Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: long COVID, Biden, omicron BA.5 subvariant & more
In the United States, more than 90 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic as of Friday, July 22, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In addition, more than 1 million people in the U.S. have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 567 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including about 6 million cases in the past week. Additionally, over 6.3 million have died from the virus globally.
About 222 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated as of July 22 — 67% of the population — and over 107 million of those have gotten their first booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Most of the country, roughly 80%, lives in a location where COVID-19 community levels are considered medium and high, the agency says as of July 22. Masks are advised in high level regions.
Slightly more than 20% of Americans reside in an area where COVID-19 levels are low, according to the CDC.
The omicron BA.5 subvariant dominated U.S. cases for the week ending July 16 and made up nearly 80% of COVID-19 cases.
Here’s what happened between July 17 and 22:
How widespread is long COVID? It’s put millions of US adults out of work, expert says
If you have heard about long COVID — a condition in which symptoms of a coronavirus infection can linger for weeks, months or years — you may wonder how widespread it is.
By February, more than half of the U.S. population was estimated to have already been infected with COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Long COVID may occur at least four weeks after a COVID-19 infection, the agency notes.
About 28 million working-age adults in the U.S., and likely more to date, have developed the condition after testing positive for the virus, workforce expert Katie Bach, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, testified at a House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, July 19.
“Long Covid is leading millions of Americans to reduce their work schedules or stop working,” Bach wrote in testimony ahead of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing.
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How widespread is long COVID? It’s put millions of US adults out of work, expert says
Biden has COVID, experiencing ‘very mild’ symptoms, press secretary says
President Joe Biden on Thursday, July 23, tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing “very mild symptoms,” the White House announced, but he plans to continue carrying out his duties for the time being.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is isolating in the White House residence but will “participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence.”
Jean-Pierre said Biden, who has been vaccinated for the coronavirus and received two booster shots, had last tested for COVID on Tuesday, when the results came back negative. The president is taking Paxlovid, an anti-viral medication used to treat COVID cases, the press secretary added.
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Biden has COVID, experiencing ‘very mild’ symptoms, press secretary says
‘Violent’ COVID test left woman in need of surgery, South Carolina lawsuit says
A “violent” COVID-19 test left a South Carolina woman needing surgery after a swab was forcefully shoved far into her nose, rupturing her sinus cavity, according to a new lawsuit.
After several surgeries, the lawsuit says the procedures were “not entirely successful” in repairing the woman’s sinus cavity, leaving her with permanent injuries.
The woman and her husband filed the lawsuit on July 14 against the Medical University of South Carolina, which runs the MUSC Health West Phlebotomy Lab in Charleston, where the COVID-19 test took place in July 2020, claiming medical malpractice occurred.
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‘Violent’ COVID test left woman in need of surgery, South Carolina lawsuit says
Do menstrual cycles change after COVID vaccination? Another study finds it’s possible
With more than 222 million people in the U.S. fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, some reports, as well as questions, have emerged about the vaccines’ potential effects on the body — including on menstrual cycles.
One dose of a COVID-19 vaccine was found to temporarily alter menstruation and was linked to a slightly longer cycle in a study published in January, McClatchy News reported. This work received funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Months later, another study found menstrual cycles may temporarily change after a person gets a COVID-19 vaccine.
Thousands of people who received two COVID-19 vaccine doses experienced a change in their typical periods, including heavier periods or breakthrough bleeding, according to a study published July 15 in the journal Science Advances. The work also received NIH funding.
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Do menstrual cycles change after COVID vaccination? Another study finds it’s possible
Army soldier stole millions in COVID relief and student loans in Georgia, feds say
A U.S. Army soldier admitted to leading a “prolific” plot in which more than $4.5 million worth of COVID-19 relief and student loans were stolen while stationed at a base in Georgia, federal prosecutors said.
As part of her fraud scheme, the soldier and co-conspirators claimed to be permanently disabled veterans on more than a dozen fake disability applications sent to the U.S. Department of Education — allowing them to steal over $1 million in federal student loans, according to court documents.
The soldier stationed at Fort Stewart, 39-year-old Dara Buck, pleaded guilty to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said in a July 15 news release. She is from Ladson, South Carolina.
Buck also admitted to submitting more than 150 fake Paycheck Protection Program applications under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, “resulting in more than $3.5 million in fraudulent disbursements,” prosecutors said.
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Army soldier stole millions in COVID relief and student loans in Georgia, feds say
Oceanfront apartment in California funded by $27 million COVID scam, feds say
A California man accused of seeking $27 million in fraudulent paycheck protection loans during the COVID-19 pandemic will spend 11 years in prison, federal officials reported.
A jury convicted Robert Benlevi, 53, of Encino in March on charges of bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution and money laundering, a July 19 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Benlevi applied for 27 forgivable paycheck protection loans at four banks in Southern California in 2020 for his eight businesses, prosecutors said. He also submitted faked IRS documents.
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Oceanfront apartment in California funded by $27 million COVID scam, feds say
McClatchy reporters Alex Roarty and Don Sweeney also contributed to this report.
