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Published August 19, 2022 4:24PM (EDT)
Related Topics ------------------------------------------
Covid-19
Epidemiology
Furthering
Omicron
Pandemic
Public Health
While omicron subvariant BA.5 has revealed itself to be the most contagious and immune-evasive iteration of COVID-19 yet, scientists have known for a long time that many cases of COVID-19, regardless of variant, are completely asymptomatic. But how frequently the average person was unknowingly contracting COVID was not known with great certainty.
Now, a new study reveals the extent to which people may be spreading the omicron strain of COVID-19 without even realizing it. Because omicron infections are frequently asymptomatic , it had long been assumed that individuals infected with omicron may unwittingly transmit the bug simply because they did not realize they have been infected.
As the recent study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open makes clear, more than half of the people who contracted the omicron strain of COVID-19 were asymptomatic — and thus likely unaware that they were ever infected.
The researchers from Cedars-Sinai Hospital looked at blood samples submitted by 2,479 healthcare workers and patients during the period immediately prior to and during the initial omicron surge . Within that group, they found 210 individuals who appeared to have been recently infected with the omicron variant based on the SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in their blood. Those participants were invited to provide periodic health status updates. Soon, it was revealed that only 44% of the infected participants were aware that they had the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their bodies.
The explanation as to why 56% of infected participants did not know seems obvious from a key statistic: Only 10% reported having any adverse symptoms, and they generally attributed those to a cold or other type of infection.
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Salon reached out to Susan Cheng, MD, MPH — a corresponding author of the study and the director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai — to find out the extent to which unwitting omicron carriers have fueled the surging pandemic.
"It is tough to say," Cheng told Salon by email, pointing out that "it is hard to capture complete or comprehensive data on infection status across a given community or population at a given point in time, and then at multiple points over a period of time" which is what would be necessary "to measure how quickly a virus is spreading and what proportion of the spread is across or between people who were unaware." Nevertheless, Cheng pointed out that "the data from our study and others suggest that unrecognized infections have likely played a major role in spread of virus throughout the pandemic."
Sandy Y. Joung, MHDS, an investigator at Cedars-Sinai and first author of the study, expressed a similar view in a statement about their research.
More than half of people who contracted the omicron strain of COVID-19 were asymptomatic — and thus likely unaware that they were ever infected.
"Our study findings add to evidence that undiagnosed infections can increase transmission of the virus," Joung explained. "A low level of infection awareness has likely contributed to the fast spread of omicron."
When Cheng was asked if, based on their research, she believes people should try to get tested for omicron even if they are asymptomatic, the doctor described this as a "good question" and said that based on other studies as well as their own, "it is very reasonable to do rapid antigen testing in situations after there has been a known or strongly suspected exposure to someone with COVID."
In order to garner better information about omicron infections, the study's authors said that they would need to study a more diverse group of patients than those who participated in this study and were drawn entirely from a single occupation field (in this case, health care).
"It does often require a large health organization or an organization of a large number of people through some kind of structured effort to recruit and enroll large and diverse groups of individuals into a study," Cheng explained, adding that this would need to involve "not just a single point of engagement but continuing repeated engagement to follow how they are doing with antibody measures and health status over time."
The doctors at Cedars-Sinai are not alone in warning that a silent wave of omicron infections is putting the public at risk. Earlier this week Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, Philadelphia's health commissioner , expressed concern that this would happen while declaring that it would be the first large American city to reinstate an indoor mask mandate.
"If we fail to act now, knowing that every previous wave of infections has been followed by a wave of hospitalizations, and then a wave of deaths, it will be too late for many of our residents," Bettigole explained. "This is our chance to get ahead of the pandemic, to put our masks on until we have more information about the severity of this new variant."
Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer for Salon. He holds an MA in History from Rutgers University-Newark and is ABD in his PhD program in History at Lehigh University. His work has appeared in Mic, Quartz and MSNBC.
Copyright © 2022 Salon.com, LLC. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. SALON ® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Associated Press articles: Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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What You Should Know About Spreading Cremation Ashes
By
Richard Dahl
on August 19, 2022 11:13 AM
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In June, a Colorado Avalanche hockey fan learned the hard way that you can't just spread cremation ashes wherever you want.
Ryan Clark, a loyal fan of the NHL team, lost his longtime best friend Kyle Stark last December. Stark shared his friend's enthusiasm for the game and the Avs, so Clark thought it a fitting tribute to spread a small bag of his friend's cremation ashes on the rink ice.
An usher spotted Clark leaning over the glass and spreading the ashes on the ice before the game and asked what he was doing. When Clark told him it was the remains of a friend, the usher reported the incident to management. After the game, Clark received a letter telling him that he is banned from all Avalanche games for the remainder of the season.
Many people stipulate in their will that their cremation ashes – their "cremains" – be spread in a particular place that was important to them in life. If there is no directive, a family may make its own decision.
Whatever the case, it is important to be aware that regulations and laws may come into play.
The first question to ask is whether the chosen destination is public or private. A hockey arena, although visited by thousands of people, is a private space. So is a music venue like the Metropolitan Opera, where a fan tossed cremation ashes into the orchestra pit in 2016.
Of course, most destinations for cremains are outdoors, but you still need to take certain steps before spreading ashes. If it's private land, be sure to ask the owner for permission. If it's public land, you also may need to get approval — and then be careful that you don't spread the ashes in an area where others will use the space.
Each state has its own laws on spreading cremains. Some, like Minnesota , don't have any regulations on scattering ashes on public land or waters. California , on the other hand, places several restrictions on the practice. The Golden State says it is OK to spread ashes on private property but requires that the owner give written permission. Ashes can be spread on public land, but only with the written permission of the local government.
If you want to spread cremains on federal land, like a national park, you must get a permit from the agency in charge of that land. Some national park websites provide guidelines for spreading cremation ashes. Yellowstone National Park , for instance, provides a link to an application form for a permit, and says that ceremonies should be "small private" affairs held away from high visitor use areas.
Beaches are popular destinations for cremation ashes, but be aware that many states don't allow you to use their beaches for that purpose.
The ocean is also a popular destination that requires a permit. The agency in charge is the Environmental Protection Agency and the governing law covers all burials at sea — including non-cremated human remains. The rules for burials at sea include:
Whether it's on water or dry land, spreading cremains might sound like more of a legal thicket than you imagined. One option to avoid the red tape, though, is to use cemetery " cremation gardens ," which are growing in popularity and don't require any kind of permits.
Also keep in mind that if your loved one was a fanatic regular at a hockey arena or opera house, the idea of spreading some of their ashes there is something you should banish from your mind.
Meeting with a lawyer can help you understand your options and how to best protect your rights. Visit our attorney directory to find a lawyer near you who can help.
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A new sub-variant of the omicron variant of COVID-19, known as BA.5, has been discovered in the U.S. and several other countries. (Getty Images)
A new sub-variant of the omicron variant of COVID-19 , known as BA.5, has been discovered in the U.S. and several other countries.
It is both spreading fast and is highly transmissible.
Here is what you need to know about this emerging sub-variant, known as BA.5.
The BA.5 sub-variant descends from the original omicron variant of COVID-19 , known as BA.1. This original variant is responsible for the highly transmissible strain of COVID-19 that caused coronavirus case numbers to surge in the U.S. and around the world.
According to NBC News , BA.5 accounted for nearly 54% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S, as of July 2.
It is highly transmissible and is “about four times more resistant to a
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