Geneology International

Tag: COVID

  • Health tips while working in a hybrid work environment post Covid

    Health tips while working in a hybrid work environment post Covid

    New Delhi: Regrettably, the common coronavirus pandemic has ruled our life for the previous two a long time. The continual arrival of new variants is posing demanding worries for organisations and posing tough eventualities for them to resume entire-fledged operations. Anticipating the office to return to their day-to-day place of work regimen is akin to wishing for a life on the moon. Being adaptable in terms of office norms is at the moment the most effective selection, and as a result the hybrid work environment has turn into the new ordinary.

    Although there is often a silver lining to each individual cloud, technological know-how has eliminated the pressure of uncertainty from the heads of the bosses, and everyone has modified to performing from their desks at property with on line conferences and operating scenarios.

    While we have all gotten used to the hybrid get the job done setting, we can’t dismiss the affect it is really possessing on us, the two mentally and physically. Doing the job on the net does not lower anxiety in fact, it improves it in a lot of means.

    It is substantial to target on our health though putting in our greatest foot ahead towards our do the job.

    Permit us glimpse at some tips to stay nutritious although doing the job from household or from the business.

    Keep oneself hydrated– As a lot as we choose this level casually, we really should retain ingesting water and maintain our fluid ingestion throughout the day to retain ourselves hydrated as a result of all the exhaustion. The body will get dehydrated even when you’re sitting within the household, so you need to produce a behavior of maintaining a water bottle with you and preserve sipping the drinking water. You must also include things like the ingestion of other wholesome fluids like coconut h2o, buttermilk, lemon drinking water, infused and detox water in your day by day program. If you are anyone who has a pattern of forgetting, you also have the alternative of placing drinking water alarms on your telephone to remind you of the identical.

    Consume wholesome meals – Whilst performing we have a tendency to munch on treats but we need to retain in thoughts that the worth of the 3 primary meals should really not be disregarded and one ought to have a good well balanced breakfast, lunch and supper even though performing from each household and office environment. Skipping meals can be extremely damaging to the entire body and can lead to severe gastric problems. A food packed with proteins, carbs, fibres and other very important nutrition maintain you energized for the day and saves you from concerns like bloating, gastric assaults and exhaustion.

    Mid-meal snacking-As sizeable as it is to have a nutritious meal it is also necessary to snack in in between to fulfill your starvation pangs. You have to generally retain a several nutritious snacking possibilities helpful like roasted makhana, roasted peanuts, fruits, unsweetened nut butter, protein bars, and other healthier snacks so that it keeps you absent from munching on unhealthy food stuff things which have a substantial content material of sugar and salt and are reduced on nutrition. They can trigger bloating, excess weight attain and other health challenges.

    Respiration exercise routines-It is no solution that breathing physical exercises can calm you down, rest your head and improve your concentration. Breathing workout routines increase the oxygen move in your blood and enhance your strength. Deep respiration can help you battle anxiousness and decrease your pressure amounts. Practising these exercises on a every day foundation can hold your mind new and completely ready to take all the workload with a constructive attitude.

    Stretching– When you might be sitting down on your do the job table with your laptop for extended hours you need to just take a break right after every 30 minutes to 60 minutes the place you get up and stretch your system. Stretching maintains the relaxation of the human body and rejuvenates it to endorse your toughness and adaptability. Sitting down in just one put provides rise to backaches and agony in the knee joints. Stretching helps sustain the blood circulation and keeps you in good shape.

    Dress in laptop or computer glasses-You need to be conscious of your display time and don laptop eyeglasses to prevent the blue light-weight impacting your eyesight. With the elevated operate-from-home hrs, you are compelled to sit in front of the monitor, and then even on your crack, you use your mobile mobile phone which can take your display time to nearly 18 several hours a day triggering crimson eyes, diminished eyesight, and watering of eyes. This can be dangerous in the extended run consequently just one really should consider safeguards and have on laptop or computer eyeglasses to avoid any further more complications to the eyesight.

    We must collectively intention to reduce mental and physical pressure on our physique and thoughts to keep ourselves wholesome by keeping these significant recommendations in mind and staying aware of our possess effectively remaining.

     

     

  • Coping With COVID: Health Tips to Kick Off Spring

    Coping With COVID: Health Tips to Kick Off Spring

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    Whilst the coronavirus is listed here to stay, there is a great deal you can do to stop infection. Right here are five matters to take into consideration as we enter the spring and summer time of 2022.

