Study: Covid-19 shots don't affect fertility, but the disease might

Vaccines for the coronavirus don't affect the fertility of men or women, but the virus "could cause short-term fertility problems in men," Robert Preidt reports for HealthDay News.

The study debunks a fear that has been an obstacle to vaccination for some people who want to have children.

"Many reproductive-aged individuals have cited concerns about fertility as a reason for remaining unvaccinated," said lead study author Amelia Wesselink, a research assistant professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health.

"Wesselink's team analyzed data from more than 2,100 American and Canadian women and their male partners in an ongoing study of women trying to conceive," Preidt reports. Senior researcher Lauren Wise, a BU epidemiology professor, said the study's large sample and diverse population make it strong.

"The researchers found that the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines had no effect on male or female fertility," Preidt reports. However, men infected with Covid-19 may have a temporary decline in their fertility, the investigators found."

The study, published Jan. 20 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, supports previous research linking Covid-19 infection in men with reproductive dysfunction, including poor sperm quality. The researchers said the findings should ease concerns prompted by anecdotal reports of women having menstrual cycle changes after getting a coronavirus vaccination.

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It's too early for school boards to lift mask mandates, but they need to plan for it, former FDA commissioner Gottlieb says

Dept. for Public Health map, adapted by Ky. Health News, shows most counties have 7-day infection rates above 200 per 100,000 residents; almost all are above 100. (For a larger version, click on it.)

Pediatrician Horace Hambrick attended the Jan.

10 meeting of the Scott County school board

to ask it to keep a mask mandate, which it did.

(Georgetown News-Graphic photo by James Scogin)

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

As Kentucky schools wrestle with demands by some parents to lift mask mandates, a physician who headed the Food and Drug Administration for Donald Trump says it's too early to do that.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb said on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday that masks are central to school's plans for preventing spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, so they should still be required as long as infection levels remain high.

But Gottlieb said schools should decide now at what point they are going to lift their mask mandates. "Setting an end point and sticking to it . . . is very prudent," he said.

Gottlieb didn't suggest a specific level for lifting mask mandates, but said it should be higher than the seven-day average of 10 daily cases per 100,000 residents that federal officials consider a high level of transmission. He said schools could use a higher benchmark to "try to preserve as much of that environment for learning as you can."

Even under a very expansive definition of Gottlieb's recommendation, or state officials' higher definition, every Kentucky county has a way to go to reach a safe level. Every county has an infection level above 50 per 100,000, almost all are above 100, most are above 200 (the average is 237) and 11 are above 300.

Those counties and their rates, as of Friday, are Carroll, 391; Henderson, 389.3; Harrison, 332.1; Warren, 331.6; Spencer, 330.7; Daviess, 329.5; Henry, 319.8; Muhlenberg, 319.6; Powell, 319; Shelby, 312.1; and Fayette, 303. Kentucky officials say a rate above 25 is high, calling for mask mandates.

Children under 5 probably won't be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine "at least until late March," as Pfizer Inc. extends the clinical trial of its vaccine in that age group, said Gottlieb, a Pfizer board member.

Fewer than 20 percent of Kentucky children aged 5 to 11, and fewer than half aged 12 to 17, have received even one dose of Covid-19 vaccine. Two doses plus a booster are needed for real immunity from the Omicron variant, studies have shown.

In recent weeks, more than a fourth of new coronavirus cases in Kentucky have been among people 18 and younger. Getting infected infected probably provides "as good if not better" immunity against a particular variant as a vaccine does, but "vaccines provide the broadest possible immunity," Gottlieb said. "The primary utility of the vaccines is protection against severe disease and hospitalization."

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Ky. again breaks record for new Covid-19 cases, over 16,000; new studies show robust protection against virus if boosted

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Kentucky hit another daily record for new coronavirus cases, surging beyond the last record by more than 1,000 cases. It also has a new record high positivity rate, with nearly one in three Kentuckians testing positive for the virus. 

Kentucky  reported 16,130 new cases of the virus Friday, beating its previous record of 14,896 on Saturday, Jan. 15 by 1,234 cases. Of today's cases, 25% are in people 18 and younger. 

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days also hit another record high, at 32.1%.

"Folks, take care of yourselves," Gov. Andy Beshear said in a Facebook video. "New studies today absolutely prove that being vaccinated and boosted protects you from getting real sick from Omicron, and certainly wear the mask. It's real helpful to prevent you from getting it." 

Beshear is referring to three Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports released today that offer real-world data showing that being fully vaccinated and boosted provide robust protection against severe disease from the Omicron variant, The Washington Post reports.

