With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev

Covid-19 surge in China

On Thursday, China recorded more than 30,000 cases for the second consecutive day, as reported. There were 32,943 new COVID-19 infections which included 3103 symptomatic and 29,840 asymptomatic cases. A total of 31,656 new cases had been reported a day before with 4010 symptomatic and 27,646 asymptomatic infections. This had been the highest number of daily new cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Zhengzhou city is now under lockdown until Tuesday…(Source: ET Healthworld, Nov. 25, 2022).

A new website from NIH to report at-home Covid-19 test results

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a new website MakeMyTestCount.org where users can report their positive or negative self-test or at-home Covid-19 test result. This can be done anonymously...(Source: NIH, Nov. 22, 2022).

Bivalent Covid-19 boosters more protective than the older monovalent vaccines

Data published in the CDC’s MMWR show that the updated bivalent Covid-19 boosters are more protective against the new BA.4/B.5 variants among those who have taken four doses of the older monovalent vaccines. The beneficial effects were more evident in the younger age group (18-49 years) vs older age group (≥50 years) with 56% vaccine effectiveness among participants aged 18-49 years, 48% among those aged 50–64 years, and 43% among persons aged ≥65 years when the booster dose was administered after a gap of ≥8 months… (Source: Medscape, Nov. 23, 2022).

Socioeconomic factors enhanced risk of incident depression during the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has exerted a heavy toll on mental health. Corroborating this, a study from the University of Toronto, Canada reported in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has found that nearly one in 8 older adults experienced depression for the first time during the pandemic. Financial insecurity, loneliness, chronic pain, family conflicts, inaccessible healthcare were some factors that increased the likelihood of developing depression. Those with a past history of depression were nearly six times more likely to have recurrent depression during the pandemic…(Source: IJERP, Nov. 15, 2022).