COVID-19 and the coming flu season
As COVID-19 vaccinations become more widespread throughout the U.S., many people are hoping to pack up their masks, put the pandemic behind them, and move on. But viruses rarely disappear completely, and the likelihood of COVID-19 simply going away is slim. With that in mind, Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory in Mayo Clinic ’s Division of Clinical Microbiology, considers the prospects for COVID-19 this fall as the traditional influenza season ramps up. He also… (Source: News from Mayo Clinic)
Source: News from Mayo Clinic - August 2, 2021 Category: Databases & Libraries Source Type: news
The 6 Factors That Will Determine the Severity of the COVID-19 Surge in the U.S. This Fall
Here we go again. The United States is now experiencing a fourth wave of COVID-19, with very rapidly rising infections. The surge in new daily cases is driven by the Delta variant, which makes up 83% of sequenced samples in the U.S. and which is estimated to be twice as transmissible as the original strain. One of the reasons that Delta spreads more easily is that a person infected with this variant has a viral load 1,000 times higher than someone infected with the original version of SARS-CoV-2.
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Hospitalizations and deaths are also rising, though more slowly than cases, reflect...
Source: TIME: Health - July 26, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Gavin Yamey and Nahid Bhadelia Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news
Weekly national Influenza and COVID-19 surveillance report (week 29), PHE
Latest update 22nd July 2021
Case rates in people aged 20-29 (1,154.7 per 100,000 population) are at the highest across any age group since mass testing began in the pandemic. Over the past week, rates have increased across all regions. The hospital admission rate has increased to 5.88 per 100,000 (4.55 previous week). (Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH))
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - July 26, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Circulation of Respiratory Viruses Low During COVID-19 Pandemic
FRIDAY, July 23, 2021 -- Circulation of respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, was low during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research published in the July 23 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and... (Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News)
Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News - July 23, 2021 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
What's worse than a pandemic? A twindemic
One reason to get more serious about flu is its cost, both economically and in human terms. Annual costs of treating influenza (routinely in excess of $10 billion in the U.S.) are significant, even when you just look at hospital outlays for those most severely affected. (Source: The Economic Times)
Source: The Economic Times - July 23, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Why Everyone Has the Worst Summer Cold Ever
As pandemic restrictions begin to relax, common viruses that cause drippy noses, stuffy heads and other cold symptoms have roared back to taunt your immune system. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - July 22, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tara Parker-Pope Tags: Coronavirus Risks and Safety Concerns Quarantine (Life and Culture) Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Respiratory Diseases Content Type: Service Immune System Summer (Season) Anxiety and Stress Colds Viruses Influenza Coughs Hygiene and Clea Source Type: news
Why the Respiratory Disease RSV Is Having an Off-Season Surge
Dr. James Antoon, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, often goes an entire summer without diagnosing a single case of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The common illness, which typically results in mild, cold-like symptoms but can be severe in infants and elderly adults, usually goes along with the winter flu season.
But this summer, RSV cases are spiking, particularly in southern states. Around 2,000 confirmed cases were recorded across the U.S. during the week of July 10, 2021, compared to less than a dozen during the week of July 25, 2020. The actual number of infections is li...
Source: TIME: Health - July 22, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jamie Ducharme Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
Changes in Influenza and Other Respiratory Virus Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, 2020-2021
This report describes the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - July 22, 2021 Category: American Health Tags: Coronavirus [CoV] Influenza (Flu) Influenza Surveillance Data MMWR Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report COVID-19 Source Type: news
Circulation of Respiratory Viruses Low During COVID - 19 Pandemic
Influenza activity decreased in March 2020, remained low through May 2021; decrease seen in other viruses, with no increase until Spring 2021 (Source: Pulmonary Medicine News - Doctors Lounge)
Source: Pulmonary Medicine News - Doctors Lounge - July 22, 2021 Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Family Medicine, Geriatrics, Infections, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Nursing, Pediatrics, Pulmonology, Journal, Source Type: news
COVID-19 Caused U.S. Life Expectancy to Drop 1.5 Years
Life expectancy in the United States dropped the most in more than seven decades last year as Covid-19 sent hundreds of thousands of Americans to early deaths.
The pandemic’s disproportionate toll on communities of color also widened existing gaps in life expectancy between White and Black Americans, according to estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The tally represents an extraordinarily grim accounting of an ongoing catastrophe. The first year of the pandemic delivered a bigger blow to American life expectancy than any year of the Vietnam War, the AIDS crisis or the “deaths of...
Source: TIME: Health - July 21, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Tozzi / Bloomberg Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 overnight wire Source Type: news
Of lives and life years: 1918 influenza vs COVID-19
(Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.) We must not assume that we will be able to replicate a vaccine within 12 months during the next pandemic. Even if this was accomplished, other interventions would be required to control and mitigate well before the availability of a vaccine. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - July 19, 2021 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Intention to have the seasonal influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic among eligible adults in the UK: a cross-sectional survey, BMJ Open
This cross-sectional survey (n=570) found 59.7% were likely to have the vaccination, 22.1% unlikely& 18.2% were unsure. Logistic regression results suggested individuals who had the vaccine last season were likely to intend to have it again in the 2020 –2021 season. (Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH))
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - July 15, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Covid US: Recorded cases of influenzas fell to ZERO in 2020 as pandemic killed flu
More data that shows an absent 2020-2021 flu season comes out of Detroit this week, as one hospital system reports that they had zero positive cases of Influenza A or Influenza B last winter. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - July 8, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Recorded cases of influenzas dropped all the way to ZERO in 2020 as COVID-19 pandemic killed flu
More data that shows an absent 2020-2021 flu season comes out of Detroit this week, as one hospital system reports that they had zero positive cases of Influenza A or Influenza B last winter. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - July 7, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
The Pandemic Crushed the Flu--What Happens When It Returns?
Cases influenza and other respiratory viruses sank dramatically during the pandemic, with potential implications for both people and pathogens. (Source: The Scientist)
Source: The Scientist - July 7, 2021 Category: Science Tags: News & Opinion Source Type: news
