After establishing sufficient immunity from previous infections and vaccinations, the next stage mainly relies on the dual guarantee of vaccines and new crown drugs
U.S. Chief Infectious Disease Specialist Fauci Photo/Visual China
Wen | Jin Yan
Edited | Su Qi
Fauci, chief expert on infectious diseases in the United States, said on April 27 local time that the United States has finally "come out of the pandemic stage of the full outbreak of the new crown epidemic". In the past two years or so, nearly 1 million people have died from the new crown virus in the United States. The day before the remarks, he told the media that he believed that the United States had "come out of the pandemic stage", and on the 27th, he further elaborated and clarified this view.
Fauci told the media: "It can be confirmed that we are already in a transitional stage, the number of new crown confirmed cases per day is rapidly declining, and the epidemic has entered a more controllable stage and continues." ”
He made it clear that while the U.S. has survived its toughest times, a new wave of infections is likely to emerge in the U.S. as the virus continues to mutate and spawn highly contagious variants. However, most infectious disease experts believe that out of the pandemic phase, the American people have built enough immunity from previous infections and vaccinations, and the following is based on the dual protection of vaccines and new crown drugs.
Covid-19 is no longer an alarmist high-death disease, and many people will no longer face the devastating risk of hospitalization and death.
Dr. Kristie Clarke of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pointed out at a press briefing on April 26 that so many Americans were infected with the new coronavirus in the winter, so much so that almost 60 percent of people in the United States now have antibodies against the virus in their blood. That number is even higher for children — almost 75 percent of children ages 11 and younger have antibodies to the virus in their blood.
The Aumequeron variant that swept the country in winter infected nearly 60 percent of Americans. However, due to reasons such as home testing, more cases may not be counted. Photo/ Caijing reporter Jin Yan
Before the first outbreak in the United States in December 2021, there was evidence that one-third of Americans had previously been infected with the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. According to the new data, Omiljung has increased infection rates in every age group, but children and adolescents have the highest rates of infection, many of whom remain unvaccinated, while people aged 65 and older (people who are heavily vaccinated) have the lowest rates of infection. Between December and February this year, when The Michaelon ravaged the United States, 75.2 percent of children ages 11 and younger had infection-related antibodies in their blood, up from 44.2 percent in the previous three months. Among 12-17-year-olds, 74.2 percent carried antibodies, up from 45.6 percent in September to December.
Scientists look for specific antibodies produced against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which appear only after infection and are not produced by the COVID-19 vaccine. These trace amounts of antibodies can stay in the bloodstream for up to two years. Clark points out that inducing antibodies due to infection doesn't necessarily mean avoiding future infections. There has been no study of whether people with a certain level of antibodies can prevent re-infection or develop serious disease.
According to an analysis by researchers at Our World in Data, a data agency at the University of Oxford, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that the covid-19 detection rate peaked on Jan. 9 this year, reaching 7.74 per 1,000 people, and since then, it has dropped to 1.91 per 1,000 people. The researchers note that the data only covers PCR tests (i.e., polymerase chain reactions), which are reported by the laboratory and are easier to trace than home-based rapid testing, but the latter test has now reached thousands of households.
Vronsky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the number of new coronavirus infections in the United States is on the rise, rising 22.7 percent in the past week to 44,000 people per day. Hospitalizations rose 6.6 percent for the second consecutive week, largely driven by the Opmi Kejungya variant. The number of deaths fell by 13.2% per week. The sub-variant, BA.1, which caused the wave of Infections in Omicron, now accounts for only 3 percent of transmission in the United States, she said. The BA.2.121 subtype virus first detected in upstate New York accounts for nearly 30 percent of U.S. cases and appears to be 25 percent more contagious than the highly contagious BA.2 subtype virus in Omicron.
A survey by Monmouth University in mid-March found that nearly three-quarters of Americans surveyed believe that the coronavirus is not going to die and that people's lives should go on. Several Washington residents told Caijing that there is no need to be dominated by panic until there is no evidence of the seriousness of the Aumi Kejungya variant.
An immunological study recently published in the British journal Nature showed that the third dose of the mRNA vaccine developed for the original new coronavirus can enhance the immune system's ability to produce broad-spectrum neutralizing antibodies, including antibodies that can neutralize the Omiljung variant, compared with only two doses. These findings help explain why the mRNA vaccine developed based on the original strain of the new coronavirus remains effective as a booster for newly emerging variants.
Covid-19 vaccines are key to curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2) developed by Pfizer/BioNTech is currently one of the most vaccinated vaccines in the world. Data show that more than 66 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly 46 percent have received booster injections. Compared with vaccines developed by traditional technology platforms such as inactivated vaccines, mRNA vaccines have only made their "debut" in the new crown epidemic, and the global scientific community continues to study its performance in the real world. Although various scientific studies on vaccines have conflicting conclusions and false news around vaccines, several experts told Caijing that the conclusion can be determined that among all known variants of the new crown virus so far, vaccines are very effective in preventing people from contracting the new crown virus and getting seriously ill.
WHO warns that sub-lineages and recombinants will continue to emerge and that the world must continue to invest in improved tools such as new vaccines. Photo/ Caijing reporter Jin Yan
Earlier, Pfizer announced that 95 countries that have opened up the use of covid-19 special generic drugs include all low- and lower-middle-income countries.
A few days ago, some news triggered concerns about acute hepatitis caused by the new crown mRNA vaccine, but the regulator said that there is no clear evidence. Experts say there is no clear evidence that there is a direct and inevitable link between the mRNA vaccine and autoimmune hepatitis. "More than a billion doses of mRNA vaccine have been injected worldwide, and several cases of liver inflammation are normal, and they are one case, related to the immune function of individuals.
A German clinical study revealed a bimodal episode of acute hepatitis (both after both vaccinations) of acute hepatitis that occurred with 2 doses of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine. The male patient, 52 years old, has no history of any medical conditions other than hypothyroidism. 10 days after the first dose of mRNA vaccine, the patient developed jaundice, liver function tests (LFTs) showed acute mixed hepatocyte/cholestatic hepatitis. Vaccinated for 25 days, the patient is hospitalized for treatment. What exactly causes hepatitis? The researchers performed serological, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on the patients to rule out infection with hepatitis A, B, C, or E, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Epstein-Barr viruses. The researchers said the 52-year-old patient's symptoms were consistent with the manifestations of autoimmune hepatitis. The patient received treatment of budesonide 9 mg per day. Budesonide is a glucocorticoid with highly effective local anti-inflammatory effects. Available data show that this drug can enhance the stability of endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and lysosomal membranes, inhibit the immune response and reduce antibody synthesis.
The research team believes that vaccination with the BNT162b2 vaccine may cause immune-mediated hepatitis through the initiated cellular immune mechanisms. And these results suggest that T cells are a key pathogenic immunogenic immune cell type for this vaccine-associated immune hepatitis, a new subtype of autoimmune hepatitis.
In addition, the total number of cases of sudden hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) in children has increased to 111 in the UK, mainly in children under 5 years of age, whose common symptoms are: diarrhea, nausea, jaundice. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) notes that no one has been vaccinated against cases of UTD diagnosed in the UK under the age of 10. UKHSA said that although there were cases that tested positive for COVID-19 at the time of admission, it was not surprising in the context of the new crown virus epidemic still being more prevalent. After preliminary investigation, UKHSA concluded that multiple childhood flare-ups of hepatitis may be associated with adenovirus infection.
From the side effects and cases that BNT/Pfizer and Moderna have published, the mRNA vaccine is still safe and effective, and the side effects are controllable.
The author is a us-based correspondent for Caijing