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HHS announces pharmacy-based clinical trial under Project NextGen

… Authority (BARDA)   Project NextGen to support a COVID vaccine clinical trial featuring a decentralized … correlate of protection study using licensed or authorized COVID vaccines. Correlates of protection are measurable … geared toward streamlining the development of innovative COVID vaccines and treatments.  Infectious disease topic …
Lisa Schnirring

Fewer people are being vaccinated against respiratory diseases

… 34% of US adults have gotten a flu shot, 25% have had a COVID vaccine, 8% have received the pneumococcal vaccine, and … RSV. Infectious disease topics Adult (non-flu) Vaccines COVID-19 Influenza Vaccines Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) … Just 34% of adults have gotten a flu shot; 25% have had a COVID-19 shot; 8% have received a vaccine to prevent …
Liz Szabo
Young woman and vaccine tray

Respiratory illness levels continue to climb ahead of holidays

… urged stepped-up vaccination. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Influenza, General Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) … In a respiratory virus snapshot today, the CDC said COVID-19 indicators remain elevated and are increasing in … to increase in older adults and young children. Wastewater COVID levels rise; Midwest a hot spot In its COVID data …
Lisa Schnirring
sick girl

Experts say CDC not getting right advice on hospital infection prevention

… fails to take into account what has been learned about COVID-19 transmission, they actually weaken existing … about aerosol transmission by inhalation during the COVID-19 pandemic," the petitioners said in a letter dated … (CIDRAP), publisher of CIDRAP News. What did we learn from COVID? It seems like nothing. The proposed guidance is full …
Stephanie Soucheray
HCW with mask

US survey reveals growing distrust of vaccines, embrace of untruths

… willingness to accept misinformation about vaccines and COVID-19 over the last 2 years, according to results released … attempted to disprove misinformation about vaccination and COVID-19, yet 26% of respondents said they still believe that … the antiparasitic drug ivermectin is effective against COVID-19, up from 10% in September 2021. There are warning …
Mary Van Beusekom

People 50 and older saw cognitive declines in the first 2 years of the pandemic

… the pandemic Body   Sima Dimitric / Flickr cc During the COVID-19 pandemic, people 50 years and older in a UK cohort … (MCI; effect size, 0.13 and 0.40) or a history of COVID-19 (effect size, 0.24 and 0.46). In the second year, … = 0.011; working memory) in those who tested positive for COVID-19 and loneliness ( P = 0.0038; working memory) in …
Mary Van Beusekom

Common diabetes drug lowers SARS-CoV-2 levels, clinical trial finds

… reduced 3.6-fold with metformin. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Byline Stephanie Soucheray, MA Body Today, … Diseases , suggests metformin may also help prevent long COVID. The researchers tested metformin against a placebo in 999 adults infected with COVID-19. More than 50% of the study enrollees were …
Stephanie Soucheray
metformin

Social media posts reveal emergency medicine docs' strain during pandemic

… field in the past 3 years. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Byline Stephanie Soucheray, MA Body A study today in … depression among emergency medicine (EM) physicians during COVID-19 compared with posts during the prepandemic period. … focused on tweets made from the top 10 US counties for COVID activity: Los Angeles, California; Maricopa, Arizona; …
Stephanie Soucheray
social media

Low levels of resistance to Paxlovid seen in SARS-CoV-2 isolates

… Paxlovid, the antiviral drug most commonly used to treat COVID-19. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Byline Stephanie Soucheray, MA Body A study today in … reassurance that resistance to one of the most effective COVID-19 therapeutics is rare. The study was based on …
Stephanie Soucheray
paxlovoid

US flu activity climbs, with more deaths in kids

… across much of the nation. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Influenza, General Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) … elevated and are likewise on the rise for all age-groups. COVID holds steady; RSV ebbs Though COVID-19 wastewater detections moved from the medium back …
Lisa Schnirring
sick child with fever

Bivalent boosters offer added protection for previously vaccinated people, study shows

… previously received only two doses of the original mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, according to a study yesterday in The … 50% VE against critical illness The study included 24,246 COVID-19 cases and 99,173 test-negative controls. Of the COVID-19 cases, 20,555 infections were caused by Omicron …
Stephanie Soucheray

US flu ebbs for third straight week, but impact on healthcare remains

… Overall deaths from flu declined, but again outpaced COVID-19 deaths. The 16 newly reported pediatric flu deaths … subtyped influenza A samples, 5 were H1N1 and 4 were H3N2. COVID wastewater detections now at low level For COVID, test positivity remains stable, and emergency …
Lisa Schnirring

Flu in US continues to decline but still packs a punch

… said it expects flu activity to last several more weeks. COVID, already at low levels, continues to ebb The CDC said peak hospitalizations from COVID-19 in the winter respiratory virus season were lower … previous seasons and half that of last season. Deaths from COVID last week made up 1% of all deaths, with the level …
Lisa Schnirring
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148

Episode 148: No Time to Quit

In "No Time to Quit," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the JN.1 variant, Paxlovid uptake, and COVID-19 vaccine disinformation. Dr. Osterholm also provides an update on influenza and RSV transmission and shares the latest "This Week in Public Health History" segment. 

