Study: Covid During Pregnancy Significantly Raises Risk Of Complications

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID’s Severe Risk To Pregnant Women Is Real, A Large Kaiser Study In California Shows
Unvaccinated pregnant women infected with the coronavirus have more than twice the risk of having dangerous sepsis or other severe medical problems, than those who don’t have the virus, according to a study of thousands of Northern California women published Monday. The analysis of 43,886 women who gave birth at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between March 1, 2020, and March 16, 2021 — before coronavirus vaccines were widely available — revealed that babies born to mothers who contracted COVID were also more likely to be born prematurely, placing them at greater risk for brain and heart problems. (Asimov, 3/21)

ABC News: COVID-19 May Double Severe Complications In Pregnancy, Study Finds 
A new study has added to the body of research showing the risks pregnant people face due to COVID-19, especially among those who are not vaccinated. The study, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, found pregnant people with COVID-19 had more than double the risk of negative outcomes compared to pregnant people without the virus. (Kindelan, 3/21)

In related news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Fox News: Omicron Subvariant BA.2: Health Officials Call It 'Variant Of Concern'
The subvariant omicron BA.2 has health officials’ attention, just as COVID restrictions have eased up. It has been classified as a "variant of concern," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This variant is also called "stealth" omicron because its genetic mutations could make it difficult to distinguish from the delta variant using PCR tests as compared to the original version of omicron, according to the American Medical Association. WHO said in a recent statement "initial data suggest that BA.2 appears inherently more transmissible than BA.1, which currently remains the most common Omicron sublineage reported." (McGorry, 3/21)

Los Angeles Times: California Could See Coronavirus Uptick With BA.2 Subvariant
Coronavirus cases are on the upswing worldwide, prompting some officials to warn that California could see increases this spring because of the Omicron subvariant BA.2, even though cases of the strain so far have been modest in the state. The World Health Organization has recorded the first week-over-week increase in global coronavirus cases since late January, with cases rising 8% compared with the previous week. With infections up in parts of Africa, Asia and Europe, officials say they wouldn’t be surprised if new cases climbed again in the U.S. — and in California — this spring. What remains unclear is whether a national increase would be a ripple or a deluge that could again strain hospitals. (Lin II and Money, 3/21)

Axios: Experts Call For More Investment In Wastewater Surveillance
Wastewater monitoring programs around the nation indicate a new surge of COVID-19 similar to Europe's may be on its way in the U.S. But public health authorities aren't getting a full picture because a hoped-for national early warning system remains a patchwork quilt. More than 700 sites around the U.S. report wastewater surveillance data to the National Wastewater Surveillance System, set up by the CDC in 2020 to identify case surges and new variants. Plenty of places around the country including Washington, D.C., as well as Chicago, Des Moines and the Twin Cities are using sewage surveillance. But as Politico recently reported, many sites don't regularly report, and only 12 states routinely submit data, leaving "gaping holes" in surveillance. (Reed, 3/22)

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah’s Weekend COVID-19 Case Count Includes Lowest Single-Day Tally In 2 Years
Utah reported 343 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend — 67 on Friday, 102 on Saturday and 174 on Sunday. Friday’s tally marked the state’s lowest single-day case count since March 25, 2020, when 40 cases were reported in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The next day, Utah reported 86 cases, state data shows. In the past week, the average number of new cases per day is 134; the average number of new cases per day so far this month is 190. (Pierce, 3/21)

Also —

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Expands Mobile COVID-19 Testing In Bid For Greater Equity
San Francisco is boosting its mobile COVID-19 testing options across the city in an effort to make access to testing more equitable and to ensure that testing operations are more responsive to communities’ needs, officials said Monday. The new “mobile testing strategy” is designed to allow the city to target specific neighborhoods that need more testing resources. Communities with particularly high test positivity rates and areas that have seen the greatest impact from COVID-19 will receive more testing opportunities, including access to mobile testing vans, the Department of Public Health said in a news release. (Picon, 3/21)

CIDRAP: Accuracy Of Second SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test Estimated At 94%
The estimated overall accuracy of a second COVID-19 rapid antigen test among asymptomatic New York City workers was 94% in a comparative effectiveness study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. Led by a Weill Cornell Medicine researcher, the team tested 179,127 participants in a workplace screening program using Sofia2 SARS Antigen Fluorescent Immunoassay, LumiraDX, and BinaxNow tests at an international service company from November 2020 through October 2021. (3/21)