#covid-19 vaccine news

[toshootforthestars]

(source)

#covid 19 #coronavirus #news #science #please get vaccinated #please get the booster #please stay safe #covid is not over #covid is not a hoax #please look out for each other #covid--19 #long covid #yes the covid vaccine is safe

[allthecanadianpolitics]

An Edmonton constable who spoke at a "Freedom Convoy" rally, thanked protesters and posted a video suggesting vaccine mandates were "unlawful" and "unsafe" was sanctioned ten months of pay before being permitted to return to the job.

Edmonton Police Service Const. Elena Golysheva "acknowledged the inappropriateness of her actions" during a disciplinary hearing in June, according to documents CTV News Edmonton obtained through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #canadian #edmonton #alberta #cops #police #freedom convoy #coronavirus #COVID-19 #vaccine denial

[post-grammatic-stress]

Jan 2024 is going to be a very bad month for Covid infections - you haven't been taking precautions, you should start.

If you're thinking, "I've had covid and it was no big deal", please know your odds of having it turn into long covid go up every time you're infected.

I had no risk factors and was a marathon runner when I got Covid in July 2022. I'm disabled now. Still. I've spent thousands on medical treatments of varying efficacy, and I may never be the same person again.

Don't think it can't or won't happen to you. There's no reason it won't.

#Covid #Long covid #Wear a mask #Covid is not over #Covid 19 #Get the new vaccine

[thoughtportal]

price gouging medication that was paid for by tax payers

#tiktok #drug prices #price gouging #Healthcare #Health Care #health insurance #medical news #medication #wealth inequality #hoarding wealth #wealth gap #wealth #billionaire #tax payer #tax payers #tax money #bernie sanders #vaccine apartheid #vaccines #COVID-19 #the pandemic

[broadlyepi]

Respiratory distress in SARS-CoV-2 exposed uninfected neonates followed in the COVID Outcomes in Mother-Infant Pairs (COMP) Study

Top 5 Takeaways

High Rates of Respiratory Distress in Exposed Uninfected Neonates: The study found unusually high rates (17%) of respiratory distress (RD) in SARS-CoV-2 exposed uninfected (SEU) term neonates.

Maternal COVID-19 Vaccination Reduces Neonatal RD: Maternal vaccination against COVID-19 significantly reduced the frequency of neonatal RD, with a 67% decline in the odds of RD in neonates born to vaccinated mothers compared to those born to unvaccinated mothers.

Proteomic Analysis Reveals Inflammatory Response: Proteomic analysis indicated a robust inflammatory response in SEU neonates with RD, involving pathways like ciliary dysregulation and enhanced IgE production.

Demographic and Clinical Factors: The study enrolled 221 pregnant persons with COVID-19 and 227 exposed fetuses. It highlighted the correlation of RD with factors like maternal disease severity, prematurity, and the absence of maternal COVID-19 immunization.

Th2-Skewed Immune Response in SEU Neonates: SEU preterm infants with RD showed a Th2-skewed immune response, indicated by elevated levels of certain cytokines and the inhibition of FC gamma receptors.

Original Article Author and Citation

Olivia M. Man, Tamiris Azamor, Mary Catherine Cambou, Trevon L. Fuller, Tara Kerin, Sophia G. Paiola, Jessica S. Cranston, Thalia Mok, Rashmi Rao, Weiqiang Chen, Jae U. Jung, Viviana Fajardo Martinez, Suan-Sin Foo, Karin Nielsen-Saines

Suggested Citation

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44549-5

Summary

The study aimed to understand the impact of prenatal COVID-19 exposure on neonatal respiratory distress (RD). A high incidence of RD was observed in SEU neonates, and maternal vaccination notably reduced this risk. Proteomic analysis suggested a strong inflammatory response in these neonates.

Methods

The research employed a longitudinal cohort study approach, enrolling mothers with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy and their exposed fetuses. Various demographic, clinical, and proteomic analyses were used to understand the complex relationship between maternal COVID-19 parameters and infant RD.

