Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: Reaction to J&J, booster shots, flu vaccines & more
Each week, we offer you a round-up of our noteworthy coronavirus coverage.
More than 34 million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Saturday, July 17, according to Johns Hopkins University. That includes more than 608,000 people who have died nationwide.
Globally, there have been more than 189 million confirmed cases of the highly infectious virus, with more than 4 million reported deaths.
More than 160.1 million Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of July 14 — about 48% of the total population, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker shows. About 59% of adults and 56% of people aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated in the U.S.
Here’s what happened between July 9 and July 15.
What to know about Guillain-Barré syndrome after J&J COVID-19 vaccine
About 100 people who have received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine have developed a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré Syndrome about two weeks after getting their shot, federal health officials said.
That’s less than 0.001% of the more than 12.8 million does of the vaccine that have been administered in the U.S. Of the reports, 95 of them were “serious and required hospitalization.” One of them has died.
The reactions spurred the FDA to add a warning label to the vaccine’s fact sheet for both health care providers and vaccine recipients. However, the administration says the benefits of vaccination “clearly outweigh the known and potential risks.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the rare disorder.
Experts are split on CDC mask guidance for vaccinated students
In a move based on “current scientific evidence and lessons learned,” federal health officials said students, teachers and staff who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not have to wear masks indoors during the upcoming school year. Those who are not fully vaccinated, including children younger than 12 years old who are not yet eligible to get a shot, should continue to wear masks inside.
Masks are generally not recommended while outdoors, regardless of vaccination status, however unvaccinated people should consider wearing one in crowded settings or during close contact activities.
However, health experts and educators alike are split on whether the move is the safest option at this stage of the pandemic. Highly contagious coronavirus variants continue to spread across the nation, mostly infecting younger, unvaccinated people.
Fauci says booster COVID-19 shot not yet needed to fight variants
Dr. Anthony Fauci said a third COVID-19 vaccine dose isn’t necessary yet.
Fauci’s comments, made on CNN’s “State of the Union,” echo a joint statement from the CDC, which said fully vaccinated Americans do not need a booster coronavirus shot “at this time.”
Their statement came shortly after Pfizer and BioNTech — the makers of one of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States — said they’re developing an updated version of their vaccine designed to target the highly-contagious delta variant and that they plan to start clinical trials in August if given “regulatory approvals.”
What to know.
Your flu shot may protect against severe COVID-19, study says
Getting a flu shot may come with an added benefit: protection against severe coronavirus infection.
That’s the conclusion researchers made from a review of nearly 75 million COVID-19 patient records from around the globe, which found those who received a flu vaccine up to six months before getting infected were less likely to have a stroke, experience sepsis or develop blood clots caused by the disease.
Coronavirus patients vaccinated against influenza were also less likely to visit the emergency department and be admitted to the intensive care unit, according to new research.
Common cholesterol drug reduces risk of COVID-19 death
The most common cholesterol-lowering drugs may improve hospitalized COVID-19 patients’ chances of survival and reduce their risks of progressing to more severe disease, a new study suggests.
An analysis of more than 10,000 people admitted to more than a 140 hospitals across the nation found that a class of medications called statins, together with blood pressure drugs, reduced in-hospital COVID-19 death by 40% among those who took them prior to being admitted.
The reduced risk of death was slightly higher for those taking statins alone (46%) compared to people only taking high blood pressure medication (27%).
Continue reading to learn why.
Delta variant sparks COVID-19 outbreak in gymnastics gym among unvaccinated
A COVID-19 outbreak in an Oklahoma gymnastics gym infected 47 people in just over two weeks, including gymnasts, staff members and household contacts — 40 of them unvaccinated, federal health officials report.
Only 21 of the COVID-19 cases were sequenced to determine what version of the coronavirus caused them, but all of those samples were identified as the highly contagious delta variant.
The outbreak, which occurred between April 15 and May 3, adds to existing evidence that suggests the delta variant has higher attack rates than other variants of concern, meaning it can infect more people after exposure.
Poll: some vaccine skeptics changed their minds and got COVID-19 shots
Around one-fifth of Americans who said in an earlier poll that they were hesitant or weren’t going to get COVID vaccines ended up changing their minds, according to a recent survey.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 21% of people who said in January that they were waiting to get shots, would only get vaccinated if required or definitely wouldn’t are now vaccinated. The survey was conducted June 15-23 with a sample size of 878 adults.
Seventeen percent of those who are now vaccinated despite expressing hesitancy in January said they were convinced to do so by a family member, 10% said they were persuaded by a health care provider or doctor and 5% said they were convinced by a close friend.
This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 7:10 AM.
