Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: ‘tripledemic’ fears, boosters, reinfection & 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, Nov. 4, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Additionally, more than 1 million people in the U.S. have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 631 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 6.5 million people have died.
About 227 million people in the U.S. have completed their primary vaccine series (two doses) as of Nov. 4 — 68.5% of the population — and over 26 million of those have gotten an updated booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
About 22% of people in the country live in a location where COVID-19 community levels are considered medium and high, the agency says as of Nov. 4. Masks are advised in high-level regions.
Around 78% 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. 29, making up 49.6% of COVID-19 cases, agency data estimates show.
Here’s what happened between Oct. 30 and Nov. 4.
COVID booster may lower protection against omicron reinfection, study finds. Here’s why
A COVID-19 booster, specifically a third vaccine dose, may lower protection against getting infected with the omicron variant again for some people — and there’s a reason why, new findings suggest.
In contrast, two vaccine doses, followed by an initial omicron infection, may protect more against a second omicron infection than an extra jab, according to a preprint study published Nov. 1 to medRxiv, a server run by Yale, BMJ and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. This is due to a specific reaction within the immune system, researchers concluded.
Here’s what the findings mean.
“If you got infected with Omicron at any time, a third vaccine dose actually doubles your risk of reinfection compared to 2 doses only,” Dr. Daniele Focosi, who specializes in hematology and works at Pisa University Hospital in Italy, wrote on Twitter in response to the findings. “Amazing immune imprinting at work.”
The study points to immune imprinting as the reason why “three-dose vaccination was associated with reduced protection compared to that of two-dose vaccination.”
But what exactly is immune imprinting?
Read more below:
COVID booster may lower protection against omicron reinfection, study finds. Here’s why
Do COVID vaccines cause heavier periods? Agency recommends listing it as side effect
It’s not uncommon to experience side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, including feeling generally unwell.
But should some people expect the shots to result in heavier menstrual bleeding?
The European Medicines Agency’s safety committee on Oct. 28 recommended listing heavier periods as a side effect of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, according to a news release. The EMA is in charge of evaluating medicinal products for the European Union.
Specifically, the committee is advising that temporary heavier menstrual bleeding “of unknown frequency” should be included on both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine product information, the EMA said. This comes after a review of available data and published medical studies.
For more, keep reading here:
Do COVID vaccines cause heavier periods? Agency recommends listing it as side effect
California’s COVID-19 rates start to rise again amid winter ‘tripledemic’ fears
Coronavirus transmission is showing early signs of trending upward again in California, as experts warn of a potential “tripledemic” — spikes in COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus — this winter.
The California Department of Public Health in a weekly update Thursday reported the daily case rate for COVID-19 at 6.1 per 100,000 residents.
That’s down 4% from the previous week, but the rate of decline has slowed: the case rate decreased by 6% in the previous week-to-week window, and by 15% in the one before that.
California also is now conducting only about 72,000 tests a day, which is its lowest testing volume since the first three months of the pandemic. The state was processing more than 250,000 daily lab tests as recently as early June.
Continue reading below:
California’s COVID-19 rates start to rise again amid winter ‘tripledemic’ fears
Four defendants charged in multi-million dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme
The U.S. Attorney’s Office’s in South Carolina has charged four people in a fraud scheme connected to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act’s Paycheck Protection Program, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The four are Jacob Liticker, 25, from Houston, Texas; Kehinde Mubarak Ladepo, 26, an enlisted member of the U.S. Air Force stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter; Ganiyu Victor Ladepo, 29, from Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Maxwell Uzoma Okobi, 24, a resident of North Carolina currently deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, according to the release.
The indictment alleges that the four were part of a national scheme that attempted to fraudulently obtain $2 million in PPP loans, according to the release. About $1 million was fraudulently obtained.
Keep reading here:
Four defendants charged in multi-million dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme
Manatee Commissioner Baugh settles ethics charge for role in COVID-19 vaccine fiasco
Just one day before the hearing was set to begin, County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh settled an ethics charge about her role in a controversial COVID-19 vaccine event.
According to court records, a representative for the Florida Commission on Ethics filed the motion to cancel the Nov. 1 hearing Monday afternoon. The details of the settlement agreement have not been disclosed.
The motion said Baugh and the commission “have reached a settlement agreement in principle.”
In March 2021, Baugh came under fire after the Bradenton Herald reported that she had played a pivotal role in planning a pop-up COVID-19 vaccine site in Lakewood Ranch. An investigation found that Baugh directed county staff to make the 3,000 vaccines available only to residents in two Lakewood Ranch ZIP codes.
The story continues below:
Manatee Commissioner Baugh settles ethics charge for role in COVID-19 vaccine fiasco
Reporters Michael McGough, Alexa Jurado and Jessica De Leon also contributed to this report.
