It did not come soon enough for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and many others, but updated coronavirus vaccinations could be available as soon as this week in some locations.
Wastewater surveillance is an alphabet soup of coronavirus variants but CDC data shows that KP.3.1.1 is the most prevalent in estimates calculated in early August. Vaccines under development will be aimed at the KP.3 variant.
The CDC rates the wastewater coronavirus national trend as very high.
In Ohio, reported cases have been on the upswing. A three-week trend notes that 5,692 cases were reported in Ohio the week ending Aug. 1. The next week saw 6,660 cases reported. For the week ending Aug. 15, 7,347 cases were reported. Hospitals are no longer required to report coronavirus cases to the CDC as of May 1.
In Michigan, the percentage of emergency room visits with a coronavirus diagnosis rose from 0.4 percent on March 31 to 2 percent on Aug. 9.
Meanwhile, research on the spread of coronavirus has not stopped — it has continued to evolve in laboratories around the world.
On July 31, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say their new study of next-generation vaccines that target the virus’ points of entry — the nose and mouth — may be able to do what traditional shots cannot: contain the spread of respiratory infections and prevent transmission. The research successfully prevented vaccinated hamsters from passing the virus to others, breaking the cycle of transmission.
“To prevent transmission, you need to keep the amount of virus in the upper airways low,” said senior author Dr. Jacco Boon, a professor of medicine, molecular biology, and pathology and immunology. “The less virus that is there to begin with, the less likely you are to infect someone else if you cough or sneeze or even just breathe on them. ... In an epidemic or pandemic situation, this is the kind of vaccine you’re going to want.”
The study results also could be useful as the world looks toward avian influenza, an H5N1 outbreak that has adapted to dairy cows and infected 13 farmworkers.
“Mucosal vaccines are the future of vaccines for respiratory infections,” Dr. Boon said.
Another study at the Washington University School of Medicine showed that vaccinations resulted in fewer cases of long coronavirus. In addition, the risk of contracting long coronavirus has decreased as a larger portion of the population has been vaccinated.
In Ohio, 30 percent of adults with a positive coronavirus test reported long coronavirus symptoms. In Michigan, that number is at 24 percent, close to the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey as of Nov. 8, 2023.
First Published August 21, 2024, 1:38 p.m.
