Originally published on MedicalXpress Breaking News-and-Events ( April 14, 2022) – A COVID-19 vaccine effective against multiple variants is possible before the end of 2022, the head of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Wednesday. Chairman Albert Bourla said the firm was also working on producing a vaccine that could provide good protection for a whole year, meaning […]
MDLinx (April 15, 2022) – A third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech produced significant protection against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in healthy children ages 5 to 11, the companies said on Thursday. Blood serum analysis of 30 pediatric participants who received a booster dose in a study showed […]
MDLinx (April 14, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first COVID-19 diagnostic test that detects chemical compounds in breath samples associated with a SARS-CoV-2 infection. The test can be performed in environments where the patient specimen is both collected and analyzed, such as doctor’s […]
Medscape (April 11, 2022) – The CDC has issued a health warning about an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Florida, primarily among gay and bisexual men, including those living with HIV. It can be a “very serious, often deadly” disease, the CDC said. The two most common types of meningococcal disease are meningitis, which is an infection of […]
CNBC (April 4, 2022) – The more contagious omicron BA.2 subvariant now makes up 72% of Covid infections that have undergone genetic sequencing in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BA.2 became dominant in the U.S. last week, and now appears on track to displace the earlier version […]
NEJM Journal Watch (March 29, 2022) – Two studies showed no evidence of adverse obstetrical or perinatal outcomes. The initial COVID-19 vaccine trials did not include pregnant women, which led to questions about vaccine safety in pregnancy, but early studies were reassuring regarding the safety of mRNA vaccines in pregnant women. Findings from two new […]
The Washington Post (March 29, 2022) – The nearly 17 million Americans who received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine are less protected against serious illness and hospitalizations than those who got the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, according to federal data released Tuesday. The latest data suggest Johnson & Johnson recipients should get a booster […]
CNN (March 25, 2022) – After circulating at nearly nonexistent levels last year, influenza is increasing in most of the United States. That’s according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent flu report, released Friday, which also notes that the number of reported flu-related hospital admissions has increased each week for the […]
Published March 22, 2022 | Originally published on The Conversation Health & Medicine A new omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19, BA.2, is quickly becoming the predominant source of infections amid rising cases around the world. Immunologists Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti of the University of South Carolina explain what makes it different […]
KHN (APRIL 1, 2022) – The United States is nearing 1 million deaths from COVID — an almost incomprehensible number of lives lost that few thought possible when the pandemic began. Pennsylvania’s Mifflin County, with over 300 dead, offers a snapshot into how one hard-hit community is coping. As US Nears 1 Million Covid Deaths, […]