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Without COVID-19 vaccines, death toll would be much higher: Pfizer analysis

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — In the wake of the tragic milestone of 1 million official COVID-19 deaths in the United States, a new analysis found that without vaccines, the virus would have likely claimed more than 100,000 additional lives in 2021.

The analysis, sponsored by Pfizer, estimated that the Pfizer vaccine alone likely saved more than 110,000 lives in 2021, the first year of the vaccination campaign.

Though Pfizer sponsored the analysis, experts interviewed by ABC agreed it was reasonable, echoing prior estimates that the death toll would have been more than three times in 2021 in the absence of effective vaccines.

“With this model, I don’t see the numbers falling out of range and I do suspect that they are a reasonable representation of what could’ve happened in the absence of COVID-19 vaccines,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, FIDSA, infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told ABC News.

The analysis did not include an estimate of lives saved from vaccines from Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.

“In some ways, it could even be a potential undercount,” John Brownstein, Ph.D., epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, and ABC contributor, said.

The analysis is significant, experts said, because it’s essential for everyday Americans to understand that vaccines save lives — especially in the face of ongoing vaccine skepticism and misinformation.

“We’ve seen in real-world analysis or modeling studies like this one that have shown the role that vaccines have played … and hopefully, this is one more additional data point to help reaffirm how these vaccines play such a pivotal role in changing the course of this pandemic,” Brownstein said.

The new Pfizer vaccine analysis estimates the company’s vaccine prevented 8.7 million symptomatic cases, 690,000 hospitalizations and 110,000 deaths in 2021. Included in these projections, are approximately $30.4 billion saved in health care costs.

The Pfizer vaccine is the most-utilized vaccine in the U.S., with more than 120 million Americans choosing Pfizer for their initial two-shot series, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When modeling the potential outcomes, researchers used data on projected infection rates, average times lost at work due to infection, vaccine efficacy, vaccination rates, and risks of being infected or hospitalized.

Although hundreds of Americans still die of COVID-19 every day, doctors on the frontlines said there is a marked difference in the pre-and post-vaccine era.

“I worked in the ICU in May 2020 and it was staggering the amount of patients — I only had three patients that made it out alive,” Dr. Katie Adib, internal medicine resident physician at The Ohio State University, told ABC News.

“Now there are nowhere near the amount of people,” Adib said. “Those in the ICU who have been vaccinated tend to make it out.”

The CDC recommends that everyone ages 5 and older get vaccinated against COVID-19, and those who are eligible to also seek booster shots for further protection.

“I 100% think the vaccines have saved lives,” Adib said.

Rebecca Fujimura is a Family Medicine resident physician at MedStar Health/ Georgetown-Washington Hospital Center and is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

24-year-old woman gets new heart after suffering heart attack at 14

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(AVON, Ind.) — An Indiana women who suffered a heart attack at age 14 is now celebrating a new start in her life after undergoing a heart transplant.

Jaelyn Kinchelow, of Avon, Indiana, was running at her middle school track practice nearly a decade ago when she said she felt a tightness in her chest.

“All I could remember was myself slowing down because I just couldn’t keep up,” Kinchelow told Good Morning America. “Shortly after that, my legs gave out and I fell to the ground.”

Kinchelow was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was diagnosed with a heart attack and quickly underwent open-heart surgery.

Surgeons repaired a torn coronary artery wall using a vein from Kinchelow’s leg, but permanent damage to her heart remained.

“After surgery my heart was only functioning at about 5%. They put me on an ECMO machine,” Kinchelow said, referring to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, which removes carbon dioxide from the blood and sends back blood with oxygen to the body, giving the heart and lungs time to heal in critical care situations. “They didn’t think I was going to make it so they had to do all they could to keep me alive.”

After spending nearly one month in the hospital, including eight days in a coma, Kinchelow was able to go home.

She went on to high school, participating in show choir and roller skating, and earned her bachelor’s degree, with a dream of becoming a nurse, like the ones who had helped save her life.

At the start of her last semester of nursing school, in January, Kinchelow said she again began to feel a shortness of breath.

“I couldn’t do my daily activities. I was too tired to talk upstairs,” she said. “I went to the hospital and spent three weeks in the hospital in January and they decided I needed to be on the transplant list.”

Kinchelow was admitted to the hospital in mid-January and spent the next two months there, waiting for the right heart to become available.

“The call is the thing you look forward to when you’re waiting. You just never know when it’s going to come,” she said. “They were saying that with my blood type, it’s like one of the longest waits. That was one of the things I was just scared of.”

On March 27, Kinchelow got the call she had been waiting for from a woman named Debbie, who was Kinchelow’s transplant coordinator at the hospital.

“They handed me the phone and she said, ‘I have some good news for you,’ and I said, ‘Debbie, if you’re not calling about a heart I don’t want to hear it,'” recalled Kinchelow. “I just lost it after that.”

The next day, Kinchelow underwent a 12-hour surgery to receive her new heart. Her old heart was so enlarged she said doctors took around six hours to remove it.

“Her story is pretty unique,” said Dr. Robert K. Darragh, Kinchelow’s pediatric cardiologist at Riley Children’s Health and an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. “There are some questions medically that we still don’t have perfect answers for her about how she got to the point of needing a transplant.”

As Kinchelow recovered from the transplant, she said she received a letter from the family of her heart donor, something she said was surprised to receive since typically it takes over a year for a connection to be made.

“They said the family jumped through hoops to make sure they got a letter to me,” she said. “That was a huge surprise and so emotional for me.”

Kinchelow said she is now sharing her story to raise awareness about both organ donation and the risks of heart disease among women.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Black women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Across all races, heart disease causes about one in every five female deaths each year, while only about half of women know that heart disease is their No. 1 cause of death, according to the CDC.

And in the U.S. alone, more than 100,000 adults and children are currently on the national transplant waiting list, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“If more people were donors, there wouldn’t be a waiting list, and some people don’t make it because there aren’t enough donors,” said Kinchelow. “I want to put it out there, just think about it and do your research.”

Kinchelow was discharged from the hospital in May, five months after she was first admitted and put on the transplant list.

She said she plans to “pick up where she left off” and finish her nursing degree and then begin her career helping to save other people’s lives.

“I would say to anybody, don’t take your health lightly,” said Kinchelow. “Although I was 14, I knew something was not right. It’s important to pay attention to anything that feels different.”

John Fetterman, candidate in Pennsylvania Senate race, suffered stroke Friday

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov John Fetterman, the leading Democratic candidate in the Pennsylvania Senate race, said Sunday that he suffered a stroke on Friday.

“I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” Fetterman said in a statement released Sunday afternoon.

“The good news is I’m feeling much better, and the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage. I’m well on my way to a full recovery. So I have a lot to be thankful for. They’re keeping me here for now for observation, but I should be out of here sometime soon. The doctors have assured me that I’ll be able to get back on the trail, but first I need to take a minute, get some rest, and recover,” he added.

Fetterman and his wife, who he credited for catching his stroke symptoms, also posted a video from a hospital. Giselle Fetterman poked fun at her husband.

“I made you get checked out, ’cause I was right, as always,” she said in the video.

It is unclear when Fetterman will return to the trail ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.

Dave McCormick, a businessman who is running for Senate in the Republican primary election, sent well wishes to John Fetterman later on Sunday. “Glad to hear you’re doing well, John. Wishing you a fast recovery,” McCormick tweeted.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former talk show host who has former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the Republican Senate primary, also tweeted, “I have cared for atrial fibrillation patients and witnessed the miracles of modern medicine in the treatment of strokes, so I am thankful that you received care so quickly. My whole family is praying for your speedy recovery.”

Fetterman, who has served as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor since 2019, has staked out progressive positions during his primary campaign. Among other Democrats, he faces fellow progressive state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and centrist Rep. Conor Lamb in Tuesday’s primary.

Lamb, who is trailing Fetterman, sent well wishes via tweet:

“I just found out on live TV that Lieutenant Governor Fetterman suffered a stroke. Hayley and I are keeping John and his family in our prayers and wishing him a full and speedy recovery,” Lamb said.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who is behind Fetterman and Lamb respectively in recent polling, also weighed in.

“As I said at the first debate, John Fetterman is an incredible family man. My prayers are with him and his family as he recovers from this stroke. I look forward to seeing him back on the campaign trail soon,” he said.

Fetterman’s revelation comes as the U.S. marks National Stroke Awareness month in May. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., who suffered a stroke in January, told ABC News earlier this month that when he was feeling the symptoms of a stroke, “I never thought it was a stroke. Even as I was going to the hospital, I just thought I wasn’t feeling well. And a stroke hitting me, that wasn’t on my mind at all.”

