HEALTH TRAIN EXPRESS Mission: To promulgate health education across the internet: Follow or subscribe to Health Train Express as well as Digital Health Space for all the updates for health policy, reform, public health issues. Health Train Express is published several times a week.Subscribe and receive an email alert each time it is published. Health Train Express has been published since 2006.
Listen Up
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Claim Alleging Injury or Death From a COVID-19 Countermeasure to Be Compensated
Friday, December 17, 2021
Even before COVID, Dr. Michael Greiwe, knew that telemedicine technology would help his orthopedic practice, OrthoCincy, grow as well as increase his patient’s satisfaction and engagement. So he developed the OrthoLive telemedicine platform because there was nothing that met his needs as an orthopedic provider.In this episode, hosts John Ellis and Jennifer Thompson chat with Dr. Greiwe, Founder of Ortholive, which provides convenient, secure access to care while increasing efficiency, revenue, and user satisfaction without a steep or unnecessary learning curve. Listen as we discuss how telemedicine has affected the healthcare industry, the challenges, and the opportunities and what it may look like a few years from now.
Post Covid demand for healthcare continues as the cycle continues to be a seasonal one. The latest iteration of Covid 19 is now called "Omicron". It is even more easily transmitted and highly infections. Current rates of growth are double daily.
Even in non related medical specialties physicians are finding it helpful if not necessary to use telehealth to improve patient access, decrease transportation and diminish exposure especially to elderly patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, or immun-compromise. The key ingredient for prevention was and always will be vaccination. The third jab is recommended for all those who are eligible.
Tune in to discover:
- The process and the challenges of implementing telemedicine
- The evolution and role of improved technology
- What happens to telemedicine post-COVID?
- Is there data that correlates to increased revenue for practices?
- Is telemedicine a sustainable model where healthcare clinics use telemedicine to fill empty appointment slots?
- The accessibility of telemedicine for rural communities and healthcare practices
Saturday, December 11, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) continues to reshape the globe.
New York's COVID Surge Is Back and So Is Its Mask Mandate.
The resurgence of Covid 19 appears to have become regional, and appears in waves. The earliest cases in the United States were easily found to be near and around international airports originating from airline traffic from South Africa. It did not take long for community outbreaks to occur. Twenty-first Century travel and transportation makes case tracking very difficult, since public health resources are already strained.
Mask fatigue and vaccine resistance by the public add a troublesome component to the war on COVID. Facing a winter surge in COVID-19 infections, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that masks will be required in all indoor public places unless the businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. Though supported by many, mask mandates also have become a hot-button issue. Republican elected officials reacting to Hochul's announcement called it an unnecessary burden on businesses.
Thursday, December 9, 2021
COVID-19 Infections Among Vaccinated More Common and Severe in Immunocompromised: Study
Breakthrough COVID-19 cases are more common and severe in people with weakened immune systems, according to a new study.
Breakthrough infections are those that occur in vaccinated people.
Immunocompromised vaccinated people were three times more likely to contract COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, according to researchers, who published their findings in the Journal of Medical Economics.
The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
The study found that just 0.08 percent of fully vaccinated people had a breakthrough case, but that 0.18 percent of immunocompromised people had a breakthrough infection. While immunocompromised people represented 18 percent of those studied, they accounted for over 38 percent of infections, nearly six in 10 hospitalizations, and all the deaths.
Researchers analyzed nearly 1.2 million U.S. HealthVerity database records between Dec. 10, 2020, and July 8.
The study was conducted by Pfizer scientists and funded by the company, which makes one of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States.
“The results supplement other real-world studies, and support the introduction of a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to increase protection among the immunocompromised individuals,” Manuela Di Fusco, the lead author and a part of Pfizer’s health economics and outcomes research team, said in a statement.
The cutoff date means researchers excluded records from the time period when other research indicates vaccine effectiveness against infection waned significantly, as many Americans were vaccinated in late 2020 or early 2021. Breakthrough infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have risen over time.
Booster doses, or third doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, were cleared by U.S. drug regulators in recent weeks because of the waning effectiveness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which initially recommended the additional shots for those 50 and older, announced on Nov. 29 that its now advising all individuals 18 and older to get one.
The agency cited the emergence of the Omicron CCP virus variant, although many scientists say it’s too soon to tell if the variant evades immunity better than other strains.
The new study was published after researchers in the Netherlands reported that an examination of 378 breakthrough infections identified in the country between January and July signaled the emergence of the CCP virus Delta variant and “a strong increase in breakthrough infections,” with more seen in people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson jabs than people who got a Pfizer or Moderna shot.
