It’s time for our next 14-day moving average determinations for SARS-CoV-2 for the United States, and my thoughts on vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic agents and mutant viruses. We use the WORLDOMETERS aggregators data set to make any projections since it includes data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Military, federal prisons and the Navajo Nation.
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SARS-CoV-2 infections per day in the United States have increased for the second time in 16 weeks. There is still widespread underreporting by states, a failure to capture positive home tests, and a decreased PCR screening program in most states. Deaths per day in the United States have decreased by 54 deaths per day. Many states are not reporting deaths or infections in a timely manner. The number of infections per day has increased by 494. In late November of this year, the National Institutes of Health launched MakeMyTestCount.org, a website that allows users to anonymously report the results of at-home COVID tests. Unfortunately, it has thus far not been widely publicized.
Drug-Evading Mutants Continue to Dominate the Variant Soup
On 12/3/22 the CDC estimates that BA.5 accounted for 13.8% of infections (a 38.6% drop from 10/21/22), BQ.1 accounted for 30.9% (a 21.5% increase since 10/21/22), BQ.1.1 accounted for 31.9% (a 24.77% increase since 10/21/22), BA.4.6 accounted for 2.3% (a 7.2% decrease from 10/21/22), BF.7 accounted for 6.3% (a 2.7% decrease from 10/21/22), BN.1 accounted for 4.6% of isolates (a 0.5% decrease since 1/19/22), and BA.2.75.2 accounted for 0.5%. In the last two weeks, three isolates were added to the CDC’s reporting: XBB (5.5% of isolates), BA.5.2.6 (1.8%), and BF.11 (0.9%). In the week ending December 3, 2022, BQ isolates accounted for 62.8% of infections (a 27.5% increase in infections caused by these BQ variants since 10/21/22). BQ.1.1 has five spike mutations that are different from BA.5. Four of these mutations allow escape from immunity from monoclonal antibodies, any prior infection (including Omicron BA.5), or any vaccine to include the bivalent Omicron BA.5 vaccine.
The total percentage of BQ variant infections in the region that includes New York and New Jersey was 64.8% two weeks ago and is now 72.4%. BA.5 accounts for 6.9% of infections, BF.7 accounts for 4.2%, BN.1 accounts for 2.4%, BA.5.2.6 accounts for 1.5%, and BA.2.75 lineages account for 1.3% of infections. Curiously, no XBB isolates are currently being reported in Region 2.
The total percentage of BQ variant infections in the region that includes California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii was 36.9% two weeks ago and is now 62.6%. BA.5.2.6 isolates now account for 1.6% of cases. The BA.2.75 lineages account for 1.3%. BF.7 accounts for 5.5%, BN.1 accounts for 6.0%, and BA.2 isolates account for 1.9%. Again, CDC is not reporting XBB in Region 9.
Data on the rapid spread of a dangerous variant category, the BQ variants, was withheld by the CDC in their weekly reports until five weeks ago. The data on BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, the last being a variant with five significant spike protein mutations leading to escape from immunity from prior infections or vaccination. Similarly, the XBB variant wasn’t present in the CDC’s variant proportions reporting two weeks ago, but the December 3 iteration adds XBB going back at least three weeks.
Two virologists collaborated on Twitter to create the figure below, which Professor Johnson titled “Convergent Evolution on Steroids.” It shows the key mutations present in many of the currently-circulating Omicron subvariants and demonstrates that mutation at site 346 is becoming more and more common.
Past infections with a BA.1, BA.2 or BA.5 variants will not prevent infections with any of the newer variants. Monoclonal antibodies are no longer effective against newer BQ variants and other spike protein mutated variants. The last remaining monoclonal antibody, bebtelovimab, was removed from use by the FDA on 12/2/22. Paxlovid was only 89% effective in the original clinical trials against SARS-CoV-2. If resistance develops this winter to oral Paxlovid, we will have more Paxlovid failures and increased hospitalizations and deaths.
The November 25 UK Health Security Agency Technical Briefing identifies lineages BA.5, BA.5.2.35, BA.5.7, BQ.1, BQ.1.1, XBB, and BN1 (BA.2.75.5.1) as isolates of concern.
