COVID News Brief: The news you need to know

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AVAC's weekly COVID News Brief provides a curated perspective on what COVID news is worth your time.
"At some point the virus will eventually reach evolutionary dead ends, meaning there will be no new major variants. At that point it will switch from waves of infection to becoming endemic. Combined with widespread immunity, better treatments and new vaccines, that will mark the endgame."
-- Prof Salim Abdool Karim in The Telegraph ([link removed]) (UK).


** Share of People Who Completed the Initial COVID-19 Vaccination Protocol
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October 6, 2022
Source: Our World in Data ([link removed])


** Table of Contents
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* If You Are in a Hurry (#If You Are in a Hurry)
* How Might Pandemic COVID-19 End? (#How Might Pandemic COVID-19 End?)
* Tenofovir and COVID-19 (#Tenofovir and COVID-19)
* Teen Pregnancies and Lockdowns (#Teen Pregnancies and Lockdowns)
* Monkeypox Cases Declining in US (#Monkeypox Cases Declining in US)
* Recovering a Sense of Smell (#Recovering a Sense of Smell)
* Northern Hemisphere Winter Surge? (#Northern Hemisphere Winter Surge?)
* Combatting Misinformation from Doctors (#Combatting Misinformation from Doctors)


* Chinese mrNA Vax Approved in Indonesia (#Chinese mrNA Vax Approved in Indonesia)
* Lockdowns and Human Rights in Africa (#Lockdowns and Human Rights in Africa)
* Lifesaving Device in South Africa (#Lifesaving Device in South Africa)
* Ebola Outbreak in Uganda (#Ebola Outbreak in Uganda)
* COVID-19 Guidance without a Scientific Frame (#COVID-19 Guidance without a Scientific Frame)
* Long COVID (#Long COVID)
* Vaccine Coverage in Africa (#Vaccine Coverage in Africa)

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic politics has played a role in local, national and global responses to the virus. In the US, we watched vaccination rates differ between “red states” and “blue states” and often heard very different messages from politicians of the two parties. Now a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research ([link removed]) has tracked excess deaths in Ohio and Florida by voter registration. The Washington Post ([link removed]) (US) reports researchers, “took 577,659 death records from Ohio and Florida between January 2018 and December 2021 and matched the decedents to a 2017 voter file. In other words, they were able to identify the partisanship not only of the places those people lived but of the people themselves. What they found is that the rate of excess death…. Was higher for Republicans, particularly after vaccines were rolled out…. Before the vaccines, the
pattern of deaths during the pandemic looked the same for Democrats and Republicans, even in counties that would later have lower vaccination rates. Then, after vaccinations became available, the divergence emerged — and was much wider in counties with lower vaccination rates.”


** If You Are in a Hurry
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* Read a review article in Nature ([link removed]) that looks at COVID-19 responses in Africa and the impact on human rights and recommends policy considerations for future health crises.
* Read The New York Times ([link removed]) on hopes that monkeypox can be eradicated in the US.
* Check out Africa Data Hubs clickable map of Africa on The Conversation ([link removed]) to see what the status of vaccination is across the continent.
* Read The Telegraph ([link removed]) for Slim Karim’s thoughts on the probability of Pi and how COVID-19 might end.
* Read aidsmap ([link removed]) on the impact of the ARV tenofovir on COVID-19.
* Read Health Policy Watch ([link removed]) on hope for curbing teen pregnancies in future pandemics and lockdowns.
* Read STAT ([link removed]) on hopes for testing new vaccines against the current Ebola strain in Uganda.




** How Might Pandemic COVID-19 End?
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In an interview with The Telegraph ([link removed]) (UK) Slim Karim says, “the coronavirus still has plenty of potential to evolve. But while that might leave nasty surprises in store, Prof Karim also believes that the other ingredients needed to reach a pandemic endgame are coming together…. But he warns, “It hasn’t even explored a fraction of its potential. Are we going to see Pi? That’s the next letter in the Greek alphabet. I don’t know. My money is yes. When? I don’t know. I thought it would be here by now.” Looking forward, “At some point the virus will eventually reach evolutionary dead ends, he said, meaning there will be no new major variants. At that point it will switch from waves of infection to becoming endemic. Combined with widespread immunity, better treatments and new vaccines, that will mark the endgame.”



** Tenofovir and COVID-19
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Aidsmap ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “A study in over 20,000 men living with HIV in the United States has found the strongest evidence yet that tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF – the older formulation of tenofovir, which in the US has been largely replaced by the newer tenofovir alafenamide or TAF) may help to protect against symptomatic COVID-19 infection, hospitalisation and admission to intensive care…. One question unanswered by the study is this: assuming the effects of TDF are real, does it have a preventative or curative effect? In other words, do you have to take it for a while beforehand to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection and of severe illness and if so for how long – or could you put someone, regardless of HIV status, on TDF who tested positive for COVID-19, or had been a contact of someone who did, and would it have an immediate effect?”



