COVID UPDATE – WEEK ENDING JAN 30, 2022

COVID UPDATE – WEEK ENDING JAN 30, 2022

Jan. 30, 2022

United States:  Cumulative Cases: 75,478,859, Cumulative Deaths: 906,852

World:  Cumulative Cases: 372,896,511, Cumulative Deaths: 5,675,374

With 19,209 new deaths from Covid this week, the U.S. surpassed the 900,000 mark in terms of lives lost. Worldwide, more than 72,000 died this week.

According to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, over 10.1 billion shots have been administered worldwide. Of those 10+ billion, 538 million of them were given in the U.S.

Benton County Vaccine Event

From January 31 through February 11, there will be vaccines available at the Benton County Fairgrounds from 11:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. Read more here…

No College In Covid

College is known for its trials and tribulations, but COVID-19 created a whole new assortment of unprecedented hardships. Creative writing professor Jenna Goldsmith assembled a collection of essays written from the pandemic by OSU-Cascades students Read more here…

Forecasting New Hospitalizations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expect the number of new hospital admissions due to Covid nationwide to decrease as we head toward February 18, 2022. The increase of hospitalizations in Oregon have remained relatively low compared to other states, although there is concern that we might break that prediction as this number has been lower throughout the pandemic and pandemic fatigue is setting in.

The CDC is aware that forecasting possibilities can be tricky, and their band of likely outcomes is very broad. However, the fact that Oregonians as a whole seem to have embraced the vaccines available and have maintained a mask mandate, the likelihood of an extreme derivation is not probable.

By Sally K Lehman

Jan. 29, 2022

Benton County:  New Cases: 304, Cumulative Cases: 12,641, Cumulative Deaths: 52

Oregon:  New Cases: 7,431, Cumulative Cases: 620,652, Cumulative Deaths: 6,086

This has been a deadly week for Benton County with six lives lost over five days. Statewide, 133 lives were lost to Covid in that time.

Throughout Oregon, 67% are vaccinated, and 32.1% are boosted.

Fourth Booster Being Denied

Around seven million people in the U.S. are trying to get a fourth dose of Covid vaccine, and are being turned away.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that people who are seriously immune-compromised should be given a fourth Covid vaccine or a third shot in the case of a child aged 5-17 provided they are receiving the Pfizer vaccines.

Those eligible would include those with current or recent treatment for cancer; organ or stem cell transplant recipients; those with advanced or untreated HIV/AID; those with severe primary immunodeficiency; those with medical conditions such as asplenia (lack of a spleen) and chronic renal disease: and those being actively treated with high-dose corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.

However many seeking that fourth vaccine are being turned away from pharmacies, leaving them frustrated and unprotected. If you are having difficulty receiving your extra booster, the CDC webpage for the public may help to convince your healthcare provider with the correct information.

By Sally K Lehman

Omicron Flattens, Hospital Bed Demand Rises

The state’s epidemiologist said Friday that the state will be filing permanent mask and vaccination rules in the next few weeks. Read the full story here…

By Lynne Terry of press partner Oregon Capital Chronicle

Jan. 28, 2022

Benton County:  New Cases: 59, Cumulative Cases: 12,337, Cumulative Deaths: 51

Oregon:  New Cases: 7,858, Cumulative Cases: 613,221, Cumulative Deaths: 6,067

New COVID Variant: A Brief Catch Up

As has become increasingly clear over the past two years, the COVID-19 virus is both resilient and ever-changing. This time around, public health experts are examining a sub-lineage of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, according to OregonLive. This particular mutation, known as BA.2, has spread across several European and Asian countries since December of 2021.

With infections starting as recently as Dec. 6, 2021, the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has placed the sub-lineage “under investigation.” This is on the heels of Denmark’s COVID BA.2 case count jumping from 20% of cases in the last week of December, all the way to 45% in the second week of January.

While the U.S. has yet to have such a large spike in infection rates, it has made its way to the States – though fewer than 100 cases have been reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Wesley Long, the medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist said, “In the U.S., we have to wait and see what the story is on BA.2 and how it compares to BA.1. It’s worth keeping an eye on right now.”

Just as the BA.1 variant was more transmissible than the base delta variant, BA.2 is more transmissible than the current BA.1.