Variant | Sublineage of | Mutations | Global Sequences outside UK | UK Sequences |
BQ.1 | BA.5 | L452R, N460K, K444T | 33,206 (81 countries) | 9,285 (> 40% of all sequenced samples) |
BQ.1.1 | BA.5 | N460K, K444T, R346T | 17,621 (70 countries) | 4,715 |
BA.5.2.35 | BA.5.2 | R346T, 2 synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) G28423C and C7006T | 447 | 848 |
BN.1 | BA.2.75.5 | R346T, F490S | 1,127 | 190 |
XBB | Recombinant of BJ.1 and BM.1.1.1 (both descended from BA.2), approximate break point between spike mutations G446S and N460K | E: T11A, Spike: V83A, H146Q, Q183E, F486S, F490S. Spike mutations inherited from BJ.1 are G339H, R346T, V445P, G446S and from BM.1.1.1 are N460K, F486V, F490S, and R493Q | 4,831 (51 countries) | 345 |
Disappointing Vaccine Uptake, Especially Among Children
Our monoclonal antibody therapies do not work for these isolates, but these emerging BQ variants are descendants of BA.5, so the new BA.5 bivalent vaccine should offer some protection, when combined with an N95 mask. It’s troubling that, despite the availability of this vaccine, few people are getting vaccinated. As of November 30, 2022, the CDC reports that 39,719,443 people in the United States (5 years and up) have received the bivalent vaccine. That’s only 17.4% of people who received the primary series and 12% of the overall population.
Children under the age of 5 have not been approved to receive either Omicron BA.5 mRNA booster. Sadly, in children between 0 and 5 years of age only 1.61 million have received at least one dose of any SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine based on the original Wuhan isolate. In the United States, at least 1,372 children have died of COVID-19, and another 74 have died of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). Worldwide, according to UNICEF, over 16,100 children and young adults aged 0-20 have died of COVID-19.
In Monterey County, during the pandemic we have had 96,851 reported SARS-CoV-2 infections, 3,022 hospitalizations and 797 reported deaths as of 12/3/22. The Monterey County Health Department reports that, as of 12/3/22, 3.3% of 0-4 year-olds and 40.1% of 5-11 year-olds have received the first two doses of vaccine, while 73.3% of 12-17 year-olds have received two doses. Only 55.1% of Monterey County residents have received a third dose of the vaccine. The Monterey County Health Department does not publish data on how many residents have received the new BA.5 bivalent booster vaccine. On June 17, The FDA authorized both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for use in children ages 6 months to four years. We believe children under 5 should be vaccinated as soon as possible. All Monterey County residents should get up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including the bivalent BA.5 booster, as soon as possible.
Mask Up to Protect Against Additional Viral Threats This Winter
In a new preprint on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in young children, researchers from Case Western University write, “Among RSV-infected children in 2022, 19.2% had prior documented COVID-19 infection, significantly higher than the 9.7% among uninfected children, suggesting that prior COVID-19 could be a risk factor for RSV infection or that there are common risk factors for both viral infections.” Wearing a well-fitting, high-filtration mask not only protects against COVID but also protects against other viruses like RSV, influenza, and measles. The recent surge in respiratory infections among children that has overwhelmed hospitals around the country is most certainly a result of the removal of mask mandates throughout the United States. A new study of COVID infection data in Massachusetts public schools from February to June 2022, after many districts rescinded mask mandates, shows that “the lifting of masking requirements was associated with an additional 44.9 cases per 1000 students and staff,” compared to in schools where mask requirements were upheld. The authors explain that the districts which kept mask requirements in place were ones that tended to have less updated buildings and whose student populations had a greater percentage of low-income families, students with disabilities, English learners, and Black and Latinx students. As such, they conclude, “we believe that universal masking may be especially useful for mitigating effects of structural racism in schools, including potential deepening of educational inequities.” This is something that we’ve been saying since the beginning of the pandemic; removing nonpharmaceutical interventions always disproportionately harms the most vulnerable members of our society.
The state of Ohio has had 54 cases of measles this year, 50 of which were in the Columbus area, and 20 of which have required hospitalization. All of the infected were unvaccinated. Arstechnica reports, “Nine of the cases are in babies under the age of 1 year, who are typically not yet eligible for vaccination. Twenty-six cases are in infants ages 1 to 2 years—who are eligible for their first dose. Ten cases are in toddlers ages 3 to 5—some of whom would have been eligible for their second dose—and there are five cases in children between the ages of 6 and 17.”
