End of Pandemic Emergency Affects Care For Homeless Veterans
Pandemic-related powers that allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand support services for homeless veterans have been cut. In other news, scientists find that rare cases of myocarditis in young men were caused not by antibodies produced by the covid vaccine, but by the body’s natural immune response to the vaccine.
Military.com:
Homeless Veterans Will Receive Less Help As Pandemic Aid Dries Up, Democrats And Veterans Groups Warn
At a news conference Friday at the Washington, D.C., chapter of a nonprofit that provides housing and employment assistance to veterans, Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and advocates for homeless veterans warned that fewer veterans will be able to find help now that emergency authorities have ended and called on Republicans to move forward with a bill to renew the aid. "The rate that we receive for servicing a homeless veteran went from, last night, $164.67 to $64.52," said Clifton Lewis, executive director of U.S. Vets D.C., where the press conference was held. "How can you provide services to a veteran with just $64.52? Housing, food, case management services -- all the things that we do to service homeless veterans." (Kheel, 5/12)
In other pandemic news —
Fox News:
Myocarditis In Young Males After COVID Vaccine: New Study Suggests What May Cause The Rare Heart Condition
Multiple studies have shown that in rare cases, teen and young adult males have developed myocarditis after getting the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine — and now new research published in the journal Science Immunology sheds some light on potential causes. Scientists from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, conducted tests on a group of 23 patients with vaccine-associated myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle) and/or pericarditis (a swelling and irritation of the membrane surrounding the heart). (Rudy, 5/12)
CIDRAP:
Severe Obesity Poses 76% Higher Risk Of Poor COVID-19 Outcomes, Study Suggests
Obesity accelerates the loss of COVID-19 vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody capacity, concludes a University of Cambridge study published yesterday in Nature Medicine. The researchers used the Early Pandemic Evaluation and Enhanced Surveillance of COVID-19 platform to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and infection-related hospitalization and death among 3.6 million adults in Scotland. Participants had received a second primary vaccine dose or a first booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from December 8, 2020, to March 19, 2022. (Van Beusekom, 5/12)
NPR:
Long COVID Research After The Public Health Emergency Ends
Estimates show that more than 65 million worldwide have the condition, which encompasses a wide range of symptoms that are worsened or appear after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. But three years after the first people with persistent symptoms were documented, there is no biomarker for the disease — no test or swab that can diagnose someone with Long COVID. A group of researchers is looking to change that. (Oza, Ramirez, Kwong, Spitzer, Cirino and McCoy, 5/15)
AP:
State Health Commissioner Box, Who Led Indiana's Response To COVID-19, To Retire
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box, who oversaw Indiana’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will retire at month’s end after more than five years in the post, officials said Friday. (5/12)
