Category Archives: Covid-19

Here's a quick wrap of each Australian jurisdiction's latest COVID-19 statistics today Monday, March 28.

You can get a more detailed, visual breakdown through the ABC's Charting the Spread storyright here.

This will be updated throughout the day, so if you do not see your state or territory, check back later.

You can jump to the COVID-19 information you want to read by clicking below.

No more COVID-19 deaths were recorded in that state's latest figures.

There are 252 cases in hospital, with 21of those in intensive care and six requiring ventilation.

There were 8,739 new cases reported today and 56,997 active cases.

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The state has recorded threemore COVID-19 deaths.

There are 1,270cases in hospital, 55 of those in intensive care.

There were 16,199 new cases announced today.

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There were no new COVID deaths in the last reporting period.

Hospital cases stand at 299, with 14 of those in ICU.

The state recorded 7,816 new cases and there are62,299 active cases.

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Tasmania has recorded 1,726 new COVID cases, up from 1,517 yesterday.

There is no-onein ICU and 27 patients in hospital with the virus. Ten of thoseare being treated specifically for COVID symptoms.

There have been no new deaths.

The ACT has recorded 701 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday.

There are 46 people in hospital with the virus in Canberra, including four patients in intensive care.

Of Canberra's children aged five to 11,79.9 per cent have received a vaccine dose and 72.4per cent of Canberrans aged 16 and older have received their booster.

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The state has recorded 7,288 new COVID-19 cases in the latest reporting period.

There are 210 cases in hospital, and nine in intensive care.

No new deaths were reported.

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COVID-19 case numbers from around the states and territories - ABC News

While the winters blizzard of Omicron cases may be a fading memory for those who have peeled off their masks and moved on with their lives, the risk of COVID infection and serious complications for others remains all too real. There are still hundreds of new infections reported every day in Massachusetts, with those with chronic health problems, a weakened immune system, or not fully vaccinated or boosted most vulnerable to serious illness.

Now, Gaffney fears the new cuts will mean that many lower-income patients here and around the country who fall seriously ill with COVID may face huge bills they cannot afford. Or worse, they may just forgo care.

These measures did a lot and made it more equitable for so many, said Gaffney, a critical care physician and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. The pandemic is not over yet as much as we want it to be. And until it is, we need to maintain these types of supports and coverage.

Or as he summed up his frustrations recently on Twitter: The rationing of COVID-care by ability to pay begins.

Gaffneys concerns are echoed by other medical, public health, and community leaders, who say state and federal cuts to COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccination initiatives will widen already yawning gaps between haves and have nots. Higher infection and death rates among Black and brown communities, already a hallmark of the pandemic, will grow larger, they say, in the event of another surge.

The Baker administration, citing a sharp decline in reported infections, said on March 4 that it will shutter three-quarters of the states free Stop the Spread testing sites at the end of the month. That will leave 11 of 41 operating, including just two in Western Massachusetts. The sites were opened in communities hit hardest with infections and deaths through much of the pandemic.

Additionally, the Biden administration, blaming a lack of COVID funding from Congress, as of March 22 stopped paying for testing and treatments for millions of uninsured patients, including more than 200,000 in Massachusetts.

And come April 5, the federal government will cease reimbursing providers who administer vaccines to the uninsured. Federal rules prohibit providers from passing COVID vaccination costs on to patients, forcing those who care for the uninsured, typically community health centers, to find other ways to cover those costs.

It feels like we are going to go back in time and pretending we havent learned what we learned in the last two years about what inequity means, said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

Its not just saying there isnt the same level of access and care. It means people will die at different rates, Pavlos said. Its so disheartening.

The cuts are being carried out as COVID cases rise in the United Kingdom and several other European countries, often a bellwether for whats to come in the United States. At the same time, the steep decline in new cases in Massachusetts has bottomed out.

