Children with MIS-C more likely to have neurological and mental health effects: Study

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(NEW YORK) — Children and teenagers who previously had multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, known as MIS-C, may be more likely to have neurological and mental health issues than those who did not, a recent study suggests.

Researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital looked at 64 children, teens and young adults between ages 5 and 20 who were hospitalized at the hospital between November 2020 and November 2021.

The children underwent neurological examinations and assessments six months to one year after being discharged. They were also compared with siblings, friends or relatives who never had MIS-C.

Results showed that 25% of children who previously had MIS-C had “abnormal neurological findings” compared to 7% of those in the comparison group.

Patients with previous MIS-C were more likely to have memory problems as well as difficulty with motor skills and coordination. They also had higher rates of diagnosed ADHD, anxiety, depression and were more likely to report worse quality of life.

Those in the MIS-C group were also more likely to experience symptoms including chest pain, back pain, headaches, fatigue and nausea.

Dr. Caitlin Rollins, a leader in the study and director of the cardiac neurodevelopmental program at Boston Children’s, said while some of the symptoms could be due to stress — including due to the COVID pandemic, she believes they’re linked to MIS-C due to the higher rates among the group that previously had the condition.

“When families learn the child’s symptoms could be related to MIS-C, they are reassured that others are experiencing it,” she said in a press release. While additional larger studies are required to further evaluate this possible association, “We hope this study will increase awareness.”

MIS-C is a rare, but serious inflammatory condition that is caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that leads to COVID-19.

It typically occurs between two to six weeks after infection and presents a combination of symptoms, including inflammation of various parts of the body along with gastrointestinal symptoms, rash, fever, dizziness or lightheadedness and bloodshot eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors are unclear about what causes some children to develop MIS-C but believe it may involve a genetic predisposition for inflammation in response to respiratory diseases.

As of Monday, there have been 9,518 reported cases of MIS-C and 79 deaths over the course of the pandemic, CDC data shows. Cases were much higher during the early months of the pandemic but have since dropped dramatically.

Rollins said parents with children who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 should keep an eye on their children and seek medical care if needed.

“If parents are noticing changes in their child’s behavior or functioning, it could be related to MIS-C, and they should seek support,” she said.

She also encouraged pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists who treat children with MIS-C to ask questions about their neurologic and mental health and have them evaluated if necessary.

Rollins said she plans to follow the children in the study who had MIS-C for a second year and hopes they will also be able to undergo MRIs to see if the condition caused any structural changes to the brain.

 

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FDA warns against using certain at-home pregnancy, ovulation, UTI tests

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use certain pregnancy, ovulation and urinary tract infection tests.

At least 15 tests manufactured by Universal Meditech Inc. (UMI) may be ineffective, including One Step Pregnancy Test, DiagnosUS One Step Ovulation Test, HealthyWiser UriTest UTI Test Strips and PrestiBio Breast Milk Alcohol Test Strips, the federal health agency said Friday.

“UMI has notified the FDA that it has stopped all operations and is no longer providing support for its tests,” the FDA said in a statement. “The FDA is not able to confirm the performance of UMI’s tests, raising concerns that the tests may not be safe and effective.”

The tests may have been sold online by at least four distributors under the names AC&C, HealthyWiser, Home Health US and Prestige Biotech.

While UMI did recall undistributed tests, it did not do so for those already distributed or sold.

“Given FDA’s concerns about these tests, the FDA is issuing this safety communication to consumers and patients as part of its mandate to protect the public health,” the agency said.

It’s not clear why UMI issued the recall, but when UMI notified FDA about the recall of the tests and what about the performance can’t be confirmed by the FDA.

Neither UMI nor the FDA immediately returned ABC News’ request for comment.

In addition to not purchasing tests, the FDA is warning consumers to throw away all recalled tests; to test again for pregnancy, ovulation or UTIs with a different brand; and report any problems to the FDA’s MedWatch program.

This is not the first time the FDA has issued an alert about recalled urine strip tests. Last year, the agency shared that Family Dollar was recalling several products that were stored “outside of labeled temperature requirements” including several pregnancy tests.

 

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Not enough moms seek help for postpartum depression. Will the new pill help?

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(NEW YORK) — Khadija Hines struggled with feelings of depression after the birth of her third child.

