The Wall Street Journal again warns us about an impending tripledemic of Covid, the flu, and RSV.
The New York Times adds
As it gets colder and more people move their activities indoors, the recent decline in Covid-19 cases across the United States has started to level off. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are ticking up in a number of states, including Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. And there have been a variety of unnerving headlines about the immune evasion and increased transmissibility of the next round of coronavirus subvariants.
At least half a dozen versions of the virus are competing to become the next dominant strain in the United States, but they are part of the same family tree. “They are all offspring of Omicron,” said Dr. Albert Ko, a physician and epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. Though each subvariant has slightly different mutations, none of them seem to be creating significant waves just yet, the way the Delta and Omicron variants did when they first appeared, Dr. Ko said.
From the Omicron and siblings front, the Center for Disease Control’s weekly interpretation of its Covid statistics tells us
Cases
As of November 2, 2022, the current 7-day average of weekly new cases (39,016) increased 4.7% compared with the previous 7-day average (37,261). A total of 97,604,763 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States as of November 2, 2022.
Variant Proportions
CDC Nowcast projections for the week ending November 5, 2022, estimate that the combined national proportion of lineages designated as Omicron will continue to be 100%.
The Wall Street Journal points out
Two BA.5 offshoots, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, are gaining ground in the U.S., now accounting for an estimated 35% of cases this past week, CDC data show. Researchers and health officials have flagged both BQ variants and another variant called XBB as strains to watch, in part because they might heighten the risk for reinfection or evade certain treatments.
Hospitalizations
The current 7-day daily average for October 26–November 1, 2022, was 3,272. This is a 1.0% decrease from the prior 7-day average (3,306) from October 19–25, 2022.
Deaths
The current 7-day average of new deaths (358) decreased 3.0% compared with the previous 7-day average (369). As of November 2, 2022, a total of 1,068,667 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the United States.
Vaccinations
As of November 2, 2022, 640.9 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States. Overall, about 266.4 million people, or 80.2% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 227.4 million people, or 68.5% of the total U.S. population, have completed a primary series.
Of those who have completed a primary series, about 112.5 million people have received a booster dose, and more than 26.38 million people have received an updated (bivalent) booster dose. But 49.1% of the total booster-eligible population has not yet received a booster dose.
STAT News adds
New data from Pfizer and BioNTech on their bivalent Covid-19 vaccine suggests the updated product may be more protective against more recent Omicron subvariants than the original version of the vaccine, the companies said in a statement released Friday.
The companies said the levels of neutralizing antibodies that target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were four-fold higher in people aged 55 and older who received the bivalent booster than in similarly aged people who received a monovalent booster.
The CDC’s Fluview tells us that for the week ended last Saturday
Early increases in seasonal influenza activity continue nationwide. The southeastern and south-central areas of the country are reporting the highest levels of activity followed by the Mid-Atlantic and the south-central West Coast regions.
CDC estimates that, so far this season, there have been at least 1,600,000 illnesses, 13,000 hospitalizations, and 730 deaths from flu.
The cumulative hospitalization rate in the FluSurv-NET system is higher than the rate observed in week 43 during every previous season since 2010-2011.An annual flu vaccine is the best way to protect against flu.
Vaccination helps prevent infection and can also prevent serious outcomes in people who get vaccinated but still get sick with flu.
CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu vaccine annually.
There are also prescription flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat flu illness; those need to be started as early as possible.
Forbes informs us about the availability of an RSV immune agent
While clinical trials are currently underway to provide RSV vaccines to pregnant women in order to protect their soon-to-be newborns from RSV infections, pediatric specialists have been administering an RSV “vaccine” for years. This vaccine, called palivizumab (Synagis) isn’t actually a vaccine. It is a preventative monoclonal antibody injection which has been available to high-risk infants since 1998.
This therapy is administered as an injectable agent, thus was given the vernacular “vaccine” term, even though it is not a vaccine, nor does it act as one. It is an immune agent, providing antibody protection from severe RSV infections in vulnerable infants. It is given as an injection every month for five consecutive months. It was shown to reduce hospitalization by an average of 50% in two large placebo-controlled double-blind studies which included a total of nearly 3,000 high-risk babies.
[T]he American Academy of Pediatrics has presented updated guidelines for use of Synagis during any time where a particular region is experiencing a surge of RSV cases:
“With the shift in seasonality noted in 2021 and the current regional variability in interseason RSV cases, the AAP continues to support the use of palivizumab in eligible infants in any region experiencing rates of RSV activity at any time in 2022 similar to a typical fall-winter season. The AAP recommends initiating the standard administration of palivizumab, which consists of 5 consecutive monthly doses.”
From the healthcare cost front, Employee Benefits News reports
The Business Group on Health named cancer as the top driver of employer healthcare costs, a spot previously held by musculoskeletal conditions. In fact, 13% of employers surveyed say they have seen more late-stage cancers impacting their workforce, and 44% predict they will see an increase in cancer diagnoses in the future.
Again, Kelsay points out that delays in screenings, such as mammograms and prostate exams, left many Americans to unknowingly live with cancer. An estimated 64% of Americans deferred cancer screenings in 2021, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology. And as a condition that can take months or years to treat, cancer is incredibly costly. The National Cancer Institute estimates the average cost of medical care and drugs is approximately $42,000 in the year following a cancer diagnosis.
“A lot of cancer treatments require immunotherapies, which are very expensive pharmaceuticals, as well as hospital stays and surgeries,” says Kelsay. “Cancer is just a terribly expensive condition to have.”
EBRI offers a detailed report on out of pocket spending in employer sponsored plans.
From the U.S. healthcare business front, Fierce Healthcare relates
Kaiser Permanente posted a $1.6 billion profit for the third quarter, which is down by nearly half from the $3 billion it generated in the previous quarter.
The 39-hospital system and health plan’s earnings, reported Friday, were affected by a major surge of COVID-19 that caused expenses to increase. Kaiser Permanente’s hospital system and health plan reported total operating revenue of $23.2 billion and expenses of $23 billion.
From the virtual care front, mHelath Intelligence reports
Recent survey results released by Elevance Health found that most Americans who participated in virtual primary care said their experience was satisfactory and that the service effectively enabled them to manage their health.
Formerly known as Anthem Inc., Elevance Health is a health insurer. Through the survey, Elevance aimed to gather data on virtual primary care, its outcomes, and what patients think. The payer commissioned the Harris Poll to conduct an online survey of more than 5,000 US adults aged 18 and over.
Researchers found that 79 percent of study participants believed virtual primary care allowed them to take charge of their health, and 94 percent were satisfied with their experience. * * *
These survey findings come on the heels of a report released at the end of October, which found that telehealth was highly used among those engaging in primary care and mental health services. It also showed that patient satisfaction with telehealth was high.
From the miscellany department, The New York Times offers advice to insomniacs.
A good night’s sleep can make us more empathetic, more creative, better parents and better partners, according to Aric Prather, a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco who treats insomnia and is the author of the new book “The Sleep Prescription.” Sleep can help us manage stress; it can make us competent and capable and better able to take on the day. But Dr. Prather says we too often view sleep as an afterthought — until we find ourselves frozen in the middle of the night, our thoughts racing, fumbling for rest or relief.