Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Long-Term Covid Symptoms Linked To Severity Of Infection
CNN: Study Finds Majority Of Severe Covid-19 Cases Had Longterm Symptoms, As Officials Race To Vaccinate
Mask mandates are being lifted across the US. Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are dropping. People are getting vaccinated. All these promising signs suggest the summer of 2021 could be very different from a year ago. Half of the adult population is now fully vaccinated, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the past week, the US averaged about 28,000 daily new cases, a 19% drop compared to the previous week, according to the CDC. (Elamroussi, 5/27)
Axios: New Coronavirus Cases Decline For Fifth Week In A Row
The pace of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. fell by nearly 20% over the past week — the fifth straight week of double-digit declines. America’s vaccination drive is working, and as it continues to expand, the country can safely get back to many of its pre-pandemic routines. (Baker and Witherspoon, 5/27)
CIDRAP: Mild, Asymptomatic COVID-19 Cases May Be As Infectious As Severe Ones
Only 8% of more than 25,000 German COVID-19 patients had high viral loads, one-third of whom were presymptomatic, asymptomatic, or mildly symptomatic, according to a study published yesterday in Science. High viral loads suggest greater infectiousness. Led by researchers from the Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, the study involved measuring SARS-CoV-2 viral loads and estimating probability of virus cell culture isolation in 25,381 coronavirus patients, 24% of whom were identified at testing facilities, 38% of whom were hospitalized, and 6% of whom were infected with the B117 variant first seen in the United Kingdom. (Van Beusekom, 5/26)
The New York Times: Latest Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Approved For High-Risk Patients
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a monoclonal antibody drug developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir as the third treatment of its kind cleared to help keep high-risk Covid patients out of the hospital. In laboratory tests the newly authorized drug, known as sotrovimab, has been able to neutralize the virus variants first identified in Britain, South Africa, Brazil, California, New York and India. The federal government, which has so far purchased the other antibody treatments given to Covid patients in the United States, has not announced any plans to purchase the new drug. (Robbins, 5/26)
CIDRAP: Low Testosterone Concentration Associated With Men's COVID Severity
Low testosterone concentrations in men with COVID-19 are associated with a greater likelihood of COVID-19 infection severity, artificial ventilation or intensive care unit (ICU) treatment, and death, according to a study yesterday in JAMA Network Open. The researchers looked at the hormone levels in an observational cohort of 152 men and women with symptomatic COVID-19 at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis from March to May 2020 (mean age, 63 years). Of the 143 who were admitted, hormones were also measured at days 3, 7, 14, and 28 as long as they were still hospitalized. (5/26)
