Nursing Home Residents Lagging In Covid Vaccines, CDC Study Finds
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that fewer Americans are now sick with covid, the flu, and RSV. In other news, a global effort to create a plan to combat future pandemics appears to have stalled.
CIDRAP:
Report: Less Than Half Of Nursing Home Residents Up To Date On COVID Vaccines
Despite the risk of severe infection from COVID-19, the study authors found that only 40.5% of nursing home residents were up to date with COVID vaccination by the end of the study period (October 2023 through February 2024). Residents in the South had the lowest rate (32.4%), compared to residents in the Northeast, who had the highest (47.3%). (Soucheray, 4/19)
CIDRAP:
US Respiratory Virus Activity Continues To Tail Off
Respiratory virus activity from flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to decline across most of the country, with only two jurisdictions—North Dakota and Wyoming—reporting high activity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in updates today. (Schnirring, 4/19)
The Washington Post:
The Pandemic Cost 7 Million Lives, But Talks To Prevent A Repeat Stall
In late 2021, as the world reeled from the arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus, representatives of almost 200 countries met — some online, some in-person in Geneva — hoping to forestall a future worldwide outbreak by developing the first-ever global pandemic accord. The deadline for a deal? May 2024. The costs of not reaching one? Incalculable, experts say. (Sellers, 4/21)
AP:
COVID-19: How The Search For The Pandemic's Origins Turned Poisonous
The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months. The Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus from the first weeks of the outbreak, despite statements supporting open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation found. That pattern continues to this day, with labs closed, collaborations shattered, foreign scientists forced out and Chinese researchers barred from leaving the country. (Kang and Cheng, 4/22)
AP:
Takeaways From AP Report On How The Search For The Coronavirus Origins Turned Toxic
The Chinese government froze meaningful efforts to trace the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, despite publicly declaring it supported an open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation has found. The AP drew on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents, leaked recordings, and dozens of interviews that showed the freeze began far earlier than previously known — in the first weeks of the outbreak — and involved political and scientific infighting in China as much as international finger-pointing. (Kang and Cheng, 4/22)
In related news about the government's response to mpox —
CIDRAP:
GAO Report: HHS Mpox Failures Show Persistent Emergency Response Gaps
Even with the lessons learned from the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) failed to respond effectively or coordinate a national response to the 2022 mpox outbreak, with state leaders citing a lack of communication and uneven access to tests and vaccines, according to a new report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).Moreover, HHS still lacks a "coordinated, department-wide after-action program to identify and resolve recurring emergency response challenges," the report read. (Soucheray, 4/19)