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    Published on March 10, 2022


    Picture courtesy of Polina Tankilevitch

    The lengthy-awaited start of spring also provides the beginning of allergy season. So, it is significant to comprehend the difference between COVID-19 infections and allergies. We know that sneezing and congestion of any form can make people today quite nervous, and becoming in the vicinity of somebody who has allergic reactions can lead to the typical citizen to immediately don a mask or even clear the place altogether. On the other hand, if the sneezing person is you, there are definite strategies to tell regardless of whether you are infected with the coronavirus or merely getting an allergy attack. With an allergy attack, there is no fever or aches. Some men and women declare to be achy in the spring, but this is unusual. Although there are exceptions, fevers do not commonly manifest with allergies. Reduction of style and scent are commonly relevant to a COVID-19 an infection and not allergic reactions. All in all, wearing a mask, washing your fingers and holding your length from all those exhibiting sneezing and congestion are good ways to keep away from an infection, even though most of individuals folks are in all probability just dealing with allergic reactions relevant to spring pollen.

    Whilst precautionary solutions are absolutely suggested, it is also a great idea to enhance your body’s capacity to defend from diseases. Working out aerobically is a excellent way to boost your immune process. A very simple walk of a single mile, jogging three miles or getting on a bicycle at least three periods a week will enable get your immune procedure in good form. If you have again or knee challenges, discuss to your health care provider. But if you are nutritious enough, exercise can definitely help. If you are concerned about amplified make contact with with people—after all, hotter temperature provides every person outdoors—stay inside and do 3 miles on an elliptical or 4 miles on a stationary bicycle to support preserve your immune program healthful.

    Enhancing your potential to battle illness is critical for the reason that any of the variants—even new ones—can arise and infect folks. So, never allow your guard down. Even even though the quantities have dropped considerably, the coronavirus is not long gone. In reality, both equally the delta and omicron variants will be with us endlessly. There are also other seasonal bacterial infections to stress about like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Borrelia (the bacterium that leads to Lyme Disorder). All of these bacterial infections can surface calendar year-spherical and confuse health professionals with signs and symptoms comparable to people of coronavirus.

    If you plan to travel this spring and summer season, look at donning a mask in closed spaces in which there is very poor air flow and where by you are unfamiliar with other people today. Buses, trains, subways and airplanes are fantastic areas to get COVID-19 and other allied health conditions. Due to the fact it is no longer strange to see men and women sporting masks in general public areas, you may well as nicely have on yours—it is greater to be risk-free than sorry. If your health and fitness center, household or gathering area has weak air flow and you uncover yourself in shut get hold of with folks, be pretty watchful. If possible, make absolutely sure that you know who is vaccinated and who is not. If you have waited this extended to get vaccinated mainly because you are involved about the protection of the vaccine, contemplate that tens of millions of people have been vaccinated devoid of issues. There are generally exceptions to every single rule, but you are not possible to be 1 of them, so if you are not vaccinated or boosted, act now so you can have a superb, harmless summer.

    As this virus winds down and gets to be endemic, nurture your immune process and handle it very well. If you have recovered from a significant an infection or just want to make sure you have a healthful, vibrant summer time, consume nicely and nurture your biome. You can do this by consuming yogurts and fermented food items. A acutely aware effort and hard work to glimpse at what you consume will go a long way. Restrict your ingestion of refined carbohydrates and focus on meals wealthy in protein, fiber (granola and large fiber cereals), wholesome fat and other micronutrients. Make guaranteed that your vitamin D degree is usual since the winter months have a tendency to sap the physique of this critical vitamin thanks to the absence of sunshine publicity. Make guaranteed that you have enough zinc and selenium as effectively. These are pretty very good antiviral micronutrients. You can get zinc from oysters, pumpkin seeds and beans, and selenium is found in mushrooms, Brazil nuts and all types of seafood.

    All in all, we could be near ordinary this spring and summer season if no new variants floor and we remain vigilant. So, get care of your overall body and your human body will get treatment of you.

    Dr. Robert G. Lahita MD, PhD (aka “Dr. Bob”) is a renowned medical professional and the Director of the Institute for Autoimmune and Rheumatic Ailment at Saint Joseph Wellbeing in Paterson, N.J. He is also the creator of IMMUNITY Solid: Increase Your All-natural Healing Ability and Live to 100, which is accessible for order right here.

