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Old 02-27-2021, 01:55 PM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
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COVID cases among Florida seniors show sharp drop as DeSantis keeps vaccine focus on 65+ population

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/med...on/ar-BB1e4vHS

Cases of COVID-19 have plunged among Florida seniors, an encouraging sign for the group that’s suffered the largest number of deaths in the state — and a strong indication the disease may finally be on the retreat.

New cases dropped 56% in the past four weeks among people aged 65 and over, as survivors of disease benefited from their own immunity and nearly half of seniors were shielded by vaccinations.

Gov. Ron DeSantis made Florida the first state to open up vaccinations to anyone aged 65 or older. And while this policy initially led to crashed web sites and long lines as demand overwhelmed supply, it resulted in 45% of seniors receiving at least one dose, the second-highest rate in the United States.

Local Manatee County long-term care facility cases report 1,341 cases, an increase of 21 cases since last week, but that still represents just 4% of the overall number of cases. However, deaths linked to those Manatee County facilities increased by three this week to 174 of the 592 total deaths.

Of the 119 new cases in Manatee County reported on Saturday, 42 were pediatric cases. There are now 4,042 Manatee County children who have contracted the virus, an increase of 12 from last week. Those under the age of 18 also continue to test higher than the county average with an overall 13.4% positivity rate.
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Old 02-27-2021, 05:39 PM
 
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Reputation: 1677
FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization for J&J COVID-19 Vaccine

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/pres...vid-19-vaccine

The EUA for the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine was issued to Janssen Biotech Inc., a Janssen Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the third vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The EUA allows the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S for use in individuals 18 years of age and older.

“The authorization of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for COVID-19, to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “The FDA, through our open and transparent scientific review process, has now authorized three COVID-19 vaccines with the urgency called for during this pandemic, using the agency’s rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.”
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Old 02-27-2021, 05:52 PM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
Univ. of Miami finds New York and Brazil COVID-19 variants in South Florida

https://news.google.com/articles/CAI...S&ceid=US%3Aen

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Researchers at the University of Miami are uncovering several more COVID-19 variant strains right here in South Florida, including three cases of two different Brazil variants and now a case of the so-called New York variant.

Dr. David Andrews of UM’s Miller School of Medicine calls it “really eye-opening.”

“We’re discovering variants of many different varieties,” he adds. “From many different locations, from an array of countries and array of sources.”

Andrews, an associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, says the researchers were “very surprised in our first couple hundred sequencing results we turned up three variants originating from Brazil.”

The mutation from the United Kingdom is so far the most prevalent variant strain circulating throughout Florida — and believed to be more easily spread. In their latest statistics posted Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had verified 500 cases of that U.K. variant in Florida, most of any state in the country.

Furthermore, of a random sampling of COVID-19 positive results, the University of Miami researchers found that 25% had the U.K. variant.

But the concern with the newer New York variant, much like the Brazilian strain, is its suspected ability to bypass immunity, including from a vaccine.

“We entered into this not expecting to find any particular variant, and we found a case of the New York variant, and yes the concern for the New York variant is an immune escape mechanism as well,” Andrews says.

So, what about the millions statewide already vaccinated? While vaccines have shown to be effective against the U.K. variant, Andrews says they should be at least partially effective at protecting against other mutations.
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Old 02-27-2021, 10:47 PM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
This is an interesting take on herd immunity that I don't see mentioned very much.The scientific community seems to be divided on if there will be a fourth wave up or if the Covid trend will continue downward. (However IMO it seems as though the current majority of 'experts' are of the view that the downward trend will continue). I'm keeping an open mind and don't want to be swayed by anyone else's particular viewpoint. On Sunday I'll post about the local weekly Covid stats and give my own assessment of the numbers.

CDC scientist says the U.S. is 'nowhere close' to herd immunity

https://news.google.com/articles/CAI...S&ceid=US%3Aen

The U.S. is "nowhere close" to achieving herd immunity from Covid, and more transmissible variants mean even more people will need to get vaccinated to reach it, a CDC scientist said Friday.

To reach the threshold of herd immunity while battling new, more contagious virus strains, a higher proportion of the population needs to get vaccinated, MacNeil said at a Food and Drug Administration meeting reviewing Johnson & Johnson's application to authorize its Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.

Scientists don't believe immunity lasts forever. It weakens over time, and that could exacerbate the outbreak as previously protected people become vulnerable to infection, MacNeil said.

