Author: Claudinne Miller
Vaccination rates are falling, and it’s not just the COVID-19 vaccine that people are refusing
(Nature) Vaccines offer a potent armour against infectious diseases that once carried a heavy toll of mortality and morbidity, particularly among children. Gaps were already forming in that armour in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic. But amid stagnating vaccination rates, the pandemic acted like a shotgun, punching many more holes in humanity’s defences against […]
Dec 20, 2022
Ebola in Uganda: 23 days since confirmation of last case, Lockdown lifted in Mubende and Kassanda
(Outbreak News Today) Uganda’s Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus (SVD) on September 20 after a case was confirmed in Mubende district. This is the first time in more than a decade that Uganda reported an outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus. According to officials, it’s been 23 days since the last confirmed case was […]
Dec 20, 2022
China’s Covid-19 Outbreak Has US Worried About New Variants
(Bloomberg) The US is concerned China’s runaway Covid-19 outbreak might spawn new mutations of the virus, as the world’s most populous country continues to grapple with the impact of loosening “Covid Zero” protocols that had kept the pandemic at bay. “When it comes to the current outbreak in China, we want to see this addressed,” […]
Dec 20, 2022
Trends in Homicide Rates for US Children Aged 0 to 17 Years, 1999 to 2020
(JAMA) What are the recent changes and long-term trends in homicide rates for children aged 0 to 17 years and precipitating circumstances and characteristics most commonly associated with these deaths? Findings In this cross-sectional study of 38362 homocide victims, homicide rates for some geographic and child demographic groups declined; however, rates recently increased across several subpopulations.
Dec 20, 2022
Data-driven identification of post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection subphenotypes
(Nature) The post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) refers to a broad spectrum of symptoms and signs that are persistent, exacerbated or newly incident in the period after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most studies have examined these conditions individually without providing evidence on co-occurring conditions. In this study, we leveraged the electronic health record data of […]
Dec 20, 2022
Are Subphenotypes for Long COVID Beneficial?
(MedPageToday) A recent study opens in a new tab or window published in Nature Medicine, “Data-driven identification of post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection subphenotypes” by Hao Zhang, PhD, et al. used a data-driven framework to stratify patients suffering with post-acute SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), also referred to as long COVID, into different subcategories of sequelae. The bulk of the patients in the […]
Dec 20, 2022
Coronavirus boosters cut hospitalization risk by at least 50%, CDC data shows
(Washington Post) Adults who received the updated coronavirus booster shots are better protected against severe disease than those who haven’t, cutting their risk of having to visit an emergency room or being hospitalized with covid-19 by 50 percent or more,according to new federal data. Two reports released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention give […]
Dec 20, 2022
Why is strep A surging — and how worried are scientists?
(Nature) As the days lengthen and temperatures rise each spring, British paediatricians know what to expect: an increase in group A streptococcal infections that should tail off by the summer. But an off-season outbreak of the bacterial infections this year has jumbled expectations, made scores of people ill and killed 13 children under the age […]
Dec 19, 2022
RSV wave hammers hospitals — but vaccines and treatments are coming
(Nature) In the past few months, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been sending children under the age of 5 to hospital at alarming rates in the United States and Europe. As paediatric units fill beyond capacity, and physicians contend with a ‘tripledemic’ of RSV, influenza and COVID-19, some have been calling for a state of emergency […]
Dec 19, 2022
There’s Never Been a Worse Time to Get Sick in the UK
(Bloomberg) Hospital waiting lists are growing. Pharmacies are running out of antibiotics. Nurses have been taking industrial action for the first time in their history and over the next week ambulance drivers will join them — with strikes planned for Wednesday.
Dec 19, 2022
