CLEVELAND, Ohio – About half of American healthcare professionals have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine, and patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were at increased risk of stroke and were more likely to be older, male or black, than according to recent research.
Cleveland.com is gathering some of the most notable news about the coronavirus that makes headlines online. Here’s what you need to know for Monday, March 22.
Health professionals are concerned about the vaccine, research shows
Nearly half of American health care professionals have not yet been immunized against COVID-19, although they have been prioritized to get vaccines first in many states, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation published Friday.
The report found that only 52% of healthcare professionals received at least one dose of vaccine. About 64% of respondents said they were confident in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. The survey included interviews with 1,327 frontline health professionals, conducted in February and March.
Among the initial findings:
- Unvaccinated frontline health workers include 3 out of 10 who have not yet decided whether they will be vaccinated (12%) or say they do not plan to receive the vaccine (18%).
- The vast majority of unvaccinated health professionals who have not yet decided whether to be immunized or say they do not plan to be vaccinated, say that they are concerned about the potential side effects (82%) and the novelty of the vaccine (81%) are important factors in your decision making.
- Among frontline health workers, half of black workers, 45% of workers without a university degree and four out of 10 workers with Republican and Republican tendencies say they doubt that the COVID-19 vaccines have been adequately tested for safety and effectiveness. About 1 in 5 of each of these groups also states that they will definitely not receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 patients are at increased risk of stroke
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had a higher risk of stroke and were more likely to be older, male or black, or to have hypertension, type 2 diabetes or irregular heartbeat compared to other patients with COVID-19, according to with a report presented Friday at the American Stroke Association 2021 International Stroke Conference.
The study analyzed data from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Registry of more than 20,000 American adults hospitalized with the disease between January and November 2020.
COVID-19 patient analysis also found:
- Those with any type of stroke were more likely to be male (64%) and older than patients who did not have a stroke.
- Stroke patients spent about 22 days in the hospital, compared with 10 days of hospitalization for patients without stroke; and hospital deaths were more than twice as high among stroke patients (37%) compared to patients without stroke (16%).
COVID-19 imposed a greater burden on hospitals than the flu, study shows
A new study compared the impact of COVID-19 on patients and hospital resources versus patients hospitalized with influenza during the past five seasons of influenza at a major medical center. COVID-19 cases resulted in significantly more weekly hospitalizations, more use of mechanical ventilation and higher mortality rates than influenza, the study found.
The article was written by medical researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. He analyzed data from 1,634 hospitalized patients, 582 of whom had COVID-19 confirmed in the laboratory and 1,052 of whom had confirmed influenza.
While 174 patients with COVID-19 received mechanical ventilation over the two-month period, only 84 patients with influenza were placed on ventilation during all five influenza seasons. Likewise, the proportion of patients who died was much higher for COVID-19 than for influenza, the study said. About 20% of patients admitted with COVID-19 died within two months, compared with three percent of flu patients over five seasons.
WHO finds no link between blood clots, AstraZeneca vaccine
The World Health Organization found no increased risk of blood clotting conditions in people who received the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Similar findings by European regulators on Friday led to the resumption of immunizations in many European countries, where cases of COVID-19 are increasing amid the slow release of the vaccine.
In a statement, WHO said its global vaccine safety group met on 16 and 19 March and examined data on 27 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine administered in India, as well as the global database of safety reports from India. WHO.
COVID-19 reinfections tend to affect the elderly
COVID-19 reinfections are uncommon, but they do happen, especially in people aged 65 and over, suggests a large observational study recently published in the Lancet. The study emphasized that people who have recovered from the disease need to continue social distancing and receive vaccines.
Researchers in Denmark analyzed 10.6 million COVID-19 tests from 4 million Danes during that country’s second outbreak between September and December, and compared them with infection rates during the first outbreak.
Older people may be more likely to contract the disease a second time because the immune system becomes less efficient with age and other factors related to aging and the unsatisfactory results of COVID-19.
New York reports first case of contagious variant
New York recently confirmed at least one case of the coronavirus variant found for the first time in Brazil, joining more than a dozen states that saw the variant.
The variant, known as P.1, has been detected in at least 16 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The variant is highly contagious and, in some cases, again infected people who had already recovered from the coronavirus.
Scientists hope that the variants will soon become the dominant source of infection in the United States.
Answers to your questions about the coronavirus vaccine:
Should cancer patients receive the coronavirus vaccine?
Can you order a coronavirus vaccine if you have questions about the other?
Should you get the coronavirus vaccine if you have had a negative reaction to the flu vaccine?
Are you contagious if you have side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine?
Can you mix and match two doses of coronavirus vaccine from different manufacturers?
Can I still get my second dose of coronavirus vaccine if I develop symptoms of COVID-19 after the first one?
Should you get the second vaccine if you get COVID-19 after the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine?
Will your COVID-19 vaccine be less effective if you need to wait longer for the second dose?
If the coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective, how will you know if it is in the other 5%?
Why do I need to keep a mask on if I have been vaccinated against the coronavirus?