COVID-19 Data Dispatch

Tag: Featured sources

  • Sources and updates, November 12

    • New vaccination data from the CDC: The CDC has started publishing vaccination data reflecting how many Americans have received COVID-19, flu, and RSV shots in fall 2023. These numbers are estimates, based on the CDC’s National Immunization Survey, as the agency is no longer directly compiling COVID-19 vaccinations from state and local health agencies. (See this post from last month for more details.) According to the estimates, about 28% of American adults have received a 2023 flu shot, compared to 10% who have received a 2023 COVID-19 shot. The numbers reflect poor communication about and accessibility challenges with this year’s COVID-19 vaccines.
    • FDA approves a rapid COVID-19 test: Following the end of the federal public health emergency this spring, the FDA has advised companies that produce COVID-19 tests to submit their products for full approval, transitioning out of the emergency use authorizations that these tests received earlier in the pandemic. The FDA has now fully approved an at-home COVID-19 test: Flowflex’s rapid, antigen test. This is the second at-home test to receive approval, following a molecular test a few months ago. The Floxflex test “correctly identified 89.8% of positive and 99.3% of negative samples” from people with COVID-like respiratory symptoms, according to a study that the FDA reviewed for this approval.
    • WHO updates COVID-19 treatment guidance: This week, the World Health Organization updated its guidance on drugs and other treatment options for severe COVID-19 symptoms. A group of WHO experts has regularly reviewed the latest evidence and updated this guidance since fall 2020. The update includes guidelines on classifying COVID-19 patients based on their risk of potential hospitalization, recommendations for drugs such as nirmatrelvir and corticosteroids, and recommendations against other drugs such as invermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Clinicians can explore the guidance through an interactive tool that summarizes the expert group’s findings.
    • Gargling with salt water to reduce symptoms: Speaking of COVID-19 treatments: gargling with salt water may help people with milder COVID-19 symptoms recover more quickly, according to a new study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual conference. The researchers compared COVID-19 outcomes among people who did and did not use salt water for 14 days while sick; those who used the treatment had lower risks of hospitalization and reported shorter periods of symptoms. This study has not yet been peer-reviewed and more research will be needed, but it’s still helpful evidence to back up salt water as a potential treatment (something I’ve personally seen recommended anecdotally in the last couple of years).
    • Allergies as potential Long COVID risk factors: Another study that caught my attention this week: researchers at the University of Magdeburg in Germany conducted a review of connections between allergies and Long COVID. The researchers compiled data from 13 past papers, including a total of about 10,000 study participants. Based on these studies, people who have asthma or rhinitis (i.e. runny nose, congestion, and similar symptoms, usually caused by seasonal allergies) are at higher risk for developing Long COVID after a COVID-19 case. The researchers note that this evidence is “very uncertain” and more investigation is needed; however, the study aligns with reports of people with Long COVID getting diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome (or MCAS, an allergy-related condition).
    • Dropping childhood vaccination rates: One more notable study, from the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR): vaccination rates for common childhood vaccines are declining among American kindergarteners, according to CDC research. CDC scientists reviewed data reflecting the childhood vaccinations that are required by 49 states and D.C. for the 2022-23 school year, and compared those numbers to past years. Overall, 93% of kindergarteners had completed their state-required vaccinations last school year, down from 95% in the 2019-20 school year, while vaccine exemptions increased to 3%. In 10 states, more than 5% of kindergarteners had exemptions to their required vaccines—signifying increased risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in schools, according to the CDC.

