As Covid Variants Spread, CDC Director Warns Of ‘Pandemic Fatigue’

Fox News: CDC Director Worries Over ‘Pandemic Fatigue’ Come Spring: ‘This Could Go Bad So Fast’
Despite encouraging national trends in coronavirus-related hospitalizations and cases, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worries that "pandemic fatigue" come spring could significantly hamper the country’s trajectory toward vaccination-induced herd immunity. The comments from Dr. Rochelle Walensky also come as additional states continue to detect highly transmissible coronavirus variants first identified in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) and South Africa (B.1.351). A separate variant first found in Brazil (P.1) has also been identified in two states. CDC models have projected that the B.1.1.7 strain could become dominant in the U.S. by March. (Rivas, 2/18)

AP: Experts Warn Against COVID-19 Variants As States Reopen
As states lift mask rules and ease restrictions on restaurants and other businesses because of falling case numbers, public health officials say authorities are overlooking potentially more dangerous COVID-19 variants that are quietly spreading through the U.S. Scientists widely agree that the U.S. simply doesn’t have enough of a handle on the variants to roll back public health measures and is at risk of fumbling yet another phase of the pandemic after letting the virus rage through the country over the last year and kill nearly 500,000 people. (Renault, 2/18)

CNN: A Drop In Covid-19 Cases Can Be Deceptive, Official Warns. Here's How To Stay Ahead Of A Variant-Driven Surge 
Although the rise of Covid-19 variants in the United States could spell trouble, pharmaceutical companies and scientists are confident vaccines will evolve with them, senior White House adviser Andy Slavitt told CNN. "I spoke to all the pharmaceutical companies and scientists, and they all say the same thing: Even if these vaccines diminish a little bit, they will be able to continually update them," Slavitt, who is responsible for the Covid response, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on Thursday. (Holcombe, 2/19)

AP: Infant Boy Among Latest Oregon COVID-19 Deaths Reported
The Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday that an infant boy in Oregon had tested positive for COVID-19 and died the same day. This is Oregon’s youngest and only reported infant death related to COVID-19. Health officials described the death as extremely rare. ... Health officials say the infant had underlying health conditions. (2/18)

In related news about the coronavirus —

CIDRAP: Study Highlights Heart Damage 1 Month After Severe COVID-19
More than half of patients with severe COVID-19 and elevated levels of a key marker of heart muscle damage after hospital release showed signs of damage to the heart a month later, a study today in the European Heart Journal finds. Led by researchers from University College London, the study involved cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 148 COVID-19 patients who had elevated troponin levels, indicating heart damage, and who had required ventilatory support before being released from one of six London hospitals at least a month before. One in three had required mechanical ventilation. (2/18)

CIDRAP: High Mortality Found In Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients With Diabetes
Updated results from a study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with diabetes shows 1 in 5 died within 28 days of hospitalization, French researchers reported yesterday in Diabetologia. The updated results from the CORONADO (Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and Diabetes Outcomes) study, which evaluated outcomes in diabetic French patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from Mar 10 through Apr 10, 2020, show that among 2,796 patients, 577 (20.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 19.2% to 22.2%) died within 28 days of hospitalization and 1,404 (50.2%; 95% CI, 48.3% to 52.1%) were discharged from the hospital. Results presented in May 2020 showed that 10% of patients who had diabetes and COVID-19 died within 7 days of hospitalization. (2/18)