  • Health System Covid Update: “A remarkable turnaround”

    Health System Covid Update: “A remarkable turnaround”

    Wednesday will mark the two calendar year anniversary of Yale New Haven Well being System’s very first Covid affected individual admission, which was at Bridgeport Hospital.

    At a press meeting Tuesday, chief professional medical officer Dr. Tom Balcezak mentioned about 21,000 Covid individuals had been addressed and discharged, land all but 1,700 were being discharged properly and healthier back home, nevertheless some do however have lengthy Covid.

    Dr. Tom Balcezak, chief clinical officer at Yale New Haven Wellbeing Procedure

    Again in December, there was a five-fold improve in the selection of Covid-optimistic hospitalizations. The increase to 513 on the very last working day of the month, compared to 100 at the beginning of the month reflected the impression of Omicron variant.

    Marna Borgstrom, CEO of the Health Program, stated as not too long ago as mid-January there have been 767 individuals across the system.

    On Tuesday there were just 58 in, which include 7 patients in the ICU and 3 on ventilators.

    “That’s a rather extraordinary turnaround,” she reported. “Unlike previous variants, this 1 had a quite meteoric increase and fell very precipitously. I imagine back again to the time when we have been counting our ventilators and hoping we had ample.”

    Breakdown of the 58 clients being dealt with for Covid on Tuesday:
    2 at Greenwich Medical center
    33 at Yale New Haven Hospital
    17 at Bridgeport Healthcare facility
    6 at Lawrence + Memorial Healthcare facility
    at Westerly Medical center in Rhode Island

    Asked about Florida surgeon normal Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s advice that “healthy” children not get Covid-19 vaccines, Balcezak said, “Any time there is a statement manufactured like that that does not have its origins, roots or backing data, I imagine it undermines our attempts to give the community excellent steerage. The problem in the pandemic has been hoping to give folks good guidance with very very little data and continually evolving details.”

    “The statement by the surgeon typical is truly from present information,” he ongoing. “There is a change in between offering assistance when you don’t know the respond to and giving wrong tips when the remedy is known…We know that the vaccine performs in small children. We know it operates to avoid the distribute of disease. So I never realize the logic in that scenario.”

    Dr. Balcezak explained nasal vaccines were being at minimum 6 months to a yr away.

    “We have some expertise with nasal vaccines with influenza,” he said. “They function extremely nicely with the flu. The hope is that if you give a nasal vaccine you can sort of ‘prime the immune system’ in the mucus membranes in your nose …where the Covid virus enters your system, and neutralize it at the point of entry alternatively than wait around until eventually it receives into your human body and replicates, and then neutralize it in your blood stream.”

    “The imagined is it may be ready to catch the virus ‘upstream,’ right before it receives a foothold in your entire body,” he said.

    On the subject matter of a feasible fourth dose (on top of two vaccines moreover a booster), Balcezak said immunity may well past 6 months to a year, and that there would likely be recommendations afterwards this summer season or early in the drop for a different dose, relying on scientific studies of longstanding immunity and circumstance fees.

    In potential, he explained it is probably there will be a time when Covid will become cyclical, and an yearly booster accessible like there is for flue.

    Asked about the impact of two many years of the pandemic on behavioral well being, Dr. Balcezak reported there had been a huge need for behavioral well being services, both equally in pediatric and grownup clients.

    “And, we have supplied enhanced guidance and counseling to our possess workers,” Balcezak mentioned. “We’ve found a huge uptick in staff looking for aid. I imagine every person is underneath huge tension and pressure, and that has manifested by itself in a whole lot of behavioral well being difficulties throughout our populations – not just uniquely amongst kids.”

    While mask mandates have been dropped across the point out, Dr. Balcezak reported there was even now a federal mandate to mask in health care environments.

    “We’ve been chatting about what it may search like if we start off to permit in off-campus, non health care settings our personnel to opt for no matter if to mask or not,” he mentioned.

    In big crowded configurations, Balcezak mentioned that personally he felt additional relaxed carrying a mask.

    “We’re not only protecting ourselves, but we’re preserving each other because masks are a two-way avenue,” he explained. ”

    Chris O’Connor, Yale New Haven Overall health Program President, mentioned the overall health process is responding to the massive and horrifying incursion of Russia into Ukraine.

