�Թϲ�����

Scott Barbour wears doctor’s scrubs when he records his podcasts, an American flag tacked to the wall behind him. Leaning into the microphone, he gives health advice that experts say could land a person in intensive care. The COVID-19 vaccines haven’t been studied enough and aren’t worth the risks, the Georgia orthopedic surgeon tells listeners. Getting vaccinated might cause a person to end up getting infected even worse, he says. The drugs hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin are effective for preventing the disease, though. Disease-carrying aerosols can get through the pores of a face mask, so don’t bother wearing them. (Edwards, 10/28)

During the month of September, Wisconsinites who were not yet fully vaccinated died from COVID-19 at a rate 18 times higher than fully vaccinated Wisconsinites, according to numbers reported by the Department of Health Services. The state reported 1.3 deaths per 100,000 fully vaccinated people compared to 24.5 deaths per 100,000 people who are not fully vaccinated. People who are not yet fully vaccinated are also more than eight times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated people, according to DHS data. (Bentley, 10/28)

Alaska’s hospitals remain stretched thin as daily COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continue to hover at persistently high levels, state health officials said Thursday. Alaska reported five more COVID-19 deaths, 833 new cases and 221 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday. Since the start of the pandemic, 695 Alaska residents and 26 nonresidents have died with the virus. Thursday’s numbers continued a trend of high cases, hospitalizations and deaths since the delta variant’s sharp rise over the summer in Alaska. Hospitalizations of COVID-positive patients have reached new heights in recent weeks. (Krakow, 10/28)

Mohave County Sheriff’s officials are continuing to deal with COVID-19 issues in the Kingman jail. They said the Adult Detention facility identified 16 inmates who tested positive for the virus this week out of 34 inmates. (10/29)

After a summer of reports of breakthrough coronavirus infections, when it seemed that everyone knew someone who tested positive after vaccination, recently released federal data sheds light on how common these cases really were, how severe they became and who was most at risk. Compared with the unvaccinated, fully vaccinated people overall had a much lower chance of testing positive for the virus or dying from it, even through the summer’s Delta surge and the relaxation of pandemic restrictions in many parts of the country. But the data indicates that immunity against infection may be slowly waning for vaccinated people, even as the vaccines continue to be strongly protective against severe illness and death. (Aufrichtig and Walker, 10/28)

People inoculated against Covid-19 are just as likely to spread the delta variant of the virus to contacts in their household as those who haven’t had shots, according to new research. In a yearlong study of 621 people in the U.K. with mild Covid-19, scientists found that their peak viral load was similar regardless of vaccination status, according to a paper published Thursday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal. The analysis also found that 25% of vaccinated household contacts still contracted the disease from an index case, while 38% of those who hadn’t had shots became infected. (Ring, 10/28)

A recently discovered subvariant of Covid-19′s delta strain now makes up 10% of new U.K. cases — but scientists have said there’s no reason to panic. Known as AY.4.2, there are some concerns that it could be around 10% more transmissible than the original delta strain, but there is so far insufficient evidence to prove that this is the case. (Taylor, 10/29)

KHN: ERs Are Swamped With Seriously Ill Patients, Although Many Don’t Have Covid 

Inside the emergency department at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, staff members are struggling to care for patients showing up much sicker than they’ve ever seen. Tiffani Dusang, the ER’s nursing director, practically vibrates with pent-up anxiety, looking at patients lying on a long line of stretchers pushed up against the beige walls of the hospital hallways. “It’s hard to watch,” she said in a warm Texas twang. But there’s nothing she can do. The ER’s 72 rooms are already filled. (Wells, 10/29)