As of December 1, the CDC has reported 76 cases of measles in the United States in five (undisclosed) jurisdictions. We’re certain that with no COVID mitigations for holiday travel, the measles will not remain in Ohio.
A Deeper Dive into U.S. COVID Data
On 12/2/22, the United States had 32,724 documented new infections. There were also 149 deaths. Thirty-four states did not report their infections, and 38 states didn’t report their deaths. In the United States on 12/2/22 the number of hospitalized patients (34,646) has increased (+24% compared to the previous 14 days) and was 27,868 on November 18. On 12/2/22 there were 4,005 patients who were seriously or critically ill (a 20% increase); that number was 3,362 two weeks ago. The number of critically ill patients has increased by 643 in the last 14 days, while at least 4,168 new deaths occurred. The number of critically ill patients has increased for the eighth time in thirty-two 14-day periods. Patients are still dying each day (average 298/day).
As of 11/18/22, we have had 1,106,607 deaths and 100,787,799 SARS-CoV-2 infections in the United States. We have had 631,454 new infections in the last 14 days. We are adding an average of 315,727 new infections every seven days. For the pandemic in the United States we are averaging one death for every 91.08 infections or over 10,980 deaths for each one million infections. As of 12/02/22, thirty-nine states have had greater than 500,000 total infections, and 38 states and Puerto Rico have had greater than 5,000 total deaths. Forty-six states have had greater than 2,000 deaths, and 33 states have greater than 3,000 deaths per million population. Eight states have over 4,000 deaths per million population: Mississippi (4,380), Arizona (4,362), Alabama (4,212), West Virginia (4,256), New Mexico (4,150), Tennessee (4,145), Arkansas (4,168) and Michigan (4,014). Eighteen states (Alabama, Virginia, Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, New York, Arizona and California) have had greater than 20,000 deaths. Eight states have had greater than 40,000 deaths: Florida (82,875 deaths), Texas (91,934 deaths), New York (74,288 deaths), Pennsylvania (48,387 deaths), Georgia (41,070 deaths), Ohio (40,558 deaths) , Illinois (40,339 deaths), Michigan (40,085), and California (97,515 deaths, 20th most deaths in the world).
On 11/20/20, there were 260,331 (cumulative) deaths in the US from SARS-CoV-2. Since 11/20/20 (24 months), there were 839,506 new deaths from SARS-CoV-2. For twenty of those months, vaccines have been available to all adults. During these twenty months, 534,508 people have died of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Clearly, a vaccine-only approach is not working anywhere, especially not in the United States. In addition to getting more people vaccinated, most of the hospitalizations and deaths could have been prevented by proper masking (N95 or better), social distancing, and treatment with oral antiviral agents like Paxlovid. We recommend all of these precautions and treatments to every patient in our clinic, and we have only lost one patient to COVID in 2.5 years.
As of 12/02/22, California was ranked 33rd in the USA in infection percentage at 29.06%. In California, 25.09% of the people were infected in the last 21 months. As of 12/2/22, 28 states have had greater than 30% of their population infected. Fifty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have greater than 20% of their population infected.
Worldwide, average deaths per day are 1,444 for the last 14 days. The United States accounts for 20.63% (298 per day) of all deaths per day in the world over the last two weeks. Worldwide infections per day were 482,580 the last two weeks. The United States accounts for 9.34% of those infections (or 45,104 infections per day).
FDA-Approved Oral Drug Treatments for SARS-CoV-2
Pfizer has developed PAXLOVID™, an oral reversible inhibitor of C3-like protease of SARS-CoV-2. The drug inhibits this key enzyme that is crucial for virus production. The compound, also called Compound 6 (PF-07321332), is part of the drug combination PAXLOVID™ (PF-07321332; ritonavir), which just successfully completed a Phase 2-3 trial in humans in multiple countries. The preliminary results were announced on 11/5/21 by Pfizer. The results show that 89% of the hospitalizations and deaths were prevented in the drug treatment arm. The drug was administered twice a day for five days. No deaths occurred in the treatment group, and ten deaths occurred in the placebo group. The study was stopped by an independent data safety monitoring board, and the FDA concurred with this decision. Pfizer applied for an Emergency Use Authorization for this drug on 11/15/21. This drug was approved on 12/23/21. We have only been able to obtain PAXLOVID™ for two patients who we successfully treated with this drug obtained from CVS in Salinas (East Alisal Street; phone number 831-424-0026). They were expecting another shipment on 1/28/22. In my opinion, this agent, if more widely available, could markedly alter the course of every coronavirus infection throughout the world.
