Wednesday, June 23, 2021 | Kaiser Health News

NPR:
Fauci Warns Dangerous Delta Variant Is The Greatest Threat To U.S. COVID Efforts

The dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the United States that it’s likely the mutant strain will become predominant in the nation within weeks, according to federal health officials and a new analysis. At a White House briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said 20.6% of new cases in the U.S. are due to the Delta variant. And other scientists tracking the variant say it is on track to become the dominant virus variant in the U.S. “The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19,” Fauci said. (Stein, 6/22)

Fox News:
Delta Coronavirus Variant Doubling Biweekly, Now 20% Of Samples, Fauci Says

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that the highly transmissible Delta variant has climbed to now account for over 20% of sequenced samples. The variant, first detected in India and now found in over 80 countries, is becoming the dominant strain worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The B.1.617.2 strain spreads more readily than the B.1.1.7 Alpha variant and the wild-type virus, and has been linked to an increased hospitalization risk. (Rivas, 6/22)

CIDRAP:
Delta And Gamma Variants Make Up Larger Share Of US COVID Cases

The Delta and Gamma variants (B1617.2 and P.1, respectively) are on track to surpass the Alpha variant (B117) in the United States, according to a study on the non–peer-reviewed medRxiv preprint server yesterday. The researchers looked at 243,769 positive COVID-19 samples collected from Jan 1 to Jun 15 and viral sequence data from 19,987. Distribution is not representative of the US population, they note; for instance, Florida had 25.7% of the samples. (6/22)

The Wall Street Journal:
Delta Covid-19 Variant Could Be Dominant In U.S. In Two To Three Weeks, Study Says 

The highly transmissible Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus is spreading so rapidly in the U.S. that it could become the dominant strain in the next two to three weeks, researchers said, adding urgency to the nationwide vaccination drive. The Delta strain, which first emerged in India in late 2020 and is also known as B.1.617.2, will probably make up 50% of Covid-19 infections in the U.S. by early to mid-July, said William Lee, vice president of science at population genomics company Helix and an author of the new analysis. (McKay, 6/22)

States and cities urge caution against the delta variant —

Fox News:
Colorado Says Delta Variant Accounts For 40% Of State’s Cases

Health officials in Colorado have predicted that the Delta coronavirus variant is likely to become the dominant strain circulating in the state after seeing a steady increase in recent weeks. In a briefing held Monday, the state’s epidemiologist said the strain now accounts for 40% of the state’s cases, while nationwide it makes up about 20% of cases.  Dr. Rachel Herlihy said Colorado is second in the U.S. in terms of Delta cases, falling only behind Missouri. “We’ve seen that rise pretty rapidly in Colorado,” Herlihy said. “It’s not surprising because what we know about this variant is it is much more transmissible than other types of SARS-CoV-2 variants.” (Hein, 6/22)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
St. Louis Area Health Officials On Edge As Delta Variant Increases Sickness Across Missouri 

As outbreaks in southwestern and northern Missouri continue to place the state first in the nation for the number of new coronavirus cases per capita, health officials warn that it’s only a matter of time before cases and hospitalizations rise in the St. Louis area. The outbreaks are driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is projected to quickly become the dominant variant in the U.S. It is much more infectious than original strains of the virus and has been shown to cause more severe disease, placing unvaccinated individuals at higher risk of ending up in the hospital. (Munz, 6/22)

Salt Lake Tribune:
Delta Variant ‘On The Way’ To Being Dominant COVID-19 Strain, University Of Utah Health Experts Say

People who don’t get vaccinated against COVID-19 are becoming more likely to get sick from the coronavirus, experts at the University of Utah say — because of the spread of the Delta variant. “Choosing not to get vaccinated is a choice to ultimately get infected by this virus,” said Stephen Goldstein, a virologist and post-doctoral researcher at the University of Utah School of Medicine, on Tuesday during a briefing carried over Facebook Live. The Delta variant of the coronavirus, which first emerged in India late last year, has already become the dominant strain of the virus in the United Kingdom and is approaching becoming the dominant strain in the United States, said Dr. Sankar Swaminathan, chief of the division of infectious diseases at University of Utah Health. (Means, 6/22)

In related news from overseas —

CIDRAP:
Multiple Nations Battle COVID-19 Surges As Delta Variant Advances In Israel 