While there’s no current evidence to suggest that BA.2 causes more severe illness than BA.1, it’s possible that people recently infected with Omicron will be less likely to become infected by the new sub-lineage – although that’s unknown at this point.

Long later emphasized that it’s important to note that concern and monitoring are two separate identifiers. “I don’t think it’s worth being worried about BA.2, in particular, more than one would already be concerned about Omicron BA.1,” said Long.

So far, new variants have generally developed in countries with low vaccination rates, making up-to-date vaccination vital in combating the development of new variants.

By Ethan Hauck

Universal Covid Vaccines

The next thing in Covid control will likely be the “pan-coronavirus” vaccine – a vaccine which would supply enough generalized coronavirus antibodies to defeat future variants.

Technology for making these universal vaccines has been in development for years with scientists hoping to make an HIV vaccine. HIV is a rapidly mutating virus, making the effort difficult to complete.

However, coronavirus – which has been identified since the 1960’s and is responsible for the common cold – mutates much slower. Therefore the hope to find specific proteins to fight against is higher.

Once a stable protein is found across variants of the coronavirus, then researchers can look at finding or creating an antibody to work against that protein – something like an Achilles Heel. As more proteins are combated, the more likely it will be that we can have a vaccine which will protect against all coronaviruses. Researchers believe they may take years to find this cure-all vaccine.

Only one virus has been eradicated in human history. The World Health Organization declared smallpox ended in 1980, the last outbreak of which in the U.S. was in 1949. There have been no naturally occurring cases since.

By Sally K Lehman

Jan. 27, 2022

Benton County:  New Cases: 290, Cumulative Cases: 12,278, Cumulative Deaths: 50

Oregon:  New Cases: 8,191, Cumulative Cases: 605,363, Cumulative Deaths: 6,048

As the state of Oregon passes 6,000 deaths due to Covid, Benton County reaches 50 lives lost. Cumulatively, both the county and the state have passed milestone case numbers – 12,000 and 600,000 respectively.

Currently in Oregon, 23.8% of all Intensive Care Unit beds are taken by Covid patients, and 21.6% of all other hospital beds are taken by Covid patients. There are still concerns statewide over people needing space in a hospital.

Neil Young Rocks for a Free World for Covid Facts

On January 24, singer Neil Young insisted that his songs be pulled from Spotify in reaction to the podcast content of Joe Rogan – who has made several episodes which spread misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.

Young published an open letter on his personal website  reading in part, “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them … They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”

In response, Spotify said in part, “We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators.” Their statement went on to claim they had more than 20,000 podcasts which have dealt with the Covid pandemic in some manner.

Rogan, who rose to national fame through the reality series Fear Factor, has published over 1,700 editions of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast – many of which are derisive of what has become considered common knowledge about the Covid-19 virus. Thousands of medical experts have raised concerns over these podcasts as containing misinformation about vaccines, false claims about the virus itself, and unproven treatment information.

As of the afternoon of January 26, Young’s albums were still available on the Spotify platform.

By Sally K Lehman

Jan. 26, 2022

Benton County:  New Cases: 216, Cumulative Cases: 11,772, Cumulative Deaths: 48

Oregon:  New Cases: 6.902, Cumulative Cases: 597.172, Cumulative Deaths: 5.994

Oregon as a whole is inching closer to 6,000 lives lost to Covid, with two of those lost from Benton County.

Omicron Specific Vaccines

The 27 member countries of the European Union have reached out to Pfizer and BioNTech to purchase an additional 180 million vaccine doses – meaning the companies will be delivering a combined 900 million doses to the EU.

The EU purchase includes a large number of vaccine doses specifically developed to target the Omicron variant. It has yet to be proven that the Omicron-specific vaccine will work, but the EU called for it to be developed.

The mRNA technology used to create the Covid vaccines is flexible enough that Pfzer should only need 100 days to refine the vaccine and tailor it to a specific variant. Their contract with the EU stipulates that they will be the preferred customer and will receive the Omicron-specific doses at no additional cost.

That vaccine is now in the testing phase in spite of the fact that the variant is beginning to wane. During the Omicron spike, 13% of those who became ill were admitted into Intensive Care Units. During the Delta wave and the wave preceding Delta, 18% of those sick went to the ICU.

