Covid Attacks The Heart, Study Finds; Monkeypox Blamed In Ohio Death
The small study showed that patients who died from covid sustained DNA damage to the heart. In separate news, the CDC has issued a new warning about monkeypox after a third U.S. death is recorded.
Brisbane Times:
Unlike Flu, COVID-19 Attacks DNA In The Heart, New Research Shows
Direct research on the hearts of COVID-19 patients who have died from the disease has revealed they sustained DNA damage in a way completely unlike how influenza affects the body. The finding gives researchers clues about exactly how severe COVID-19 is affecting the body, and also a potential way to detect who will be seriously affected by the disease in the future. (Layt, 9/29)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Pulse Oximeter Flaws May Have Delayed COVID-19 Treatment For Black Patients: Study
Black COVID-19 patients may have faced 4.5-hour treatment delays due to pulse oximeters' inability to accurately read their blood oxygen levels, according to researchers at Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health. For 30 years, medical literature has documented that pulse oximeters overestimate blood oxygenation in individuals with darker pigmented skin, according to a study shared with Becker's on Sept. 28. However, the clinical impacts of this discrepancy have not been heavily investigated, a Sutter Health spokesperson said Sept. 28 in a statement shared with Becker's. (Kayser, 9/29)
The Boston Globe:
For Intranasal Vaccines, Big Talk Comes Cheap, But The Money Is Still Missing
The vision is enticing: replacing the pain of a vaccine shot with a nasal spray that is powerful enough to prevent even mild infections and short-circuit the global spread of COVID-19. Even as Americans roll up their sleeves for updated fall boosters, new variants with the potential to evade immunity are spreading in parts of Europe and Asia, renewing calls among some experts for next-generation vaccines that can truly conquer the virus. (Cross, 9/30)
In updates on the spread of monkeypox —
CNN:
CDC Warns Of Severe Illnesses From Monkeypox As Ohio Reports Death Of A Monkeypox Patient
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new warning to health care providers Thursday about severe illnesses in people with monkeypox. (Kounang and Dillinger, 9/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Monkeypox Cases Plunge 95%, Outbreak Isn’t Over Yet
The number of people testing positive for monkeypox has plunged in California, with the seven-day average of new cases down about 95% since the peak of the outbreak in early August. Though health experts caution that the virus threat hasn’t disappeared, progress in fending it off so far constitutes a major public health success. (Vaziri, 9/29)
Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Experts Expect More Monkeypox Cases In Clark County
Clark County can expect to see more cases of the once-rare monkeypox virus in the weeks ahead, even as the rate of new cases appears to be declining, officials said this week. (Hynes, 9/29)
Detroit Free Press:
Black Michiganders Got 60% Of Monkeypox Cases, Only 17% Of Vaccines
Even though 60% of the people who have gotten monkeypox in Michigan so far are Black, 70% of the doses of the vaccine that can prevent infection or limit symptoms after exposure have gone to white Michiganders. Black residents have gotten just 17% of the doses administered so far in Michigan, new state health department data shows. (Jordan Shamus, 9/29)
