Brief COVID-19 Updates

By Robert L. Moore, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Medical Officer

“When we have nations, institutions and advocates working on this collective response, we do see remarkable impact.”
     -Bill Gates at the 2020 COVID-19 Conference

There are several timely updates that we know would be of interest to primary care clinicians. Please forward on to your staff.

Surge of Cases Nation-wide Leads to Testing Delays
Public testing sites sponsored by the State in several counties have found long delays in results for the lowest risk groups, as the state announced criteria for prioritizing testing. OptumServe and Verily sites sponsored by the counties are affected. County health lab and local hospital lab turnaround (including Kaiser) is faster, but capacity is limited. Home testing is being rolled out by Lab Corps and soon Quest will join them. We will include more information on this in the next update.

Although point of care RNA testing (Abbott and others) is less sensitive than PCR-based testing, but some public health experts feel that a less sensitive point of care test that turns around results quickly, is better on a population level for screening than a more accurate PCR test with results available in 10-14 days.

All COVID tests are covered by PHC when done by any lab provider with a Medi-Cal provider number, up to 2 tests per day, for both diagnosis and screening.

Remdesivir Shortage Leads to Narrower Treatment Criteria
On a call with one of our local health officers, we understand that Remdesivir treatment is now being delivered to those who are inpatient requiring low-flow supplemental oxygen, as these patients have the most likely benefit for the treatment. Patients not requiring oxygen and those on high flow oxygen or intubated are less likely to benefit and are not being prioritized. A five-day treatment regimen has become standard for most patients.

Eye Protection Recommended in Health Care Settings with Moderate Community Transmission
The CDC recommends that eye protection be worn in health care settings where patients with unknown or positive COVID status are being cared for. The eye protection should not have gaps between the skin and should not rest on the protective covering around the face, meaning eyeglasses are not sufficient (see CDC recommendation for details). We understand that CDPH is considering making this recommendation into a requirement in California.

Familial Autosomal Recessive Mutations Associated with Higher Risk of Severe Disease in Younger Patients
In a study that gives insight into the pathogenesis of COVID-19, a case series of 4 young male patients with severe COVID-19, were found to have a previously undiagnosed immune deficiency: a relatively rare putative loss-of-function variants of X-chromosomal TLR7 were identified that were associated with impaired type I and II interferon responses.

Obesity an Independent Risk factor for Severe COVID-19
A report from the American College of Physicians noted that Obesity is associated with an increased risk for intubation and death in COVID-19 patients under age 65, but not for those over age 65.

“Broken Heart Syndrome” Increased During COVID-19
An observational analysis of patients without COVID-19, receiving echocardiograms at the Cleveland Clinic, found an increased percentage with stress cardiomyopathy (also known as takotsubo syndrome or broken heart syndrome). The rate ratio before COVID-19 was 1.5 to 1.8%, while the rate ratio during the lockdown rose to 4.6%.

Stress cardiomyopathy is a physical manifestation of sustained psychological stress. This study shows the degree of population stress that the response to the pandemic is having on the community.

Childhood Immunization Rate Rebounding (Somewhat)
The graphic below, from the California Immunization Registry, shows that the rate of immunization for MMR (a proxy for overall childhood immunization activity in young children) has mostly rebounded in California in the past month. Overall, though, there is a remaining backlog. Without in-person school in many parts of the state, the usual August bump in immunization rates may not occur this year. Next week, PHC will be starting a state-mandated phone outreach campaign to children under age 2 to remind them of the importance of vaccination and well-child visits.

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