Watching World Data
Over the next few months, we’ll be paying close attention to correlations between the SARS-CoV-2 data, the number of isolates identified in various countries and states, and the non-pharmaceutical interventions (like mask mandates and lockdowns) put in place by state and national governments. Data on infections, deaths, and percent of population infected was compiled from Worldometers. Data for this table for SARS-CoV-2 Isolates Currently Known in Location was compiled from GISAID and the CDC. It’s worth noting that GISAID provided more data than the CDC.
Location | Total Infections as of 12/2/22 | New Infections on 12/2/22 | Total Deaths | New Deaths on 12/2/22 | % of Pop.Infected | SARS-CoV-2 Isolates Currently Known in Location | National/ State Mask Mandate | Currently in Lockdown |
World | 649,308,956(6,756,121 new infections in 14 days). | 429,743 | 6,645,094(20,221 new deaths in last 14 days) | 1,029 | 8.33% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Eta/B.1.525 (Nigeria/UK)Iota/B.1.526 (USA-NYC)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Epsilon/B.1.427 + B.1.429 (USA)*Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Zeta/P.2 (Brazil)A lineage isolateV01.V2 (Tanzania)APTK India VOC 32421Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)BV-1 (Texas, USA)Kappa/B.1.617.1 (India)Lambda/C.37 (Peru)Theta/P.3 (Philippines) Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia)C.1.2 (South Africa 2% of isolates in July 2021)R1 (Japan)Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 + BA.2 + BA.3 (South Africa November 2021)B.1.640.1 (Congo/France)B.1.640.2 (Cameroon/France)Four new recombinants 12/31 to 3/22)BA.2.12.1 (USA)BA.4 (South Africa)BA.5 (South Africa)BA.2.75 (India 7/22)BA.4.6 (USA 7/22)BF.7BJ.1XBBBQ.1BQ.1.1BS.1BN.1 | No | No |
USA | 100,787,779(ranked #1) 631,454 new infections in the last 14 days or 45,104/day. | 32,724(ranked #5) 34 states and D,C. failed to report infections on 12/2/22. | 1,106,607(ranked #1) 4,168 new deaths reported in the last 14 days or 388/day. | 149 38 states and D.C. failed to report deaths on 12/2/22. | 30.10% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Eta/B.1.525 (Nigeria/UK)Iota/B.1.526 (USA-NYC)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Epsilon/B.1.427 + B.1.429 (USA)*Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Zeta/P.2 (Brazil)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)BV-1 (Texas, USA)Theta/P.3 (Philippines) Theta/P.3 (Philippines) Kappa/B.1.617.1 (India)Lambda/C.37 (Peru)Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia)R1(Japan) Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 + BA.2 (South Africa November 2021)B.1.640.1 (Congo/France)Recombinant Delta AY.119.2- Omicron BA.1.1 (Tennessee, USA 12/31/21)\BA.2BA.2.12.1 (United States)BA.4 (South Africa 11/21)BA.5 (South Africa 11/21)BA.2.75 (India 7/22)BA.4.6 (USA 7/22)BQ.1BQ.1.1BN.1 | No | No |
Brazil | 35,375,733(ranked #5) 336,119 new infections in the last 14 days. | 399251 (ranked#4) | 690,129(ranked #2; 1,171 new deaths in 14 days) | 131 | 16.42% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Zeta/P.2 (Brazil)Lambda/C.37 (Peru)Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia) Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021)BA.2BA.2.12.1 (United States)BA.4 (South Africa 11/21)BA.5 (South Africa 11/21) | No | No |
India | 44,674,195(ranked #2); 4,668 new infections in 2 weeks. | 211 | 530,627(ranked #3) 94 new deaths in 2 weeks. | 3 | 3.17% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Epsilon/B.1.427 + B.1.429 (USA)*Eta/B.1.525 (Nigeria/UK)APTK India VOI 32421Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Kappa/B.1.617.1 (India)Iota/B.1.526 (USA-NYC) Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021)B.1.640.1 (Congo/France)BA.4 (South Africa 11/21)BA.5 (South Africa 11/21)BA.2.75 (India) | No | No |
United Kingdom | 24,024,746(ranked #6) 47,109 new infections in 2 weeks. | – | 197253 (ranked #7) 1,102 new deaths in 2 weeks | – | 35.07% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Eta/B.1.525 (Nigeria/UK)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Epsilon/B.1.427 + B.1.429 (USA)*Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Theta/P.3 (Philippines) Kappa/B.1.617.1 (India)Lambda/C.37 (Peru)Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia)C.1.2 (South Africa)Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021)B.1.640.1 (Congo/France)XD (AY.4/BA.1) recombinantXF (Delta/BA.1) recombinantXE (BA.1/BA.2) recombinantBA.2BA.2.12.1 (United States)BA.4 (South Africa 11/21)BA.5 (South Africa 11/21)BA.2.75 (India 7/22) | No | No |