  • Sources and updates, November 5

    • New respiratory virus dashboard for Europe: Residents of about 50 European countries can now follow respiratory virus trends for their nations on a new dashboard developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The dashboard compiles data from patient visits to healthcare facilities, laboratory testing, and genetic sequencing of coronavirus variants, according to a press release by the ECDC. Viewers can find summary trends for influenza-like illness as well as specific trends for COVID-19, flu, and RSV. This dashboard is a great step forward for standardizing surveillance data across countries.
    • Medicaid unwinding update from KFF: This week, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) published an update to its Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker, which follows the Americans who lost their health insurance following the end of a Medicaid rule tied to the federal public health emergency for COVID-19. At least 10 million people have lost Medicaid coverage as of November 1, KFF reports, though the researchers acknowledge that this number is likely an undercount due to limited data. While disenrollment rates vary by state, overall, 71% of people who lost Medicaid coverage did so for “procedural reasons,” i.e. paperwork issues, according to KFF’s analysis.
    • New Long COVID prevalence estimates: In a new paper, published this week in PLOS ONE, researchers at Dartmouth and University College London estimate Long COVID prevalence in the U.S. based on six months of data from the U.S. Census and CDC’s Household Pulse Survey. (Longtime readers may remember that this survey is one of my personal favorite sources for Long COVID data.) About 14% of respondents surveyed between June and December 2022 reported that they had experienced Long COVID at some point, half of them during the time they were surveyed, the researchers found. Americans with less education and lower incomes were more likely to report Long COVID symptoms, and the condition was correlated with physical and mental difficulties such as trouble dressing and bathing.
    • Vaccine confidence falling in the U.S.: A new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania finds that vaccine confidence is declining for a variety of diseases, not just COVID-19. The researchers compared results from similar surveys conducted in October 2023 and in April 2021, both of which included about 1,600 people selected for a nationally representative sample. Confidence rates in COVID-19 vaccines dropped from 75% to 63%, while confidence rates that all vaccines approved in the U.S. are generally safe fell from 77% to 71%. At the same time, the researchers found that more survey respondents believed incorrect statements, such as that ivermectin was an effective treatment for COVID-19.
    • Reasons for masking in Japan: One more study that caught my attention this week, on a more positive note: a researcher at Osaka University examined Japanese use of masks for COVID-19. Among participants in the researcher’s online surveys, the majority reported still wearing masks in June 2023, even though COVID-19 guidelines in Japan became less strict earlier this year. Social norms in Japan contribute to this behavior, the survey found, as respondents reported that they continued to mask both to avoid infection and to appear “normal” in public spaces. The study provides data behind well-known social norms in Japan, while offering some hope to those of us “lone maskers” in places where the norms are quite different.

  • Sources and updates, October 29

    • Healthcare worker burnout trend backed up by new data: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a growing burnout crisis among healthcare workers in the U.S., as many articles and scientific papers have explored in the last couple of years. Two studies from the past week add more data to back up the trend. CDC researchers shared the results of a survey of about 2,000 workers, finding that workers were more likely to report poor mental health and burnout in 2022 than in 2018, while harassment and a lack of support at work contributed to increased burnout. Another research group (at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Washington University in St. Louis) also surveyed healthcare workers and found that many experienced food insecurity and financial challenges; workers with worse employer benefits were more likely to increase these challenges.
    • Viral load not necessarily associated with symptoms: This paper is a rare, relatively recent update on how COVID-19 symptoms connect to viral load, or the amount of virus that a patient has in their respiratory tract. The higher a patient’s viral load, the more likely they are to infect others, making this an important metric for contagiousness. Researchers at Emory University studied viral loads in about 350 people diagnosed with Omicron variants between April 2022 and April 2023. Patients tended to have their highest viral loads around the fourth day of symptoms, a change from studies done on earlier variants (when viral loads tended to peak along with symptoms starting). As Mara Aspinall and Liz Ruark explain in their testing newsletter, these results have implications for rapid at-home tests, which are most accurate when viral loads are high: if you’re symptomatic but negative on a rapid test, keep testing for several days, and consider isolating anyway.
    • Updated vaccines are key for protection: Another recent paper, in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, examines how last year’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccines worked against recent coronavirus variants using data from the Kaiser Permanente health system. The study included records from about 123,000 people who had received at least the original vaccine series, examining health system visits from August 2022 to April 2023. People who received an updated vaccine in fall 2022 were significantly less likely to have severe COVID-19, the researchers found. “By mid-April, 2023, individuals previously vaccinated only with wild-type vaccines had little protection against COVID-19,” the researchers wrote. This year’s updated vaccine may have a similar impact through spring 2024.
    • Gut fungi as a potential driver for Long COVID: Long COVID, like ME/CFS and other chronic conditions, may be associated with problems in patients’ gut microbiomes, i.e. the communities of microorganisms that live in our digestive systems. A new paper in Nature Immunology from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine hones in on one fungal species that may be particularly good at causing problems. The species, Candida albicans, can grow in the intestines of severe COVID-19 and Long COVID patients, triggering to inflammation and other immune system issues. This paper describes results from patient samples as well as a mouse model mimicking how this fungal species grows in COVID-19 patients’ guts.
    • Another potential Long COVID biomarker: One more notable Long COVID paper from this week: researchers at the University of Alberta studied blood samples from people with the condition, and compared their results to people who had acute COVID-19 but didn’t go on to develop long-term symptoms. The scientists used machine learning to develop a computer model differentiating between blood composition of people who did and didn’t develop Long COVID. They identified taurine as one specific amino acid that might be particularly important, as levels of taurine were lower among patients with more Long COVID symptoms. The study could be used to inform diagnostic tests of Long COVID, as well as potential treatments to restore taurine.

