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Your Coronavirus Update – Dec. 29, 2021
Photo: Stars & Stripes
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Some hospitals are calling on the Governor to call in the National Guard – as RI hospitals now have the highest percentage of people in the hospital in the United States.
An updated COVID-19 vaccine policy for City of Providence employees was announced, requiring all employees to show proof they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by January 14, 2022 and that they have completed their primary series of vaccination as defined by the CDC by February 28, 2022. Today’s announcement updates the City’s existing October 1, 2021 vaccine policy which allowed employees to choose between providing proof of vaccination or weekly negative PCR tests. The policy applies to Providence Police, with only 77% of force vaccinated.
Community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be held Wednesday, December 29 in Little Compton, Newport, East Providence, Pawtucket, New Shoreham, and Westerly. Registration is recommended for these clinics. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.”
Providence VA Medical Center said it’s sticking with a lengthier quarantine policy for its employees.
In New Hampshire, if you test positive on an at-home kit, the Health officials want to know so their database will be more accurate.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced the state will distribute 3 million free at-home COVID tests and 6 million N95 masks in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
A Massachusetts State Trooper was fired last week after not complying with Gov. Charlie Baker’s executive branch vaccine mandate. This is the first among 42,000 state workers.
Providence is having a large vaccination clinic Thursday, Dec. 30th at the Providence Career and Technical Academy, 41 Fricker Street, Providence. They will be using the Moderna vaccine for anyone 18 and over.
The James Montgomery concert scheduled for New Year’s Eve at the Newport Elks lodge has been canceled over COVID concerns,
CommerceRI has produced a COVID Guide for RI Business Owners and Managers – you can access it here: https://health.ri.gov/publications/letters/Employer-Letter.pdf
Dr. Megan Ranney, a health care provider with Brown Emergency Health, as well as the director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, has concerns about the shortened quarantine/isolation time from 10 days down to 5. She calls this a “little bit of a stretch of the science” and has concerns in those who are unvaccinated – they should continue to wear a mask, etc. She thinks we should “reward the vaccinated” and not put the rest of us at risk from unvaccinated. Notably, 6 of Dr. Ranney’s medical staff are out sick with COVID. None are terribly sick – all are vaccinated and boosted. She thinks this is good for colleges and schools and will help to encourage schools to remain open. Ranney also said the N95 mask is better than a cloth mask and it spreads so easily you need a KN95 or N95 to keep safer than can be provided by the cloth or surgical masks.
28 more deaths over the weekend in Rhode Island – and RI set a record for cases.
Rhode Island Hospital has begun canceling non-emergency procedures.
Massachusetts passes 1 million cases – positivity is now over 12%.
UMass to require boosters to return to school.
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos and her daughter test positive for COVID – she is having mild symptoms – it is a case of breakthrough COVID, in that she was fully vaccinated. Matos’ father had been intubated in the hospital ICU for over a month, and recovered.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Rhode Island in the national news for the highest percentage of people in the hospital in the United States.
At home tests will skew national case #s of COVID
NY COVID Hospitalizations Rise 12% in a Day as Omicron Surge Deepens – New York City public schools will double their weekly PCR testing volume, test both vaccinated and unvaccinated students and open the option to staff as well in a bid to quell concerns over spiking COVID-19 hospitalizations among kids before they return to the classroom on Monday following a week-long holiday break.
There are now over 70 cruise ships with COVID outbreaks.
Another 1,000 flights canceled today in US.
Two monoclonal antibodies routinely given to people at high risk for severe disease no longer work against omicron, while a third, sotrovimab, is in short supply.
Two antiviral pills, Paxlovid and molnupiravir, could be a game changer, but are not widely available yet.
Colleges across US try to move to remote learning.
CDC says Omicron variant responsible for fewer cases than thought with Delta being the more popular strain.
50% increase in pediatric admissions across US.
NYC schools will ramp up at-home testing to get schools open on Jan. 3rd. 2 million testing kids (2 per student when infected) will be given out. More than 80% of children not vaccinated.
Hospital workers say they do not have staff to handle infections as more staff are getting sick with COVID due to its increased contagion.
NFL reports 106 COVID infections. Mandating vaccinations among media. Some bowl games impacted.
