Latest news with #hospitalisation
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Highly-infectious new Covid strain spreads to US as vaccine advice changes
A new, highly infectious COVID-19 strain that has led to a spike in hospitalisation in China has now been detected in the US, including cases in New York City, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new NB.1.81 variant was first detected in the US in late March and early April among international travellers arriving at airports in California, Washington State, Virginia and New York City, with additional cases reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii. The CDC has said there are too few cases in the US to be properly tracked in the agency's variant estimates, but experts are warning that the virus' run in China shows it spreads more quickly than other dominant strains of the respiratory infection. Experts have been closely tracking the NB.1.8.1 variant after it became the dominant strain in China this year, with cases surging all across Asia. There have been reports of it driving an increase in hospitalisations in Western Australia. Hong Kong authorities say COVID-19 cases have spiked to the worst levels in at least a year after officials announced a 'significant increase' in emergency room visits and hospitalisation in the last month due to the variant. That included 81 severe cases in the past four weeks, including 30 deaths. The vast majority of the cases were in adults 65 and up. In mainland China, the portion of patients going to the ER with Covid has more than doubled in the last month — from 7.5 per cent to more than 16 per cent, public health authorities said. The portion of people in the hospital for Covid in China also doubled, to more than six per cent, according to the state-run China Daily. How bad is this variant? Despite the stats, the Beijing-controlled government in Hong Kong downplayed the variant, saying it does not appear to be more dangerous than previous variants. 'What they're seeing in China, Hong Kong and some other areas where this variant has really surged, is an increase in hospitalisation,' Dr. Amy Edwards, a professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University's medical school, told CBS News. The CDC's airport tests revealed the extent of the virus' spread as the travellers who were infected with the variant travelled through China, Japan, South Korea, France, Thailand, the Netherlands, Spain, Vietnam and Taiwan. Like other forms of COVID-19, the variant can cause coughing, a sore throat, fever and fatigue. Subhash Verma, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Nevada, however, noted that the new variant 'appears to have a growth advantage, suggesting it may spread more easily.' 'In other words, it is more transmissible,' she told CBS news. Both Verma and Edwards said that the strain does not appear to be more severe — at least so far. Dr Edwin Tsui, the head of Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP), said that the new variant 'should not be taken lightly,' warning Chinese health officials and others around the world that evidence suggests the virus may have evolved to even further evade the protections of the Covid vaccines. The CHP will continue to closely monitor the situation of the variant strains in accordance with the World Health Organisation's recommendation, and be cautious of the possible emergence of more virulent or vaccine-mismatched strains of the virus in the future,' he said in a statement. Trump administration changes vaccine advice The US will no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for children and healthy pregnant women, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday, calling it a 'common sense' decision grounded in sound science. The change follows last week's announcement by Food and Drug Administration officials that they would limit approval of Covid shots - a critical tool in ending the pandemic - to adults aged 65 and older, as well as younger individuals with underlying health conditions. Trump administration officials have framed the shift as bringing the US into closer alignment with countries like Britain, Germany and France where annual boosters are recommended only for the elderly and immunocompromised. But it comes as Kennedy - who has long promoted misinformation about vaccines in general and the Covid shots in particular - pushes to overhaul federal public health policy. 'I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today, the Covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommended immunisation schedule,' he said in a video posted to X. FDA officials also said vaccine manufacturers will need to conduct new clinical trials - including comparisons against a saline placebo - if they wish to retain approval for use in healthy people under 65. These recent changes have drawn criticism. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP last week that while the new approach matched that taken by other countries, 'I do think, however, that the initial Covid-19 vaccine series should be part of routine childhood immunisation.' Paul Offit, a top vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, warned the change could restrict access for people who still want boosters, particularly under the US's privatised health care system, where insurers may decline coverage. The reversal on pregnant women marks a major departure from previous CDC guidance. As of Tuesday morning, the agency's website - which had yet to reflect Kennedy's announcement - still stated that pregnant women are among people for whom it is 'especially important' to receive the vaccine. 'If you are pregnant or were recently pregnant, you are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 compared to those who are not pregnant,' it says.
Medscape
27-05-2025
- Business
- Medscape
In 10 Years, No Big Gains With Deferred Stenting in STEMI?