  • Sources and updates, October 22

    • Serotonin as a potential Long COVID biomarker: The chemical messenger serotonin might play a role in causing Long COVID symptoms, according to a new paper published this week in Cell. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues studied blood samples of people with Long COVID and animal models of the condition. They found that people with Long COVID have reduced levels of serotonin throughout their bodies, and that these reductions are correlated with common Long COVID symptoms such as brain fog and autonomic dysfunction. The study also examines biological mechanisms that could play a role in causing reduced serotonin; it provides new information about how a coronavirus infection could trigger long-term symptoms, as well as potential biomarkers for clinical trials. For more context, see this coverage in STAT News.
    • Healthcare costs of Long COVID: Another Long COVID study from this week, posted as a preprint in The Lancet: researchers at University College London tracked about 282,000 people with Long COVID over the course of two years, compiling their healthcare costs from National Health System (NHS) data. The study included people diagnosed with Long COVID between January 2020 and January 2023, compared with people who did not have Long COVID but had similar demographic characteristics. Long COVID led to higher healthcare spending, the study found, costing about 3,400 British pounds per patient per year. The researchers also noted that, for people with Long COVID, cost increased progressively over time. These costs are far greater for people in the U.S. where most healthcare is privatized.
    • Hospital-acquired COVID-19 cases: And another British study: researchers at the U.K. Health Security Agency and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine analyzed data from about 350 British hospitals to estimate the prevalence of hospital-acquired coronavirus infections, or people who got the virus while in the hospital for something else. The team found that hospital-acquired infections represented 95,000 to 167,000 cases between June 2020 and March 2021 (i.e. 1% to 2% of all hospital admissions during this period). The researchers also found that people who got COVID-19 at the hospital were more likely to transmit it to other patients, and that more crowded hospitals with fewer single rooms were more likely to have in-hospital transmission. This study demonstrates a need for better infection control measures in hospitals, such as masking, improved ventilation, etc.
    • Wastewater surveillance for climate-resilient pathogens: In a new article in Science, researchers at the Rockefeller Foundation and the Santa Fe Institute argue that wastewater surveillance should be expanded on a global scale with a interest in tracking pathogens that are resilient to climate change. Pathogens like cholera, Lyme disease, dengue virus, and Zika virus, which can spread more widely in a warming planet, are posing increased risks to global health, the authors explain. Wastewater surveillance—as a population-level, potentially-quick-responding monitoring tool—can help track these pathogens more quickly than traditional tracking methods that rely on medical facilities sharing individual health data. The authors also explain barriers to global wastewater surveillance such as the cost of these programs and their prevalence so far in higher-income countries, as opposed to in some countries where surveillance may be most needed. Significant investment is necessary to build a truly effective system, they argue.

