Current Events in May 2021

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 32,423,048 (32,296,353)

Total U.S. deaths: 577,054 (576,770)

Total global cases: 152,974,685 (151,673,998)

Total global deaths: 3,204,478 (3,189,619)

Retail pharmacy chains allegedly wasted vaccine

A report by Kaiser Health News (KHN), part of the Kaiser Family Foundation, claims two retail pharmacy chains, CVS and Walgreens, have accounted for a significant portion of wasted coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. The report is based on a study of government data.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 182,874 doses of the various vaccines were wasted as of late March. Of those, KHS says CVS was responsible for nearly half, and Walgreens wasted 21% of the total. Altogether, it says the retailers wasted 128,500 shots.

CVS told KHN that most of its waste occurred early in the vaccination rollout when it was tasked with vaccinating residents and staff at long-term care facilities. Records show the Pfizer vaccine, which requires extreme temperature storage, accounted for 60% of the waste.

Next vaccines could be in pill or spray form

The international effort to vaccinate people against COVID-19 is still in its early stages, but the pharmaceutical industry is already thinking about the next generation of vaccines.

The research is being carried out at both U.S. government labs and at private biopharma firms. The companies have told The Wall Street Journal that the next generation of vaccines could be in pill or nasal spray form and be even more effective than the four approved vaccines currently in use around the world.

They say the next vaccines against COVID-19 will have the advantage of not having challenging storage requirements and would likely eliminate the need for two doses.

CDC says 97% of Johnson & Johnson vaccine reactions aren’t serious

After studying the data, the CDC has found there is little risk to getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The agency said its analysis shows 97% of the reactions to the vaccine are “non-serious.”

While most of the reactions to the shots are nothing more than mild flu symptoms, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine came under close scrutiny after a small number of recipients later suffered from the formation of dangerous blood clots.

Distribution of the vaccine was “paused” for more than a week while health experts looked at the risks. They ultimately determined that risks from adverse reactions were far outweighed by the benefit of being vaccinated. They said there were 17 serious reactions out of more than 7 million vaccinations.

Dr. Gottleib explains why you need the second shot

Surveys have shown that a number of Americans who have received the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine haven’t returned for the second dose. Some have said they don’t plan to.

Appearing on CNBC today, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said the first shot may provide initial protection but the second shot is needed to provide lasting immunity. Even so, he expects many people to eventually get the second dose.

“My advice to anyone would be that, even if you’re young and there’s evidence that you derive a robust immune response just from that first dose, we don’t know the durability of that response,” said Gottlieb.  “If you really want to get a durable effect from the vaccine, you really should get the second dose.”

Brothels reopen in Nevada

Nevada is getting back to business. Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip were busy over the weekend as were the state’s legal brothels, which reopened for the first time in more than a year.

USA Today reported that some brothels, which are legal in only a handful of Nevada counties, tried to encourage return business by offering discounts.

In Las Vegas, casinos operated at 80% under eased virus-mitigation rules. Gov. Steve Sisolak has said he expects all businesses to be reopened at 100% capacity by June 1.

Around the nation

New York: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to return New York City’s mass transit service to a 24-hour operation after shutting down each night for over a year. “The City That Never Sleeps has a name that we have to live up to everywhere, including within our subway service,” Schumer said at a weekend event in Manhattan.

Kansas: State health officials say there are health consequences to declining a COVID-19 vaccination. They note that as the rate of vaccinations slowed last month there was an increase in cases of the COVID-19 variant and a rise in hospitalizations, especially in the Wichita area. 

Utah: After an upsurge in cases last week, health officials started breathing a little easier over the weekend. They reported one death in the state on Saturday, and one more on Sunday. After reporting 410 cases of the virus on Saturday, health officials reported 279 on Sunday, starting what they hope is a downward trend.

