The Chicago Journal

Hospitals still filled despite a dropping number of patients

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on March 20, 2023

Hospitals – The 2020 Covid-19 outbreak resulted in serious issues since US hospitals were overrun with sick people.

Patients regularly filled the hallways and rooms due to the high patient volume.

However, vaccinations have helped to lessen the problem.

Despite the virus’ lower danger, hospitals in the US are nonetheless congested.

Winter recovery

The COVID-19, the flu, and RSV posed a triple danger to the US during the winter.

As a sign that the country has been healing, the majority of states now report little to no activity in respiratory diseases.

According to government statistics, there have been 30% fewer visits to emergency departments for respiratory conditions since January.

The number of flu-related hospitalizations is almost at its lowest point since October.

4% of hospital beds are still occupied by patients statewide, notwithstanding a recent reduction in Covid-19 admissions.

A shift

The new data reveals a dramatic change between January 2022 and the first Omicron wave, when Covid-19 patients overran hospitals.

However, the situation is still packed in hospitals, and it doesn’t appear that things will improve any time soon.

Experts claim that hospitals already struggled with capacity and resource challenges since patients were sicker than ever before to the epidemic.

According to Nancy Foster, vice president for patient safety and quality at the American Hospital Association:

“It’s been a continuing trend over the last decade or so that there’s been this greater acuity of patients inside the hospitals.”

“So what you see is this incredibly sick group of people inside of hospitals.”

“If you’re a doctor or nurse or respiratory therapist or pharmacist or any other health professional working inside the hospital, that means it’s always a difficult puzzle you’re trying to solve to help that patient out.”

Factors

The patient mix at hospitals is comparable to pre-pandemic levels, according to Aaron Wesolowski, vice president of policy research, analytics, and strategy at the American Hospital Association.

According to Foster, if the number of Covid-19 patients decreases, so too could the stress on medical personnel, which at first felt resentful of the limited resources available to help them.

Read also: Teenagers using social media should be older than 13

However, according to Wesolowski’s analysis of Strata data, fewer people attended inpatient and emergency departments in 2022 than they did in 2019.

Experts claim that several complex issues grew worse during the course of the epidemic, taxing the available resources.

“Length of stay is longer because people are needing more acute care,” said Wesolowski.

“Because of work force pressures, there are not as many people who can be treated in an inpatient setting all at once.”

“So both things, I think, can be true.”

Samuel Scarpino, the director of Northeastern University’s AI and life sciences department, believes that the current situation is characterized by a “perfect storm” of issues, including the following:

  • Covid-19 and ongoing control measures hospital use to keep in place
  • A backlog of patients with a delayed need for acute care
  • A workforce that’s burnt out after three years of the pandemic

Covid-19, according to Scarpino, is still the most crucial component.

Instead of building additional hospital beds because a new type increases hospitalizations, hospitals must create extra beds as a safety net due to uncertainty.

“The biggest risk is almost certainty associated with what’s coming,” said Scarpino.

Flexibilities

The declaration of a pandemic emergency, according to Nancy Foster, permitted patients to use telehealth services outside of hospitals.

The emergency status has been continuously renewed by the federal government since January 2020, although it is believed that it will terminate in May.

Without the announcement, hospitals would likely have been busier than they are now, especially since the range of treatment options available outside of hospitals might once again become more limited.

“Part of the reason we have the kind of inpatient hospital scarcity that we have right now is that we do have a number of flexibilities that were granted by [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] and other federal agencies and the states during Covid that are being used for a wide variety of patients,” said Foster.

“If those were to disappear overnight, we would be struggling to care for the current level of patients.”

Image source: Vox

Mental health becomes concern following studies

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on February 13, 2023

Image source: Mashable

Mental health: The brains of teenagers in the US changed during the Covid-19 pandemic, causing them to age faster than average, according to studies.

Younger study participants reported more severe symptoms of anxiety, depression, and internalized problems.

Internalized problems typically include feelings of sadness, low self-esteem, anxiety, and difficulty regulating emotions.

The symptoms all appeared after the first year of the pandemic.

Factors

Recent studies reveal multiple factors that caused adolescent mental health to suffer during the pandemic.

Teens were pulled out of school and separated from friends and support structures.

Many were forced to live with fear and uncertainty the Coronavirus brought.

Additionally, teens witnessed their parents losing their jobs while millions lost their parents and loved ones to the Coronavirus.

The study

Titled Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, the study is among the first to examine physical changes in the brain caused by stress and anxiety.

