Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week.
This week has been full of bloody noses at our house (so much bloody laundry and wastepaper baskets full of bloody tissues), and it also included COVID-19 vaccines for me and my kids. We all have sore arms but are otherwise fine(ish). Getting our shots was a good excuse to eat ice cream together and complain about our sore arms!
This week’s news includes an update on the slow but steady beginning of respiratory virus season. Additionally, a new report from the CDC shows that infant mortality has increased for the first time in decades (read more about why this is so concerning below). And FDA issued an official warning about eye drops.
Read more below…
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Respiratory Virus Update
As we head into November (yes, it is November — where did the year go?) — COVID continues to decline in the United States. Most of our indicators — test positivity, ER visits, and hospitalizations — continue to decline.1
Wastewater data shows a slight increase in viral particles in our wastewater, but nothing dramatic or indicative of a surge in cases.
One thing that the public health community is paying attention to (NOTE: we are NOT panicking or sounding the alarm) is an outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at an animal farm that includes minks in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. Minks can be mixing pots for respiratory viruses. And SARS-CoV-2 has been diagnosed in farmed minks in other countries. Public health officials are paying attention because minks could be reservoirs for the virus and could possibly produce a new, more virulent variant of the disease.
We are watching. NOT panicking. There are a lot of coulds in those sentences above. Nothing is definitive. We are just watching because the potential exists.
As for flu and RSV — the start of the flu season has been slow. And case counts remain low across the country; however, there are slight upticks in illness, which may indicate that things are just getting started. RSV cases continue to increase, as does test positivity.
If you haven’t gotten your flu, COVID, or RSV shots,2 get vaccinated NOW.
Increase In Infant Mortality
A report published by the CDC this week shows that the U.S. infant mortality rate rose 3 percent last year — the largest increase in two decades. Infant mortality is defined as the death of a child before their first birthday. Two of the leading causes of infant deaths are maternal complications and bacterial meningitis.
We are facing a crisis — we are not taking care of and providing preventative services for individuals who are pregnant. As a result, we are watching BOTH maternal mortality and (now) infant mortality rates increase.
In a country where we boast that we have the most advanced healthcare system in the world, this is unacceptable. And a clear indication that healthcare is not accessible or affordable for many, including infants. According to Dr. Elizabeth Cherot, chief executive of the March of Dimes —
“Today’s data underscores that our failure to better support moms before, during, and after birth is among the factors contributing to poor infant health outcomes.”
There are also a lot of questions swirling around related to the (potential) association between this increase in infant mortality and the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. The CDC data (summarized in the report) are NOT specific/granular enough to determine if access to a safe abortion is connected to the increase in infant mortality, many experts in medicine and public health are combining the results released this week with this analysis, which found —
“State-level abortion law restrictiveness is associated with higher county-level infant mortality rates. The Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson and changes in state laws limiting abortion may affect future infant mortality.”
**I know many of us have strong opinions about abortion. I would ask those of you who are “pro-life” to please pause for a second. These relationships are complicated and nuanced. And we do not have a full picture of what is causing what and how things might be connected (or not). That said — please remember that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. There may be consequences — like an increase in infant mortality — associated with a lack of abortion services. It is complicated. But just like most discussions of health, there are a lot of factors to consider; there are costs and benefits; there are actions and reactions. More research is needed.**
Regardless of what is causing infant mortality to increase, the increase reported this week is not good. It is a red flag (this is an alarm) notifying us that our healthcare system is failing pregnant people. It is failing newborns. It is not accessible by all nor is it affordable to all.
Healthcare reform is necessary.
Eye Drop Warning
Finally — the FDA is warning the public NOT to purchase and to stop using 26 over-the-counter eye drop products due to the potential risk of eye infections that could result in partial vision loss or blindness. Many of these products are lubricating eye drops. They are supposed to be sterile. Obviously, they are not.
If you use over-the-counter eye drops (for dry eye), please click on the link above and check to be sure the brand of drops that you use is not included on the recall list. While many stores (CVS, Walmart, and others) are pulling eye drops from the shelves, they cannot pull the drops that are already in your medicine cabinet.
Please check to be sure you do NOT have any of the recalled drops at home. If you do, stop using them and throw them away. Immediately.
Questions? Please ask.
And do not hesitate to ask questions about abortions and some of the adverse consequences that come with a lack of abortion services. I will respond to all questions (though I will NOT respond/engage in conversations/arguments regarding abortions).
And please share this with your friends & family, especially the news about eye drops.
Note — deaths from COVID increased again this week, but death data trails other measures of disease. Hoping that deaths start to decline in the coming weeks.
RSV shots are only available for infants, pregnant people, and individuals 60+
Wondering if you have gotten the Novavax Covid shot and do you still recommend it? Thanks