Here is what the editors at Physician’s Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of Jan. 17 to 21, 2022. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.
Risk for Diabetes Increased for Pediatric Patients With COVID-19
FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Patients aged younger than 18 years with diagnosed COVID-19 have an increased risk for newly diagnosed diabetes >30 days after acute infection, according to research published in the Jan. 14 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Blacks Increased Telemedicine Use for Surgical Consults
FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) — There was increased use of telemedicine for surgical consults among some historically underrepresented patient groups during the second phase of the pandemic, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
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COVID-19 Rapid Test Makers Struggling to Meet Demand
FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Shortages of both supplies and workers are wreaking havoc on the efforts of COVID-19 at-home test makers to deliver enough of the tests to Americans, even as the federal government pledges to provide 500 million free, at-home kits.
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COVID-19 Boosters Keep Older Americans Out of Hospitals: CDC
FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The risk for hospitalization for COVID-19 among older Americans is far higher for those who are unvaccinated than for those who are fully vaccinated and have had a booster shot, new government data show.
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One-Third of Pregnant Women Report Mental Distress During Pandemic
FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Nearly one in three pregnant women have reported elevated symptoms of mental health distress and a negative impact on health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports.
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Myopia Progressed Faster in Children Under COVID-19 Lockdowns
FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Myopia progressed more rapidly in schoolchildren exposed to more COVID-19-related lockdown measures, according to a study published online Jan. 14 in JAMA Network Open.
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Vaccine Effectiveness Against Symptomatic COVID-19 Wanes
FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 decreases by 20 weeks after the second dose of BNT162b2 or CHAdOx1-S, but limited waning is seen against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death, according to a study published online Jan. 12 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Gained Weight During First Year of Pandemic
THURSDAY, Jan. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Almost half of U.S. adults report gaining weight during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online in the January issue of Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews.
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U.S. Insurers Could Spend Millions for Ivermectin Rx for COVID-19
THURSDAY, Jan. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Insurers could prevent substantial waste by restricting prescription coverage for inappropriate use of ivermectin for COVID-19, according to a research letter published online Jan. 13 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Fourth Vaccine Dose May Up COVID-19 Immunity in Kidney Transplant Recipients
THURSDAY, Jan. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — A fourth dose of an mRNA-based anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine may increase antispike immunoglobulin G titers in kidney transplant recipients, according to a research letter published online Jan. 11 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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COVID-19 Proning Teams Benefit From Wound Care Specialist Nurse
THURSDAY, Jan. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The inclusion of a certified wound and skin care nurse on a multiprofessional prone-positioning team significantly reduces the odds of pressure injuries developing in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19, according to a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Critical Care.
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Health Care Utilization Highest in First 30 Days After COVID-19 Diagnosis
THURSDAY, Jan. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Patients with even nonsevere COVID-19 seek health care frequently within 30 days of diagnosis, according to a study published online Jan. 6 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
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WHO Says Worst of Pandemic Could Ease This Year if Vaccine Inequities Erased
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — If COVID-19 vaccines and medicines are shared equally worldwide, the pandemic could ease this year, a top World Health Organization official said Tuesday.
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Biden Plans to Send 400 Million N95 Masks to Americans for Free
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The Biden administration plans to announce Wednesday that it will send 400 million free nonsurgical N95 masks to community health centers and pharmacies across the country so more Americans can get the masks that are most protective against COVID-19.
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COVID-19 Restrictions Eased in England
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Numerous COVID-19 restrictions will be dropped in England because government experts believe the omicron variant “has now peaked nationally,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday.
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Racial, Ethnic Disparities Seen in mAb Treatment for COVID-19
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — There are racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of monoclonal antibody treatment among patients with COVID-19, according to research published in the Jan. 14 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Cardiac Outcomes Good for Children With COVID-19-Related MIS-C
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Children with COVID-19-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome have good functional recovery and coronary outcomes at three to four months, according to a study published online Jan. 19 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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AI Model May Predict COVID-19 Outcomes for Critically Ill
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Using proteomics data, a machine learning model may predict survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to a study published online Jan. 18 in PLOS Digital Health.
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BNT162b2 Vaccine Effective Against Severe COVID-19 in Adolescents
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine are highly effective against COVID-19-related hospitalization and critical disease in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, according to a study published online Jan. 12 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Adding a P2Y12 Inhibitor Does Not Improve Outcomes in COVID-19
TUESDAY, Jan. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The addition of a P2Y12 inhibitor to anticoagulant therapy does not improve organ support-free days among non-critically ill patients hospitalized for COVID-19, according to a study published in the Jan. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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White House Launches Website for Free Home COVID-19 Tests a Day Ahead of Schedule
TUESDAY, Jan. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — It was slated to debut on Wednesday, but the federal government quietly launched its website for Americans to order free at-home COVID-19 tests one day early.
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Too Soon to Tell if Omicron Will End Pandemic: Fauci
TUESDAY, Jan. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — It is too soon to determine whether omicron’s rapid spread will turn a pandemic virus into an endemic disease, America’s top infectious disease expert says.
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COVID-19 Cases Surge Again in U.S. Nursing Homes
TUESDAY, Jan. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Residents of nursing homes have been a particularly high-risk group throughout the pandemic, and the advent of the fast-spreading omicron variant has them facing another wave of infections and deaths, new data show.
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COVAX Program Has Now Sent 1 Billion Vaccines to Poorer Nations
TUESDAY, Jan. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The latest shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda this weekend signaled a noteworthy achievement: The COVAX program, a United Nations-backed program providing poorer countries with vaccines, has now shipped 1 billion of the doses to combat COVID-19 in 144 countries.
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