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First and second COVID-19 vaccine booster doses conferred substantial protection against emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits and hospitalizations caused by infections with the Omicron subvariants BA.1, BA.2, and BA.2.12.1, finds a study of adults in 10 US states published late last week in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Van Beusekom, 7/18)

COVID-19 hospitalization is associated with a 45% greater risk of subsequent heart failure (HF), particularly for patients who are younger, White, or previously diagnosed as having heart disease, according to a US study published late last week in Nature Communications. (7/18)

... Data on 5,621 COVID-19 patients treated at six New York City-area hospitals between February 2020 and November 2021 showed that patients with high viscosity had death rates 38% to 60% higher than those with low blood viscosity. The inflammation associated with COVID-19 likely contributes to high viscosity, which in turn can lead to damage to blood vessel linings and clogging of arteries, according to the researchers. (Lapid, 7/18)

A new study in JAMA Network Open shows a higher COVID-19 infection rate in adolescents and young adults compared with older adults before vaccines were available. The study is based on health department statistics from 19 states, and it contradicts previous studies from Europe and Asia that showed older adults were more at risk of contracting the virus during the early months of the pandemic. (7/18)

In the early days of the pandemic, the federal government launched Operation Warp Speed, the public-private initiative aimed in part at speeding up the development of vaccines. But that same kind of effort has not been given to developing the next generation of vaccines, which experts believe will provide even greater protection. (Lovelace Jr., 7/19)

In a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on gonococcal infection, antibiotic resistance, and international travel that were published from 2010 to 2021, a team of Spanish researchers found that 16 of 18 studies described a probable link between international travel and transmission of MDR Neisseria gonorrhoeae from the country of travel to the country of return, as the index cases reported unprotected sexual intercourse at their place of destination. Travelers mainly visited Southeast Asian countries (66.7%) and returned to the United Kingdom (38.9%). (7/18)

Researcher Barbara Pavlova, PhD, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and colleagues reported in JAMA Network Open that the likelihood children would develop an anxiety disorder diagnosis during their lifetime was nearly three times higher when a parent of the same sex also had anxiety, but “no significant association” was observed when a parent of the opposite sex had anxiety. (Thompson Payton, 7/18)

As people age, their immune systems naturally begin to decline. This aging of the immune system, called immunosenescence, may be an important part of age-related health problems such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as older people’s less effective response to vaccines. (Klopack, 7/18)