  • Sources and updates, October 15

    • Directory of COVID-19 advocacy groups: The COVID Advocacy Initiative, a group working to advocate for better COVID-19 safety measures and form connections among advocates, compiled this directory of advocacy groups across the U.S. and Canada. If you’re looking to get involved with organizing for improved public health, you can likely find a group near you on this list—or get inspired to start a new one!
    • HHS funds next-generation vaccine candidates: In an update for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s Project Next Gen, the agency announced funding for three next-gen vaccine candidates: two nasal vaccines developed by companies CastleVax and Codaenix, and one self-amplifying mRNA vaccine developed by Gritstone Bio. HHS also announced funding for companies that will support clinical trials of these vaccines, monoclonal antibody research, testing research, and other preparedness efforts. The awards add up to $500 million, out of $5 billion in total dedicated to Project Next Gen.
    • Wastewater surveillance of variants in South Africa: Speaking of improved testing, a new paper in Nature Communications this week reports on how wastewater surveillance may be used to monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants. Researchers in Johannesburg, South Africa (at the country’s national health agency and a local university) sampled sewage from several metro areas, then used sequencing to identify coronavirus variants. Sequencing data from the wastewater samples consistently matched samples from patients, the researchers found, and even identified new variants. The study adds to other evidence demonstrating wastewater’s value for tracking the coronavirus’ continued evolution.
    • Vascular function issues in Long COVID and ME/CFS: Another new paper that caught my attention this week: researchers at the University of the West of Scotland in Glasgow studied cardiovascular issues among people with Long COVID and ME/CFS. Upon testing patients in both groups (as well as controls, or people who don’t have either condition) to measure their blood flow, the researchers found that these patients have worse circulation. Such vascular dysfunction could contribute to cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms common in Long COVID and ME/CFS, and align with other research about microclots in Long COVID, the researchers wrote.
    • Monoclonal antibody infusions for Long COVID: One more notable Long COVID paper: a group of researchers in Florida, including well-known ME/CFS clinician Nancy Klimas, report that three people with Long COVID experienced remission from their symptoms following monoclonal antibody infusions. The patients received a treatment made by Regeneron, which is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies; it used to be a common treatment for acute COVID-19, but doesn’t work well against newer variants. While a small study (again, case study of three patients!), the paper suggests that monoclonal antibodies could be helpful for people whose Long COVID followed infection with an earlier, pre-Delta variant. A clinical trial of a similar treatment is currently progressing at te University of California San Francisco.

  • Sources and updates, October 8

    • Vaccination disparities in long-term care facilities: A new study in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report shares vaccination patterns from about 1,800 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care facilities across the U.S., focusing on the bivalent booster (or, last fall’s vaccine). The CDC researchers found significant disparities in these vaccinations: vaccine coverage was lowest among Black and Hispanic residents compared to other demographics, and was lowest in the South and Southeast compared to other regions. Future vaccination campaigns need to make it easy for these groups to get their shots, the authors suggest; but based on how the 2023 rollout has gone so far, this trend seems likely to continue.
    • Reasons for poor bivalent booster uptake: Speaking of last fall’s boosters, a study from researchers at the University of Arizona suggests reasons why people didn’t get the shots last year. Researchers surveyed about 2,200 Arizona residents who had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Among the survey respondents who didn’t get last year’s booster, the most common reason for not doing so was a belief that a prior infection made the shot unnecessary (40%), concerns about vaccine side effects (32%), believing the booster wouldn’t provide additional protection over prior shots (29%), and safety concerns (23%). As with the study above, this paper shows weaknesses in the U.S.’s recent vaccine promotion strategies.
    • At-home tests are useful but far from perfect: Researchers at Nagoya University and the University of Oxford used mathematical models to study how different safety measures impact chances of COVID-19 outbreaks. The researchers developed models based on contact tracing data reflecting how Omicron spreads through groups. Rapid, at-home, antigen tests are a useful but imperfect method for reducing outbreak risk, the study found, with daily testing reducing the risk of a school or workplace outbreak by 45% compared to a scenario in which new cases are identified by symptoms only. “In high-contact settings, or when a new variant emerges, mitigations other than antigen tests will be necessary,” one of the scientists said in a statement.
    • Long-term symptoms from non-COVID infections: The prevalence of Long COVID has led many scientists to develop new interest in chronic conditions that may arise after other common infections, such as the flu and other respiratory viruses. One recent study from Queen Mary University of London identifies a potential pattern, using data from COVIDENCE UK, a long-term study tracking about 20,000 people through monthly surveys. Researchers compared symptoms between people who had a COVID-19 diagnosis and those with other respiratory infections, looking at the month following infection. They found similar risks of health issues in the one-month timeframe for both groups, though specific symptoms (loss of taste and smell, dizziness) were more specific to Long COVID. Of course, some people in the “non-COVID” group could have had COVID-19 without a positive test; still, the data indicate more, longer-term research is needed.
    • Autoimmune disorders following COVID-19: In another Long COVID-related paper, researchers at Yonsei University and St. Vincent’s Hospital in South Korea found that patients had increased risks of autoimmune and autoinflammatory disorders following COVID-19 cases. The study used patient records from South Korea’s national public health system, comparing about 354,000 people who had COVID-19 diagnoses to 6.1 million controls. COVID-19 patients had a significant risk of new autoimmune issues within several months after infection; new diagnoses included alopecia (or hair loss), Crohn’s disease (inflammatory bowel issues), sarcoidosis (overactive immune system), and more. These conditions should be considered by doctors evaluating potential Long COVID patients, the researchers wrote in their paper.
    • New climate vulnerability index: This last item isn’t directly COVID-19 related, but may be useful in evaluating community risks for public health threats. The Environmental Defense Fund, Texas A&M University, and other partners have launched the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, a database providing Census tract-level information about how our changing climate will impact different communities. Communities are ranked from low to high climate vulnerability, with detailed data available on sociodemographic characteristics as well as potential extreme weather events and health trends.

