Search results
Aug 31, 2022 · As of 28 August 2022, over 598 million confirmed cases and over 6.4 million deaths have been reported globally. In this edition, we include: The COVID-19 epidemiological update at the global and regional levels. An update on the circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs), including their geographic spread and prevalence.
Aug 11, 2022 · This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.” In support of this update CDC is: Continuing to promote the importance of being up to date with vaccination to protect people against serious illness, hospitalization, and death.
- Overview
- Vaccines and Therapeutics To Reduce Medically Significant Illness
- COVID-19 Prevention Strategies
- Protecting Persons Most at Risk for Severe Illness
- Discussion
- References
On August 11, 2022, this report was posted online as an MMWR Early Release.
Altmetric:
Citations:
Views:
Views equals page views plus PDF downloads
Figure
COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against severe illness and death and provide a lesser degree of protection against asymptomatic and mild infection (6). Receipt of a primary series alone, in the absence of being up to date with vaccination* through receipt of all recommended booster doses, provides minimal protection against infection and transmission (3,6). Being up to date with vaccination provides a transient period of increased protection against infection and transmission after the most recent dose, although protection can wane over time. The rates of COVID-19–associated hospitalization and death are substantially higher among unvaccinated adults than among those who are up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination, particularly adults aged ≥65 years (5,7). Emerging evidence suggests that vaccination before infection also provides some protection against post–COVID-19 conditions,† and that vaccination among persons with post–COVID-19 conditions might help reduce their symptoms (8). Continuing to increase vaccination coverage and ensuring that persons are up to date with vaccination are essential to preventing severe outcomes. Overall booster dose coverage in the United States remains low,§ which is concerning given the meaningful reductions in risk for severe illness and death that booster doses provide and the importance of booster doses to counter waning of vaccine-induced immunity. Public health efforts to expand reach and promote equitable access to vaccination have resulted in similar rates of primary series coverage across most racial and ethnic groups (9); however, racial and ethnic disparities in booster coverage have emerged (10). Supporting community partnerships and leveraging trusted sources of information must continue in order to eliminate persistent disparities and achieve equity in booster dose coverage, including through increasing education efforts and promotion of equitable vaccination outreach. Public health efforts need to continue to promote up-to-date vaccination for everyone, especially with vaccines targeting emerging novel variants that might be more transmissible or immune-evasive.
Preexposure prophylaxis. COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes is lower in persons who are immunocompromised than in those who are not, and persons who are immunocompromised and have COVID-19 are at increased risk for intensive care unit admission and death while hospitalized, irrespective of their vaccination status (11,12). Preexposure prophylaxis with Evusheld¶ can help protect persons with moderate to severe immunocompromise who might not mount an adequate immune response after COVID-19 vaccination, as well as persons for whom COVID-19 vaccination is not recommended because of their personal risk for severe adverse reactions. In addition to early antiviral treatment if infected, persons who are moderately or severely immunocompromised can benefit from COVID-19 preexposure prophylactic medication to help prevent severe COVID-19 illness, as an adjunct to up-to-date vaccination for themselves and their close contacts, early testing, nonpharmaceutical interventions, and prompt access to treatment if they are infected.
Monitoring COVID-19 Community Levels to guide COVID-19 prevention efforts. Persons can use information about the current level of COVID-19 impact on their community to decide which prevention behaviors to use and when (at all times or at specific times), based on their own risk for severe illness and that of members of their household, their risk tolerance, and setting-specific factors. CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels reflect the current effect of COVID-19 on communities and identify geographic areas that might experience increases in severe COVID-19–related outcomes, based on hospitalization rates, hospital bed occupancy, and COVID-19 incidence during the preceding period*** (1). Prevention recommendations based on COVID-19 Community Levels have the explicit goals of reducing medically significant illness and limiting strain on the health care system. At all COVID-19 Community Levels (low, medium, and high), recommendations emphasize staying up to date with vaccination, improving ventilation, testing persons who are symptomatic and those who have been exposed, and isolating infected persons. At the medium COVID-19 Community Level, recommended strategies include adding protections for persons who are at high risk for severe illness (e.g., use of masks or respirators that provide a higher level of wearer protection). At the high COVID-19 Community Level, additional recommendations focus on all persons wearing masks indoors in public and further increasing protection to populations at high risk.††† As SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate, changes in COVID-19 Community Levels for a jurisdiction help signal when use of some prevention strategies should be discontinued or increased, based on an individual person’s level of risk for severe illness or that of their household or social contacts. The COVID-19 Community Levels provide a broad framework for public health officials and jurisdictions to use and adapt as needed based on local context by combining local information to assess the need for public health interventions.
