Weekly News From Los Alamos County
May 19, 2022
|
|
Inside this newsletter, you will find...
The Epidemiology Corner - COVID-19 Update, Vaccine Update for Kids, Third Round of FREE COVID-19 Tests, Survey & Results, COVID-19 data and more.
|
|
|
|
COVID-19 Update...
"The variant is projected to become the dominant nationwide variant
over the coming months."
|
|
SARS-CoV-2 Variants Circulating in U.S.
For the week ending May 14, CDC estimates Omicron variants BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 account for nearly all COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S., with nearly 50% of cases nationwide attributable to the rapidly increasing BA.2.12.1 variant. Increased severity or vaccine evasiveness has not as yet been observed with BA.2.12.1, which now predominates in some parts of the U.S., and has been associated with locally increasing case incidence and hospitalization.
The most impacted area includes the states of New York and New Jersey (Region 2), where BA.2.12.1 prevalence over the past week increased from 66% to 73%. For the week ending May 12, a total of 137 counties had CDC Community Levels classified as High, most of which were located in Region 2 and the northeastern U.S. CDC recommends that all persons, regardless of vaccination status, wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public settings when the local Community Level is High. The prevalence of BA.2.12.1 in Region 6, which includes New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma increased from 22% to 34% between the weeks ending May 7 and May 14. The BA.2.12.1 variant is projected to become the dominant nationwide variant over the coming months due to an estimated 25% higher transmissibility over that of BA.2. To the extent Region 2 is predictive of other regions of the nation, the increasing prevalence of BA.2.12.1 will likely result in rising incidence and hospitalization in local areas and may result in reclassification of many counties from Low to Medium or High-risk levels. See HERE.
|
|
COVID-19 Incidence in the County
Average daily reported COVID-19 cases continue to remain elevated relative to the low counts seen in March following the January 2022 Omicron BA.1 peak. Roughly 3-4 cases per day were reported among county residents for the week ending May 16, which represents a modest decline from the average 5 cases per day seen in the several weeks prior.
|
|
COVID-19 incidence rates in the county consistently rose during April 2022, before reaching a peak of slightly over 200 cases per 100,000 in early May, after which rates modestly declined. The 200 per 100,000 incidence level is a criteria threshold for the CDC Community Level system, which if exceeded, will automatically re-classify a county from Low to Medium risk, regardless of hospitalization metrics. See HERE. Community Levels are updated each Thursday, and Los Alamos County was recently re-classified as Medium risk based on an incidence rate of 206 cases per 100,000 measured for the week ending May 11. Rates have subsequently declined, which if sustained below the criteria threshold, will return the county to Low-risk status. The recent rate decline also has brought the county into correspondence with the prevailing incidence in New Mexico. In contrast, neighboring Santa Fe County has sustained a continuous rise in incidence, which now exceeds the 200 cases per 100,000 threshold, and which may result in re-classification from Low to Medium risk.
The prevalence of BA.2.12.1 in New Mexico is unknown, but the current CDC estimate is around 34% for Region 6 where the state is located. In comparison, BA.2.12.1 prevalence in Region 2 is estimated at 73%, and rates there are now approaching 450 cases per 100,000. The Region 2 incidence has risen as the prevalence of the highly transmissible BA.2.12.1 variant has risen. Increasing circulation of BA.2.12.1 in New Mexico has the potential to drive local incidence rates higher, and perhaps result in increased hospitalization, particularly among high-risk populations, including those 65+ years and those medically-susceptible. Testing, up-to-date vaccination, and treatment remain the primary measures to prevent COVID-19 severe disease and hospitalization. See HERE and HERE.
|
|
NOTE: The COVID-19 incidence data reviewed here are based mainly on PCR-confirmed testing results compiled by CDC and may not necessarily include positive at-home antigen tests. As such, case counts are likely underestimated, but how much cannot currently be determined. To assist with more complete case monitoring in New Mexico, NMDOH provides for online reporting of positive at-home antigen results HERE
|
|
FDA authorizes first COVID booster for children ages 5 to 11
The Food and Drug Administration Tuesday authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages 5 to 11.
The authorization makes all children in that age group who received their second shot at least five months ago eligible to receive a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The companies requested the authorization based on a small study that the companies and FDA said demonstrated a third shot is safe and can significantly boost antibody levels, countering waning immunity and providing added protection against the virus, including the more contagious omicron variant.
Until now, only children ages 12 and older and adults were eligible for a booster.
"While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized, and children may also experience longer-term effects, even following initially mild disease," said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf in a statement.
"The FDA is authorizing the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age to provide continued protection against COVID-19," Califf said. "Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and its severe consequences, and it is safe."
It remains unclear how much of a demand there will be for the boosters. Less than a third of children ages 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated, and only about a quarter of adolescents have received a booster.
Many doctors and parents have been hoping for the authorization, saying it's important to provide children with as much protection as possible, especially as the number of people catching the virus is rising again and so few people are now wearing masks.
"Since authorizing the vaccine for children down to 5 years of age in October 2021, emerging data suggest that vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 wanes after the second dose of the vaccine in all authorized populations," said Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a statement.
But others are skeptical, saying two shots are still providing strong protection against serious disease and death, and it remains unclear how much-added protection a third shot will provide or how long it will last.