  • Sources and updates, October 1

    • CDC publishes Long COVID data from national survey: Every year, the CDC conducts the National Health Interview Survey, a detailed look at population health in the U.S. through interviews of about 30,000 adults and 9,000 children. In 2022, the survey included questions about Long COVID, defining the condition as symptoms for at least three months after an initial COVID-19 case. This week, the CDC published data from the 2022 survey. Among the findings: about 6.9% of adults had ever experienced Long COVID, and 3.4% had it at the time of their interview. These figures were 1.3% and 0.5% for children, respectively. Women were more likely to experience it than men, and the survey identified other demographic differences (race, income, etc.). While many of the findings align with other Long COVID data, this CDC survey is unique in providing data on Long COVID in kids—which can be devastating for the small (yet significant) number of people impacted.
    • Molnupiravir could lead to new coronavirus mutations: A new study, posted in Nature this week ahead of its final publication, identifies potential dangers of using the antiviral molnupiravir. (Molnupiravir, made by Merck, is a similar drug to Paxlovid but tends to be less effective, so it’s not used as widely.) For this study, researchers at the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and colleagues examined coronavirus sequence data and found that certain mutations were likely to increase after molnupiravir use. Researchers have already known that this antiviral could lead to more viral evolution, but the paper provides more details on specific mutation risks; further research may examine the drug’s implications for immunocompromised patients.
    • Accessibility issues for COVID-19 websites: Many state and territorial COVID-19 websites don’t meet accessibility guidelines, making their key health information difficult for people who are blind or visually impaired to access, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. The researchers recently replicated a study that they’d first done in 2021, running checks on state sites against standard web accessibility guidance. “In 2021, none of these public-facing COVID-19 sites met all the checked WCAG guidelines, and things did not get any better in 2023,” study author Dylan Hewitt said in a statement. Issues include incompatibility with screen readers, limited color contrast, and no alt text for images.
    • Polling data indicate higher interest in flu shots than COVID-19 shots: The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has published a new round of polling data from its COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, focusing on vaccinations this fall. About 58% of adults in the poll said they would get a flu shot this year, compared to 47% who said they would get an updated COVID-19 shot. Vaccine interest continues to be partisan, the poll suggested, with Democrats much more likely to express confidence in the updated COVID-19 vaccines’ safety than Republicans. Democrats were also more likely to respond to increased COVID-19 spread, with 58% of those polled saying they recently took more precautions in response to the surge this summer.
    • New behavioral health survey data from the CDC: One more CDC update from this week: the agency has just published 2022 data from its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS involves interviews of more than 400,000 adults each year, including questions about alcohol use, tobacco use, immunizations, cancer screenings, mental health, and more. While the data aren’t directly related to COVID-19, this surveillance system may be a valuable source for reporters or researchers seeking contextual data about health behaviors in a particular state, city, or county.

