Covid-19: Irish vaccine programme to include 12-15-year-olds

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightReutersThe Covid-19 vaccination programme in the Republic of Ireland is to be extended to include 12 to 15 year-olds.The recommendation was made to the Irish government by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC).Earlier, Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin said there would be further advice from the NIAC on the matter.He said it represented a “significant opening up” of the vaccination programme to younger people.Mr Martin said it had been a “very effective” programme to date and the government wanted to encourage “heightened participation” among the remaining age groups.It is understood that it will take a number of days for the Health Service Executive (HSE) to get the system for vaccinating those from 12 to 15 up and running, as it will require parental consent and parents or guardians will have to be present for the jabs.More than two million fully vaccinated in IrelandIreland to buy one million Covid-19 vaccine dosesThe decision to extend the vaccination programme to those who are 12 and over has been strongly criticised by some on social media.Opponents of the move say it is wrong that Irish children are being vaccinated when large numbers of front line workers dealing with Covid-19 in poorer countries are not.Wedding numbers under discussionMr Martin also said the HSE would be adding walk-in vaccine centres over the bank holiday weekend to facilitate further vaccinations.He emphasised that measures such as social distancing, wearing masks indoors and washing hands remained essential “even as we vaccinate significantly and as we move forward”.Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly urged people who are eligible to register for a Covid-19 vaccine to do so.The vaccine portal opened to people aged 16 and 17 from Tuesday.Mr Martin told reporters that 84% of the adult population in the Republic now had a first jab and nearly 70% were fully vaccinated.Meanwhile, the numbers allowed to attend a wedding will rise to 100 after 5 August, the Irish cabinet agreed on Tuesday.Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the decision was made “in principle” and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will give clarity around the detail.Under current public health guidelines in the Republic of Ireland, the number of guests who can attend a wedding is limited to 50.

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Michael Gove on vaccine passports at events with big crowds

People should be “confident” those attending large-scale events are “less likely to be carriers” of the coronavirus, the Cabinet Office minister has said.Speaking on a visit to Glasgow, Michael Gove spoke of the Westminster and Holyrood governments looking at some kind of passporting systems at events, such as top flight football matches.He said: “we all want to make sure that major activities… are safe.”READ: PM warns against ‘premature conclusions’ as cases fall

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The C.D.C. will recommend that some vaccinated people wear masks indoors again.

Reversing a decision made just two months ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to recommend on Tuesday that people vaccinated for the coronavirus resume wearing masks indoors under certain circumstances. The change follows reports of rising breakthrough infections with the Delta variant of the virus in people who were fully immunized. But the new guidance would mark a sharp turnabout from the agency’s position since May that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most indoor spaces. As recently as last week, an agency spokesman said that the C.D.C. had no plans to change its guidance, unless there were a significant change in the science. Federal officials met on Sunday night to review new evidence that may have prompted the reversal, CNN reported on Tuesday.“I think that’s great,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York. Based on what scientists are learning about the Delta’s variant’s ability to cause breakthrough infections, she said, “this is a move in the right direction.”The C.D.C.’s initial guidance in May said people fully protected from the coronavirus could go mask-free indoors, but recommended that unvaccinated people still wear masks. Those recommendations drew sharp criticism from some experts, who said it was premature given the vast swaths of unvaccinated people in the country.Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the C.D.C.’s director, at the time pointed to two scientific findings as significant factors. Few vaccinated people become infected with the virus, and transmission seems rarer still, she noted; and the vaccines appear to be effective against all known variants of the coronavirus.A day after the announcement, the agency released results from a large study showing that the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were 94 percent effective in preventing symptomatic illness in those who got two doses, and 82 percent effective in those who had received one dose.But those data, and the C.D.C.’s decision, were based on infections of previous versions of the virus before the Delta variant began sweeping through the country. Reports of clusters of infections among fully immunized people have suggested that the variant may be able to break through the vaccine barrier more often than previous iterations of the virus.

