Category: Health Alert Network

Healthcare providers who have cared or are caring for patients younger than 21 years of age meeting MIS-C criteria should report suspected cases to Central District Health (Phone: 208-327-8625 or FAX: 208-327-7100) or to the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention Epidemiology Section (208-334-5939).

Ivermectin is not authorized or approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for prevention or treatment of COVID-19. FDA has cautioned about the potential risks of use for prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Ivermectin-related calls to poison control centers across the U.S. have increased five-fold from pre-pandemic baseline. Our regional poison center is experiencing a small but increasing trend of ivermectin-related calls from Idaho.

Healthcare providers should be aware that on July 30, 2021, the FDA revised the emergency use authorization (EUA) for casirivimab/imdevimab (REGEN-COV) to include authorization for post-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19. REGEN-COV also remains authorized for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

COVID-19 cases in Idaho have increased 70% since July 1, 2021. In Central District Health’s (CDH) counties, COVID-19 cases increased over 158% from June to July 2021. Nationally, cases have increased over 300% from June 19 to July 23, 2021. Increases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are driven by the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant combined with relatively low vaccination rates.

Treatment with monoclonal antibody therapies continues to be recommended for certain patients with COVID-19 who are at high-risk of progression to severe disease. However, there are some recent changes of which healthcare providers should be aware.

Myocarditis with or without pericarditis has been reported in three Idaho patients after they had recently received COVID-19 vaccine. All three patients received the second dose of Pfizer vaccine 2-10 days before being evaluated at a hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other state public health agencies are also aware of reports of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination; the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group has recently reported a statement on the issue, at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/work-groups-vast/technical-report-2021-05-17.html. Consider a diagnosis of myocarditis or pericarditis in any evaluation of chest pain following COVID-19 vaccination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are reviewing data involving six U.S. cases of a rare type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J COVID-19 vaccine that were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS).

Several recent changes have occurred regarding monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the treatment of certain high-risk patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

On December 17, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated treatment guidelines for uncomplicated gonorrhea and now recommend a single 500 mg intramuscular (IM) dose of ceftriaxone. Dual therapy is no longer recommended. Treatment for coinfection with Chlamydia trachomatis with oral doxycycline, 100 mg twice a day for 7 days should be administered when chlamydial infection has not been excluded.

Idaho healthcare providers should be aware that monoclonal antibodies, which may be helpful in preventing hospitalization among high-risk patients with COVID-19, are available in the state. The drugs have received FDA emergency use authorization.