    Opinion: The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe? (Eric Topol, LA Times)
    Paxlovid Cuts Covid Death Risk. But Those Who Need It Are Not Taking It (Christina Jewett, New York Times)
    COMMENTARY: What can masks do? Part 1: The science behind COVID-19 protection (Brosseau et al., CIDRAP)
January 11, 2024
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121

Episode 121: Thank You, Dr. Jena: Part 2

In "Thank You, Dr. Jena: Part 2," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the crisis that China is currently facing, the latest influenza data, and what we should expect from this virus in 2023. Dr. Osterholm also interviews Dr. Jena to get an update on the impact that the pandemic continues to have on healthcare workers in the U.S.

December 29, 2022
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166

Episode 166: Infectious Diseases Roulette

In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall cover the latest infectious disease news on topics including H5N1, mpox, measles, and polio. Dr. Osterholm also answers an ID query on updated COVID-19 vaccines and gives his thoughts on a controversial study on Paxlovid.

Evidence growing for COVID antivirals to cut poor outcomes, long COVID, experts say (CIDRAP News)

The world is not ready for the next pandemic (Michael Osterholm & Mark Olshaker, Foreign Affairs)

Interim clinical considerations for use of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States (CDC)

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September 19, 2024
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122

Episode 122: Shutting Down Misinformation

In "Shutting Down Misinformation," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the state of the pandemic in the US and around the world, China’s struggle to keep up with its dramatic rise in COVID cases and deaths, and the vaccine misinformation that is spreading on social media.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

    The bivalent booster outperforms, Eric Topol (https://erictopol.substack.com/p/the-bivalent-vaccine-booster-outperforms)
    COVID-19 and Excess All-Cause Mortality in the US and 20 Comparison Countries, June 2021-March 2022, A. Bilinkski et al (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2798990)
January 12, 2023

SARS-CoV-2 can damage mitochondrion in heart, other organs, study finds

… leads to long-term damage and may help explain long COVID, the authors say. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Byline Mary Van Beusekom, MS Body The COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT) and the …
Mary Van Beusekom
Mitochondria
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159

Episode 159: Uncharted Territory

In "Uncharted Territory," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall cover the latest H5N1 news and updates to the COVID-19 vaccine formulation. Dr. Osterholm also discusses how this summer's weather may impact mosquito and tick populations, and answers an ID query on culling dairy cows. 

CDC Reports A(H5N1) Ferret Study Results (CDC)

FDA panel supports switch to JN.1 for fall COVID vaccines (CIDRAP News)

Long-Term Health Effects of COVID-19: Disability and Function Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection (National Academies)

NOAA predicts above-normal 2024 Atlantic hurricane season (NOAA)

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June 13, 2024

Substantial decrease noted in severe respiratory illness during first 2 years of pandemic

… Teaser text The researchers limited capture of data on COVID-19 diagnoses to children who had an additional … illness, such as pneumonia. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Byline Stephanie Soucheray, MA Body Compared to the … and otherwise healthy children saw decreases in severe non-COVID respiratory illnesses in 2020 and 2021, the authors of …
Stephanie Soucheray
inhalator

US respiratory virus levels remain high amid possible post-holiday spike

… health seeking behaviors. Infectious disease topics COVID-19 Influenza, General Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) … remain elevated or increasing across the country for flu, COVID, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and that it will … up 1.3% of all of the nation's fatalities last week. COVID wastewater levels highest in South, Midwest After weeks …
Lisa Schnirring
man sneezing outside
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151

Episode 151: Harm Reduction

In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss COVID isolation guidelines, the BA.2.87.1 variant, and the importance of measles and other rare public health threats. 

February 22, 2024

Cost of China-made drug ingredients more than doubled during pandemic

… and, more recently, the lifting of the country's zero-COVID policy. Infectious disease topics Resilient Drug Supply COVID-19 Byline Mary Van Beusekom, MS Body Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, prices of some active pharmaceutical …
Mary Van Beusekom
Drug manufacturing

Study highlights impact of antibiotic resistance on older Americans

… to younger compared to the rest of the population, and the COVID-19 pandemic is a very recent, and a very good, example …
Chris Dall | News Reporter | CIDRAP News
Plates inoculated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria.

ASP Scan (Weekly) for Jul 09, 2021

…   infections, and 37.1% were also co-infected with COVID-19. "Shionogi is excited to share these real-world data …

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