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Dad builds robotic 'exo-skeleton' to help son walk

French dad and robotics engineer Jean-Louis Constanza has built a robotic suit for his 16-year-old son Oscar that allows him to walk. Oscar, a wheelchair user, activates the suit by saying ‘robot, stand up,’ and it then walks for him. Jean-Louis co-founded the company that builds the suit, that can allow users to move upright for a few hours a day. It is used in hospitals in several counties, but it isn’t yet available for everyday use by individuals and has a price tag of around €150,000. A personal exoskeleton would need to be much lighter, the company’s engineers said.

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Boris Johnson on Covid infection rates falling for six days

The prime minister has urged people not to “run away with premature conclusions” after a fall in positive Covid tests in the UK.A week after most restrictions were lifted in England, he said the public had “got to remain very cautious”.The number of new infections across the UK has fallen for six successive days.

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As Virus Cases Rise, Another Contagion Spreads Among the Vaccinated: Anger

Frustrated by the prospect of a new surge, many Americans are blaming the unvaccinated. A tougher stance may backfire, some experts warn.As coronavirus cases resurge across the country, many inoculated Americans are losing patience with vaccine holdouts who, they say, are neglecting a civic duty or clinging to conspiracy theories and misinformation even as new patients arrive in emergency rooms and the nation renews mask advisories.The country seemed to be exiting the pandemic; barely a month ago, a sense of celebration was palpable. Now many of the vaccinated fear for their unvaccinated children and worry that they are at risk themselves for breakthrough infections. Rising case rates are upending plans for school and workplace reopenings, and threatening another wave of infections that may overwhelm hospitals in many communities.“It’s like the sun has come up in the morning and everyone is arguing about it,” said Jim Taylor, 66, a retired civil servant in Baton Rouge, La., a state in which fewer than half of adults are fully vaccinated.“The virus is here and it’s killing people, and we have a time-tested way to stop it — and we won’t do it. It’s an outrage.”The rising sentiment is contributing to support for more coercive measures. Scientists, business leaders and government officials are calling for vaccine mandates — if not by the federal government, then by local jurisdictions, schools, employers and businesses.“I’ve become angrier as time has gone on,” said Doug Robertson, 39, a teacher who lives outside Portland, Ore., and has three children too young to be vaccinated, including a toddler with a serious health condition.“Now there is a vaccine and a light at the end of the tunnel, and some people are choosing not to walk toward it,” he said. “You are making it darker for my family and others like mine by making that choice.”On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City ordered that all municipal workers be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the time schools reopen in mid-September or face weekly testing. Officials in California followed suit hours later with a similar mandate covering all state employees and health care workers.The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday required that 115,000 on-site health care workers be vaccinated in the next two months, the first federal agency to order a mandate. Nearly 60 major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, on Monday called for mandatory vaccination of all health care workers.“It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks,” a frustrated Gov. Kay Ivey, Republican of Alabama, told reporters last week. “It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”There is little doubt that the United States has reached an inflection point. According to a database maintained by The New York Times, 57 percent of Americans ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated. Eligible Americans are receiving 537,000 doses per day on average, an 84 percent decrease from the peak of 3.38 million in early April.As a result of lagging vaccination and lifted restrictions, infections are rising. As of Sunday, the country was seeing 52,000 new cases daily, on average, a 170 percent increase over the previous two weeks. Hospitalization and death rates are increasing, too, although not as quickly.