One of the things that’s clear from the data [is] that even though vaccines – because of the high degree of transmissibility of this virus – don’t protect overly well, as it were, against infection, they protect quite well against severe disease leading to hospitalization and death. And I believe that’s the reason, Neil, why at my age, being vaccinated and boosted, even though it didn’t protect me against infection, I feel confident that it made a major role in protecting me from progressing to severe disease. And that’s very likely why I had a relatively mild course. So my message to people who seem confused because people who are vaccinated get infected – the answer is if you weren’t vaccinated, the likelihood [is] you would have had [a] more severe course than you did have when you were vaccinated.
Most working-age Americans who died of COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic were so-called essential workers in labor, service and retail jobs that required on-site attendance and prolonged contact with others, according to a recently published study led by a University of South Florida epidemiologist.
The study looks back on COVID-19 deaths in 2020 and affirms what many had already known or suspected — that Americans who could not work from home and who labored in low-paying jobs with few or no benefits, such as paid sick leave and health insurance coverage, bore the brunt of deaths during the pandemic’s first year, said Jason Salemi, an associate professor in USF’s College of Public Health and co-author of the study.
BioNTech, the German pharmaceutical company that teamed with Pfizer to develop the first widely used COVID-19 vaccine, on Wednesday reported strong quarterly earnings growth on pandemic-fueled demand.
The company posted net profit of nearly $3.6 billion for the final three months of 2021, up from $409 million in the same period the previous year.
Quarterly revenue rose to $6.1 billion from $384 million previously.
Vaccinations with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, marketed as Comirnaty, started in December 2020. BioNTech, based in the city of Mainz near Frankfurt, said about 2.6 billion doses of the vaccine had been delivered last year.
Mask mandates and coronavirus restrictions are tumbling, as the Omicron variant continues to recede.
Infectious disease expert Katelyn Jetelina (https://sph.uth.edu/cv/jetelina.pdf) has created a framework for how to think smartly about when and where to wear a mask.
Her framework relies on two hyper-local metrics: % of positive tests, and case rates in each county.
Across the US, temperatures are warming up, and masks are coming off, as the Omicron variant continues to recede.
Mike Osterholm, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota,
Many Democratic governors are beginning to unravel mask mandates for businesses that had been in place for months, while others have suggested that schoolchildren and teachers may begin taking off their masks in class in the coming weeks — for the first time during the pandemic.
“Governors are reading the tea leaves,” infectious disease expert Mike Osterholm, who directs the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said on a Thursday podcast.
“I’m not saying they shouldn’t, but know that it never was based on some objective criteria. It was just ‘we’re done, we’re tired, and it’s acceptable enough now.'”
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director CDC
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acknowledged during a White House COVID-19 briefing earlier this week that “we want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing.” However, she also said that, from the CDC’s perspective, that should only happen when disease “metrics are better,” and hospitals aren’t overflowing anymore.
“Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes,” Walensky said. “Our emergency departments can’t be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line.”
Katelyn Jetelina, Infectious Disease Expert
In order to provide an honest and independent scientific framework for this moment, public health expert Katelyn Jetelina (https://sph.uth.edu/cv/jetelina.pdf), an assistant professor at the University of Texas, created her own chart, which she shared with Insider (adapted below). It gives people a framework for how to “ride the waves,” as she puts it, of any potential coronavirus surges from here on out.
“We need a solution that addresses the ebb and flow of viral dynamics,” she wrote in a recent Substack post, “leveraging the tools we have at hand.”
How to use this COVID chart The chart is meant to be read based on two key measurements: the number of COVID-19 cases in your area, and the test positivity rate where you live. Both metrics are retrievable for all US counties on the CDC’s COVID-19 dashboards and can be found at the following link.
Current 7-days is Sat Feb 12 2022 – Fri Feb 18 2022 for case rate and Thu Feb 10 2022 – Wed Feb 16 2022 for percent positivity. The percent change in counties at each level of transmission is the absolute change compared to the previous 7-day period.
For example, in Seminole County, Florida, the percentage of positive tests is relatively high (16.67%), and the case rate per 100,000 puts the county in the red zone, at 179.09.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/ – Sunday; February 20, 2022
Katelyn Jetelina’s chart suggests, then, that people in Seminole County should:
Still avoid indoor dining, for now
And wear masks when indoors in public
It should be noted that as of the publish date of this post, not one county in Florida is below the >=100 cases per 100,000 threshold in the chart above. Only 3 counties at this time have met the threshold for >10% test positivity rate, Miami-Dade (7.13%), Broward (8.01%) and Palm Beach Counties (8.45%)
New coronavirus cases in Florida dropped by more than half this week when compared to last week, the Florida Department of Health said Friday. There were 42,473 new coronavirus cases this week among Florida residents to bring the cumulative total to 5,775,171. With 1,330 more fatalities on record, 68,902 Florida residents have died.
This week’s 1,330 deaths reflect a slight increase from the 1,293 reported last week, but deaths can take several days or weeks to be reported. The majority of the newly reported deaths are people who died before this week.
The number of weekly cases decreased compared to the previous week’s 103,022. Positivity decreased to 8.2%. That’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive.
Across the state, 5,355 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 from Feb. 9-15, according to the latest White House report. In comparison, 7,397 were hospitalized the previous week. The week before that, it was 9,632.
Statewide, 15,379,508 residents, or 74% of people age 5 and up, have received at least one vaccination shot, including 8,235,681 who have completed their shot regimens but not received an additional dose through Feb. 17. Meanwhile, 24,004 received an additional dose last week, bringing the total to 5,007,337.
Central Florida added 9,876 resident infections this week, based on the actual date the state opened the case, for a total of 1,131,490: 3,073 more in Orange for 369,678; 928 more in Osceola for 111,633; 1,526 more in Polk for 197,390; 823 more in Lake for 83,315; 348 more in Sumter for 21,144; 1,017 more in Volusia for 114,833; 1,316 more in Brevard for 131,391; and 845 more in Seminole for 102,106.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed its mask guidelines to recommend that people “wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently.” The agency describes well-fitting respirators approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) — such as N95 masks — as offering “the highest level of protection.”
3M Co. 8210Plus N95 particulate respirator
The updated guidelines come after many public health experts have been recommending for months that people wear more effective masks — particularly N95s — and that the CDC change its guidelines on mask-wearing.
“Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There’s no place for them in light of Omicron, Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, recently said.”
In crowded places, “you should be wearing a KN95 or N95 mask,” which can cost a few dollars each, Wen added. Due to certain materials — such as polypropylene fibers — acting as both mechanical and electrostatic barriers, these masks better prevent tiny particles from getting into your nose or mouth and must be fitted to your face to function properly.
Here’s what you need to know about masks like N95s, where to get them and how to use them safely.