    “To deliver some small comfort and guidance, the Wellness Technique will be donating additional than $1 million in clinical provides to the folks of Ukraine as they endure this hostile invasion,” O’Connor explained. “We will continue on to enjoy and evaluate what we can do in the experience of this intercontinental catastrophe.”

    Donated merchandise will incorporate surgical masks, gowns and N95 masks to enable caregivers in Ukraine.

    O’Connor mentioned access experienced been a obstacle, but the system picked a highly regarded company to distribute the supplies.

  • Governor Murphy COVID update: Public health emergency lifted

    Governor Murphy COVID update: Public health emergency lifted

    As New Jersey marked the two-12 months anniversary Friday of its first confirmed circumstance of COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy ended the statewide general public wellness crisis, calling for a “additional typical way of lifetime” as circumstances, hospitalizations and fatalities continue to drop. 

    The anniversary marked a grim reminder of the pandemic’s toll as New Jersey surpassed 30,000 verified COVID fatalities Friday. In what was his administration’s final pandemic briefing Friday, Murphy choked up just just before he named for a moment of silence to keep in mind the lifeless.

    But the mood at the Trenton War Memorial was optimistic general as Murphy and Health and fitness Commissioner Judy Persichilli said the state was going into a new chapter working with a virus that appears to be waning but however has the ability to surge. 

  • Nearly Half of Biden’s 500M Free COVID Tests Still Unclaimed | Health News

    Nearly Half of Biden’s 500M Free COVID Tests Still Unclaimed | Health News

    By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Involved Press

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Just about 50 percent of the 500 million totally free COVID-19 checks the Biden administration a short while ago made offered to the public still have not been claimed as virus instances plummet and individuals experience fewer urgency to check.

    Wild demand swings have been a subplot in the pandemic, from vaccines to hand sanitizer, alongside with exams. On the 1st working day of the White Property test giveaway in January, COVIDtests.gov been given over 45 million orders. Now officers say less than 100,000 orders a day are coming in for the packages of four no cost rapid checks for every household, sent by the U.S. Postal Service.

    Nonetheless, the White Property sees the method as a move toward a deeper, nonetheless more elastic, tests infrastructure that will accommodate demand surges and remain on standby when situations wane. “We completely intend to sustain this industry,” Dr. Tom Inglesby, screening adviser to the COVID-19 response workforce, instructed The Connected Press. “We know the market place is risky and will occur up and down with surges in variants.”

    The White Household states Us residents have placed 68 million orders for packages of assessments, which leaves about 46{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the stock of checks nonetheless readily available to be requested.

    Political Cartoons

    Screening will become far more significant with mask prerequisites now easing, say some impartial experts. “If an infection regulate is nevertheless our precedence, screening is central,” reported Dr. Leana Wen, a previous Baltimore health and fitness commissioner and commentator on the pandemic. “Four exams for each home for a single loved ones will only last you just one time. There really should be enough exams for families to check two times a 7 days.”

    Inglesby maintains that the pieces are falling into position to accommodate that.

    Non-public insurers are now needed to include eight free rapid assessments for each human being, per month. Medicare protection will get started in the spring. The administration has also been making absolutely free at-residence tests available by means of libraries, clinics and other group venues. Ability for the extra accurate PCR exams performed by labs has been developed up. The White Dwelling a short while ago place out a ask for to market for tips on how to maintain and expand domestic tests for the relaxation of this calendar year.

    Wen suggests folks nonetheless require a information for when to take a look at and how usually. “Right now it is nonetheless unclear,” she reported.

    President Joe Biden’s pivot to tests arrived under duress as the omicron variant attained force just before Xmas. Checks had been frustratingly challenging to occur by, and high-priced. The White Home is delicate to criticism that enable may have come also late.

    “There is no question some individuals located out they were positive from having one of these tests and ended up in a position to maintain other folks from obtaining infected,” claimed Tim Manning, supply coordinator for the COVID-19 response crew.

    All around mid-December, with omicron projections grimmer by the day, White House officers began talking about how to make totally free tests obtainable for any one who preferred 1. But if the federal government started out siphoning up exams on the market place, that would just make the lack worse.

    “A important matter to us was that anything at all we did experienced to be carried out in a way did not build a shortage at retail to the basic community,” Manning explained.