Discussion

The findings highlight the protective role of maternal COVID-19 vaccination in reducing neonatal RD. The study also revealed a Th2-skewed immune response in SEU neonates with RD, suggesting potential long-term implications, including the development of allergic processes and pulmonary fibrosis.

Conclusion

Maternal vaccination against COVID-19 significantly decreases the risk of neonatal RD in SEU infants. The study underscores the importance of maternal vaccination for reducing neonatal morbidity and improving long-term infant health.

#covid #covid 19 #covid vaccine #sars cov 2 #neonatal #health #epidemiology #breaking news

[gwydionmisha]

#FDA #CDC #COVID-19 #COVID Vaccines #News

[gumjrop]

The Weather

More than half of all US states remain at high to very high levels of SARS-CoV-2 detected in wastewater since January 25, 2024. As more people face reinfections, COVID remains a serious disease and we recommend that you continue to take precautions as the risk for infection is high at this time.

Although wastewater levels have dropped for multiple US regions, wastewater levels in the South have climbed higher than we’ve seen for any region this season and are currently the second highest peak we’ve experienced in the duration of the pandemic. This is a particularly concerning rebound as at the beginning of the year, Southern levels were experiencing a sharp decline. CDC’s national and regional wastewater data over time also show high levels nationally. As a reminder, the last two weeks are provisional data, indicated by a gray shaded area on the graph, therefore these values may change as additional wastewater sites report data. We want to remind you that multiple layers of precautions will protect against a COVID infection.

Wins

We thank many of you this week for joining us and in signing on with our letter to the ACLU regarding the actions taken by the CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) that previously weakened already insufficient protocols employed within healthcare settings. We had many concerns with the actions taken by HICPAC. As a result of your actions, as well as support by many of our allies at previous HICPAC meetings, the CDC responded on January 23, 2024, with a request to consider clarification questions in distinguishing masks and N95 respirators. The CDC asked HICPAC to consider these questions prior to submission to the Federal Register for more public comment. This success demonstrates the importance of working together and holding the CDC accountable for ensuring safe healthcare settings for all patients and healthcare workers. You may also submit an additional comment or a reply to the CDC’s official response to HICPAC at the bottom of the news release.

As many healthcare systems and public health departments have restored masking in healthcare settings only when facing public pressure, without further action this important measure may not last. We ask you to support national and local groups to advocate for everyone’s safety in maintaining universal masking in all healthcare and healthcare-like settings. Universal masking can become a standard of preventative care rather than a short term response to infectious disease already surging.

Variants

JN.1 remains the dominant variant in the United States, and is approximately 93.1% of circulating variants as of 2/3/2024. HV.1 drops even further to 2.3%, and all other variants are estimated to make up less than 2% each. The updated 2023-2024 COVID vaccines updated with the XBB.1.5 variant were recently shown by a MMWR report to be at least 49% to 60% effective against symptomatic infections during the Fall season, from late September 2023 to mid-January 2024. By ensuring additional precautions including testing, masking, ventilation, and air filtration, the additive effect will ensure a higher effectiveness.

Vaccine uptake remains limited with only 21.8% of adults and 11.6% of children receiving the updated COVID vaccine as of 2/02/24. The Bridge Program remains available for those underinsured or without insurance for no-cost access to these vaccines.

Hospitalizations

A downward trend continues with new hospital admissions, currently at 22,636 the week of January 27, 2024. We still do not know the total number of hospital-acquired infections, since reporting over these numbers was halted in May of 2023. Despite this decrease in new hospital admissions, please consider that wastewater levels are still high nationwide, and that hospitalization does not reflect the current amount of circulating virus. Please continue to exercise caution and wear a well-fitting respirator indoors.

Testing and Treatment

A study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) found that SARS-CoV-2 viral load peaks around the fourth day of symptom onset. This may suggest why tests do not seem to be picking up positive cases early on. This does not mean that transmission is unlikely prior to the fourth day of symptoms, but rather, one should continue to employ serial testing and isolation measures beyond the first few days of illness. If you have tested negative on day one or two with a rapid antigen test (RAT), you may still have a COVID infection, unless you test negative on day four or five with a RAT. 

