Moderna will ask regulators to authorize two small-dose shots for youngsters under 6. Early results from the study found that tots developed high levels of virus-fighting antibodies from shots containing a quarter of the dose given to adults. pic.twitter.com/SuZPRE29si
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 23, 2022
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The number of new coronavirus cases globally increased by 7% in the last week, driven by infections in the Western Pacific, the WHO said. The rise is due to the more infectious omicron variant and the suspension of COVID-19 protocols in many countries. https://t.co/ogvg6Hk1Uu
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 23, 2022
The number of new coronavirus cases globally increased by 7% in the last week, driven largely by rising infections in the Western Pacific, even as reported deaths from COVID-19 fell, the World Health Organization said.
There were more than 12 million new weekly cases and just under 33,000 deaths, a 23% decline in mortality, according to the U.N. health agency’s report on the pandemic issued late Tuesday.
Confirmed cases of the virus had been falling steadily worldwide since January but rose again last week, due to the more infectious omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2, in addition to the suspension of COVID-19 protocols in numerous countries in Europe, North America and elsewhere.
Health officials have said repeatedly that omicron causes milder disease than previous versions of the coronavirus and that vaccination, including a booster, appears highly protective against severe disease.
The Western Pacific remained the only region in the world where coronavirus cases are rising, reporting a 21% jump last week, continuing weeks of increase. According to figures from last week, the number of new infections in Europe remained stable and fell everywhere else…
The WHO cautioned that with many countries dropping widespread testing programs, many infections are likely being missed and new case numbers should be interpreted cautiously.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr. Michael Ryan said that even though some countries are seeing an exponential spread of COVID-19 prompted by the more infectious omicron subvariant BA.2, it is proving less devastating than previous waves of the virus.
“Countries that have high rates of vaccinating their vulnerable populations are weathering the transmission storm,” he said. “We’re not seeing that translate into pressure on the health systems or higher rates of hospitalization and death.”
China reported 2,054 new confirmed coronavirus cases on March 23, the country's national health authority said on Thursday, down from 2,667 a day earlier. https://t.co/OYo8u1mg9i
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) March 24, 2022
'Refuse quarantine!': frustrations mount as China replays COVID controls https://t.co/KgLQ5kspib pic.twitter.com/qvgSoPKw9W
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 22, 2022
… “It’s actually over,” said a netizen posting on WeChat under the username “Jasmine Tea”. “The common cold is more serious than this… The testing agencies want this to go on. The vaccine companies want to inoculate forever.”
The comments reflect the growing frustrations throughout China as authorities use all the tactics in their “zero-COVID” playbook to grapple with the more infectious Omicron variant.
As case numbers surge, members of the public are wondering whether the government’s increasingly complex “dynamic clearance” methods – including the continuous testing of residents – still work.
At a briefing last week, Wang Hesheng, vice-head of the country’s National Health Commission, said China’s increasingly refined tactics had reduced inconvenience.
“It shows that at the cost of the normal activities of very small numbers of people, and the control of movement in very small areas, what comes in exchange is normal production and normal life for the widest range of regions and people,” he said.
But there have been signs that a lack of clarity and consistency is exasperating the public, and China’s social media censors have been working overtime to try to clear the tide of complaints…
But China’s policies have caused more than mere inconvenience, with netizens increasingly willing to discuss how lockdowns led to tragedy.
A widely shared post on Weibo last week reported that a patient undergoing chemotherapy at the Shanghai Cancer Hospital died while locked down in her lodgings next to the hospital.
In posts since deleted, bereaved citizens also shared stories about the death of loved ones caused by COVID-related disruptions.
“My dad died of a stroke at the end of last year,” said one, posting under the name MaDDNa. “There was some hope of treatment. Unfortunately, we had to wait for a nucleic acid test report and missed the best treatment time.”