“We’re not out of the woods completely,” said Pastor Shon Neyland of Portland, Ore. Some vaccinated congregants are frustrated with those who refuse to get the vaccine, he added.Tojo Andrianarivo for The New York TimesCommunities from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, are recommending that vaccinated people wear masks again in public indoor settings. Citing the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus, the counties of Los Angeles and St. Louis, Mo., have ordered indoor mask mandates.For many Americans who were vaccinated months ago, the future is beginning to look grim. Frustration is straining relations even within closely knit families.Josh Perldeiner, 36, a public defender in Connecticut who has a 2-year-old son, was fully vaccinated by mid-May. But a close relative, who visits frequently, has refused to get the shots, although he and other family members have urged her to do so.She recently tested positive for the virus after traveling to Florida, where hospitals are filling with Covid-19 patients. Now Mr. Perldeiner worries that his son, too young for a vaccine, may have been exposed.“It goes beyond just putting us at risk,” he said. “People with privilege are refusing the vaccine, and it’s affecting our economy and perpetuating the cycle.” As infections rise, he added, “I feel like we’re at that same precipice as just a year ago, where people don’t care if more people die.”Hospitals have become a particular flash point. Vaccination remains voluntary in most settings, and it is not required for caregivers at most hospitals and nursing homes. Many large hospital chains are just beginning to require that employees be vaccinated..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-3btd0c{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-3btd0c{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-3btd0c strong{font-weight:600;}.css-3btd0c em{font-style:italic;}.css-w739ur{margin:0 auto 5px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,’times new roman’,times,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.625rem;}@media (min-width:740px){#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-size:1.6875rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-w739ur{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-9s9ecg{margin-bottom:15px;}.css-uf1ume{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}.css-wxi1cx{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-align-self:flex-end;-ms-flex-item-align:end;align-self:flex-end;}.css-12vbvwq{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-12vbvwq{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-12vbvwq:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-12vbvwq{border:none;padding:10px 0 0;border-top:2px solid #121212;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-qjk116{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-qjk116 strong{font-weight:700;}.css-qjk116 em{font-style:italic;}.css-qjk116 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:visited{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Even though she is fully vaccinated, Aimee McLean, a nurse case manager at University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, worries about contracting the virus from a patient and inadvertently passing it to her father, who has a serious chronic lung disease. Less than half of Utah’s population is fully vaccinated.“The longer that we’re not getting toward that number, the more it feels like there’s a decent percentage of the population that honestly doesn’t care about us as health care workers,” Ms. McLean, 46, said.She suggested health insurers link coverage of hospital bills to immunization. “If you choose not to be part of the solution, then you should be accountable for the consequences,” she said.Mr. Perldeiner with his son, Arlo. “I feel like we’re at that same precipice as just a year ago, where people don’t care if more people die,” he said.Christopher Capozziello for The New York TimesMany schools and universities are set to resume in-person classes as early as next month. As the number of infections increases, these settings, too, have seen tension rise between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.Recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on K-12 school reopening are tied to rates of community virus transmission. In communities where vaccination lags, those rates are rising, and vaccinated parents must worry anew about outbreaks at schools. The vaccines are not yet authorized for children under 12.The American Academy of Pediatrics has advised that children wear masks in class when schools reopen. On Friday, school districts from Chicago to Washington began putting mandates into effect.Universities, on the other hand, often can require vaccinations of students and staff members. But many have not, frustrating the vaccinated.“If we’re respecting the rights and liberties of the unvaccinated, what’s happening to the rights and liberties of the vaccinated?” said Elif Akcali, 49, who teaches engineering at the University of Florida, in Gainesville. The university is not requiring students to be vaccinated, and with rates climbing in Florida, she is worried about exposure to the virus.Some are even wondering how much sympathy they should have for fellow citizens who are not acting in their own best interest. “I feel like if you chose not to get vaccinated, and now you get sick, it’s kind of your bad,” said Lia Hockett, 21, the manager of Thunderbolt Spiritual Books in Santa Monica, Calif..