The FDA didn't ask its outside advisers for input on the decision because the agency said the committee had previously discussed the issues and no new questions were raised.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advisers on vaccine practices will meet Thursday and are expected to discuss the implementation of a booster dose for this age group.
To read the full article, click HERE.
|
|
Third round of free Covid-19 tests now available
The websites for HHS and the U.S. Postal Service directed people Monday to apply for a third round of at-home tests.
The federal government started taking orders Monday for a third round of Covid-19 test kits to be mailed to any U.S. household.
A Department of Health and Human Services website said Monday that all U.S. households were eligible to order a third round of tests. Each order now contains eight rapid antigen tests, the U.S. Postal Service website says. Previously, four tests were sent out at a time.
The White House announced the new eligibility Tuesday. It said that in total, about 350 million tests have been delivered by mail in the program.
The tests to be shipped in this new round were purchased earlier this year using funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), which was passed by Congress in 2021, the administration said.
President Joe Biden in December announced a plan to ship free at-home tests to people across the country, and the website with the first tests went live in January.
A second round was announced in March.
The number of new Covid cases has been increasing in recent weeks. The White House cited the more transmissible subvariants of the omicron variant and the importance of testing in announcing the new round of eligibility Tuesday.
|
|
How Often Can You Be Infected With the Coronavirus?
The spread of the Omicron variant has given scientists an unsettling answer: repeatedly, sometimes within months.
A virus that shows no signs of disappearing, variants that are adept at dodging the body’s defenses, and waves of infections two, maybe three times a year — this may be the future of Covid-19, some scientists now fear.
The central problem is that the coronavirus has become more adept at reinfecting people. Already, those infected with the first Omicron variant are reporting second infections with the newer versions of the variant — BA.2 or BA2.12.1 in the United States, or BA.4 and BA.5 in South Africa.
Those people may go on to have third or fourth infections, even within this year, researchers said in interviews. And some small fraction may have symptoms that persist for months or years, a condition known as long Covid.
This is not how it was supposed to be. Earlier in the pandemic, experts thought that immunity from vaccination or previous infection would forestall most reinfections. The Omicron variant dashed those hopes. Unlike previous variants, Omicron and its many descendants seem to have evolved to partially dodge immunity. That leaves everyone — even those who have been vaccinated multiple times — vulnerable to multiple infections.
The new variants have not altered the fundamental usefulness of the Covid vaccines. Most people who have received three or even just two doses will not become sick enough to need medical care if they test positive for the coronavirus. And a booster dose, like a previous bout with the virus, does seem to decrease the chance of reinfection — but not by much.
At the pandemic’s outset, many experts based their expectations of the coronavirus on influenza, the viral foe most familiar to them. They predicted that, as with the flu, there might be one big outbreak each year, most likely in the fall. The way to minimize its spread would be to vaccinate people before its arrival.
Instead, the coronavirus is behaving more like four of its closely related cousins, which circulate and cause colds year-round.
The Omicron variant was different enough from Delta, and Delta from earlier versions of the virus, that some reinfections were to be expected. But now, Omicron seems to be evolving new forms that penetrate immune defenses with relatively few changes to its genetic code.
An infection with Omicron produces a weaker immune response, which seems to wane quickly, compared with infections with previous variants. Although the newer versions of the variant are closely related, they vary enough from an immune perspective that infection with one doesn’t leave much protection against the others — and certainly not after three or four months.
Still, the good news is that most people who are reinfected with new versions of Omicron will not become seriously ill. At least at the moment, the virus has not hit upon a way to fully sidestep the immune system.
Each infection may bring with it the possibility of long Covid, the constellation of symptoms that can persist for months or years. It’s too early to know how often an Omicron infection leads to long Covid, especially in vaccinated people.
To keep up with the evolving virus, other experts said, the Covid vaccines should be updated more quickly, even more quickly than flu vaccines are each year. Even an imperfect match to a new form of the coronavirus will still broaden immunity and offer some protection, they said.
To read the full story, click HERE.
|
|
|
How often do you believe you have had COVID-19?
|
|
|
|
Los Alamos Vaccine & Booster Information |
|
Los Alamos County Vaccine/Booster Resources
Visit the County COVID Page for information regarding vaccinations/boosters, click below:
|
|
CDC COVID Data Tracker - May 19, 2022
To get today's break down of positive case data, demographics information, vaccine status and more for Los Alamos County or other counties across the United States, click HERE
|
|
The charts available with this TOOL layout the key metrics for understanding the reach and severity of COVID-19 in a given area.
|
|
Johns Hopkins
COVID-19 Status Report Dashboard for
|
|
NMDOH Epidemiology Reports - Daily and Weekly Data
As part of the COVID-19 pandemic response, NMDOH collects and analyzes statewide data for COVID-19 positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. The reports reflect these critical data and are updated weekly - click HERE
See the daily report for New Mexico on the chart below.
|
|
We are listening to you!
Your feedback is helping to shape future newsletters, inform decisions regarding services, and make Los Alamos County healthier and safer. Make sure to participate each week to be heard!
|
|
Remember, we appreciate your questions! We always try to respond in a timely manner, and if appropriate, we will include those Q&As in future newsletters.
Take a look at these results from the last survey:
|
|
Have a question? Email us. |
|
Testing Resources for Los Alamos County |
|
Los Alamos County Testing Resources
Visit the County COVID Page for information regarding testing, click below:
|
|
What else would you like to see in this newsletter?
Click below to email us your feedback and questions!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