Because of a lack of RAT sensitivity, people may mistakenly believe they do not have COVID, and both enter isolation too late and exit isolation prematurely, leading to increased transmission within the population. For this reason, it is important to wear a high quality respirator at the onset of COVID-like symptoms, regardless of a negative test. We must demand for more sensitive testing and no-cost access to better tests (such as PCR), as well as an infrastructure that allows for longer sick leave and sick-time pay. At this time, limited testing options remain at no cost including the Test to Treat program and Walgreens PCR program as well as treatment options including the no cost antiviral program operated by Pfizer and supported by Health and Human Services. Remember to check for regional offerings as well such as the “Express Testing” PCR program in New York City, which could be more accessible to you.

Vaccines

On February 1, the CDC published in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that the most recently updated monovalent XBB.1.5 booster offered 54% increased protection against symptomatic (self-reported) COVID. Note, the study was limited as it did not evaluate the effectiveness against asymptomatic COVID cases. The CDC recommends that all individuals older than 6 months of age should receive the updated vaccine. If you have not yet received your vaccine, please do so.

Current updated vaccines being somewhat effective against symptomatic acute infection is not enough, and we should demand for sterilizing immunity of COVID through vaccines. Intranasal vaccines, which may induce a more robust mucosal immunity based on animal models, seem to be in the pipeline. However, it is unclear whether production of such vaccines is receiving appropriate funding or will be available to the public anytime soon.

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is having a meeting on February 28-29th and COVID vaccines will be on the agenda. We will be sending information on a request for actions in the coming few weeks on how to participate in ensuring the CDC takes appropriate steps to protect the public from ongoing COVID infections.

Take Action

Further research and investment is needed for effective treatments against Long COVID. PCORI, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, is seeking individuals to represent patient voices on their advisory panels. This is an invaluable opportunity to advocate for Long COVID research as this research and funding organization has an annual budget of nearly 300 million dollars for medical research. Applications are due March 29, 2024 and those selected to be on their advisory panels can participate virtually. Lending your voice to this is invaluable.

We must also ensure constant access to no or low cost high quality masks and respirators. Request that the federal government ensure that there remains ongoing local manufacturing of high quality masks and N95 respirators to prevent a future shortage by contacting your representatives. 

Many people rely on pulse oximeters in healthcare and at-home settings as a medical device to check blood-oxygen levels during an active COVID infection and recovery. For several decades, it has been established that these medical devices have failed to measure accurately when used with darker skin color. In response, a recent lawsuit has been filed against 12 manufacturers. In addition, the FDA is currently seeking comments through the Federal Register on this matter. We ask you to submit a public comment asking the FDA to act immediately and ensure future pulse oximeters are properly manufactured to support all people.

#op #covid #covid vaccine #covid 19 #long covid #covid isn't over #covid19 #mask up #covid pandemic #pandemic #covid-19 #sars cov 2 #sars-cov-2 #coronavirus pandemic #coronavirus #pcdc #people's cdc #wear a mask #covid news #covid conscious #covid cautious #covid variants #covid vax #covid variant #medical news #medical #uspol #img #links #described in alt text

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) has signed a bill that bans state and local governments from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for workers after a similar ban expired last month.

The legislation signed Thursday is aimed at defending citizens’ “individual liberty,” Sanders said at a press conference prior to its signing.

The legislation also prohibits COVID-19 vaccinations from being required as a condition of education, or for obtaining a service or licensure, permit or certificate of some kind. Any potential risks and harms associated with the shots must also be recorded and published by the state.

The bill is different from the state’s prior ban on vaccine mandates, which first went into effect in 2021, in that it covers vaccines or immunizations for any subvariants of the coronavirus, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The latest COVID-19 vaccine, which was federally authorized for use this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, is specially designed to reduce major illness and illness from omicron virus variants that are currently circulating.

In total, Sanders signed 11 bills on Thursday.

A separate bill she signed restricts the public release of her travel and security records. That bill, which went into immediate effect, shields details about the security that the Governor and other constitutional officers receive.

