Men Spread Coronavirus More Easily Than Women Or Kids, Study Finds

CBS News: Study Shows Men Spread COVID Particles More Than Other Populations 
A study focused on tracking the spread of COVID-19 in performing arts settings has also unveiled the population of humans who spread the most COVID-19 particles. Researchers at Colorado State University learned that men more frequently spread the coronavirus particles than women or children. The study, which lasted months, was originally developed in an effort to see what those in the performing arts can do to facilitate a safe return to the stage following the pandemic. The performing arts, from the educational level all the way to Broadway performances, were some of the most drastically impacted fields. (12/6)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Houston Chronicle: More Than Half Of Houstonians Who Died From COVID Had Diabetes
Half of Houstonians who died of COVID-19 had diabetes, a Houston Health Department review concluded late last month. The virus killed more than 3,600 city residents as of November, nearly 52 percent of whom had diabetes, according to health department data. One quarter were obese. Stephen Williams, director of the Houston Health Department, said the findings are not surprising, given the city’s high rate of diabetes. The chronic endocrine condition, which results from too much sugar in the bloodstream, is more prevalent in Houston than most other major cities. Diabetics account for 13.5 percent of the Houston-area population; the national average is 10 percent. (Mishanec, 12/3)

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Sees Record COVID Hospitalization Levels During The Holiday Season For A Second Year 
Iowa's COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to trend upward this week, reaching record highs for this year. State health officials reported Friday that 747 Iowans are hospitalized with the virus, the highest number Iowa has seen so far this year. Iowa experienced a surge in COVID hospitalizations around the holiday period last year, experiencing more than 1,500 hospitalizations daily in November 2020. Austin Baeth, an internal medicine physician at UnityPoint Health, said this year's surge looks much different. (Krebs, 12/3)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Inside N.H.'s COVID-19 Case And Outbreak Data 
The story of COVID-19 outbreaks in New Hampshire has largely played out in a handful of settings: nursing homes, schools, jails, restaurants and other places where people live, work and gather in close quarters. But it’s been difficult to get a sense of the patterns underlying these breakouts, in part because of how the state reported the data. Newly released numbers obtained by NHPR through a public information request offer a never-before-seen snapshot of what kind of outbreaks the state was monitoring across all work and community settings during the first 18 months of the pandemic. (McDermott, 12/3)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Risk Factors In Healthcare Workers Spelled Out
Close contact with COVID-19 cases outside of work is the biggest risk factor for infections among American healthcare workers, according to research published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases. The case-control study was based on participants from 25 healthcare facilities across the country and included 33,644 healthcare workers (3,416 cases and 30,228 controls) who reported COVID-19 infections and exposures to Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites. Among 3,416 COVID-19 cases, 1,172 healthcare personnel were interviewed. (12/3)

Which counties are faring worse? —

NPR: Pro-Trump Counties Now Have Far Higher COVID Death Rates
Since May 2021, people living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump during the last presidential election have been nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as those who live in areas that went for now-President Biden. That's according to a new analysis by NPR that examines how political polarization and misinformation are driving a significant share of the deaths in the pandemic. NPR looked at deaths per 100,000 people in roughly 3,000 counties across the U.S. from May 2021, the point at which vaccinations widely became available. People living in counties that went 60% or higher for Trump in November 2020 had 2.7 times the death rates of those that went for Biden. Counties with an even higher share of the vote for Trump saw higher COVID-19 mortality rates. (Wood and Brumfiel, 12/5)

Axios: Data Demonstrates Most-Vaccinated Counties Less Vulnerable To Worst Of COVID 
The biggest counties across America, especially those with tightly packed populations, are reporting far fewer COVID-19 cases and deaths due to widespread vaccination rates, according to data analyzed from the The Washington Post. Vaccination data shows that even at the county and city level in the most densely populated areas, the most-vaccinated counties are less vulnerable to outbreaks. Montgomery County, Maryland, is the most highly vaccinated county in the United States, with 93% of those 12 and older fully vaccinated, compared to 70% nationally. (Frazier, 12/4)

Also —

Axios: Two Years Of COVID-19: How The Virus Changed The World 
Two years ago Wednesday, the first case of a mysterious new respiratory disease was discovered in Wuhan, China. Now, the Omicron variant has deepened concerns about just how much longer the coronavirus pandemic will last. More than 5 million people have died since that first case. Most people on earth have lived through some form of lockdown. 54% of the global population has had at least one vaccination, though the shots have been distributed unevenly. We know much more about the disease and how to treat it, but the end still isn't in sight. (Lawler, 12/5)