The paper was also published last Thursday.

The research comes from a more extensive study in which scientists tried to understand gender differences in adolescent depression.

Eight years ago, scientists launched a plan to perform MRI scans on 220 children aged 9 and 13 every two years.

The team conducted two rounds of analysis before the pandemic halted their research.

As a result, they had to wait until late 2020 to resume the scanning.

Read also: Portland woman breaks into another apartment and raises mental health help concerns

The brain

By then, scientists determined that the children affected by the 2020 pandemic had brains older than their chronological age.

The brain had growths in the amygdala and hippocampus.

The amygdala is the area regulating anxiety and stress, while the hippocampus is the area controlling access to memories.

During this time, tissues in the cortex, the part of the brain that controls executive functions, have thinned.

While a child’s brain naturally changes over time, research has shown that physical changes can happen more quickly in the face of significant adversity.

Other studies show that the brains of people who experience abuse, neglect, poverty and family problems early in life age faster.

They are also prone to later mental health issues.

Findings

The study’s lead author is Ian Gotlib, who teaches psychology at Stanford University.

He said the team expected to find a problem behind anxiety and depression.

However, they weren’t sure what they’d find with the MRI scans.

“The pandemic has not been kind to adolescent mental health,” said Gotlib.

“It’s always interesting to do research like this when you’re not really sure what’s going to happen.”

“These effects were interesting and happened pretty quickly.”

“This wasn’t just a one-year shutdown,” Gotlib added.

“So we didn’t know that the effects on the brain would be this pronounced after that short a period of stress.”

“It tracks with the mental health difficulties that we’re seeing.”

Ian Gotlib says it is unclear whether brain changes will have an impact as they grow older.

Future plans

Ian Gotlib’s team plans to examine ten children from the study who had Covid-19 to see if there is a different effect.

He noted that the physical difference is more pronounced in children with Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the diversion chief of pediatric neurology at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Dr. Max Wiznitzer, agreed that the brain changes were interesting.

However, he stressed whether the mental health issues persist is more important.

“The anatomy is not important,” said Wiznitzer, who was uninvolved with the research.

“It’s the functionality that’s important.”

“The clinical consequence here is the functional impact, the mental health condition clinically and how it’s functioning and how you deal with it.”

Wiznitzer also said that people can manage anxiety or depression with the right mental health interventions.

“The brain has that capacity for reorganization – or call it improvement, if you will,” said Wiznitzer.

Read also: Dylan Sessler’s One-on-One Mental Health Coaching Helps People Overcome Their Struggles

Other notes

Ian Gotlib is hopeful that parents and guardians will remember that mental health consequences can linger despite the end of lockdowns and school closures.

“Be sure that your adolescent or your teen is getting any help that he or she, that they, might need if they’re experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or being withdrawn.”

Reference:

Teens’ brain aged faster during the first year of the pandemic, study says, and stress may be to blame

Covid-19 surges among senior citizens or ‘senior waves’

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on January 30, 2023

Image source: Vox

Covid-19: Despite a spike in hospitalizations throughout the majority of states in the winter of 2022, Covid-19 has only slightly increased.

When compared to other surges, the overall rate is still a very small portion of what it once was.

Cases involving senior individuals have so far been the only prominent exception.

Senior hospitalization

The age difference is at its widest degree ever as senior hospitalizations approach the height of the Delta spike.

In Covid-19, the hospitalization rate for seniors has been four times higher than the national average since October.

There was never a gap between nursing facilities greater than threefold, even during the winter spike in 2020.

Seniors who tested positive for Covid-19 during the pandemic have repeatedly been a source of concern.

Only 13% of all cases reported in the US were adults 65 years of age or older, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, that age group has been responsible for 50% of all hospitalizations and 75% of all deaths.

According to larger trends, the hospitalization rate for seniors in Covid-19 has changed.

Before seeing a steep drop in the summer, it hit a record high during the Omicron spike last winter.

However, senior hospitalization rates have often been greater than those of other age groups.

Age Gap

Professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, Dr. Eric Topol, has termed the latest increase the “senior wave.”

“Right now, we have an immunity wall built up against the Omicron family – between shots and prior infections and combinations thereof – that seems to be keeping younger folks in pretty good stead,” said Topol.

“But the immune systems of people of advanced age are not as strong.”

Topol says that the most recent wave is likely having disproportionately severe effects on young people who have immunocompromised systems.

To assess the trends in that age range, however, not enough data is available.