    The White Dwelling enlisted the Pentagon and areas of the Wellness and Human Services Section that had labored on the Trump administration’s vaccine development effort and hard work to distribute vaccines. Logistics industry experts scoured the globe for out there tests. The Postal Company was designated to acquire the orders and provide them.

    That portion proved to be a excellent phone, claimed Hana Schank, an qualified on authorities technological know-how initiatives with the New The united states imagine-tank. The Postal Service previously experienced a databases of each individual handle in the land, and the indicates to produce.

    “At the federal stage the only people who have a databases linked to a success motor would be the Submit Office,” she stated.

    The task took much less than a month to get completely ready, Manning explained. “We stated this is not on the internet retail,” he reported. “This is unexpected emergency reaction, so we have go to as quick as probable.”

    To make sure it wasn’t just the tech savvy who would stop up getting free of charge assessments, the administration specific a share of deliveries to persons in lower-cash flow places. The White Household labored with company companies to get the word out.

    “We prioritized the processing of orders to the maximum social vulnerability zip codes in the place,” testing adviser Inglesby said.

    One of the service teams was the Countrywide Association of Local community Wellbeing Personnel, whose customers enable people navigate the wellbeing care procedure. Executive director Denise Smith explained the team was ready to use its web-site to connection more than 630,000 people today to COVIDtests.gov.

    In general about 20{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} to 25{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the exams have gone to people today in distressed areas, officers claimed.

    Now that demand from customers is way down, it really is unclear what will come about to the White House giveaway software. Permitting repeat orders is one likelihood.

    Smith says groups like hers should really get any surplus. “We know wherever the people are,” she claimed.

    Though the program is nevertheless in its infancy, analyst Lindsey Dawson of the Kaiser Spouse and children Foundation thinks its legacy could lie in familiarizing more individuals with testing. “It may possibly get an individual snug with making use of the exams, pondering about how they could use testing in their lives,” she mentioned.

    Savita Sharaf, a retiree from the Maryland suburbs outside the house the nation’s capital, explained she purchased her absolutely free exams all over the center of January and bought them in early February. She’s tried to conserve them, for added peace of head. In the shops, she couldn’t find tests for fewer than $25.

    “I’m so relieved mainly because I can immediately check myself,” Sharaf mentioned. “If we experienced a substantial vaccination price, it would be a very little much easier to say permit up on this software. But I come to feel we have to view for the following month or two, to see what comes about.”

    Copyright 2022 The Linked Press. All legal rights reserved. This content could not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Missouri COVID update: Health officials report 825 new cases, 13 virus deaths

    Missouri COVID update: Health officials report 825 new cases, 13 virus deaths

    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Health officials in Missouri updated the state’s COVID-19 Dashboard on Wednesday with the latest information on cases, deaths, and hospitalizations.

    According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the state has recorded 1,120,269 cumulative cases of SARS-CoV-2—an increase of 825 positive cases (PCR testing only)—and 14,907 total deaths as of Wednesday, Feb. 23, an increase of 13 from the day prior. That’s a case fatality rate of 1.33{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.

    It’s important to keep in mind that not all cases and deaths announced on a particular day occurred in the last 24 hours.

    The 7-day rolling average for cases in Missouri sits at 736; yesterday, it was 843. Exactly one month ago, the state rolling average was 9,999. That’s a decline of 92.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} month-over-month.

    (Source: Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services)

    The state has administered 26,178 doses—including booster shots—of the vaccine in the last 7 days (this metric is subject to a delay, meaning the last three days are not factored in). The highest vaccination rates are among people over 65.

    State health officials report 63.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the total population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Approximately 74.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of all adults 18 years of age and older have initiated the process.

    Vaccination remains the safest way to achieve herd immunity. Herd immunity for COVID-19 requires 80{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} to 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the population to have immunity, either by vaccination or recovery from the virus.

    Just 7.61{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of 3.43 million fully vaccinated Missourians (or 261,333 people) have tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 1, 2021. And 1,277 people (or 0.04{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) of those vaccinated individuals have died from the virus.

    The first doses were administered in Missouri on Dec. 13, 2020.

    The city of Joplin, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County have vaccinated at least 60{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of their populations. St. Louis City, Kansas City, and Independence, as well as the counties of Boone, Atchison, Jackson, Franklin, Cole, and Greene, have at least 50{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of their populations fully vaccinated.