Hong Kong reported 12,240 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, down from more than 14,000 the previous day, as the city starts to ease some of the world's most stringent restrictions that have triggered an exodus of people and hurt business. https://t.co/kRzbVUcPkv
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) March 23, 2022
Singapore to relax more COVID curbs including for overseas arrivals https://t.co/RfMaZiALl3 pic.twitter.com/8yjvDo3aSV
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 24, 2022
It’s not just American media that has an outsized deference to anti-vaxxers — this is from New Zealand:
Thread on the BA.2 wave in England. This is not just about cases.
—Hospital admissions increased 22% past week, may be decelerating
—Need for mechanical ventilation up 10%
—Deaths up 14% https://t.co/27v095AjJg— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 23, 2022
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How does @WHO track variants of the #COVID19 virus? What are the challenges on the ground and how many variants are we tracking at this time?
Dr @mvankerkhove explains in #ScienceIn5. ?? pic.twitter.com/ucUervfwg0
— World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific (@WHOWPRO) March 23, 2022
very excited to share this one: for @FiveThirtyEight, I looked back at the metrics that the U.S. has used to track COVID-19 over the last two years — and how our fractured public health system doomed each one. (1/5) https://t.co/wgzTYL8Dh9 pic.twitter.com/sqxwIrufQT
— betsy ladyzhets ? (@betsyladyzhets) March 23, 2022
This is an important finding about neutralizing antibodies and #omicron ↓ https://t.co/Ntk8t1G9p9
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 24, 2022
Supertasters (like the Spousal Unit) are gonna haaaate this one:
======
Aka the Kyrie Irving Exemption:
On The Road – ema – My Trip To An Exotic Land
MomSense
Let’s goooooooo Moderna!
New Deal democrat
Cases in the US declined slightly to 30,500, above last week’s low of 29,900. Cases have been essentially unchanged for 9 days. Deaths declined to 929. I still suspect deaths may fall as low as 100 a month from now (deaths in the EU are still declining, despite their BA.2 “wave”).
Cases are up from one week ago in the South (due primarily to TX and NC), essentially unchanged in the Midwest, and declining slightly in the West and Northeast (where cases are only up week over week in VT, MA, and CT). I would expect any BA.2 wave to start, and finish, first in the Northeast, where BA.2 already makes up the majority of cases.
In Europe, cases in the UK (excluding its data dump day), Belgium, Czechia, Montenegro, Portugal, and Spain are unchanged from one week ago.
Cases are now declining again (or still declining) in Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece (slightly), Iceland, Lichtenstein, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, and Sweden.
Cases are still rising, but at a decelerating rate, in Italy and Luxembourg.
Cases are still rising, with no evidence of deceleration, in Cyprus, France, Hungary, Ireland, and Slovenia.
All the evidence in Europe, with the major exception of France, is that any BA.2 wave will only last about 3 weeks before peaking. And remember, many countries have not had any BA.2 wave at all.
narya
@MomSense: I don’t have kids, but I know a bunch of folks who do and who will do cartwheels at this.
I ended up not meeting non-vaxxed nephew for dinner last week. My principle remains “I don’t have meals indoors with unvaccinated people.” If/when he comes back through town and we can be outdoors, maybe, but this principle is going to remain in force for the foreseeable future. I wasn’t explicit with him, just said, oh, it’s not going to work out this time, maybe next time–I WAS willing to meet downtown for a beverage or something, but he wasn’t staying downtown.
Matt McIrvin
@New Deal democrat: By the CDC’s “nowcast” projection, BA.2 is now the majority of new infections in New England. I think you can see it in the numbers creeping up–the R value is near or above 1 everywhere but NH and Maine. The question is just how much of that “lump of Omicron-susceptibles” is left to absorb it. I’m almost certainly one of them since I’ve somehow avoided COVID so far.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 22,491 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 4,054,926 cases. It also reported 65 deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 34,600 deaths – 0.85% of the cumulative reported total, 0.91% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 0.90.