These details include who travels on the State Police airplane and the cost of individual trips. Sanders argued that it was needed for her and her family’s safety, though some critics said it eliminates government transparency.

State Sen. Bart Hester (R), who co-sponsored the bill, said at Thursday’s press conference that all of the state’s elected government leaders are still able to see the travel receipts through audit. The law also requires the state to file a quarterly report listing the monthly costs of protecting the Governor.

#us politics #news #huffington post #2023 #Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders #arkansas #vaccine mandates #COVID-19 #coronavirus #covid vaccine #Arkansas Democrat-Gazette #Centers for Disease Control and Prevention #food and drug administration #omicron

[tomorrowusa]

Republicans are soft on disease control. We all remember the MAGA anti-vaccine hysteria when the COVID-19 vaccines became available.

They are now turning their attention to the polio vaccine which was approved for use in the US on 12 April 1955. The number of polio cases in the US dropped from 57,879 in 1952 to 910 in 1962 and became rare by the early 1970s.

Thanks to anti-vaxxing conspiracy crackpots, polio returned to the US for the first time in three decades in 2022.

New Hampshire Republicans want to weaken vaccination requirements to kowtow to anti-science elements in their state.

New Hampshire could soon beat Florida—known for its anti-vaccine Surgeon General—when it comes to loosening vaccine requirements. A first-in-the-nation bill that’s already passed New Hampshire’s state House, sponsored only by Republican legislators, would end the requirement for parents enrolling kids in childcare to provide documentation of polio and measles vaccination. New Hampshire would be the only state in the US to have such a law, although many states allow religious exemptions to vaccine requirements.  Currently, Republicans control New Hampshire’s state House, Senate and governor’s office—but that isn’t a guarantee that the bill will be signed into law, with GOP Gov. Chris Sununu seemingly flip-flopping when it comes to disease control. Sununu did sign a bill in 2021 allowing people to use public places and services even if they did not receive the Covid-19 vaccine. But the next year, the governor vetoed a bill that would bar schools from implementing mask mandates.  The polio vaccine, first offered in 1955, and the MMR shot, which treats the highly infectious measles, mumps, and rubella viruses, are two very crucial vaccines both in the US and internationally. Since the year 2000 alone, vaccines against measles are estimated to have saved over 55 million lives around the world.  [ ... ] Vaccine hesitancy is rising among parents of young children. A 2023 survey from the Pew Research Center found that around half of parents with kids four or younger thought that not all standard childhood vaccines—a list that also includes hepatitis B, rotavirus, DTaP and chickenpox—may be necessary. Anti-vaccine misinformation plays a role in this phenomenon, which began before the Covid-19 pandemic, but has certainly increased since. In a 2019 UK report, about 50 percent of parents of young kids encountered false information about vaccines on social media. 

Gov. Chris Sununu is a spineless putz. In some ways he's like Lindsey Graham who likes to send smoke signals of independent thinking but always comes crawling home to Daddy Donald.

Sununu campaigned for Nikki Haley and blamed Trump for January 6th. But that hasn't stopped him from endorsing Trump anyway. Instigating a coup d'état does not disqualify somebody from the presidency in Sununu's opinion.

GOP's Chris Sununu tries, fails to defend his Trump endorsement

Sununu may do for polio in New Hampshire what Trump did for COVID in the entire US in 2020.

#new hampshire #polio #polio vaccine #poliomyelitis #anti-vaxxers #vaccine hesitancy #chris sununu #flip-flopper #republicans #contagious diseases #vaccine disinformation #public health #vaccination requirements #pandemics #measles #mmr #covid-19 #donald trump #election 2024 #vote blue no matter who

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #news #twitter #tweet #2024 #death rates #coronavirus #covid #covid 19 #coronavirus vaccine #covid vaccine #graphs #data #data visualization #the serfs #x

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario residents who are six months and older will be able to receive their free flu shot and the new COVID-19 vaccine starting on Monday.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced the immunization program rollout on Sunday, saying people should make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations to stay safe and healthy during the season when respiratory illnesses typically surge.

