By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

While finding a lead-in, I was looking for idioms related to variations.  I was surprised to see that the bunny hop is considered a variation of the conga.  The bunny hop was demonstrated on television by Ray Anthony in 1952, as well as being on the Disney’s Dance Along in 2013.  

Ray Anthony and his Orchestra played and recorded the Conga.  I remember the Conga as performed by Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine.  I have been a fan of Gloria Estefan not only for the music but for her restaurant.  She owns Estefan Kitchen Orlando in Florida and it is a favorite!  

Good food and entertainment are getting back to normal, but have we really controlled COVID-19?  The news media reminded us that we are still averaging 395 deaths a day in the US from COVID-19 with 1739 globally.  This is less than previous numbers, but is there more we can do?

While deaths have declined, the Brookings Institute published research on August 24, 2022 indicating that 16.3 million working-age adults in the US have long COVID.  In July 2022, the Government Accountability Office reported a potential 23 million Americans may suffer from long COVID.  This number is staggering.  

New research from the UK provides a more definitive analysis of long COVID by variant types.  Across all variants, the researchers were able to identify three main clusters.  The first cluster is a central neurologic (brain, memory, nerves), which was more commonly associated with the Alpha and Delta variants compared to Omicron. The second is a cardiorespiratory cluster involving heart and lung with the most severe having chronic shortness of breath. The last cluster involves inflammation including organs such as the heart and other immune-related symptoms.  

Why is this research important?  The authors suggest that by placing symptoms into clusters, then treatment and investigational therapies should be designed to target those problems. 

A study published in the Lancet found the risk of long COVID was substantially less for those infected with the Omicron variant compared to those who had the Delta.  The case-control study determined that 4.5% had long COVID from an Omicron infection compared to 10.8% for Delta. The caveat is this study was only done in those who had been vaccinated.  

A study published on July 1, 2022 in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported a three times higher risk of long COVID in those not vaccinated compared to those with at least one COVID-19 series.  The British Medical Journal in May of 2022 evaluated the benefit of COVID-19 vaccination in those who already had long COVID.  The study found a 13% reduction in symptoms in those who received a COVID-19 vaccination after developing long COVID.  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has created an initiative called RECOVER to learn more about the effects of long COVID.  RECOVER stands for Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery.  Individuals interested in participating in the studies are encouraged to go to www.recovercovid.org.

The FDA announced on August 31, 2022 the authorization of the updated COVID-19 bivalent booster shots. The bivalent vaccine is a mixture of the original spike protein, as well as the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. The BA.5 variant is responsible for 89% of the US cases as reported by the CDC. 

The key term here is booster.  These vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are not meant to replace the original vaccine series.  Less than 50% of the US population has received a booster of any kind prior to the release of this new bivalent vaccine.  

Multivariant vaccines are not a new concept in the US.  There is an FDA-approved bivalent vaccine for human papillomavirus as well as the trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines for the flu.  

The original bivalent vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer contained an earlier Omicron BA.1 strain, which was tested in human clinical trials.  After the predominance of BA.4 and BA.5, the FDA asked the companies to modify the formulation to include these subvariants.  Some concern has been raised because these vaccines were authorized on animal data rather than human trials.  The FDA considered the science of the mRNA vaccines originally tested on humans to be sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy.  

This type of FDA approval is not unique to COVID-19 vaccines.  Each year the CDC and the World Health Organization approve influenza strains (two A strains and two B strains) for the flu shot based on evidence from outbreaks.  The flu vaccine is approved for manufacturing of those strains and is not tested on humans prior to distribution.  The rationale is the same considering the safety and effectiveness of the flu vaccine from previous years and human trials. 

Moderna bivalent is approved for those 18 years and older, while Pfizer is approved for 12 years and older.  Both vaccines should be administered at least 2 months after a previous COVID-19 vaccine or infection.  

Come see us at ONU HealthWise for more information on the bivalent vaccines.

ONU HealthWise is offering COVID-19 vaccines, as well as flu shots Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM. The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines available.  Clinics are Monday through Friday from 4 pm to 6 pm. Please call the pharmacy for an appointment outside of those times or to get more information. 

ONU HealthWise Pharmacy
419-772-3784
www.onuhealthwisepharmacy.com