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-3btd0c{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-3btd0c{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-3btd0c strong{font-weight:600;}.css-3btd0c em{font-style:italic;}.css-w739ur{margin:0 auto 5px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,’times new roman’,times,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.625rem;}@media (min-width:740px){#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-size:1.6875rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-w739ur{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-9s9ecg{margin-bottom:15px;}.css-uf1ume{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}.css-wxi1cx{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-align-self:flex-end;-ms-flex-item-align:end;align-self:flex-end;}.css-12vbvwq{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-12vbvwq{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-12vbvwq:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-12vbvwq{border:none;padding:10px 0 0;border-top:2px solid #121212;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-qjk116{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-qjk116 strong{font-weight:700;}.css-qjk116 em{font-style:italic;}.css-qjk116 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:visited{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}As the virus begins to spread again, some vaccinated people believe the federal government should start using sticks rather than carrots, like lottery tickets.Carol Meyer, 65, of Ulster County, N.Y., suggested withholding stimulus payments or tax credits from vaccine refusers. “I feel we have a social contract in this country with our neighbors, and people who can get vaccinated and choose not to get vaccinated are breaking it,” Ms. Meyer said.Bill Alstrom, 74, a retired innkeeper in Acton, Mass., said he would not support measures that would directly affect individual families and children, but asked whether federal government funding should be withheld from states that don’t meet vaccination targets.Maybe the federal government should require employees and contractors to be vaccinated, he mused. Why shouldn’t federal funding be withheld from states that don’t meet vaccination targets?Dorrett Denton of Bethpage, N.Y., eventually overcame hesitancy with advice from her doctor.Brittainy Newman for The New York TimesThough often seen as a conservative phenomenon, vaccine hesitancy and refusal occur across the political and cultural spectrum in the United States, and for a variety of reasons. No single argument can address all of these concerns, and changing minds is often a slow, individualized process.Pastor Shon Neyland, who regularly implores members of his church in Portland, Ore., to get the Covid-19 vaccines, estimated that only about half of the members of the Highland Christian Center church have gotten shots. There have been tensions within the congregation over vaccination.“It’s disappointing, because I’ve tried to help them to see that their lives are in jeopardy and this is a serious threat to humanity,” he said.Shareese Harris, 26, who works in the office of Grace Cathedral International in Uniondale, N.Y., has not been vaccinated and is “taking my time with it.” She worries that there may be long-term side effects from the vaccines and that they were rushed to market.“I shouldn’t be judged or forced to make a decision,” Ms. Harris said. “Society will just have to wait for us.” Rising resentment among the vaccinated may well lead to public support for more coercive requirements, including mandates, but experts warn that punitive measures and social ostracism can backfire, shutting down dialogue and outreach efforts.Elected officials in several Los Angeles County communities, for example, are already refusing to enforce the county’s new mask mandate.“Anything that reduces the opportunity for honest dialogue and an opportunity for persuasion is not a good thing,” said Stephen Thomas, a professor of health policy and management at University of Maryland School of Public Health. “We are already in isolated, siloed information systems, where people are in their own echo chambers.”Gentle persuasion and persistent prodding convinced Dorrett Denton, a 62-year-old home health aide in Queens, to be vaccinated in February. Her employer urged Ms. Denton repeatedly to be immunized, but in the end it was her doctor who persuaded her.“She says to me: ‘You’ve been coming to me from 1999. How many times did I do surgery on you, and your life was in my hands? You trust me with your life, don’t you?’” Ms. Denton recalled.“I said, ‘Yes, doctor.’ She said, ‘Well, trust me on this one.’”Giulia Heyward contributed reporting from Miami, Sophie Kasakove from New York and Livia Albeck-Ripka from Los Angeles.

