The pandemic finally brought into being a European public, as we discovered that our health is a common concern

Faced with Covid, Europe’s citizens demanded an EU response – and got it

And for age 0-5...

NL is slightly behind the UK re #omicron and based lockdown on a.o. this model (source @MarionKoopmans). Despite uncertainty the ‘continue as is’ effect on ICU beds occupied (red) is chilling. Green model is with lockdown after and blue is before Christmas. Decisiveness matters!

10.1186/s12967-021-03184-8

BackgroundPronounced sex differences in the susceptibility and response to SARS-CoV-2 infection remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence has highlighted the potential importance of autoimmune activation in modulating the acute response and recovery trajectories following SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Given that immune-inflammatory activity can be sex-biased in the setting of severe COVID-19 illness, the aim of the study was to examine sex-specific autoimmune reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 in the absence of extreme clinical disease.MethodsIn this study, we assessed autoantibody (AAB) reactivity to 91 autoantigens previously linked to a range of classic autoimmune diseases in a cohort of 177 participants (65% women, 35% men, mean age of 35) with confirmed evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection based on presence of antibody to the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2. Data were compared to 53 pre-pandemic healthy controls (49% women, 51% men). For each participant, socio-demographic data, serological analyses, SARS-CoV-2 infection status and COVID-19 related symptoms were collected by  an electronic survey of questions. The symptoms burden score was constructed based on the total number of reported symptoms (N = 21) experienced within 6 months prior to the blood draw, wherein a greater number of symptoms corresponded to a higher score and assigned as more severe burden.ResultsIn multivariable analyses, we observed sex-specific patterns of autoreactivity associated with the presence or absence (as well as timing and clustering of symptoms) associated with prior COVID-19 illness. Whereas the overall AAB response was more prominent in women following asymptomatic infection, the breadth and extent of AAB reactivity was more prominent in men following at least mildly symptomatic infection. Notably, the observed reactivity included distinct antigens with molecular homology with SARS-CoV-2.ConclusionOur results reveal that prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in the absence of severe clinical disease, can lead to a broad AAB response that exhibits sex-specific patterns of prevalence and antigen selectivity. Further understanding of the nature of triggered AAB activation among men and women exposed to SARS-CoV-2 will be essential for developing effective interventions against immune-mediated sequelae of COVID-19.

Paradoxical sex-specific patterns of autoantibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Some useful tips from me

The Omicron variant is spreading rapidly across the United States, with New York City experiencing more daily new cases than any previous point in the pandemic. “We’re getting up to numbers, in terms of transmissibility, that could be reaching measles,” says Dr. Peter Hotez, author of “Preventing the Next Pandemic.” “And measles is the most highly transmissible virus we know about.”

Covid’s evolution: ‘With each passing wave, we’ve seen greater transmissibility’

This is much better. #COVIDisAirborne https://who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-how-is-it-transmitted

What you guys keep saying for coronavirus immunity versus what keeps happening

Former AMA president says Djokovic shouldn’t be allowed into Australia, while fellow players express surprise at the decision

‘Appalling message’: outrage over Novak Djokovic’s medical exemption to play Australian Open

Interesting. From this afternoon in @nytimes: https://nytimes.com/2022/01/01/us/omicron-covid-holidays-surge-testing.html

Quebec's plan to put a "significant" health tax on unvaccinated people — who account for a large share of COVID-19 hospitalizations — quickly drove a rush of new appointments this week, health officials say.

Quebec's 'unvaxxed tax' has people rushing to get vaccinated

We need to address the needs of students—and parents, and teachers. One size does not fit all, and race complicates the challenge.

The Folly of School Openings as a Zero-Sum Game

Much less loss of smell and taste with Omicron, but more sore throat than with Delta https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1046623/Technical-Briefing-34-14January2022.pdf… @UKHSA symptom data from ~175,000 Omicron and ~88,000 Delta cases

But experts are confident worst case scenarios for current Covid wave unlikely to occur

Expect another Omicron wave in early summer, Sage says

Maryland - just awful to watch what's unfolding. Now at *1714* hospitalizations 130 in 24 hrs. 16.5% test positivity. Some counties have acted but no statewide policy! No measures to slow the spread. https://coronavirus.maryland.gov

BREAKING: U.S. reports 400,000 new coronavirus cases, the biggest one-day increase on record, with some states yet to report

544 children with #COVID19 were admitted to U.S. hospitals yesterday— this shattered the previous single-day record that was set 2 days ago (421) source: HHS (https://healthdata.gov/Hospital/COVID-19-Reported-Patient-Impact-and-Hospital-Capa/g62h-syeh…)

NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Within weeks, the Omicron variant has fueled thousands of new COVID-19 hospitalizations among U.S. children, raising new concerns about how the many unvaccinated Americans under the age of 18 will fare in the new surge.