Full article

Note: This is in effect as of October 30th

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #canadian #vaccines #vaccination #ontario #flu vaccine #flu shot #coronavirus vaccine #COVID-19 vaccine #healthcare #flu #coronavirus #COVID-19 #flu season

[humandisastersquad]

PSA: if you’re vaccinated you can still catch and spread covid. Wear a mask, or even better yet, an N95 or equivalent respirator

#covid 19 #also the protection given by vaccines wanes over several months #and is increasingly ineffective against each new variant #stop falling for the propaganda that vaccines are the be all and end all of covid protections #they aren’t #they are your last line of defence against severe illness and death #and they give only modest protection against developing long covid #your best chance is to avoid getting covid in the first place #and the best way to do that is to wear a well fitted respirator that is N95 or equivalent

[didanawisgi]

#covid-19 vaccine #covid-19 #immunology #new holocaust

[gwydionmisha]

#COVID Vaccine #HIV #COVID-19 #News #Immunocompromised

[headlinehorizon]

Disturbing Decline: Healthcare Worker Vaccination Rates Decrease for COVID-19 and Flu

According to recent CDC studies, fewer U.S. healthcare workers are keeping up with COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, raising concerns about the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.

#headline horizon #news #latest news #healthcare worker vaccinations #COVID-19 vaccinations #flu vaccinations

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the appeal of a Minnesota woman who said she was wrongly denied unemployment benefits after being fired for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because of her religious beliefs.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development determined she wasn’t eligible for benefits because her reasons for refusing the vaccine were based less on religion and more on a lack of trust that the vaccine was effective.

The case shows that the vaccine debate continues to smolder after the pandemic and after the Supreme Court in 2022 halted enforcement of a Biden administration vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers but declined to hear a challenge to the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care facilities that receive federal funding.

Still pending is an appeal from military chaplains who challenged the military’s vaccination requirement. Although that requirement was later rescinded at the direction of Congress, the chaplains argue they lost out on training opportunities and promotions because they requested religious exemptions.

Minnesota said the unemployment benefit appeal denied Monday wasn’t worth the Supreme Court’s time because benefits have been given to others who were found to have a sincerely held religious objection to the vaccine, so there’s no overarching question to address.

Lawyers for the Upper Midwest Law Center, which represented Tina Goede, had argued she was treated differently by the Minnesota courts than others who successfully appealed their denial of benefits.

REFUSING TO GET VACCINATED, FIRED FROM A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY

After refusing to get vaccinated, Goede was fired in 2022 from her job as an account sales manager for the pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca. Her position had required her to meet with customers in hospitals and clinics, some of which required proof of vaccination.

She told the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development her religious beliefs prohibit injecting foreign substances into her body, which is a “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

A Catholic opposed to abortion, Goede also objected to the COVID-19 vaccine because she believed it was manufactured using or tested on an aborted fetal-cell line. (A cell line from an abortion decades ago was used to create Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. Fetal cells were used in the early testing, though not in the production, of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.)

But Goede told the unemployment law judge she wouldn’t receive the vaccine no matter how it was made “because it doesn’t work.”

The judge said Goede was declining to take some vaccines, but not others, “because she does not trust them, not because of a religious belief.”

Goede’s attorneys said the judge had interrogated her religious beliefs with “unfair `gotcha’ questioning."

“He couched his denial of benefits in Ms. Goede’s credibility and then discounted her religious beliefs by determining that her secular beliefs outweighed them,” the lawyers told the Supreme Court.

At the same time the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year, it reached the opposite conclusion for two others who had been denied benefits after asserting religious objections.

Goede’s lawyers said her case presented a question that will reoccur: how to analyze a religious objection to an employer policy when those objections coincide with secular beliefs.

#us politics #news #usa today #2024 #us supreme court #unemployment benefits #COVID-19 vaccine #covid vaccine #coronavirus vaccine #Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development #Minnesota #vaccine mandates #Tina Goede #unemployment