California, USA | 11,483,568(ranked #14 in the world; 78,380 new infections in the last 14 days). | 4,819 | 97,515 (ranked #20 in world) 176 new deaths in the last 14 days | 14 | 29.06% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Eta/B.1.525 (Nigeria/UK)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Epsilon/B.1.427 + B.1.429 (USA)*Zeta/P.2 (Brazil)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Theta/P.3 (Philippines) Kappa/B.1.617.1 (India)Lambda/C.37 (Peru) Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia) Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021)BA.2BA.2.12.1 (United States)BA.4 (South Africa 11/21)BA.5 (South Africa 11/21)BA.2.75 (India 7/22)BQ.1BQ.1.1BN.1 | No | No |
Mexico | 7,132,792(ranked #19) 13,859 new infections in 14 days). | – | 330,525(ranked #5)81 new deaths in 14 days) | – | 5.42% | No | No | |
South Africa | 4,042,221(ranked #37; 5,299 new infections in 14 days). | 312 | 102,464 (ranked #18) 93 new deaths in 14 days) | – | 6.65% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Kappa/B.1.617.1 (India) C.1.2 (South Africa, July 2021)Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021)B.1.640.1 (Congo/France)BA.2BA.4 (South Africa 11/21)BA.5 (South Africa 11/21) | No | No |
Canada | 4,408,276(ranked #34) 31,206 new infections in 14 days). | – | 47,781(ranked #25 ) 663 new deaths in the last 14 days | – | 11.48% | No | No | |
Poland | 6,353,850 (ranked #21; 5,470 new infections in 14 days). | 542 | 118,332 (ranked #15)65 new deaths in the last 14 days | 4 | 16.83% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Eta/B.1.525 (Nigeria/UK)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia)Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 + (South Africa November 2021),Omicron/B.1.1.529 +BA.3 | No | No |
Russia | 21,597,613 (ranked #10), 72,046 new infections in 14 days). | 6,785 (ranked #11) | 392,060(ranked #4)727 new deaths in 14 days | 58 | 14.81% | No | No | |
Peru | 4,266,251(ranked #36, 107,119 new infections in 14 days). | 13,868 (ranked#9) | 217,428(ranked #6) 199 new deaths in the last 14 days | 14 | 12.66% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Iota/B.1.526 (USA-NYC)Lambda/C.37 (Peru)Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia)Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021) | No | No |
Iran | 7,559,737(ranked #18; 526 new infections in last 14 days) | 31 | 144,634(ranked #12) 14 new deaths in the last 14 days | 1 | 8.78% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021) | No | No |
Spain | 13,612,052(ranked #12; 38,331 new infections in 14 days). | 2,758 | 116,081 (ranked #16)440 new deaths in 14 days | 30 | 29.13% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India)Beta/B.1.351 (SA)Gamma/P.1 (Brazil)Epsilon/B.1.427 + B.1.429 (USA)*Eta/B.1.525 (Nigeria/UK)Iota/B.1.526 (USA-NYC)Kappa/B.1.617.1 (India)Mu/B.1.621 (Colombia)Omicron/B.1.1.529 + BA.1 (South Africa November 2021)B.1.640.1 (Congo/France) | No | No |
France | 37,916,052 (ranked #3; 628,505 new infections in the last 14 days). | 69,253 (ranked #2) | 159,026 (ranked #10)863 new deaths in 14 days. | 76 | 57.81% a 1.52% increase in 14 days. | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021)B.1.640.1 (Congo/France)B.1.640.2 (Cameroon/France)GKA (AY.4/BA.1) recombinantBQ.1.1 | No | No |
Germany | 36,530,020(ranked #4; 324,615 new infections in 14 days.) | 30,420 (ranked #6) | 158,108 (ranked #11)1,486 new deaths in 14 days | 166 | 43.54% 0.38% increase in 14 days | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021)GKA (AY.4/BA.1) recombinantBQ.1.1 | No | No |
South Korea | 27,155,813 (ranked #6 693,494 new infections in 14 days). | 57,079(ranked #3) | 30,568 (ranked #35) 643 new deaths in 14 days | 62 | 52.90%1.35% increase in 14 days | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021) | No | No |
Vietnam | 11,516,489 (ranked #13; 5,570new infections in 14 days). | 581 | 43,176(ranked #26) | 1 | 11.63% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021) | No | No |
Netherlands | 8,543,838 (ranked #16; 9,694 new infections in 14 days). | 959 | 22,916 (ranked #41) | 3 | 49.64% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021)GKA (AY.4/BA.1) recombinant | No | No |
