Top in ID: Adults underestimate respiratory viruses; 1 in 20 have had long COVID
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Fewer than one in four U.S. adults are concerned about influenza, COVID-19 or respiratory syncytial virus infection, according to an annual survey administered by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Further, 43% of adults do not plan to get the influenza vaccine, only 40% of adults plan to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine, and 40% of adults aged 60 years and older plan to get an RSV vaccine. The top reasons for vaccine hesitancy were potential side effects, not trusting the vaccines, not thinking the vaccines work and getting sick from vaccines.
It was the top story in infectious disease last week.
The second top story was about a CDC survey that found that 6.9% of adults in the U.S. reported having long COVID. Women were more likely to experience long COVID than men, and adults aged 35 to 49 years were most likely to have experienced long COVID.
Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:
Survey shows low concern among Americans about COVID-19, flu, RSV
Despite experts warning of the dangers of influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus and pneumococcal disease this fall and winter, survey data shows that many U.S. adults underestimate the seriousness of these infections. Read more.
More than 1 in 20 US adults have had long COVID, CDC survey finds
In 2022, more than one in 20 adults in the United States reported ever having long COVID, with women more likely than men to report lingering COVID-19 symptoms months after infection, a CDC survey found. Read more.
‘Oral is the new IV’: Another treatment dogma bites the dust?
A lot of modern medicine is based on what Brad Spellberg, MD, and others call “inertial dogmas” — practices traced to decades-old evidence that are no longer supported by modern studies. Healio spoke with Spellberg and other experts about such a practice: the preference of IV vs. oral antibiotics, despite mounting evidence showing that oral antibiotics are at least as effective as IV drugs for certain conditions. Read more.
Paxlovid linked with reduction in COVID-19 hospitalization, death
Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, or Paxlovid, was associated with a significant reduction in 30-day hospitalization or death among previously uninfected patients with COVID-19 who were not hospitalized, researchers found. Read more.
CDC awards $262 million for new disease outbreak response network
The CDC has awarded $262.5 million in funding to develop and implement new tools to detect, respond to and mitigate future public health emergencies such as outbreaks and pandemics. Read more.