Author: Claudinne Miller
The Pandemic Potential of U.S. Animal Markets
MedPageToday Zoonotic disease threats are not just an “over there” problem. COVID hit the U.S. while my partner and I were back home at a wedding in Kansas. At the time, there were a handful of cases on the coasts, but concerns about the new virus were drowned out by the busy reception full of […]
Aug 15, 2023
Communication of COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media by Physicians in the US
JAMA Approximately one-third of the more than 1 100 000 confirmed COVID-19–related deaths as of January 18, 2023, were considered preventable if public health recommendations had been followed. Physicians’ propagation of misinformation about COVID-19 on social media and other internet-based platforms has raised professional, public health, and ethical concerns.
Aug 15, 2023
Among those spreading medical misinformation during the pandemic: 52 doctors
USA Today Medical misinformation swirled across social media during the pandemic, but some of it was in a class of its own: It came from medical doctors. Doctors, of course, are just as human and error-prone as everyone else, but because they spend years studying science and how the body works, presumably they know more […]
Aug 15, 2023
At-Home COVID-19 Tests Under $20 at Amazon
Because COVID is still circulating, and tests are hard to find on store shelves.
Aug 15, 2023
Long COVID: Mitochondria, the Big Miss, and Hope
Medscape This week there was news on Long COVID in two very different directions: emergence of strong data to support mitochondrial dysfunction as the basis for the condition in some people, and learning how the $1.15 billion allocation to the NIH RECOVER initiative has largely been wasted. In this edition of Ground Truths, I’ll review […]
Aug 15, 2023
Bubonic plague cases reported in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Outbreak News Today Two more cases of bubonic plague were reported in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday, following an earlier case reported on August 7. The two newly infected patients are the husband and daughter of the previous case, said local govt. All close contacts have been quarantined and show no symptoms.
Aug 15, 2023
Outbreaks of avian influenza caused by influenza A(H5N1) in the Region of the Americas – August 2023
PAHO As of epidemiological week (EW) 31 of 2023, agricultural authorities in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, The United States of America, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela have detected outbreaks of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses in domestic birds, farm poultry and/or wild birds, and in mammals. Among the […]
Aug 13, 2023
Report explores doctors spreading COVID misinformation
PBS What happens when doctors spread misinformation during a pandemic, potentially endangering peoples’ lives? A new investigation from The Washington Post looks at why doctors who pushed medical misinformation, particularly about alleged COVID remedies or treatments, faced so few repercussions for their behavior. William Brangham spoke with Lena Sun, one of the lead reporters on […]
Aug 8, 2023
The special ingredient for Mars travel meal prep? Astronaut breath
NPR The ingredients for space yeast are fairly simple. “Astronaut breath, water, yeast starter, electricity, a rolling pin and we can make it happen,” Stafford Sheehan, a finalist in the NASA-sponsored Deep Space Food Challenge, told NPR. Put air, water and yeast starter into Sheehan’s handy machine, wait about two hours and voila: a protein shake […]
Aug 8, 2023
Walgreens Shows Highest Covid-19 Test Positivity Levels Since May 2021
Forbes Are you positive that Covid-19 cases are on the upswing this Summer? With the lack of an accurate and reliable national Covid-19 surveillance system, it may be hard to tell what the heck is really happening with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the U.S. But there are several indications that […]
Aug 8, 2023