COVID-19 News from Around the Web

In their research, the French team tracked the sense of smell of 97 patients (67 women, 30 men) averaging about 39 years of age. ... By the four-month mark, objective testing of 51 of the patients showed that about 84% (43) had already regained a sense of smell … Overall, 96% of the patients objectively recovered by 12 months, Renaud's team reported. The study was published online June 24 in JAMA Network Open.

Throughout the pandemic, Black people have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, accounting for about 12.5% of the population but more than 15% of total deaths, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In May, that percentage went up to 19%. Recently, the average age of people dying from the virus also shifted younger. Adults under the age of 40 represented about 3% of Covid-19 deaths in May, more than double their share of total deaths since the pandemic began.

A new and slightly changed version of the Delta coronavirus variant is spreading in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, United States and India, health officials say. This strain, which has generated a significant amount of global media attention, is called B.1.617.2.1 or AY.1 -- Delta Plus for short, and is a version of the Delta variant first detected in India in February. It was first reported by Public Health England, a government health agency, on June 11. But the UK's first few cases had been sequenced on April 26 -- suggesting the variant may have been present and spreading by the spring. About 200 cases have been spotted in 11 countries. Health experts are investigating whether Delta Plus may be more transmissible than other strains like the Alpha or Delta variants -- but it's too early to say for sure what its effects may be.

Only 23% of Americans said they were “very concerned” about a family member experiencing severe illness due to COVID-19, the poll shows. Nearly three-quarters of those who have been vaccinated expressed concern over another surge. Among the 1 in 5 Americans who say they won’t get the vaccine, 69% either lean or identify with the Republican Party.

The CDC announced Thursday it was extending the agency's COVID-19 ban on most evictions through the end of July and said would be the "final extension of the moratorium." The move comes after activists and lawmakers pleaded with the Biden administration to extend the measure, even as the U.S. has been marking the lowest levels of COVID-19 cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

A new study finds the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced life expectancy in the U.S., an effect that was especially profound in communities of color. Looking at nearly 400,000 deaths in 2020, scientists found that life expectancy decreased by an average of 16 months compared to 2018. While white communities lost less than a year in life expectancy, that figure for the Black community was nearly two years and more than three years for Hispanic populations.

Federal officials said Wednesday they plan to strengthen cautions about a rare side effect of some COVID-19 vaccines — chest pain and heart inflammation, mostly among teenagers and young adults. But in an unusual joint statement, top U.S. government health officials, medical organizations, laboratory and hospital associations and others stressed the overriding benefit of the vaccines. “The facts are clear: this is an extremely rare side effect, and only an exceedingly small number of people will experience it after vaccination. Importantly, for the young people who do, most cases are mild, and individuals recover often on their own or with minimal treatment,” the statement said.

"Covid-19 vaccines are available for everyone ages 12 and up," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday at a White House briefing. "They are nearly 100% effective against severe disease and death -- meaning nearly every death due to Covid-19 is particularly tragic, because nearly every death, especially among adults, due to Covid-19 is at this point entirely preventable." Those still dying from Covid-19 in the US are "overwhelmingly" unvaccinated … Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN.

A group of independent experts advising the CDC suggested there isn’t enough data yet to support recommendations for COVID-19 booster vaccines, and expect to continue monitoring studies into the fall. The advisory panel is specifically tracking potentially waning immunity over time, variants and any declines in vaccine efficacy …

Ohio, the state that launched the national movement to offer millions of dollars in incentives to boost vaccination rates, planned to conclude its program Wednesday — still unable to crack the 50% vaccination threshold. … Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s May 12 announcement of the incentive program had the desired effect, leading to a 43% boost in state vaccination numbers over the previous week. But numbers of vaccinations have dropped since then.

Missouri is becoming a cautionary tale for the rest of the country: It is seeing an alarming rise in cases because of a combination of the fast-spreading delta variant and stubborn resistance among many people to getting vaccinated. Intensive care beds are filling up with surprisingly young, unvaccinated patients, and staff members are getting burned out fighting a battle that was supposed to be in its final throes.

The country will narrowly miss President Biden's goal of having 70% of the U.S. adult population at least partially vaccinated by July 4, according to a White House official who did not want to get ahead of the public announcement. But the official also noted that 70% of those 30 and older have already been vaccinated a week and a half ahead of Independence Day and that those 27 and older are expected to also reach the 70% mark by July 4.

Following reports earlier this month of rare but higher-than-expected cases of heart inflammation in teens and young adults who got two shots of an mRNA Covid vaccine, a CDC expert group is meeting today to discuss the vaccines' safety profile. CDC and FDA officials previously reported preliminary data: There were 573 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis after the second shot of either mRNA vaccine currently available, but only 216 such cases after the first dose. Experts will also evaluate data on additional Covid-19 booster shots to fend off the virus.

As of Monday morning, the CDC reported that nearly 9.5 million more women than men have been vaccinated in the U.S. … On the surface, it’s a matter of which groups were targeted early on, [but] other behavioral and ideological divides between women and men appear to be at play. … Hypothesis 1: Early Access … Hypothesis 2: Traditional Masculinity … Hypothesis 3: Preventive Health Behaviors … Hypothesis 4: Political Ideology and Susceptibility to Conspiratorial Thinking

The dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the United States that it's likely the mutant strain will become predominant in the nation within weeks, according to federal health officials and a new analysis. At a White House briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said 20.6% of new cases in the U.S. are due to the Delta variant.

More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement. A spokesperson for Houston Methodist system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period or were terminated on Tuesday.