141 confirmed cases are in ICU, 84 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 26,234 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 3,771,463 patients recovered – 93.0% of the cumulative reported total.
No new clusters were reported yesterday, and the cumulative total remains at 6,918 clusters. 273 clusters are currently active; 6,645 clusters are now inactive.
22,109 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 382 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 27,592 doses of vaccine on 23rd March: 5,911 first doses, 1,373 second doses, and 20,308 booster doses. The cumulative total is 68,577,331 doses administered: 27,442,967 first doses, 25,792,186 second doses, and 15,553,138 booster doses. 84.1% of the population have received their first dose, 79.0% their second dose, and 47.6% their booster dose.
NotMax
Mentioned previously about variance of numbers on data reporting sites.
Today one such site is listing U.S. COVID deaths at this moment as 1,001,175. Expect the others to follow suit on reporting seven digits well before the month is out.
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
219 new cases. I don’t like these numbers after several days of cases in the 30s to 60s.
Ken
Always brings to mind this XKCD.
Also, though it doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem with this new research, sulforaphane has also been pushed by the “natural supplements” industry for a couple of decades, despite no evidence of any benefits.
NotMax
@Ken
“It restores balance to and regulates the phlogiston.”
//
Barbara
@Ken: Yes, I am super skeptical about this, but it’s hard to prove either way since people who eat a lot of broccoli probably have adopted many practices to look our for their health.
topclimber
There just better not be any broccoli mandate.
lowtechcyclist
@Ken: There really IS an XKCD for everything, isn’t there?
As for me, I love some steamed broccoli with some butter and salt. Had some just last night, actually. Won’t mind eating more of it, whether it does any good or not.
YY_Sima Qian
On 3/23 Mainland China reported 2,010 new domestic confirmed (50 previously asymptomatic), 2,829 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Guangdong Province reported 8 new domestic confirmed & 8 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 8 new domestic asymptomatic cases (6 at Fangchenggang & 2 at Guilin). 7 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 4 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 64 active domestic confirmed (36 at Fangchenggang, 4 at Baise, 19 at Qinzhou, 3 at Nanning, & 1 each at Chongzuo & Guilin) & 241 active domestic asymptomatic cases (69 at Fangchenggang, 9 at Baise, 69 at Chongzuo, 81 at Qinzhou, 5 at Liuzhou, 4 at Beihai, 3 at Guilin & 1 at Nanning) in the province. 1 zone at Fangchenggang are currently at Medium Risk. 5 sites at Qinzhou are currently at Medium Risk.
Hunan Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases, 4 at Huaihua (2 traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 2 from community screening), 2 at Changsha (both traced close contacts under centralized quarantine) & 1 at Yiyang a person returning from Shanghai on 3/19, under centralized quarantine since 3/21). 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 2 zones at Huaihua are currently at Medium Risk, as are 4 sites at Changsha & 1 zone at Shaoyang.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed & 30 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Tianjin Municipality reported 29 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic, 26 mild & 3 moderate) & 48 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 69 are traced close contacts already under quarantine & 7 via screening of residents in areas under movement control. 21 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 380 active domestic confirmed & 122 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 5 sites are currently at High Risk. 10 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shandong Province reported 16 new domestic confirmed (4 previously asymptomatic) & 170 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 164 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 240 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 835 active domestic confirmed cases & 2,265 active asymptomatic cases in the province. As not all of the administrative divisions in the province provide data on recoveries, I cannot track the count of active cases in all of the administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
At Shanxi Province there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed cases in the province (5 at Yuncheng & 1 each at Jinzhong & Jincheng).