The world was still coping with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last May when Mother’s Day came around. While we’re not out of the coronavirus woods yet, consumers are looking to focus more on mom this year.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) conducted its annual survey to see how much people will be splurging on Mother’s Day in 2021. The findings show that spending will eclipse $28 billion this year, with 83% of consumers planning to celebrate the holiday. 

“There is a lot of consumer optimism around Mother’s Day this year as more people are getting vaccinated and stimulus checks are being distributed,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “For many, this is a chance to make up for last year’s Mother’s Day when we were under lockdown.”

Spending on mom

If the survey responses are a good indication, then moms can expect some nice gifts this year. Over half of respondents said they plan to spend money on jewelry this year (59%), while over a quarter will look to buy electronics (28%). 

Average spending this year is projected to come in at $220.48 per person, but the NRF says consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 will spend even more. This age group plans to spend an average of $367.08 per person, an increase of $99 over last year. 

Besides physical gifts, just under half of consumers say they’re planning a special outing or meal for mom (49%). Of course, pandemic conditions will make going out a little bit different than in past years.

“With safety guidelines at top of mind, consumers are planning to be with family, are making travel plans and organizing a special brunch or outing. All of these activities will be reflected through their purchasing decisions,” said Shay. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Georgia State University has explored the link between processed foods and long-term health risks. Their work showed that consumers who eat large quantities of processed foods may be at an increased risk of developing chronic infections, such as diabetes. 

“We observed that feeding mice a Western-style diet, rather than standard rodent grain-based chow, altered the dynamics of the Citrobacter infection, reducing initial colonization and inflammation, which was surprising,” said researcher Dr. Andrew Gerwitz. “However, mice consuming the Western-style diet frequently developed persistent infection that was associated with low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance.”

Processed foods can compromise health

The researchers conducted their study on mice and fed them two different types of diets to determine how food choice can impact health outcomes. The Western-style diet was primarily highly-processed foods that contained high traces of sugars and fats and lacked fiber. By contrast, the traditional diets of mice are grain-based and nutrient dense. 

The team analyzed how the diets impacted the Citrobacter infection, which is associated with E.coli. They also looked at the mice’s gut microbiota to determine how that was impacted by diet and how the risk of infection played into all of these factors. 

The researchers learned that eating highly-processed foods greatly impacted the mice’s gut microbiota. Switching the mice to a highly-processed diet led to less diverse gut microbiota, which ultimately made them more susceptible to health risks.

The team explained that having a variety of bacteria in the gut and intestines can benefit the body in several ways, including better digestion and immune system health. Without the nutrients necessary to diversify gut bacteria, health complications were more common. 

They also found that the mice fed the Western diet were more likely to get sick when repeatedly introduced to the Citrobacter infection. Because of the relationship between processed foods and gut microbiota, the mice’s immune systems were already compromised and their intestines weren’t able to properly break down the pathogen. This lack of nutrients made them more prone to chronic infections and conditions like diabetes. 

“These studies demonstrate potential of altering gut microbiota and their metabolites by diet to impact the course and consequence of infection following exposure to a gut pathogen,” Dr. Gerwitz said. 

Moving forward, the team recommends that consumers prioritize following healthy diets to ensure optimal gut health. This can improve immune system function, intestinal health, and overall wellness. 

“We speculate that reshaping gut microbiota by nutrients that promote beneficial bacteria that out-compete pathogens may be a means of broadly promoting health,” said researcher Dr. Jun Zou. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has explored the mental health risks associated with young children enduring concussions. 

According to the researchers' findings, more than 30% of children who experience a concussion are likely to struggle with mental health issues following the injury. 

“Mental health is essential to concussion recovery,” said researcher Vicki Anderson. “Concussion may both precipitate and exacerbate mental health difficulties, impacting delayed recovery and psychosocial outcomes.” 

Long-term concussion risks

For the study, the researchers analyzed nearly 70 earlier studies that looked at the association between mental health and concussion recovery. In analyzing the health outcomes from more than 90,000 children who experienced head injuries over the course of four decades, the team looked at how concussions impacted long-term mental health. 

