![](https://www.drjudystone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_9838-1140x855.jpg)
Coronavirus Tidbits #156 9/4/21
Quick links
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that.
Malaria Vaccine + Antimalarial = 70% Reduction in Disease, Death
Very well done study with dramatically better results than expected.
~ ~ ~
GOP Governors’ Hypocrisy on COVID Endangers Their Citizens
News
Simple safety measures reduce musical COVID-19 transmission
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe in 2020, musicians around the world were desperate for the answers to two pressing questions: Can playing musical instruments transmit COVID-19? And if so, what can be done?
Now, halfway through 2021, the first official research results are in-and it’s good news: The show can go on.
Published today in the journal ACS Environmental Au, University of Colorado Boulder and University of Maryland researchers have found that while playing musical instruments can emit the same levels of potentially COVID-laden airborne particles as singing, simple safety measures, such as masking instruments (the bell of the wind instrument), social distancing and implementing time limits, significantly reduce this risk.
~ ~ ~
“The penis is just another organ that is at risk due to COVID-related blood clotting.
— Dr. Oni Blackstock (@oni_blackstock) August 29, 2021
The disease can cause excessive or unusual clotting throughout the body, which may lead to complications such as strokes, heart failure, pulmonary embolisms, and "COVID toes."”/2
~ ~ ~
I finally had time to read this fascinating paper, indicating that #Fibromyalgia may be an autoimmune disease: https://t.co/ktOQlUMTD1. Can't stop thinking about potential similar mechanisms in #LongCovid, since @VirusesImmunity and others also propose autoimmunity there.
— Jeroen den Dunnen (@DrDenDunnen) August 25, 2021
~ ~ ~
I’m also concerned about high rates of longCovid in vaccinated breakthrough cases @NEJM https://t.co/eZkIX0iyEi
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) September 1, 2021
~ ~ ~
This is the most American specific headline I think I’ve ever seen https://t.co/arafOAwPTZ
— Marisa (@poke_m0m) September 4, 2021
~ ~ ~
A graphic tweet treat from @MackayIM. We have ALL the public health tools to drop community transmission, save lives, keep kids in school, and get our economy back on track. Would depict the leadership slice as also a mouse eating the cheese & a mouse trap. https://t.co/gEYkABa9ml
— Dr. Ali Khan (@DrAliSKhan) September 4, 2021
Diagnostics:
Are at-home covid tests accurate? What the results can and can’t tell you. https://t.co/xbZBmuXHW4
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) August 29, 2021
Free access to all Washington Post Covid articles.
Antigen tests search for protein pieces of the virus while molecular tests, such as the “gold standard” PCR tests, detect RNA, the virus’s genetic material.
In general, antigen tests are less sensitive than molecular tests. A scientific review published by the Cochrane Library found that in people with confirmed covid-19, antigen tests correctly identified infections in an average of 72 percent of people with symptoms, compared with 58 percent of infected people without symptoms.
“what this test is probably not good at, especially for the asymptomatic,” is accurately ruling out an infection. In other words, at-home antigen tests are more likely to give you a false negative,
Testing negative can provide some reassurance that you’re not infectious at the point that you take the test, but it doesn’t give people “a free pass to go and do whatever they want to do,” Binnicker said. A single negative result “basically tells you, ‘I’m probably not shedding really high amounts of SARS-CoV-2 right now,’ ” he said. But that might not be the case in as little as six or eight hours,
~ ~ ~
Typically, the sensitivity of antigen tests is 30% to 40% lower than for RT-PCR, depending on whether tested subjects were symptomatic or asymptomatic (Cochrane Library, March 2021)
~ ~ ~
Antibody Tests Should Not Be Your Go-To for Checking COVID Immunity
On an individual level, antibody tests can be useful for picking up evidence of a past SARS-CoV-2 infection. They’re also helpful to researchers studying the prevalence of the virus across a population or tracking the degree to which antibody levels wane over time. And the decline in antibody levels against the coronavirus among some people who got vaccinated late last year were cited as part of the scientific case for why millions of Americans need booster shots.
But scientists in the field say there’s still considerable uncertainty about what these levels of detectable antibodies really mean when it comes to protection. And a lack of standardization among the commercially available tests for antibodies makes it even harder to decipher the results.
“There is no test that will give you that [degree of certainty] at this point,” says Gigi Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security who has studied serology testing and COVID-19. “There are tests that would show that you’ve been vaccinated or not, but is that going to be the kind of information you need?”
Maybe not, she suggests. Why?
