Although case reports of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 exist, limited information is available regarding the frequency and outcomes of reinfection. Five residents of a skilled nursing facility received positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test results in two separate COVID-19 outbreaks separated by 3 months. Residents received at least four negative test results between the two outbreaks, suggesting the possibility of reinfection. The …
Effective Friday, February 12, 2021, COVIDView has been replaced with this new COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review. This new webpage and newsletter include visuals from the week and narrative interpretations using data from CDC’s COVID Data Tracker. Additional priority data will be added in future weeks, including race and ethnicity. Stop Variants by Stopping the Spread Viruses change (or mutate) …
The CEO of Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that people may need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 annually for the next several years; similar to seasonal flu shots. “Unfortunately, as the virus spreads, it can also mutate,” Alex Gorsky said in an interview on CNBS. “Every time it mutates, it’s almost like another click of the dial, so to speak, …
In response to the growing international risks associated with importation of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on March 20, 2020, New Zealand closed its borders to all but New Zealand citizens, permanent residents, and persons with an exemption. On April 9, 2020, to better control importation risks, New Zealand implemented a system of managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) at the border. Persons …
The CDC conducted experiments to assess two ways of improving the fit of medical procedure masks: fitting a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask, and knotting the ear loops of a medical procedure mask, and then tucking in and flattening the extra material close to the face. Each modification substantially improved source control and reduced wearer exposure. “Double masking” …
The State of Louisiana Department of Public Health has been publishing the nursing home Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) statistics of the 281 nursing homes in the state since April 18, 2020. The following are the results of the analysis of these data. A database was created containing the name of the facility, the initial census, the COVID prevalence, and the …
Bacteria or viruses like influenza that cause pneumonia can spread across large regions of the lung within hours. In the modern intensive care unit, these bacteria or viruses are usually controlled either by antibiotics or by the body’s immune system within the first few days of the illness. But in a study published in Nature on January 11, 2021, investigators …
Since November 2020, the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has rapidly increased, further straining health care systems across the country. Between December 31, 2020 and January 13, 2021, new reported COVID-19 cases averaged about 225,000 per day, over 7 and 3 times higher than the surges the nation experienced during the spring and summer of 2020, respectively. The …
Brazilian researchers have found that toothbrushes can act as reservoirs for microorganisms and favor the transmission of diseases such as COVID-19. Patients who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 have “high viral loads in saliva, nasopharynx and oropharynx” which can occur even in asymptomatic people. A recent study demonstrated that commercially available mouthwashes can inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. The results showed that …
SARS-CoV-2 variants from the UK., South Africa, Brazil, and even the U.S. will require researchers to be “nimble” to keep up with them, and make vaccination against the virus even more essential, Anthony Fauci, MD, said at a White House COVID-19 press briefing. With variants estimated to become the dominant cause of infections in the U.S. by the end of …
