Photo courtesy GENETWORx
The upward spiral on the number of novel coronavirus cases in Virginia continues today, with the Virginia Department of Health reporting 2,270 state residents added to the positive COVID-19 toll, with the seven-day positivity rate now at 7.7%. As of Aug. 6, 98.55% of all COVID-19 infections reported in Virginia have occurred in people who are not fully vaccinated. In people who have been fully vaccinated, 0.072% have become infected with the novel coronavirus, 250 were hospitalized (0.0047% of the fully vaccinated) and 50 have died (0.0011%). There was an average of 2.43 deaths per day from COVID-19 in those not fully vaccinated in the week ending Aug. 3; no deaths from COVID-19 were reported in that period among fully vaccinated Virginians. In the seven-day period ending Aug. 4, the seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases was 887 in state residents who have not been fully vaccinated, compared with six in the vaccinated.
Testing is a major component of monitoring COVID-19 and determining if the novel coronavirus or some other respiratory illness is behind any upticks in illness in a particular area. Influenza season was relatively mild last fall and into this spring as people practiced social distancing and mask wearing, but there has been some evidence of more flu and colds as restrictions eased, along with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common condition that usually results in mild, cold-like symptoms but may be problematic in the very young and the very old. Incidences of RSV have been trending upward in Virginia since June, according to information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn more about the virus in this report from The New York Times and learn about what local doctors are seeing in this report from WWBT (NBC 12).
GENETWORx laboratories, which is based in Glen Allen, has seen a rise in respiratory viruses in recent weeks and also an increase in positive COVID-19 tests from 2% to 10% in the past two weeks. The company has developed a molecular test that uses a nasal swab to test for COVID-19, RSV, and influenza strains A and B in one sample. The test was developed last fall, and its cost is generally covered through health insurance.
The company in an email on Thursday says it has seen “steady increases in its combo test use in hospital systems, doctors’ offices and in long-term care facilities. The traditional start of flu season is in the fall, some weeks away, so the company says it is anticipating “a large expansion of this demand in the coming months.”
Sarah Jacobs-Helber, the chief laboratory officer for the business, notes in a release that there has also been an increase in use of its follow-up molecular test of COVID-19 variants, which reprocesses a patient sample after a positive result. That test reduces average turnaround from a week to one or two days, according to the company. “We are really focusing on what tests and technology patients and providers need as the pandemic continues to evolve,” she says in the release. “These new products will be vital to government, schools, businesses, colleges, assisted living facilities and others as they strive to keep their workforce and student populations safe during the pandemic.”
Cancer and Cannabis
Marijuana has found a medical niche in people seeking relief from conditions ranging from anxiety and sleep disorders to alleviating chronic pain and mitigating opioid use, but a study released today indicates that cancer patients are less likely to use cannabis products than others. Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers reported today in the journal Cancer that 9% of cancer patients reported use of marijuana, compared with 14% of people without cancer. The study looked at data gleaned from 2013 through 2018 from some 20,000 individuals in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health, a longitudinal study that tracks smoking tobacco and marijuana in the United States. “I would have expected them to have at least mirrored what was happening in the general population,” says Bernard Fuemmeler, lead author in the VCU study and interim co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program for Massey. He is also an associate director for population science.
Use of marijuana and related products has increased across the nation as states have relaxed restrictions on its use. The Massey researchers note in a release that use of cannabis rose during the study period and that they expected to see a corresponding change in attitude and perceptions of its benefits and harms, according to Sunny Jung Kim, a co-author on the study and Harrison Scholar at Massey as well as an assistant professor of health behavior and policy for the VCU School of Medicine. Kim says marijuana use remained “essentially flat” during the study period in people with cancer, which raises the question “Why?”
Fuemmeler speculates in the release that contending with cancer is life-changing, and that may lead to being more mindful of your health and whether marijuana would be beneficial or harmful.
CAPSULES
Health and medicine news in brief
- The opioid epidemic has been lost in the bevy of coronavirus reports for much of the past two years, but the death toll from opioid overdoses continues to rise. Updated data from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office and the Virginia Department of Health projects another record year of overdose deaths in the commonwealth. First quarter 2021 data, updated in late July, projects 2,576 Virginians will die of drug overdoses this year. Last year set a record, with 2,308 drug fatalities. Overdose deaths have been on the rise each year since 2010, when the state reported 690 drug-related fatalities. In comparison, the next two leading causes of unnatural death in Virginia, motor vehicle deaths and gun-related fatalities, have remained mostly flat from 2020 to 2021. The report projects 980 crash-related deaths for 2021, three less than last year; and 1,193 gun-related deaths, one more than last year.
- One note of hope: A key tool in battling opioid addiction in Virginia is being put to use by Medicaid recipients, with more than 46,500 Virginians battling substance abuse making use of Addiction and Recovery Treatment Services in 2019. A study released in July by the VCU School of Medicine looked at access, use and quality of care in the program from 2016 through 2019. Addiction and Recovery Treatment Services participation increased by 79% from 2018 to 2019, when Medicaid coverage was expanded in the commonwealth. The increased usage reflects expanded coverage, but the treatment services also were accessed more frequently by people who were previously enrolled in Medicaid. Researchers report that addiction treatment in longer-term Medicaid recipients more than doubled from 2016 to 2019. Opioid treatment rates in the group receiving addiction treatments also doubled, from 32.1% in 2016 to 65.9% in 2019.
- The minimum wage for workers in VCU Health System is increasing from $12 to $15 an hour. The raise will help about 10% of its workforce, some 1,700 people, according to a release. “VCU Health is a team,” says Art Kellermann, senior vice president for VCU Health Sciences and CEO of VCU Health System. “We are pleased to support our team members in this way and provide an extra boost to metro Richmond’s economy.”
- U.S. News & World Report in July issued its annual assessment of hospitals in the United States, and two in metro Richmond placed in the Best Regional Hospital rankings. VCU Medical Center was in a three-way-tie for third in Virginia, and HCA’s Chippenham Hospital placed 16 in the state rankings. There were 4,750 medical facilities assessed across the nation. Of that pool, 531 made the Best Regional Hospitals rankings, 19 in Virginia. Ranked facilities earned at least one ranking in at least one specialty or at least six ratings in procedures and conditions. “This recognition is a reflection of the unfailingly kind and extraordinary care we provide as an academic medical center,” Kellermann says. “It’s an affirmation of our mission to serve everyone and use our clinical expertise, research and teaching efforts to make the highest-quality care and great patient experience accessible and affordable to everyone.” VCU Medical Center earned high-performing designations in adult specialty areas including cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, gastroenterology and GI surgery, orthopedics, urology, colon cancer surgery, COPD, heart attack, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, kidney failure, lung cancer surgery, pneumonia, and stroke. Chippenham was honored with high-performing designations in treating COPD, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, hip replacement, kidney failure and knee replacement.
- Lactation care at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital and at St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian have been recognized for excellence by the International Lactation Consultant Association and the International Board of Lactation and its Consultant Examiners.
- When life gives you a pandemic, it’s hard to make money off lemonade. The height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year put a damper on the annual Anthem LemonAid fundraiser to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, which shifted to a virtual event. But the lemonade stands returned for 2021, and the campaign earned $102,000 in July through the stands across metro Richmond and three interactive events. The goal had been $75,000. The funds benefit the ASK hematology and oncology clinic. The annual campaign has raised $1.6 million over the years. The cute kid pictured below is the campaign ambassador, Josie Economy, a Children’s Hospital patient. Josie is pictured with Jeanine Kody, co-owner of Richmond Ford, a presenting sponsor for the campaign.
Photo courtesy Anthem LemonAid