His comments come a week after a Wall Street Journal opinion piece claimed the U.S. will achieve herd immunity by April.

Last edited by wondermint2; 02-27-2021 at 10:57 PM..
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Old 02-28-2021, 01:48 PM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
Week over week we saw small increases in new cases for both Sarasota and Manatee Counties - however because testing also increased we saw small drops in the test positivity ratios. Hospitalizations fell by a small amount in Sarasota County while rising by a small amount in Manatee County.

While this represents the first weekly rise in new cases since the peak on the week of January 3rd through January 9th - the small rise in cases cannot be confirmed as the beginning of a new uptrend because we don't have a coinciding rise in the test positivity ratios.

So as the downtrend in new cases has stalled for the time being - I'm rating the current trend as sideways.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hospitalizations
As per the state data-base that lists hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of Covid-19:

Sarasota County:

*January 17th = 138.14 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*January 24th = 133.7 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*January 31st = 111 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
* February 7th = 82.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 14th = 60.00 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 21st = 64.14 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 28th = 59.57 Covid-19 patients hospitalized

Manatee County:

*January 17th = 81.57 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*January 24th = 87.7 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*January 31st = 79.14 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 7th = 70.43 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 14th = 58.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 21st = 50.71 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 28th = 54.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized

*I report hospitalizations as the seven day average.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cases, Tests, Positivity Rate

For the week of February 21st through February 27th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 484 (69.14 cases per day on average)
total tests = 13,938 (1991.14 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.47%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 773 (110.43 cases per day on average)
total tests = 11,234 (13,299 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 5.8%

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the week of February 14th through February 20th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 474 (67.71 cases per day on average)
total tests = 12,635 (1805 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.7%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 738 (105.43 cases per day on average)
total tests = 11,234 (1604.86 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 6.6%

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the week of February 7th through February 13th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 519 (74.14 cases per day on average)
total tests = 14,504 (2072 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.57%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 818 (116.86 cases per day on average)
total tests = 12,863 (1837.57 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 6.36%

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the week of January 31st through February 6th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 644 (92 cases per day on average)
total tests = 14,785 (2112.14 per day on average)
test positivity rate = 4.3%


Manatee County:

total positive cases = 835 (119.28 cases per day on average)
total tests = 14,528 (2075.43 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 5.7%

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the week of January 24th through January 30th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 892 (127.43 cases per day on average)
total tests = 17,443 (2491.86 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 5.1%


Manatee County:

total positive cases = 1174 (167.71 cases per day on average)
total tests = 16,884 (2383.43 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 7.04%

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the week of January 17th through January 23rd:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 1104 (157.71 cases per day on average)
total tests = 18,037 (2576.71 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 6.12%


Manatee County:

total positive cases = 1243 (177.57 cases per day on average)
total tests = 15,441 (2205.86 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 8.0%

Last edited by wondermint2; 02-28-2021 at 02:07 PM..
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Old 02-28-2021, 03:07 PM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
Pfizer vaccine may be less effective in people with obesity, says study

https://news.google.com/articles/CAI...S&ceid=US%3Aen

Italian researchers have discovered that healthcare workers with obesity produced only about half the amount of antibodies in response to a second dose of the jab compared with healthy people. Although it is too soon to know what this means for the efficacy of the vaccine, it might imply that people with obesity need an additional booster dose to ensure they are adequately protected against coronavirus.

Separate research has shown that the flu vaccine is only half as effective in people with obesity compared to those who are a healthy weight.

The new study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, provides the first direct evidence to suggest a similar problem might occur with Covid-19 vaccines.
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Old 02-28-2021, 05:53 PM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
COVID: Florida Gov. DeSantis expands who can vaccinate medically vulnerable under 65

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...65/6861853002/

Doctors, pharmacies and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) can now vaccinate people under 65 whose medical conditions make them extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus.

An executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and quietly posted to his official website late Friday expands a Dec. 23 executive order that only allowed vaccine access through hospitals for those under 65 with what are called comorbidities, or other illnesses such as cancer.

State-run sites and county health department clinics are not immunizing people under 65 for now, but all a medically vulnerable person under 65 should need to get vaccinated at a doctor’s office, pharmacy or clinic is a note from a physician. This means people under 65 with underlying conditions can get vaccinated at a Publix.

