COVID-19 Updates (09/10/2021)

Mu COVID Variant That May Resist Vaccines Found in 49 U.S. States

“Nebraska is the only state in the United States to have not detected a case of the Mu variant of COVID-19, which may render vaccines less effective. Since being first identified in Colombia in January, the Mu variant has spread to 41 countries, including the United States. Most prevalent in Hawaii and Alaska, the variant accounts for less than one percent of cases in the U.S., but its potential to be more transmissible or resist vaccines and natural immunity have health officials keeping tabs on the mutation.” Read full article on Newsweek website.

ANA Urges HHS to Declare Nurse Staffing Shortage a National Crisis

“The American Nurses Association (ANA), representing the interests of the nation’s 4.2 million nurses, urges the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare the current and unsustainable nurse staffing shortage facing our country a national crisis. In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, ANA calls for the Administration to acknowledge and take concrete action to address the current crisis-level nurse staffing shortage that puts nurses’ ability to care for patients in jeopardy.” Read full letter on Nursing World website

Breakthrough Infections Twice as Likely to Be Asymptomatic

Medscape Medical News reports, “People with breakthrough COVID-19 infections are two times more likely to be completely asymptomatic and are about two-thirds less likely to be hospitalized, compared with those who are unvaccinated, according to a new observational study. Individuals infected with COVID-19 after receiving their first or second dose of either the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine experienced a lower number of symptoms in the first week of infection, compared with those who did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine, reported the authors of the report in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.”

Moderna Covid-19 booster may come later than Pfizer and a 3-dose regimen may be best, Fauci says

By John Bonifield, CNN

Updated 10:57 PM ET, Sun September 5, 2021

Booster doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine may be delayed from rolling out the week of September 20 as planned, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said that while the administration's plan had been to roll out booster doses of both Pfizer and Moderna at the same time, that may not happen.

Fauci said vaccine maker Pfizer has submitted its information to the US Food and Drug Administration and "things look like they're ready to go," Fauci told CNN's Jim Acosta.

He said Moderna might be a little bit behind that, and if it is, rather than seeing a simultaneous rollout of both products, Moderna could be rolled out a week or two later.

"I don't think that is a major issue there, but we would have liked to have seen it happen all together, simultaneously. But ultimately the plan will be implemented, as was put forth," Fauci said.

Fauci said the plan is contingent first on the companies submitting the appropriate data to the FDA, and second, getting FDA approval and then a recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisers.

Fauci said ultimately, it may turn out the proper Covid-19 immunization regimen is three doses.

"What we're observing now -- not only here in the United States but in other countries, including Israel and the UK -- (is) that the durability of the protection tends to wane, particularly in the context of the Delta variant," Fauci told CNN.

He explained how such waning can lead to both breakthrough infections and breakthrough infections that lead to hospitalizations.

"You look at the evidence from the cohorts here in the United States, there's no doubt that there is a diminution in the efficacy of the vaccine against infection, namely symptomatic infection. There's a slight suggestion in a couple of the cohorts that it also is true for a diminution of protection against hospitalization -- not profound, but the suggestion when you look at the data is there," he said.

"However, when you look at the Israeli data, and they are about a month or so ahead of us in every aspect of this -- vaccinations, boosters, etc. -- the data from the Israeli studies are that there's a rather substantial diminution in protection against infection and an unquestionable diminution in the protection against hospitalization."

Fauci said the good news is that data from Israel shows booster doses offer "profound" protection against infection and hospitalization.

"Importantly, their data also show that when you give those boosters you reconstitute, to an even higher level than before, the protection against both infection and hospitalization," Fauci said. "The boosters really jack up the response very, very high, and we hope that that response would be durable."

FlexforChecks Program Expanded to Communities Across the U.S.

Tim Rowan of “Healthcare at Home: The Rowan Report” recently announced that the HRSA grant that has been distributing funds to providers helping individuals living in minority communities to get vaccinated against COVID-19, is no longer limited to the list of communities originally presented.

Interested home health or home care agencies can register at FlexForChecks.com

As described by Mr. Rowan:

“Every time a patient or client of yours uploads proof of a vaccine shot to the official web site, they receive $50; the nurse or caregiver who connects them with a local vaccination station receives $25, and that person's employer, the agency, receives $25. Tell your unvaccinated workers if they get a shot themselves, they can collect both the $50 and the $25. For the Pfizer or Moderna two-shot vaccines, that would add up to $150.”

View Related Rowan Report Articles

Introducing Post-Acute 2.0: New Services Needed To Deliver Care At Home

Forbes / Ashish V. Shah
 
Ashish V. Shah is CEO of Dina, an AI-powered care-at-home platform, that supports the industry's transition to virtual and in-home care.
 
As care continues to move into the home setting, traditional Medicare-approved services like skilled nursing and home health care are no longer enough. Meal delivery, transportation, remote monitoring, in-home care and pest control are just a few examples of the health benefits of the future.
 
In the next five to 10 years, every home will need to be configured to operate as a formalized care setting (e.g., primary care clinic or hospital), and providers — especially those who are part of value-based contracts — need to be ready to deliver care in this setting.
 
A major challenge is replicating acute-level care in the home environment: delivering around-the-clock nursing care, continuously monitoring vital signs, supporting nutrition and social well-being needs, and providing just-in-time testing and imaging when needed.
 
There are other big considerations as well. How do you ensure the home is safe and ready for care? After discharge, what types of modifications are required to help people age in place moving forward? . . .

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