WHO adviser: Rich countries must help poor beat incoming Covid wave
In an interview, senior adviser to the World Health Organization, Bruce Isleward, used strong language, saying that rich countries “will be bleeding.” [their] If they refrained from helping eradicate the pandemic around the world, hands’.
Reuters: ‘Your hands will be in blood’ if world pulls back on COVID efforts now, WHO official says
A senior World Health Organization official told Reuters that if rich countries think the pandemic is over, they should help low-income countries get to that stage. In an interview, WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward warned that wealthy countries should not stop tackling COVID-19 as a global problem ahead of potential future waves of infections. (Rugby, 9/23)
KHN and PolitiFact: Is Covid ‘under control’ in the US? Experts say yes
President Joe Biden caused controversy when he declared the covid-19 pandemic over in a Sept. 18 “60 Minutes” interview. “We still have a problem with covid – we still have a lot of work to do on it,” Biden said. “But the pandemic is over.” Critics say virus still in US There are an average of about 400 deaths each day from COVID-19, and nearly 30,000 Americans remain hospitalized, countering many others suffering from ‘long covid’ symptoms resulting from previous infections. (Jacobson and Cercone, 9/26)
Washington Post: Is the pandemic over? Americans are resuming (and not resuming) pre-Covid activities
Americans are coming out of the pandemic in the same kind of dynamic turmoil that it started. There is a crazy quilt of conflicting decisions about how to spend your discretionary time and money. I take buses, subways, and other forms of public transportation. Concert tickets are selling well, but not so many theater tickets. In-person visits to doctors have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but mental health counseling remains overwhelmingly online.(Fisher and Telford, 9/24)
The Washington Post: 10 tips for living with Covid and living a normal life
It doesn’t really matter if you agree with President Biden that the pandemic is over, or most scientists who say it’s not over yet. The reality is that all around us, precautions against pandemics are disappearing. But getting through life doesn’t have to mean throwing caution to the wind. … living with covid is easy if you take simple, regular precautions. (Parker Pope, 9/22)
San Francisco Chronicle: COVID is in lull again.Experts say it’s still time to make ‘trade-offs’
What many people are currently suffering from is a kind of pandemic downturn. While COVID is no longer a threat that overshadows all other life priorities, it is still a moment that cannot be ignored. San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philippe said: “We are not quite dead, but we are not compelled to worry about what the virus is doing and need to be vigilant every day.” (Full day, 9/24)
KHN: Journalists analyze medical coding, parse president’s words
KHN freelancer Helen Santoro discussed transgender medical coverage at KCRW’s “Press Play with Madeleine Brand” on September 21. … Sept. 19 on Axios’ “Axios Today” podcast… KHN Senior Editor Andy Miller, in his Sept. 18 WUGA “The Health Report,” said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention We discussed plans to restore our reputation. (9/24)
In other covid updates —
CIDRAP: European countries see early signs of COVID-19 rise in autumn
Health officials across the UK and the European region are seeing early signs of increased COVID activity, and US experts are watching closely for signs of how the coming months will unfold. Disease modeling experts warn of rising infections in northern hemisphere countries. As the weather cools, schools reopen, and vaccine protections weaken, more people are staying indoors. (Schnilling, 9/23)
Reuters: Pfizer CEO tests positive for second COVID test
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourra said on Saturday that he tested positive for COVID-19. Bourla, 60, contacted COVID in August and started a course on Paxlovid, the company’s oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment. (9/24)
CIDRAP: Study shows previous Omicron infection most protective against BA.2
A study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found that previous Omicron BA.1 infection was the most protective factor against BA.2 infection (associated with a 72% risk reduction) and that primary infection with Pleomicron SARS-CoV- shown to provide better protection than In a previously uninfected person (46%), he receives 2 (38%) or 3 doses of the mRNA vaccine. (9/22)
Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 changed the funeral business forever
Brian Myers embalmed one after another until dawn during the pandemic. Among them were his close friends. His business, Myers Mortuary and Cremation Services in Columbia, South Carolina, was booming. But Meyers, 45, said the extra work was exhausting and sad. (Mosbergen, 9/25)
In related news —
CIDRAP: bat COVID-like virus resistant to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
A Salveco virus found in Russian bats evades SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people vaccinated against COVID-19, according to PLOS Pathogens’ study yesterday. The virus, Khosta-2, belongs to the same category of coronaviruses as the virus that causes COVID-19. Confirmed in bats sampled near Sochi National Park in October 2020. Researchers at the University of Washington who conducted the study said Khosta-2 is likely to infect humans based on experiments with human cells from people vaccinated against SARS. CoV-2. (9/23)
Statistics: ‘From disaster to disaster’: Wallenski accuses underinvestment in public health
For the record, Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was scheduled to take up the position again. (Cueto, 9/23)
