an African-American woman at an imaging machine to receive a mammogram. Creator: Rhoda Baer

In an encouraging sign, the RAND corporation reports that despite COVID, cancer screenings in the United States rebounded in the wake of the first wave.

There has been concern since the COVID pandemic was keeping people from going in for routine cancer screening, resulting in more undetected cancers to progress unchecked and an increase in cancer deaths. As some 600 000 Americans were expected to die of cancer in 2020, any impact on screening is a considerable health concern.

In a statement, Ryan McBain, PhD, of the RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, California, said: “These are the first findings to show that, despite real fears about the consequences of drop off in cancer screens, health facilities figured out how to pick this back up after the initial pandemic restrictions. Our study shows that health systems were able to recalibrate resources and protocols in a relatively short interval to deliver these important services.”

In Spain, cancer diagnoses were down 38% in the first half of 2020, according to one study. The pandemic’s impact on cancer screening that required in-person examinations, such as mammography and colonoscopy, were a particular concern, McBain and co-authors noted. Moreover, little was known about the magnitude of the decline in screening rates or longer-term trends in screen.

Using data on Castlight Health beneficiaries from January 15 to July 31, 2020, the researchers calculated weekly screening rates per 10 000 eligible beneficiaries. Before the declaration of national emergency in the US on March 13, screening mammography weekly rate was 87.8 per 10 000, falling to a low of 6.9 per 10 000 in April. Thereafter, screening rates began a steady recovery, to 88.2 per 10 000 at the end of July.

Over the same time period, weekly colonoscopy screenings fell from 15.1 to 0.9 per 10 000, before rebounding to a weekly median of 12.6 per 10 000 by July 31, 2020.

Multivariable regression analyses confirmed the significant declines in screening mammography and colonoscopy. A larger decline in colonoscopy was observed in high-income counties. Otherwise, the analyses showed no significant demographic variations.

Laura Makaroff, DO, of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, said that the pandemic’s ultimate impact on cancer screening and cancer care is still largely unknown.

“We have seen similar data showing some rebound in cancer screening rates last summer and fall, but even those turnarounds show an approximate 30% decrease in cancer screening compared with pre-pandemic rates,” she said to MedPage Today in an email. “We also don’t yet know the full impact of the late fall and winter surges on disruptions in cancer screening and diagnosis.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous consequences secondary to the disease itself, including reduced access to care for other illnesses,” Dr Makaroff added. “While these measures were necessary, delays in cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment due to reduced healthcare access will likely result in a short-term drop in cancer diagnoses followed by increases in late-stage diagnoses and preventable cancer deaths.

“The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer prevention and early detection will not be known until population-based nationwide data become available in the years to come,” she said.

Source: MedPage Today

Journal information: McBain RK, et al “Decline and rebound in routine cancer screening rates during the COVID-19 pandemic” J Intern Med 2021; DOI: 10.1007/s11606-021-06660-5.

Categories : COVIDTags :

EU and UK Aim for ‘Win-win Situation’ to End Vaccine Row

On By ModernMedia

After weeks of tensions over Covid vaccine supplies, the UK and the European Union have said they are working together to improve their relationship, to “create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all”.

The EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry said that the disputes were with AstraZeneca, not the UK. “I know that there’s some tension… but as long as we have transparency, I think [relations] will be able to be normalised,” he said.

Some 19 EU countries have reported a rise in infections, giving their vaccine rollout an even greater urgency,The joint UK-EU statement said that “openness and global co-operation” would be key to tackling the pandemic.

“We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes co-operation between the EU and UK even more important,” it said. “We will continue our discussions.”
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides rejected any notion of punishing the UK. “We’re dealing with a pandemic and this is not seeking to punish any countries,” she said.

Responding to the question of whether the UK might retaliate, Mr Johnson told MPs he did not believe “that blockades of either vaccines or of medicines, of ingredients for vaccines” would be “sensible”. It is possible that companies might draw conclusions about future investments “in countries where arbitrary blockades are imposed”, he added.
The EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton insisted the contention was with AstraZeneca and not the UK government. “I know that there’s some tension… but as long as we have transparency, I think [relations] will be able to be normalised,” he said.

Had AstraZeneca supplied the 120 million doses to the EU as was agreed, its member states would have achieved the same vaccination rates as the UK: “We have been heavily penalised and we just want to understand why”.

Source: BBC News

Categories : COVIDTags :

AstraZeneca Updates its US Trial Results

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AstraZeneca issued updated phase III trial data for its COVID vaccine on Wednesday after facing questions on its accuracy of its preliminary US study.

The company now says its vaccine is 76% effective in protecting against symptomatic cases of virus. A release issued on Monday reported a symptomatic efficacy rate of 79%, but the next day, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said it had been informed the company may have included information from its US results that provided an “incomplete view of the efficacy data.”

The updated report still says that the vaccine is 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalisation. A number of US health officials have criticised the company for what seemed like cherry-picking of data in an effort to improve the results’ appearance.

At the time, AstraZeneca said the figures were based on a “pre-specified interim analysis” and promised it would share an updated analysis in the coming days.

Dr Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor and director at the NIAID, was more supportive of the company, calling the situation “unfortunate” and said it was likely AstraZeneca would issue a modified statement.

“This is really what you call an unforced error because the fact is this is very likely a very good vaccine,” Fauci told ABC’s Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. “This kind of thing does … really cast some doubt about the vaccines and maybe contribute to the hesitancy. It was not necessary.”

The BBC’s medical editor, Fergus Walsh, was told the results may have been rushed out of a desire to address the safety concerns surrounding possible blood clots. These had resulted in AstraZeneca vaccines being withdrawn from circulation in some European countries.