“There was no sunshine, a lot of dark moments,” Hines told ABC News. “My family’s from the Caribbean islands and they weren’t really understanding … it felt extremely lonely, like I was in a dark pit and I was just falling, falling deeper and deeper.”

She didn’t know it at the time, but Hines was among an estimated 15% of mothers who experience postpartum depression, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all pediatricians screen birth mothers for postpartum depression.

One OB-GYN interviewed by ABC News said not enough women know about the condition to ask for a diagnosis.

But doctors and patient advocates are hopeful that could change with a new pill approved specifically for postpartum depression. The pill, called Zurzuvae, is taken daily for two weeks, and studies found that some women saw improvements in their mood in as little as three days.

Zurzuvae was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month.

“I think that this is a great change to what we’ve seen in the past as far as medical management and what we’ve been able to offer because of the quick onset,” Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified OB-GYN and chief medical officer at Verywell Health, told ABC News.

Hines told ABC that if Zurzuvae had been available when she was struggling with PPD, she would have tried it.

Fortunately, Hines was connected to the Postpartum Resource Center of New York, where she said received education on postpartum depression, therapy, and support she needed to navigate her diagnosis.

For many new moms, postpartum depression can be a debilitating illness. Symptoms include intense sadness, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and more, which can coalesce into inability to care for oneself and one’s baby.

Postpartum depression can even lead to mothers harming themselves and their babies.

Experts say many mothers experience this alone, without help.

The new pill won’t be available until at least October, according to a spokesperson for the manufacturer, Sage Therapeutics — and it’s not a panacea, with studies showing it helped most, but not all, new mothers.

Meanwhile, experts caution long-term effects and safety while breastfeeding have not yet been studied, meaning parents and doctors will need to balance potential benefits and risks.

Still, the daily pill is considered a much more practical treatment option for new mothers compared to the sole prior medical therapy, Zulresso, an IV infusion that is continuously administered over several days. Doctors are hopeful that the recent FDA approval will raise awareness of postpartum depression, breaking down the stigma of maternal mental health.

A 2018 CDC survey of more than 32,000 mothers across the United States found that 1 in 8 women experience postpartum depressive symptoms, yet they are not all diagnosed. Without diagnosis, many women are likely not offered proven, effective treatments for PPD.

Diagnosis of a medical condition usually happens in one of two ways: either the health care provider screens for the disease or a person asks their provider for help regarding specific symptoms. The same study found that the same number of women, 1 in 8, were not screened for PPD in their postpartum visit.

“In [obstetrics], we don’t really typically see our patients for four to six weeks after delivery. A lot can develop in that time,” Shepherd said. “So, I think that there are other ways we can intervene with catching these signs earlier, from a health care perspective.”

The AAP recognizes that one place for improvement would be to screen for postpartum depression at the pediatrician’s office. According to the AAP, a healthy baby should see the pediatrician seven times in their first year of life, with two of those visits in the first four weeks.

While women usually see their OB-GYNs four to six weeks after delivery, most women will likely have had the opportunity to see their pediatrician twice prior to ever seeing their own health care providers.

While Hines says she was able to overcome her PPD with a vigorous “mind, body, and soul” approach, utilizing intensive therapy and social support, she is hopeful that Zurzuvae will become “another tool that we can use with all the other things to help us take better care of our mental health.”

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.

Dr. Neha Gupta, an emergency medicine resident physician, is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

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How the Maui wildfires are affecting people’s physical and mental health

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(NEW YORK) — The aftermath of the Maui wildfires may have a significant mental and physical health toll.

Dangerous wildfires — fueled by dry conditions and strong winds — are continuing to sweep across Maui, ravaging the small Hawaiian island.

At least 55 people have been killed and a majority of the historic town of Lahaina, which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, has been destroyed, according to officials.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Gov. Josh Green called the wildfires “likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii’s state history.”

But the impacts go beyond evacuations and damaged buildings. Experts say the fires are also affecting residents’ and tourists’ physical health and could have impacts on their mental health.

Small particles from smoke can travel into lungs

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases, pollutants and particles that people can inhale, penetrating the lungs and even entering the bloodstream. Perhaps the biggest concern is fine particulate matter.

Fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, which is 30 times smaller in diameter than a human hair, is of particular concern.

Because these particles are too small to be seen with the naked eye, they can easily enter the nose and throat and can travel to the lungs, with some of the smallest particles even circulating in the bloodstream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

PM2.5 can cause both short-term health effects, even for healthy people, including irritation of the eyes, nose and throat; coughing; sneezing; and shortness of breath. Conditions such as asthma and heart disease can become worse.

