Study: Brain fog can persist in younger COVID-19 patients who are not hospitalized
A new study found that while hospitalized COVID-19 patients are at a greater risk of cognitive impairment, those who don’t require hospitalization also are at risk. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo Oct. 22 (UPI) — People who contract COVID-19 can experience brain fog and other cognitive impairments even if they’re younger or…
Pandemic Death Leader Mississippi Has Now Lost One In Every 300 Residents To Covid
Topline Mississippi, the state with the highest Covid-19 fatality rate, has now become the first in the country to hit the morbid milestone of losing one in every 300 residents to the virus, with many of the deaths coming after the widespread availability of vaccines, but amid a low vaccination rate in the state. A…
Pfizer, BioNTech report high efficacy of COVID-19 booster shot in study
A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker and a medical syringe in front of displayed Pfizer logo in this illustration taken, October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado RuvicBERLIN, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and German partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) on Thursday said data from a Phase III trial demonstrated…
Russia’s infections, deaths soar to pandemic’s highest
MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities in Moscow on Thursday announced plans to shut restaurants, cinemas and non-food stores and introduce other restrictions later this month, as Russia registered the highest daily numbers of new coronavirus infections and deaths since the start of the pandemic.The government coronavirus task force reported 36,339 new confirmed infections and 1,036 deaths…
What to Know About the New Delta Sublineage
As the now ubiquitous Delta variant continues to mutate, it’s spawned a new descendant that’s spread in the U.K. and made its way to the U.S. The Delta sublineage, known as AY.4.2, is characterized by two “S-gene mutations” on A222V and Y145H, both located on the gene that encodes the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. CDC…
Prior Covid Infection Is As Effective At Preventing The Virus As Vaccination, U.K. Study Suggests
Topline People who previously contracted Covid-19 have about the same level of protection against contracting the disease as those fully inoculated with two key vaccines, according to the findings of a study published Monday which adds to a growing and sometimes contradictory body of research on natural immunity. CREMONA, ITALY – JANUARY 06: A doctor…
CDC releases official guidance for upcoming holiday celebrations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans on Friday to celebrate upcoming holidays by taking basic safety measures against the Covid-19 pandemic that still plagues the nation.”Protect those not yet eligible for vaccination such as young children by getting yourself and other eligible people around them vaccinated,” the CDC noted in guidance issued…
State lotteries didn’t help boost COVID-19 vaccination rates, study says
Lotteries were ineffective at improving vaccination rates in states that offered them, with a new study showing rates were the same in states with the contests and those without them. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo A shot at winning $1 million did nothing to budge the number of people who got the…
How Antiviral Pill Molnupiravir Shot Ahead in the COVID Drug Hunt
The pharmaceutical firm Merck announced last week that an antiviral pill it’s developing can cut hospitalizations and deaths among people with COVID-19 by half. The results haven’t yet been peer reviewed. But if the drug candidate, molnupiravir, is authorized by regulators, it would be the first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19. By contrast, the other…
Texas man charged with threatening prominent doctor over her Covid vaccine advocacy
A Texas man was charged in federal court with threatening a prominent health policy professional over her Covid-19 vaccination advocacy, ethnic background and gender, authorities said Tuesday.The Justice Department said the man, Scott Eli Harris, 51, of Aubrey, was arrested following Tuesday’s unsealing of a grand jury indictment that contained a single allegation.It says he…
Texas Gov. Abbott issues order banning Covid vaccination mandates in rebuke of Biden
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting any entity, including private businesses, from imposing Covid-19 vaccination requirements on employees or customers.”The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced,” said Abbott said in a statement.Abbott, a Republican, said in his…
The children left behind: 140,000 kids lost a parent to Covid
Tens of thousands of children in the U.S. have lost a parent to Covid-19, according to research published Thursday in Pediatrics — a devastating consequence of the coronavirus pandemic that experts say will have ramifications for years to come.The research, which pulls from a wide range of data about births, deaths and household compositions, estimated…
Biden Admin to Buy More At-Home COVID Tests, Expand Free Testing Sites
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is ramping up its purchases of coronavirus tests and making free testing available in more pharmacies across the country, officials at the White House’s COVID-19 Response Team announced Wednesday. “In the past few months testing has increased, particularly at-home testing, a convenient option that came to market earlier this year,”…
Worker stress high during pandemic, particularly among health staffs, study finds
Researchers say that stress during the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially high for medical workers, specifically those who are younger and are women, has taken a particularly high toll. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Oct. 6 (UPI) — People’s stress levels have been high across the board since the start of the…
Fauci Says Immigrants Are ‘Absolutely Not’ Driving Covid-19 Surge: ‘Let’s Face Reality Here’
Topline Dr. Anthony Fauci slammed a belief popular among Republicans and the unvaccinated that immigrants are to blame for the U.S.’s Covid-19 transmission, as reported in a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll, saying Sunday the issue is “within our country” and is not because of immigrants or tourists bringing the coronavirus from other countries. Dr.…
Pregnant and Unvaccinated: Delta’s Deadly Toll
She was having trouble getting a full breath. That was the first thing. The day before, Autumn Carver, seven months pregnant with her third child, had enjoyed a CrossFit class. Now a simple cough was compounded by the breathing issues, which rapidly worsened. It wasn’t long before her husband, Zach Carver, took Autumn to Community…
Remdesivir Appears Effective in COVID Outpatients, Too
Remdesivir (Veklury) reduced risk of hospitalizations by 87% compared with placebo in outpatients at high risk of progression to severe COVID-19, a researcher said. While the raw numbers were small — two in the remdesivir arm versus 15 in the placebo arm — the remdesivir arm had a significantly lower risk of hospitalization (0.7% vs…
Vaccinated people are less likely to spread Covid, new research finds
People who are vaccinated against Covid-19 are less likely to spread the virus even if they become infected, a new study finds, adding to a growing body of evidence that vaccines can reduce transmission of the delta variant.British scientists at the University of Oxford examined national records of nearly 150,000 contacts that were traced from…
The Lab-Leak Theory of COVID’s Origin Is Not Totally Irrational
Credit: Jay Bendt In June a well-known climate scientist opined on Twitter that “I’d be more likely to believe the COVID lab-leak hypothesis if the people pushing it weren’t largely the same people pushing [bogus] conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election and climate change.” He has a point. Early in the pandemic, the lab-leak…
Unvaccinated Need Not Apply — Job Ads Requiring Covid Jab Skyrocket
Topline Job postings requiring Covid-19 vaccination have skyrocketed since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot in August, according to LinkedIn data provided to Forbes, as employers ramp up the pressure on workers who are still refusing to get the jab. Employers are increasingly requiring their workers to be…