As countries in Africa, the Americas, and Europe battle fresh COVID surges, a rise in Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant cases in Israel—known for its strong vaccine rollout and COVID measures—is raising new alarm bells. World Health Organization (WHO) officials have characterized a “two track” pandemic, made up of higher-income countries driving down cases as vaccination efforts gain tractions, contrasted with others struggling with new or ongoing surges, due to a host of factors, including scarce vaccine, more transmissible variants, and social mixing. (Schnirring, 6/22)

The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Delta Variant Threatens To Set Back Europe’s Recovery 

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly across continental Europe, raising the risk of a rebound in infections and a delay to the region’s economic comeback. The variant, first discovered in India late last year, has prompted Portugal to seal off its capital city of Lisbon on weekends. In Germany, where Delta is still rare, scientists expect it to make up the majority of Covid-19 infections in the coming months. In France and Italy, the prevalence of the variant is still below 5%, according to official figures, but has at least doubled in recent weeks. (Sylvers and Kowsmann, 6/22)

Reuters:
AstraZeneca Vaccine Effective Against COVID-19 Variants Identified In India 

AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine is effective against Delta and Kappa variants, which were first identified in India, the company said on Tuesday, citing a study. The study by the Oxford University investigated the ability of monoclonal antibodies in blood from recovered people and from those vaccinated to neutralize the Delta and Kappa variants, the statement said. (6/22)

Axios:
CDC: Nearly Every Adult COVID-19 Death Is Now “Entirely Preventable” 

Adult deaths from COVID-19 are “at this point entirely preventable” thanks to vaccines, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday. Deaths from the virus have dramatically decreased since their peak in early 2021, but the U.S. is still currently reporting an average of more than 200 deaths every day, though the numbers could increase as the B.1.617.2 (or Delta) variant of the virus becomes the dominant strain in the country. (Knutson, 6/22)

In more news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Albuquerque Journal:
NM Reports Girl Under 10 Among COVID Deaths

New Mexico’s coronavirus death toll now includes a child under 10. The Department of Health on Tuesday reported what may be the state’s youngest victim of the pandemic so far – a Doña Ana County girl who was 9 or younger. She is one of just a handful of pediatric deaths related to COVID-19 in New Mexico. The state last fall reported the deaths of a teenage girl in Eddy County and a 12-year-old boy from Albuquerque. An individual under 17 also died in May, according to state coronavirus records. The girl whose death was reported Tuesday had underlying health conditions, and she had been hospitalized. But the Department of Health didn’t release other details, citing health privacy regulations. (McKay, 6/22)

Bloomberg:
Secret Service And Covid: Nearly 900 Employees Tested Positive For Virus In Year

Almost 900 active U.S. secret service employees — most of them responsible for protecting government officials and buildings — were diagnosed with Covid-19 in the year ending in March. Special Agents, who protect the president, vice president, and their families, made up more than half of the 881 employees who were infected, according to government records obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The uniformed division, which guards the White House and other federal buildings, made up the next largest group of infections. (Ford, 6/22)

AP:
Arkansas Has Biggest 1-Day Jump In Virus Cases Since March

Arkansas on Tuesday reported 485 new coronavirus cases, its biggest one-day jump in more than three months. The Department of Health said it was the biggest one-day increase since the state reported 570 new cases on March 5. The state has had 346,180 cases since the pandemic began last year. (6/22)

The Oregonian:
COVID-19 Outbreak At Multnomah County’s Inverness Jail Sickens 25 Inmates 

Another COVID-19 outbreak at Multnomah County’s Inverness Jail has sickened 25 inmates over the past month, county officials confirmed Tuesday. Inmates from the Northeast Portland jail were not brought to their court appearances Monday because of the outbreak, according to written notices posted at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse. (Ramakrishnan, 6/22)

Axios:
The Coronavirus Pandemic Is A Much Bigger Deal In Some States Than Others 

The coronavirus pandemic has essentially ended in some states, while others are still experiencing outbreaks. The wide variation in states’ vaccination rates means that stark disparities in case rates could be America’s norm for awhile. Some states saw an average of seven or fewer new cases per 100,000 people over the last week. On the other end of the spectrum, Missouri had 76 new cases per 100,000 people. (Owens, 6/23)

Also —

KHN:
Thousands Of Young Children Lost Parents To Covid. Where’s Help For Them?