It doesn’t just affect people who are nearby, but also those who are thousands of miles away, said Dr. Kai Chen, an assistant professor of environmental health at Yale’s School of Public Health.

“We saw that evidence actually just two months ago. [Smoke from] the Canadian wildfires in Quebec impacted us here in New Haven, New York City and then further south to D.C.,” he told ABC News. “The reason we’re having so many frequent wildfires is climate change,” Chen said. “Climate change is literally like fuel to the fire.”

Wildfires can increase rates of anxiety, depression

In addition to physical health, there are also mental health impacts. Research has shown wildfires and the subsequent smoke can lead to increased rates of anxiety and depression and become worse among people who already have these conditions.

Dr. Steve Berkowitz, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said wildfires and other natural disasters may also impact the ability of people with mental health conditions to receive care.

“After [Hurricane] Sandy in New York, one the biggest issues was getting people their methadone because all the clinics are closed,” he told ABC News.

Additionally, people can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can include intrusive thoughts and nightmares. Leaving mental health disorders untreated can have devastating consequences.

“People who develop any of these issues are at very high risk for suicide,” Berkowitz said. “People with PTSD or any of these trauma-related disorders will often be more irritable, have angry outbursts and that can lead to physical aggression and issues. Substance dependence is not an uncommon outcome of this.”

Avoidance is another hallmark of PTSD, but Berkowitz said this is not something that necessarily needs to be treated because it can be a coping mechanism.

“If avoidance is working, we don’t want to mess with it,” he said. “If it works, it works.”

Hospitals caring for patients

Hospitals on and around Maui say they have been caring for patients for burns, smoke inhalation and other fire-related injuries.

Maui Memorial Medical Center released a statement on Thursday saying it’s treated all patients who have visited the hospital and admitted six people.

Seven patents were transferred to clinics in Oahu for specialty services.

“We are operating with ample capacity including bed space, staffing and supply resources, which can be expanded further if we were to see a surge in patients,” Wade Ebersole, chief operations officer, said in a statement. “We need the community to know that they should not hesitate to seek care; we are ready and able to provide all the care our community needs.”

Meanwhile, hospitals across Hawaii including Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Straub/Hawaii Pacific Health, and Queen Medical Center said they have accepted patients.

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“Pretty Little Liars” star talks weight gain, experience with PCOS

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(NEW YORK) — Actress Sasha Pieterse is sharing more details of a health issue she faced while starring on the hit TV show Pretty Little Liars as a teen.

Pieterse, now 27, said she struggled during her time on the show with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, a reproductive hormone imbalance that affects around 1 in 10 women of childbearing age, according to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health.

The exact cause of PCOS is unknown, but people with the condition have higher levels of androgens, such as testosterone, and insulin. The condition can cause problems with the menstrual cycle and can lead to the formation of multiple ovarian cysts and cause infertility.

For Pieterse, she said she struggled with an irregular menstrual cycle and weight gain, changes that she said were “documented on camera” due to her role.

“It was probably around 15, 16 [years old] that I started noticing a difference in just my metabolism in general,” Pieterse said on the latest episode of “The Squeeze,” a podcast hosted by Taylor Lautner and his wife Taylor Dome Lautner. “At 17, I gained 70 pounds in a year, for no reason. There was no explanation for it.”

In addition to weight gain, symptoms of PCOS can include everything from irregular or absent periods to excessive facial hair and acne.

Like many women, Pieterse said she struggled to get a diagnosis, going to over 15 gynecologists as she sought help.

It was only when she saw an endocrinologist who Pieterse said listened to her symptoms and took blood work that she was finally diagnosed with PCOS.

“It was the most frustrating experience and disheartening because no matter what I did, no matter how well I behaved, no matter how great I treated my body, things were actually getting worse rather than better — it was very very confusing,” Pieterse said. “So, after a long process, someone recommended that I go to an endocrinologist.”

There is no single way to diagnose PCOS, according to the Office on Women’s Health. In addition to blood work, doctors rely on physical exams, pelvic exams, pelvic ultrasounds and a patient’s medical history.