According to Dr. Eric Topol, a factor in the growth in senior hospitalization rates may have been the underuse of medications like Paxlovid and new, immune-evasive variants.

He emphasized booster deficiency as the main culprit, notwithstanding the appallingly low rates.

“It all points to waning immunity,” said Topol.

“If more seniors had their booster, the effect would be minimal.”

Read also: Skincare Essential Recommended by a Dermatologist

Vaccines & boosters

Only a third of those 65 and older had an updated booster shot, according to CDC data, which worries experts.

Infectious diseases and geriatric medicine specialist Dr. Preeti Malani from University of Michigan Health said: “It’s very, very concerning.”

“There’s a sizable number of people who actually got previous boosters who have not gotten this one and I worry that there’s confusion, there’s misinformation,” Malani added.

“So to seniors – and to everyone – I say: if you have not been boosted, get boosted.”

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 60% of seniors were concerned about an increase in Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions this winter.

More over 40% of respondents said they were concerned about becoming sick, but almost as many said they had no immediate plans to get the new booster.

Additionally, 25% of seniors claim they don’t have any plans to get a booster and will only do so if it’s required.

Communities

Vaccinations and booster doses continue to be effective at preventing serious illnesses.

Seniors still utilize boosters more frequently than other age groups, despite their low uptake.

Less than 10% of adults under 50 and less than 5% of children got their most recent booster, according to CDC data.

Despite this, experts insist that the difference in hospitalization rates cannot be explained by the expanding gap in vaccination rates alone.

“The truth is that, really, anyone can get this,” said Dr. Preeti Malani.

“But the older you are, the more likely you are to have severe symptoms, the more likely you are to be hospitalized, and the more likely you are to die.”

According to experts, viral diseases like COVID-19 spread equally among older and younger people.

Seniors are often introduced to Covid-19 by family, friends, and the greater community since they are more likely to suffer more serious consequences.

“Seniors are the most at risk, but we bring it to them,” said Malani.

“A thing unique to older adults is that many of them are grandparents and many of them provide childcare for their grandchildren.”

“So they sometimes get infected from their grandkids, who may also be going to school or daycare.”

Malani also emphasized the particular risks that senior citizens who live in communal settings, like nursing homes, present.

Read also: Mental health becomes concern following studies

Nursing homes

Despite how vulnerable they may appear, seniors do not constitute the majority of population growth.

A government watchdog report from earlier this month discovered a strong connection between breakouts in nursing homes and community spread.

This winter, nursing homes are at risk once more.

With the exception of the initial winter wave and the Omicron wave, weekly cases among residents have already surpassed previous highs.

They continue to rise.

However, according to information from the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, only 22% of the staff and 47% of the residents had received all of their vaccines.

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ executive director, Janet Hamilton, said:

“We all would have hoped that we would have a vaccine that prevents transmission. We don’t have a vaccine that does that, but it does reduce transmission and it does reduce severe outcomes.”

Hamilton underscored the importance of vaccination for elders who interact with other seniors in order to avoid detrimental consequences.

“But really, any individuals that come in contact with high-risk groups need to be the primary focus for getting vaccinated.”

Reference:

A Covid-19 ‘senior wave’ is diving up hospitalizations

Pfizer cleared of stroke risks, CDC and experts claim

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on January 16, 2023

Image source: National Council on Aging alt

Pfizer: Despite the necessity of Covid-19 booster doses and vaccinations in general, some people still opt not to get the shots due to fear of getting sick.

Seniors, in particular, are anxious about the injections’ potential side effects since many have developed a phobia of strokes.

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted studies to dispel such concerns.

Surveillance

The discovery prompted the implementation of a CDC surveillance system that Pfizer’s omicron Covid variant booster dose was linked to an increased risk of stroke in adults 65 and older.

In collaboration with networks across the US, the CDC’s Immunization Safety offices, and a comprehensive healthcare organization, the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) system was developed.

It monitors and evaluates the safety of vaccinations using electronic health data from affiliate facilities.

It includes information on the type administered, the vaccination date, and any other vaccines received on the same day.

The VSD also utilizes information on health problems identified during doctor visits, ER visits, urgent care visits, and hospital stays.

Statement

The CDC issued a press release on its website on Friday.

“Following the availability and use of the updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines, CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), a near real-time surveillance system, met the statistical criteria to prompt additional investigation into whether there was a safety concern for ischemic stroke in people ages 65 and older who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent.“

“Rapid-response investigation of the signal in the VSD raised a question of whether people 65 and older who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Vivalent were more likely to have an ischemic stroke in the 21 days following vaccination compared with days 22-42 following the vaccination.“

A review of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services database found that there was no increased risk of stroke as a result of the modified vaccines.