Denmark | 3,148,210 (ranked #40) 4,949 new infections in 14 days. | 610 | 7,537(ranked #78 67 new deaths in the last 14 days) | 5 | 53.95% | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021)GKA (AY.4/BA.1) recombinant | No | No |
Taiwan | 8,329,000(ranked #17)198,781 new infections in 14 days | 15,643 (ranked #7) | 14,387 (ranked #58 539 new deaths in the last 14 days) | 53 | 34.86% 0.83% of population has been infected in the last 14 days | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021) | No | No |
Japan | 24,911,367(ranked #7)1,307,161 new infections in the last 14 days | 118,201(ranked #1) | 49,826(ranked #23) 1,768 new deaths in the last 14 days | 182 | 19.83% 1.04% of the population infected in the last 14 days. | B2 lineageAlpha/B.1.1.7 (UK)Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Delta/B.1.617.2 (India) Omicron/B.1.1.529 South Africa November 2021)BA.2*BA.5* | No | No |
Argentina | 9,727,247 (ranked #15)5,529 new infections in the last 14 days. | – | 130,025(ranked #14) | – | 21.14% | No | No | |
Italy | 24,327,664 (ranked #8) 96,126 new infections in the last 14 days. | – | 181,733(ranked #8) 1,152 new deaths in the last 14 days | – | 40.36% 0.49% of population infected in last 14 days. | No | No | |
Chile | 4,925,051(ranked #28) 59,393 new infections in14 days.. | 5,041 (ranked#13) | 62,484(ranked #22) 354 new deaths in the last 14 days. | 26 | 25.28% 0.31% of population infected in the last 14 days. | No | No | |
Colombia | 6,318,021(ranked #22) 5,364 new infections in the last 14 days. | 3,252 | 141,811(ranked #13) | 16 | 12.26% | No | No | |
Australia | 10,725,239(ranked #14) 172,561 new infections in 14 days. | 14,741 (ranked #8) | 16,187(ranked #55) 220 new deaths in 14 days. | 16 | 41.14% 0.66% of population infected in last 14 days. | No | No | |
Turkey | 17,005,537(ranked #11)28,808 new infections in 14 days. | – | 101,400(ranked #19) 73 new deaths in 14 days.. | – | 19.87% | No | No | |
Indonesia | 6,669,821 (ranked #20) 73,009 new infections in last 14 days. | 4,977 (ranked #14) | 159,884 (ranked #9) 561 new deaths in the last 14 days. | 54 | 23.89% | No | No | |
Malaysia | 4,994,543 (ranked #27) 31,327 new infections in the last 14 days. | 2,375 | 36,695 (ranked #29) 107 new deaths in the last 14 days. | 11 | 15.05% | No | No | |
Hong Kong | 2,128,382(ranked#46) 107,497 new infections in the last 14 days. | 10,137 (ranked #10) | 10,762 (ranked#64)185 new deaths in the last 14 days. | 15 | 27.98% 1.41% of population infected in the last 14 days. | No | No | |
China | 323,686 (ranked #103) 44,255 new infections in 14 days | 4,150 (ranked#15) | – | – | – | – | – | – |
What Our Team Is Reading This Week
- Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff (NEJM) https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2211029
- FDA Announces Bebtelovimab is Not Currently Authorized in Any US Region (FDA) https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-announces-bebtelovimab-not-currently-authorized-any-us-region
- SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England Technical briefing 48, 25 November 2022 (UK Health Security Agency) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1120304/technical-briefing-48-25-november-2022-final.pdf
- Omicron sublineage BQ.1.1 resistance to monoclonal antibodies (The Lancet) https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00733-2
- SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Increased Risk for Pediatric Stroke (Pediatric Neurology) https://www.pedneur.com/article/S0887-8994(22)00210-7/fulltext
- Single-cell multiomics revealed the dynamics of antigen presentation, immune response and T cell activation in the COVID-19 positive and recovered individuals https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1034159
- Novel treatment combining antiviral and neutralizing antibody-based therapies with monitoring of spike-specific antibody and viral load for immunocompromised patients with persistent COVID-19 infection (Experimental Hematology & Oncology) https://ehoonline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40164-022-00307-9
- Covid-19 is a leading cause of death in children and young people ages 0-19 years in the United States (Preprint) https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.23.22275458
