‘Stealth’ Omicron Could Be Nasty — But Will Anyone Listen?
New research suggests that the omicron subvariant may cause more severe illness than its parent and more along the lines of the delta variant. Even so, many Americans are moving on, virus or not, and are shutting their ears to anyone who says different.
CNN:
As BA.2 Subvariant Of Omicron Rises, Lab Studies Point To Signs Of Severity
The BA.2 virus -- a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant -- isn't just spreading faster than its distant cousin, it may also cause more severe disease and appears capable of thwarting some of the key weapons we have against Covid-19, new research suggests. New lab experiments from Japan show that BA.2 may have features that make it as capable of causing serious illness as older variants of Covid-19, including Delta. And like Omicron, it appears to largely escape the immunity created by vaccines. A booster shot restores protection, making illness after infection about 74% less likely. BA.2 is also resistant to some treatments, including sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody that's currently being used against Omicron. (Goodman, 2/17)
Nature:
Why Does The Omicron Sub-Variant Spread Faster Than The Original?
COVID-19 researchers are rushing to understand why a relative of the main Omicron variant is displacing its sibling in countries around the world. The variant, known as BA.2, has spread rapidly in countries including Denmark, the Philippines and South Africa in the past few weeks. It follows the initial spread of the BA.1 Omicron variant of the virus SARS-CoV-2, which was first identified in southern Africa in late November and quickly spread worldwide. (Callaway, 2/16)
The Washington Post:
Americans Are Tired Of The Pandemic. But Disease Experts Preach Caution — And Endure A ‘Kill The Messenger’ Moment
It turns out that winding down a pandemic response is in many ways much harder than launching a response when the virus is new, fresh and at its scariest. And in the pell-mell rush for the pandemic exits, even some people who were formerly supportive of public health measures designed to suppress the virus now don’t want anyone standing in their way. “Public health is sort of the bearer of bad news. This is basically a kill-the-messenger phenomenon,” said Yale University epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves, who has been a vocal proponent of continuing measures to protect the most vulnerable communities. (Achenbach, 2/17)
In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —
Bloomberg:
Colorado Health Officials End Covid Crisis Declaration
Colorado health officials Thursday ended a Covid-19 crisis declaration aimed at plugging hospital staffing shortages and allowing ambulance providers to impose stricter screening of 911 calls for assistance. “Crisis standards of care” provided guidelines for allocating resources and “the decision to deactivate these standards is based on recent modeling and steadily declining cases and hospitalizations,” Eric France, the state’s chief medical officer, said in a printed statement. (Del Giudice, 2/17)
AP:
CDC: NYC Anime Convention Did Not Spread Omicron Widely
When a person tested positive for omicron after attending an anime convention in New York City late last year, health officials raced to determine if the indoor gathering was a superspreader event. It wasn’t, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded Thursday. Widespread masking, vaccinations and good air flow at the Javits Center prevented the highly contagious omicron variant from spreading widely. (Stobbe, 2/17)
KHN:
Inmates Who Died Asked For Release Before Falling Ill With Covid
Rory Adams did not know that Christmas in a small rural hospital in West Virginia would be the last time he saw his wife alive. She’d entered prison in early January 2021 to serve a 42-month sentence for failure to collect payroll taxes. She was supposed to return to North Carolina, their two adult children, and their quilting business this summer. But when he saw her, she was heavily sedated. A ventilator was helping her breathe as she struggled with covid-19. Rebecca “Maria” Adams, 59, died 18 days after Christmas in the same hospital bed. The pandemic has proved especially deadly behind bars. Inmates are more than twice as likely to die of covid as the general population. And the deaths continue to pile up. (Dawson, 2/18)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
COVID-19 Cases Surged In Wisconsin Nursing Homes, But Not Deaths
The number of Wisconsin nursing home residents dying from COVID-19 has remained relatively low, despite a surge in omicron cases that recently buffeted nursing homes and is now waning. Last month, more nursing home workers in Wisconsin tested positive for COVID-19 in a single week than during any other week in the pandemic — a weekly record of 1,290 workers tested positive the week ending Jan. 9. It was unclear at that point whether COVID-19 cases in residents would follow and to what extent. (Volpenhein, 2/17)
Also —
The Atlantic:
COVID Is More Like Smoking Than The Flu
It’s suddenly become acceptable to say that COVID is—or will soon be—like the flu. Such analogies have long been the preserve of pandemic minimizers, but lately they’ve been creeping into more enlightened circles. Last month the dean of a medical school wrote an open letter to his students suggesting that for a vaccinated person, the risk of death from COVID-19 is “in the same realm, or even lower, as the average American’s risk from flu.” A few days later, David Leonhardt said as much to his millions of readers in the The New York Times’ morning newsletter. And three prominent public-health experts have called for the government to recognize a “new normal” in which the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus “is but one of several circulating respiratory viruses that include influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and more.” (Mazer, 2/17)
CNBC:
Is It Safe To Travel If I'm Vaccinated And Recovered From Covid
Millions of people are now vaccinated, boosted and newly recovered from Covid-19 infections caused by the omicron variant. They have what some outside the medical community have labeled “super immunity.” And many are ready to see the world again. Though the term carries an air of invincibility, medical experts disagree about the level and length of protection it confers. CNBC Travel asked four leading medical authorities to weigh in. (Pitrelli, 2/18)
KHN:
As Covid Slogs On, Seniors Find Fortitude Waning And Malaise Growing
Late one night in January, Jonathan Coffino, 78, turned to his wife as they sat in bed. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” he said, glumly. Coffino was referring to the caution that’s come to define his life during the covid-19 pandemic. After two years of mostly staying at home and avoiding people, his patience is frayed and his distress is growing. “There’s a terrible fear that I’ll never get back my normal life,” Coffino told me, describing feelings he tries to keep at bay. “And there’s an awful sense of purposelessness.” (Graham, 2/18)