** Teen Pregnancies and Lockdowns
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Health Policy Watch ([link removed]) (Switzerland) reports, “Many African countries experienced a surge in teen pregnancies during COVID-19 lockdowns and school closures, and concerned health policymakers are struggling to implement effective strategies to curb teen pregnancies…. The WHO’s Dr. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli said that there is considerable evidence of successful approaches to reducing adolescent pregnancy…. ‘Firstly, they put scale-up on the national agenda. Secondly, they offered a multi-component intervention package, not just sexual and reproductive services or sexuality education. Thirdly, they put money on the table from internal sources and external sources and managed the scale-up. Fourthly, they built support for the programme and anticipated and addressed resistance when it occurred. And lastly, they worked strategically to ensure sustainability.’”



** Monkeypox Cases Declining in US
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The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports, “With monkeypox cases on the decline nationally, federal health officials expressed optimism…that the virus could be eliminated in the United States, though they cautioned that unless it was wiped out globally, Americans would remain at risk…. On Thursday, Dr. Daskalakis did not give a timeline for ending the outbreak in the United States, saying only that he was looking into his “midterm crystal ball.” But he said he expected that, over time, cases would drop to a trickle and infections would emerge only sporadically, enabling health officials to isolate and vaccinate the close contacts of those infected — and end the outbreak in the process.”



** Recovering a Sense of Smell
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Eating Well ([link removed]) (US) reports on an Italian chef and “super-taster” who lost his sense of smell and taste after contracting COVID-19 and his efforts to help himself and others regain a sense of smell. “Crippa, who had built his life around the use of his nose, took an unusual approach to guide his olfactory neuron regeneration, something nobody had tried before. He went a bit further than smelling flasks of distilled scents to awaken his olfactory bulbs. He tried to harness his memory of smells to reactivate his olfactory system. He even created a class on how to use sensory analysis techniques to awaken smell memories for others suffering from loss of smell caused by COVID-19. What if the exercise of thinking about those smell-related memories could help correct some of the distortions experienced by people around the world? Since September 3, 2021, when Crippa started training on himself
and vanilla was an unbearable scent, his method has helped him and others to partially recover. ‘I can now smell vanilla,’ he said victoriously.”



** Northern Hemisphere Winter Surge?
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Science ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Several new and highly immune-evasive strains of the virus have caught scientists’ attention in recent weeks; one or more may well cause big, new COVID-19 waves this fall and winter…. Sheward and Murrell agree we should expect lots of infections in the next few months, as happened last winter when Omicron entered the scene. But they’re less pessimistic than Cao, noting that many more people have recovered from an infection now or have received additional vaccine doses, including Omicron-specific boosters, whose rollout began this month. Those will boost overall antibody levels and will likely broaden the antibody repertoire, Sheward says: ‘I don’t think we’re quite back to square one.’”



** Combatting Misinformation from Doctors
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Medscape ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Doctors who spread coronavirus lies could be disciplined for unprofessional conduct in California under a law signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The bill…. declares that a physician or surgeon commits professional misconduct if they disseminate ‘misinformation or disinformation’ about the nature and risks of COVID-19, its prevention and treatment and the development, safety and effectiveness of vaccines. A doctor who commits such conduct could face discipline by the state medical board or osteopathic medical board and in severe cases, could potentially lose their license to practice in California.”



** Chinese mrNA Vax Approved in Indonesia
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China Daily ([link removed]) (Hong Kong) reports, “Indonesia said it has granted emergency use approval to an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company. Indonesia's food and drugs agency greenlighted the use of Walvax Biotechnology's mRNA vaccine, which has been in development for more than two years and targets the original strain of the coronavirus. However, Walvax has yet to publish efficacy readings for its vaccine, now known as AWcorna, from its large late-stage trial which would show how well it can reduce the risk of COVID cases and deaths from the disease.”

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Moderna Inc has refused to hand over to China the core intellectual property behind the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, leading to a collapse in negotiations on its sale there…. China has not approved any foreign COVID-19 vaccines and relies on several domestically developed shots. In September, Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton had said ([link removed]) the company was keen to collaborate with China on supplying its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines to the country.”