  • Sources and updates, September 24

    • Free at-home tests from the federal government: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Postal Service are restarting their program offering free COVID-19 rapid, at-home tests. Starting tomorrow, every U.S. household will be able to order four more tests at covidtests.gov. HHS also announced that it’s buying about 200 million further rapid tests from major manufacturers, paying a total of $600 million to twelve companies. Of course, four tests per household is pretty minimal when you consider all the exposures people are likely to have this fall and winter—but it’s still helpful to see the federal government acknowledge a continued need for testing.
    • New grants support Long COVID clinics: The HHS and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) also announced a new grant program for clinics focused on Long COVID, aiming to make care for this condition more broadly accessible to underserved communities. Nine clinics across the country have received $1 million each, with the opportunity to renew their grants over the next five years. (At least, that’s my interpretation of the HHS press release, which says $45 million in total is allocated to this program.) This is a pretty significant announcement, as it marks the first time that the federal government is specifically funding Long COVID care; funding has previously gone to RECOVER and other research projects.
    • CDC announces new disease modeling network: One more federal announcement: the CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics has established a new program to improve the country’s disease surveillance, working with research institutions across the country. The CDC has awarded $262.5 million of funding to the thirteen institutions participating in this program, which it’s calling the Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling Network. These institutions will develop new surveillance tools, test them in small-scale projects, and scale up the successful options to broader public health systems. For more context on the CDC’s forecasting center, see my story for FiveThirtyEight last year.
    • Testing wildlife for COVID-19: Speaking of surveillance: researchers at universities and public agencies are collaborating on new projects aiming to better understand how COVID-19 is spreading and evolving among wild animals. One project, at Purdue University, is focused on developing a test to better detect SARS-CoV-2 among wild animals. A second project, at Penn State University, is focused on increased monitoring, with plans to test 58 different wildlife species and identify sources of transmission from animals to humans. Both projects received grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and involve collaboration with state environmental agencies.
    • Paxlovid access falls along socioeconomic lines: A new study, published this week in JAMA Network Open, examines disparities in getting Paxlovid. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health analyzed public data on Paxlovid availability as of May 2023. Counties with higher poverty, less health insurance coverage, and other markers of high socioeconomic vulnerability had significantly less access to Paxlovid than better-off counties, the scientists found. Meanwhile, a separate study (also in JAMA Network Open last week) found that Paxlovid and another antiviral treatment, made by Merck, both remain very effective in reducing severe COVID-19 symptoms. Improving access to these treatments should be a top priority for the public health system.
    • Undercounted COVID-19 cases in Africa: One more study that caught my attention this week: researchers at York University in Canada developed a mathematical model to assess how many people actually got COVID-19 in 54 African countries during the first months of the pandemic. Overall, only 5% of cases in these countries were actually reported, the researchers found, with a range of reporting from 30% in Libya to under 1% in São Tomé and Príncipe. A majority of cases in these countries were asymptomatic, the models suggested, indicating many people may not have realized they were infected. The study shows “a clear need for improved reporting and surveillance systems” in African countries, the authors wrote.

