Study: Previously Infected May Not Need COVID Vaccine

• In today’s Recommendations for industry, we discuss how previously infected individuals may not need the COVID vaccine. Read more below.
• The AP News reports that, nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the US are among unvaccinated individuals while only 0.1% of COVID-19 infections are “breakthrough” cases. In fact, Dr. Rochelle Walensky (CDC director) commented at a White House briefing on Tuesday (reported by CNN) that “new COVID-19 death is now entirely preventable”. In fact, Healio reports that Dr. Fauci noted that 20% of new COVID-19 cases are reported to be from the Delta variant as cases have doubled in the last two weeks.
• A CDC safety group says there is likely a link between a rare heart inflammation (myocarditis or pericarditis) in younger individuals (<30 years old) after their COVID-19 vaccination; with 12.6 heart inflammation cases per million doses.
• The effects of the Delta Variant are being seen globally (as we’ve discussed). CIDRAP reports that, around the world, 12 countries in Africa are seeing a surge in cases, as well as in South America (Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina). Even countries that had COVID under control are seeing an uptick in cases including Israel, Portugal, Lisbon, and New South Wales. The BBC further reports that Europe is bracing for a surge in Delta variants, too.
• As we had discussed in our Risk Matrix (and on Wednesday’s Recommendations for Industry), Missouri now leads the nation in new COVID-19 infections. Not only does it have the lowest vaccination rate in the country, Delta variant cases are rising there. Most infected who are being admitted to the hospital are younger unvaccinated individuals.
• COVID-19 vaccinations are tied to 40 – 50 % reduced transmission within households (a new study in the NEJM indicates).

Public Health and Food Safety:

• Food Safety News reports that the confirmed number of Salmonella infections from backyard chicken flocks now stands at 474 people; sickened individuals live in 46 states with 1/3 of patients younger than 5 years old.

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Study: Previously Infected May Not Need COVID Vaccine

A recently published, but not yet peer reviewed, study from the Cleveland Clinic raises some very important questions about vaccinating those that have already had a natural COVID-19 infection.  The study was undertaken over a five-month period and involved 52,238 employees. Each employee was tracked for COVID-19 symptoms, and if symptomatic they were tested, and their vaccine status noted.  Of the 2,154 SARS-CoV-2 infections during the study period, 2,139 (99.3%) occurred among those not previously infected who remained unvaccinated.  Not one of the 2,579 previously infected subjects had a SARS-CoV-2 infection, including 1,359 who remained unvaccinated throughout the duration of the study.

The authors concluded that individuals who have laboratory-confirmed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection are unlikely to benefit from COVID-19 vaccination. This conclusion is contrary to current CDC guidance and thus, if accurate, raises a number of important questions.

As CDC noted recently, they are investigating reports of myocarditis in association with the COVID-19 vaccines in younger individuals. Thus there is some concern about rare but potentially significant side effects in certain groups that are receiving vaccine mandates to attend college and other institutions, with no consideration given to current immune status to SARS-CoV-2 and the likelihood of a person getting COVID-19.

One important thing we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic is that the science changes and we have to pivot and respond to new information. Thus, based on the recent study from Cleveland Clinic it is time to reconsider the current vaccine advice and mandates and perhaps rethink the risk-benefit balance and reserve the vaccines for those that really need it.

• In Wednesday’s Recommendations for industry, we discuss some spaces to watch for (especially in the US) and its relation to the U.S. 50-State Risk Matrix. Read more here.
• A recent non-peer-reviewed preprint, as reported by CIDRAP has shown that the Delta and Gamma variants of COVID-19 are currently making up the largest shares of U.S.-specific COVID-19 cases, with much of the Delta variant being identified in regions with higher rates of unvaccinated individuals. Similarly, globally, the Delta variant (and in Latin America, the Gamma variant, too) of COVID-19, have surged dramatically, including in Africa and across South-East Asia. There is additional news coming out for the Philippines and in S. American nations like Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay whose COVID-19 death toll accounts for 25% of all COVID-19 death tolls globally even though their combined populations only make up 5% of the global population.
• A recent pre-peer reviewed study is investigating the mutation (P681R) that makes the Delta COVID-19 variant “more resistant against neutralizing antibodies and allows the virus to infect human cells more efficiently.” Period goes inside quotations.
• The FDA has put out a Drug Safety Communication “for hand sanitizers, warning that symptoms such as headache, nausea, and dizziness can occur after applying alcohol-based hand sanitizers to the skin and inhaling the vapors that linger. Consumers should use hand sanitizer in a well-ventilated area.” Is this entire paragraph a direct quote? Please don’t inhale hand sanitizer fumes!
• In Monday’s Recommendations for Industry, we discussed the rise in Delta variant cases. Read more here.
• The S. Department of Homeland Security has extended COVID-19 restrictions for non-essential travel (via land and ferry) with Canada and Mexico until July 21, 2021.
• As Delta variant cases continue to rise in the US (and around the world), unvaccinated individuals are at higher risk. In the US, states with lower vaccination rates like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wyoming, have populations who are at higher risk as less than 35% of individuals are fully vaccinated. Arizona is reporting a spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
• In Russia, COVID-19 cases are again surging; most with the Delta variant.
• A judge in Florida has declared that starting July 18^th, the CDC no longer has purview to enforce its COVID-19 rules on cruise ships leaving Florida. Instead, these rules are now “recommendations” and taken “for consideration.”
• Vaccine hesitancy is likely to put India’s progress against COVID-19 at risk. Currently less than 5% of the population is fully vaccinated and with the majority of the population living in more rural areas, these same individuals are expressing hesitancy fueled heavily by misinformation and mistrust (including misinformation that COVID-19 ‘does not exist in villages’ or that vaccinations can disrupt ‘the menstruation cycle and reduce fertility’).
• The U.S. plans to invest over $3 billion into antiviral pills to combat COVID-19 when symptoms onset in order to minimize infection.
• New data by Public Health England finds that COVID-19 reinfections are low; of almost 4 million COVID-19 infected individuals, only about 0.4% of cases were reinfections (as studied in England).
• In the UK, the surge in COVID-19 cases is driven very noticeably by youths who carry the Delta variant; in fact, the Delta variant now accounts for 90% of all COVID-19 cases in the UK.
• An additional study published in Cell found the current available vaccines were not as effective against the Delta variant.
• Africa is seeing a full-blown third COVID-19 wave, caused by a few different reasons, including rise in variants but also scarce vaccine supplies.