As new vaccines arrive, COVID-19 settling in for the long term

Two new vaccines, both updated to address the most recent strains of COVID-19, were authorized for use last week, just in time for the indoor weather to arrive. In Crook County, the virus is still cropping up on a regular basis, though in what appears to be a significantly milder form.

Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) has reported no recent hospitalizations due to COVID-19, with only 29 people hospitalized across Wyoming at the end of August. The virus has caused six deaths in this county so far in 2022, bringing the overall total to 29, and 262 statewide of an overall total of 1881.

Nevertheless, said Micki Lyons, CEO of CCMSD, last week, the county remains in the red in terms of transmission levels. There has been an “uptick in our facility”, she said, including positive tests among staff members.

At this time, no changes are expected in terms of visitation at the hospital and long-term care unit, Lyons said. Vaccination recommendations remain the same.

Board chairman Mark Erickson commented that this is not unexpected, as COVID-19 is probably going to stick around for the long term. Discussing it, he said, will be as commonplace as talking about the weather.

New Vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved new versions of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. These “bivalent” vaccines contain both the original vaccines created by the companies to protect against COVID-19 and new vaccinations that specifically target the two Omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5.

According to an FDA press release, “The BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant are currently causing most cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and are predicted to circulate this fall and winter. In June, the agency’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly to include an omicron component in COVID-19 booster vaccines.”

The new Moderna vaccine has been authorized for use as a single booster dose in people aged 18 or over, at least two months since that person’s primary vaccination series or most recent booster.

The new Pfizer vaccine is authorized as a single booster dose in people over the age of 12, at least two months after primary vaccination or the person’s most recent booster dose.

Based on supporting data, the FDA expects that both vaccines will provide increased protection against the currently circulating Omicron variant.

“The COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, continue to save countless lives and prevent the most serious outcomes (hospitalization and death) of COVID-19,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D.

“As we head into fall and begin to spend more time indoors, we strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to consider receiving a booster dose with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”

The Centers for Disease Control recommended both boosters at the end of last week.

COVID-19 causes life expectancy to drop

The National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control, revealed last week that COVID-19 has caused life expectancy in the United States to drop to its lowest level in over a quarter of a century.

Life expectancy in 2021 was 76.1 years, the lowest it has been since 1996.

The leading cause for this negative change was COVID-19. Between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy declined by 2.7 years, with 66.7% of this happening during the first year of the pandemic.

At the time the report was published, the total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the United States was 1,042,112.