CDC Adds Flu, RSV To Covid Sampling For International Air Travelers
The CDC's infection surveillance, called the traveler-based genomic surveillance program, began in 2021 and now expands to other health threats beyond covid. But even as the pandemic fades, reports say some covid shots are hard to find, though successes with a nasal covid vaccine are also in the news.
Reuters:
US CDC To Expand Surveillance Of Traveler Samples For Respiratory Viruses
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it was expanding testing of samples collected from international air travelers beyond COVID-19, to include flu and respiratory synctial virus (RSV) beginning November. The agency's traveler-based genomic surveillance program, or TGS, began in 2021 to help with early detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. CDC conducts voluntary nasal swabbing and airport wastewater sampling as part of it. (11/6)
More on the spread of covid —
The New York Times:
Some Covid Vaccines Are Still Hard To Find
Scott Lee, an entrepreneur who lives in North Bergen, N.J, said that when he tried to find a Novavax shot through the C.D.C.’s vaccine finder, it sometimes showed the shots as available when they actually were not, and some independent pharmacies that may have the shot weren’t listed. When he tried to book an appointment online at CVS, he had to fill out a lengthy scheduling form — only to realize at the end that he needed to speak with a pharmacist by phone first to get a Novavax shot. “It’s been a bit of a disaster,” Mr. Lee said. CVS has since updated its website to say that the Novavax vaccine is carried at all locations and that appointments are not required. (Sheikh, 11/6)
Medical Xpress:
Researchers Develop A Nasal Vaccine That Prevents COVID-19 In Preclinical Studies
A team of University of Maryland researchers developed a nasal spray vaccine that delivers the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into cells of the airway in mice and hamsters, triggering an immune response that significantly reduced infection and spread of COVID-19. The technology can be adapted to induce immunity to other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. (Cutlip, 11/6)
CIDRAP:
Childhood Abuse Linked To Higher Risk Of Adult COVID-19 Death
A new study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh shows adults who suffered childhood abuse or neglect were more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 or die from the virus in adulthood. The study was published last week in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. (Soucheray, 11/6)
CIDRAP:
Partial Recall: Personal Beliefs May Skew Pandemic Memories, Deepen Polarization
Personal motivations color people's memories of the COVID-19 pandemic, biasing their assessment of past political actions and complicating emergency-preparedness planning, suggests an analysis of four empirical studies. For the review, published last week in Nature, a team led by researchers from the University of Bamberg in Germany and the University of Chicago evaluated the results of surveys of 10,776 vaccinated and unvaccinated German and Austrian adults about pandemic-related risk perceptions, protective behaviors, and trust in government and science. (Van Beusekom, 11/6)
Also —
Stat:
Pulse Oximeter Inaccuracies Called Out In Attorneys General Letter
More than two dozen attorneys general are urging Food and Drug Administration officials to take urgent action to address disparities in how well pulse oximeters, the fingertip devices used to monitor a person’s oxygen levels, work on people with darker skin. (McFarling, 11/7)
KFF Health News' 'Epidemic' Podcast:
The Scars Of Smallpox
In 1975, smallpox eradication workers in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, rushed to Kuralia, a village in the country’s south. They were abuzz and the journey was urgent because they thought they just might get to document the very last case of variola major, a deadly strain of the virus. When they arrived, they met a toddler, Rahima Banu. (11/7)
