COVID-19 has fallen out of the national spotlight, as cases and death counts fall week-over-week. But there are still challenges present. The threat of the BA.2 variant that caused a post-Omicron resurgence in Europe demonstrated COVID-19 still requires vigilance, effort and funding to overcome.
In Arizona this week, there were 6,840 new cases of COVID-19 reported and 413 new deaths. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 data dashboard, Arizona is now 319 deaths from 30,000 total deaths related to COVID-19 in the state. COVID-19 patients are now using only 15% of hospital inpatient beds and 19% of intensive care unit beds, but only 7% and 10% of beds remain available, respectively.
This is National Public Health Week, and to commemorate the ADHS provided a retrospective on all its efforts over the past two years to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. ADHS boasts over 19 million COVID-19 tests, five million doses of vaccines administered, assistance through the Arizona Surge Line and 120 infection control assessments in healthcare and congregate living facilities.
Last Friday, hospitalizations hit a national low with just over 16,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this number includes patients in the ICU. According to ABC7, despite the drop in hospitalizations, hospitals are still experiencing severe staffing issues.
Nursing homes in the U.S. are also experiencing pandemic lows, with 67 resident deaths reported during the week ending March 27. According to the New York Times, these lows are similar to those reached after the vaccine rollout and prior to the surge related to the Delta variant. Now health policy experts are stressing the importance of booster shots for seniors, following authorization of a second booster shot from the Food and Drug Administration for high risk individuals.
Omicron BA.2
Health officials have warned about the dangers of the BA.2 variant since early spring, which is a relation of the original Omicron variant (BA.1) and has since out-paced its predecessor in spread both globally and nationally. According to a BA.2 explainer from the Wall Street Journal, the two strains of Omicron marked the first time in the pandemic that two competing variants emerged in parallel. At this time, it does not show an increased risk in hospitalization from BA.1 in Denmark or South Africa, but the World Health Organization suggests that BA.2 is roughly 30% more infectious than BA.1.
In the U.S., the BA.2 variant is responsible for an increasing share of U.S. cases, especially in the Northeast United States. The Wall Street Journal reports that for the week ending on April 2, BA.2 represented 72% of national cases and 84% in New England, New York and New Jersey. These numbers are supported by wastewater sampling sites, which have been used by public health officials to determine the levels of COVID infection in a certain area, and the dominant strains for that outbreak.
Federal Funding and Policy
Citing the rise of the BA.2 variant, the FDA has ended the authorization of sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody, in the treatment of COVID-19 in any region in the U.S. According to the FDA, the authorized dose of sotrovimab is unlikely to be effective against the BA.2 variant.
Medicare will now cover up to eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per beneficiary per month, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These tests will be covered by Part B and extended to enrollees in Medicare Advantage Plans beginning April 4. The tests will continue to be paid for by the Medicare program until the end of the public health emergency (PHE).
Several U.S. Senators said last week that they had reached a framework to continue funding COVID-19 vaccines, antiviral treatments and other supplies to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., but not abroad. The $10 billion deal more than halves the $22 billion requested by the White House and would force the Biden Administration to scale back certain aspects of its planned response. This will likely include major cuts to plans to produce and distribute vaccine globally, which would assist in suppressing the emergence of another deadly variant. The Washington Post reports that Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) hinted that the funds would come from otherwise unspent sources of funding allocated previously in the pandemic.
Arizona could use some of that funding. Last week, Embry Health announced that it would close at least 60 COVID-19 testing locations due to the end of federal funding. Embry Health has also suggested that it may not be able to provide free testing for uninsured patients if Congress does not pass the finding relief soon, according to ABC15. From Embry Health CEO Raymond Embry:
If people do not have free COVID-19 testing available, they will not get tested, putting families and loved ones at risk. Therefore, Embry HEalth continues to encourage Congress to authorize additional timely funding for COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccinations. This funding is critical to ensure the testing and vaccine infrastructure built by labs and providers across America remains available for all patients, regardless of insurance status.
Anti-vaccine Scientist Making False Claims
The New York Times reports that a man named Dr. Robert Malone, who worked to bring medical treatments to market in order to fight the Zika and Ebola viruses, is now claiming that he invented the mRNA vaccine and is discouraging people from getting it. While he did participate in its creation, according to colleagues his role was “minimal at best.” Dr. Malone has appeared on Hannity, a Fox News evening show hosted by Sean Hannity, and the Joe Rogan Experience, which is the largest podcast in the country.
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