Vertebral osteomyelitis caused by group B streptococci ( Streptococcus agalactiae ) secondary to urinary tract infection

Infections due to group B streptococci usually occur in the peri- and neonatal setting or in adults with chronic underlying diseases. A case of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis caused byStreptococcus agalactiae in a 54-year-old man suffering from phimosis with urinary retention and urinary tract infection is reported. This case adds to the few existing reports of vertebral osteomyelitis caused by group B streptococc

Divisive or Descriptive?: How Americans Understand Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a flashpoint of elite political discord, yet how Americans actually perceive CRT is unclear. We theorize that Republican elites utilized a strong framing strategy to re-define CRT as an “empty signifier” representing broader racial and cultural grievances. Using a survey and a pre-registered experiment among US adults (N=19,060), we find that this strategy worked. Republicans exhibit more familiarity with CRT and hold more negatively valenced (and wide ranging) sentiments toward CRT, relative to Democrats. Moreover, compared to teaching the legacy of racism in schools, Republicans are significantly more opposed to teaching CRT while Democrats express greater uncertainty. Our findings suggest that by framing CRT as a broad term that envelopes many grievances (including those beyond the scope of CRT), Republicans have shaped a subset of Americans’ understanding of and attitudes towards CRT

The COVID States Project #61: Parental concerns about COVID-19 vaccines

In an online forum designed to quell parents’ anxieties about the COVID-19 vaccine for their kids, one parent wrote: “I’m not an anti-vaxxer or an anti-masker. I’m just worried.” (New York Times, 2021). On May 12, 2021, the New York Times published an article titled “They’re Not Anti-Vaccine, but These Parents Are Hesitant About the COVID Shot” which takes the reader through a series of online conversations between doctors and parents anxious about vaccinating their kids against COVID-19. Parents reported being nervous about the newness of the vaccine and how fast it was developed, as well as the potential for side effects and allergic reactions. Additionally, parents of adolescents raised concerns about the vaccine affecting puberty and future fertility. Since the publication of the Times article, the FDA has granted emergency authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12-15 and so far, 39.5% have received one dose and 29% are fully vaccinated as of August 2, 2021. As vaccination rates are slowing with the Delta variant contributing to rising cases and hospitalizations nationwide, it is important to understand the concerns of those parents who remain hesitant to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. In our 49th and 56th reports, we found that young mothers, Republican parents, parents making less than $25,000 per year, and parents without a college degree were among the most resistant to vaccinating their children before the vaccine was available to children ages 12-15. Now that the question is no longer hypothetical for respondents with children over age 12, it is worth examining continuing sources of vaccine hesitancy and resistance among parents. What are parents’ top concerns about COVID-19 vaccinations for their children? Do these concerns vary based on a parent’s partisanship, gender, age, race, income, education, or place of residence? In our June 2021 survey, we asked parents to rate the following considerations as a major concern, minor concern, or not a concern when thinking about their children receiving a COVID-19 vaccine: how new the vaccine is, whether the vaccine has been tested enough, whether the vaccine actually works, immediate side effects (e.g., fever, nausea), long-term health effects, health effects specific to girls or women, health effects specific to boys or men, religious objections, whether the vaccine companies want to harm people, and whether the government is using the vaccine to harm people. In this report, we examine the most prevalent major concerns for parents by demographic groups to better understand the various sources of vaccine hesitancy among parents

The COVID States Project #59: What Americans think about people who are not vaccinated

In this report, we evaluate how people feel about those who are vaccinated and those who are not. A common way of measuring these feelings is through feeling thermometers – special survey items aimed at capturing a respondent’s overall level of warmth towards a particular person, group, or idea. Two of the thermometer questions we asked measured feelings towards “People who are vaccinated against COVID-19” and “People who are NOT vaccinated against COVID-19”, with response options ranging from 0 to 100 degrees. These are the two key outcome variables for this report (see the appendix for full question wording). To evaluate the gap between feelings towards those who are vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who are not, we take the difference in scores between the two corresponding thermometer questions. That tells us how much more favorably respondents view one group compared to the other. Our analyses examine how feelings expressed by the respondents are linked to factors such as partisanship, education, gender, age, income, place of residence and personal vaccination status, among others

The COVID States Project #79: At-home COVID tests

The availability of home antigen testing alongside continued challenges in pursuing PCR and antigen tests outside of the home means it is likely that some positive cases are not represented in official counts of cases or positivity rates. Community survey methods could prove helpful in evaluating the extent to which such cases may be missing from official COVID-19 tracking statistics. In this brief report, we assess the extent to which positive results on home antigen tests are not reflected in the number of official cases in the United States. In our current survey, we asked individuals if they had tested positive, and then whether they had ever tested positive using an “at-home” test