"One of the CDC reports analyzed data from hundreds of thousands of emergency room visits, urgent care visits and hospitalizations between August 2021 and Jan. 5, 2022. It showed that a third dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots was 90% effective at preventing hospitalization, and 82% effective in preventing a trip to the emergency room or urgent care," the Post reports.  

Kentucky hospitals reported 2,347 Covid-19 patients, 49 more than Thursday; with 439 of them in intensive care (up five) and 268 on mechanical ventilation (down three). 

Nine of the state's 10 hospital regions are using at least 80% of their intensive-care capacity, with four of them above 90%. Northern Kentucky remains at 100% capacity. 

The daily Covid-19 incidence rate in Kentucky is 237 cases per 100,000 residents. Eleven Kentucky counties are above 300 cases per 100,000; the lowest rate in the state is in McCreary County, at 52.2 cases per 100,000. The New York Times ranks Kentucky's infection rate 16th among the states. 

The state reported 28 more Covid-19 deaths, bringing Kentucky's pandemic death toll to 12,686.

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Senate floor leader says he has little respect for Beshear, who 'does not know how to govern' and 'hates the legislature'

By Al Cross

Kentucky Health News

Gov. Andy Beshear "does not know how to govern," the majority floor leader of the state Senate said at Kentucky newspapers' annual convention Friday.

"This guy hates the legislature, wants to run the government like a monarchy," Republican Sen. Damon Thayer of Georgetown said of the Democratic governor. "I have very little respect for him."

Sen. Damon Thayer

Thayer spoke at the Kentucky Press Association convention in Jeffersontown, during a discussion of legislative issues with Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville. The final question from the audience was about the heavily Republican legislature's relationship with Beshear, who was narrowly elected in 2019 and is seeking re-election in 2023.

Thayer began his answer by comparing Beshear to his father, Steve Beshear, who was governor from 2007 to 2015. In those years, Republicans controlled the Senate but not the House.

"He was very good at communicating with us," Thayer said. "I had his cell phone, he had mine; he called me, I called him; he texted me, I texted him; he invited me to his office to talk; he invited me to the governor's office for lunch. None of that has happened with Andy Beshear."

Thayer said the most troubling example was the lack of contact about what to do with the pandemic.

"He never communicated with the leadership of the General Assembly on what he was gonna do, how he was gonna do it, when he was going to do it, until a Zoom call right before the second shutdown, which happened right before Thanksgiving of 2020," Thayer said.

 

He said he asked on that call, "Governor, why have you waited until now to have this meeting to inform us? He said, 'This is why we can't have good communication,' cut off the call, and basically haven't heard from him since, except on the Ford plant incentives, which I co-sponsored . . .

"The man does not know how to govern. He does not know how to be collaborative. There are only two or three people in his inner circle that he talks to on a regular basis, and he does not know how to be governor, unlike his father. The apple has fallen far from the tree."

After the crowd reacted with surprise at Thayer's bluntness, he added, "I have very little respect for him. I think he's an accidental governor, and he's governing like some guy who got 70 percent of the vote when more people voted against him than voted for him, because he won a plurality."

McGarvey, who leads a small minority, joked, "I'm just happy when anybody calls." He said there is "a natural, inherent tension no natter which party's in charge of the legislature and which party's in charge of the governor." He noted the problems Republicans had with Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

 

"I have kids, and something I say at lot at home is, 'I don't care who started it'," McGarvey said. "When the governor has reached out to the legislature, those efforts have not always been returned."

Thayer acknowledged there is natural legislative-executive tension, which was greater with Bevin, "but this is different, This is different. This guy hates the legislature, wants to run government like a monarch, and that's just not the way it goes."

McGarvey said that soon after Beshear took office, Republicans "attacked" him with legislation to make appointment of future transportation secretaries subject to legislative confirmation, and "I think the governor has reached out a lot more than has been given credit."

Beshear's communications director, Crystal Staley, was asked to comment on Thayer's remarks. She said in an email, "The governor is focused on bringing folks together to build a better Kentucky for our families. He has worked with the General Assembly on everything from broadband expansion and cleaner water and sewer projects to legislation that helped him land the largest economic development project in our commonwealth’s history as well as historical horse racing legislation. Gov. Beshear believes in setting a good example in Frankfort, which means treating everyone, including Senator Thayer, with dignity and respect and not engaging in this type of attack or name-calling."

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House sends Senate a budget bill with many provisions dealing with health issues, several with less than Beshear proposed

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

The state House of Representatives passed a two-year state budget Thursday that includes a number of provisions for health, including many that were in Gov. Andy Beshear's budget proposal, but with some variations in amounts and sources of money. 

And the House budget has no money for retention and recruitment of nurses, nor the governor's plan to use $400 million in federal relief money to reward "essential workers" who worked throughout the pandemic.