Often, other conditions are ruled out and then a doctor diagnoses PCOS if a patient meets two of these symptoms: irregular periods, signs of high levels of androgens (like acne and extra hair growth), multiple cysts on one or both ovaries or higher than normal blood levels of androgens, according to the Office on Women’s Health.

There is also no cure for PCOS, so patients often rely on a combination of treatments to manage their symptoms, including medication and weight loss.

Pieterse, who gave birth to a son named Hendrix in 2020, said she speaks out publicly about her journey with PCOS to help raise awareness of the condition.

She said when she was diagnosed nearly a decade ago, she had not heard of PCOS, which affects women of all backgrounds and can happen at any age after puberty, according to the Office on Women’s Health.

“It’s been quite the journey and I love talking about it because I just want women to know more about it,” she said. “I just feel like the louder you are about it, the more people know, the more people get checked out, the more interest there is helping women figure it out and get better.”

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Nearly 50,000 Americans died by suicide in 2022, a record-high number: CDC

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(WASHINGTON) — A total of 49,449 Americans died by suicide in 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

This is a 2.6% increase from 48,183 in 2021 and the highest number ever recorded, according to provisional numbers released in a new report from the federal health agency.

The greatest increase was seen among adults aged 65 and older, which was up 8.1% from 2021, and the second highest increase was in those aged 45 to 64, with a 6.6% rise.

There also was an increase among those aged 25 to 44, but of just 0.7%

Researchers also found overall increases in both genders, up 2.3% among men and 2.8% among women, and among most racial and ethnic groups, except American Indian and Alaska Native people.

Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders saw the largest increase among racial and ethnic groups with 15.9% in 2022. Americans identifying as multiracial saw the second-largest increase at 21.%

However, one bright spot was that among children, teenagers and young adults – between ages 18 and 34, suicides decreased by 8.4%, according to the report.

The CDC said suicides have been increasing almost every year since 2006 — with exceptions in 2019 and 2020 — and that immediate action will need to be taken to address this crisis.

“The troubling increase in suicides requires immediate action across our society to address the staggering loss of life from tragedies that are preventable,” Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer, said in a press release. “Everyone can play a role in efforts to save lives and reverse the rise in suicide deaths.”

The agency urged those seeking help to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis lifeline and to help safeguard those who may be at risk of suicide. This includes asking people if they need help, being there for them, helping them connect with resources and following up.

“Nine in 10 Americans believe America is facing a mental health crisis,” Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “The new suicide death data reported by CDC illustrates why. One life lost to suicide is one too many. Yet, too many people still believe asking for help is a sign of weakness,”

“The Biden-Harris Administration is making unprecedented investments to transform how mental health is understood, accessed and treated as part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda,” Becerra said. “We must continue to eliminate the stigmatization of mental health and make care available to all Americans.”

The CDC also placed emphasis on its Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program, which focuses on suicide prevention, especially among populations that are disproportionately affected by suicide.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Amazon-owned One Medical begins opening new locations across US

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(NEW YORK) — Amazon is beginning to open new locations of the primary care provider One Medical, which it acquired earlier this year, as the tech giant moves into the health care space.

One Medical told ABC News it has just opened two locations in Connecticut, is planning to open a third office in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco, and will open its first office in Milwaukee this fall.

Three other locations have been announced in Connecticut, but One Medical said plans for opening won’t be announced until 2024.

In July 2022, Amazon agreed to acquire San Francisco-based One Medical, giving the company dozens of brick-and-mortar locations, and closed the deal in February 2023 for $3.9 billion.

Instead of a copay or other additional fees, patients pay a $199 annual membership fee to receive care for everything from common illnesses to chronic conditions, to mental and sexual health needs, according to One Medical’s website.

Subscribers also receive around-the-clock access through an app, can schedule same or next-day in-office or remote visits, and can schedule lab work to be done at any One Medical location. One Medical also says they accept most major insurance plans, as well as Medicare.

“We’re on a mission to make it dramatically easier for people to find, choose, afford, and engage with the services, products, and professionals they need to get and stay healthy, and coming together with One Medical is a big step on that journey,” Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, said in statement at the time the acquisition was announced.

“One Medical has set the bar for what a quality, convenient, and affordable primary care experience should be like. We’re inspired by their human-centered, technology-forward approach and excited to help them continue to grow and serve more patients,” the statement continued.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said at the time that the concept could be game-changing in terms of making it fast and easy to schedule medical provider appointments, compared to traditional methods.

