Coronavirus Morning News Brief – Nov. 6: Second Infection Hikes Long Covid Risk, Study Finds Link Between Covid and Flu Vaccines and Stroke in Seniors

Goldilocks and the Two Masked Bears

Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 1,334th day of the pandemic

OP-ED ON MONDAY

BA.2.86: We Welcome New and Distinctive Symptoms to the Table

The newest omicron subvariant, BA.2.86, has overtaken EG.5 in multiple countries including the United States but few are aware how distinctive some of its symptoms are.  This latest sublineage has many more mutations that earlier sublineages.

Here’s what to look out for.

Some patients report a red face rash as well as itchy, irritated eyes, but the sublineage also has other distinct symptoms including fatigue and diarrhea.

Other symptoms may include those that have been fairly common with variants and subvariants since the start of the pandemic.

The list includes aches and pains, a continuous cough, change in taste and smell, fever, tiredness, a runny nose, and a sore throat.

In other news we report today, a second SARS-CoV-2 infection will likely increase the risk of someone contracting Long Covid, a study found a link between Covid and flu vaccines and strokes in older adults, and the economic recovery of the downtown areas in New York City are taking longer than in other major cities.

LONG COVID

A new study suggests people infected multiple times with SARS-CoV-2 are more likely to develop Long Covid. In addition, the study found that most Long Covid patients never fully recover from the condition.

The findings are based on a study of 139,000 individuals with SARS-CoV-2 and a control group of six million non-infected individuals

The study, Postacute Sequelae of Covid-19 at 2 Years, was led by Benjamin Bowe at the Clinical Epidemiology Center, Research and Development Service, VA Saint Louis Health Care System, in Saint Louis, Missouri.

“The substantial cumulative burden of health loss due to PASC calls for attention to the care needs of people with long-term health effects due to SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the researchers concluded.

UNITED STATES

Advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved a draft in which they recommend thathealthcare providers don face masks during routine care for patients believed to be contagious, including when treating patients with endemic respiratory infections.  Some critics say that the updated guidelines don’t go far enough.

The economic recovery from lockdowns and other aspects of the first two years of the pandemic is taking New York City far longer than most other large cities.  A study by the University of Toronto’s School of Cities found that the Big Apple’s current traffic in its Midtown and Downtown business districts is only 66% of what it was in 2019, placing it at 54th out of the 66 cities included in the study.

It bears mention that San Francisco, a city that, unlike New York, did not have signs of an early comeback, is at 67% of its 2019 foot traffic, placing it at 53rd in the rankings.

A second study has found that Covid shots may slightly increase risk of stroke in older adults, particularly when administered with certain flu vaccines. The issue was detected by experts at the Food and Drug Administration who analyzed data from Medicare claims. The researchers found that coronavirus and influenza vaccines may slightly increase the risk of strokes caused by blood clots in the brains of seniors, particularly when the two vaccines are given at the same time and when they are given to adults who are age 85 and older.  However, the risk is only one to two strokes for every 100,000 doses, a miniscule figure when compared with the significantly higher risk of dying from SARS-CoV-2.

GLOBAL STATISTICS

Now here are the daily statistics for Monday, November 6.

As of Monday morning, the world has recorded just over 697.39 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.02 million in the past, and 6.93 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, just over 669.18 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.02 million.

The reader should note that infrequent reporting from some sources may appear as spikes in new case figures or death tolls.

Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Monday at press time is 21,280,327, an increase of 6,000. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 21,242,399, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 37,928, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past ten months.

Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has, as of Monday, recorded 109.23 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of 1.18 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, 45 million, and a reported death toll of 533,293.

The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of July 2022, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 823,623, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States.  Rosstat last reported that 3,284 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in July 2022, down from 5,023 in June, 7,008 in May and 11,583 in April.

Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, with 40.14 million, and Germany is in the number four slot, with 38.55 million total cases.

Brazil, which has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 706,808, has recorded 37.95 million cases, placing it in the number five slot.

The other five countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with 34.57 million cases, as number six; Japan, with 33.8 million cases placing it in the number seven slot; and Italy, with 26.23 million, as number eight, as well as the United Kingdom, with 24.8 million, and Russia, with 23.12 million, as nine and ten respectively.

CURRENT U.S. COVID STATISTICS AT A GLANCE

In the United States, in the week ending October 28, 2023, the test positivity rate was – based on data released on November 2 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – 9%, a figure that is essentially unchanged from the previous 7-day period, while the percentage of emergency department visits that were diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2 was 1.2%, a figure that is down 5.7%.

The number of people admitted to hospital in the United States due to SARS-CoV-2 in the same 7-day period was 14,745, a figure that is up 0.01%. Meanwhile, the percentage of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 was 2.5%, a figure that is unchanged over the same period.

VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT

Some 70.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Monday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information.  So far, 13.53 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 17,005 doses are now administered each day.

Meanwhile, only 32.8% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain at or below 10%.

In addition, with the beginning of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines in any significant number.

Paul Riegler contributed reporting to this story.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)