Researchers said in the pre-print paper that they saw many severe breakthrough cases among the elderly, although symptomatic cases were recorded in a number of younger people.
“Altogether, these results indicate that the emergence of the Delta variant might have lowered the efficiency of particular vaccine types to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections and that, although rare, the elderly are particularly at risk of becoming severely infected as the consequence of a breakthrough infection,” they said.
Friday, December 3, 2021
What went wrong in December 2019 ?
From the very beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has been on the front lines of analyzing, studying, and even personally fighting the pandemic. In this wide-ranging interview, Dr. Bhattacharya takes us through how it started, how it spread throughout the world, the efficacy of lockdowns, the development and distribution of the vaccines, and the rise of the Delta variant. He delves into what we got right, what we got wrong, and what we got really wrong. Finally, Dr. Bhattacharya looks to the future and how we will learn to live with COVID rather than trying to extinguish it, and how we might be prepared to deal with another inevitable pandemic that we know will arrive at some point.
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
First Case of Omicron Virus Variant Detected in US: Officials
First Case of Omicron Virus Variant Detected in US: Officials
The first case of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus Omicron variant was detected in California, officials said Wednesday.
Genomic sequencing conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, and confirmed by scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the case was caused by the variant.
The patient traveled from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive for COVID-19 a week later.
The person, who has not been publicly identified, is self-isolating, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters in Washington.
All of the person’s close contacts have been contacted and, thus far, all have tested negative for COVID-19, a disease caused by the CCP virus.
The person is fully vaccinated. He or she is experiencing mild symptoms that are improving.
“We knew that it was just a matter of time before the first case of Omicron would be detected in the United States,” Fauci said.
He urged people to get a COVID-19 vaccine if they have not and to get a booster if they already have.
Health authorities have not identified any additional potential cases at this point.
The United States restricted travel from South Africa and seven other African counties on Monday under an order from President Joe Biden. Passengers from other countries entering America will soon face stricter rules.
Officials around the world have imposed similar measures, citing the emergence of the variant in Africa.
The earliest known cases were identified in South Africa and Botswana in November, though testing of samples showed a patient with Omicron was in Nigeria in October, officials announced there earlier Wednesday.
Experts aren’t sure whether Omicron is more transmissible or whether it causes more severe disease. They have also expressed uncertainty on whether the variant evades immunity, including the protection bestowed by vaccines, better than other strains.
The omicron variant appears to be highly transmissible and less virulent. There is still some doubt about the effectiveness of the original covid vaccines against Omicron Covid.
Serologic tests and sampling is being performed on current cases of Omicron. Laboratory analysis will take several weeks to yield data.
The revolution in manufacturing , using mRNA technique will allow rapid manufacturing of a new vaccine can be accomplished in about one month. Approval by the FDA, EC and WHO will take several additional months for clinical trials. If safety margins are good an emergency usage authorization EUA could be granted by the FDA.
Monday, November 29, 2021
Black Friday and Cyber-Monday bring more surprises from COVID
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
SARS-COVID 2 is not the same as Inluenza.
Lung autopsies of COVID-19 patients reveal treatment clues
SARS-CoV-2 prevents lung tissue repair, regeneration.
What
Lung autopsy and plasma samples from people who died of COVID-19 have provided a clearer picture of how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and damages lung tissue. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators say the information, published in Science Translational Medicine, could help predict severe and prolonged COVID-19 cases, particularly among high-risk people, and inform effective treatments.
Although the study was small—lung samples from 18 cases and plasma samples from six of those cases—the scientists say their data revealed trends that could help develop new COVID-19 therapeutics and fine-tune when to use existing therapeutics at different stages of disease progression. The findings include details about how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads in the lungs, manipulates the immune system, causes widespread thrombosis that does not resolve, and targets signaling pathways that promote lung failure, fibrosis and impair tissue repair. The researchers say the data are particularly relevant to caring for COVID-19 patients who are elderly, obese, or have diabetes—all considered high-risk populations for severe cases. Study samples were from patients who had at least one high-risk condition.
The study included patients who died between March and July 2020, with time of death ranging from three to 47 days after symptoms began. This varied timeframe allowed the scientists to compare short, intermediate, and long-term cases. Every case showed findings consistent with diffuse alveolar damage, which prevents proper oxygen flow to the blood and eventually makes lungs thickened and stiff.