    The Bureau of Vital Records at DHSS performs a weekly linkage between deaths to the state and death certificates to improve quality and ensure all decedents that died of COVID-19 are reflected in the systems. As a result, the state’s death toll will see a sharp increase from time to time. Again, that does not mean a large number of deaths happened in one day; instead, it is a single-day reported increase.

    At the state level, DHSS does track probable or pending COVID deaths. However, those numbers are not added to the state’s death count until confirmed in the disease surveillance system either by the county or through analysis of death certificates. FOX 2 does not include probable or pending numbers.

    Approximately 51.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of all reported cases are for individuals 39 years of age and younger. The state has further broken down the age groups into smaller units. The 18 to 24 age group has 132,417 recorded cases, while 25 to 29-year-olds have 97,179 cases.

    People 80 years of age and older account for approximately 39.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of all recorded deaths in the state.

    Month / Year Missouri COVID cases*
    (reported that month)
    March 2020 1,327
    April 2020 6,235
    May 2020 5,585
    June 2020 8,404
    July 2020 28,772
    August 2020 34,374
    September 2020 41,416
    October 2020 57,073
    November 2020 116,576
    December 2020 92,808
    January 2021 66,249
    February 2021 19,405
    March 2021 11,150
    April 2021 12,165
    May 2021 9,913
    June 2021 12,680
    July 2021 42,780
    August 2021 60,275
    September 2021 45,707
    October 2021 33,855
    November 2021 37,594
    December 2021 74,376
    January 2022 255,880
    February 2022 48,555
    (Source: Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services)

    Missouri has administered 9,575,339 PCR tests for COVID-19 over the entirety of the pandemic and as of Feb. 22, 22.0{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of those tests have come back positive. People who have received multiple PCR tests are not counted twice, according to the state health department.

    According to the state health department’s COVID-19 Dashboard, “A PCR test looks for the viral RNA in the nose, throat, or other areas in the respiratory tract to determine if there is an active infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. A positive PCR test means that the person has an active COVID-19 infection.”

    The Missouri COVID Dashboard no longer includes the deduplicated method of testing when compiling the 7-day moving average of positive tests. The state is now only using the non-deduplicated method, which is the CDC’s preferred method. That number is calculated using the number of tests taken over the period since many people take multiple tests. Under this way of tabulating things, Missouri has an 8.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} positivity rate as of Feb. 20. Health officials exclude the most recent three days to ensure data accuracy when calculating the moving average.

    The 7-day positivity rate was 4.5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} on June 1, 15.0{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} on Aug. 1, and 13.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} on Dec. 1, 2021.

    As of Feb. 20, Missouri is reporting 1,638 COVID hospitalizations. The remaining inpatient hospital bed capacity sits at 21{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} statewide. The state’s public health care metrics lag behind by three days due to reporting delays, especially on weekends. Keep in mind that the state counts all beds available and not just beds that are staffed by medical personnel.

    Across Missouri, 335 COVID patients are in ICU beds, leaving the state’s remaining intensive care capacity at 22{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.

    If you have additional questions about the coronavirus, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is available at 877-435-8411.

    As of Feb. 22, the CDC identified 78,389,155 cases of COVID-19 and 932,894 deaths across all 50 states and 9 U.S.-affiliated districts, jurisdictions, and affiliated territories, for a national case-fatality rate of 1.19{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.

    How do COVID deaths compare to other illnesses, like the flu or even the H1N1 pandemics of 1918 and 2009? It’s a common question.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), preliminary data on the 2018-2019 influenza season in the United States shows an estimated 35,520,883 cases and 34,157 deaths; that would mean a case-fatality rate of 0.09 percent. Case-fatality rates on previous seasons are as follows: 0.136 percent (2017-2018), 0.131 percent (2016-2017), 0.096 percent (2015-2016), and 0.17 percent (2014-2015).

    The 1918 H1N1 epidemic, commonly referred to as the “Spanish Flu,” is estimated to have infected 29.4 million Americans and claimed 675,000 lives as a result; a case-fatality rate of 2.3 percent. The Spanish Flu claimed greater numbers of young people than typically expected from other influenzas.

    Beginning in January 2009, another H1N1 virus—known as the “swine flu”—spread around the globe and was first detected in the US in April of that year. The CDC identified an estimated 60.8 million cases and 12,469 deaths; a 0.021 percent case-fatality rate.

    For more information and updates regarding COVID mandates, data, and the vaccine, click here.