Hebei Province reported 8 new domestic confirmed & 229 domestic asymptomatic cases. 8 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 9 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 331 active domestic confirmed & 2,674 active asymptomatic case in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Liaoning Province reported 9 new domestic confirmed & 134 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 455 active domestic confirmed & 918 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Heilongjiang Province reported 10 new domestic confirmed (37 mild & 6 moderate) & 27 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 9 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 211 active domestic confirmed & 234 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jilin Province reported 1,810 new domestic confirmed (36 previously asymptomatic, 1,807 mild, 3 moderate & 3 serious) & 791 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 444 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 149 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. As the province does not consistently break down recoveries by confirmed & asymptomatic cases or by jurisdictions, I can no longer track the count of active case counts in the different jurisdictions.
Beijing Municipality reported 4 new domestic confirmed (all mild) cases, all traced close contact under centralized quarantine. 1 village & 1 community are currently at Medium Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 4 new domestic confirmed & 979 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 882 of the new domestic positive cases are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine, & the rest from screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure. 27 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 217 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 196 active domestic confirmed & 5,170 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 15 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shaanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (moderate) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 15 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 311 active domestic confirmed & 2 active asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Hubei Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, at Xianning, a person returning from out of province. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (both moderate, 1 each at Wuhan & Shiyan) & 2 active domestic asymptomatic (at Xianning) cases in the province..
Jiangsu Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed & 16 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 3 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 7 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 69 active domestic confirmed & 388 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As not all of the jurisdictions in the province track recoveries, I cannot track the count of active cases in all of the administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Anhui Province reported 8 new domestic asymptomatic (6 at Tongling & 2 at Bengbu) cases. All of the cases at Tongling are tracked close contacts already under centralized quarantine, while both cases at Bengbu are recent arrivals from elsewhere. 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 7 active confirmed (3 at Ma’anshan & 4 at Tongling) & 102 active domestic asymptomatic (34 at Ma’anshan, 8 at Haozhou, 4 at Suzhou, 50 at Tongling, 2 each at Anqing & Bengbu, & 1 each at Hefei & Chuzhou) cases in the province. 3 sites at Ma’anshan & 4 at Tongling are currently at Medium Risk.
Zhejiang Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported versus domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases in the province.
Gansu Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed & 25 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 5 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 8 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 191 active domestic confirmed & 268 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Fujian Province reported 69 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 162 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 1,061 active domestic confirmed & 867 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
At Xining in Qinghai Province there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city.
At Zunyi in Guizhou Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 8 active domestic confirmed & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Jiangxi Province reported 12 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic, 9 mild & 3 moderate) & 87 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 4 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 43 active domestic confirmed & 266 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Henan Province reported 10 new domestic confirmed (4 previously asymptomatic, 5 at Zhoukou, 4 at Jiaozuo & 1 at Kaifeng) & 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases (3 at Jiaozuo & 1 each at Zhoukou & Luoyang). All of the new domestic positive cases at Zhoukou & Kaifeng are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. All of the new domestic confirmed cases at Jiaozuo are previously asymptomatic, & the new domestic asymptomatic cases are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. The case at Luoyang arrived from Zhoukou on 3/20. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 32 active domestic confirmed & 19 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 7 sites at Puyang, as well as 2 at Zhoukou & 10 at Jiaozuo, are currently at Medium Risk.
Chongqing Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently is 54 active domestic confirmed & 15 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 3 dormitory buildings are currently at Medium Risk.
Guang’an in Sichuan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a truck driving arriving from out of province on 3/22.
Yunnan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 15 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered & 6 new domestic asymptomatic were released from isolation. There currently are 67 active domestic confirmed & 381 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Imported Cases
On 3/23, Mainland China reported 44 new imported confirmed cases (19 previously asymptomatic, 2 in Guangdong), 107 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:
Overall in Mainland China, 904 confirmed cases recovered (188 imported), 698 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (179 imported) & 69 were reclassified as confirmed cases (19 imported), & 14,956 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 26,253 active confirmed cases in the country (1,300 imported), 50 in serious condition (1 imported), 24,062 active asymptomatic cases (1,498 imported), 13 suspect cases (all imported). 367,261 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 3/23, 3,239.17M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 4.569M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 3/24, Hong Kong reported 13,074 new positive cases, 1 imported & 13,073 domestic (5,731 via RT-PCR & 7,342 from rapid antigen tests), 152 deaths (12 fully vaccinated) + 49 backlogged deaths.