Drugs and Vaccines:
NIH launches study of extra COVID-19 vaccine dose in people with autoimmune disease
Trial also will test pausing immunosuppressive medication to improve antibody response
The National Institutes of Health has begun a clinical trial to assess the antibody response to an extra dose of an authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine in people with autoimmune disease who did not respond to an original COVID-19 vaccine regimen. The trial also will investigate whether pausing immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune disease improves the antibody response to an extra dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in this population. The Phase 2 trial is sponsored and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, and is being conducted by the NIAID-funded Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence.
~ ~ ~
COVID-19 vaccine elicits antibodies in 90% taking immunosuppressants
However, people treated for autoimmune conditions produce weaker responses than healthy people
COVID-19 vaccination elicited antibody responses in nearly nine out of 10 people with weakened immune systems, although their responses were only about one-third as strong as those mounted by healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study, published Aug. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at people taking immunosuppressive medications to treat chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Since a minimum level of antibodies needed for protection hasn’t been established, it has been difficult to say whether the levels achieved by people on immune suppressing drugs are high enough to protect them from severe COVID-19, the researchers said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended that people taking immunosuppressants receive a third dose of the vaccine to strengthen their immune responses.
Nonetheless, the discovery that COVID-19 vaccination elicits a response in people with compromised immune systems – even if not quite as strong a response – is encouraging news for a population that faces a high risk of serious illness.
~ ~ ~
New Guidance for People with Cancer and 3rd mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) announced significant updates to the NCCN: Cancer and COVID-19 Vaccination guidance today. This is the fourth version of NCCN’s COVID-19 vaccination guide.
Published on August 30, 2021, the new version incorporates the latest data plus recent approvals from the U.S. FDA and CDC regarding a third mRNA vaccine dose for immunocompromised people.
The update highlights timing recommendations from the CDC that people wait at least four weeks between second and third doses. In addition, cancer patients who develop COVID-19 despite initial vaccination should wait until they have documented clearance of the virus before their third vaccination.
According to the NCCN clinical recommendations, the following groups of people should be considered eligible for a third dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine:
~ ~ ~
High-income countries called on to share COVID-19 vaccines quickly
New York – The former Co-Chairs of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia, and Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, have expressed their deep concern at the slow pace of redistribution of COVID-19 vaccines from high income to low-income countries.
“The Independent Panel report recommended that high-income countries ensure that at least one billion doses of vaccines available to them were redistributed to 92 low- and middle-income countries by 1 September, and a further one billion doses by mid-2022”, President Sirleaf and Helen Clark said. “Ensuring that all those around the world most vulnerable to the impact of the virus, including healthcare workers, older people and those with significant comorbidities, can be vaccinated quickly is a critical step towards curbing the pandemic.”
The Co-Chairs noted that, to date, 99 million dose donations have been shipped via COVAX, out of which only 89 million have been shipped to the 92 Advance Market Commitment countries – far short of the one billion doses the Independent Panel has called for. “High-income countries have ordered over twice as many doses as are needed for their populations. Now is the time to show solidarity with those who have not yet been able to vaccinate their frontline health workers and most vulnerable populations. Reaching the goal of redistributing one billion doses by 1 September would be a vital step in protecting the five billion people aged 15 and over who live in low- and middle-income countries. The 600 million doses which have already been pledged now need to be delivered with urgency”, the Co-Chairs said.
~ ~ ~
NEW: America has wasted at least 15,000,000 Covid vaccine doses since March, according to government data obtained by @NBCNews. https://t.co/Kgdw0Gr1Xa
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 1, 2021
~ ~ ~
Kudos to the @KFF for this excellent work. https://t.co/4JMkspYvDl
— Aaron E. Carroll (@aaronecarroll) August 30, 2021
They note that almost all (more than 9 in 10) COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have occurred among people who are unvaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated, in those states reporting breakthrough data
~ ~ ~
At least three studies have now shown protective antibodies in breastmilk after a nursing parent gets the Covid vaccine, without any evidence of safety concerns. https://t.co/gNd31duBdD
— Tara Haelle (@tarahaelle) August 30, 2021
~ ~ ~
https://twitter.com/WesElyMD/status/1433084748835049478?s=20
~ ~ ~
Survey shows healthcare workers more likely to get COVID-19 at home
~ ~ ~
Please Reevaluate the Data on Convalescent Plasma for COVID-19
Devices:
Lab study showing N95 & KN95 offer best filtration, surgical masks are middling, cloth & bandana by themselves not so good. Doubling up surgical masks or cloth over surgical greatly improves filtration. U-shaped curves because ~300 nm (0.3 μm) is the hardest size to remove. https://t.co/G7zquclhjF pic.twitter.com/ehwqveg9fQ
— Linsey Marr (@linseymarr) September 1, 2021
~ ~ ~
Great study on MASKS:
https://twitter.com/lymanstoneky/status/1433049848153092097?s=20
~ ~ ~
Villages where surgical masks were promoted saw 13.6% lower rates of COVID-like symptoms and illnesses when only about 30% of people were wearing masks. That’s a big deal!