A Baker administration spokeswoman said that regardless of the cutbacks, any resident, no matter their insurance status, will still be able to get a vaccine for free at any of the eight remaining state-sponsored vaccination sites, which are located in Lynn, Danvers, Boston, Brockton, Taunton, Lowell, Barnstable, and Springfield, as well as at local health departments.

While the Baker administration is closing most of its free COVID testing sites, it said it has recently distributed 10 million free at-home COVID tests to schools, day cares, shelters, immigration-focused community organizations, and other settings.

The administration also noted that other states are also winding down their publicly funded testing sites, including Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

The traffic through Massachusetts free Stop the Spread COVID testing sites continues to decline, and the 11 sites that will remain open now account for more than 70 percent of traffic at the state-funded free sites, the administration said.

There are still hundreds of other sites that perform COVID tests in Massachusetts, but most require an appointment, often a hurdle for people in low-wage jobs who cant easily schedule time off from work.

The Baker-Polito Administration is analyzing the impacts of this lapse in federal funding, but regardless, the people of Massachusetts have tools to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from COVID-19 including therapeutics, vaccines, and widely available testing, the administration said in a statement.

But whats considered widely available to some is not to others.

While rapid tests are available widely, its not as easy for people to understand how to use them, and Im worried that we wont have an infrastructure for [traditional] PCR testing to scale back up in an upcoming surge in the fall, said Phoebe Walker, director of Franklin Countys Cooperative Public Health Service, which includes 16 communities.

A new study from a team of Boston researchers and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs up growing concerns about equity and the use of rapid COVID-19 at-home tests.

In online surveys of more than 400,000 adults nationwide between last August and mid-March, the researchers found that white people were approximately twice as likely to report using the at-home tests as those who are Black. The gap was smaller but still measurable when comparing white respondents with those who are Hispanic, Asian, or a member of other minority groups.

The researchers also found that people in households making $150,000 or more were more than twice as likely to report using the tests as those making half that amount. Similarly, those with a postgraduate degree were more than twice as likely to have used at-home tests, compared to those who said they had a high school degree or less.

Dinanyili Paulino, chief operating officer of La Colaborativa, a social services agency in Chelsea, said many people who seek help from her organization have not yet received free at-home tests.

These are people working under the table ... and for $15 or $20, do you think they are going to buy a test and wait to be reimbursed, or buy rice and beans, she asked. Or they dont have insurance, or they dont have access to technology to get the reimbursement.

Paulino said its not uncommon for people in the largely Hispanic community to be bewildered by the complex instructions that come with the tests, even though they often are written in English and Spanish.

People come into La Colaborativa with the instructions and see if we can do it for them, she said. And they want us to wait with them for the results.

Jessica Collins, executive director of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, said people arent clamoring for tests as much as they were during the recent Omicron surge, prompting her social service agencies to focus their attention on getting more people vaccinated.

State data show that more than three-quarters of residents are fully vaccinated, but disparities still exist among different racial and ethnic groups in many communities. In particular, those gaps are significant for booster shots. The latest data show that 60 percent of white residents have received a booster, but just 38 percent of Hispanic and 42 percent of Black people have.

Collins is concerned the state and federal cutbacks in COVID services and funding will leave Massachusetts and the country flat-footed, should there be another surge in infections and hospitalizations.

Whats the plan for ramping back up? Will they be using an equity-based model, with people welcome to come in, no questions asked and no insurance needed? she said. Dont make us refight that equity conversation.

Community health centers are the safety net for many lower-income people, communities of color, and those without insurance who are more likely to feel the impact of the state and federal cutbacks.

Data show the centers have administered more than 900,000 COVID tests during the pandemic; nearly three-quarters of those tests were to people of color.

And of the 1 million doses of vaccines administered by the centers, two-thirds were to people of color.

Michael Curry, chief executive of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, said the state has designated about $5 million in COVID reserve funds to health centers for future testing and vaccinations.