Additionally, Pfizer-BioNTech’s global safety database has not discovered any signs of stroke in connection with the updated injections.

Read also: Covid-19 surges among senior citizens or ‘senior waves’

Detection

A CDC spokesperson said the problem was first brought up in late November.

The CDC began looking into the possibility of seniors suffering a stroke 21 days after receiving the Pfizer injection when it was discovered in the middle of December, and worries persisted.

For Moderna boosters, the initial signal and results were the same.

The representative stated that 130 patients 65 and older who had the Pfizer omicron booster injection suffered strokes within 21 days.

More than 550,000 seniors who had their booster injection reported the data.

According to the CDC, no other monitoring system has so far detected any issues with the Pfizer booster.

Data

No extra stroke risk was noted when researchers examined the data from the following sources:

  • Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs
  • The Vaccine Adverse Reporting System
  • Pfizer’s global safety database

“Although the totality of the data currently suggests that it is very unlikely that the signal in VSD represents a true clinical risk, we believe it is important to share this information with the public, as we have in the past, when one of our safety monitoring systems detects a signal,” the CDC wrote.

The CDC asserts that the monitoring system picks up signals from sources unrelated to immunization.

The agency spokesperson noted that the investigations should provide a clearer view and additional facts in the upcoming weeks.

Investigation

The Food and Drug Administration will convene a panel discussion with independent immunization authorities on January 26 to tackle the issue.

Furthermore, Pfizer said in a statement made on Friday that there is no proof between the Covid vaccination and ischemic strokes.

Pfizer, BioNTech, the CDC, and the FDA have not discovered any connections between the different monitoring systems in the United States, claims company spokesperson Kit Longley.

“Compared to published incidence rates of ischemic stroke in this older population, the companies to date have observed a lower number of reported ischemic strokes following the vaccination with the omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent vaccine,” said Longley.

The omicron injection from Pfizer is still prescribed by the CDC.

Those who have finished the primary vaccine series and are five years of age or older are eligible for the booster.

Ages six months to four years old are the youngest children that can receive an omicron injection.

Reference:

CDC says it’s ‘very unlikely’ Pfizer booster carries stroke risk for seniors after launching review

CDC & FDA identify preliminary COVID-19 vaccine safety signal for persons aged 65 years and older

Foxconn production is back, reviving iPhone city

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on December 12, 2022

Image source: The Economic Times

Foxconn, Apple’s supplier, has announced plans to gradually restore manufacturing capacity at its sprawling campus in central China.

Covid-19 restrictions and worker protests hit the site two months ago.

Statement

Known as iPhone City, Foxconn has hundreds of thousands of employees.

The Taiwanese contractor said that they recently brought the factory’s epidemic situation under control.

“We have also started to recruit new employees,” the statement said.

“And [we] are gradually moving toward the direction of restoring production capacity to normal.”

The Foxconn statement says that the fourth quarter outlook likely aligns with market consensus.

Read also: Elon Musk wary of Twitter removal from Apple

Disruption

Continued supply disruption to Foxconn’s Zhengzhou campus is costing Apple more than $1 billion a week in lost iPhone sales, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.

Ives estimates that Apple will be short on just over 10-15 million iPhones before the holiday season.

The disruptions came in October after workers left the campus over concerns about working conditions and food shortages.

The factory offered bonuses to employees due to worker shortages.

However, protests erupted in November when newly hired employees claimed management had not kept its promises.

As a result, employees clashed with security officers before the company offered them cash to quit and leave.

Analysts say the iPhone city’s manufacturing woes are speeding up Apple’s supply chain diversification outside of China.

Read also: Apple to see iPhone 14 models shipment setback

Production shift

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple recently accelerated plans to move production out of China.

Additionally, the tech giant is telling suppliers to move Apple product assembly to other countries like India and Vietnam.

Daniel Ives wrote a report on Sunday, saying:

“The shift out of China will not be easy and come with clear logistical, engineering, and infrastructure hurdles as the aggressive move to India and Vietnam now begins with the Apple ecosystem alerted.”

If Apple acted aggressively, more than 50% of iPhone production could come from India and Vietnam by the 2025/2026 fiscal year.

