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A paper published yesterday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report highlights a case study the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has used to update how it defines close contacts of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The past week has seen nearly 60,000 US cases a day on average and 700 deaths.
Trust in institutions and leaders seems to affect how likely people will be to accept COVID-19 vaccination.
And US officials might be missing almost 200,000 COVID-19 deaths.
Experts call for a move from a "fail and fix" approach to a "predict and prevent" paradigm.
If a new bill is passed, Congress would provide $11 billion over 10 years to support antibiotic development.
Today CARB-X announced it is funding $3.94 million to Cellics Therapeutics, based in San Diego, to further its nanomedicine treatment for sepsis.
A study yesterday in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found that individuals with mild or no COVID-19 symptoms may be infectious for no more than about 10 days, while those with severe illness may be able to spread the virus for as long as 20 days. The infectious periods align with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for isolation time.
A large observational study showed some promise, but 2 randomized clinical trials did not.
"The message is be prepared for a bad flu season on top of a bad COVID season," says Edward Belongia, MD.
The CDC now recommends mask wearing on airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and other ride-share vehicles.
Racial and ethnic minority workers have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in food manufacturing and agriculture workplaces, according to a study yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Demographics were not available for all 742 sites surveyed across 30 states, but for those that were, 83.2% of confirmed cases involved minorities even though they made up only 47.4% of all workers.
Data from inpatient Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals show a significant increase in antibiotic use from January to May, largely negating a downward trend over the previous 5 years, researchers reported today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
The death rate was high in patients with chronic kidney disease and in those who developed kidney injury in the ICU.
"The virus has shown that, when we let our guard down, it can surge back at breakneck speed and threaten hospitals and health systems."
A randomized, controlled clinical trial involving high-risk healthcare workers found that pre-exposure prophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine once or twice weekly did not significantly reduce COVID-19 compared with placebo, researchers reported late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
As the next steps, officials will conduct a meta-analysis of remdesivir studies, which experts will use to guide treatment advice.
The comprehensive study is geared toward flagging countries that have a heavy chronic disease burden and thus are more vulnerable to a greater COVID impact.
In some states, like Wisconsin, hospitals are strained; also, Pfizer says its vaccine will be delayed.
The emergency sick leave provision of the Mar 18 bipartisan Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) appears to have reduced the spread of the virus. A Health Affairs study yesterday found that states where workers could get up to 2 weeks of paid sick leave showed 417 fewer confirmed cases per day, or an average of 1 prevented case per day per 1,300 workers.
