February 10 coronavirus news

The World Health Organization's recommendations for the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca

Covid-19 vaccine, AZD1222, include all people ages 18 and older, including older adults.

In a briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Joachim Hombach, executive secretary of WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization said:

The new recommendations were published on Wednesday and note that there are some populations for which data are limited or do not exist – including children, pregnant women, lactating women and other groups. "Until such data are available, vaccination of individuals below 18 years of age is not recommended," the guidance says.

"The available data on AZD1222 vaccination of pregnant women are insufficient to assess vaccine efficacy or vaccine-associated risks in pregnancy. However, it should be noted that AZD1222 is a nonreplicating vaccine," it says. It added that the "WHO does not recommend pregnancy testing prior to vaccination. WHO does not recommend delaying pregnancy because of vaccination."

For women who are breastfeeding, the guidance says that "a lactating woman who is part of a group recommended for vaccination, e.g., health workers, should be offered vaccination on an equivalent basis." It also said that it does not recommend discontinuing breastfeeding after vaccination

At the same briefing, the WHO also recommended the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in countries where variants of the coronavirus are circulating.

The group of expert advisers looked at two aspects of the circulation of the variants in relation to the AstraZeneca vaccine, Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, chair of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization,Cravioto explained.

In the United Kingdom, Cravioto said preliminary analysis showed a slightly reduced efficacy against the variant first spotted there. The analysis also showed a limited reduction in titers of neutralization, which means the vaccine is still having a good effect protecting people infected with that variant.

In South Africa, Cravioto said preliminary analysis showed “a marked reduction” in vaccine effectiveness against mild or moderate disease in a variant first spotted there. The analysis also showed a reduction in neutralizing antibody levels. However, he said the study was small and didn’t allow assessment of the vaccine against severe infection. He noted there is indirect evidence that there is still protection against severe disease.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not been asked to approve the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, the regulatory agency said Wednesday, saying it was responding to inaccurate reports that it had.

The EMA said in a statement that has given scientific advice to the maker of the vaccine.

Hungary will this week become the first European Union country to start distributing the vaccine, it announced on Tuesday.

The Sputnik vaccine is already approved for use in Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Argentina, Bolivia, Algeria, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia and the Palestinian territories and has so far been administered to more than 2 million people worldwide.

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Only eight US states have genetically sequenced more than 1% of their total coronavirus cases during the pandemic, compared to a national average just under 0.4%, according to data updated late Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They include:

Meanwhile, 18 states have sequenced less than 0.1% of their confirmed cases.

These numbers come from sequences in a publicly accessible database from January 2020 to present, and may not represent the full number of samples that have been analyzed.

US labs have submitted 99,000 sequences of the coronavirus – less than 0.4% of its total cases -- to a genomics database known as GISAID. In comparison, the UK has submitted nearly 220,000 -- just over 5.5% of its total cases.

The US has been ramping up its sequencing efforts and is on track to process at least 7,000 samples per week, according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. But more sequencing is needed to track the spread of variants across the country.

“Once we have more sequencing that's happening, we'll have a better idea as to how many variants there are and what proportion are out there,” Walensky said during a White House briefing Monday.

Experts have previously told CNN that the US should aim to sequence 5% to 10% of cases, in line with sequencing efforts in the UK. Given cases over the past seven days, this would amount to roughly 38,000 to 76,000 sequences in a week.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Agency (CDC) has released a new public service announcement featuring iconic scenes from action movies to encourage Americans to wear masks.  

Scenes from films like "Austin Powers," "The Matrix" and "Mad Max" have been edited to include starring characters wearing masks.  

The 30-second spot asks the viewer to “SLOW THE SPREAD!” so that we can get back to “doing our favorite things.” 

Watch the video:

New data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that double masking -- using a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask, like a disposable blue surgical mask -- can significantly improve protection from Covid-19. 

They also found that overall performance of medical procedure masks alone can be improved by folding mask edges inward and knotting ear loop strings where they meet mask fabric to reduce gaps.