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Scientists discover early signs of frontotemporal dementia in personalized cerebral organoids

Frontotemporal dementias are a group of fatal and debilitating brain disorders for which there are no cures. In an article published July 26 in Cell, Mount Sinai researchers describe how they were able to recreate much of the damage seen in a widely studied form of the disease by growing special types of cerebral organoids in petri dishes. This form of the disease is caused by a genetic mutation in tau, a protein that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. By studying these organoids, the scientists discovered how the mutated tau protein may trigger the death of a specific class of neurons known to be vulnerable in frontotemporal dementia. They also showed that they could prevent the death of these neurons by treating the organoids with an experimental drug, originally designed to combat Crohn’s disease.
“Frontotemporal dementia is a devastating disease for patients and their loved ones. Understanding the causes of dementia can be difficult, as most of the damage to the brain occurs well before any symptoms appear. It’s like trying to unravel the events that created a crime scene. In this study, we were able to model many aspects of the pathology seen in the brains of patients who carry the V337M mutation in tau,” said Alison M. Goate, DPhil, Director, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease at Mount Sinai, and a senior author of the study. “Our results identified several very early transcriptomic and proteomic changes that lead to the formation of tau pathology and neuronal death. Our goal is to help researchers develop novel treatments against frontotemporal dementias and prevent the suffering experienced by patients and their families.”
Frontotemporal dementia is a rare form of dementia that usually begins between ages 40 and 60. It affects the front and side (temporal) areas of the brain, leading to behavior changes and difficulty with speaking and thinking.
The study was led by Kathryn Bowles, PhD, an instructor in Dr. Goate’s lab at Mount Sinai. Working with scientists at the Neural Stem Cell Institute (NSCI) in Rensselaer, New York, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, the researchers created thousands of cerebral organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Induced pluripotent stem cells are created by genetically and chemically reprogramming a person’s skin or blood cells into newborn stem cells, which have the potential to become any cell in the body. From these stem cells, the NSCI created thousands of tiny, 3D cerebral organoids, which mimic the early growth and development of the cerebral cortex for intensive study by collaborating scientific groups.
“Induced pluripotent stem cells are powerful tools. They allow researchers to study each patient’s personalized disease in a petri dish,” said Sally Temple, PhD, Scientific Director of the NSCI and a senior author of the study. “In this study we were able to take this idea to the next level. By combining iPSC-organoid technology with high-throughput, single cell gene activity analysis, we were able to get a better look at what might be going on in a patient’s brain at early stages of disease development, even before symptoms emerge.”
In this study, the researchers examined the growth and development of organoids derived from the stem cells of three patients, all of whom carried the V337M mutation in tau. They then compared their results with those observed in “isogenic,” control organoids. The controls were derived from patient stem cells in which the disease-causing mutation was genetically corrected.

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Parkour athlete: 'She wants to be a doctor so she can fix me'

A parkour athlete, who has been diagnosed with a rare, progressive form of multiple sclerosis, has described losing his mobility as “mortifying”.Luke Callinan, 35, who helped to establish Nottingham’s parkour community, was diagnosed 18 months ago and is now bed-bound.His friends and family are trying to raise £100,000 for stem cell treatment, which they say he is not eligible for on the NHS.Mr Callinan, from Bulwell, said his daughter “wants to be a doctor so she can help or fix me”.”Being such a physical person and [to] lose your independence and mobility, it’s mortifying,” he added.Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

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Brazil: Why are so many pregnant women dying from Covid?

Covid-19 has critically affected pregnant women in Brazil, with more than 1,000 deaths. One in five women that died from the virus didn’t have access to an intensive care unit and one in three didn’t have access to a ventilator.So far Brazil has recorded more than 530,000 coronavirus related deaths and only 45% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

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No more finger pricks: A continuous glucose monitor benefits patients with diabetes in more ways than one

A 15-center study of 175 patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes in JAMA found that continuous glucose monitoring, compared to blood glucose meter monitoring, or finger pricking, significantly decreased their hemoglobin A1C over eight months (-1.1% versus -0.16%, respectively.)
Although the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring for patients with diabetes has been demonstrated before, the benefits have only been well studied in patients with type 1 diabetes or patients with type 2 treated with multiple daily insulin injections, referred to as prandial insulin.
Study author Rodica Busui, M.D., Ph.D., also the vice chair of clinical research in the Department of Internal Medicine at University of Michigan Health, says this work is one of the first to thoroughly understand the impact of having access to and using a continuous glucose monitor in adults with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes that are only treated with basal insulin, a long-acting insulin designed to be injected once or twice daily to provide an adequate level of insulin throughout the day and night
“Not only does this trial demonstrate the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring for these patients, a technology that hasn’t been covered by many insurers for those with type 2 diabetes, but these benefits were seen across a broad spectrum of socio-economic status and racial backgrounds,” said Busui.
She adds that approximately half of the study’s participants were of a racial or ethnic minority.
The randomized clinic trial began enrolling patients in mid-2018 to late-2019, with follow up in mid-2020. The participants received one or two daily injections of long-acting basal insulin, with or without non-insulin medications to help lower blood sugar levels.

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