~ ~ ~
https://twitter.com/lymanstoneky/status/1433055992544124932?s=20
~ ~ ~
A reminder to everyone claiming that masks might have some form of impact emotional/educational development children.
— Tyler Black, MD (@tylerblack32) September 3, 2021
1.1 million kids have lost a primary caregiver due to COVID. We are 100% positive that losing a primary caregiver has major emotional/educational impact on kids.
Epidemiology/Infection control:
Most Blood Donations Contain COVID-19 Antibodies
As of August 26, 2021, the UK’s Public Health England (PHE) newly reported seroprevalence data indicates approximately 97.7% of blood donors aged 17 and over have antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 betacoronavirus from either infection or COVID-19 vaccination…
‘If a donor has had a COVID-19 vaccine, they will generate an antibody against the spike protein, but not the nucleocapsid protein, which will only occur in the event of a COVID-19 infection.’
Note: The Red Cross stopped testing for COVID-19 antibodies in the USA on June 25, 2021. As of March 2021, about 20% of blood donations from unvaccinated people had Covid-19 antibodies, according to data shared with CNN by the American Red Cross.
~ ~ ~
The Lancet Infectious Diseases: Delta variant doubles risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation compared to alpha variant, new UK study confirms
People infected with the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant have approximately double the risk of hospitalisation compared with those infected with the alpha variant, a study of more than 40,000 cases from England between 29 March and 23 May 2021, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has confirmed.
The risk of attending hospital for emergency care or being admitted to hospital within 14 days of infection with the delta variant was also one and a half times greater compared with the alpha variant (1.45-fold increase in risk).
This new study is the first to report hospitalisation risk for the delta versus alpha variants based on cases confirmed by whole-genome sequencing, which is the most accurate way to determine the virus variant.
~ ~ ~
https://twitter.com/MackayIM/status/1432954983264051203?s=20
~ ~ ~
New CDC study finds that 36% of COVID patients *never seroconvert*, meaning they NEVER make antibodies! #LongCovid
— Hannah Davis (ON HIATUS FOR JANUARY) (@ahandvanish) August 30, 2021
This is a huge finding which we need to amplify broadly! Please retweet & send to providers, patients, support groups, #MedTwitter, etc.https://t.co/gEne4dE0TQ
1/
~ ~ ~
Fibromyalgia: A New Feature of Long COVID?
~ ~ ~
(New York Times)
Tips, general reading for public:
StayAtHome
Wash your hands.
Rinse and repeat.
Politics:
Texas, where a uterus is more heavily regulated than a gun.
— Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) September 1, 2021
~ ~ ~
https://twitter.com/gracieminabox/status/1432895863509196800?s=20
~ ~ ~
Sotomayor, J., dissenting:
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) September 2, 2021
"This is untenable. It cannot be the case that a state can evade federal judicial scrutiny by outsourcing the enforcement of unconstitutional laws to its citizenry." pic.twitter.com/gQQB6DnB87
~ ~ ~
Justice Kagan's powerful intro to her dissent just now pic.twitter.com/NXnPEwZqRV
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) September 2, 2021
~ ~ ~
Wow. @lyft did not mince words on Texas. pic.twitter.com/tLzngHy902
— Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) September 4, 2021
~ ~ ~
GoDaddy has informed the Texas pro-life whistleblower site that they have “24 hours to move to another provider for violating our terms of service”
— Gabe Sanchez (@iamgabesanchez) September 3, 2021
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Way to go, everyone!https://t.co/KProIQB0Yj
~ ~ ~
The concept of the legal system determining what medication, frequency, and dose for a critically ill patient is concerning. Especially true when the medication would be an off label use and against the current treatment team recommendations. Who becomes responsible for outcome? https://t.co/hpmHTX93xB
— Rachael Callcut, MD, MSPH (@callcura) August 30, 2021
~ ~ ~
Guess where Ron DeSantis is while his state is getting pieces of a Category 4 hurricane?
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) August 29, 2021
New Jersey raising money! https://t.co/YpJBkarHkR pic.twitter.com/z44wliQDb7
~ ~ ~
I just ran into one of the security guards in my building. I asked if she was evacuating. She said: “On my salary, either I can evacuate. Or I can pay my rent on the first. I can’t do both.” I wish more people understood that not everyone has the privilege to evacuate. #Ida
— Robert Collins (@DrRobertCollins) August 29, 2021
~ ~ ~
Candace Owens tried to get a COVID test in Aspen, CO, but was denied service (from a private facility) and received this email, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever read. pic.twitter.com/aSOKBXOvsQ
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) September 2, 2021
~ ~ ~
At Macon County GOP event yesterday, Madison Cawthorn called January 6 rioters “political hostages,” and spoke of trying to “bust them out.” Then-
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) August 30, 2021
Attendee: “When are you gonna call us to Washington again?"
