Nirsevimab Reduced Hospitalizations for Infants With RSV
The monoclonal antibody nirsevimab (Beyfortus) reduced hospitalizations among infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated lower respiratory tract infection, the randomized, pragmatic HARMONIE trial showed. In over 8,000 infants included in the study, 0.3% who received nirsevimab were hospitalized for RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infection compared with 1.5% of those who received standard care, which corresponded […]
COVID Upended Bronchiolitis Admission Patterns in Kids
Pediatric bronchiolitis hospitalizations took a brief downturn during the pandemic before consistently rising thereafter, with seasonal patterns yet to return to normal, a nationwide study found. After admissions plummeted by 69.2% in the 2020-2021 season, the subsequent 2022-2023 season tracked at 75.3% above the pre-pandemic median. Patients who were ages 12 to 23 months saw […]
Youth With Gender Dysphoria Hospitalized for Suicidal Ideation Far More Often
Hospitalizations due to suicidality and self-harm were four or fives times more common in young people with gender dysphoria-related diagnoses compared with those without such diagnoses, a serial cross-sectional study showed. Among transgender and non-binary young people ages 6 to 20 included in the Kids’ Inpatient Database for 2016 and 2019, 36% of those with […]
CDC: Monovalent Vax Has ‘Limited’ Protection Against BA.4/5 Hospitalization
A monovalent mRNA booster dose offered “limited” protection against COVID-related hospitalizations from the currently circulating Omicron variants, a CDC analysis found, likely due to the waning effects of the vaccines and potentially more immune evasion with BA.4/BA.5. In immunocompetent adults, vaccine effectiveness (VE) against hospitalization with three doses of mRNA vaccine dropped from 69% (95% […]
Over 10% of COVID Hospitalizations Involve Immunocompromised People
Immunocompromised individuals made up 12.2% of all COVID-related hospitalizations, despite accounting for only about 3% of the U.S. population, a CDC report showed. And once hospitalized, there was no difference in the risk for death between vaccinated and unvaccinated immunocompromised patients, reported Jason Robert Singson, MPH, of the California Emerging Infections Program in Oakland, and […]
Opinion | Should Young and Healthy Patients Take Paxlovid?
The development of an oral anti-viral medication that could reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in unvaccinated high-risk individuals was nothing short of game-changing and something that clinicians like me were clamoring for. This milestone was achieved with the FDA’s granting of emergency use authorization (EUA) to Pfizer’s nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) in December 2021. The active ingredient […]
No Underlying Conditions in 63% of Young Kids Hospitalized During Omicron
During the peak of the Omicron wave, weekly hospitalizations for infants and toddlers due to COVID-19 were approximately five times what they were during the peak of the Delta variant, new research from the CDC showed. In the first week of January, COVID-associated hospitalizations in children ages 0-4 years reached 14.5 per 100,000 children, reported […]
As Omicron Spreads, Child Hospitalizations Climb 30% in Past Week
Latest Coronavirus News TUESDAY, Dec. 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) Child hospitalizations for COVID-19 jumped 30% this past week as the Omicron variant spread like wildfire throughout the United States. By Dec. 28, the country had an average of 260 pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations each day, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers […]
The Flu Is Back
The U.S. flu season has arrived on schedule after taking a year off, with flu hospitalizations rising and two child deaths reported. Last year’s flu season was the lowest on record, likely because COVID-19 measures — school closures, distancing, masks and canceled travel — prevented the spread of influenza, or because the coronavirus somehow pushed […]
Remdesivir Appears Effective in COVID Outpatients, Too
Remdesivir (Veklury) reduced risk of hospitalizations by 87% compared with placebo in outpatients at high risk of progression to severe COVID-19, a researcher said. While the raw numbers were small — two in the remdesivir arm versus 15 in the placebo arm — the remdesivir arm had a significantly lower risk of hospitalization (0.7% vs […]