Here is what the editors at Physician''s Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, 2021. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.
New ''Mu'' Coronavirus Variant Being Watched Closely: Fauci
FRIDAY, Sept. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A new coronavirus variant called Mu that may be able to evade existing antibodies, including those from vaccines, is under close watch by U.S. health officials.
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Americans'' COVID-19 Medical Bills Are Set to Rise
FRIDAY, Sept. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 care is likely to get more expensive for Americans with the expiration of insurers'' temporary waivers on costs associated with treating the illness.
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Pfizer to Ship Smaller Packages of COVID-19 Vaccine to Cut Waste, Boost Uptake
FRIDAY, Sept. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Smaller packages of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine that could be available this fall might improve vaccine access and reduce the number of wasted doses, government documents show.
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COVID-19 Cases Rise Sharply Among Children as School Year Starts
FRIDAY, Sept. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- As the school year gets underway across the United States, new data show that COVID-19 cases among children are climbing.
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Organ Transplant Activity Declined During 2020
FRIDAY, Sept. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in organ transplant activity, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in The Lancet Public Health to coincide with the biennial congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation, held from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 in Milan.
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Current Guidelines May Lead to Antibiotic Overuse for SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia
FRIDAY, Sept. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Current guidelines for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pneumonia would result in overuse of antibiotics at the time of intubation, according to a study published online Aug. 17 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Myocarditis After COVID-19 Vaccination May Resolve Quickly for Youth
FRIDAY, Sept. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Myocarditis has been reported in children following receipt of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, according to a case series published online Aug. 10 in JAMA Cardiology.
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FDA Advisory Panel Set to Meet on COVID-19 Booster Shots
THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold a key advisory panel meeting on COVID-19 booster shots on Sept. 17, a mere three days before the Biden administration plans to begin offering third shots for Americans.
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Stop Use of Ivermectin for COVID-19: AMA, Pharmacist Groups
THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The prescribing, dispensing, and use of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 outside of clinical trials must end immediately, the American Medical Association, American Pharmacists Association, and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists say.
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15 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Wasted in U.S. Since March 1
THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- At least 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been thrown away in the United States since March 1, government data show.
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COVID-19 Infection Linked to Increased Risk for Myocarditis
THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The risk for myocarditis is increased in association with COVID-19, with risk varying by age group, according to research published in the Aug. 31 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Odds of COVID-19 Hospitalization Lower After Vaccination
THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals who have received their COVID-19 vaccination have lower odds of hospitalization and are more likely to be asymptomatic if infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, according to a study published online Sept. 1 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
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Teachers Not at Increased Risk for Hospital Admission for COVID-19
THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Teachers and their household members are not at increased risk for hospital admission with COVID-19 and may have a reduced risk for severe COVID-19, according to a study published online Sept. 1 in The BMJ.
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Asthma, COPD Tied to Worse COVID-19 Outcomes
THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with active asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes, according to a study published online Aug. 10 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
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U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Climb in August
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 14 million Americans got their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in August, a steep rise from July, White House officials said Tuesday. The statistic is a sign that vaccine skepticism may be waning, as the highly contagious delta variant continues to fuel case surges across the United States.
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CDC: Unvaccinated Should Not Travel This Labor Day Weekend
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Unvaccinated Americans should stay home during the holiday weekend as COVID-19 cases surge due to the highly contagious delta variant, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
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Most Highly Allergic People Can Be Safely Immunized Against COVID-19
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Most highly allergic individuals can be safely immunized against COVID-19, according to a study published online Aug. 31 in JAMA Network Open.
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Individuals With COVID-19 Most Infectious Around Symptom Onset
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals with COVID-19 are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptom onset, according to a study published online Aug. 23 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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42.4 Percent of U.S. Teens Have Received at Least One COVID-19 Shot
TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Overall, 42.4 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years in the United States had received one or more dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 31.9 percent had completed the vaccine series by July 31, 2021, according to research published in the Aug. 27 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Burden of Hospital-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Infection Estimated
TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- During the first wave of COVID-19, at least 11.3 percent of patients with COVID-19 in 314 U.K. hospitals were infected after admission, according to a research letter published online Aug. 12 in The Lancet.
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Vaccines'' Power Against COVID-19 Hospitalization Fades in Elderly
TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The ability of COVID-19 vaccines to protect adults older than 75 years against hospitalization appears to wane over time but still remained 80 percent effective as of the end of July, new federal data show.
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Risk for Hospitalization, ED Use Up With SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant
TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The risk for hospital admission and emergency care attendance are increased for patients infected with the delta versus the alpha variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
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Monoclonal Antibody Therapy May Cut COVID-19 Hospitalizations
TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Casirivimab-imdevimab treatment is associated with a reduced rate of hospitalization for high-risk patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in EClinicalMedicine.
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Outcome Good at One Year for Majority of PIMS-TS Patients
TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A majority of patients with pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have good medium- and long-term outcomes, according to a research letter published online Aug. 30 in JAMA Pediatrics.
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Prescriptions Rise for Veterinary Drug for COVID-19 Patients
MONDAY, Aug. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Despite studies showing that it does not work against COVID-19, prescriptions for the antiparasitic drug ivermectin have climbed sharply in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases surge nationwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
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High Demand for At-Home COVID-19 Tests Could Hamper Supply, Abbott Says
MONDAY, Aug. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Demand for Abbott Laboratories'' at-home COVID-19 tests has reached "unprecedented" levels and supply may be limited in the coming weeks, the company says.
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Daily Average of COVID-19 Hospitalizations in U.S. Hits 100,000
MONDAY, Aug. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- In another grim reminder of the toll that the pandemic continues to take on Americans, the daily average for hospitalized COVID-19 patients is now higher than any previous case surge except last winter.
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U.S. to Be Removed From European Union Safe Travel List
MONDAY, Aug. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Due to surging COVID-19 cases, the United States will be removed from the European Union''s "safe list" of countries whose citizens can travel to the 27-nation bloc without additional restrictions such as testing and quarantines.
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Good Recovery at One Year for Most COVID-19 Hospital Survivors
MONDAY, Aug. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Most hospital survivors of COVID-19 have good physical and functional recovery at one year after acute infection, but health status is lower than for controls, according to a study published online in the Aug. 28 issue of The Lancet.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Up for Racial, Ethnic Minority HCWs
MONDAY, Aug. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Before authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine hesitancy was increased among Black, Hispanic or Latino, and Asian health care workers compared with White HCWs, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in JAMA Network Open.
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