Another difference is that the House budget has 100 new slots, rather than Beshear's 500, for the "Michelle P. waiver" program for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Both budgets would add 100 more slots to the Supports for Community Living waiver program for similar beneficiaries. Both programs have thousands of Kentuckians are on their waiting lists. 

The budgets have huge differences in the amounts allocated for domestic-violence shelters, rape crisis centers and child-advocacy centers. Beshear proposed a 36% increase for each type of organization: $2.5 million, $1.78 million and $1.3 million, respectively, in each fiscal year. The House adds $500,000 for each category. 

Another difference is that Beshear wants to fund 350 more social workers while the House budget would pay for an additional 200 . 

The House budget is in House Bill 1, with a committee substitute. It passed out of committee and the full House on the same day, on an 85-8 vote. It is now in the Senate. 

Here are some of the health-related provisions in the House budget. 

From the Tobacco Settlement Fund:

• $500,000 for the Kentucky Rural Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Farm Safety Program, titled the "Raising Hope Initiative."
• $1.4 million in each fiscal year for substance-abuse prevention and treatment for pregnant women with a history of substance-use disorders;
• $7 million in each fiscal year for the Health Access Nurturing Development Services Program (HANDS) for poor families with young children;
• $900,000 in each fiscal year for the Healthy Start initiatives;
• $900,000 in each fiscal year for early childhood mental health;
• $900,000 in each fiscal year for early childhood oral health; 
• $2 million in each fiscal year for smoking cessation;
• $500,000 in the first year and $493,500 in the second year for spinal-cord and head-injury research; and 
• $6.25 million in each year for cancer research and screening.

From the General Fund:

• $93,700 each for grants to the Brain Injury Association of America, Kentucky Chapter and the Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana to help veterans who have experienced brain trauma;
• $500,000 for the Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening Program;
• $100,000 in each fiscal year for The Hope Center of Lexington for addiction recovery;
• $900,000 each fiscal year for The Healing Place, a Louisville recovery program;
• $17.68 million in first fiscal year and $19 million in second fiscal year to support the costs of workforce and operation for the local health departments.
• $12.4 million in the first fiscal year and $17.6 million in the second year to support the establishment of additional mobile crisis units and to implement the new 988 crisis support line, a three digit number set to replace the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in July 2024. 
• $7.2 million in the first year and $14.48 million in the second year for expansion of senior citizens' meal programs (Beshear proposed to pays for this with federal relief dollars);
• $2.5 million in each fiscal year to the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund (Beshear's proposal provided $3.75 million in each fiscal year); and
• $750,000 in each fiscal year for the Kentucky Poison Control Center, unless federal emergency relief funds become available; 
• $500,000 in each fiscal year for the Ovarian Cancer Screening Outreach Program at the University of Kentucky; and
• Federal and state monies are allocated for fiscal years 2021 through 2024 to support an additional Medicaid reimbursement of $29 per day per Medicaid patient in nursing homes, which was established because of the pandemic. 
• Money is provided to support expansion of Tim's Law to additional locations as a way to ensure statewide access. Tim's Law allows judges to order assisted outpatient treatment for people who have been involuntarily hospitalized, aimed at stopping the revolving door of these individuals in and out of jails and state psychiatric hospitals.

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Pandemic keeps growing in Ky., but Beshear sees a peak in 10-14 days; Harlan County ball games called 'super-spreader events'

The governor used this graph to show that very few fully vaccinated Kentuckians under 60 have died of Covid-19 since the Omicron variant began raising numbers in July. (Screenshot; click to enlarge) 

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

Kentucky reported its second-highest daily number of new coronavirus cases Thursday, raising the seven-day rolling average to a new record. The percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus also set a record.

The state reported 13,614 new cases, boosting the seven-day average by 620, or 5.8%, to 11,385, 241% higher than three weeks ago. Cases among Kentuckians 18 and younger remained high; they were 26.5% of the total.

The positive-test rate for the last seven days is 31.37%, nearly double what it was three weeks ago.

“Omicron is continuing to spread at a rapid rate,” said Gov. Andy Beshear, referring to the dominant variant of the virus. “We expect this week to probably be our highest week ever,” presumably meaning the number of new cases.

“We think we are a week and a half to two weeks to seeing the peak of Omicron. Please protect yourself, and know it’s gonna be a couple of weeks where there’s still a whole lot after that, even if the numbers are going down.”

Beshear also noted the rising number of hospital patients with Covid-19,which he said should be “of great concern” to everyone because they might not be able to get the medical care they need when they need it.

