Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

CDC: One Vaccine May Be Especially Effective in Lowering Risk for MIS-C

While still relatively rare, there have been 6,400 cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) related to COVID-19 in the United States—including 55 deaths—since the pandemic began, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With records for pediatric and adult infection continuing to be broken on a daily basis in some states and municipalities, it stands to reason that risk for MIS-C could also be increasing. The possibly good news …

As Omicron Continues to Fuel Increased Infection in Many States, Staff Burnout Looms

We don’t have to tell you that these are hard times to be working in an urgent care center. Staffing levels have been tight for years, and the increasing volume of patients flocking to every available outlet for testing or treatment while staff members may be going out for extended sick time due to their own infection is bringing the situation to a head. John Davidhizar, MD told KBTX TV news in Bryan, TX as …

Yes, Omicron Tends to Be Less Severe—but Patients Need to Understand the Exceptions

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been shown to produce less severe illness than previous varieties of the virus—for the most part. Much of the data assembled, to date, reflect lower risk for hospitalization and death in vaccinated patients. The unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated don’t necessarily run the same low risk. Perhaps more importantly, the World Health Organization just shared circumstances in which patients may be at high risk for severe disease even with …

Vaccination Reduces Risk for COVID-Related Hospitalization and Death—but Who Are the Exceptions?

It’s been well established that vaccination is the best option for reducing risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2, but also in avoiding severe disease and poor outcomes in breakthrough cases. New data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report shed some light on exactly which patients are still at increased risk for hospitalization or death from the virus even though they’re fully vaccinated (defined for purposes of the research as receiving a full complement of one …

Update: Remdesivir May Be More Effective, More Quickly Than Previously Thought in COVID-19

A few months ago, we shared the findings of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicating that a 5-day course of remdesivir improved outcomes for hospitalized patients with “moderate-to-severe” COVID-19. Further study by another group of researchers now shows that a 3-day course reduced risk for hospitalization or death in patients with COVID-19 and certain comorbidities but who had not yet been hospitalized with the virus. The latest study, published …

Increased Risk for Diabetes Emerges as a Threat in Children with COVID-19

The longer the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the more consequences emerge—including among pediatric patients. Most recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study indicating that infection with SARS-CoV-2 is associated not only with worsened symptoms of already-diagnosed diabetes, but also with increased risk for newly diagnosed diabetes in patients under 18 years of age. In comparing cases of pediatric patients with COVID-19 (n=80,893) with those who did not (n=404,465), the researchers found a …

We Know Omicron Continues to Wreak Havoc; the Question Is, Do Patients?

The sharp rise in COVID-19 cases attributed to the Omicron variant so close after the winter holidays is a nonscientific (but probably accurate) indicator that people spent a lot of time in tight quarters, unmasked, with others whose immunization or exposure status was unknown to them. The more ominous prospect, given that many individuals got rapid tests (or insisted that visitors do so) before gathering, is that rapid antigen tests may not be much help …

What You Need to Know About the Efficacy—and Availability—of COVID-19 Therapeutics

Due to supply chain concerns and the ongoing rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in the United States, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it is moving to a weekly allocation cycle for related therapeutics for 3 weeks, starting January 3. HHS says it has stopped allocating bam/ete or Regen-COV to jurisdictions with 80% or more prevalence of the Omicron variant, given that data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate …

Still No ‘Twindemic,’ but Possibly Something Worse

This is the second flu season in a row that the healthcare community has held its breath waiting to see if the United States would be hit with dual widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 and influenza (aka, a twindemic). And so far, in spite of another COVID surge fueled by the Omicron variant, so good on that front. However, public health officials here and in other countries are reporting an increase in flurona—or, simultaneous diagnoses of …

Be Aware: Booster Protection Against Omicron Doesn’t Last as Long as We Might Hope

New data from the UK Health Security Agency indicate that booster shot protection against symptomatic COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant fades within 10 weeks or so. There’s no indication as to whether that means boosters are any more or less successful at preventing severe disease in those who do become infected with the Omicron variant of the virus. The research shows that providing two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine (available in the UK but …