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Concern over slow rise of COVID-19 cases

October 14, 2020

Mike Murphy, Messenger Post Media USA Today Network
Published 5:01 a.m. ET Oct. 14, 2020

HOPEWELL, NY — The Ontario County Public Health Department on Tuesday expressed concern over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the county and is urging all residents to step up prevention efforts to reduce its spread.

The county has seen an increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 — in hospitals, colleges, assisted living centers and the general public — and a slight increase in hospitalizations since Oct. 1.

“We are seeing a slow rise of COVID-19 cases similar to other counties

Boris Johnson Unveils Three-Tier Lockdowns To Slow Outbreak Despite Local Allies’ Pushback

October 12, 2020

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KEY POINTS

Boris Johnson has announced a three-tiered system of lockdowns to combat the resurgent pandemic
Under the system, Liverpool would close pubs and ban gatherings. Manchester, another outbreak hotspot, has not agreed to the measures
Other countries in Europe and the United States also face a second wave, threatening to overwhelm hospitals and intensive care units

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced a new three-tiered lockdown plan as COVID-19 surges once more across Europe and the United States. Under the plan, virus hotspots like Liverpool and Greater Manchester would close pubs and also ban gatherings. Greater Manchester has not yet agreed to the measure, and local leaders in Liverpool and across the U.K. have voiced objections to the implementation of the measures.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said in a statement that the restrictions were “not something regional leaders supported, nor what I believed would be happening

CDC study: ‘Urgent need’ to slow spread of coronavirus among young adults

October 9, 2020

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A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released Friday warned that there is an “urgent need” to address the spread of the coronavirus among young adults.

The study found that increases among transmission in younger people are often a precursor to transmission among older, higher-risk people.

The study examined 767 counties in June and July that were “hot spots,” meaning they had high levels of virus spread. The study found that the spread of the virus, measured by the percentage of positive tests, began rising first in people aged 24 and under, before later rising in older, more vulnerable age groups.

The findings “provide evidence that among young adults, those aged 18–24 years demonstrate the earliest increases in percent positivity; and underscore the importance of reducing transmission from younger populations to those at highest risk for severe illness or death,” the study said

“Addressing transmission among young adults

This was to be the year for California’s homeless. Instead it’s a slow ‘train wreck’

October 7, 2020

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Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority outreach worker Monica Palma, center, visits with Kim M. and her dog Dee-O-G who live homeless under the Santa Monica Freeway along Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles on July 8. <span class="copyright">(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)</span> — Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority outreach worker Monica Palma, center, visits with Kim M. and her dog Dee-O-G who live homeless under the Santa Monica Freeway along Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles on July 8. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The message wasn’t lost on Daniel Gonzalez.

Early in the pandemic, one of the first things Imperial County did to ward off the virus was close the public bathrooms and, later, public cooling centers. In this sprawling Southern California desert, where summer brings blistering triple-digit heat, that lack of access could amount to a death sentence for people without shelter.

People like Gonzalez, homeless the past two years, were simply not a priority.

Months into the coronavirus shutdown, Gonzalez, 47, felt lonely. Calexico’s quiet downtown had emptied out. July highs were topping 110, and it was uncomfortable wearing a mask in the swelter. But not having a place to

New COVID-19 study offers ways to slow down spread in San Diego’s Latino community

October 1, 2020

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SAN DIEGO — A new Chicano Federation and UC San Diego study titled “Perceptions of Contact Tracing among San Diego Latinos” analyzes the impacts of COVID-19 on San Diego’s Latino community.

“[We are] really educating people about contact tracing, what it is and why it is so important to participate,” said Nancy Maldonado, the Chicano Federation Chief Executive Officer.

The study interviewed 37 Latinos in San Diego, living in zip codes with the highest rates of COVID-19 positive cases and asked about their biggest barriers and perceptions of facilitators from the county. One common response was the dire need for more Spanish speakers.

“More specifically, [communication] in a way that’s linguistically and culturally appropriate in Spanish and messaging that’s going to resonate with community members,” Maldonado said.

Latino residents make up nearly two-thirds of San Diego County’s COVID-19 cases and nearly half of the deaths, although only 34% of county

Slow Lung Decline Typical in Systemic Sclerosis

September 30, 2020

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The interstitial lung disease that develops in a subset of patients with systemic sclerosis tends to be heterogeneous, with the majority of patients experiencing a slow pattern of decline in lung function, analysis of outcomes in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database found.

Among patients with available lung function data for 12 months of follow-up, 12% had significant progression of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC), meaning a decline of more than 10%; 15% had moderate progression (decline of 5% to 10%); 48% were stable (decline or improvement of less than 5%); and 25% showed improvement (increase of 5% or more), noted Oliver Distler, MD, of University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland, and colleagues.

And over 5 years of follow-up, 58% of patients showed a slow pattern of decline, with more 12-month periods of stability or improvement than of decline, the researchers reported in their study online in Annals

Slow Progress over the Past Decade

September 28, 2020

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The urgent call for more people to get a flu shot in advance of this year’s flu season comes against a discouraging backdrop of already low vaccination rates in the U.S. The annual vaccination rate among older adults ages 50+ stands at just 56 percent, even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls out this group as having much to gain from an annual flu shot. The rate was 50 percent 10 years ago, showing only a modest increase over the past decade.

Of course, the call is particularly urgent this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults, the group most at risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19, are, in effort to avoid contagion, postponing routine medical visits and pharmacy trips, both of which are opportunities to get an annual influenza vaccine. But if vaccination uptake rates do not improve, cases of the flu could