State-run sites will provide vaccines to frontline health care workers and people 65 and older, a press release from the governor's office said.

Medically vulnerable are people with cancer, heart disease and other serious ailments that put them at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill, hospitalized or dying if infected with the COVID-19 virus.

Adults with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19:

- Chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma.

- Serious heart conditions.

- Being immunocompromised, including by cancer treatments.

- Severe obesity or underlying medical conditions including diabetes, renal failure, or liver disease.

- Chronic kidney disease, Down Syndrome, Sickle Cell disease.

It also includes anyone classified as clinically extremely vulnerable based on clinical judgment and assessment by a physician.
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Old 03-01-2021, 07:42 AM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
US has a record daily increase of variant cases; Florida lags in vaccinations of oldest residents: Latest COVID-19 updates

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us...es/ar-BB1e6RQ5

The U.S. reported 306 new coronavirus variant cases Sunday, a record increase for viruses that can spread more easily, dodge some treatments and immunities, or both.

Nearly all the new cases were in three states: Florida, up 104 cases to 605; Michigan, up 85 cases to 421; and Texas, up 41 cases to 102.

Most cases – new and existing – are of B.1.1.7, a variant first seen in the United Kingdom that the CDC says could become America's predominant version in March.

Over the month of February, known variant cases quintupled from 471 to 2,463 even as total coronavirus cases were dropping from a peak in January.

However, that rapid decline in case counts has halted. On Sunday, for the first time in more than a month, most states reported rising case counts as more cases were recorded in the latest week than a week earlier.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson began distributing its vaccine Sunday, adding a third weapon to the country's COVID-19 arsenal.

Those doses will begin arriving at vaccine distribution sites as soon as Tuesday morning, according to Biden administration officials. About 4 million doses of the new vaccine should be made available this week, 20 million total during March, and another 80 million by the end of June. Because the vaccine requires only one dose, it will help protect 100 million people and take effect more rapidly than the two-dose vaccines.

More than 49.7 million Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine, a USA TODAY analysis of Centers for Disease Control data shows.

Also in the news:

- Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday that elementary school children may start being vaccinated at the end of the year or beginning of 2022. High schoolers may start getting their doses in the fall, he said.

- Florida's oldest residents lag in COVID vaccinations, state report shows
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in December limited inoculations to seniors 65 and older, he said, "The vaccines are going to be targeted where the risk is greatest, and that is in our elderly population."

But as vaccinations ramp up statewide, Florida's oldest residents are not getting the share of immunizations equivalent to the risk they bear from the fatal pathogen, especially recently.

Florida seniors 75 and older make up 62% of 30,734 residents killed by the coronavirus since the pandemic began, but only 32% of the 1,642,800 people who have received their second of the two-shot vaccine, a state report released Saturday shows.

Seniors 65 to 74, meanwhile, account for 21% of the resident death toll and about 41% of the immunized.

Last edited by wondermint2; 03-01-2021 at 08:02 AM..
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Old 03-01-2021, 11:11 AM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
State hosting coronavirus vaccine site at Manatee County mobile home park

https://www.bradenton.com/news/coron...249605513.html

The state will host a COVID-19 vaccine site and bring 3,500 doses to a senior mobile home park in Ellenton.

The three-day event at Colony Cove in Ellenton, will begin Tuesday and will be open to Florida residents 65 years old and over at Colony Cove, 101 Amsterdam Avenue. Between 9:00 am to 4:45 pm about 1,170 doses will be administered each day at the park, 101 Amsterdam Ave.
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Old 03-01-2021, 11:18 AM
 
9,028 posts, read 4,786,872 times
Reputation: 1677
DeSantis: Florida teachers, police, firefighters over 50 to get COVID-19 vaccines

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wfl...t-vaccine/amp/

Florida teachers, police officers and firefighters 50 and over will be next in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“I’ll be signing an executive order later today to expand vaccine eligibility to all sworn law enforcement officers age 50 and above, all firefighters age 50 and above, and all K-12 school personnel age 50 and above,” DeSantis said at a news conference Monday.

The governor did not go into further detail about how vaccinations for those groups will be handled, or when they can start receiving their first doses. He did not take any questions from reporters.

DeSantis said Monday that 175,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine could arrive in Florida this week. The doses would enough to cover all teachers, firefighters and police officers over 50 statewide.
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