January 2023 COVID-19
1- New studies have reported that COVID-19 vaccines may cause myopericarditis especially when dealing with adolescents and young adults. The age group 12-20 years old was reviewed in 23 studies bringing 854 cases of myopericarditis due to COVID-19 vaccination where the mean age was 16 and 90% of individuals were males. Only 4% had a previous saRs-Co-V2 infection and none had previous cardiovascular disease.
2- The myopericarditis was discovered more commonly after the second dose in 74% of the cases with sign varying between chest pain, fever, headache, dyspnea after 2.6 days after the vaccination. The Troponin level was found elevated in 85% of te cases with EKG changes in the ST segment sin 53% of the cases and also some T waves changes in 15%. Only 5% of the cases had a pericardial effusion and only 15% of cases showed a left ventricular systolic dysfunction. None of these patients required mechanical support during their hospitalization.
3- Myocardial edema was noted in 58% of te cases while Cardiac MRI with Gadolinium showed enhancement in 87% of the cases. 98% of the patients were hospitalized for less than 3 days in ICU. No deaths were reported but only 1% needed inotropic support. They concluded that the vaccines seem to cause occasionally myopericarditis in adolescents and young adult males after the second dose. An overall incidence between .3 to 5.per 100.000 is also reported among the vaccinated people.
4- COVID new waves in China could kill million people. Authorities have been boosting vaccination rate, impose the widespread of the mask and re-imposing sanctions on movement to reduce the death rate.
5- COVID infections are rising up again in China after the government lifted some restrictions and it is believed that more than one million of people may die from Covid-19 over the next few months. More vaccine, a fourth dose of of the inactivated-virus vaccine combined with antiviral drugs is suggested by experts to be given to people older than 60 years-old. And more restrictions are imposed to quash the virus spread.
6- Testing is now voluntary I some towns, but infection in Beijing may have already peaked. Outbreak in Hon Kong and Shanghai earlier have suggested a need for the fourth dose to 85% of the population to reduce the number of infections and deaths. More than 260 million people in China are older than sixty. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at te University of Washington in Seattle predicts that Death in China could rise to 9,000 a day in March 2023. (Epidemiologist Ali Mokdad).
7- In China from January 3, 2020 to 23rd of December 2022, 10,167, 676 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 31, 585 deaths have been confirmed and reported by WHO while already 3,465,113,661 vaccine doses have been administered.
8- Another recent study reviewed if surgical masks were adequate for healthcare workers in the USA. They were found to be non-inferior to fitted N95 respirators for inpatient healthcare workers. Same results were obtained in Canada where N95 masks showed better protection, compared to Egypt, since the emergence of the Omicron but the seropositivity at baseline and the known community exposure to SARS-CoV-2 did not explain the difference.
REFERENCES:
1- Leung, K. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.12.15.22283522 (2022)
2- Leung, K., Leung, G. M. & Wu, J. T. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.12.14.22283460 (2022).
3- Yasuhara J et al; Myopericarditis after COVID-19 MRNA vaccination among adolescents and young adults. ”A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr 2022 Dec 5; [e-pub]. (https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4768. opens in new tab