Moderate-certainty evidence finds that large reductions in COVID-19 deaths are possible using ivermectin. Using ivermectin early in the clinical course may reduce numbers progressing to severe disease. The apparent safety and low cost suggest that ivermectin is likely to have a significant impact on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic globally. Meta-analysis of 15 trials found that ivermectin reduced risk of death compared with no ivermectin (average risk ratio 0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.19–0.73; n = 2438; I2 = 49%; moderate-certainty evidence). This result was confirmed in a trial sequential analysis using the same DerSimonian–Laird method that underpinned the unadjusted analysis. This was also robust against a trial sequential analysis using the Biggerstaff–Tweedie method. Low-certainty evidence found that ivermectin prophylaxis reduced COVID-19 infection by an average 86% (95% confidence interval 79%–91%). Secondary outcomes provided less certain evidence. Low-certainty evidence suggested that there may be no benefit with ivermectin for “need for mechanical ventilation,” whereas effect estimates for “improvement” and “deterioration” clearly favored ivermectin use. Severe adverse events were rare among treatment trials and evidence of no difference was assessed as low certainty. Evidence on other secondary outcomes was very low certainty.
Japan could declare new state of emergency – minister
Tamura Norihisa said at a news conference on Friday that the number of people who are out and about at night in Tokyo was on the rise even before the state of emergency expired on June 20. He said it’s highly likely that the number of people going out at night in the capital is rising further, and cases could increase. The minister also said that vaccinations have not reached the entire population, and strict measures may be necessary to curb infections. Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials confirmed 570 new cases on Thursday. It was the second day in a row that the daily tally had increased by more than 100 from a week earlier.
Vaccines are NOT working against the Covid19 Delta Strain
Israel says the Delta variant is infecting vaccinated people, representing as many as 50% of new cases
- As many as half of new COVID-19 cases in Israel are vaccinated people, a health official suggested.
- The Delta variant, not as easily beaten by vaccines as other variants, is driving Israel’s surge.
- Although Infections among vaccinated people have alarmed Israelis, the infections appear to be milder than they are in unvaccinated people.
As Israel faces a surge in cases driven by the Delta variant, its health officials suggested that as many as half of new cases were among people who’d been vaccinated. Fully vaccinated people who’ve come into contact with the Delta variant will have to quarantine, Chezy Levy, the director-general of Israel’s health ministry, said on Wednesday, Haaretz reported. “Even though the numbers are low, the fact that this is reaching vaccinated people means … that we are still checking how many vaccinated people have also been infected,” Levy said, according to Haaretz. Levy told the state broadcaster Kan Bet that about 40% to 50% of new cases appeared to be people who had been vaccinated, Haaretz reported. He did not appear to specify a time frame for the new cases. The figure is likely an estimate, as the ministry is still analyzing the cases. On Monday, Levy said that a third of the new daily cases were people who had been vaccinated. It wasn’t clear whether those people had been fully or partially vaccinated. Although the infections among vaccinated people have alarmed Israelis, the infections do not appear to be as severe as they are in unvaccinated people. Though they are preliminary, the figures underline the worry that the Delta variant could mean the virus continues to spread even in places like Israel where large portions of the population have been vaccinated. New daily cases reported in Israel have jumped to over 100, the highest level there since May. About 70% of the cases have been caused by the Delta variant, Levy said on Monday. Israel had been ending its virus restrictions – it ended indoor masking last week as daily cases hovered in the single digits. As of Thursday, about 57% of Israel’s population had been fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins University data. As of Monday, no severe cases of COVID-19 had been reported from the latest surge, Ran Balicer, an executive at the Israeli healthcare organization Clalit, said in a tweet. Of all the coronavirus variants, the Delta variant could pose the greatest risk to vaccinated people. Research suggests it’s better able to break through in people who’ve had only one dose of two-dose vaccines, such as those from Pfizer and AstraZeneca. On Monday, Mike Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health-emergencies program, said the Delta variant could “be more lethal because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans.” Two doses of the vaccines appear to be protective against Delta. An analysis by UK health officials found that two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine were 88% effective against Delta while a single shot was 33% effective. That’s compared with 95% efficacy against the original strain, or 52% after one shot. But no vaccine is 100% effective, and so-called breakthrough cases are still possible. With other variants, breakthrough infections were mostly mild. In the UK, where the Delta variant makes up more than 90% of cases, 26 of 73 total deaths associated with the Delta variant were among people who had been fully vaccinated,
Fed’s Bullard: US reopening may boost inflation further
The Federal Reserve should be prepared for inflation to surprise on the high end through next year, said St. Louis Fed President James Bullard. Inflation is likely to remain above the Fed’s 2 per cent goal and may surprise further to the upside, bolstered by a faster-than-expected economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Bullard said Monday in a virtual event hosted by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. “We’re in a much stronger position with respect to reopening than we would have anticipated and inflation has come along with it,” Bullard said. “We have to be ready for the idea that there is upside risk to inflation and for it to go higher.” Bullard is forecasting 2.5 per cent core PCE inflation next year. The median projection of the 18 participants in the Federal Open Market Committee is for 3 per cent core inflation this year and 2.1 per cent in each of the next two years, according to estimates released last week following the central bank’s June meeting. Chair Jerome Powell sounded a hawkish note in his press conference following the meeting, saying there was a risk to inflation rising more than the FOMC’s estimates. Officials also moved up their estimates for the first rate increase, with the median now seeing two hikes in 2023.