Kentucky hospitals reported 2,298 Covid-19 patients, 42 more than Wednesday, with 434 of them in intensive care (down 21) and 271 on mechanical ventilation (up 19). Nine of the 10 hospital regions reported more than 80% of intensive-care beds in use, with four above 90%. Northern Kentucky was at 100%.

“We are getting close to the levels of Delta hospitalization, when we were overrun,” Beshear said. “We are struggling in that hospital capacity, and we need everybody’s help.” At the peak of last summer's surge caused by the Delta variant, on Sept. 10, hospitals had 2,541 Covid-19 patients.

Beshear said the way to stay out of the hospital, or dying of Covid-19, is to get vaccinated and get a booster shot.

“People boosted have an incredibly low chance of going to the hospital,” he said, adding that deaths since Omicron arrived are almost entirely among unvaccinated people. “Almost everyone under 60 who has passed away from Covid has been unvaccinated, he said. “If you are under 60, this is the challenge to surviving this pandemic.”

The state attributed 20 more deaths to Covid-19 Thursday, raising Kentucky's pandemic death toll to 12,659.

The governor also promoted testing, now available with free, at-home tests that can be ordered from the covidtests.gov website.

State table shows percentages of age groups
with at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

He said you need a test “if you have symptoms, or within five days after coming into close contact with someone who has Covid, or if you are going to gather with a group,” especially one with vulnerable people.

“Testing is one step, and only one step, to protect yourself,” he said. “The best step: getting vaccinated ad boosted; wearing a well-fitted mask when gathering indoors; and continuing to wash your hands often and practice social distancing.”

Beshear said at least 1,000 Kentuckians a day are getting newly vaccinated, but “5-to-11-year-olds [are] still way too low.” Only 19% of that age group have received even one dose of a vaccine.

In other pandemic news:

• The Harlan County Health Department said Wednesday afternoon that it was “overwhelmed” with more than 200 coronavirus cases that had not yet been reported publicly and “pointed to recent basketball games as the source,” calling them “super-spreader events,” reports Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader. “County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley said the health department didn’t have enough staff to quickly contact everyone who tested positive after the ball games, so wanted to alert people to monitor for Covid symptoms and get tested."
• Fourth District U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a "frequent critic of Covid-19 mitigation efforts," has tested positive for the virus, reports the Herald-Leader's Austin Horn. "Massie announced his positive test on Twitter this Thursday, saying he had 'cold/allergy symptoms' for a day but seems to be 'over it' now. Massie shared that he has not been vaccinated against the virus at all, but guessed that his symptoms were mild due to a previous infection two years ago." Massie wrote, “I will not be voting, meeting in person, or making public appearances until next week. I am not vaccinated or boosted. If trolls or media have other questions about my health status, the answer is most likely, ‘NUNYA’,” presumably meaning "none of your business."
• Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said she and her husband had tested positive and were having mild symptoms, after having been fully vaccinated and boosted. "Gorton, a registered nurse, also wears masks in public settings," reports the Herald-Leader's Beth Musgrave.
• About 50 students, campus workers and faculty members "entered a University of Louisville Board of Trustees meeting Thursday to deliver a petition to school leaders . . . demanding stricter safety precautions against Covid-19 and flexibility for remote work," reports Billy Kobin of the Courier Journal. One student was allowed to speak early in the meeting.

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Governor says more legislators need to wear masks

By Al Cross

Kentucky Health News

Saying he believes the General Assembly is having "a major outbreak" of coronavirus cases, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that legislators need to take more preventive precautions.

”“I think everybody should be wearing a mask, Beshear said in response to a question at a press conference. “I think a ton of legislators have had Covid in the last week or so, based on the numbers of folks that are voting remotely, based on them having to take a day off from the General Assembly because so many people had Covid.

“I mean, dear Lord, put on mask if you know a bunch of people around you have Covid. It’s just basic protections. We don’t have to be tougher than the person next to us. Nobody is watching us to see how scared or not scared that we are. This isn’t some test of masculinity. I mean, it is a virus; wear a mask. It protects you, but hey, if you’ve got it and even if you don’t know it, you wanna spread it to the person next to you that might have a terrible reaction to it? It’d be terrible to be in the legislature and to lose a seatmate to your right or to your left.”

Beshear noted that he has made testing available to everyone in the Capitol. “If they’re unwilling to wear a mask, at least get tested every day so you know that you’re not potentially exposing people around you,” he said. “But remember, if the person next to you hasn’t been tested, you need to wear a mask to make sure you have all of that protection.”

Noting that  the executive branch is masked up, Beshear said, “We have not had major outbreak that I think they’re seeing on the legislative side. That’s because masks work.”

Kentucky Health News is seeking comment from legislative leaders.

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