1. I'm listening to some presentations to #ACIP on myocarditis associated with receipt of Moderna's Covid vaccine or mRNA vaccines in general.
CDC's Tom Shimabukuro was asked about deaths. He said there were 13 deaths reported, but so far none are thought to be vax-related.
2. @CDCgov is doing a study following up on people who reported myocarditis after mRNA vaccination. CDC's Ian Kracalik is presenting on that study now.
3. No surprise by now, most of the people reporting myocarditis after mRNA vaccination were young males.
4. The symptoms for most were mild and did not inhibit their ability to care for themselves or live their normal lives. But a fair proportion of them reported anxiety or depression.
5. Most people who developed myocarditis after vaccination were fully recovered by 38 weeks after the event.
6. The main findings of the study following up people who reported myocarditis following receipt of mRNA vaccine.
7. @tmprowell makes an important point. There are multiple cases of myocarditis; five of the fatal cases in the schematic below were caused not by vaccination, but by other such causes. They include viral infections, such as Covid. #ACIP has broken for a 15 minute lunch break.
8. @CDCgov is now making a presentation on how it is about to update its clinical guidance on Covid vaccine for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. It's going to shorten the interval for the 4th dose for people who got an mRNA vaccine to 3 months from 5.
9. And people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised & who got the J&J vaccine initially are now being encouraged to get a 3rd dose, two months or longer after their first booster.
10. For people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised and who initially were vaccinated with the J&J vaccine, the 3rd dose must be one of the mRNA vaccines.
11. @CDCgov is going to recommend revaccination of some people who got vaccinated before or while undergoing treatments that would deplete their B cells (CAR-T, hematopoietic stem cell transplant) should be revaccinated afterwards. This advice was welcomed by clinicians on ACIP.
12. And where previously @CDCgov recommended deferring Covid vaccination after getting passive antibody products (ie monoclonals), it is lifting the recommendation for a deferral.
13. I had to stop listening to #ACIP about mid afternoon — other news got in the way. But ... no surprise ... the committee voted to recommend use of the Moderna #Covid vaccine. And @CDCDirector signed off on that recommendation. cdc.gov/media/releases…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
1. Some thoughts on #H5N1 #birdflu in cows. A 🧵
A bunch of new herds were announced by a couple of states today — Colorado and Iowa. The former reported +5 & looks like it may have another pending; It now has 18 in total, maybe 19. Iowa reported 2 more, taking it to 10.
2. To the best of my ability to keep up — and that's being challenged — I think there have been 125 herds reported in 12 states since the end of March. This graph combines @USDA's numbers from yesterday with the newly reported herds from Colorado & Iowa.
3. But @USDA threw a wrench into the works today. It updated its exceedingly wonky #H5N1 #birdflu in cows landing site. Some things work better, but the cumulative number of herds was lowered by 4 (from yday) with no explanation. USDA now says 112 herds in 12 states.
1. @USDA posted an FAQ today about the federal order restricting movement of dairy cattle infected with
#H5N1 #birdflu. Interesting information therein.
A 🧵
New to me: USDA says 8 poultry operations in 5 states have had poultry outbreaks with the virus detected in cows.
2. Minnesota hasn't reported #H5N1 #birdflu in cattle, but it has had at least 1 poultry outbreak with the cattle virus, @USDA reveals. More evidence, probably, that the virus is far more widely spread than has been realized. The FAQ is here: aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/…
3. The federal order on the movement of dairy cows goes into effect 4/29. @USDA is setting what looks like an ambitious timeline for processing of tests, especially "non-negative" tests that must then go for confirmatory testing at the USDA lab in Ames, Iowa. #H5N1 #birdflu
1. Listening to an @ASTHO - @IDSAInfo - @CSTEnews webinar on #H5N1 #birdflu in cows.
Of interest so far:
— @USDA is monitoring feral swine; no detections of H5 so far.
— in the "small number" of samples tested to date, doesn't look like cows are shedding virus thru feces.
2. @USDA Rosemary Sifford said the infections are "mostly" being seen in lactating herds.
1 herd was found to be positive despite the fact there were no clinical signs among the cows.
Sifford said USDA doesn't yet know how long infected cows shed virus.
#H5N1 #birdflu
@USDA 3. Sonja Olsen from @CDC says there've been 6 infections detected in cats on dairy farms. Not sure I've seen the exact number. #H5N1 #BirdFlu
1. A 🧵 on #flu, #Covid & #RSV (mostly flu). The
#influenza-like illness season is pretty much over. The percentage of people seeking care for ILIs is below 2.9%, that dotted line. You can catch flu at any time of the year, but chances of catching it now thru the summer are low.
2. It's not just #flu. #Covid activity now is at low levels nationally and #RSV activity has declined to the point where @CDCgov says the season is ending. Hallelujah. cdc.gov/respiratory-vi…
3. It hasn't been a particularly bad #flu season, but the estimated number of hospitalizations for flu has been pretty high — one of the highest in recent years. (red line) The 2017-18 season, which was harsh, was worse. CDC estimates there were 370K hospitalizations this year.
1. A 🧵on #flu & #Covid activity trends based on reports today from @CDCgov. Most of the data is for the week ending Feb. 3. The #influenza-like illness (ILI) season seems to have peaked at the end of Dec, with declines in flu, Covid & #RSV since then. But the season isn't over.
2. There was a bit of an uptick in #flu activity in the central & south central US. It corresponds with an increase in flu B detections there. Pre-Covid, flu B often arrived in a late season wave. We may see that again this year.
Map on left is the week ending 1/27; right is 2/3.
3. An additional 8 pediatric #flu deaths were reported to @CDCgov in the wk ending 2/3. The season's death toll in kids now stands at 74, which is awful, obviously, but not as bad as most years pre-Covid. But if there's a lot of flu B activity, this number could climb.
1. Traditionally I've done #flu updates on Fridays, but given our new reality — #Covid is here to stay — & the expansion of data on @CDCgov's website, I'm going to broaden the scope going forward. Top line news: Lotta illness out there right now. cdc.gov/respiratory-vi…
2. Most parts of the country are ensconced in #influenza-like illness season right now. (Minn, what are you doing to stay so healthy?) This graphic doesn't just represent #flu activity; #Covid, #RSV & other ILIs are also captured here. @CDCgov's FluView: cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
3. #Flu is the most common bug making people sick right now, but there's a lot of #Covid going around too. (I know from recent experience.) #RSV is still fairly active but declining. This breakdown of what's causing most illness is seen both in positive tests & ER visits.