Weekly Covid-19 Update: Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Happy Tuesday, everyone. Here is the latest in Covid-related research. This week I’ve got information on Covid and mental health, the risk of heart inflammation after the Pfizer vaccine, the effectiveness of HEPA air filters to stop the spread of Covid, natural immunity versus vaccine immunity, the prevalence of Covid in secondary school students in the UK, and a world update.
1) Since Sunday was World Mental Health Day, I’ll start with a research item about mental health and Covid-19. A new peer-reviewed article published in The Lancet studied the prevalence of major depressive disorders and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories for the year 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings showed that there were an estimated 76 million additional cases of anxiety globally than what would be expected in a non-pandemic year, and an additional 53.2 million cases of major depressive disorder. The locations hit hardest by Covid based on the number of daily new cases and decreased human mobility (due to lockdowns, etc.) had higher rates of these mental health issues. Females were significantly more affected by these issues than males and younger age groups were more affected than older age groups. The authors interpreted their findings in the following way: “This pandemic has created an increased urgency to strengthen mental health systems in most countries. Mitigation strategies could incorporate ways to promote mental wellbeing and target determinants of poor mental health and interventions to treat those with a mental disorder. Taking no action to address the burden of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders should not be an option.” You can read the full study here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02143-7/fulltext
2) Following up with another mental health-related study, researchers in France examined suicide attempts among children aged 15 years or younger during the 10 years before the Covid-19 pandemic as well as during the pandemic. The study involved 830 children who attempted suicide. The mean age was 13.5 years old and there was a 1:4 ratio of boys to girls. During the first lockdown period in France (March-April 2020), there was a 36% decrease in suicide attempts compared to the previous year. After that, though, the number of suicide attempts increased substantially, with a 116% increase in attempts during the months of September and October 2020 and a 299% increase in November and December 2020. Data available so far from 2021 continues to show increases in suicide attempts. Of these findings the authors stated, “our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with profound changes in the dynamics of suicide attempts among children. There is a need for rapid deployment of evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to address factors influencing suicide attempts among children during and likely after the pandemic.” The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open. You can read the full text here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784787
3) Two large-scale studies concluded that the risk of heart inflammation after receiving the Pfizer vaccine is very low. Both studies were peer-reviewed and published in The New England Journal of Medicine and used data from Israel. The first study, a nationwide analysis of 5.1 million people, found 136 cases of myocarditis within one month of being vaccinated. Of those, 95% of the cases were classified as mild and one person died. The risk was slightly higher for men, with approximately 4 men out of 100,000 developing myocarditis. For women, the incidence was less than 1 in 100,000. Younger men aged 16–19 had a higher risk at 15 out of 100,000. The second study had very similar findings. Using data from 2.5 million people, the researchers found that the risk of myocarditis was 2 out of 100,000 after the Pfizer vaccine. They also found that younger men were at a higher risk than the general population. Most cases were mild or moderate in severity. You can read the full text of both studies at the following links:
Study 1: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109730?query=featured_home
Study 2: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2110737
4) As we all know very well by now, Covid is an airborne virus that primarily spreads through tiny droplets in the air. Researchers in the UK tested high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and ultra-violet (UV) light sterilization in a crowded hospital to determine how effective these were at clearing Covid particles from the air. They tested in a general Covid surge ward of the hospital as well as in a Covid ICU ward. Findings showed that airborne Covid was detected in the air in the surge ward on days when the air/UV filtration was not used, but was not detected during the days it was in use. Very few Covid particles were detected in the Covid ICU ward regardless of whether the air/UV filtration was used. The authors suggested this could be due to slower viral replication at later stages of the disease. The authors concluded, “These data demonstrate the feasibility of removing SARS-CoV-2 from the air of repurposed ‘surge’ wards and suggest that air filtration devices may help reduce the risk of hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2.” The findings seem to reinforce the need to use HEPA filters to remove Covid-19 particles from the air in enclosed spaces. This study has not yet undergone peer review (important disclaimer!), but the pre-print can be read in full here: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.09.16.21263684v1
5) Researchers from King’s College London and the ZOE Covid Study released data on protection from Covid-19 infections for those who have been vaccinated and for those who previously recovered from Covid but have not been vaccinated (also known as “natural immunity”). Using data from May-June 2021 when the UK experienced a large wave of infections due to the Delta variant, the researchers found that a full course (2 jabs) of the Pfizer vaccine provided 87% protection against Covid. For those who were double-jabbed with Pfizer AND had previously recovered from Covid, protection was at 95%. For those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine the numbers were 71% and 90%, respectively. For those individuals who were never vaccinated but had recovered from Covid, protection via natural immunity was only 65%. A press release about the research stated that the finding “supports the call for everyone to get vaccinated even if they’ve already had COVID.” You can read the press release about the research here: https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/do-i-need-a-covid-vaccine-if-ive-had-covid
6) A report released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in the UK showed that 1 in 14 secondary school students (school year 7–11) were infected with Covid-19 last week. This was up from 1 in 20 the previous week. This age group had the sharpest rise in cases out of any age group in all of the UK, with those in the age 2 to school year 6 category ranking second. Those in secondary schools (age 12+) are now eligible for vaccines in the UK, but figures showed that only about 9% of those eligible in this age group had been vaccinated at the time of the report, which can be read in full here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/8october2021
7) Now for a world update. In the United States there has been a 24% decrease in new cases over the past two weeks. Yesterday there were 123,528 new cases and the daily average number of cases is down to 89,526. Hospitalizations have decreased 20% with approximately 67,000 people in hospital. Deaths have decreased 10% and the average number of daily deaths over the past week is 1,853. Case rates per 100,000 people remain highest in Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, and West Virginia. Of those eligible for a vaccine (age 12+), 66% of the US population has been fully vaccinated and 76% have had at least one dose.
— In the UK cases have increased 10% over the past two weeks. The current daily average number of new cases is 36,976. Today there were 38,520 new cases. A total of 7,003 people are currently hospitalized for Covid. Deaths have decreased 19% over the past two weeks and the current average daily deaths is 111. Among those eligible for a vaccine in the UK, 78.6% have received both doses. A scathing report published today by the House of Commons Health and Social Care and Science and Technology Committees stated that the UK government’s response to the pandemic “ranks as one of the most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced”.
— Elsewhere, Russia is testing a version of its vaccine (Sputnik V) in the form of nasal spray. Today Russia had its highest number of deaths ever since the pandemic began with 973. Thailand announced it will reopen its borders to vaccinated travelers starting in November. In Australia, yesterday marked the end of Sydney’s 107-day lockdown after the state of New South Wales reached a 70% vaccination rate for people aged 16 and older.
Sources:
US numbers: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
UK numbers: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/united-kingdom-covid-cases.html
UK vaccines: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL
House of Commons report: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/7496/documents/78687/default/
Russia and Thailand: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/oct/12/coronavirus-live-uk-covid-response-a-public-health-failure-inquiry-finds-thailand-set-to-welcome-back-tourists
Sydney: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-58866464
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next Tuesday with another update!