Reference:

Foxconn says it’s restoring production at the world’s largest iPhone factory

Jenna Ortega reveals having Covid-19 filming Wednesday

Jason Robinson Jason Robinson on December 7, 2022

Image source: Netflix

Jenna Ortega has been making waves since taking on the role of Wednesday Addams for the hit Netflix show.

While many praised the young actress’ performance, controversial reports emerged that turned people against her.

The news

Jenna Ortega is one of the brightest emerging talents in Hollywood today.

Since she took the role on Wednesday, her face has been all over the internet.

However, one scene from the Netflix show, in particular, stands out.

The star’s strange dance moves started a trend where people imitated the gothic icon.

However, the scene is now at the center of criticism and controversy.

In a recent interview with NME, Jenna Ortega confesses that the scene was filmed while she was waiting for a result of Covid-19.

Read also: Cardi B shares mouthwatering payslip to shut troll up

Details

In the NME interview, Ortega shared that she received the song (The Cramps’ Goo Goo Much) a week before filming began, giving her time to get familiar with it.

She, therefore, had to film the scene of her first day with Covid.

Jenna Ortega said she was still waiting for confirmation as her health was rapidly declining.

That morning, she felt pain and a sore throat.

“I woke up and – it’s weird,” said the actress. “I never get sick, and when I do, it’s not very bad – I had the body aches.”

She continued: “I felt like I’d been hit by a car and that a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my esophagus.” 

“They were giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on the positive result.”

Studio reaction

Although alarming, the MGM production company emailed NME to clear things up.

MGM said it made sure to follow strict protocols.

After her test was confirmed positive, production pulled Jenna Ortega out.

Read also: Cocaine Bear trailer finally unleashed

Reception

When the news broke, people had mixed feelings.

Meanwhile, Twitter was vocal.

“I love Jenna but why would she expose herself and the director like this, r [sic] we supposed to applaud them for this wtf,” one user said.

Another chimed in, saying, “That’s not the flex they think it is.”

“I love this show and loved this scene but she should’ve been at home recovering and not potentially spreading Covid,” a third wrote.

Despite the terrible news, Jenna Ortega fans came to her rescue.

“Idk why y’all blaming Jenna when you shouldn’t making [sic] someone work if they’re that sick,” a fan wrote.

Another blamed the production team instead of the actress in a lengthy tweet.

“I don’t see how it’s her fault and not on Netflix’s production team that they decided to keep filming while waiting for results when she clearly spoke up about it and had clear Covid symptoms and likely she couldn’t leave to a contract.”

Reference:

Jenna Ortega slammed after revealing she filmed iconic dance scene while having Covid-19

Health experts divided on Biden’s Covid announcement that the pandemic is over

Jason Robinson Jason Robinson on September 26, 2022

Image source: BBC

The United States is bracing for a potential COVID-19 outbreak, but President Biden has reassured people that the pandemic is over.

Last weekend, Biden wandered the halls of the Detroit Auto Show for an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, pointing to the unmasked attendees and telling the nation that the worst was over.

“We still have a problem with Covid,” he told correspondent Scott Pelley.

“But the pandemic is not over.”

Covid Efforts

His words caught the attention of some when his administration launched a campaign two weeks earlier to urge people to get vaccinated.

The call for boosters against the latest strains of COVID-19 came at the same time they received the annual flu shot.

Meanwhile, health officials recently renewed their efforts to get Congress to spend $22.4 billion to contain Covid.

Shared sentiments

President Joe Biden’s statement shared the sentiment regarding efforts to contain COVID-19.

Some public health experts feared that political motives were driving his testimony rather than putting public health at the forefront.

Others agree with Biden that the acute phase of the pandemic is over, although the United States still faces a heavy disease burden.

Covid in the United States

On average, more than 400 Americans die from COVID-19. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the number has remained unchanged in more than three months.

According to estimates by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, COVID-19 is the second leading cause of death in the country.

“In a week, that’s Twin Towers, right?” said Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health.

“It’s 9/11, week after week after week.”

He added that the high number of deaths and mortality from Covid is higher in the United States than in other rich countries.

“We’ve had a significant dip in life expectancy,” Gonsalves continued.

“By any appreciable epidemiologic data points, the pandemic is not over.”

Confusion over the definition of pandemic

In the United States, there is still some confusion over the definition of a pandemic.

A pandemic is an epidemic that occurs worldwide and affects a large number of people.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said:

“It’s sort of a term of art. There’s no criteria or some checklist that you make.”

The World Health Organization recognizes that a global health threat is something else – a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, or PHEIC.