Five months after her husband died of covid-19, Valerie Villegas can see how grief has wounded her children. Nicholas, the baby, who was 1 and almost weaned when his father died, now wants to nurse at all hours and calls every tall, dark-haired man “Dada,” the only word he knows. Robert, 3, regularly collapses into furious tantrums, stopped using the big-boy potty and frets about sick people giving him germs. Ayden, 5, recently announced it’s his job to “be strong” and protect his mom and brothers. (Aleccia, 6/23)

CIDRAP:
‘Stolen Moments’: Families Anguish Over Separation From Dying COVID Patients

In-depth interviews with 19 adult family members of patients lost to COVID-19 during the first pandemic wave in France uncover difficulties forging a bond with intensive care unit (ICU) staff, being separated from their loved ones at the time of greatest need, and grief over “stolen moments.” Led by researchers at Saint Louis University Hospital in Paris, the study involved semi-structured, in-depth phone interviews conducted with family members of COVID-19 patients who died in one of 12 ICUs in seven regions of France in April and May 2020. The interviews took place 3 or 4 months after the patients’ deaths, and the results were published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 6/22)

Bloomberg:
Parasite Drug Analyzed As Possible Covid Treatment In U.K. Trial

A drug used to treat parasite infections in humans and livestock will be investigated as a possible treatment for Covid-19 in a large U.K. study at the University of Oxford. The medicine, known as ivermectin, has antiviral properties and initial preliminary studies have shown it can reduce viral load, the amount of virus in the respiratory tract, and the length of symptoms in those with a mild infection, according to a statement from the university. (Gemmell, 6/23)

In other news about covid research —

CIDRAP:
Rare Cases Of Guillain-Barre Syndrome Detailed After COVID Vaccine

Two studies this month in the Annals of Neurology describe Guillain-Barre syndrome in seven Indian patients and four English patients, both within 22 days of receiving the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which has already been linked to rare but severe clotting. The researchers described the seven cases in Kerala, India, where symptom onset occurred within 2 weeks after receiving the first dose of the vaccine. (6/22)

San Francisco Chronicle:
CDC Panel To Examine Heart Inflammation Cases In Young People After COVID Vaccinations

Advisers for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are set to meet Wednesday to consider possible changes to COVID-19 vaccinations of adolescents and young adults as a result of reports of heart inflammation among a small number of younger vaccine recipients. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC on vaccine policy, could recommend adjusting the dosing regimen for people in a certain age group, pausing administration of the shots to certain age groups, or adding a warning label. It could also opt not to recommend any changes. (Ho, 6/22)

CIDRAP:
Racial Disparities Noted In Children With COVID-19

Non-White children may receive less COVID-19 testing and experience higher COVID-19 infections, COVID-19 severity, and hospitalization duration, according to a study yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. … White children received the most COVID tests (17.1%), followed by Asians (13.6%), those of mixed or other races (12.9%), and Black children (8.3%). Minority children had significantly higher COVID-19 infections, ranging from 6.3% (mixed/other races) to 10.8% (Asian) versus the 5.8% identified in White children. (6/22)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Can A Dog Smell COVID-19? Testing And Training Is Now Under Way To See

It can sniff out the location of a buried landmine. Get a whiff of a human armpit and find its owner a quarter mile away. It can even direct conservation researchers toward fresh killer whale poop floating in the ocean. Now the super nose of Canis lupus familiaris — your basic dog — is also detecting COVID-19 in people who may not know they have it. “It’s remarkable,” said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), who introduced a bill in the House this month to create a pilot program at the Defense Department to see if using dogs to sniff out COVID can slow the spread of the disease. (Asimov, 6/22)

CNN:
These People Suffer From Long Covid — And They’re Battling Survivor’s Guilt 

Lauren Nichols’ battle with Covid-19 began early in the pandemic, when resources were scarce and experts debated whether the US would have to ration care. It was a burden she felt personally as she worried about what a trip to the doctor could mean for someone else. “The guilt came on very quickly. I felt like if I were to go get help for myself because I was still having worsening symptoms and wasn’t getting better, that I was robbing someone else of their ability to get care,” Nichols, 33, said. “And for me, that ended up developing further into me feeling like why am I even alive.” (Kallingal, 6/23)

Roll Call:
3 Questions Experts Say Need To Be Asked About Pandemic’s Origin

Biosecurity experts are pushing Congress to investigate a theory that the virus that causes COVID-19 escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, saying important information could be uncovered even without the help of Chinese authorities. “Many threads of investigation are available in the U.S. and would be accessible to a congressional inquiry with subpoena power,” said Rutgers University molecular biologist Richard Ebright, who believes the pandemic resulted from a lab accident. (Kopp, 6/23)