COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

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Does this megathread still need to be pinned?  There hasn't been much new on the COVID front in months and the thread title is from 2021.

Let's wait until after this winter, and when the World Health Organization officially declares the COVID pandemic over.  Deaths and hospitalizations from COVID are rising again, after all.  

I'm not convinced that the WHO will ever officially declare the pandemic "over".  After all, they still technically say we are living in an ongoing AIDS pandemic.

We can thank the Chinese Communist Party for not using the time they spent staving off the pandemic wisely due to their prideful refusal to use more reliable western vaccines to inoculate their population (especially the most vulnerable like the elderly) before they ended their lockdowns due to public pressure. So it looks like the WHO won't be able to declare the pandemic over for a few more years, since it has only just begun for the Chinese mainland.  

Without a doubt the end of the pandemic for everyone else would have been made official as early as this spring.  

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Congress is getting complacent about COVID:

https://twitter.com/mcbridetd/status/1609536511313076224

The lack of specialized Covid-19 treatments for people with weak immune systems has left millions of Americans with limited options if they get sick as the pandemic heads into an uncertain winter.

Once heralded as game-changers for Covid patients considered at risk for getting seriously ill — one was used to treat then-President Donald Trump in 2020 — monoclonal antibodies are now largely ineffective against current Covid variants. Easier-to-administer antiviral drugs, such as Paxlovid, have largely taken their place but aren’t safe for all immune-compromised people because they interact with many other drugs.

But the federal government funding that drove drug development in the early days of the pandemic has dried up, and lawmakers have rebuffed the Biden administration’s pleas for more. Without that, there’s little incentive for drugmakers to work on new antibody treatments that could be more effective.

And without a government program like Operation Warp Speed to develop second-generation vaccines and treatments, at-risk patients could be in danger of developing severe cases of Covid and flooding hospitals when the U.S. health care system is already strained, thanks to an influx of patients with an array of respiratory illnesses, including flu and RSV.

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I think one way of obtaining 'hybrid immunity' is if you are vaccinated/boosted and living life like you did pre-Covid without taking precautions like masking and social distancing.  I imagine I have probably been infected numerous times without even realizing it:

Hybrid Immunity: Why It Is Highly Effective Against Covid And Hospitalization

Get those vaccines, people, boosters and all.  You're better off with them than without them.  

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It was always going to be a winter of transition, as we leave the Covid pandemic behind in the rearview mirror, but then reacquaint our immune systems with the usual seasonal viruses as we abandon lockdowns, masking, social distancing, and other measures we took to fight the pandemic.  It is good to see it wasn't quite as bad as feared:

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1616624385153982464

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The vast majority of those with Long Covid are unvaccinated, or were when they were infected.  Just an FYI:

https://twitter.com/NYTHealth/status/1617964837664874497
And for those without a New York Times subscription:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/long-covid-is-keeping-people-out-of-the-workforce/

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https://twitter.com/JulianneMcShane/status/1618623618103279617

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Starting this year, it looks like we may be entering the endemic stage, and that we are going to treat COVID like the flu going forward with most of us getting a single, annual COVID shot updated for the latest variants:

FDA panel votes to move to one form of COVID vaccine
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An FDA advisory panel endorsed a one-shot approach to COVID-19 vaccination. Here’s what that means

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Time to rename this megathread: the Beginning of the End.

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1620197029149278209

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Seems to be the logical next step, as COVID has (like the flu) effectively become endemic:

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1623828101493817344

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Another anti-vax conspiracy theory goes down in a fiery death:

New study finds COVID-19 vaccines protect pregnant people from severe complications

A UW-backed study found that vaccinations offer pregnant people significant protection against severe COVID-19-related complications during pregnancy. The multinational study, published last month in The Lancet medical journal, provided new insight on the importance of vaccinations and boosters for pregnant people.

The study, led by the University of Oxford, is the largest of its kind, involving 41 hospitals across 18 countries. Various UW Medicine sites, including UW Medical Center - Montlake, UW Medical Center - Northwest, and Harborview Medical Center were among some of the United States medical centers that participated in this study. Dr. Michael Gravett and Dr. Alisa Kachikis, both obstetrician-gynecologists within the UW School of Medicine, led the Seattle research effort, gathering data from 75 people across the UW medical complex.

Of the 4,618 people who participated, 1,545 tested positive for COVID-19 while the remaining 3,073 people remained negative. Research for this study was conducted between Nov. 27, 2021 and June 30, 2022, a time in which infection due to the omicron variant had just begun.

This study is a followup to a 2021 UW-backed study that also examined maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in relation to COVID-19 infections. However, the previous study did not cover the effectiveness of the vaccine and the bivalent booster in protecting pregnant people from newer variants of COVID-19, like omicron. In the 2023 study, researchers were mainly focused on observing the evolution of the virus in pregnant people.