On 3/24, Taiwan reported 139 new positive cases, 124 imported & 15 domestic (including a cluster of 13 cases at a chemicals factory at Kaohsiung).
Robert Sneddon
@Ken: A blowtorch will do a number on viruses or cancer cells “in vitro” too. Not recommended for any “in vivo” followup tests and especially not for double-blind tests in the human population.
Ken
@Robert Sneddon: It would be difficult to design a double-blind study for that. And, to continue the theme that there’s an XKCD for everything….
topclimber
@YY_Sima Qian: Thank you for your comprehensive and continuing coverage of Covid in China.
I also wanted to single you out for some of the more level-headed and perceptive commentary in yesterday’s late night posting by Adam. Much as I love the BJ community, it tends toward the insular. We need different perspectives.
Soprano2
@topclimber: Now I would demonstrate against that! Make a drug with broccoli, that’s all it’s good for.
Suzanne
@Soprano2: ….I like broccoli.
I like kale, too, and Brussels sprouts. Teenage me hates the adult I have become.
Kristine
@Suzanne: Yup. I love them all roasted until the edges char. Add s/p, garlic, lemon.
NotMax
@Suzanne
And then there’s broccoli rabe, the highfalutin name for rapini.
;)
Matt McIrvin
Multiple people I know have COVID-positive school-age kids, which suggests to me that the lifting of school mask mandates plays a role here. However, the MA patient breakdown for the past 2 weeks now shows a big spike, not in younger kids, but in the college-aged bracket, which jibes with what I’ve been saying about college-campus outbreaks.
New Deal democrat
@Matt McIrvin:
“The question is just how much of that “lump of Omicron-susceptibles” is left to absorb it [BA.2].”
I don’t think it’s that many.
Even in the UK, the European poster child for a BA.2 wave, leaving aside the data dump of a few days ago, cases have doubled from their post BA.1 bottom. So did cases in Italy. That would be about 60,000 cases in the US. The Netherlands went up 75%. Greece went up 50%.
I don’t think the US is going to be as bad as the UK. If I had to throw a dart, I would guess that BA.2 peaks in about 3 weeks in the US at 40,000-45,000 cases per day, and then declines just as quickly again (unless yet another variant shows up).
jonas
@NeenerNeener: Yeah, there are upticks in nearby Onondaga and Oneida counties, too. Plus, the reported numbers are hard to go by because so many people these days are taking the at-home antigen tests rather than going to a dr office or pharmacy for a PCR test that gets reported to the health authorities right away. Some people will report their positive results from home, but most don’t, I suspect. Jonas jr. had a recent exposure to a friend with Covid, came down with symptoms Tuesday, but has tested twice now and it looks like it’s just a good old fashioned head cold.
YY_Sima Qian
@topclimber: Thank you for your kind words.
wenchacha
@MomSense: My son and his wife are going to Japan with the toddler in May, and plan to say for two months. I have a feeling the vax won’t be approved by the time they leave, dagnabbit. Hoping I am wrong.
The grandchild has been exposed to the Moderna vax, through breastmilk, and I have some belief that it helps.
JAFD
Nobody’s linked this yet ???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivOlDZZl5sI
Enjoy!
Zelma
@JAFD: I can’t believe I just watched a song about broccoli. What is the matter with me?
JAFD
@Zelma: I’m not sure what’s the matter, but if ‘twould help, sending you big (HUG)
Unique uid
@New Deal democrat: Not to be nit-picky, but “Does Not Compute” …
More like : “US Cases rose by 600 over last week (29,900 to 30,500), even though we would all like them to continually drop to zero” ?