He said the centers also recently distributed 271,000 at-home test kits to patients, but developed simplified instructions in eight languages to go with them.

As a person who is very vigilant about how we address health equity, I know if we are not prepared, we will see higher rates of hospitalization and deaths [again] in certain pockets and that absolutely concerns me, he said

He said the growing chorus of medical and health leaders expressing concerns about the cuts to COVID services and funding is vital.

It makes all the rest of us recalibrate and think about, are we doing the right thing? Curry said. I am thankful they are beating the drums about testing and access and I am listening to the drums.

Kay Lazar can be reached at kay.lazar@globe.com Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar.

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Cuts to COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccination worry health care leaders - The Boston Globe

As dramatic as the covid-19 omicron variant spike was in early 2022, health experts across the world were encouraged to see it drop just as quickly.

In Pennsylvania, the total number of reported statewide positive test results this past Friday was just 598, nowhere near the 33,398 positive tests reported at the peak (Jan. 7, 2022) of the omicron surge in the region.

And in Westmoreland County, daily reported positive test results have dropped since the start of March from 50 to 4.

But, some experts say, the key word there is reported.

Home test kits became widely available last year, and demand took off when the omicron wave hit. But many people who take home tests dont report results to anyone. Nor do health agencies attempt to gather them.

That is a concern with a new variant, BA.2, causing case counts to rise globally.

Mara Aspinall is managing director of an Arizona-based consulting company that tracks covid-19 testing trends. She estimates that in January and February, about 8 million to 9 million rapid home tests were being done each day on average four to six times the number of PCR tests.

Were not in a great situation, said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Brown University pandemic researcher. The case numbers are not as much a reflection of reality as they once were.

And while positive test results, hospitalizations and deaths are falling in the U.S., that is not the case everywhere.

The World Health Organization this week reported that the number of new coronavirus cases increased two weeks in a row globally, likely because covid-19 prevention measures have been halted in numerous countries and because BA.2 spreads more easily.

Some public health experts arent certain what that means for the U.S.

BA.2 accounts for a growing share of U.S. cases, the CDC said more than one-third nationally and more than half in the Northeast. Small increases in overall case rates have been noted in New York, and in hospital admissions in New England.

Some of the northern U.S. states with the highest rates of BA.2, however, have some of the lowest case rates, noted Katriona Shea of Penn State University.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said hospitalizations are an important figure that is easier to track.

As the focus shifts to severe disease, the day-to-day tally of cases has less importance, Adalja said. Hospitalizations are in unequivocal indicator of a communitys burden of severe covid-19. Cases are always going to be there with an endemic respiratory virus the goal is to shift cases to the mild spectrum. The focus always shouldve been primarily on hospitalizations as a function of hospital capacity in a given geographic area.

Hospital admissions are a lagging indicator, given that a week or more can pass between infection and hospitalization. But a number of researchers believe the change is appropriate. They say hospital data is more reliable and more easily interpreted than case counts.

Spencer Fox, a University of Texas data scientist who is part of a group that uses hospital and cellphone data to forecast covid-19 for Austin, said hospital admissions were the better signal for a surge than test results.

There are concerns, however, about future hospital data.

If the federal government lifts its public health emergency declaration, officials will lose the ability to compel hospitals to report covid-19 data, a group of former CDC directors recently wrote. They urged Congress to pass a law that will provide enduring authorities so we will not risk flying blind as health threats emerge.

With the Mayo Clinic reporting that roughly 65% of the eligible U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, Adalja said the country is coming closer to the point where covid-19 is an endemic virus, just like the other members of this viral family that cause 25-30% of our common colds.

The U.S. is likely at this point though a combination of vaccination and infection-induced immunity and unlikely to see hospitals face the level of pressure form the virus they felt in the past, Adalja said. The appearance of any new variants would occur in a context of high population immunity and the availability of antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, severely constraining the ability of any new variant to cause the level of disruption its predecessors once could.