A knotted medical mask can block 63% of aerosols that may contain coronavirus, a significant improvement from blocking only 42% of particles when unknotted. The findings were published Wednesday in the CDC’S Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Beginning in January 2021, the CDC tested the double masking and knotting methods to evaluate mask performance protection. Researchers found the effectiveness of cloth and medical procedure masks can be improved by ensuring they are well fitted to the contours of the face to prevent air and particles from escaping from gaps around the mask’s edges.

The study found that when both a source of infection and uninfected source were both fitted with double masks, the uninfected person’s exposure to potentially infectious particles was reduced by 96.4%.

When both people wore knotted and tucked masks alone, the uninfected person’s cumulative exposure to potentially infectious particles was reduced by 95.9%.

Both findings highlight the importance of a good fit to maximize mask performance to reduce exposure.

It is unclear how or if the CDC will incorporate these new findings into its mask recommendations.

The CDC team used a medical procedure mask, like blue surgical masks, and a three-layered cloth mask for a total of twelve different mask combinations. They performed tests using various combinations of no mask, double masks, and unknotted or knotted and tucked medical procedure masks.

When studying ‘double masking’ these experiments utilized one cloth over one medical mask. The researchers did not include any other combinations of masks, such as cloth over cloth, medical procedure mask over medical procedure mask, or medical procedure mask over cloth.

The study also did not provide any guidance on mask fitting. 

“The data in this report underscore the finding that good fit can increase filtration efficiency. Multiple simple ways to achieve better fit have been demonstrated to be effective,” the analysis reads.  

“Until vaccine-induced population immunity is achieved, universal masking is a highly effective means to slow the spread," it added.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released recommendations Monday for the safest way to celebrate Valentine’s Day during the pandemic, suggesting people gather virtually unless they live together. 

The agency advised Americans to drop off Valentine cards or decorations. Activities for Valentines to do together included taking a walk, preparing a special meal or dessert, planning a special movie or game night and having a picnic outside.

The CDC said celebrating outdoors is safer than indoors if a person is meeting someone who does not live with them. 

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Seventy-one percent of Americans are now willing to get Covid-19 vaccines, up from 65% in late December and the highest number on record since July, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.

Of those unwilling to get a vaccine:

The number of both Republicans and Democrats willing to be vaccinated, 51% and 91% respectively, is the highest percentage for each group to date. Since late December, willingness is up six percentage points among Republicans and eight percentage points among Democrats.

The poll, which had a margin of error of ±2% pts., also found that two-thirds of Americans were not satisfied with how vaccination is going in the US -- including 21% who are “very dissatisfied.” Thirty-four percent of Americans are satisfied, including 4% who are “very satisfied.”

The poll was conducted January 25-31 and included a random sample of 4,098 Americans age 18 and over.

Denmark is recording increasing case numbers of the UK coronavirus variant, the State Serum Institute (SSI) said Wednesday in a report.

The coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the UK on September 20, "has been found among 1,690 people in Denmark in the period from 14 November to 2 February," the SSI said.

In the first week of February, 27.1% of positive cases analyzed for their genetic material were carrying the B.1.1.7 variant, up from 20% the week before, according to the SSI.

A reproduction rate (or R number) of 1 would mean each person with coronavirus will infect an average of one other person.

The SSI report added that coronavirus restrictions currently in place might have led to a decrease in the R number over the last week, however that development "must be interpreted with caution, as there may be variation over time, and it is too early to assess whether there is a stable trend."

The World Health Organization on Wednesday released its interim recommendations for using the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in people 18 and older. The new guidance was developed based on advice issued by its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization.

WHO recommends the vaccine is administered eight to 12 weeks apart.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is administered as an intramuscular injection and has an efficacy of 63.09% against symptomatic coronavirus infection, according to WHO's interim recommendations.

WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said on Wednesday that SAGE had already made recommendations on the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and that in "in the coming weeks, you will see more recommendations coming out as we review the evidence from the different candidates."

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the time interval recommended by the WHO for doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.