CLEVELAND, Ohio – About half of U.S. health care workers have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine, and patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had a higher risk of stroke, and were more likely to be older, male or to be black, according to recent research.
Cleveland.com summarizes the most striking news about coronavirus making headlines online. This is what you need to know for Monday, March 22nd.
Healthcare workers worried about vaccine, poll shows
Nearly half of U.S. health workers have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, although in many countries they are predisposed to get the shots first, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation published Friday.
The report found that only 52% of health workers received at least one dose of vaccine. About 64% of respondents said they have confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccines. The survey included interviews with 1,327 front-line health workers conducted in February and March.
Some of the initial findings:
- Unvaccinated health workers in the front line include 3 out of ten who have not decided whether they will be vaccinated (12%) or say they do not intend to get the vaccine (18%).
- A large majority of employees who have not been vaccinated and who have not decided whether they want to be vaccinated or who do not intend to be vaccinated, say that concerns about possible side effects (82%) and the novelty of the vaccine (81%). are important factors in their decision making.
- Among frontline health workers, half of black workers, 45% of workers without a college degree and four out of ten Republican and Republican leavers say they doubt the COVID-19 vaccines have been properly tested for safety and efficacy. About 1 in 5 of each of these groups also say that they will definitely not receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 patients have an increased risk of stroke
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had a higher risk of stroke and were more likely to be older, male or black, or have high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or an irregular heartbeat compared to other COVID-19 patients, according to a report. Presented Friday during the International Stroke Conference 2021 of the American Stroke Association.
The study analyzed data from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 registry of more than 20,000 American adults admitted to the hospital between January and November 2020.
The analysis of COVID-19 patients also found:
- Those with any form of stroke were more likely men (64%) and older than patients who did not have a stroke.
- Patients with a stroke spent approximately 22 days in the hospital, compared with 10 days of hospitalization for patients without a stroke; and hospital deaths were more than twice as high among stroke patients (37%) compared with patients without stroke (16%).
COVID-19 places higher taxes on hospitals than flu, study shows
A new study compared the impact of COVID-19 on patients and hospital resources compared to patients hospitalized at a major medical center during the past five flu seasons. The study found that COVID-19 cases resulted in more hospitalizations, more mechanical ventilation, and higher mortality rates than flu each week.
The paper was written by medical researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. It analyzed data from 1,634 patients admitted to the hospital, of which 582 confirmed COVID-19 by laboratory and 1,052 confirmed flu.
While 174 patients with COVID-19 received mechanical ventilation during the two months, only 84 patients with influenza were placed on ventilation during all five seasons of influenza. The study also said that the percentage of patients who died was much higher for COVID-19 than for flu. About 20% of the admitted patients with COVID-19 die in the two-month period, compared with three percent of the patients with influenza during five seasons.
WHO finds no link between blood clots, AstraZeneca vaccine
The World Health Organization found no increased risk of blood clotting conditions in people who received the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Similar findings by European regulators on Friday led to the resumption of vaccinations in many countries in Europe, where COVID-19 cases are on the rise amid the slow introduction of the vaccine.
The WHO said in a statement that its global vaccine safety group met on March 16 and March 19 and examined the data of 27 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine administered in India, as well as the global database of WHO safety reports.
COVID-19 reinfections are likely to affect the elderly
COVID-19 re-infections are uncommon, but are particularly prevalent in people aged 65 and over, according to a large observational study recently published in the Lancet. The study emphasized that people who have recovered from the disease need to distance themselves socially and receive vaccinations.
Researchers in Denmark looked at 10.6 million COVID-19 tests from 4 million Danes during September’s second boom between September and December, comparing it to infection rates during the first boom.
Older people may be more likely to get the disease a second time because the immune system becomes less effective with age and other factors associated with aging and poor COVID-19 outcomes.
New York reports first case of infectious variant
New York recently confirmed at least one case of the coronavirus variant first found in Brazil and joined more than a dozen states that have seen the variant.
The variant, known as P.1, has been detected in at least 16 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The variant is highly contagious and has re-infected people who have already recovered from the coronavirus in some cases.
Scientists expect variants to soon become the dominant source of infection in the United States.
Answer your coronavirus vaccine questions:
Should cancer patients get the coronavirus vaccine?
Can you request one coronavirus vaccine if you are concerned about the other?
Should you get the coronavirus vaccine if you have had a bad reaction to the flu shot?
Are you contagious if you have side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine?
Can you mix and match two doses of coronavirus vaccine from different manufacturers?
Can I still get my second dose of coronavirus vaccine if I get the first COVID-19 symptoms?
Should you get the second vaccine if you contract COVID-19 after your first dose of coronavirus?
Will your COVID-19 vaccine be less effective if you have to wait longer for the second dose?
If the coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective, how do you know if you are in the other 5%?
Why should I wear a mask if I have been vaccinated against coronavirus?