J&J vaccine news

It works against Delta, thankyouverymuch. (This is good, because Delta may already be the most common variant in the country.)

Immunity seems, so far, to be long-lasting; no booster necessary. This is also good because the J&J vaccine is a different animal than the mRNA vaccines that have already been shown to last at least a year.

More aspirin goodness

This is a Pretty Big Deal, assuming it’s true. British researchers, looking at the data from 118 studies (of 250,000 patients) concluded that aspirin, taken as part of cancer treatment, can cut patients’ risk of death by a whopping 20 percent.

“Our research suggests that not only does aspirin help to cut risk of death, but it has also been shown to reduce the spread of cancer within the body — so-called metastatic spread. There is now a considerable body of evidence to suggest a significant reduction in mortality in patients with cancer who take aspirin – and that benefit appears to not be restricted to one or a few cancers.”

RSV showing up early

Normally it appears in the fall, but respiratory syncytial virus is popping up early this year in the South as Covid mask mandates are lifted.

The number of RSV cases declined rapidly in April 2020 in the U.S., when public health measures were put in place to combat COVID-19, and cases remained low until March 2021. But data reported to the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System now indicate that cases of RSV are rising in parts of the southern U.S., including the Carolinas, Florida, and Texas.

This isn’t entirely unexpected. The logic is that seasonal viruses are still out there but were kept at bay by Covid precautions, and now “may surge at unexpected times.” (And our immunity might be a bit lower, too.)

SGLT2 vs GLP-1 cage match

Meh, why reinvent the wheel? — I’ll let the University at Buffalo’s lede say it for me: “Patients with Type 2 diabetes who were prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors lost more weight than patients who received GLP-1 receptor agonists.”

Sure, both are good for treating type 2 diabetes, but if Invokana does a better job at weight loss … well, that’s worth keeping in mind. Oh, and in case you were wondering, “No significant differences were found in blood pressure, blood sugar levels and kidney function after use of the medications.”

Kids and opioids

Opioid prescriptions for young folks are going down, with one odd exception. Overall, for kids and younger teens, fewer scripts are being written, especially of the long duration/high dosage type. The exception? Kids 0 to five years old. Make of that what you will.

Covid drops to seventh place

Covid-19 is now the #7 cause of death in the U.S. —it had hit #1, briefly, ahead of both cancer and heart disease. Now it’s settled between Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

The Long Read: Secret fungus

It’s bad enough that drug-resistant C. Auris infections are spreading and killing people. Making it worse is that hospitals and the government are keeping outbreaks secret.

With bacteria and fungi alike, hospitals and local governments are reluctant to disclose outbreaks for fear of being seen as infection hubs. Even the C.D.C., under its agreement with states, is not allowed to make public the location or name of hospitals involved in outbreaks. State governments have in many cases declined to publicly share information beyond acknowledging that they have had cases.