Staff writer Patrick Varine contributed.

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Home testing, new variant add uncertainty to latest round of covid infections - TribLIVE

(NEXSTAR) With the rise ofthe BA.2 variant of COVID-19, a subvariant of omicron that isalso called stealth omicron, are people who caught the virus in the last wave susceptible again?

Early research indicates its not likely the subvariant will reinfect most people who just caught omicron in this recent wave of cases, but it is possible.

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A study of 2 million people in Denmark conducted between November and February found 187 instances of reinfection. Of those 187 cases, 47 were people who had the BA.1 variant, then caught the BA.2 variant.

According to Healthline, the majority of the people in the study who caught both omicron subvariants were young and unvaccinated. They did not have severe cases.

The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and former Harvard researcher, raised a warning flag on Twitter in February, citing other early studies that showedomicrons protectiveness from reinfection doesnt last long.

Our results suggest that Omicron-induced immunity may not be sufficient to prevent infection from another, more pathogenic variant, should it emerge in the future, he tweeted, quoting thestudy.

It may seem counterintuitive, but people who only had a mild case of omicron the first time around may also be more likely to get it again.

If you had a mild infection, didnt get a very good immune response, and you get exposed again with a big dose of the virus, its definitely possible, Dr. Stanley Weiss, professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told Yahoo.

However, because there is so much similarity between the two subvariants of omicron, many people infected in the most recent winter surge could be protected in the short term.

I think [reinfection] is unlikely because there is so much shared similarity [between the two types] that the minor differences are probably not enough to allow it to evade immunity to omicron, said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, head of Brigham and Womens Hospitals infectious disease division, in an interview withWBTS last month.

As with other variants, any added protection you get from a recent omicron infection also wanes over time. Abouttwo-thirds of those infected with omicronin the U.K. were people who had caught the alpha or delta variant in past COVID waves, a study from Imperial College London found.

I suspect over time, yes, you probably can get reinfected. But we dont have that data yet because omicron has only been around since October/November, John Hopkins Senior Scholar, Dr. Amesh Adalja, toldKHOU.

Protection from the COVID vaccines is more reliable, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. A fully vaccinated person who had a breakthrough infection isbest protected against future infection, a recent CDC study found.

Vaccinated and boosted people were also far less likely to have severe symptoms associated with an omicron infection.

Get more coronavirus news: COVID vaccines, boosters and Safe Travels information

The BA.2 subvariant makes up about 23% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to the CDCs last estimate. Epidemiologists point out its presence has been doubling about every week.

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Can you catch the omicron COVID-19 variant twice? - KHON2

File photo of a vaccination clinic in Fulton March 2021 - Judy Grandy, director of environmental health for the Oswego County Health Department, is pictured talking with a patient. Photo courtesy of Sonia Robinson.

OSWEGO COUNTY The Oswego County Health Department continues to offer COVID-19 vaccines for county residents at weekly vaccination clinics, with Wednesday walk-in clinics starting April 6.

Following more than a year of holding vaccination clinics in locations throughout the county, the health department is transitioning to include the COVID-19 vaccine as part of weekly vaccine clinics offered at the Nick Sterio Public Health Clinic in Oswego. Anyone seeking the COVID-19 vaccine, or other general immunizations, can call the Oswego County Health Department at 315-349-3547 or schedule a COVID-19 vaccine online.

COVID-19 vaccines are also available at medical provider offices and local pharmacies.

To view a list of upcoming clinics and schedule an appointment, go to health.oswegocounty.com/vaccines and scroll down to the calendar to click on the date and dose needed.

The following upcoming clinics are scheduled:

Tuesday, March 2912:30-3:30 p.m. Nick Sterio Public Health Clinic, 70 Bunner St., OswegoGeneral childhood and adult immunizations, including COVID-19 vaccines. Appointments are required.

Wednesday, March 303:30-4:30 p.m. Nick Sterio Public Health Clinic, 70 Bunner St., OswegoAnyone aged 12 and older can receive a first, second or booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Anyone aged 18 and older can receive a Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine or booster dose. Appointments are required.

Tuesday, April 512:30-3:30 p.m. Nick Sterio Public Health Clinic, 70 Bunner St., OswegoGeneral childhood and adult immunizations, including COVID-19 vaccines. Appointments are required.

Starting April 6, the Oswego County Health Department will hold walk-in clinics each Wednesday at the Nick Sterio Public Health Clinic, from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. Attendees aged 5 and older can receive age-appropriate recommended doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and anyone aged 18 and older can receive recommended doses of the Modern or Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

At-home COVID-19 test kits will be distributed to individuals who are vaccinated at upcoming clinics. Test kits will be distributed while supplies last.

Face masks are required at all health care settings regulated by the state Department of Health, including the Oswego County Health Department and any vaccination site.

For more information, go to the Oswego County Health Departments COVID-19 page at health.oswegocounty.com/covid-19 or call the COVID-19 hotline at 315-349-3330.

Residents should contact their medical providers directly for personal medical advice related to COVID-19 vaccinations, booster shots or treatments.

Under New York State Public Health Law, the Oswego County Health Department is the local public health authority regarding the COVID-19 pandemic response within the County of Oswego. The Oswego County Health Department works closely with New York State Department of Health regarding COVID-19 monitoring, response and reporting.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Continues To Be Offered At Clinics This Week - Oswego Daily News

Two years have passed since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Connecticut. The first case was announced on March 8, 2020.

It would not be long before the pandemic changed life as we knew it. Social distancing became an everyday practice and face masks became a necessity when interacting with anyone outside your household.

In the last two years, there have been 727,542 cases of COVID-19 in the state and 10,515 COVID-19 related deaths.

Two years later, COVID-19 is still affecting lives, but vaccinations have provided hope and many restrictions put in place have been lifted, including face mask requirements.

Here is a look back at the early days of the pandemic.

The first case of COVID-19 in Connecticut was announced on March 8, 2020.

Two years after being hospitalized, Chris Tillett, who was Connecticut's first COVID-19 patient, says he hopes the pandemic can be a learning experience for everyone.

In the initial days of the pandemic, the state lab was able to complete between 15 and 20 COVID-19 tests per day and there were only a few labs that could handle tests and people getting tested needed to be referred by a physician in advance.

On March 10, 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont declared civil preparedness and public health emergencies in response to the pandemic, which allowed him to temporarily suspend some state laws and regulations.

By March 12, 2020, the governor banned all events in the state with more than 250 people.

Schools were beginning to close because of the pandemic and the governor signed an order to modify the state law requiring schools to be in session for at least 180 days.

Among the actions the governor took was an order for the state Department of Motor Vehicles to extend license renewals.

Restrictions were placed on visits to nursing homes.

On March 14, a moratorium on all utility shut-offs went into place and several state agencies rolled out measures to promote social distancing.

At that point, there had been 20 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state.

Lamont signed his third executive order, which relaxed in-person open meeting requirements and eased telework requirements, allowing more state employees to work from home.

On March 15, 2020, Lamont canceled classes at all public schools statewide, which was originally supposed to be in effect from March 17 through at least March 31.

In May 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont would announce that schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year.

He authorized the DMV commissioner to close branches to the public, conduct business remotely, and extend deadlines.

Amid a national shortage of hand sanitizer, the state allowed pharmacies to make and sell their own.

Many businesses were closing their doors and the governor announced on March 16, 2020 that small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Connecticut that were negatively impacted by the pandemic would be eligible for disaster relief loans.

By March 16, 2020, gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited, drive-through COVID-19 testing started at some hospitals and several businesses were ordered to closed by 8 p.m.

The governor also announced that the State Department of Education was working with school districts to develop distance learning plans and ensure students had access to nutritious meals.

The governors of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey worked together with a regional approach to dealing with COVID-19, which included that restaurants and bars that served food would temporarily be required to move to take-out and delivery services only and bars that did not serve food would have to close.

Price gouging had become an issue and by March 17, 2020, Attorney General William Tong reported receiving 71 complaints about price gouging on basic supplies.

On March 18, 2020, the governor announced the first COVID-19 death in the state. https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/03-2020/Governor-Lamont-Statement-on-the-First-Coronavirus-Death-in-Connecticut

On March 18, 2020, Lamont announced that indoor malls and places of amusement other than parks and open space areas would close by the night of March 19.

A day later, on March 19, Lamont postponed the states presidential primary, allowed eating establishments to sell alcohol with take-out food orders, closed barbershops, hair salons and tattoo and piercing parlors, and expanded telehealth.

On March 20, 2022, Lamont started Stay Safe, Stay Home, which directed non-essential businesses to close by 8 p.m. on March 23, 2020, and for those that had to remain open to implement social distancing.

He called for all non-essential public community gatherings of any size to be canceled or postponed.

People were also asked to limit outdoor recreational activities to non-contact and avoid activities where they come in close contact with other people.

By March 26, 2020, there were more than 1,000 cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut and 21 deaths.

As the pandemic extended, the state Department of Labor was inundated with unemployment claims and held frequent briefings on the status of processing what they called an overwhelming surge in claim applications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic stretched to months, Lamont called in the National Guard for help.

To help reduce the spread of the virus, a regional travel advisory went into effect.

It required people coming in from states with a significant community spread of COVID-19 to self-quarantine for 14 days.

During the summer travel season of 2020, it affected where people could freely travel to and from or to quarantine upon returning home.

By Aug. 3, 2020, there had been more than 50,062 cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut and more than 4,400 deaths.

As of Monday, March 7, 2022, there have been 727,542 cases of COVID-19 in the state and 10,515 COVID-19 related deaths.

At the height of the pandemic, thousands of people were hospitalized with COVID-19.

As of Monday, 145patients were hospitalized with COVID-19,and 64, or 44.1%,are not fully vaccinated.

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Two Years Later: A Look Back at Beginning of COVID-19 Pandemic in CT - NBC Connecticut

Key messages:

The World Health Organization, with the support of the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC),continues to review and assess the public health implications of emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOC) on the performance of COVID-19 vaccines. Since the publication of the interim statement on COVID-19 vaccines on 11 January 2022, Omicron has become the dominant VOC globally,rapidly replacing other circulating variants. This statement highlights the global epidemiological situation, challenges of updating vaccine composition and provides the current position of the TAG-CO-VAC.

The current global epidemiological situation is characterized by rapid and relatively synchronous dominance of Omicron variant in all six WHO regions. While global cases are declining, there are reduced testing resources and capacities in some areas andthe epidemiological situation remains heterogeneous, with a number of regions and countries reporting increases in new weekly cases, while others are now reporting declines.

Omicron is comprised of several genetically related sublineages, including BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3, each of which is being monitored by WHO and partners. At a global level, BA.1 has been the predominant Omicron lineage, however, the proportion of reportedsequences designated as BA.2 has been increasing relative to BA.1 in recent weeks, and is the predominant Omicron lineage in several countries. BA.1 and BA.2 have some genetic differences, which may make them antigenically distinct. Reinfection withBA.2 following infection with BA.1 has been documented, however, initial data from population-level studies suggest that infection with BA.1 provides substantial protection against reinfection with BA.2, at least for the limited period for which dataare available. For more details on the Omicron sublineages, please refer to the statement by WHO on the Omicron sublineage BA.2 , published on 22 February 2022.

The public health goal of COVID-19 vaccination prioritizes protection against severe disease and death. Current vaccines appear to confer high levels of protection against severe disease outcomes associated with Omicron infection. The TAG-CO-VAC thereforestrongly supports urgent and broad access to current COVID-19 vaccines for primary series and booster doses, particularly for groups at risk of developing severe disease. The near- and medium-term supply of the available vaccines has increased substantially,however, vaccine equity remains an important challenge and all efforts to address such inequities are strongly encouraged.

The first interim statement from the TAG-CO-VAC highlighted the need for the development of vaccines that provide protection against infection and prevent transmission, in addition to the protection from severe disease and death, as a means to achievea greater public health impact from COVID-19 vaccination. In this context, vaccines that are able to elicit mucosal immunity, in addition to systemic immunity, are an important goal. One of the options proposed in the first statement was the developmentof pan SARS-CoV-2 or pansarbecovirus vaccines. Such vaccines would provide protection that would effectively be variant-proof, and work in this area should be accelerated.

Current vaccines are based on the virus that circulated early in the pandemic (ancestral virus e.g. GISAID: hCoV-19/Wuhan/WIV04/2019). Since then, there has been continuous and substantial virus evolution and it is likely that this evolution will continue,resulting in the emergence of new variants. The composition of current COVID-19 vaccines may therefore need to be updated. Any update to current COVID-19 vaccine composition would aim to, at a minimum, retain protection against severe disease anddeath, while ensuring the breadth of the immune response against circulating and emerging variants, which may be antigenically distinct.

The TAG-CO-VAC considered a number of issues, all of which are important in any decision on COVID-19 vaccine composition:

The TAG-CO-VAC welcomes, where feasible, the development and initiation of clinical trials on variant-specific candidate vaccines against WHO-designated VOCs, including Omicron. In this context, the TAG-CO-VAC is seeking evidence of robust homologousimmune responses in primed and unprimed individuals and cross-reactivity data in primed individuals. The TAG-CO-VAC encourages collection of data following one and two doses of any modified vaccine across a variety of relevant vaccine platforms.

The TAG-CO-VAC continues to encourage COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to generate and provide data to WHO on the performance of current and variant-specific candidate COVID-19 vaccines, including the breadth, magnitude, and durability of humoral and cell-mediatedimmune responses to variants through monovalent and/or multivalent vaccines. The TAG-CO-VAC will carefully consider these data as part of a broader decision-making framework on COVID-19 vaccine composition, allowing the TAG-CO-VAC to issue more specificadvice on any adjustments that may be needed to COVID-19 vaccine strain composition, developed either as a monovalent vaccine targeting the predominant circulating variant(s) or a multivalent vaccine derived from different variants.

The TAG-CO-VAC recognizes the independent role and procedures of relevant regulatory authorities in establishing the necessary requirements for evaluation under the currently established regulatory pathways, and the role of WHO in ensuring alignment,collaboration and a continuous exchange of information between WHO and its expert groups, the TAG-CO-VAC, regulatory authorities, and COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers.

The statement reflects the current vaccine performance and landscape of vaccine development. The statement will therefore be updated as data become available.

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Interim Statement on COVID-19 vaccines in the context of the circulation of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variant from the WHO Technical Advisory Group on...

Pandemic divergence: A short note on COVID-19 and global income inequality Skip to main content Abstract

In this paper we provide an initial assessment of the economic losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic in two ways: as output contractions in 2020-2021 and as growth revisions (the estimated cumulative output loss in 2020-2030 based on growth forecasts before and after COVID-19). We find that, whereas the immediate GDP impact seems to favor poorer countries that were less intensely hit by the virus, the long-term economic cost correlates negatively with the countrys initial per capita GDP, worsening global income inequality. The note identifies empirically some of the key drivers of these country differences (e.g., informality, tourism dependence, fiscal space) and provides broader estimates of COVID-related economic loss that incorporate the costs associated with fiscal stimuli, excess deaths, and education lockdowns.

Download the full working paper

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Pandemic divergence: A short note on COVID-19 and global income inequality - Brookings Institution

KINGSTON, N.Y. Ulster Countys active COVID-19 cases have dropped to double digits, according to the governments online coronavirus dashboard.

The county reported Tuesday that on Monday, March 7, there were just 77 active cases, 55 fewer than the 132 reported a day earlier. The last time the active case number was in the double digits was in July of 2021.

But Ulster County reported one new death on Tuesday, bringing the total to 372 since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The county said that it has had 37,052 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 36,603 recoveries.

Tuesday, March 8, marked the two-year anniversary of the first COVID-10 case reported in Ulster County.

Dutchess County on Tuesday reported no additional COVID-19 deaths as of Sunday, March 6, leaving the countys pandemic-related death toll to 650, according to the governments COVID-19 dashboard.

The county reported that active cases shrank slightly, to 131 as of Sunday. Thats down 10 cases from the 141 reported Saturday.

Dutchess County has recorded a pandemic total of 63,329 cases of COVID-19 since March 2020.

The dashboard numbers do not include home test results not reported to health departments.

Data as of Monday, March 7, from thestate Department of Health..

Ellenville Regional Hospital, 0.

HealthAlliance Hospitals in Kingston, 7.

Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, 1.

Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, 5.

Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, 3.

Data as of Monday, March 7, from New Yorkstates online vaccine tracker.

Ulster County: 74% fully vaccinated, 81% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 89.1% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Dutchess County: 68.8% fully vaccinated, 76.6% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 85.1% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Appointments:vaccinateulster.com,bit.ly/dut-vax,bit.ly/ny-vaxme

Here are the latest reports ofCOVID cases in area school districts.

Kingston: One student at the high school.

Highland: One student at the elementary school and one student, one teacher at the middle school.

Onteora: One student at Phoenicia Elementary School.

Rondout Valley: One staff at Kerhonkson Elementary School and one student at Rondout Valley Intermediate School.

Saugerties: One student each at Cahill Elementary School, the junior high school and the high school.

Marlboro: One staff at the elementary school.

Red Hook: One student each at the Mill Road Intermediate School and the Mill Road Primary School.

BOCES: One teacher at the Career and Technical Education Center and one student, one teacher, one staff at the Center for Innovative Teaching and learning.

For online local coverage related to the coronavirus, go todailyfreeman.com/tag/coronavirus.

The rest is here:

Active COVID-19 cases dive to double digits in Ulster County - The Daily Freeman

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Families:

In recent weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, the Onondaga County executive, and many of our national and New York state peer institutions have announced significant changes to public health guidelines. Primarily, these changes relate to reduced indoor masking requirements, including the elimination of mask mandates for children attending K-12 public schools across New York state.

Here on the Syracuse University campus, we continue to pursue a public health policy that is aligned with local conditions and local data. Accordingly, Im writing today to announce that, conditions permitting, the University will transition on Monday, March 14, to the Yellow level on the COVID masking framework. This action would align our masking practices on campus with the most recent guidance from the CDC, and those in place in the local community and around the country.

Under the Yellow masking level:

In addition to the recent changes on masking announced by the CDC and New York State, there are several other indicators and metrics informing this action, including:

Please note that Syracuse University will continue to offer free and on-demand COVID testing to students, faculty, staff and families. Further, we will also continue our random surveillance testing program and wastewater testing of our residence halls. However, to further ease the COVID-related requirements for fully vaccinated individuals, we will begin to reduce the number of vaccinated individuals required to test each week, while prioritizing ongoing testing for vaccine-exempt individuals. Please visit the Stay Safe website for the most up-to-date testing hours.

The action were announcing today is possible because of our communitys commitment to good public health practicesparticularly the overwhelming campus community compliance with the Universitys COVID vaccination and booster requirement.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the health and wellness of our community.

Sincerely,

J. Michael HaynieVice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Read the original post:

COVID-19 Update: Continued Assessment of Masking Guidance - Syracuse University News