COVID-19 hospitalization surge among U.S. children spurs new Omicron concerns

#COVID Update: -339,853 Test Results Reported -76,555 Positives -22.53% Positive -7,919 Hospitalizations (+546) -80 new deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS

COVID-19 vaccines have been free and broadly available to adults in all states and the District of Columbia since mid-April 2021, meaning adults in the U.S. have generally been able to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 since late May 2021 if receiving a two-dose vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. Despite the availability of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination rates have lagged, particularly in some states and among younger people. As of early December 2021, 17% of adults over the age of 18 in the U.S. remain unvaccinated for COVID-19. These COVID-19 hospitalizations are devastating for patients, their families, and health care providers. The hospitalizations are also costing taxpayer-funded public insurance programs and the workers and businesses paying health insurance premiums. Our recent analysis found that insurers are beginning to reinstate cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, though patients still only pay a small share of the total costs.

Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations cost billions of dollars

meet @michaelmina_lab for detailed info on what LFTs are for... https://twitter.com/michaelmina_lab/status/1477831287482241032?s=20

There are sone issues with data from Wales and Northern Ireland covering the holiday weekend, but still, wow. U.K. breaches the 200k daily cases mark for the first time.

I can tell you for a fact that it isn’t ‘mild’ for everyone.

How many more days until Rhode Island's cases line exceeds the word "exceeds" in the text header?

'The greater the extent of the infringement, the higher the threshold that a government has to reach in justifying that interference' Author of the article:

Is mandatory COVID vaccination legal? Here's what Canada's charter says

Our 6 year old is fully vaccinated He has been in in-person daycare & then elementary school since June 2020 Both daycare & school have required a mask; he wears a well-fitting, comfy 2 layer mask with a KN95 filter as a middle layer—he has had no problem wearing one

Thank you @j_g_allen for continuing to advocate for childhood vaccination & for sharing evidence on masks Yesterday, the U.S. saw a record number of COVID-19 pediatric hospital admissions, almost 1,000 Unvaxxed kids are 10 X more likely to be hospitalized than vaxxed kids 1/2

In medicine this is what we call a conflict of interest.

Health secretary confirms reduction in self-isolation period, in decision that could help address staff shortages

Covid isolation to be cut to five full days in England, says Sajid Javid

Good news: admissions for flu not quite as tiny as last year, but close. https://gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2021-to-2022-season…

The farcical allegory of climate change shows the pitfalls of relying solely on technology and misunderstanding scientific certainty

Don’t Look Up Illustrates 5 Myths That Fuel Rejection of Science

3. The geographic breakdown shows some variation, but not tons. The middle of the country has more Delta than anywhere else. The @CDCgov Nowcast can be found here: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions…

2. The @CDCgov Nowcast suggest that 98% of what's out there right now is #Omicron. Less than 2% is Delta. Nothing else currently being spotted.

1. #Omicron's takeover was stunningly rapid and is now nearly complete, at least in the U.S. The latest "Nowcast" from @CDCgov (which uses recent data to model what's happen now) suggests most of what is circulating here now is omicron.

5/ PS. As indicated in the chart, even with a booster, vaccines are less effective against Omicron than against Delta. This makes N95 or KN95 masks that much more important.

4/ Notably, staff seem to be okay. They were required to wear N95s (but students could ware any ole mask). It will be interesting to see if this holds.

3/ The takeaway should be to get your booster if you qualify (eg, based on when you got your last shot). Also, wear N95s or KN95s. I wish my kids’ middle & high schools had required at least KN95s. Rumor is that a third of the high school is out w/ positive Covid.

2/ This chart speaks to infection, not hospitalization. Thus, those who were double vaxxed early on (but are not yet boosted) may still have some protection against hospitalization—just not against infection, & it’s unclear how much that protection against hospitalization is.

This chart says it all. If u got double vaccinated early on & are not yet boosted, ur effectively unvaccinated against Omicron infection. Thus, many adults & teens are effectively unvaccinated against infection. Kids got vaccinated recently & thus may be in a safer position. 1/Quote Tweet

Italy has also adopted stricter rules.

France joins other EU countries in toughening rules for COVID pass

With a strategy that largely relies on vaccines as the magic bullet to combat the pandemic, the U.S. appears to have been blindsided again by a Covid surge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is facing criticism and scrutiny for its new guidance on isolation for infected persons, which was both poorly conceived and poorly communicated. Laboratories are overwhelmed with Covid specimens, increasing delays returning results. And in much of the U.S., at-home rapid tests, an essential public-health tool to help prevent exposures and ensure earlier self-isolation, are in short supply or too expensive for many people to use as they are intended.

The CDC Got Lost Trying to Follow the Science

At least 61,387 infections in the latest reporting period were from self-registered RAT testsCustomer Service Minister Victor Dominello said registered positive RAT results had surpassed 82,000 as of 9amMr Dominello said fines for failing to register a positive result would be "very hard to police"

NSW records 22 deaths, 91,928 COVID-19 cases as rapid antigen tests added to daily infection tallies

