Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: new common COVID symptoms, vaccine side effects & more
In the United States, more than 97 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic as of Friday, Oct. 28, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Additionally, more than 1 million people in the U.S. have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 629 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 6.5 million people have died.
About 226 million people in the U.S. have completed their primary vaccine series (two doses) as of Oct. 28 — 68.2% of the population — and over 111 million of those have gotten their first booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
About 19% of people in the country live in a location where COVID-19 community levels are considered medium and high, the agency says as of Oct. 28. Masks are advised in high-level regions.
Around 81% of Americans reside where COVID-19 levels are considered low, according to the CDC.
The omicron BA.5 subvariant dominated U.S. cases for the week ending Oct. 22, making up 62.2% of COVID-19 cases, agency data estimates show.
Here’s what happened between Oct. 23 and 28.
The most common COVID symptoms have changed, study says. Here’s what they are
The most commonly reported COVID-19 symptoms in recent weeks have changed since the coronavirus started to spread across the globe, a study has found.
The top symptoms were mostly similar regardless of vaccination status, according to the Zoe Health Study, a long-running research project based in the U.K. that tracks the virus through its COVID Symptoms Tracker app. Through the app, participants self report their COVID-19 experience.
The study’s latest list published Oct. 20 highlights how “symptoms as recorded previously are changing with the evolving variants of the virus,” according to the report.
Four out of five top COVID-19 symptoms were the same for participants who received two vaccine doses, one vaccine dose and those unvaccinated, according to the research. These symptoms were headache, persistent cough, sore throat, and a runny nose.
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The most common COVID symptoms have changed, study says. Here’s what they are
Feeling sick after your COVID shot is a good sign, study finds. Here’s what it means
There’s no need to worry if you’re feeling sick after getting a COVID-19 vaccine — it’s actually a good sign, according to a new study.
Experiencing post-vaccine symptoms — including chills, fatigue, fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea, and vomiting — means the body is having a greater immune response, a study published Oct. 21 in the journal JAMA Network Open found.
However, having few symptoms, or no symptoms at all, after a COVID-19 shot doesn’t mean the vaccine didn’t work, according to the research.
Here’s what you should know.
Of 928 older adults who received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna’s mRNA vaccine, those who reported post-vaccine symptoms had a greater antibody response compared with participants who only reported local symptoms, meaning pain or a rash at the injection site, or no symptoms at all, the study found. The average age of participants was 65.
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Feeling sick after your COVID shot is a good sign, study finds. Here’s what it means
Heart attack deaths jumped sharply among young U.S. adults in 2nd year of COVID pandemic
As the number of COVID-19 infection surged during the pandemic, deaths from heart attacks rose sharply as well, with adults ages 25-44 experiencing the most significant increases, according to new research from scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“The dramatic rise in heart attacks during the pandemic has reversed what was a prior decadelong steady improvement in cardiac deaths,” said Dr. Yee Hui Yeo, first author of the study and a Cedars-Sinai physician-scientist. “We are still learning the many ways by which COVID-19 affects the body, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or race.”
Scientists around the nation and world continue to release findings that show SARS-CoV-2 infections increase risk of other serious conditions such as stroke, nerve damage and some autoimmune diseases.
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Heart attack deaths jumped sharply among young U.S. adults in 2nd year of COVID pandemic
More contagious variant of COVID-19 found in Fresno County. Here’s what we know
COVID-19 cases are continuing to decline, but a new variant has been confirmed in Fresno County as health officials brace for a potential wintertime surge of the coronavirus.
The Fresno County Department of Public Health revealed Friday that it discovered its first case of the BQ.1 variant of the disease in the county. The case was discovered Wednesday.
Officials did not say where in the county it was found or release any other details about the case.
BQ.1 is a descendant of the omicron variant BA.5, the strain responsible for most infections during last summer’s surge.
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More contagious variant of COVID-19 found in Fresno County. Here’s what we know
Did COVID pandemic help the climate? Here’s a look at California carbon emissions in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic created one positive outcome in California: It helped shrink the state’s carbon footprint, at least temporarily.
Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 9% in 2020, the California Air Resources Board said Wednesday, marking the largest one-year drop since California began measuring its man-made output of carbon dioxide emissions.
But air board officials acknowledged the results were skewed by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home orders in the early months of the pandemic, when offices, shopping malls and freeways largely emptied out and the economy came to a standstill.
Steven Cliff, the board’s executive officer, called the 2020 results “an outlier” and said greenhouse gas emissions have surely increased in the past two years as economic activity has improved.
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Did COVID pandemic help the climate? Here’s a look at California carbon emissions in 2020
Reporters Cathie Anderson, Bethany Clough and Dale Kasler also contributed to this report.
