As COVID-19 continues to spread seemingly everywhere, President Biden is the latest in a long line of government leaders to become infected, isolating himself with mild symptoms. Most Americans said in a recent poll that they don’t think COVID-19 will ever go away. To encourage vaccination adoption among its members, the Air Force is now providing them with the newly approved Novavax, which uses technology more familiar than the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer.
Nursing home cases and deaths rise again
COVID-19 cases and deaths among residents of U.S. nursing homes have increased substantially over the past two months, according to new data from AARP. Nearly 3,000 per 100,000 nursing home residents tested positive for COVID-19 in June, marking a 27% increase from the previous month. Deaths have also increased, with 70 per 100,000 people dying from COVID, up from 40 per 100,000 in May. The numbers are comparable to those recorded in early 2020 before vaccines became available. About 72% of nursing home residents nationwide are fully immunized with at least one booster, just below California’s rate of about 79%.
Bay Area is no longer California’s COVID hotspot
After several weeks of consistently reporting the highest COVID-19 infection rates in California, all nine Bay Area counties this week fell below the state average for new daily cases. The region now averages about 40 cases per 100,000 people compared to the overall state average of 45 per 100,000, based on public health department data analyzed by The Chronicle. Rural areas like Kings, Imperial and Del Norte counties are reporting the highest rate of daily infections, with the latter having 138 new cases per 100,000 people. But population centers like Los Angeles County, with 61 per 100,000, and San Diego County, with 56 per 100,000, are the new problem areas. California’s coronavirus test positivity rate, which is the proportion of positive tests, climbed to 16.7% on Friday. Deaths are also rising, with 41 people dying daily from COVID-19, up from 30 a month ago. In the Bay Area, there were 825 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday, the highest number since February.
President Biden’s condition has ‘improved’, says White House doc
President Biden’s COVID-19 symptoms “have improved” after his first day of taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, White House physician Kevin O’Connor said in a letter Friday. The president had a fever of 99.4 F overnight and was given Tylenol, he added. Biden continues to have a runny nose and cough, while “his pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation remain completely normal,” the letter states. On Thursday, the White House announced that Biden had tested positive after his recent trip to the Middle East and repeatedly assured that the president was working hard while self-isolating in residential areas of the White House with very mild symptoms. . Biden tweeted Thursday.
Bay Area man says he co-infected COVID, monkeypox: ‘Incredibly unlucky’
Sevastopol resident Mitcho Thompson says he tested positive for coronavirus in late June at the same time he was diagnosed with monkeypox. “The doctor was very certain I had monkeypox and I had both,” Thompson told NBC Bay Area. “That was the question. Can I have them at the same time? And he said, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ He compared the feeling of co-infection to a bad flu. “Really sick,” he said. “And the worst was honestly where I could barely get out of bed and you could barely drink a glass of water.” Health experts say that although rare, it is possible to catch both viruses simultaneously. “It’s just unbelievably bad luck,” said Stanford professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist Dr. Dean Winslow.
BART sees decline in mask-wearing since mandate lifted
About 89% of BART passengers wore face coverings in June, based on regular monitoring by transit agents. BART operators conduct counts four times a month during morning and evening shifts to collect data on mask-wearing on trains – counting only passengers wearing masks covering their mouths and noses. Others are considered “non-compliant,” according to agency data. In the first three months of the year, officials saw roughly 98% compliance, but that figure has been steadily declining since April, when BART canceled, then reinstated a week later, its mask requirement. . The agency lifted the mandate again on Monday but will return to the matter at its next board meeting on July 28.
Over 97% of US counties have high or substantial COVID transmission
America is in the midst of the seventh wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 93% of US counties reporting high levels of COVID-19 transmission and an additional 4% in the “substantial category”, according to data released Thursday. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes all of California’s counties, which are also classified as having high COVID-19 community levels in 51 of its 58 counties. Community levels include measures based on daily cases and hospital admissions. The latest wave of cases is due to the highly transmissible BA.5 omicron subvariant of the virus.
Air Force encourages use of Novavax vaccine
The Air Force will make the protein-based Novavax coronavirus vaccine available in the coming weeks for its members who have been hesitant to get an mRNA vaccine despite the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement. . “Most airmen and guards have already received vaccines using similar technology to the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, such as the hepatitis B vaccine, which is a Department of Defense requirement. Other vaccines produced with similar technology are the human papillomavirus vaccine and even one of the flu vaccines,” said Lt. Col. David Sayers, chief of preventive medicine, Air Force Medical Readiness Agency. “The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine uses technology that has been around since the 1980s. Not only do we have efficacy and safety data from Novavax clinical trials, but we also have decades of experience with this type of vaccine. .
UCSF’s Wachter weighs in on Biden diagnosis
Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of medicine at UCSF, analyzed President Biden’s diagnosis of COVID-19 in a Thursday Twitter feed, highlighting the long COVID as a risk it faces. He noted a risk of at least 5% of persistent symptoms such as exhaustion or brain fog, “nor good for someone in their line of work”. Wachter added that the president may also face a “small but significant long-term increased risk of heart attack, stroke.” Wachter said that since the president is taking Paxlovid, he could experience a rebound infection, but the benefits of the antiviral drug in preventing serious consequences from the disease outweigh the risks. Biden’s vaccination and boosters mean the president is likely to be fine, Wachter said, adding, “I wish him an easy course.”
COVID-infected Biden says it’ll be ‘OK’
President Joe Biden, in a video message, reassured Americans that he was feeling fine after testing positive for COVID. “Hey people, I guess you heard. This morning I tested positive for COVID,” Biden said in a video posted on social media Thursday afternoon. “But I was double vaccinated, double boosted. Symptoms are mild. The White House said he was working in solitary confinement until he tested negative and suffered from coughing, runny nose and fatigue. “Waiting, thank you for your concern“, Biden said. “And keep the faith. It’s going to be okay.” The president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement that Biden had a runny nose and “fatigue, with an occasional dry cough, which began last night.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that Biden was taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid.