Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Is Sending More Infants Under 6 Months Old To Hospital
Bloomberg: COVID Hospitalizations Are Rising In Infants Under 6 Months, CDC Says
“We’re seeing more and more of those younger babies getting hospitalized,” Walensky said. “That’s really where we’re trying to do some work now because we think we can prevent those by getting mom vaccinated.” (Griffin, 11/14)
On covid testing —
CIDRAP: Study: COVID-19 Rapid Home Tests Not Highly Sensitive For Omicron
Dutch researchers reveal that the sensitivities of three commonly used rapid antigen tests, when used in asymptomatic people in the Omicron period, were very low and suggest repeat testing after a negative test. ... Participants with negative tests also filled out a questionnaire, which showed 54.8% retested in the 10 days following a negative test, with 24.6% testing positive. (11/14)
More on the spread of covid variants —
Fortune: What Is BN.1? Meet The Newest Omicron Spawn Being Tracked By The CDC
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday added a 16th variant to the list of those it’s tracking—BN.1.The newly singled-out strain was estimated to comprise just over 4% of U.S. infections through Saturday, making it the sixth most common variant in the country. It came in just above BA.4.6, a descendant of Omicron spawn BA.4, which was prominent globally this summer. (Prater, 11/14)
USA Today: New COVID Variants Emerging After BA.5: What Is BQ.1 And BQ.1.1?
BA.5 — once the dominant variant during the summer months — now makes up less than a third of new COVID-19 cases heading into the holidays. Edging it out are sublineages BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which make up nearly half of new cases and appear to be gaining ground. (Rodriguez, 11/14)
CIDRAP: Omicron BA.2 Tied To More Symptoms And, Rarely, Brain Swelling In Kids
A greater proportion of BA.2 patients (75.9%) reported at least one of 26 symptoms, compared with 70.0% of those with BA.1, 63.8% with Delta, 54.7% with Alpha, and 45.0% with the wild-type virus. (11/14)
Fortune: Sick With A New Omicron Variant? Be Prepared For This Symptom, New Study Says
If you’ve come down with one of the newer COVID variants related to “stealth Omicron” BA.2, you might want some fever-reducer at the ready. Among more than 200 patients in India who were infected with several BA.2 strains, the vast majority—82%—experienced a fever, according to an article published last week in Cureus Journal of Medical Science. (Prater, 11/15)
