RheumNow Podcast – COVID Marching Amidst the Madness (8.27.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports and cautions regarding COVID-19
Rare Risks Associated with BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine
The current NEJM reports that the use of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2) demonstrated a very low risk for certain serious adverse events, including the risk of myocarditis (1 to 5 events per 100,000 persons).
ACR Guidance on Timing of 3rd Dose Booster with Immunomodulatory Drugs
ACR Press Release
The American College of Rheumatology has issued an updated version of its COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance for Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases following recent recommendations from the CDC that certain immunocompromised patients receive a third dose of an availabl
RheumNow Podcast – Driving in Pain (8.20.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal articles and more from this past week on RheumNow.com.
Sustained Effectiveness of mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19 Hospitalizations
MMWR
The CDC has reported that mRNA vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19–associated hospitalizations was sustained over 24 weeks; but there is evidence of waning protection amongst the immunosuppressed.
HHS, FDA & CDC Joint Recommendation on COVID Booster
FDA
Today, public health and medical experts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the following statement on the Administration’s plan for COVID-19 booster shots for the American people.
Booster Shots for Rheumatology Patients on Immunosuppressive Medications
ACR Press Release
ATLANTA – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices today recommended that rheumatology patients being actively treated with high-dose corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, and othe
RheumNow Podcast – Booster Shots for COVID (8.13.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.
Anakinra's Effects on COVID-19 Outcomes
Sporadic reports of anakinra use in COVID-19 infection has hinted is potential; now a metanalysis shows that the use of anakinra may reduce the mortality risk in patients admitted to hospital with moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia, especially highly elevated ferritin and C-reactive prote
COVID Vaccine Booster Effective for Transplant Recipients in Small Trial
MedPage Today
For organ transplant recipients, a third dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine more than tripled the proportion with a sufficient antibody response, a randomized trial showed.
Rare Risk of Serious Adverse Events After COVID Vaccination
CDC/MMWR
The CDC had reported the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) study of rare serious adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination and assert that the excessive morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 (and the protection afforded by vaccination) far exceeds the risk of rare safety signals
Social
"Double blind" an interesting read (Ann Int Med) of early COVID w/ no known effective therapy, doctor trepidation & and the bravery/will of sick ICU COVID pts as they consent to to enroll in the blinded ACTT trial w/ remdesivir https://t.co/N2bZq0JDmn https://t.co/iPLnNtQoER
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 6 months ago
Metanalysis of 25 studies examined effects of NSAID therapy on COVID-19 outcomes and confirms NSAIDs do not increase the likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 infection and do not worsen outcomes in patients with COVID-19. https://t.co/FAJ58stmv1
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 6 months ago
Are we set for the next "Twindemic"? - Continuation and evolution of COVID BA.5 to? - Flourishing Influenza in a population who has vaccine burnout? Some predicting severe flu based on Australia’s 2022 flu season, climate change, more https://t.co/qWuhWjaAFa
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 6 months ago
New CDC data on vaccination/boosters during BA.5 wave for deaths, age 50+
https://t.co/HGyjNwUveD
Compared w/unvaccinated:
—92% reduction of death for 4 shots
—No difference in reduction between 3 and 2 shots (~82%)
[that's a 12-fold ⬇️risk of death for 4 shots in July 2022] https://t.co/3JDjCLbEyh
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Eric Topol @EricTopol ( View Tweet )
2 years 6 months ago
New download available!
COVID Deaths at 3 Mos vs. 30 Mos
https://t.co/SLGJGh5NX1 https://t.co/QhWdvNHntk
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 7 months ago
Provacative read from @VPrasadMDMPH on why we no longer need to or should wear masks in our clinics and hospitals (Yes, with COVID+ pts --- No, everywhere else). My advice: wear masks in high risk environments/situations. https://t.co/cECeieQ2YL https://t.co/PbX8xnfgqM
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 7 months ago
The Atlantic has published an insightful article on "Brain Fog", especially as a Long Covid consequence (IMHO: Brain fogs primary cause is poor sleep, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue - but can be complication to primary CNS events) https://t.co/SlwzRDSVSf https://t.co/qrBvV5oyUA
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 7 months ago
In your RHEUMATOLOGY practice how often are you seeing #LongCovid (new fatigue,brainfog,breathless etc) in your immune dis pts with COVID ( i.e. > 1 month) @CCalabreseDO @jeffsparks @zach_wallace_md @philipcrobinson @JYazdanyMD @alhkim @RheumNow @EBRheum @rheum_cat @AWIRGROUP
Leonard Calabrese @LCalabreseDO ( View Tweet )
2 years 7 months ago
COVID Outcomes in Dermatomyositis
A retrospective study of dermatomyositis (DM) patients with COVID-19, shows that DM patients without comorbidities fair well (with regard to mortality and hospitalisation).
https://t.co/nlCVHt3XeS https://t.co/Bhc47k7rMD
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 7 months ago
Head Scratcher? Study of UK Biobank cohort (n=380,380) shows those taking Rx Folate had increased risk of COVID-19 Dx (OR 1.51; 1.42–1.61) and Death (OR 2.64; 2.15–3.24). MTX use (+/- folate) had no increase in COVID or COVID death(1.07;0.57–1.98) https://t.co/MLE1sL7KG2 https://t.co/adoLO9qLON
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet )
2 years 7 months ago