“If you fast forward 10 years from now, people are not going to believe how primary care was administered,” he said in a statement. “For decades, you called your doctor, made an appointment three or four weeks out, drove 15-20 minutes to the doctor, parked your car, signed in and waited several minutes in reception, eventually were placed in an exam room, where you waited another 10-15 minutes before the doctor came in, saw you for five to ten minutes and prescribed medicine, and then you drove 20 minutes to the pharmacy to pick it up.”

This is not the first time Amazon has entered the world of health care. In 2018, the Seattle-based retail giant announced it was buying PillPack, an online pharmacy that ships drugs and medications directly to customers’ homes, for more than $750 million.

However, not all of Amazon’s health care entry attempts have been successful. Last year, it shut down its Amazon Care telehealth service, which provided virtual visits as well as in-home visits for patients to receive tests and vaccinations.

Amazon is not the only tech company trying to own a piece of the health care market. Apple, Google and Microsoft have also made moves in recent years.

Through apps and features on the iPhone and the Apple Watch, Apple has cornered the market in terms of enabling users to keep track of their everyday health and fitness, but is hoping to expand into data communication between doctors and patients.

Additionally, earlier this year, Google announced it was expanding the use of AI in health care to help clinicians detect diseases earlier and answer medical questions patients have.

More recently, it was revealed last week that Microsoft has partnered with Duke Health as it looks to develop AI tools to “augment healthcare experiences for providers and patients,” according to the announcement.

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Red Cross implements FDA policy allowing more gay and bisexual men to donate blood

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(WASHINGTON) — More gay and bisexual men will be able to donate blood after the American Red Cross announced Monday it would follow recent guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA issued guidelines in May stating that all potential blood donors must answer a series of individual, risk-based questions to decide eligibility.

Men who are in monogamous sexual relationships with other men will be able to donate blood.

People regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who have had multiple sexual partners and have had anal sex in the last three months will be asked to wait three months to donate blood from the last time they had anal sex, according to the Red Cross.

“The Red Cross is committed to achieving an inclusive blood donation process that treats all potential donors with equality and respect, and ensures a safe, sufficient blood supply is readily available for patients in need,” the organization said in a statement. “This historic change in approach to donor eligibility is significant progress, resulting in a blood donation process that is more inclusive than ever before. The Red Cross celebrates the FDA’s elimination of blood donation policies based on sexual orientation.”

The FDA originally banned donations from gay and bisexual men during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis. In recent years, the FDA relaxed these rules, but had not lifted them completely.

Now, the new blood donation risk assessment will be the same for every donor regardless of how they identify.

Medical groups and LGBTQ organizations have criticized the FDA’s previous rule from 2015, which relaxed a complete ban on donations from gay and bisexual men, but asked men to abstain from sex for at least one year before donation.

The policy was changed from one year to three months in April 2020, when the FDA saw a major decline in blood donations as the COVID-19 pandemic was underway and thousands of blood drives were canceled, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).

“With the nation’s blood supply at its lowest point in a decade, and the American Red Cross declaring its first-ever national blood crisis earlier this month, it is time for the Food and Drug Administration to do something the AMA and others have urged for years: remove its discriminatory ban that prevents many gay and bisexual men from becoming blood donors,” the AMA said in January 2022.

There are nearly 11 million blood donors and more than 14 million units of blood transfused in the U.S. annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The HIV epidemic has spread far beyond gay and bisexual men, with women accounting for roughly 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses in the U.S., according to the most recent CDC data available.

The most recent policy would expand the number of people able to give blood while “maintaining the appropriate safeguards” to protect the blood supply, the FDA said.

The agency added that the policy is based on the best available scientific evidence and is now similar to policies in Canada and the United Kingdom.

“As a physician, I feel a sense of relief, this will likely lead to the increased supply and availability of a vital resource needed for life-saving and life-sustaining treatment,” Dr. Darien Sutton, an emergency medical physician and ABC News contributor, said in May when the FDA announced the revised guidelines.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

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EG.5 now dominant COVID variant in US. Here’s what to know

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(NEW YORK) — A new variant now makes up a plurality of COVID-19 cases in the United States, federal data shows.

EG.5, an offshoot of the omicron variant and descendant of the XBB strain, has been circulating in the country since at least April. However, as of Aug. 5, it accounts for 17.3% of COVID infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is an increase from the 1.1% of cases it was estimated to make up at the end of May, CDC data shows.