The new vaccine is being tested on 1,420 American volunteers aged 18-55. The U.S. government has not responded to questions concerning their position on purchasing Omicron specific vaccines.

Overall Covid Concerns

Age seems to be an indicator in terms of American fears about Covid according to a survey done by Morning Consult of the New York Times.

In the survey, people aged 18-34 seemed the most concerned about getting sick with the virus in the next year with 23% of them very worried. Those aged 35-64 and 65+ counted themselves as very worried at 20 % and 17% respectively.

The numbers flip when people were asked if they were somewhat worried, with those 65+ coming in at 44%, those 45-64 at 38%, those 35-44 at 37%, and those 18-34 at 35%.

Perhaps most alarming were the numbers for those who are not at all worried about getting sick with Covid. Of people aged 18-64, only 14% fell in this category, and 10% of those 65+ did.

Age was not the only line separating how people feel about the risk of getting Covid. Of those unvaccinated, only 14% are very worried about getting sick, while 25% are somewhat worried, 29% are not too worried, and 27% are not at all worried. Those vaccinated without the booster record 22% as very worried, 39% somewhat worried, 26% not too worried, and 11% not at all worried. Those who are vaccinated with the booster claim 22% are still very worried about becoming sick, 46% are somewhat worried, 25% are not too worried, and 6% are not at all worried.

Political affiliation is also influencing how people are dealing with the pandemic. When the public was asked if they were going to make changes to their normal activities in light of the Omicron variant spreading throughout the U.S., 65% of Democrats asked said they would while 30% said they would not. Those numbers reversed for Republicans asked with 65% saying they would not make changes and 30% saying they would.

When asked about their concern over children falling behind in school due to the pandemic, 72% of Democrats cited this as a serious issue, while 25% were not concerned. On the Republican side, 61% were concerned while 31% were not. 83% of Democrats were worried about children getting sick due to in-person classes, while only 49% of Republicans were. Not surprisingly, 65% of Democrats would therefore support another transition to online learning; 61% of Republicans oppose online learning.

By Sally K Lehman

Jan. 25, 2022

Benton County:  New Cases: 704, Cumulative Cases: 11,772, Cumulative Deaths: 46

Oregon:  New Cases: 30,310, Cumulative Cases: 590,270, Cumulative Deaths: 5,953

With more than 30,000 new cases over the weekend, the state of Oregon is still suffering from the Omicron spike. Benton County accounted for over 700 of those new cases. Yet the death toll remains in better shape than from earlier in the pandemic with only 37 new deaths in the state.

At-Home Testing Limitations

If you are one of the many people who have relied on an at-home Covid test to prove you’re healthy, then you may want to rethink your position. Doctors and researchers worldwide are looking at how to make Covid antigen tests more sensitive to the different variants of the virus – in particular the Omicron variant.

The tests used at home are called rapid antigen tests, and they are generally best able to respond to the Covid virus when a person is symptomatic, meaning they have a high viral load. However Omicron tends to produce symptoms earlier on in the infection, leading people to test negative at first only to test positive later on.

One thought is that vaccines are fighting off the infection as soon as it gets a foothold, leaving the nasal passages relatively clear of the virus. Another possibility is that Omicron begins in a different part of the head, leaving the virus concentration in the throat or mouth.

In either instance, the current thought is to test from the throat as well as from the nose. Additionally, it is recommended that you test on more than one occasion.

Oregon Coming Out of Pandemic

Infections and hospitalizations are surging and are expected to rise higher but after that the state’s epidemiologist sees a “light at the end of the tunnel.” Read the full story here…

By Lynne Terry of Publishing Partner Oregon Capital Chronicle

Jan. 24, 2022

Tracking Covid by Zip Code

Parts of Benton County have topped a new list, but it isn’t something to cheer about. The Oregonian published a map of the zip codes in which the Covid effort has gone the most wrong, and 97331 – right here in Corvallis – tops the list with 384 new cases per 10K people.

The higher populated areas in Benton, Deschutes, Clackamas, Jackson, Lane, Linn, Marion, and Washington counties are seeing more actual cases than even the high population centers in Multnomah County.

The cause of these high numbers of new cases is the extremely contagious nature of the Omicron variant. Unlike the Delta variant which sent more people to hospitals, Omicron continues to make more people less severely sick. However those people are still taking up a lot of healthcare resources.

By Sally K Lehman