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Axios
17 minutes ago
- Axios
What to know about rising COVID-19 cases and the surging "stratus" variant
COVID-19 cases are rising again in the United States, and the "stratus" variant might be to blame. The big picture: A summer outbreak of COVID-19 cases isn't a shocker. But it's arriving before children head back to school, where the virus could spread even more. The risk of a summertime COVID-19 wave comes after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unilaterally changed federal COVID vaccine recommendations, causing confusion over who should get the shots. COVID-19 cases rising in U.S. Driving the news: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday upgraded national wastewater viral activity for COVID-19 from "low" to "moderate." Wastewater levels for COVID-19 are highest in the Western U.S., according to a CDC map, with levels peaking in Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. The Southeast also has higher wastewater activity levels, with Louisiana having the most nationwide, according to CDC data recorded from July 27 to Aug. 2. What they're saying: "Wastewater monitoring can detect viruses spreading from one person to another within a community earlier than clinical testing and before people who are sick go to their doctor or hospital," the CDC says on its website. "It can also detect infections without symptoms. If you see increased wastewater viral activity levels, it might indicate that there is a higher risk of infection." By the numbers: The CDC estimated Friday that COVID-19 cases are likely growing across 45 states. Only four states — Alaska, North Dakota, Maine and New Hampshire — measured as having no change in COVID-19 cases. Wyoming's numbers were not estimated. Though the N.B.1.8.1 variant (nicknamed "nimbus") is still the dominant variant in the U.S., the recent climb might be related to the variant XFG, commonly known as "Stratus." Both are descendants of the Omicron strain. What to know about the "stratus" COVID variant Flashback: The XFG "stratus" variant was first dedicated in January, according to the World Health Organization. The variant made little noise in the United States during the first half of the year. However, in June, the "stratus" variant accounted for 14% of cases, according to the CDC, which is the third-highest among all variants. XFG is a combination of the LF.7 and LP.8.1.2 variants, the latter of which is the second-most prominent strain in the U.S., per the CDC. Yes, but: Though the WHO has placed XFG on its watchlist, and it may be more adept at evading our immune defenses, the "stratus" variant was deemed as a "low" public health risk as recent as June. Are "Stratus" variant symptoms different? The "stratus" variant symptoms haven't been seen as any different than other recent COVID-19 variants. The common COVID-19 symptoms outlined by the CDC — fever, chills, cough, sore throat and congestion — still apply.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
FDA says IV saline shortage is over
A longtime shortage of a type of sterile intravenous saline is now resolved, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday. According to the FDA, sodium chloride 0.9% injection products have been in shortage since 2018. The shortage was exacerbated when Hurricane Helene flooded a Baxter manufacturing plant in Marion, N.C. last fall what was responsible for 60 percent of the IV fluid in the country. 'This marks a significant milestone for public health and reinforces the FDA's commitment to ensuring Americans have consistent access to life-saving medical products,' FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement. Hospitals were left scrambling in the aftermath of Helene, as the shortage of multiple types IV fluid highlighted the fragility and vulnerability of the country's medical supply chain. Many were forced to curtail elective procedures and ration supplies. The IV fluid market is made up of primarily four manufacturers: Baxter International, which makes about 60 percent; B. Braun Medical, which makes about 23 percent; along with ICU Medical and Fresenius Kabi. It's common to see the same products go on and off the shortage list for years. Prior to Helene, certain IV solutions had been in shortage for almost 10 years. Experts have long warned about allowing critical supplies to be highly concentrated in one place. But manufacturing requirements for sterility mean a high barrier to entry into the market, and with low returns on investment for manufacturers, hospitals and suppliers have few options for recourse. The FDA said it is working closely with manufacturers and will continue to monitor the supply of other IV fluids, which are still in shortage. 'The availability of reliable medical products is essential to patient care and the overall resilience of our healthcare system. Addressing this shortage has been a top priority for the FDA,' Makary said.