Scoreboard roundup — 5/14/22

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:

INTERLEAGUE
Houston 8, Washington 0
Seattle 8, NY Mets 7
Kansas City 8 Colorado 7

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 0
Detroit 5, Baltimore 1
NY Yankees 5, Chi White Sox 1
Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1
Texas 7, Boston 1
LA Angels 4, Oakland 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 7, Atlanta 3
Pittsburgh 1, Cincinnati 0
Milwaukee 7, Miami 3
Chicago Cubs 3, Arizona 2
LA Dodgers 5, Philadelphia 4
St. Louis 15, San Francisco 6

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Boston 109, Milwaukee 81 (Boston wins 4-3)
Dallas 123, Phoenix 90 (Dallas wins 4-3)

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
NY Rangers 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT) (New York wins 4-3)
Calgary 3, Dallas 2 (OT) (Calgary wins 4-3)

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Dallas 81, New York 71
Atlanta 85, Indiana 79

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New England 2, Atlanta 2 (Tie)
Seattle 3, Minnesota 1

Luke Combs’ wife Nicole shares her pregnancy cravings + more in an Instagram Q&A

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Luke Combs and his wife, Nicole, are expecting a baby boy soon, and they’ve been relatively private about her pregnancy — but the singer’s wife shared an update during an Instagram Stories Q&A last week.

One fan — and fellow new mom — asked Nicole for her thoughts on how to “cope” with bringing a child into the world, and the singer’s wife replied that she’s planning on her son getting a healthy amount of outdoor time.

“He’s going to be spending a lot more time outside than in front of a TV, I can promise you that,” Nicole wrote. Though the prospect of bringing a child into the world — especially given the COVID-19 pandemic, the current baby formula shortage and a host of other concerns — can be scary, Nicole’s confident in her support system.

“I’m pretty comfortable because I know my son will have good role models in his life. I can’t control the world, but I can make sure he grows up in a good environment,” she adds.

Nicole also listed some of her pregnancy cravings and aversions. “[A]ll meat, eggs, coffee, garlic and onions” were off the table during her first trimester, but she’s been craving fruits and sweet foods. As someone who’s not normally a dessert person, it’s like she “discovered a whole new world,” she adds.

Nicole also recently posted a slideshow of recent shots, including several bump photos and a picture of her and Luke at what appears to be a baby shower.

The country star couple hasn’t specified exactly when they’re expecting their new addition, but he’s likely to be born within weeks — their pregnancy announcement lists the due date as spring 2022.

From the “roots” to the stage: Zac Brown Band gear up for a summer of shows on the Out in the Middle Tour

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

After two years of pandemic-related touring breaks, plus the stops and starts of getting back on the road, Zac Brown Band is looking ahead to better days: Their summer 2022 calendar is jam-packed with Out in the Middle Tour stops.

That means ZBB are getting the chance to showcase the songs off of The Comeback, their late 2021 album, in a live setting, frontman Zac Brown tells ABC Audio.

“We’re excited to show people what we do as a band, and excited to take this music and, you know, go out and play these songs,” he says, adding that now that fans have gotten a chance to get to know the album, performing it live will take the songs to the next level,” he says.

“[We’re] excited to go and play and get that love from the people,” Zack continues. “Have them singing these new words back to us.”

After all, The Comeback is a particularly special project for ZBB. The group went back to their early influences for it, and the album’s cover art symbolizes that shift: It’s a picture of Zac chest-deep in the water of a river near where he grew up. “I’ve been swimming in that river since I was 10 years old,” he says.

Getting back in the same water he grew up with reminds Zac of the groundedness he felt when the band made their first major-label studio album, The Foundation.

“Being able to, you know, take it back to my roots there…and have dirt on my face — the same way we did The Foundation,” he reflects. “I feel a lot of the same way I did when we made the Foundation album.“

The Out in the Middle Tour rolls on throughout the summer, wrapping in mid-November.

Mark Tremonti teases “complicated,” “dark” new Alter Bridge album: “It’s definitely a brain-burner”

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Alter Bridge will be channeling Avril Lavigne in at least one way with their next album.

Speaking with ABC Audio, guitarist Mark Tremonti describes the upcoming effort as a “very complicated record.”

“There’s a lot of stuff going on,” Tremonti says. “There’s a lot of information to take in.”

The shredder adds that working on the album “made our brains hurt.”

“A lot of these songs, they’re not just verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, they’re, like, 15 different parts that you gotta memorize,” Tremonti explains. “It’s definitely a brain-burner, at first.”

Alter Bridge’s most recent album is 2019’s Walk the Sky, which, at least relative to the rest of the band’s discography, was a brighter, more upbeat listening experience. This new record, Tremonti laughs, is “not that.”