10.1038/s41591-021-01666-2

Population-level data on COVID-19 vaccine uptake in pregnancy and SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes are lacking. We describe COVID-19 vaccine uptake and SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women in Scotland, using whole-population data from a national, prospective cohort. Between the start of a COVID-19 vaccine program in Scotland, on 8 December 2020 and 31 October 2021, 25,917 COVID-19 vaccinations were given to 18,457 pregnant women. Vaccine coverage was substantially lower in pregnant women than in the general female population of 18−44 years; 32.3% of women giving birth in October 2021 had two doses of vaccine compared to 77.4% in all women. The extended perinatal mortality rate for women who gave birth within 28 d of a COVID-19 diagnosis was 22.6 per 1,000 births (95% CI 12.9−38.5; pandemic background rate 5.6 per 1,000 births; 452 out of 80,456; 95% CI 5.1−6.2). Overall, 77.4% (3,833 out of 4,950; 95% CI 76.2−78.6) of SARS-CoV-2 infections, 90.9% (748 out of 823; 95% CI 88.7−92.7) of SARS-CoV-2 associated with hospital admission and 98% (102 out of 104; 95% CI 92.5−99.7) of SARS-CoV-2 associated with critical care admission, as well as all baby deaths, occurred in pregnant women who were unvaccinated at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis. Addressing low vaccine uptake rates in pregnant women is imperative to protect the health of women and babies in the ongoing pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination rates in pregnant women in Scotland

Simple as pie.

A week later and NY State data still showing an extremely high hospitalization VE in the face of Omicron.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality globally. Since the first detection of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant belonging to the Pango lineage B.1.1.529 (Omicron variant), it has been spreading rapidly around the world. The World Health Organization classified the SARS-CoV-2 variant belonging to B.1.1.529 as a Variant of Concern (VOC) due to possible changes in viral characteristics. The Omicron variant contains a larger number of mutations in its spike protein, resulting in substantial changes in its infectivity, transmissibility and/or immune evasion capabilities and raising a serious public health concern globally. In Japan, individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 are hospitalized in accordance with the Infectious Diseases Control Law or the Quarantine Act. Since the evidence is lacking on the Omicron variant, individuals infected with the Omicron variant (Omicron cases) have different discharge criteria from those infected with non-Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 (non-Omicron cases) after November 30, 2021 in Japan. According to the criteria for discharge of Omicron cases as of January 5, 2022, they are released from medical facilities after two consecutive negative tests by nucleic acid amplification or antigen quantification methods. However, there is a concern that these discharge criteria may lead to prolonged hospitalization and increase the burden on cases, medical facilities, as well as public health centers/institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the duration of virus shedding in Omicron cases in order to provide evidence to simplify the discharge criteria. Since December 3, 2021, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and the Disease Control and Prevention Center within the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM/DCC) have jointly initiated an investigation on Omicron cases in collaboration with several medical facilities in Japan. Here, we examined the duration of infectious virus shedding in Omicron cases identified early in this investigation. A total of 83 respiratory specimens from 21 cases (19 vaccinees and 2 unvaccinated cases; 4 asymptomatic and 17 mild cases) were subjected to SARS-CoV-2 RNA quantification using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and virus isolation tests. The date of specimen collection for diagnosis or symptom onset was defined as day 0. The amount of viral RNA was highest on 3-6 days after diagnosis or 3-6 days after symptom onset, and then gradually decreased over time, with a marked decrease after 10 days since diagnosis or symptom onset (Figure). The positive virus isolation results showed a similar trend as the viral RNA amount, and no infectious virus in the respiratory samples was detected after 10 days since diagnosis or symptom onset (Table). These findings suggest that vaccinated Omicron cases are unlikely to shed infectious virus 10 days after diagnosis or symptom onset.

Active epidemiological investigation on SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by Omicron variant (Pango lineage B.1.1.529) in Japan: preliminary report on infectious period

Following evidence is that peak infectivity with Omicron comes 3-6 days after symptoms emerge (https://niid.go.jp/niid/en/2019-ncov-e/10884-covid19-66-en.html…), the isolation period is cut to 5 days. How is this 'following the science'

10.1038/d41586-022-00079-6

Inactivated-virus vaccines elicit few, if any, infection-blocking antibodies — but might still protect against severe disease.

Omicron thwarts some of the world’s most-used COVID vaccines

An open letter expresses concern about Covid misinformation and specifically addresses an episode with virologist Robert Malone

‘Menace to public health’: 270 doctors criticize Spotify over Joe Rogan’s podcast

Former Fox News personality claims to be treating himself with Ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug that has not been shown to be effective against Sars-CoV-2

‘It’s starting to go into my lungs’: Unvaxxed Glenn Beck says he has Covid-19 again

Parents stress balance of physical and mental health for children, lean toward keeping schools open

Omicron Inevitability? 55% say they’ll be infected regardless of precautions; two-in-five would end all restrictions

BERLIN, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Germany’s STIKO vaccine committee recommended on Thursday that all children between the ages of 12 and 17 receive a COVID-19 booster shot. The committee said that the third dose should be the mRNA shot from BioNTech and Pfizer and should be given at the earliest three months after the child had their second shot. STIKO had updated its guidance in August to recommend that all children and adolescents aged 12-17 be given a COVID-19 vaccine.

German panel recommends COVID-19 booster for all 12-17-year-olds

Many people are at their peak of infectiousness at the very time that Sajid Javid has said they can now mix freely in society

Cutting the Covid isolation period to five days is foolhardy and dangerous

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review.