** Lockdowns and Human Rights in Africa
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A review article in Nature ([link removed]) (UK) looks at, “COVID-19 and the effects of interventions on human rights in African countries, examining primary studies, editorial notes, opinion papers, and literature reviews, with focus on qualitative approaches and discussions.” The researchers found, “social status, citizenship, economic status and health are interrelated, and those who were already vulnerable and disadvantaged prior to the pandemic were especially vulnerable under COVID-19 regulations. The authors conclude: In the literature, scholars call for COVID-19 policies that: achieve a balance between COVID-19 spread and the protection of human rights; implement population-specific responses to supplement uniform public health responses; treat the causes instead of the symptoms; plan instead of react; and co-construct with instead of instructing people, especially vulnerable populations. We present these recommendations as instruments to be
considered when designing new policies in relation to pandemic preparedness, so to incorporate a human rights perspective.”



** Lifesaving Device in South Africa
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The Maverick ([link removed]) (South Africa) reports, “ Dr. Craig Parker’s oxygen device – the OxERA – saved hundreds of lives during COVID-19, particularly in the rural Eastern Cape. Now, it has earned a global nod, being listed in the World Health Organization’s 2022 Compendium under ‘innovative health technologies for low resource settings’. A brochure describes OxERA as an ‘all-in-one device using an oxygen accumulator bag, an anaesthetic mask and an adjustable mechanical peep valve (a spring-loaded valve against which the patient exhales) that is cost-effective and oxygen efficient’. The device requires an oxygen source, but uses less oxygen than traditional ventilators and is simpler to operate.”



** Ebola Outbreak in Uganda
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STAT ([link removed]) (US) reports, “clinical trial of one or perhaps two experimental vaccines designed to protect against the Ebola Sudan virus could soon begin in Uganda, as long as the country agrees to allow the research to take place, an official of the World Health Organization said Wednesday…. WHO’s Health Emergencies Program have been meeting since last week to try to determine if any of the vaccines in development are far enough along to warrant testing in the fast-growing Ebola Sudan outbreak, which was first recognized early last week. This is the first Ebola Sudan outbreak in a decade, presenting a rare opportunity to test a vaccine for this species of Ebola virus.”

The Monitor ([link removed]) (Uganda) reports, “The health ministry tweeted on Monday that the total number of Ebola cases identified in the country stood at 43, with nearly 900 contact cases identified. Last week President Yoweri Museveni ruled out imposing a lockdown to contain the virus, saying that ‘government has capacity to control this outbreak as we have done before’.”

Devex ([link removed]) (US) reports, “The rare strain of Ebola circulating in Uganda does not have an approved vaccine, and rapid tests to confirm cases are also not available for the strain. This means suspected cases must undergo polymerase chain reaction, or PCR testing, which is a more lengthy process and requires a laboratory and reagent.”



** COVID-19 Guidance without a Scientific Frame
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A research article in Science Advances ([link removed]) (US) looks at the way many people received non-scientific COVID-19 guidance on Facebook early in the pandemic, when “many people were exposed to guidance that was not best science from their online communities of likely well-meaning but non-expert friends. Some even died as a result of drinking bleach or rejecting masks.” The authors note, “Our findings show that the anti-communities jumped in to dominate the conversation well before the official announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic and that neutral communities (e.g., parenting) subsequently moved even closer to extreme communities and hence became highly exposed to their content. Parenting communities first received COVID-19 guidance from anti communities as early as January 2020. This continued up to and beyond the official pandemic announcement, after which parenting communities felt confident enough to begin adding their own guidance to the
conversation. Guidance from pro communities remained low throughout, which is consistent with parenting communities seeking other sources.”



** Long COVID
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CIDRAP ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Among patients seen at long-COVID clinics in four countries, older people were the most likely to report symptoms and have abnormal chest imaging and lung function tests, finds a study ([link removed](22)00535-5/fulltext#%20) published late last week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.” The study authors are quoted: “The exceedingly high numbers of COVID-19 recoverees together with the high prevalence of long COVID among the elderly population indicate a need for clinical attention and resource allocation for long COVID among older adults. Possible interventions aimed at promoting rehabilitation and well-being of this susceptible population should be assessed in comparative trials."



** Vaccine Coverage in Africa
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The Conversation ([link removed]) (Australia) shares a clickable map of Africa developed by Africa Data Hub that provides vaccination information for almost every country on the continent, reporting that the inequity between rich and lower income nations has shifted over time, and “another picture is emerging. That is one of the inequities among African countries. While on average 4 in 100 Africans are fully vaccinated, there are more than 30 countries where less than 5 in 100 people have received a single dose. The top five vaccinated countries in Africa include three island states and two countries in North Africa with full vaccination rates ranging from 20 percent to 72 percent. Almost half of the countries in Africa have full vaccination rates below 2 percent."
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