The United States also recognizes a public health emergency, and COVID-19 is still considered a public health emergency domestically and globally.

The Administration comments

On Monday, a government official said Biden’s comments did not mark a change in policy in the fight against the coronavirus.

They also said there were no plans to lift the health emergency as of January 2020.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has promised to give states 60 days’ notice before the emergency declaration expires, a move that has yet to be made.

Reaction to Biden’s statement

Despite the official’s words, Gonsalves expressed his dismay at Biden’s claim that the pandemic was over, especially as winter approaches.

“We are terribly under-boosted and under-vaccinated in this country,” he said.

“What kind of message does it send to say ‘the pandemic is over’ when you want anyone to get shots into arms, both primary series and boosters? And you want to probably get some money out of Congress to do it?”

However, a recent Axios/Ipsos poll echoed the US president’s comment, showing that most Americans feel there is little risk of returning to their pre-Covid lives.

The survey revealed that the number of people who resumed their normal activities reached the highest level since the start of the pandemic (46%).

“I know the President is taking a lot of criticism,” Adalja chimed in. “I actually agree with him on this.”

“To me, it’s about having the tools to shift infections to the mild side and not seeing any concerns about hospital capacity,” he added.

“And we have not seen hospital capacity concerns in the United States for some time.”

Reference:

Biden’s comments about pandemic widen public health split over how US should respond to COVID-19

Biden’s Latest COVID-19 Test Result Shows Positive After Consecutive Negative Results

Claire Peterson Claire Peterson on August 1, 2022

Image source: Getty Images

President Joe Biden tested positive again for COVID-19, according to his doctor, despite testing consistently negative for days.

What happened

On Saturday morning, Dr. Kevin O’Connor sent a letter explaining that Biden has tested positive, which he says is “a rebound COVID-19 positivity,” which the doctor says is “observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid.”

The White House says Biden “has had no recurrence of symptoms and is feeling reasonably well.”

As a result, Joe Biden will not resume treatment.

Prior tests

Since contracting COVID-19, Biden has undergone further testing to monitor his recovery.

Doctor O’Connor said the president had tested negative for four consecutive days – from Tuesday evening to Friday morning.

Biden tested positive on Saturday morning.

“However, given his positive antigen test, he will reinstate strict isolation procedures,” Dr. O’Connor shared.

On Wednesday, Biden ended solitary confinement after testing negative in back-to-back antigen tests and returned in remarks from the White House Rose Garden.

Although there are no symptoms, Dr. O’Connor said, Biden will self-isolate at the White House.

Saturday

“Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again,” wrote Biden on Twitter.

“This happens with a small minority of folks. I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me.”

“I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon.”

President Joe Biden has canceled plans to travel to Delaware on Sunday and Michigan on Tuesday to support a recently passed bill aimed at boosting US semiconductor production.

The White House

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote that Biden was asymptomatic and “feels well and works isolated from the Residence to protect others.”

Another White House official said contact tracing efforts were underway on Saturday after Biden tested positive.

Last week, the President resumed White House events after testing negative, but continued to regularly wear a mask.

White House officials said they are working hard to ensure social distancing is maintained at public events at the White House.

First positive testing

President Joe Biden first tested positive on July 21 and experienced mild symptoms of COVID-19, including a runny nose, fatigue, high fever, and cough.

Biden, 79, took a five-day course from Paxlovid, which requires a medical subscription.

Paxlovid is also available through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization for the treatment of mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.

It is used for people 12 years of age and older who are at high risk of serious illness.

During the first positive test, the White House said it had 17 close contacts, but none of them tested positive.

First Lady Jill Biden has been in Delaware since the first test result. She hasn’t returned to the White House yet.

However, Jill Biden is expected to join him on his trip to Wilmington on Sunday.

Rebound cases

On May 24, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health warning warning doctors that symptoms could recur, noting that in some people the infection may simply run its course, whether vaccinated or under therapy. how to treat paxlovid.

The CDC said the majority of rebound cases involve mild illness, but no cases of severe illness have been reported.

President Joe Biden was fully vaccinated and had boosters of him in late 2021.

Infectious disease experts have urged the government to investigate rebound cases more systematically.

They pointed out that the phenomenon needs to be better characterized to understand who is most at risk and whether the standard five-day course of the drug should be extended.

Studies also show that people can pass the infection on to others when rebounding, simply boosting their reputation for understanding them better.

References:

US President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID after ‘rebound’ infection

President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19 again