  • Sources and updates, September 17

    • Public comments to the CDC about infection control measures: The People’s CDC, a public health communication and advocacy organization that seeks to fill gaps left by the federal CDC, has published a database of comments about the importance of infection control measures in healthcare settings. These comments were sent to the CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), as the committee considers changing the agency’s guidance to be more lenient about preventing infections in healthcare settings. As the CDC has not published comments publicly itself, the People’s CDC “asked people to forward us their comments to HICPAC, and created the People’s Register.” For more details about HICPAC, see this post.
    • Recommendations for masks, nasal sprays, other tools: In response to last week’s post discussing how nasal sprays may be used to reduce COVID-19 risk, a reader shared this video from RTHM Health, a telehealth clinic focused on Long COVID and related complex chronic diseases. “This video has a section with a good overview of different sprays and the strength of evidence for each one,” the reader wrote. The video also includes recommendations for high-quality reusable masks and respirators, along with other COVID-19 safety tools.
    • Wastewater surveillance for flu, RSV: A new study, published this week in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, discusses how wastewater surveillance can complement other methods of monitoring the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Researchers at Wisconsin’s state health department, the CDC, and other collaborators tracked flu and RSV in three Wisconsin cities’ sewage during last winter’s respiratory virus season. They found that wastewater trends “often preceded a rise” in emergency department visits for these viruses. This study follows other research that has shown wastewater surveillance can be a predictive tool for many diseases, not just COVID-19.
    • Better understanding coronavirus interactions with human cells: Another recent study, published in the journal Viruses, discusses how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the proteins in human cells as it replicates. The research team (based at the University of California Riverside) identified a specific cellular process that the virus’ N protein hijacks and uses to copy its genetic material, leading to more coronavirus in the body. These findings could be used to develop new antiviral treatments that target this cellular process, both for COVID-19 and other similar diseases, the researchers said in a press release.
    • Limitations of prior immunity to COVID-19: One more recent paper that caught my attention: researchers at the University of Geneva in Switzerland studied how prior infection and/or vaccination can impact COVID-19 risk, based on about 50,000 cases and associated contact tracing data from the city of Geneva. The researchers found that both a recent infection and vaccination reduced the risk of getting infected from a close contact sick with COVID-19. But both types of immunity faded within a few months, leading people to remain vulnerable in the long-term. This study suggests that vaccines alone are not sufficient to control the spread of COVID-19; masks, ventilation improvements, and other interventions are needed, the authors argue.
    • NIH tests universal flu vaccine: Speaking of vaccines: the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (or NIAID, one of the National Institutes of Health) announced this week that it’s starting a new trial for a universal flu vaccine. This vaccine, developed by NIAID researchers, can prompt the body to make antibodies against a wide variety of flu strains rather than focusing on one variant. The vaccine has done well in animal studies and is now ready for a phase one clinical trial. NIAID plans to test the vaccine in 24 volunteers, and will follow them closely through immune system testing to see how the vaccine performs.

  • Sources and updates, September 10

    • Cost details about new treatment from Project Next Gen: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently started to share more details about Project Next Gen, a federal initiative to support new vaccines and treatments as the coronavirus continues evolving. This week, HHS announced details about its agreement with Regeneron, a company working on a new monoclonal antibody with federal funding. If a new treatment arises from this research, Regeneron cannot sell it for a higher price in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world, HHS said. This is a relatively small step for treatment access, but still could set a precedent for other products that come out of Project Next Gen.
    • Viral persistence in Long COVID: A new paper from some top Long COVID researchers (including Amy Proal, Michael VanElzakker, and others) reviews evidence about viral reservoirs, or pockets of coronavirus continuing to replicate in people’s bodies. Past studies have found these viral reservoirs throughout the body; Proal and her colleagues explain how they may contribute to different Long COVID symptoms. The review paper also recommends priorities for further research on this topic and potential treatment options. “Many aspects of SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in Long COVID require further study,” Proal wrote in a Twitter thread summarizing the paper. “For example, we need to better understand factors that differentiate SARS-CoV-2 persistence in Long COVID from persistence in asymptomatic individuals.”
    • Genetic factors for COVID-19 risk: In another notable paper from this week, researchers from a global consortium published results about how genetic factors may contribute to COVID-19 risk. The team reviewed genomic data from about 220,000 people who had COVID-19 and three million who had not tested positive. They found 51 areas of the genome that were statistically correlated to a higher risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2 or more severe symptoms. These findings could lead to “identification of the mechanisms involved in the susceptibility and the severe course of the disease,” one of the study’s lead authors said in a press release.
    • Updated Medicaid unwinding data from KFF: The Kaiser Family Foundation has updated its Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker, which shares data about people losing their Medicaid coverage thanks to the end of the federal health emergency. As of September 8, at least 5.9 million people across 48 states and Washington, D.C. have lost their coverage, KFF reports. Disenrollment varies widely by state, from 9% in Michigan to 72% in Texas. And the majority of people who lost their Medicaid coverage have done so due to procedural reasons, meaning an error of lost paperwork (rather than an actual change in eligibility, in many cases).