Tag: Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

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Call For Booster Shots Reignites Criticism about Global Vaccine Inequity

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Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog reported on August 17th that the CDC now says people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because they are more at risk of serious, prolonged illness. Studies indicate some immunocompromised people don’t always build the same level of immunity after vaccination the way non-immunocompromised people do.

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Health Officials Monitoring for signs of “breakthrough” Infections—ie, Infections in fully Vaccinated Individuals

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , in order to understand the effectiveness of vaccination efforts, health officials are monitoring for signs of “breakthrough” infections—ie, infections in fully vaccinated individuals—which provide insight regarding both the degree of protection provided by the vaccines as well as risk factors that could affect that protection. But in order to effectively utilize these data, health officials must determine (1) what qualifies as a breakthrough infection and (2) whether they should treat all breakthrough infections equally. As we covered previously, clinical trials for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines utilized different metrics to estimate efficacy, and depending on whether you look at SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic COVID-19 disease, or severe disease or death, vaccine efficacy can vary widely. An article published in The Atlantic takes a similar look at breakthrough infections.

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COVID VACCINATION ADVERSE EFFECTS : Higher-than-expected Number of People under age 30, Experiencing Heart Inflammation

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Ridgewood NJ, According to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security,  a higher-than-expected number of people under age 30, especially young men, have experienced heart inflammation, also called myocarditis or pericarditis, following their second dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, including the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

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CDC Recommends all Pregnant Women Receive the COVID Vaccine

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, following the publication of preliminary findings detailing the effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in pregnant women in the April 21 New England Journal of Medicine, US CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a briefing on April 23 that the agency recommends all pregnant women receive a vaccine. Dr. Walensky noted that no safety concerns arose for pregnant women vaccinated during their third trimester nor for their infants, although the study did not include the J&J-Janssen vaccine. Experts have taken special interest in the effect of vaccinations in pregnant persons, and a study published on April 22 in JAMA Pediatrics shows they are at a higher risk for complications due to COVID-19. The research, which described the experiences of 2,130 pregnant persons in 18 countries, concluded that the risks of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality among pregnant people and their infants are greater than previously thought, underscoring the importance of vaccination for pregnant women.

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Health Experts : Improve Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Filtration to Stem the Transmission of COVID

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Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security ,scientific evidence increasingly supports the theory that the primary mode of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is through airborne infectious aerosols passed from person-to-person, according to some researchers. In three separate pieces published last week, experts outlined reasoning and evidence supporting SARS-CoV-2 transmission from both near-field and far-field aerosols. In a commentary published April 15 in The Lancet, researchers from the UK, US, and Canada present 10 reasons backing airborne transmission. In another piece published online in JAMA on April 16, experts from Harvard University and the University of Michigan describe the rationale for improving air circulation and filtration in indoor spaces to reduce far-field transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory infectious diseases. While noting that airborne viral particles are a significant route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and calling for improved air ventilation in indoor spaces, experts from the UK, US, and China in an editorial published April 14 in The BMJ also underline the significance of mask quality and fit.

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CDC encourages vaccinated individuals to continue taking public health precautions to prevent infection and transmission

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, on April 2, a team of researchers led by the US CDC COVID-19 Response Team published interim estimates of a prospective cohort study describing the effectiveness of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines among healthcare and other frontline workers. The report, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), describes data collected from December 14, 2020 to March 13, 2021, through the HEROES-RECOVER network of 8 US sites. Overall, 3,950 frontline workers (i.e., those who routinely are within 3 feet of other individuals as part of their occupation) with no prior laboratory documentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection were included in the analysis. Participants were actively monitored for COVID-19 symptoms and self-collected weekly nasal swabs which were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Questions AstraZeneca COVID vaccine’s Efficacy Estimate

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, AstraZeneca announced preliminary results from a Phase 3 clinical trial for its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The trial included more than 32,000 participants in Chile, Peru, and the US, including 21,583 who received at least one dose of the vaccine. The press release reports an overall efficacy of 79% against any COVID-19 disease among all age groups and 80% efficacy for adults aged 65 years and older. Additionally, the press release describes 100% efficacy against severe disease and hospitalization. AstraZeneca explicitly noted that an independent review of the safety data “found no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterized by thrombosis” associated with the vaccine. Previous analysis of data from trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK estimated the overall efficacy to be 60%.

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Comparing Vaccines, Experts say , “The best vaccine is the one that’s in your arm” 

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security,  as more data become available from Phase 3 clinical vaccine trials, it is natural to compare vaccines’ performance characteristics against each other. For example, the Mayor of Detroit, Michigan, reportedly declined a shipment of the J&J-Janssen vaccine in favor of prioritizing the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. But unlike many products that have well-established standards and metrics, the clinical trials for each vaccine were designed and implemented independently, which makes direct comparison difficult. The focus on specific efficacy numbers between trials may not provide the whole picture. The relatively small numbers of severe cases and deaths in the clinical trials for all of the vaccines so far make it more difficult to evaluate their efficacy in preventing more severe forms of COVID-19, as a single case could result in major changes to the efficacy estimates.

