Everything is a matter of perspective. The World Health Organization noted on Wednesday that deaths from COVID have decreased by 90% this year. But 9,400 people still die every week, which the global agency says is “too many for a preventable and treatable disease”. State officials anticipating a winter surge in cases released a public service video urging voluntary measures to minimize risk. And the director of the CDC Rochelle Walensky has reappears in public after having taken Paxlovid and suffering from a rebound infection, raising questions about whether the agency’s five-day isolation guidelines for COVID patients are enough to protect others.
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Lifting universal masking in schools led to rise in cases, Harvard study finds
The lifting of masking requirements resulted in approximately 5 excess cases of COVID-19 per 100 students and staff among Greater Boston-area school districts in the 15 weeks following the cancellation of the schoolwide policy. the state, according to study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Harvard researchers analyzed data from 72 public and non-charter school districts, which included 294,084 students and 46,530 staff during the study period between February and June, to determine that after the cancellation of statewide masking policy, COVID-19 incidence trends have become substantially higher in school districts that have lifted masking requirements compared to school districts that have maintained the requirement in place. “Overall, this estimate was consistent with nearly 12,000 additional Covid-19 cases among students and staff, representing one-third of cases in school districts that lifted masking requirements during this time and are most likely reflected in a substantial loss of school in person. days.”
Their findings also highlight the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on underserved communities, as districts that opted to maintain masking requirements longer tended to have more students per class and higher percentages of low-income students, students with disabilities, and black and Latino students and staff.
“Our results confirm that universal masking with high-quality masks or respirators during periods of high community transmission is an important strategy to minimize the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the loss of in-person school days,” they wrote.
Wash your hands and wear a mask to avoid viruses, state officials say
In a separate message, state public health officer and CDPH director Dr. Tomás Aragón said the winter virus season in California had arrived early. said in a statement. “It’s important to remember that children get infected from other children and adults, so everyone has to do their part.”
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WHO reports 90% drop in deaths since the start of the year
The chief of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that deaths from COVID-19 had fallen by almost 90% since the start of the year, which is a “cause for optimism”, but he called for continued vigilance as new immuno-evasive coronavirus variants continue to emerge. The federal health agency recorded just over 9,400 coronavirus-related deaths last week, up from 75,000 weekly deaths reported in February. “We have come a long way, and that is certainly cause for optimism. But we continue to call on all governments, communities and individuals to remain vigilant,” he said during a virtual press conference from WHO headquarters in Geneva. “Nearly 10,000 deaths per week is 10,000 too many for a disease that can be prevented and treated.”
Researchers identify protein in virus that damages heart
People who test positive for the coronavirus are at significantly higher risk of developing heart problems that can lead to abnormal heart rhythms, blood clots, strokes, heart attacks and heart failure one year after mild COVID-19 infection. 19, compared to those who were not infected. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine recently identified a specific protein in the coronavirus, Nsp6, that damages heart tissue. In conclusions published in Communications Biology, based on research on fruit flies and mouse heart cells, they found that the protein hijacks heart cells to activate the process of glycolysis, which disrupts cardiac mitochondrial function, leading to heart failure. The team hopes that an inexpensive cancer drug called 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) may reduce damage to the heart and mitochondria caused by the viral protein Nsp6.
“We know that some viruses hijack the cellular machinery of the infected animal to alter its metabolism to steal the cell’s energy source, so we suspect SARS-CoV-2 is doing something similar. Viruses can also use the byproducts of sugar metabolism as building blocks to make more viruses,” study lead author Zhe “Zion” Han, an associate professor of medicine, said in a statement. “We therefore predict that this drug which returns the metabolism of the heart to what it was before infection would be bad for the virus, both by cutting off its energy supply and by eliminating the parts it needs to replicate. “
CDC director recovers from second episode of infection
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released her first public message on Tuesday since she tested positive for the coronavirus on October 21 and suffered a rebound infection on October 31 after have completed a Paxlovid course. “Thank you to my family and CDC staff for their support while I recovered from COVID-19. I am lucky to have had only mild symptoms, which I attribute to being up to date on my COVID-19 vaccines,” she said in a tweet. “COVID-19 vaccines may not prevent all infections, but they provide us with important protection against serious illness, hospitalizations and death from COVID-19. my update #COVID-19[FEMININE[FEMININE The vaccine helped ensure that my immune system was equipped to protect me against serious illnesses. As The Chronicle noted on Monday, Walensky’s long absence has raised questions about his health and the reliability of his agency’s advice which says five days of isolation is enough to clear an infection.