It comes as COVID hospitalizations tick up across the U.S., increasing 12.5% in the most recent week to a total of 9,056 hospitalizations, according to the federal health agency.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, EG.5.1, which falls under the EG.5 lineage, makes up an estimated 14.55% of cases, making it the second most common strain, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Public health experts said there is no evidence EG.5 causes more severe illness and that it’s normal for the virus to mutate and new variants to emerge.

“Omicron is out there making minor variations. It’s having children, progeny, but they’re all closely related to omicron,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told ABC News. “They are contagious, but they are not more serious, so that’s excellent.”

The uptick in hospitalizations could be due to a mix of factors, including some waning immunity and people starting to gather indoors. But experts said the numbers are still among the lowest seen since the pandemic began.

“If you take a low number and you talk about it in terms of percent increase, it’s going to sound a lot scarier than it is, right?” Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine, told ABC News. “So, in an extreme circumstance, if there was one COVID case in the world and then there were two, that would be 100% increase, which sounds really bad, but two is a pretty low number.”

“We are going to see some uptick in cases because that new variant replaces the old one … and so what we see is a small uptick, but we’re still at the lowest levels we’ve ever seen,” she continued.

As of July 19, the World Health Organization listed EG.5 as a variant under monitoring, but experts said it should not be considered worrisome but rather a sign of good surveillance.

“Having this surveillance system for strains of COVID out there around the world is a way for us to be on the alert should a new distinctly different mutation suddenly appear and start to spread in any country, not just in the U.S.,” Schaffner said. “We would get advance notice and we could start to prepare for that.”

Experts said unless there is evidence EG.5 or its sublineages are causing more severe disease, the guidance previously recommended by public health officials is still the same, including assessing your own risk tolerance, remaining vigilant and staying up to date on vaccinations.

The CDC is expected to issue recommendations soon about a new COVID booster, just in time for fall, when COVID cases and hospitalizations typically increase.

“The booster coming in the fall is based on XBB, and that was a gamble and that will always be a gamble because the strain is selected in June and you can’t know for sure what strain is going to be predominant in the fall when it’s June,” Doron said. “So, the booster will be an XBB monovalent booster, but that’s okay. The vaccines still work even when they’re not completely matched to the circulation.”

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Weight loss drug Wegovy found to lower risk of heart attack, stroke

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(NEW YORK) — A popular drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for weight loss also has heart benefits, according to preliminary results of a new study released by the drug manufacturer.

The drug, Wegovy, lowered the risk of major cardiovascular events by 20% in a clinical trial that included over 17,000 adults ages 45 and older who have a history of cardiovascular disease and are overweight or obese.

As a result of the trial’s findings, Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy, said Tuesday that it plans to file for a “label indication expansion” for the drug, meaning it could be available beyond obesity, and with greater insurance coverage.

Without insurance coverage, the cost of Wegovy, a once-a-week injection, can run more than $1,000 a month.

“People living with obesity have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease but to date, there are no approved weight management medications proven to deliver effective weight management while also reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president for development, said in a statement announcing the trial’s findings. “Therefore, we are very excited about the results from SELECT showing that semaglutide 2.4 mg reduces the risk of cardiovascular events.”

Novo Nordisk said the full findings of the SELECT clinical trial will be announced later this year at a medical conference.

Wegovy is part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 Receptor Agonists that help people produce insulin to lower the amount of sugar in the blood.

The drugs, made from a compound called semaglutide, work by slowing down movement of food through the stomach and curbing appetite, thereby causing weight loss.

Wegovy is currently FDA-approved for weight loss for people with obesity or who are overweight with a comorbidity like high blood pressure.

Last December, the FDA also approved Wegovy as a treatment for teenagers with obesity.

Ozempic, another semaglutide medication made by Novo Nordisk, is approved by the FDA to treat Type 2 diabetes, but some doctors prescribe the medication “off-label” for weight loss, as is permissible by the FDA.

The drugs have surged in popularity over the past year as effective treatments for both diabetes and weight loss.

Over 70% of American adults are considered to be overweight or obese, and more than 37 million people in the United States have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Obesity-related conditions including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer are the top causes of premature and preventable death, according to the CDC.

The latest clinical findings about Wegovy’s impact on heart health could transform the drug’s popularity even further.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S., with one person dying every 33 seconds from heart disease, according to the CDC.

 

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