Vol.27 (2023/07/21) Positivity rate at our clinic / Number of deaths in Japan and the world / Reporting side effects of COVID-XNUMX vaccines and vaccination / Symptoms of infection and severity, etc.

[1] Tokyo Midtown Clinic Infectious antibody positivity rate

• ●2022/11/15-12/14 Number of tests: XNUMX Positive rate: XNUMX%
• ●2022/12/15-2023/1/14 Number of tests: XNUMX Positive rate: XNUMX%
• ● 2023/1/15-2/14 Number of tests: XNUMX Positive rate: XNUMX%
• ●2023/2/145-3/14 Number of tests: XNUMX Positive rate: XNUMX%

The antibody prevalence rate for infection has been around 45%-50% in recent years.

By the way, the antibody possession rate announced by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in March 2023 was 3% nationwide as of February.
年代別では16歳から19歳が62.2％、20代が51.6％、30代が52.2％と30代以下では2人に1人以上となりましたが、40代は46.0％、50代は36.7％、60代は28.3％と年代が上がるほど低い傾向が見られました。

By region, the rates were high in Fukuoka Prefecture at 59.4% and Okinawa Prefecture at 58.0%, while there were differences between regions, such as 27.4% in Iwate Prefecture and 31.7% in Fukushima Prefecture. In addition, the rates were 42.2% in Tokyo, 50.2% in Osaka Prefecture, and 51.8% in Aichi Prefecture.

Source: Antibody possession rate due to COVID-42.3 infection is XNUMX% nationwide, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (NHK)
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20230324/k10014017771000.html

[2] Number of cases in Japan

Although it is said that the number has been increasing slightly recently, the overall number is thought to be stabilizing as shown below.

Number of new cases: July 2022 onwards

Number of serious cases: July 2022 onwards

Number of deaths:: From July 2022 onwards

The number of excess deaths in Japan is thought to be low, but has been increasing slightly since 2021.

Source: What the Data Shows -Information on COVID-19 (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
https://covid19.mhlw.go.jp/

[19] Global COVID-XNUMX death toll graph

It is clear that the number has been decreasing since the summer of 2022.

Excess deaths per million people
As expected, we can see that Japan and East Asia have fewer excess deaths.

Source: Coronavirus tracker: the latest figures as countries fight the Covid-19 resurgence(Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938

[4] Reports of side effects from COVID-19 vaccines (fatal cases)

There is a lot of information floating around on the web, but the official report is as follows:

Reporting deaths in people aged 12 and over
As of the period under review, 1,829 cases had been reported for the Pfizer vaccine (100 cases per 6.2 million doses), 224 cases for the Moderna vaccine (2.7 cases per 3.2 million doses), and one case for the Takeda vaccine (Novavax) (XNUMX cases per XNUMX million doses).
Of the reported cases, those after the fourth vaccination included 61 cases for the Pfizer vaccine, 27 cases for the Moderna vaccine, and zero cases for the Takeda vaccine (Novavax), and those after the fifth vaccination included 67 cases for the Pfizer vaccine, three cases for the Moderna vaccine, and zero cases for the Takeda vaccine (Novavax).
Of the reported cases, there were eight cases from Pfizer and five from Moderna after vaccination with the Omicron strain (BA.1) vaccine, and 4 cases from Pfizer and one from Moderna after vaccination with the Omicron strain (BA.5-85) vaccine.
Of the reported fatal cases, there was one in which a causal relationship with the vaccine could not be denied.

Source: Reports of suspected side effects of COVID-19 vaccines (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/vaccine_hukuhannou-utagai-houkoku.html

[5] Regarding vaccinations in 2023

Vaccination is continuing on a targeted basis.

Vaccinations starting in spring 2023 can only be received once per person.
Eligible applicants are those who meet all of the following criteria:
Those who have completed the initial vaccination (first and second doses) in Japan or an equivalent vaccination.

▷ Applicants must meet any of the following criteria (1) to (3).
(1) Elderly people (65 years or older)
(2) Those aged 64 to XNUMX with underlying medical conditions
(3) Medical staff and staff at elderly care facilities

▷A certain period of time must have passed since your last vaccination.
If you would like to receive the Pfizer or Moderna Omicron strain bivalent vaccine: 3 months or more
If you wish to receive the conventional Takeda (Novavax) vaccine (monovalent): 6 months or older

▷Pfizer's Omicron strain bivalent vaccine: For people aged 11 years and older. (For people aged XNUMX to XNUMX, only the pediatric Omicron strain bivalent vaccine is used.)

▷Moderna's bivalent vaccine for the Omicron strain: For people aged 12 and over.

▷ Takeda's (Novavax) conventional vaccine (monovalent): For people aged 12 and over.

Source: [Additional Vaccination] Notice regarding vaccinations starting in spring 2023 (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/vaccine_spring2023.html

[19] Symptoms and severity of COVID-XNUMX infection

This is a data analysis report on approximately 2022 COVID-4 patients in Sapporo City over the six months from April 25, 15.8. The latter half of this period was the so-called "seventh wave," and at that time the scale of infection was unprecedented.

Dr. Akira Nakakubo and his colleagues from the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, used data from over 19 people in Sapporo who were diagnosed with COVID-15 and registered in the medical treatment assessment system to analyze new characteristics of symptoms based on the sublineage of the Omicron strain and vaccination history. In addition to changes in symptoms due to vaccination, they reported in the Lancet Infect Dis (online version, June 2023, 6) the relationship between the characteristics of symptoms in the elderly and the risk of severe illness.

The risk of developing severe symptoms is high in patients with systemic symptoms and low in those with upper respiratory tract symptoms.
The results showed that the most common overall symptoms were cough (62.7%), sore throat (60.7%), and runny nose (44.3%). Compared to the BA.2 epidemic period, the BA.5 epidemic period had more systemic symptoms such as fever, headache, strong fatigue, reduced food intake, and joint and muscle pain. In addition, the prevalence of symptoms and frequency of systemic symptoms were lower in patients who received three or more doses of the vaccine than in patients who received two or fewer doses, but upper respiratory tract symptoms such as runny nose and sore throat were frequently observed. In elderly people aged 3 years or older, symptoms are less likely to appear overall, but patients with systemic symptoms are more likely to develop severe symptoms, and those with upper respiratory tract symptoms are less likely to develop severe symptoms. In elderly people, the combination of three systemic symptoms, particularly dyspnea (adjusted odds ratio 2, 65% CI: 3.01-95), reduced food intake (1.84, 4.91-2.38), and strong fatigue (1.54, 3.69-1.90), was associated with an increased risk of severe symptoms. On the other hand, sore throat (1.20, 3.01-3) and runny nose (0.38, 0.24-0.63) were associated with a lower risk of developing severe symptoms.

Source: Medical Tribune Medical News, published on July 2023, 07 at 11:11, "New characteristics of COVID-17 symptoms revealed"
https://medical-tribune.co.jp/news/2023/0711557455/

[7] Introduction of severe cases

These are chest X-ray and CT scan images of a man in his 60s who recently contracted COVID-XNUMX.
This person had no history of vaccination. As mentioned above, the symptoms were fever, general fatigue, and cough, and the person had severe general symptoms. (This is presented with the person's permission.)

Shadows spread throughout the lungs and the entire body, and CT scans reveal numerous characteristic patchy shadows.
This person improved after being hospitalized for treatment, but everyone should continue to be cautious.