- Post-COVID-19-associated morbidity in children, adolescents, and adults: A matched cohort study including more than 157,000 individuals with COVID-19 in Germany (PLOS Medicine) https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1004122
- Endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19: an overview of evidence, biomarkers, mechanisms and potential therapies (Acta Pharmacologica Sinica) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41401-022-00998-0
- Cognitive Deficits in Long Covid-19 (NEJM) https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcibr2210069
- Brain 18F-FDG PET imaging in outpatients with post-COVID-19 conditions: findings and associations with clinical characteristics (European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-022-06013-2
- Acute and postacute sequelae associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection (Nature) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02051-3
- Associations between indoor relative humidity and global COVID-19 outcomes (Journal of the Royal Society) https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0865
- Successful treatment of prolonged, severe COVID-19 lower respiratory tract disease in a B-cell ALL patient with an extended course of remdesivir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Clinical Infectious Diseases) https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciac868
- Impact of SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 and its variant polymorphisms on host responses and viral pathogenesis (Preprint) https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.18.512708
- Anti-PF4 antibodies associated with disease severity in COVID-19 (PNAS) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213361119
- A multinational Delphi consensus to end the COVID-19 public health threat (Nature) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05398-2
- Pfizer and BioNTech Announce Updated Clinical Data for Omicron BA.4/BA.5-Adapted Bivalent Booster Demonstrating Substantially Higher Immune Response in Adults Compared to the Original COVID-19 Vaccine https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-updated-clinical-data-omicron
- Paxlovid and Long Covid (Ground Truths, Eric Topol) https://erictopol.substack.com/p/paxlovid-and-long-covid?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
- Risk of Infection and Hospitalization Among Children and Adolescents in New York After Emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant – Comment and Response (JAMA) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2797231
- Myocarditis (NEJM) https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra2114478
- SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England Technical briefing 47 (UK Health Security Agency) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1115077/Technical-Briefing-47.pdf
- Effectiveness of Monovalent mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Among Immunocompetent Adults During BA.1/BA.2 and BA.4/BA.5 Predominant Periods of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in the United States — IVY Network, 18 States, December 26, 2021–August 31, 2022 (MMWR) https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7142a3.htm
- “Three-dose monovalent mRNA VE estimates against COVID-19–associated hospitalization decreased with time since vaccination. Three-dose VE during the BA.1/BA.2 and BA.4/BA.5 periods was 79% and 60%, respectively, during the initial 120 days after the third dose and decreased to 41% and 29%, respectively, after 120 days from vaccination.”
- Saliva antibody-fingerprint of reactivated latent viruses after mild/asymptomatic COVID-19 is unique in patients with myalgic-encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Frontiers in Immunology) https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.949787
- SARS-CoV-2 Nsp6 causes cardiac defects through MGA/MAX complex-mediated increased glycolysis (Preprint) https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1677754/v1
- WHO’s Therapeutics and COVID-19 Living Guideline on mAbs needs to be reassessed (The Lancet) https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01938-9/fulltext
- SARS-CoV-2 disrupts host epigenetic regulation via histone mimicry (Nature) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05282-z
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