The updated results include 190 symptomatic cases out of over 32 000 participants — about 50 more symptomatic cases than the data set released on Monday.

The findings suggest the vaccine is more effective in patients aged 65 and older, with a newly reported efficacy rate of 85% for that population, up from 80% stated earlier.

AstraZeneca reiterated that there were no safety concerns with the vaccine and that it was well tolerated.

Source: NBC News

Categories : COVID General InterestTags :

A Dozen Accounts Responsible for Majority of COVID Misinformation

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Connor Danylenko from Pexels

According to a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), the majority of COVID and vaccine misinformation posts emanate from a dozen accounts.

Out of 812 000 anti-vaccine messages shared or posted on social media platforms between Feb 1 and March 16, 2021, 65% were attributed to just a handful of individuals, whom the report authors have dubbed the “Disinformation Dozen”, 13 users spread across 12 accounts (one of the accounts refers to a couple, Ty and Charlene Bollinger, who are alternative medicine activists).

Some of the individuals named include entrepreneur Joseph Mercola, author Robert F Kennedy Jr and chiropractor Ben Tapper, with the report including examples of the COVID misinformation that they shared on various social media platforms.

Mercola for example has shared his views on unproven COVID cures in various anti-vaxxer groups on Facebook, including one article saying “hydrogen peroxide treatment can successfully treat most viral respiratory illnesses, including coronavirus” getting 4600 shares.

The report notes that Robert Kennedy Jr often shares misinformation linked COVID vaccines to deaths, and his organisation, Children’s Health Defense, released a film in March that targeted American black and Latino communities with anti-vaccine messages. 

“According to our recent report, anti-vaccine activists on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter reach more than 59 million followers, making these the largest and most important social media platforms for anti-vaxxers,” said CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed.

“Despite repeatedly violating Facebook, Instagram and Twitter’s terms of service agreements, nine of the Disinformation Dozen remain on all three platforms, while just three have been comprehensively removed from just one platform,” the report added.

To combat the disinformation problem, the CCDH urged social media companies to deplatform the Disinformation Dozen, along with key organisations associated with the 12 individuals.

In a statement to Engadet, Facebook took issue with the report, claiming that “it taken action against some of the group”. However, the report contends that Facebook’s algorithm struggle to identify COVID misinformation.

Source: The Star

Categories : COVIDTags :

COVID Vaccines and Vaccination Certificates Sold on Darknet

On By ModernMedia

According to an article by BBC News, COVID vaccines and vaccination certificates are being widely sold on the darknet.

Prices can range from  $500 (R7500) and $750 for doses of the AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Sinopharm or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Some even allow for emergency delivery with an overnight service. There are also fake vaccination certificates being sold for as little as $150.

Also known as the ‘dark web’, the darknet is a part of the internet that can only be accessed with specific browser tools. One such tool is Tor, a browser specially designed for anonymity.

Cyber-security company Checkpoint says that they have seen the number of adverts triple from when vaccines first become available, to 1200. The sources of the adverts appear to be the US, UK, Spain, Germany, France and Russia.

Oded Vanunu, head of product vulnerabilities research at Check Point told the BBC: “It’s imperative for people to understand that attempting to obtain a vaccine, a vaccination card or negative Covid-19 test result by unofficial means is extremely risky, as hackers are more interested in your money, information and identity for exploitation.”

Mr Vanunu also shared that,  as part of their research, his team purchased a Sinopharm vaccine dose from one of the vendors for $750, but are yet to receive it. His team believes that this particular vendor was a scammer, but others might be selling real vaccines.

Check Point is urging countries to protect their vaccine documentation by implementing a QR code system to make forgeries more difficult.

Source: BBC News

Categories : COVIDTags :

Asymptomatic Carriers are the Biggest Barrier to Containing COVID

On By ModernMedia

The lack of testing in asymptomatic carriers makes it harder to control SARS-CoV-2 spread, according to researchers at the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security, Georgetown University in Washington.

Two groups of individuals dominate the transmission of COVID: asymptomatic carriers, who do not develop any symptoms throughout the course of their infection; and presymptomatic carriers, who develop symptoms a few days after being infected.

Transmission without symptoms makes it difficult to estimate the infectious timeline and potential exposures. Asymptomatic cases may likely mingle with others oblivious to their infection, promoting virus spread. They may also not adhere to social distancing, mask wearing etc. Contact tracing is vital to monitor the spread of the disease, and asymptomatic cases makes surveillance to analyse secondary attack rates highly challenging.

Though there is no accurate reporting on the prevalence of asymptomatic cases available, early studies showed that they made up so 30% to 80% of infections. More recent evidence put asymptomatic cases at 17% to 30% of infections.

In COVID cases, the infectious period begins two days before symptom onset and several days thereafter, though viral shedding is reduced in the first week of symptoms.

Viral shedding in asymptomatic cases is poorly understood, however it is known that asymptomatic cases have the same viral load as symptomatic cases, regardless of severity. In asymptomatic individuals, infectious periods are shorter due to reduced titers at peak replication and faster viral clearance.

Some studies have shown that asymptomatic individuals are 42% less likely to infect others and have lower secondary attack rates, while other research indicates that, despite the shorter infectious periods, asymptomatic individuals have similar transmissibility to those who are presymptomatic.
The researchers note that symptomatic individuals were motivated to seek testing, treatment and self-isolate upon feeling COVID symptoms.

“With many contagious people experiencing no symptoms and in the absence of robust surveillance testing for asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections, it is critical to maximising efforts to reduce transmission risk in the community,” noted the researchers.

Source: Medical-News.Net

Journal information: Rasmussen, A., and Popescu, S. (2021). SARS-CoV-2 transmission without symptoms. Science. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6535/1206