Ultimately, the researchers noticed a significant trend between head injuries and mental health issues, and this was true for both those with and without a history of mental health struggles prior to getting hurt. 

Twenty percent of injured children experienced externalized mental health problems, such as attention issues, aggression, and hyperactivity, while nearly 37% struggled with issues like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress following their head injuries. 

“When a child has a concussion they might look fine, but you can’t see the underlying impact,” said Bruce Henry, the father of study participant Emma Henry, who has been undergoing mental health treatment after two concussions. “It’s so important for mental health to form part of concussion management, which has been essential to Emma’s recovery process.” 

In the study, Emma Henry explained that after her two concussions, she struggled to find meaning to do simple tasks, like completing school work or going for walks, both of which impacted her mental health. 

The researchers also noted that the mental health symptoms following a concussion affect each child differently. While some children struggle for a few months, others can have symptoms persist for years after their injuries. 

Moving forward, the team hopes that these findings impact concussion treatment protocol for kids and adolescents. Because of the longer recovery time associated with young people’s head injuries, these findings can help identify those at the highest risk of struggling with mental health long term. 

“Despite the high incidence of concussion among children and adolescents, identifying those at risk of ongoing difficulties after concussion remains a prominent challenge for clinicians,” said researcher Alice Gornall. 

“Incorporating mental health risk into post-injury management represents an opportunity to engage children and adolescents with mental health services to either prevent unnecessary problems emerging or to treat already existing issues,” said Anderson. 

Consumers now have another place to go if they’re looking for a COVID-19 vaccine. Rite Aid announced on Friday that it will begin administering vaccines at all 2,500 of its stores in 17 states across the U.S. The vaccines will be open to all eligible U.S. citizens aged 16 years or older.

"The availability of vaccines in every Rite Aid location is a major milestone in our ongoing effort to fight COVID-19. We've been on the front lines since the beginning of the pandemic, working across our store footprint to bring testing and vaccines directly to local communities," said Jim Peters, Rite Aid’s chief operating officer. 

The pharmacy chain says it will be offering all three approved vaccines at its stores. While walk-ins are accepted, officials say consumers can schedule an appointment online via its scheduling tool. 

“The availability of these walk-in appointments provides another way for those with limited or no technology access to more easily obtain COVID vaccines. We encourage everyone to make an appointment, or walk-in, today," Peters said.

One can hope that having a new outlet for COVID-19 vaccines might help entice some consumers who have delayed getting their next dose. The CDC reported last week that millions of Americans have gotten their first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine but have skipped the second shot.

Researchers say that’s a concerning trend because it may ultimately prolong the pandemic. 

Sauder Woodworking of Archbold, Ohio, is recalling about 3,100 Sauder and Aliesha-May Counter-height bar stools (two-piece sets).

The legs on the stools can become unstable over time, posing a fall hazard.

The company has received three reports of the stool being unstable, including two falls. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves counter-height bar stools sold under the Sauder and Aliesha-May brands.

The stools have powder-coated steel legs and cross braces, and a backless rectangular oak-finished composite seat. They measure 23.5 inches high by 14.5 inches wide and 12.25 inches deep.

The stools were manufactured between September 2019 and August 2020. A label with the manufacturing date code in the MM/YYYY format (09/2019 through 08/2020) is located on the bottom surface of the seat.

The stools were sold in sets of two.

The stools, manufactured in China, were sold at Wayfair.com, ZOLA.com, CYMAX.com and other online retailers from January 2020, through February 2021, for between $85 and $95 per set of two bar stools.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled bar stools and contact Sauder Woodworking to receive a full refund for each two-piece stool set.

Sauder Woodworking is contacting all known purchasers directly.

Consumers may contact Sauder Woodworking toll-free at (866) 218-8312 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at www.sauder.com and click on “About” at the top of the page, and then “Public Notices” for more information.