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The two main reasons for why we made it through relatively unscathed this winter -we have pretty much achieved (hard-won) herd immunity by this point both because of mass vaccinations and prior infections, and the sub-variants we have seen popping up thus far are all descended from the original omicron variant:

https://twitter.com/AmeshAA/status/1631676067017572353

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The Biden administration has clearly given up on getting any extra COVID funding, especially with Republicans controlling the House:

The latest sign the White House Covid operations are winding down? Its proposed budget

President Joe Biden is not expected to seek significant new Covid funding as part of his forthcoming budget proposal, the latest sign that the White House is preparing to wind down its emergency response operation later this year.

The move comes as Biden has insisted that the public health crisis is under control, and amid a broader administration shift toward new priorities aimed at bolstering the post-pandemic economy and lowering consumer costs.

The White House proposal, which is scheduled for release Thursday, is expected to drop a call Biden made last year for tens of billions of dollars to fuel the ongoing crisis response, including purchasing more vaccines and treatments, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

The budget may also leave out the administration’s prior request for new funding to jumpstart research aimed at developing the next generation of Covid vaccines and therapeutics. Health officials are currently discussing whether there’s existing money that can be reallocated toward the project.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget declined to comment, and the people familiar with the matter cautioned that the details of the budget proposal were not finalized and could still change.

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Long-covid symptoms are less common now than earlier in the pandemic

Americans infected with the coronavirus’s omicron variant are less likely to develop symptoms typical of long covid than those who had covid-19 earlier in the pandemic, according to the largest-ever study of who is most vulnerable to being sickened — or debilitated — by the virus’s lingering effects.

The analysis of nearly 5 million U.S. patients who had covid, a study based on a collaboration between The Washington Post and research partners, shows that 1 in 16 people with omicron received medical care for symptoms associated with long covid within several months of being infected. Patients exposed to the coronavirus during the first wave of pandemic illness — from early 2020 to late spring 2021 — were most prone to develop long covid, with 1 in 12 suffering persistent symptoms.

This pattern mirrors what leading doctors who treat long covid — and some scientists who study it — have noticed as the coronavirus pandemic evolves. But the reasons they offer for the shifting rates are closer to conjecture than to proof.

“Long covid is a complicated beast,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a major researcher into the phenomenon.

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Get ready for Operation Warp Speed's sequel -Project NextGen:

The Biden administration Monday announced a $5 billion program to accelerate the development of next-generation COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

Like Operation Warp Speed, which developed and distributed vaccines in the early days of the pandemic, Project NextGen will cut across government agencies and involve public-private collaborations, a senior Biden official told USA TODAY.

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Project NextGen has three primary goals, which Osterholm and colleagues laid out in a "roadmap" issued in February: Develop a nasal vaccine that will hopefully prevent infection as well as severe disease; develop longer-lasting vaccines; and create “broader” vaccines that protect against all variants and several different coronaviruses

It will also include funding to develop more durable monoclonal antibodies resistant to new variants, according to the administration. Antibodies were highly effective treatments earlier in the pandemic but have not been able to keep up with the virus as it evolved and are no longer available.

The administration said the initial allocation of $5 billion for Project NextGen will be financed through money saved from contracts costing less than originally estimated. The investment was first reported Monday by the Washington Post.

source

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Like the flu, it is well-advised to get an annual COVID shot as autumn begins:

New Covid vaccines are on the way as 'Eris' variant rises

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FDA approves new COVID booster amid rising cases, hospitalizations
The booster could be available as early as this week.

Of course, there is a process to be followed:

Next, an independent advisory panel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on Sept. 12 to provide recommendations on who should be eligible for the new booster. The final step will be a sign-off from the CDC director.

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This isn't just about COVID:

Moderna Says Covid Booster Works Against New Variant. What to Know About Fall Shots

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FDA signs off on updated protein-based Covid-19 vaccine from Novavax

Also, we are one step closer to a combo vaccine -2025 is the earliest we can see it happen:

Moderna’s flu-Covid combo vaccine elicits ‘strong’ immune response in Phase 1/2 study, company says

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Having fully recovered (after a full month upon my return) from a COVID infection I contracted while traveling overseas that I did not know was COVID until the doctor told me just this week, it would have been nice to have had a COVID test kit that wasn't expired that gave me a false negative result:

Need COVID-19 Tests? Here's How You Can Order More Free At-Home Kits

https://special.usps.com/testkits

It felt like a bad head cold without the nasal congestion, plus the chest pain as a result of the coughing from the chest congestion. 

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Better hit that gym -it could help you in more ways than one:

Exercise has a wide variety of health benefits beyond staying in shape, and one of the main ones is boosting immunity. And as it turns out, according to a study, exercising regularly could boost the benefits of your COVID-19 vaccine.

Researchers examined 200,000 men and women in South Africa, collecting data regarding vaccinations, COVID outcomes and exercise routines. They found COVID vaccination was effective in protecting them against serious infection. However, it was most effective in those who exercised on a frequent basis.

Emphasis mine.