COVID-19 Up

2021-03-01 00:20:01 Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Less Effective in People With Obesity, Says Study

@COVID19Up: The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may be less effective in people with obesity, data suggests.

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 SARS-CoV-2.
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-28 23:40:01 Fauci Lays Out Timeline for Vaccinating Teens, Children

@COVID19Up: The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday that high school students could begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in the fall, while younger children will likely have to wait until early next year.

Speaking with NBC, Fauci explained that more data is needed to make sure the three vaccines authorized by the FDA can be safely administered to younger children.

"If you project realistically when we'll get enough data to be able to say that elementary school children will be able to be vaccinated, I would think that would be at the earliest the end of the year and very likely the first quarter of 2022," said Fauci.

"But for the high school kids, it looks like sometime this fall," he continued. "I'm not sure it's exactly be on the first day the school opens but pretty close to that."
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-28 23:05:00 New Brazil SARS-CoV-2 "Variant of Concern" Discovered in UK, Health Officials Warn

@COVID19Up: The Brazil COVID-19 "variant of concern" first detected in the city of Manaus has been discovered in the UK.

Three cases of the new variant, known as P1, have been found in south Gloucestershire, Public Health England said on Sunday.

The other three were detected in Scotland, but are not linked to the England cases, according to the Scottish government.
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-28 05:54:53 New York Mandates Dance "Zones," Distancing When Weddings Resume

@COVID19Up: New York's new coronavirus-era dance rules aren't exactly "Footloose" strict, but don't plan on cutting loose and kicking off the Sunday shoes with just anybody.

The state says that when wedding receptions resume next month, guests will be allowed to hit the dance floor only with members of their immediate party, household or family seated at the same table.

Even then, the rules say, dancers must wear face masks and stay within their own "dancing areas or zones"—spaces that should be at least 36 square feet (3.3 square meters) in size and positioned at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart from other dance zones and tables.

Happy couples can still take a twirl for a ceremonial first dance, and other couples can join in, but they must all stay 6 feet apart.

Live music performers and other entertainers are allowed, but if they're unmasked or playing a wind instrument, they must be separated from attendees by 12 feet (4 meters) or an appropriate physical barrier.
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-28 04:49:52 Auckland, New Zealand Faces 7-Day Lockdown After COVID-19 Case of Unknown Origin Detected

@COVID19Up: New Zealand's prime minister has announced the country's biggest city, Auckland, will go into a seven-day lockdown after a COVID-19 case was detected.

From Sunday, two million people will only be allowed to leave their home for essential shopping and essential work, Jacinda Ardern said, and all public venues will remain closed.

Restrictions in the rest of the country will be tightened to level two restrictions, including limits on public gatherings, following the discovery of the case of unknown origin.
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-28 03:53:54 Italy Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions as Experts Warn of Growing Prevalence of Variants

@COVID19Up: Italy on Saturday announced it was tightening restrictions in five of the country's 20 regions in an effort curb the spread of the coronavirus as health experts and scientists warn of more transmissible variants.

For the first time since late January, two regions—Basilicata and Molise—have been placed in the country's red-zone, the strictest tier of Italy's color-coded system.

All bars, restaurants and non-essential businesses must close and movement will be severely limited.

In Lombardy, Marche and Piedmont, restaurants and bars must close except for carry-out. Residents are also not allowed to leave their towns except for emergencies or health and work reasons.

“Many outbreaks are due to the (new) variants. I am concerned about the progress of the epidemic," said Gianni Rezza, a senior health ministry adviser.
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-28 00:34:51 Restrictions Ease in Some of Mexico's Most Popular Tourist Cities Ahead of Spring Break Season

@COVID19Up: The Mexican state of Quintana Roo is softening its coronavirus restrictions following a decrease in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the area, officials announced Thursday.

The entire state, which includes the major tourist destinations of Cancún, Tulum and Playa del Carmen, will begin to permit hotels, restaurants, shops, theaters and theme parks to operate at 60% capacity next week. Previous limits on hotel and restaurant capacities were 30%.

The news comes just before Mexico's busy spring break season and despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's January warning for Americans not to visit Mexico because of "very high" levels of the coronavirus. New U.S. entry restrictions that require a negative coronavirus test result of all arrivals were also mentioned in the CDC warning, which remains at a highest-possible Level 4.

"Travelers should avoid all travel to Mexico," the CDC's Mexico travel warning states. "Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. CDC recommends that you do not travel at this time."
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-27 23:14:52 Chinese Teams Have Been Looking for Vaccines for COVID-19 Variants for "a Long Time," Expert Says

@COVID19Up: Chinese teams began looking at vaccines to fight COVID-19 variants “a long time ago," according to a leading military medical scientist.

“We are running extended targeted studies tracking [vaccine] safety via national databases. We are also tracking the vaccine’s efficacy rate against the latest mutations,” Chen Wei, a researcher at the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences, said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday.

“We have been tracking and analyzing a global database of COVID-19 patients with more than 400,000 samples through genetics and biologics. Our labs then cross-examine the responses of virus variants—such as the Brazilian, South African and British strains—to existing vaccines,” she said.
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-27 22:37:59 Palestinians Shut West Bank Schools to Contain SARS-CoV-2 Variants

@COVID19Up: Schools in the occupied West Bank will shut down for 12 days in an effort to stop a sharp rise in SARS-CoV-2 variant infections, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said on Saturday.

High schools will be exempt from the closure which will begin on Sunday, Shtayyeh said in a televised address, adding the new restrictions were prompted by a large number of cases of the British and South African variants in the territory.

Intensive care units for COVID-19 patients have reached 95% occupancy in the West Bank and schools have been identified as a major cause for the fast spread of infections, the Ministry of Health said.

On Thursday, it reported that a randomized sample of COVID-19 patients showed that more than three-quarters were infected with the British variant.
SOURCE | TIP

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2021-02-27 21:54:50 People Who've Had COVID-19 Might Only Need to Get Vaccinated Once, Studies Suggest

@COVID19Up: Six recent studies suggest that people who've already come down with COVID-19 might not need to get a second vaccine dose.

The federal government has not changed its recommendation for a second dose, but studies that look at the immune response show that while a first shot gives people who've recovered from COVID-19 a huge boost, the second shot makes little difference.

"I think that makes perfect sense," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

For someone who had COVID-19, the first shot is like a COVID-19-naive person getting a booster—they even have the side effects of someone getting a second vaccine dose, he said.

"You could argue reasonably that people who can prove they were infected—i.e., have antibodies to the virus—could reasonably just get one dose," Offit said.
SOURCE | TIP

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