Global new weekly Covid-19 cases stabilizing, says WHO

The number of new weekly cases globally are now settling down after showing a rising trend for more than a month, according to the latest WHO’s weekly epidemiological update on Covid-19. The number of new cases were just below 6.3 million in the week from 11^th to 17^th July 2022. The Western Pacific Region showed a rise of 37% in new weekly cases, while the Americas and the South East Asia Regions recorded a rise of 9% and 5%, respectively. However, the cases declined in Europe and Africa by 5% and 27%, respectively…(Source: WHO, July 20, 2022).

Omicron BA.5 is the dominant strain in the US 

The dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain in the United States is now the BA.5 sublineage of the Omicron variant and accounts for nearly 80% of the circulating variants, according to data for the week from July 11-16. The remaining ~13% are the BA.4 sublineage of the Omicron…(Source: Medscape, July 20, 2022)

CDC recommends Novavax Covid vaccine for persons aged ≥18 years

The CDC has recommended the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine for primary vaccination for adults aged 18 years and above. The two-dose vaccine will soon be available in the US. Novavax is a protein subunit vaccine and also contains an adjuvant... (Source: CDC, July 19, 2022).

Covid infection late in pregnancy increases risk of preterm birth

The risk of preterm birth is increased seven-folds in pregnant women who develop Covid-19 after 34 weeks of gestation. The odds ratio was 7.10. The study published in the journal PLoS One further states that infection in the third trimester was associated with almost thrice the risk of preterm birth with OR 2.76. Presence of symptoms quadrupled this risk with OR 4.28. However, this association was not significant for infection acquired during the first and second trimesters …(Source: Medscape, July 21, 2022).

Increased risk of systemic reactions after simultaneous Covid booster and flu vaccine

A study in JAMA Network Open has found that coadministration of mRNA Covid booster dose (Pfizer or Moderna) and the flu vaccine upped the risk of systemic reactions such as fever, muscle aches compared to administration of the mRNA booster dose alone within the first week after the vaccination. However, these reactions were usually mild…(Source: JAMA Network Open, July 15, 2022).