Clamor for 4th shots building while vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe illness
New White House COVID-19 leader and CDC director both say "be ready" for possible new surges, while China reports first COVID-19 deaths in more than a year
"We're not done with this pandemic as much as we all wish. We are not. Whatever the pandemic throws at us, we have got to be ready for it."
-Newly named White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha on "Good Morning America."
While most of us are paying closer attention to the horrifying news that is coming every day from Ukraine, COVID-19 hasn’t gone away. I’ve been traveling and have a new appreciation for the importance of individual actions in this phase of the pandemic.
Wastewater and other surveillance indicate COVID-19 infections in the USA are up a lot since late February. Hospitalization rates are no longer declining in some places.
China’s surge continues, with the nation reporting its first two COVID-19 death since January 2021.
Cases are rising in the United Kingdom, though severe cases remain stable due mostly to vaccinations.
In the United States, figuring out how to persuade the remaining millions who haven’t been vaccinated that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective remains a challenge. For example, in Los Angeles, more than 2 million adults haven’t gotten their first or booster shots — many because they believe false information that has circulated so widely.
Fourth shots may be coming, even though the three-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations and the two-shot J&J vaccinations appear to provide durable protection against severe illness or death. A study in Israel showed that a fourth shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines prevented infection or illness better than three shots.
People who got two mRNA doses plus a booster were 3 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who had all three shots during the delta and omicron waves, according to a new CDC report. Unvaccinated people were 12 times more likely. Hospitalizations among black individuals also were four times higher.
Another study found that two or three doses of mRNA vaccines was associated with a 90% reduction in risk for ventilation or death.
Moderna and Pfizer both asked the FDA to authorize fourth shots under their Emergency Use Authorizations.
As more data accumulates, the J&J shot, relegated to second-choice by US authorities, appears to be providing good protection to most of the people who got it. The data on over 420,000 people in the United States shows that the single dose shot was 74% or more protective against infection and 81% effective against hospitalizations for at least six months. This shows that the protection level remained stable, while the mRNA shots have shown a tendency to wane.
A few science updates:
Alcoholism-related deaths increased during the first year of the pandemic, similar to fetanyl-related deaths previously reported, according to a paper published by JAMA.
A study of 1,400 COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe illness shows that ivermectin appears to have no clinical benefit.
Meanwhile, President Biden has named Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, as the new COVID-19 coordinator. Jha has been one of the steady voices among the experts speaking about COVID-19 from the earliest days, and he has been critical of the government response at times. It’s hard to imagine a better choice.
And one more:
A depressing report documents harassment and other targeting of public health professionals since the pandemic began.
That’s it for this week. Let me know your thoughts. How have you adapted to this phase of the pandemic?