Cawthorn: “We are actively working on that one.”pic.twitter.com/hN96kswnNt
~ ~ ~
Thread: On any given night, the U.S. has 580,000 unhoused people and 17 million vacant homes. As we prepare for mass pandemic evictions, how do these facts connect to booming police budgets?
— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) August 29, 2021
~ ~ ~
Some call it astroturfing; I see radicalism. An excellent piece about these school battles, who’s funding and leading them, and why. https://t.co/39w1xt0CnT
— Leesa Brown (@LeesaBrown) September 3, 2021
~ ~ ~
This is a good point.
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) August 29, 2021
When anti-vaxxers cite their freedoms, constitutional rights, and–the whitest thing of all–the Founding Fathers to rail against vaccine mandates, do they know what they're talking about?
What if I told you this happens EXACTLY every 100 years?
A thread. https://t.co/oKHhVozGhO
~ ~ ~
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1433139147900923906?s=20
~ ~ ~
Texas and guns
Texas’s brand-new permit-less carry measure has been getting all the national attention, but that’s not the only worrying new gun law in Texas as of this week. Under the so-called Second Amendment Sanctuary State Act, state agencies are now prohibited from enforcing any new federal gun restrictions. School marshals in public, private and charter schools can carry concealed weapons instead of having to store them.
~ ~ ~
A Supreme Court where 5 of 6 conservative justices were appointed by GOP presidents who initially lost popular vote & confirmed by senators representing minority of Americans are taking away voting rights & reproductive rights from millions of Americans. This is not democracy
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) September 1, 2021
Feel good du jour:
Mattress Mack is back at work—Houston furniture store owner sends convoy of supplies for victims of Hurricane Ida; opens showroom as shelter https://t.co/WP8o82r6mZ
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 2, 2021
~ ~ ~
After the kitchen closes, we head to the New Orleans streets to deliver meals to those who can’t make it to @WCKitchen food pickup sites. No power means it’s pitch black out, so we serve illuminated by taillights from the back of a WCK vehicle. It’s now day 5 with no electricity. pic.twitter.com/wRYtRS5keC
— Nate Mook (@natemook) September 3, 2021
"A praying mantis (hymenaea protera) trapped in amber. Approximately 12 million years old."
— Insta Science (@insta_science) August 27, 2021
-Credits: K. Miller- pic.twitter.com/vvraabcvdN
Comic relief:
Anti vaxxers who take horse dewormer Ivermectin shall hereby be referred to as neighsayers.
— Brett Meiselas (@BMeiselas) August 29, 2021
~ ~ ~
Bwahhh 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/xQOTvaNktt
— Pedro 🆘🇺🇸…🚫📶🏛. Save🗽 (@Pminn76) September 3, 2021
~ ~ ~
I aspire to this capybara’s level of chill. https://t.co/xxdmuUAccT
— Daniel Summers, MD (@WFKARS) August 29, 2021
~ ~ ~
We have to free this ostrich trapped in a piece of wood pic.twitter.com/J8m7e7LAvj
— Khai (@ThamKhaiMeng) July 4, 2021
~ ~ ~
Watching you slurp dewormer like pic.twitter.com/7e4SwBqAxt
— Schooley (@Rschooley) August 27, 2021
~ ~ ~
This week’s issue of The New Yorker is a compendium of culinary delights taken from seven decades of the magazine’s archives. Take a look inside: https://t.co/oVvECj8nfV pic.twitter.com/IDEYYWYy20
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) August 30, 2021
Perspective/Poem
A garden at Ground Zero: what I learned growing an oasis in the shadow of 9/11 https://t.co/Wf2arVpPs3
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) August 29, 2021
~ ~ ~
I'm overwhelmed by the response to this tweet, which I wrote while howling in bed. Since you're here, I am raising funds to support underrepresented scholars in my field. If you'd like to help me make my fundraising goal that would make my❤️swell.https://t.co/Ie0Nu27rMV
— Dr. Nadia Chaudhri (@DrNadiaChaudhri) May 11, 2021
~ ~ ~
Thinking of these lines today, @maggiesmithpoet: pic.twitter.com/7QUtQ4k7XG
— Maya C. Popa (@MayaCPopa) September 1, 2021
Bits of beauty:
![](https://www.drjudystone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_9605-75x75.jpg)
![](https://www.drjudystone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/IMG_9658-1-75x75.jpg)