A 10-year follow-up study confirmed that compared with conventional immediate percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), deferred stenting in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) did not reduce the composite of all-cause mortality or hospitalisation for heart failure (HF) but was associated with a reduction in hospitalisation for HF. METHODOLOGY: The multicentre DANAMI-3-DEFER trial in Denmark (March 2011 to February 2014) found no significant clinical benefits of deferred stenting over conventional PCI with immediate stenting for patients with STEMI; rather, it was associated with an increased risk for target vessel revascularisation. Researchers conducted a post hoc analysis of the trial to assess 10-year outcomes, evaluating 1215 patients with STEMI and acute chest pain for less than 12 hours from symptom onset. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either deferred stenting (n = 603), performed 24-48 hours after the initial PCI, or conventional PCI (n = 612), involving stent placement immediately after PCI. The primary outcome was a composite of hospitalisation for HF or all-cause mortality. TAKEAWAY: The 10-year cumulative incidence of hospitalisation for HF or all-cause mortality was not significantly different between patients in the deferred stenting group and those in the conventional PCI group. Hospitalisation for HF was 42% lower in the deferred stenting group than in the conventional PCI group (odds ratio, 0.58; P = .010). = .010). No significant differences in target vessel revascularisation were observed between the two groups. IN PRACTICE: "Unlike earlier findings, the extended follow-up showed that the increased incidence of target vessel revascularization in the deferred stenting group observed in the DANAMI-3-DEFER main trial appeared to diminish in the long-term," the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Jasmine Melissa Marquard, MD, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. It was published online on May 20, 2025, in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions . LIMITATIONS: Owing to the open-label design of this trial, patients and treating physicians were aware of the treatments, which might have introduced biases. The findings should be interpreted with caution, especially considering the small sample size and the post hoc nature of the analysis. DISCLOSURES: The DANAMI-3-DEFER trial received funding from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation and the Danish Council for Strategic Research. Additional disclosures are noted in the original article. Several authors reported receiving honoraria, advisory board fees, speaker fees, and grants from multiple pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, including AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Biotronik.
News24
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
‘Totally ridiculous': Amor Vittone hits back at ‘nasty' trolls after hospital scare
South African singer Amor Vittone addressed online trolls who called her an 'attention seeker' after her hospitalisation for a burst appendix was shared online by a family member. She expressed hurt over the negative comments, particularly from some women in the Afrikaans community. Vittone, often targeted by online hate due to her past with late rugby star Joost van der Westhuizen, called for an end to vindictive behaviour on social media. South African singer and TV personality Amor Vittone recently addressed online trolls who accused her of being an 'attention seeker' following a health scare that landed her in the hospital. A few weeks earlier, a family member of Vittone shared an update on her hospitalisation via social media, requesting prayers from fans and followers. The post read, 'Amor is in the hospital right now. She is undergoing surgery tomorrow morning. She has asked everyone who has ordered jewellery to please be patient. I will keep you updated. Prayers are welcome.' The following day, it was confirmed that she had undergone surgery for a burst appendix and was recovering well. While the posts attracted hundreds of supportive comments from fans, they also drew hurtful remarks, with some labelling the singer an 'attention-seeker.' READ | Scandals, sex tapes and heartbreaks: Inside three Springbok relationship splits that shook the nation Reacting to the negativity, the 53-year-old took to Facebook, where she boasts 166 000 followers, to express her dismay at the unwarranted criticism. 'I shared it on my social media pages for my fans and friends who follow. I didn't run to a media house and say you must write on what is going on.' She admitted that the comments affected her emotionally, 'I didn't feel good; it put me in a bad mood… It's totally ridiculous.' Thank you / Dankie Posted by Amor Vittone on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 The ex-wife of the late rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen also highlighted the troubling nature of some remarks, particularly those from women within the Afrikaans community. 'People are so nasty... the Afrikaans community who attack one another, especially the women. It's terrible to see every single day.' Vittone urged social media users to adopt more compassion online and stop spreading hate, especially when they lack context or a full understanding of others' struggles. She appealed for civility in online discourse, saying, 'That's not being human or kind…If you can't say anything nice, just leave it: scroll through it, don't read it, and move on. It's so vindictive, it hurts you,' she said. The former rugby WAG is no stranger to online criticism. She has faced ongoing scrutiny since marrying Van der Westhuizen, who died in 2017. Their marriage, often marred by public scandal, remained in the spotlight, with Vittone enduring backlash during her legal battles over her share of the late Springbok's estate.
