The third year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has introduced vaccines for young children and renewal courses, plus greater availability of antiviral drugs and home antigen tests. Here’s what we’ve learned since we first encountered these things.
Hitting the kids at least
On June 18, the COVID-19 vaccine was recommended for children under 5, the last group in the United States waiting for the shot (SN Online: 6/17/22). Thumbs-up for immunity and health data and the clear and present health risks of COVID-19 for young children.
Update: Many children in the United States are still unvaccinated. Only 11 percent of those 6 months to 4 years old, or 1.8 million children, had received at least one dose in December. A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor in mid-July explored some of the issues. a lackluster response, as it relates to an insufficiently tested vaccine.
There are also barriers to getting the vaccine, with 44 percent of Black parents worried about taking time off work to vaccinate their young kids or worrying about side effects. Among Hispanic parents surveyed, 45 percent worry they won’t have the option to go to a place they trust to vaccinate.
A new course
An updated COVID-19 vaccine became available as a course in the United States in early September for those 12 and older, and for those 5 to 12 years old in mid-October (SN: 10/8/22 & 10/22/22, p. 7). The vaccine, which targets two omicron subvariants in both the original version of SARS-CoV-2 and was designed to trigger a broader immune response, protected against multiple versions of the virus.
Update: Just 13.5 percent of people in the United States ages 5 and older, or 42 million people, had gotten a bivalent refresher course by December 7. In a survey done in September, half of US adults had heard little or nothing about the new course; underscoring the need for more public outreach. President Joe Biden, who had COVID-19 in July, received an updated vaccine on October 25 and announced new measures to get more boosters into the arms. A study of US adults, reported in November, found that the renewal course added protection against symptoms of COVID-19 in those who had already received at least two doses of the original vaccine.
He is testing for COVID-19 at home
In early 2022, home-use COVID-19 tests soared in response to the omicron winter surf (SN Online: 1/11/22). From January to September, the Biden administration mailed about 600 million free tests to people’s homes.
Update: At-home antigen tests are simple and easy, although the interpretation of the results has changed. With data showing that repeat testing has improved the chances of detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, the US Food and Drug Administration recommended in August that people with and without symptoms, who have been exposed to the virus and tested negative, take additional tests over the next several days. .
A disadvantage of home tests is that the results are not systematically consistent, which leads to subsidizing cases. Estimates vary on how many cases were omitted. One research group calculated that in New York City between April 23 and May, about 1.5 million adults had COVID-19, nearly 30 times as many as the official count of 51,218 cases.
A new drug
The antiviral Paxlovid — authorized at the end of 2021 — has become one of the few options for covid-19 treatment in pill form. A study published in April reported that Paxlovid reduced the risk of serious complications from COVID-19 by 89 percent compared to a placebo (SN Online: 5/11/22).
Update: In July, the FDA gave pharmacists the power to prescribe Paxlovid so that the drug would reach more people more quickly, since it needed to be taken early in the day. A study in omicron wave suggested that the drug is helpful for those 65 and older, but not helpful for those 40 to 64.
Paxlovid also made news this year when reports popped up of covid-19 symptoms returning after drug treatment ended (.SN Online: 8/12/22). It is not clear how common Paxlovid reflected so-called. Some studies have found a similar incidence between Paxlovid-treated and placebo-treated patients, while other researchers have reported that relapse occurs more often with Paxlovid than with no treatment.
There is also early evidence that Paxlovid may reduce the risk of developing chronic COVID. A preliminary study of US veterans reported in November that treatment with Paxlovid within five days of a positive COVID-19 test was associated with a 26 percent reduction in the risk of chronic COVID compared with a group that did not receive antiviral treatment after infection.
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