WP Perspectives – May 23, 2022

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Focus on Facts

  • The FDA and CDC have recommended COVID-19 boosters for children ages 5-11. VDH urges parents to talk to their pediatrician or other healthcare provider about getting their child boosted. Vaccination helps to keep children from getting very sick, developing short- and long-term health problems, and reduce spread to loved ones and communities. Learn more.
  • As of May 19, 2022, Omicron accounted for 99.9% of all circulating variants nationally (for the week ending May 14). ○ BA.2, a sublineage of the Omicron variant, has been decreasing. It accounted for 50.9% of circulating variants. ○ BA2.12.1, another Omicron sublineage, has been increasing. It accounted for 47.5% of circulating variants.  ○ BA.2 does appear to be more transmissible than BA.1.  VDH Talking Points 5/20/22

 

  • The F.D.A. and Abbott Laboratories reached an agreement that could reopen a plant to help ease the baby formula shortage. After production resumes, Abbott has said, it could take about two months before new formula begins arriving in stores. . . it will be "a few weeks" before supplies return to normal levels, especially in rural areas. Here is the latest from VDH on the shortage.
  • Former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx warned against a COVID-19 surge across the U.S. South as summer approaches. "Virus does circulate at a higher level in the summer across the southern states. This is because, as you know, it gets too hot to be outside. So . . . you all move indoors in the summer," said Birx. Associated Press/Martinsville Bulletin 5/16/22  The final word: If you plan to visit elderly parents or other vulnerable people, test before you go so that you are not shedding virus. 

 

  • More Free COVID tests. The website for people to request free COVID-19 at-home tests from the U.S. government is accepting a third round of orders. Residential households in the U.S. are now eligible for another order of free at-home tests. Here's what you need to know about your order:
    • Each order now includes 8 rapid antigen COVID-19 tests and ships for free
    • Your order of 8 tests will come in 2 separate packages (4 tests in each package), each with its own tracking number
  • Order your tests at covidtests.gov. Need help placing an order for your at-⁠home tests? Call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489). 
  • National Institutes of Health-funded researchers designed proteins to be resistant to new COVID19 variants. When given through the noses of mice, they protected against infection. A nasal spray of these proteins could potentially protect against COVID-19 before or after exposure. Read more.

News You Can Use

Nasal swab self test

On May 16, the FDA authorized the Labcorp Seasonal Respiratory Virus RT-PCR DTC Test for use without a prescription by individuals with symptoms of respiratory viral infection consistent with COVID-19. This product is the first direct-to-consumer (non-prescription) multi-analyte COVID-19 test authorized by FDA and allows an individual to self-collect a nasal swab sample at home and then send that sample to Labcorp for testing. The test can identify and differentiate multiple respiratory viruses at the same time, detecting influenza A and B, commonly known as the flu, respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV, along with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Results are delivered through an online portal, with follow-up from a health care provider for positive or invalid test results. Learn more.

Quick Shots

  • Public schools in the U.S. have lost at least 1.2 million students since 2020, with some switching to home-schooling and others dropping out.
  • The C.D.C. is advising Americans in high risk areas, primarily in the Northeast, to wear masks indoors.
  • Hospitalizations in the U.S. have risen more than 25 percent in the past two weeks.
  • Health officials are considering offering COVID boosters and flu shots at the same time this fall.
  • A man in rural Japan accidentally received $360,000 in pandemic stimulus. He gambled it all away.
    NYTimes 5/18, 5/19

 

  • You can use the CDC COVID-19 Community Levels to know what the level of COVID-19 transmission is in your specific county. Depending on the level, you should follow the guidance presented. As of May 12, more counties in Virginia have moved from a low to medium community level. Those at high risk for severe illness and their friends and family should consider the additional prevention steps recommended by CDC when the Community Level is medium. VDH Talking Points – 5/20
  • As of May 20, all WPHD localities remained a low community transmission level.

The Epi-Center

Virus particles
Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. NIAID

Epidemiology is the science at center of public health.

Long COVID Characteristics 

A research team supported by the National Institutes of Health has identified characteristics of people with long COVID and those likely to have it. Scientists, using machine learning techniques, analyzed an unprecedented collection of electronic health records (EHRs) available for COVID-19 research to better identify who has long COVID.

. . . the team used the data to find more than 100,000 likely long COVID cases as of October 2021 (as of May 2022, the count is more than 200,000). The findings appear in The Lancet Digital Health.

Long COVID is marked by wide-ranging symptoms, including shortness of breath, fatigue, fever, headaches, “brain fog” and other neurological problems. Such symptoms can last for many months or longer after an initial COVID-19 diagnosis. One reason long COVID is difficult to identify is that many of its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases and conditions. A better characterization of long COVID could lead to improved diagnoses and new therapeutic approaches.. . .

“Was there something different about those people before they developed long COVID? Did they have certain risk factors? Was there something about how they were treated during acute COVID that might have increased or decreased their risk for long COVID?”  National Institutes of Health  Learn more.

COVID-19 Data

Franklin County
Henry County
Martinsville
Patrick County

Cases

444
585
112
163
Over the past 13 weeks by date of illness

Deaths

12
14
6
5
Over the past 13 weeks by date of death. 5/20/2022

Back to school immunization scheduleFlames

Printable Back to School immunizations flyer

 

When it's hot as fire out there, you could be at risk for serious heat-related illness.

Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and how to protect yourself.

Public Health At Work

Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) Program and Tuberculosis Screening/Testing

As part of the U4U program, up to 100,000 Ukrainians will be allowed to resettle to the United States for a period of two years, provided they identify a U.S.-based supporter and meet certain eligibility requirements, including receipt of a tuberculosis test within 14 days of arrival to the United States.

  • VDH encourages Ukrainians who arrive in Virginia to work with their sponsor to contact their local health department to receive TB screening/testing. Because Ukraine has a higher incidence of TB and roughly a quarter of their TB cases are multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB, it is important for public health to work proactively to identify and manage any active or latent TB infections in this population.

Monkeypox Outbreaks in the United Kingdom and Europe

A case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Massachusetts in an adult male with recent travel to Canada. Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body. No monkeypox cases have previously been identified in the United States in 2022; Texas and Maryland each reported a case in 2021 in people with recent travel to Nigeria.

VDH Talking Points, 5/20