The COVID States Project #64: Continued high public support for mandating vaccines

COVID-19 continues to surge in the United States and elsewhere, propelled by the highly contagious Delta variant. As of this writing (on September 29, 2021), about three quarters (76%) of the eligible U.S. population (age 12 and up) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This is likely not enough to achieve herd immunity in the United States. Though the specific number remains uncertain, a recent estimate by the Infectious Diseases Society of America suggests that over 80% of the entire population must be fully vaccinated to reach herd immunity. More worrisome, around 1 in 5 Americans, depending on the poll, continue to say they are either uncertain or will not get the vaccine. In our most recent survey wave (fielded from August 26 to September 27, 2021), 10% of respondents who indicated that they are not yet vaccinated claimed they are extremely unlikely to get it. Another 12% are “somewhat” unlikely to seek the vaccine. In recent weeks, the Biden administration has shifted tactics in its efforts to get as many Americans as possible vaccinated. The Administration had from the outset emphasized the benefits of getting vaccinated as its primary strategy for persuading reluctant Americans to do so. Yet, starting in September the prevailing strategy seemingly shifted from emphasizing carrots to sticks. On September 9th, President Biden issued an executive order requiring all federal employees and government contractors to be vaccinated, and also announced that the U.S. Department of Labor would require that all companies with more than 100 employees require vaccination or weekly testing, as well as provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated. The Biden Administration has also encouraged states and smaller companies to impose similar vaccine mandates. The question arises as to whether the persistence of the Delta variant has increased public support for making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory. In our April/May survey wave, six in ten respondents approved of the government mandating vaccines for everyone (see Report #52). This figure increased modestly, to 64% in our June/July survey (see Report #58). In this report, we update our assessment of public support for vaccine mandates, both nationally and across the 50 states, based on our September survey wave

The COVID States Project #66: September 2021 update on executive approval

The COVID States Project survey regularly asks people in all 50 states about their approval of their governors and the President. Since our last report on executive approval, which examined trends through March 2021, the pandemic has notably evolved, with huge surges of cases and deaths associated with the Delta variant throughout the summer and early fall. Most states reacted to the dip in coronavirus infections and increase in vaccinations in late spring and early summer by lifting indoor mask mandates, only to struggle to adapt as cases surged again in the late summer and early fall 2021. Some of these states were responding to CDC guidance, which announced in May that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks indoors or outdoors, only to reverse that guidance a few months later and recommend masks indoors for Americans living in areas of high transmission regardless of vaccination status. Other states rebuffed the guidance of public health agencies by, for instance, banning mask mandates in schools, businesses, and other public places. These policy decisions received wide criticism1 particularly as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths surged in those states with the loosest pandemic restrictions. September 2021 has also seen important political developments with respect to national policy around COVID-19. On September 9, President Biden issued an executive order requiring all federal employees and government contractors to be vaccinated. The President also announced that the U.S. Department of Labor would require all businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccination or weekly testing and provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated. On September 22, the FDA authorized booster shots for those vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for certain populations, including the elderly and those at higher risk of catching the disease due to their professions. In this report, we examine the approval of governors and the President for their handling of the pandemic -- and for the president's overall approval -- over time across the U.S. to assess how the public reacted to the policy decisions and developments surrounding the pandemic as well as state and federal governmental responses

The COVID States Project #86: Misperceptions about the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 vaccines

For the past two years, the United States has endured what the World Health Organization has termed an infodemic of misinformation involving COVID-19 in general, and the COVID-19 vaccination in particular. We reviewed the current breadth and depth of the COVID misinformation problem in a recent report [#82]. In that report (based on our January 2022 survey), we found that about one in six respondents (16%) believed at least one out of four false claims about COVID-19 vaccines, while a little over 1/3 (37%) were unsure about at least one false claim. As we discuss below, those percentages have remained stable in our latest survey. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has once again thrust the misinformation problem to the center of public policy discourse. News reports feature alleged Russian false flag operations aimed at providing rationales for the invasion of Ukraine. Media also report on numerous false stories designed to shift blame for the conflict to the United States and its allies while preventing Russian citizens from learning the truth about the war and its consequences. In this report, we review the extent of Americans’ acceptance of false claims about COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine. We investigate the demographic and partisan correlates of believing false claims about Ukraine and the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the confluence of these two overlapping misinformation crises. In particular, we explore whether and to what extent acceptance of COVID-19 misinformation is associated with accepting misinformation relating to the current conflict in Ukraine. Are people who are inclined to believe false claims about COVID-19 more likely to also believe false claims about the conflict in Ukraine