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Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. Announce Partnership to Manufacture the J&J-Janssen COVID-vaccine

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

New Brunswick NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security industry competitors Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Merck & Co. announced that they will work together to manufacture the J&J-Janssen SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Currently, there are only approximately 4 million doses available for distribution. J&J was supposed to produce 12 million doses by the end of February, but it fell behind schedule.

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Israeli Study on the Chronic Symptoms of COVID Show Fatigue and Loss of Taste and Smell Persisted for 6 Months

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ,  according Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , as more and more people recover from acute COVID-19 disease, clinicians and researchers are gathering additional information on the chronic effects of SARS-CoV-2, commonly referred to as “long COVID.” A study conducted in Israel, published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection, investigated chronic symptoms in recovered COVID-19 patients over a 6-month period. The study included 103 patients who recovered from mild COVID-19 illness, and investigators collected data on the onset and duration of a variety of symptoms. Fever was among the first symptoms to resolve, with a mean duration of 5.6 days, whereas fatigue (31.1 days), difficulty breathing (18.6), and changes to taste (18.6) and smell (23.5) tended to persist longer. Notably, nearly half of the participants reported chronic symptoms that persisted for 6 months, including 22% with ongoing fatigue, 15% with changes to taste and smell, and 8% with breathing difficulties. The onset of some of the chronic symptoms—such as fatigue, breathing difficulties, memory disorders, and hair loss—tended to be reported after the 6-week point, indicating that they were newly developed conditions in recovered patients rather than longer-term continuations of acute disease.

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The Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Variants has Provided the Motivation to Rapidly Scale up Genomic Sequencing Capacity

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Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security ,the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with the potential for increased transmissibility has provided the motivation necessary to rapidly scale up genomic sequencing capacity, in the US and elsewhere. Some members of the scientific community argue that existing capacity is available, at least in terms of having adequate hardware, technicians, and infrastructure; however, there is a lack of funding available to conduct this type of research, particularly on a scale needed to monitor the evolution of a national epidemic. In the global context, the US ranks #36 in terms of the proportion of specimens sequenced (0.36% of confirmed cases), compared to #1 Denmark, which has sequenced more than half.

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Eli Lilly gets the Go for its Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail for “mild to moderate” COVID-19

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security on February 9, the US FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody cocktail of bamlanivimab and etesevimab as a treatment for COVID-19. The EUA specifically authorizes the treatment for “mild to moderate” COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older who are “at high risk for progressing to severe” disease.

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Yes, There are More Updated Mask Usage Recommendations

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ,  according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security on February 10, the US CDC published updated guidance regarding ways to improve the efficacy of facemasks, which supplements existing mask guidance. The recommendations focus on 2 principal factors in how masks provide protection: fit and filtering ability. The CDC continues to recommend wearing a “mask [that] fits snugly against your face” and selecting masks that have multiple layers to filter respiratory droplets. The new guidance includes several additional recommendations and tips for improving both aspects of mask use.

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CDC : Vaccinating Teachers is not a Prerequisite for Resuming in-person Classes

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ,  last week, US CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated that agency officials are finalizing recommendations regarding school reopening and that official guidance should be published soon. The guidance is expected to play a major role as state and local governments and school systems across the country continue to debate how to safely return students and teachers to the classroom. The issue has been fiercely debated, extending to courtrooms and picket lines.  Joe Biden has indicated that he aims for most K-12 schools to reopen within his first 100 days in office. One of the biggest issues is how to prioritize teachers for vaccination and if or how to resume in-person classes before they can be vaccinated. Dr. Walensky recently stated that vaccinating teachers is not a prerequisite for resuming in-person classes. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) includes teachers in its Tier 1b priority group, but Dr. Walensky indicated that schools can implement measures to mitigate transmission risk in the classroom until teachers can be vaccinated. In addition to teachers, there is also ongoing debate regarding the risk to students, most of whom are too young to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.

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“DOUBLE MASKING”, increased effectiveness questioned by medical professionals

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, DOUBLE MASKING The idea of “double masking”—ie, wearing 2 masks on top of one another rather than a single mask—has emerged over the past week or so in the US. The idea itself is not new, but it gained attention following recent comments by Dr. Anthony Fauci in support of wearing multiple masks. Dr. Fauci’s comments reference emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants that appear to be more transmissible than those circulating earlier in the pandemic, which could necessitate enhanced risk mitigation measures to sufficiently reduce transmission risk. Wearing an extra mask aims to provide additional layers of filtration for inhaled and exhaled air with the ultimate goal of further decreasing SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk.

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