They also found that SARS-CoV-2 directly infected basal epithelial cells within the lungs, impeding their essential function of repairing damaged airways and lungs and generating healthy tissue. The process is different from the way influenza viruses attack cells in the lungs. This provides scientists with additional information to use when evaluating or developing antiviral therapeutics.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Israeli Study Shows How COVID-19 Immunity Wanes over Time – NIH Director's Blog
The winter holidays are approaching, and among the many things to be grateful for this year is that nearly 200 million Americans are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. That will make it safer to spend time with friends and family, though everyone should remain vigilant just to be on the safe side. Though relatively uncommon, breakthrough infections are possible. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends booster shots for several at-risk groups, including folks 65 years and older, those with underlying medical conditions, and people whose occupations place them at high risk of exposure.
One of the main studies providing the evidence for CDC’s recommendation was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine [1]. It found that vaccine-induced immunity, while still quite protective against infection and severe illness from COVID-19, can wane after several months.
The study is yet another highly informative report from Israel, where public health officials launched a particularly vigorous national vaccination campaign in December 2020. More than half of adult Israelis received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine within the first three months of the campaign. By May 2021, Israel had extremely small numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases—just a few dozen per day.
But the numbers crept back up in June 2021. The rise also included a substantial number of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals. The vast majority of those cases in June—98 percent—were caused by the emerging Delta variant.
Researchers led by Yair Goldberg, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, wondered whether this resurgence of COVID-19 could be fully explained by the rise of the more infectious Delta variant. Or, they wondered, did the waning of immunity over time also play a role?
To find out, the researchers looked to over 4.7 million fully vaccinated Israeli adults, more than 13,000 of whom had breakthrough infections from July 11 to 31, 2021 with SARS-CoV-2. The researchers looked for an association between the rate of confirmed infections and the time that had passed since vaccination. Without any significant waning of immunity, one shouldn’t see any difference in infection rates among people who were fully vaccinated at the earliest opportunity versus those vaccinated later.
The results were clear: the rate of confirmed COVID-19 infection revealed a slow but steady waning of immunity over time. Among individuals 60 years or older who were fully vaccinated last January, the number of confirmed breakthrough infections was 3.3 per 1,000 people during the three weeks of the study. Those who were vaccinated in February and March had lower infection rates of 2.2 per 1,000 and 1.7 per 1,000, respectively. The data revealed a similar pattern in those aged 40 to 59 and those aged 16 to 39.
An important question is whether these breakthrough infections were serious enough to require hospitalization. While such cases were much less common, more than 400 of those with confirmed COVID-19 breakthroughs went on to develop severe illness. And, again, the data show a similar pattern of waning immunity. The rate of severe COVID-19 among adults 60 years of age or older who were fully vaccinated in January was 0.34 cases per 1,000 persons. The rate of severe illness dropped to 0.26 cases per 1,000 among those vaccinated in February and 0.15 cases per 1,000 for those vaccinated in March. The researchers report that the number of severe COVID-19 cases among the younger fully vaccinated groups were too small to draw any conclusions.
While the Delta variant surely has played a role in the resurgence of COVID-19 in recent months, these findings suggest that waning immunity also is an important factor. Understanding these dynamics is essential for making critical policy decisions. In fact, these data were a key factor in the decision by the Israeli Ministry of Health in July 2021 to approve administration of COVID-19 booster shots for individuals who’d been vaccinated at least 5 months before.
Back in the U.S., if you were among those who got your vaccine on the early side—good for you. If it’s been more than six months since your original shots, and if you are in one of the risk groups, you should consider a COVID-19 booster shot to remain optimally protected in the months ahead. I’ll be getting my Moderna booster this week. While you’re at it, consider getting your annual flu shot taken care of, too. The CDC guidelines state that it’s perfectly OK to get your COVID-19 and flu shots at the same time.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Novavax has been granted its first emergency use authorisation in Indonesia for COVID-19 vaccine NVX-CoV2373, and expects other regulators in India, the Philippines and other countries to follow suit in the coming weeks.
The vaccine is the first based on recombinant protein to be approved anywhere in the world, and has the key advantage over many of the currently approved jabs as it can be stored at regular refrigeration temperatures. That makes it well suited to distribution in countries where healthcare delivery is more challenging.
Recombinant protein is produced by recombinant DNA using bacteria (E.Coli) as a manufacturing process. E.coli is the manufacturing plant for recombinant DNA and in turn. recombinant proteins
Why is E. coli used for transformation?
Other cell types including mammalian cells, yeast, insect cells, or other eukaryocytic cells could be used. E. coli is a preferred host for protein production due to its rapid growth and the ability to express proteins at very high levels. Bacterial conjugation can be used to transfer large DNA fragments from one bacterium to another.
The following references explain in further the use of recombinant DNA/Protein for the manufacture of other Covid 19 vaccines.
Rather than using messenger RNA (m-RNA) to produce a 'spike protein' from the corona virus, the Indian Covid vaccine is manufactured as an inactive viral particle.