Coronavirus Breaking News

A recent study published in The JAMA Internal Medicine shows that people using SARS-CoV-2 virus home test kits may fail to self-quarantine or quarantine unnecessarily because they misinterpret the implications of test results.

Researchers at Dartmouth, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Lisa Schwartz Foundation for Truth in Medicine, revealed on January 31, 2022, that following a positive test result, the vast majority of participants appropriately said that they would follow the U.S. CDC's quarantine recommendations, regardless of which instructions they received.

But given a negative test result in the high-risk scenarios, a substantial proportion of participants said that they would not quarantine appropriately.

In the highest risk scenario, the people proportion inappropriately failing to quarantine was higher with the authorized instructions (36%) than with the intervention (4%) or with no instructions (21%).

In the low-risk scenario, the proportion choosing unnecessary quarantine was also higher with the authorized instructions (31%).

Although COVID-19 at-home test kits provide results within 30 minutes, they are less sensitive.

As a result, they have more false negatives than polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with an estimated clinical sensitivity of 70%.

"I think our results show how fundamentally important it is to design and pilot-test instructions to ensure that they can be understood by as many users as possible—to increase the benefits and reduce the harms from at-home self-test kits," commented lead author Steven Woloshin, MD, MS, a professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine, in a related press statement issued on Jan. 31, 2022.

"In other cases, they may quarantine unnecessarily because they misinterpret the implications of their test results."

The research was funded by the Swedish Foundation for Social Sciences and Humanities, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Comparative Health System Performance Initiative, and the S&R Foundation's Kuno Award for Applied Science for the Social Good. No industry conflicts of interest were disclosed.

As of February 9, 2022, the latest anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody (mAbs) breaking news is published at Precision Vaccinations.

There are anti-SARS mAbs products Authorized by the U.S. FDA to treat certain patients. Furthermore, the U.S. NIH continues to identify which mAbs is most effective against the Omicron variant.

Since September 13, 2021, the U.S. government has distributed about 3.3 million mAbs treatments to states, territories, and agencies.

People everywhere want protection from the current Delta virus surge and future safeguards against the approaching Omicron variant.

Most public health experts agree on one thing: now is the time to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster.

A global leader in COVID-19 vaccines offers free webinars for professionals and publishes patient-facing information that people can understand.

Moderna Inc. is digitally hosting a series of webinars this week for vaccination providers to learn more about the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine booster dose.

By clicking on this free webinar registration link, vaccine providers can easily enroll in one of the Dec 7th thru the 10th digital sessions.

And for patients with questions about primary, booster, dosage, and mixing-matching, Moderna has published the following information.

After attending a Moderna webinar, or reading through the new information, if you have further questions, the Moderna Call Center can be reached at 1-866-MODERNA (1-866-663-3762).

A new peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Medicine by researchers from the University of Florida found people who survived severe cases of COVID-19 had more than twice the risk of dying in the year after recovery compared to people who had a mild or moderate disease or who never had COVID-19.

Additionally, the risk of dying from COVID-19 effects appears more significant for people under 65 years of age.

In fact, the risk of 12-month mortality among adults under 65 hospitalized with COVID-19 is increased by 233% over those who are COVID-19 negative.

Nearly 80% of the downstream deaths among patients with COVID-19 were for causes other than respiratory or cardiovascular.

In fact, 80% of such deaths occurred for various reasons that are not typically associated with Covid-19. This suggests that the patients experienced an overall decline in their health, which left them vulnerable to various ailments.

When nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations are preventable, this study points to an under-investigated sequela of COVID-19 and the corresponding need for prevention.

"Taking your chances and hoping for successful treatment in the hospital doesn't convey the full picture of the impact of Covid-19. Therefore, our recommendation at this point is to use preventive measures, such as vaccination, to prevent severe episodes of Covid-19," stated these researchers in a press release.

The researchers tracked electronic health records of 13,638 patients who underwent a PCR test for Covid-19 within the University of Florida health system, with 178 patients experiencing severe Covid-19, 246 mild or moderate Covid-19, and the rest testing negative. All patients included in the study recovered from the disease, and the researchers tracked their outcomes over the next 12 months.

No conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Another COVID-19 antibody treatment, Xevudy (sotrovimab), has today been approved by the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after it was found to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and death in people with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection who are at an increased risk of developing severe disease.

It is approved for individuals aged 12 and above who weigh more than 40kg.

Developed by GSK and Vir Biotechnology, sotrovimab is a single monoclonal antibody that works by binding to the spike protein outside the COVID-19 virus. This, in turn, prevents the virus from attaching to and entering human cells so that it cannot replicate in the body.

In a clinical trial, a single dose of the monoclonal antibody was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 79% in high-risk adults with symptomatic COVID-19 infection.

Based on the clinical trial data, sotrovimab is most effective when taken during the early stages of infection. So the MHRA recommends its use as soon as possible and within five days of symptom onset.

Xevudy (sotrovimab) is the second monoclonal antibody therapeutic approved by the MHRA following Ronapreve (REGEN-COV).

REGEN-COV is delivered via injection or IV, providing 'passive immunity and immediately protecting people from COVID-19. However, it must be re-administered to remain effective over time.

Sotrovimab is administered by intravenous infusion over 30 minutes.

Moreover, it is too early to know whether the Omicron virus variant impacts sotrovimab's effectiveness, but the MHRA is working with the company to clarify this new threat.

Additional antibody treatment news is published on this webpage.

U.S. health officials confirmed today that the first case of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 virus variant had been identified in a person currently in California.

During today's press conference, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the individual returned from South Africa on November 22, 2021.

"The individual, who was fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms that are improving, and is self-quarantining. All close contacts have tested negative."

The new variant Omicron has been found in countries from Europe to the Middle East.

The ECDC reported as of December 1, 2021, a total of 59 cases have been reported by 11 European Union and European Economic Area countries: Austria (3), Belgium (2), Czechia (1), Denmark (4), France (1, in Réunion), Germany (9), Italy (4), the Netherlands (16), Portugal (14), Spain (2), and Sweden (3).

Cases have been reported in 12 countries and territories outside the EU/EEA - Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The European CDC announced today 44 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron have been reported by eleven European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France (Reunion), Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

Omicron variant cases have been reported in nine countries and territories outside of the EU/EEA: Australia, Botswana, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, and the UK.

As of November 30, 2021, the ECDC says 'the majority of confirmed cases have a history of travel to African countries, with some having taken connecting flights at other destinations between Africa and Europe.'

'All cases for which there is information available on severity were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms.'

'So far, no severe cases or deaths have been reported among these cases.'

The U.S. CDC has not confirmed an Omicron case.

However, states have already taken action.

The Governor of the State of New York declared a disaster has occurred, for which the affected local governments are unable to respond adequately, and declare a disaster emergency for the entire State of New York through January 15, 2022.