Nonpharmaceutical interventions. Implementation of multiple prevention strategies helps protect individual persons and communities from SARS-CoV-2 exposure and reduce risk for medically significant illness and death by reducing risk for infection (Table). Implementation of multiple nonpharmaceutical preventive interventions can complement use of vaccines and therapeutics, especially as COVID-19 Community Levels increase and among persons at high risk for severe illness. CDC’s COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur, though they are generally mild (16), and persons who have had COVID-19 but are not vaccinated have some degree of protection against severe illness from their previous infection (17). In addition to strategies recommended at all COVID-19 Community Levels, education and messaging to help individual persons understand their risk for medically significant illness complements recommendations for prevention strategies based on risk.
Testing for current infection. Diagnostic testing can identify infections early so that infected persons can take action to reduce their risk for transmitting virus and receive treatment, if clinically indicated, to reduce their risk for severe illness and death. All persons should seek testing for active infection when they are symptomatic or if they have a known or suspected exposure to someone with COVID-19. When considering whether and where to implement screening testing of asymptomatic persons with no known exposure, public health officials might consider prioritizing high-risk congregate settings, such as long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, and correctional facilities, and workplace settings that include congregate housing with limited access to medical care.§§§ In these types of high-risk congregate settings, screening testing might complement diagnostic testing of symptomatic persons by identifying asymptomatic infected persons (18,19). When implemented, screening testing strategies should include all persons, irrespective of vaccination status. Screening testing might not be cost-effective in general community settings, especially if COVID-19 prevalence is low (20,21).
Isolation. Symptomatic or infected persons should isolate promptly, and infected persons should remain in isolation for ≥5 days and wear a well-fitting and high-quality mask or respirator if they must be around others. Infected persons may end isolation after 5 days, only when they are without a fever for ≥24 hours without the use of medication and all other symptoms have improved, and they should continue to wear a mask or respirator around others at home and in public through day 10¶¶¶ (Figure) (22,23). Persons who have access to antigen tests and who choose to use testing to determine when they can discontinue masking should wait to take the first test until at least day 6 and they are without a fever for ≥24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and all other symptoms have improved. Use of two antigen tests with ≥48 hours between tests provides more reliable information because of improved test sensitivity (24). Two consecutive test results must be negative for persons to discontinue masking. If either test result is positive, persons should continue to wear a mask around others and continue testing every 48 hours until they have two sequential negative results.****
Multiple nonpharmaceutical and medical prevention measures are available to substantially reduce the risk for medically significant illness and death among persons at particularly high risk for these outcomes because of older age, disability, moderate or severe immunocompromise (25), or other underlying medical conditions (including pregnancy) (26)...
COVID-19 remains an ongoing public health threat; however, high levels of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity and the availability of medical and nonpharmaceutical interventions have substantially reduced the risk for medically significant illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. As transmission of SARS-CoV-2 continues, the current focus on reducing medically significant illness, death, and health care system strain are appropriate and achievable aims that are supported by the broad availability of the current suite of effective public health tools. Rapid identification of emergent variants necessitating a shift in prevention strategy makes continued detection, monitoring, and characterization of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants essential. Incorporating actions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 into long-term sustainable routine practices is imperative for society and public health.
Corresponding author: Greta M. Massetti, gmassetti@cdc.gov.
1CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response Team.
All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
* https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html
† Vaccination is also effective in preventing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare but severe postinfectious hyperinflammatory condition that can occur after mild or asymptomatic infection among children. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7102e1.htm
1.CDC. Science brief: indicators for monitoring COVID-19 Community Levels and making public health recommendations. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/indicators-monitoring-community-levels.html
2.CDC. Science brief: SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/sars-cov-2-transmission.html
3.CDC. Science brief: SARS-CoV-2 infection-induced and vaccine-induced immunity. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/vaccine-induced-immunity.html
4.Christie A, Brooks JT, Hicks LA, Sauber-Schatz EK, Yoder JS, Honein MA; CDC COVID-19 Response Team. Guidance for implementing COVID-19 prevention strategies in the context of varying community transmission levels and vaccination coverage. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:1044–7. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7030e2 PMID:34324480
5.Yuan Y, Thierry JM, Bull-Otterson L, et al. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries with and without disabilities—United States, January 1, 2020–November 20, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:791–6. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7124a3 PMID:35709015
6.CDC. COVID data tracker. COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness monthly update. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2022. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccine-effectiveness
Sep 22, 2022 · Is the COVID-19 pandemic over? President Joe Biden said that the pandemic has ended. Here's what scientists say. On August 29, 2022, at the al-Shati camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City, a ...
The Canadian Province Of Ontario has reported 9,808 new cases over the week of August 14 2022 to August 20 2022; Japan reported 253,265 new daily cases, the third highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. This brings the total number to 16,921,653. The People's Republic of China reported 2,128 new cases.
Dec 15, 2022 · At-home COVID-19 testing was routine. The bivalent booster arrived. The past 12 months also saw the U.S. surpass more than a million total COVID deaths, vaccine authorizations for very young children, and a year-end tripledemic. As year three of the COVID-19 era draws to a close, we asked some of the School’s pandemic experts to weigh in on ...