“I was just talking to [frontman] Myles [Kennedy] the other day, he’s finalizing a lot of lyrics, and he’s, like, ‘Yeah, it’s kind of a dark record,'” Tremonti shares. “I had brought in a song that was more of an uplifting tune for the record, and [Kennedy’s], like, ‘Yeah, thank god we have this one, because most of it’s kinda dark…we don’t want everybody to be depressed.'”

While you wait for Alter Bridge’s new album to arrive, you can also look forward to Tremonti’s upcoming Frank Sinatra covers album. The compilation, due out May 27, will raise money for the National Down Syndrome Society.

‘American Idol’ recap: The Final Three revealed

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

It got down to the wire on Sunday’s American Idol, with the Top 5 vying to make it into next week’s finale for the crowning of season 20’s winner.

This week, for their first challenge, the finalists were mentored by Grammy-award winner and former American Idol champ Carrie Underwood and were tasked with taking on an iconic song from her catalog. Here’s what the finalists chose.

HunterGirl: “Undo It,” by Carrie Underwood
Leah Marlene: “I’ll Stand By You,” (Cover), by Pretenders
Fritz Hager: “I Want to Remember,” by NEEDTOBREATHE ft. Carrie Underwood
Noah Thompson: “So Small,” by Carrie Underwood
Nicolina: “Blown Away,” by Carrie Underwood

After tackling one of Underwood’s hits, Finneas took the stage and performed his track, “Naked,” before the Top 5 took the stage again. For the second round of performances, the finalists chose a song that could close their show — or, in other words, “an epic encore,” as described by host Ryan Seacrest. Here’s what they chose:

Leah Marlene: “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” by Journey
HunterGirl: “Girl Crush,” by Little Big Town
Fritz Hager: “Youngblood,” by 5 Seconds of Summer
Nicolina: “All I Ask,” by Adele
Noah Thompson: “Working Man,” by Larry Fleet

With their final performance of the night out of the way, it was time to see who America voted into next week’s finale, which would feature performances from judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie, as well as Thomas Rhett, Michael Bublé, Sarah Bareilles, Flo Rida, Earth, Wind and Fire and more.

After the votes were tallied, Fritz and Nicolina were the bottom two, sending HunterGirl, Noah and Leah through to the finale.

Catch the American Idol season 20 finale when it airs live Sunday, May 22 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

‘Billboard’ Music Awards: Drake, Ye win big

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Billboard Music Awards returned Sunday night, hosted by Diddy, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Diddy got the crowd hyped with a short introduction before handing over the reins to Bryson Tiller for “She Don’t Want It,” followed by Jack Harlow and his chart-topper “First Class,” before closing out the opening act with his verse from the ‘90s hit “Mo Money Mo Problems” with an assist from his son Christian Combs and Teyana Taylor.

Although their wins weren’t televised, Ye and Drake were big winners of the night. Ye earned six awards, all in the Christian and Gospel categories for Top Artist, Top Album for Donda, and Top Song, for “Hurricane.” Drake secured five awards, including Top Artist and Top Rap Album.

During the three-hour televised ceremony, Janet Jackson presented Mary J. Blige the Billboard Icon Award. “The message in my music has always been that we are not alone in our struggles. And I’m not alone now,” Blige said. “For so long, I was searching for a real love, but I finally found my real love. And that real love is me.”

When it came to performances, Latto sparkled on stage with her hit “Big Energy,” and Megan Thee Stallion, who took home the award for Top Rap Female Artist, performed her songs “Plan B” and “Sweetest Pie.”

Also hitting the stage, in his first awards show appearance since the Astrowold Festival tragedy, Travis Scott performed “MAFIA” and “Lost Forever.” The legendary Maxwell serenaded the audience with “The Lady in My Life,” and closing out the show was Burna Boy with an energetic production of his songs “Last Last” and “Kilometre.”

Judah & the Lion premiere video for “Scream!” single

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Judah & the Lion has premiered the video for “Scream!”, the lead single off the band’s upcoming album, Revival.

The clip finds members Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald sitting on the hood of a driverless car while surrounded by neon lights and interpretative dancers. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“Sometimes the best way to deal with the craziness of the world is to scream into a pillow,” Akers says of the song.

Revival, the fourth Judah & the Lion album, will be released June 10. It also includes the songs “Take a Walk,” Happy Life” and “Find Another Reason Why.”

Judah will play Bonnaroo in June, followed by a full U.S. tour in support of Revival kicking off in September.

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