Pfizer Far Less Effective For Delta Variant Than Earlier Strains: Lancet Study
London: People fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are likely to have more than five times lower levels of neutralising antibodies against the Delta variant first identified in India compared to the original strain, according to research published in The Lancet journal. The study also shows that levels of these antibodies that are able to recognise and fight the virus are lower with increasing age, and that levels decline over time, providing additional evidence in support of plans to deliver a booster dose to vulnerable people. It supports current plans in the UK to reduce the dose gap between vaccines since they found that after just one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, people are less likely to develop antibody levels against the B.1.617.2 variant as high as those seen against the previously dominant B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant, first found in Kent. The team, led by researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in the UK, noted that levels of antibodies alone do not predict vaccine effectiveness and prospective population studies are also needed. Lower neutralising antibody levels may still be associated with protection against COVID-19, they said. The study analysed antibodies in the blood of 250 healthy people who received either one or two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, up to three months after their first dose. The researchers tested the ability of antibodies to block entry of the virus into cells, so called ‘neutralising antibodies’, against five different variants of SARS-CoV-2. They then compared concentrations of these neutralising antibodies between all variants. Data from previous clinical studies suggests that higher antibody titres or concentration is a good predictor of vaccine efficacy and greater protection against COVID-19. The researchers found that in people who had been vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, levels of neutralising antibodies were more than five times lower against the B.1.617.2 variant when compared to the original strain, upon which current vaccines are based. This antibody response was even lower in people who had only received one dose, they said. After a single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech, 79 per cent of people had a quantifiable neutralising antibody response against the original strain, but this fell to 50 per cent for B.1.1.7, 32 per cent for B.1.617.2 and 25 per cent for B.1.351 or Beta variant first discovered in South Africa. While antibody levels decreased with age against all variants, no correlation was observed for sex or body mass index (BMI). “This virus will likely be around for some time to come, so we need to remain agile and vigilant, said Emma Wall, an Infectious Diseases consultant at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). “Our study is designed to be responsive to shifts in the pandemic so that we can quickly provide evidence on changing risk and protection,” Wall said. The researchers noted that the most important thing is to ensure that vaccine protection remains high enough to keep as many people out of hospital as possible. The e study suggests that the best way to do this is to quickly deliver second doses and provide boosters to those whose immunity may not be high enough against these new variants, they said.
Britain records jump in COVID cases, increase in deaths
LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) – Britain recorded 16,135 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a large jump from a day earlier and the highest figure since early February, official data showed. There were also 19 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test, up from five recorded the day before.
Britain records jump in COVID cases, increase in deaths
LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) – Britain recorded 16,135 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a large jump from a day earlier and the highest figure since early February, official data showed. There were also 19 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test, up from five recorded the day before.
Delta variant greatest threat in US now – Fauci
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Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine linked to rare blood disease – Israeli study
The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has been linked to an increased chance of developing thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood disorder, Israeli researchers said Monday. TTP is an autoimmune disease that causes blood clots to form in various organs of the body. According to the National Institutes of Health, these clots can limit or block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to key organs like the brain, kidneys and heart, resulting in serious health problems. Researchers from the Institute of Hematology at Shamir Medical Center said they were alerted to the problem after seeing a sudden increase in TTP in the country – four cases detected in one month compared to two or three cases per year. The medical team said they found a “chronological connection” between the vaccination of the patient and the onset of symptoms of the disease. They stressed that these are both new patients and patients whose disease flared up after a long period of remission. The Health Ministry is currently evaluating the research. As a result, the medical team, led by Dr. Maya Koren-Michowitz, head of the Hematology and the Translational Hemato-Oncology Laboratory, recommended that people who have had TTP only get vaccinated with special permission from their doctor – and if they do vaccinate, to have a follow-up clinical evaluation. A spokesperson from the hospital stressed that this study, which was very small, should in no way deter people from vaccinating and encouraged anyone who has not yet been inoculated to get the jab. “Physicians and patients need to be alert to the clinical symptoms: weakness fatigue, neurological disorders, hemorrhage and chest pain,” the team said in a release. They also called on “healthy people” who are vaccinated to be vigilant and seek medical help immediately if symptoms appear. Early diagnosis and modern treatments have increased TTP patient survival rate from 10% in the past to 80% today.
Fed’s Williams: Economy can’t pair stimulus policy yet
Chief Executive of New York Federal Reserve, John Williams, estimated on Monday that the American economy hasn’t improved enough to pair the stimulus policy brought by the Biden administration. Commenting about the economic forecast, Williams said he expects inflation to reach 3% in 2021 before returning to the targeted 2% range over the next two years. Furthermore, he said the US economy will grow around 7% this year. Williams also touched on the topic of interest rates, insisting the accommodative policy will globally continue even after the end of the coronavirus pandemic.