Dr. Jha says the CDC should have done a better job on the data – identifying Omicron as more prevalent than it actually was – and that it was Delta that is more prevalent.
New CDC isolation guidelines are based on an honor system of people reporting their symptoms – Dr. Jha would like to have seen a negative test added to isolation change.
Dr. Jha believes results of at-home tests should be reportable – he believes we are substantially under-reporting case numbers and that they are actually at least double what they really are.
In Europe, you get in virtually no restaurant without proof of vaccination. For Europeans, it’s a digital pass via a QR code on their smartphones. For Americans, it’s showing their CDC vaccination card — and occasionally a passport to prove it’s their card.
In Paris, pharmacies and even the Champs-Élysées were dotted with pop-up test centers. They offered rapid tests and email certified results to digital pass holders, or a paper good for air travel, for a cost of about $34.
The Omicron wave is expected to take over the country all at once, and not in the usual wave and uptick we see, with all 50 states “like being with a viral hurricane at the same time”.
Worldwide vaccination messaging: In Germany, Lutheran pastors offer vaccinations at church. In Israel’s Orthodox community, rabbis are trying to change minds about vaccination. In South Africa, funeral workers are speaking in the streets about the necessity of vaccinations.
Apple moved its 16 major New York City stores, including the Fifth Avenue cube, to online pickups only. Apple also has temporarily closed the Carnegie Library store in D.C., the Tower Theatre store in LA, and some locations in London, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Texas.
Goldman Sachs will require employees and visitors to its U.S. offices to have booster shots, beginning in February. Beginning in January, in-person staff will get tested twice weekly.
A twindemic is possible with a flu & COVID19 surge coming at the same time in January and February.
Pediatric COVID is proportionate to what is happening in other demographics. Omicron in a household will infect everyone in the home. Transmissibility is clearly more, though not more severe in disease. To protect children, have people around them vaccinated and boosted. Be thoughtful about what people are doing outside of the household – masking, not associating with unvaccinated people, more testing.
New York pediatric hospitalizations in children who could not get vaccinated are up 39%.
Omicron may not be around for long, and people who are fully vaccinated don’t need to worry, as long as they have a healthy immune system. The Northeast may see a downturn after the middle of January.
South Africa reports that Omicron infection provides protection against Delta infection.
5 states will pay unemployment to people mandated to get vaccines who do not want to – Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Tennessee – 3 other states considering similar measures.
Rapid tests may not be as accurate very early in an infection compared with other tests, like a PCR, that can take a day or more to get results.
The FDA recommends you get tested, even if you have been vaccinated.
- If you have COVID symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, fever, and other respiratory virus symptoms
- Have been within 6 feet of someone with a confirmed case of COVID for a total of at least 15 minutes. (If you are unvaccinated, get tested right away; if you are fully vaccinated, get tested within five to seven days after exposure, according to the CDC.)
- If you took part in high-risk activities, including any time you couldn’t socially distance as recommended, such as when traveling, in crowded indoor places, or attending large gatherings or mass events.
- There are now (at least) 11 over-the-counter antigen tests, which are the rapid tests that you can buy, take yourself, and generally cost about $20 to $35 for two.
The FDA recommends There are now (at least) 11 over-the-counter antigen tests, which are the rapid tests that you can buy, take yourself, and generally cost about $20 to $35 for two.
At-home antigen tests that have been approved via the FDA’s emergency-use authorization:
- BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen SelfTest
- iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
- Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test
- BD Veritor At-Home COVID-19 Test
- CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test/On/Go COVID-19 Antigen SelfTest
- SCoV-2 Ag Detect Rapid Self-Test
- InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test
- Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test
- Quidel QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test
- Ellume COVID-19 Home Test
If you get a negative result, follow up with additional rapid tests in a few days to see if it becomes positive, especially if you have reason to believe that you were exposed or infected. Wait at least 24 hours for your next test, according to the CDC, but retesting a few days later can help you feel comfortable that a negative result is a true negative.
If you start having symptoms, assume you have Omicron and self-isolate. Take your first rapid test 24 hours after symptoms start and test again two to three days later
I wonder what McKee is waiting for – call in the National Guard!!! Give the health care workers a well-deserved helping hand. This is going to get worse, not better within the next few weeks.
Despite businesses putting up signs that they require masking (even the local Dunkin has them), people are ignoring them.