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Trump's Immigration Crackdown Causing Children 'Profound' Harm—Study
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. U.S. and foreign-born children are experiencing a mental health crisis and are at risk of "profound emotional harm" due to current immigration polices that include widespread detainments, workplace raids and large-scale deportations, according researchers at the the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email on Friday. Why It Matters Cracking down on illegal immigration has been a staple of the Trump administration and a big reason why he was elected to his second term in November. While the administration has touted its efforts as successful, including massive decreases in crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border since Trump came into office, many Americans remain ambivalent about policy end goals—including detaining non-violent, non-criminal immigrants and federal agents making arrests in schools and places of employment. A CBS News/YouGov poll published in July found that Trump is losing support on his immigration platform, with 58 percent of respondents opposing the administration's use of detention facilities. However, his conservative base remains strongly with him at roughly 85 percent support. What To Know Aggressive immigration policies put into effect by the Trump administration are causing a public health emergency for millions of children, according to UCR researchers in their report published July 25 in Psychiatric News. The "ripple effects" of broad immigration policies that extend into everyday environments once considered safe, such as schools, health care facilities and community centers, minimize the stability of caregivers to provide necessary care to youth—which researchers cite as foundational to a child's mental health. Fear of one day having a family member detained or deported is linked with upticks in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a chronic anxiety that leads children and adolescents to avoid school or withdraw from public life, the study said. "Psychiatry, as both a clinical discipline and a social institution, cannot remain on the periphery," the authors wrote. "The current moment calls for a reexamination of how structural and intergenerational trauma are diagnosed, understood, and treated." Federal agents detain a man as he exits a court hearing in immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on August 5, 2025 in New York City. Federal agents detain a man as he exits a court hearing in immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on August 5, 2025 in New York City. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images Lisa Fortuna, professor and chair of psychiatry and neuroscience at the UCR School of Medicine and the lead psychiatrist behind the report, told Newsweek via phone on Friday that the study delves into literature on the subject matter, as well as hers and others' clinical experiences as child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychologists. It also examines what the researchers are seeing on the frontline as far as the impact of immigration raids and policies on child and adolescent mental health. "Some of the glaring things that we have seen are that immigration rates and the threat of separation, which is a critical piece of this for children and families, has been identified with very significant mental health consequences—negative consequences for mental health for adults and those families as well," Fortuna said. "What we have found is that there's an increased rate of depression, anxiety, even PTSD, among children who have even one parent who might be at risk of deportation even just at risk," Fortuna added. "And obviously, when there's a deportation, there can be even elevated reactions of depression and anxiety and even difficulty focusing in school. We've seen this in the past and with the escalation, like what we're seeing in California and the patterns of uncertainty, and that it's happening everywhere and that it's so visible and present." The study, which takes into account data trends through mid-year 2025 and during a "highly volatile" policy landscape, notes that while average daily deportations so far this year have decreased by 10.9 percent compared with fiscal year 2024, the average daily number of individuals held in immigration detention facilities has risen significantly. "This shift reflects a concerning trend: While deportations may be declining, more individuals are being subjected to prolonged and often indefinite detention," the study said. "Further compounding the issue is the expanding legal ambiguity around who may be targeted for enforcement—including U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, non-immigrant visa holders, and undocumented individuals." "Enforcement actions are often applied inconsistently, and the lack of transparency has intensified fear and uncertainty within immigrant communities," the report said. The effects on children in mixed-status families, both in pre- and post-migration family separations, negatively impact children's emotional development and academic performance. It also negatively impacts immigrant caregivers, especially mothers, who often suffer from trauma and in turn are limited in their ability to emotionally support their children, according to the study. "Even the threat of separation can generate profound emotional harm," the report said. "Children in mixed-status families often live with chronic anticipatory anxiety that a loved one could be detained or deported." Prolonged separations during sensitive developmental periods can also undermine attachment security, researchers say, increasing children's vulnerability to anxiety, depression and behavioral problems. Such risks increase when compounded by prior exposure to violence, poverty and family loss in countries of origin. The impacts can be drastic. A 2020 national study of 547 U.S.-born adolescents ages 11 to 16 found that having a detained or deported family member was associated with elevated risk for suicidal ideation, externalizing behaviors and alcohol use. Sleep and appetite disturbances, emotional dysregulation and developmental regression have been linked to young children experiencing abrupt caregiver loss. Forcible separation from a caregiver is also recognized as an adverse childhood experience that contributes to toxic stress, ambiguous loss and long-term risk for psychiatric disorders. Fortuna said that previous literature on the threat of deportation coupled with the recent immigration crackdown mean there will be increased mental health consequences for children. "It's a very developmentally vulnerable point in time in a person's life, so for young children, for example, as we talked about in the article, it can create a real sort of anxiety around attachment," she said. "Young children really rely on their caregivers for comfort and attachment and proximity. "When there are separate actions it can have sort of long-term consequences of disrupted attachment and anxiety, but even with adolescents, it could create significant stressors around depression and anxiety emergence that can persist into their adulthood," Fortuna added. "What we're really seeing is trying to, as frontline providers, address this from a policy perspective, but also trying to help young people and their families cope in such a way that this doesn't have long-term detrimental effects." What People Are Saying Study co-author Kevin Gutierrez, an assistant clinical professor of health sciences in the UCR Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, said in a university publication: "Psychiatry must take an active role — not just in treatment, but in advocacy. The mental health of immigrant children is inseparable from the systems that shape their lives." What Happens Next Researchers say the clinical consequences of immigration-related policies, ranging from PTSD and depression to somatic distress and suicidal ideation, demand "an approach that moves beyond symptom management to address the root causes of suffering." That involves recognition of the intergenerational impact of displacement, the toll of enforcement-driven immigration policy, and the daily stressors of life in a hostile sociopolitical environment, they say. Researchers also urged psychiatrists and mental health professionals to play a critical role for impacted immigrant children and reduce the effects of trauma to salvage a promising and productive future.
