Author: Claudinne Miller
An ‘unprecedented pandemic of avian flu’ is wreaking havoc on the U.S. poultry industry. Humans may be at risk too, experts warn
(Fortune) The H5N1 strain of avian flu responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of birds in the U.S. in recent months, and countless more worldwide, poses an existential threat to the poultry industry in the U.S.—and a potentially widespread human health threat, experts say. The strain—first identified in domestic waterfowl in China in […]
Jan 24, 2023
Assessment of Efficacy and Safety of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Children Aged 5 to 11 Years
(JAMA Pediatrics) Are messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines safe and effective in children aged 5 to 11 years? In this systematic review and meta-analysis including 17 studies with 10 935 541 vaccinated and 2 635 251 unvaccinated children aged 5 to 11 years, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with lower risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic COVID-19, hospitalization, and multisystem inflammatory […]
Jan 24, 2023
Bird Flu Warning: Its Spreading, Mutating, and Infecting Mammals
(Infection Control Today) As many of us remain focused on COVID-19 and its immunosuppressive augmentation of other infectious diseases, mother nature is not sitting still. I was again reminded of this fact when I attempted to purchase a dozen eggs for over $6. The average price in the United States was over $4 in December 2022. […]
Jan 23, 2023
The doctor won’t see you now: Covid winters are making long hospital waits the new normal
(Washington Post) As the United States enters its third full covid winter, a top administration official is warning that the permanence of the coronavirus in the disease landscape could mean brutal and long-lasting seasonal surges of cold-weather illnesses for years to come, resulting in hospitals struggling to care for non-covid emergencies and unable to give patients timely, lifesaving treatments. Winter […]
Jan 17, 2023
The Genetic Mutation That Makes ‘Kraken’ Covid So Contagious
(Rolling Stone) A particular change in the spike protein means the virus is spreading faster than ever. There is a new, more contagious form of the novel-coronavirus. It’s got a greater ability to evade our antibodies. And it’s spreading easier than ever. You’ve read these words before, and you’ll almost certainly read them again as the Covid pandemic […]
Jan 17, 2023
Early Promise for PCSK9 Inhibition in Severe COVID-19
(MedPageToday) PCSK9 inhibitors may have a role in dampening vascular inflammation to improve outcomes in severe COVID-19, a pilot study suggested. Among people with severe COVID-19 with respiratory failure and heightened inflammation, the advantage of getting PCSK9 inhibition therapy was a significantly reduced incidence of death or need for intubation at 30 days (23.3% vs […]
Jan 17, 2023
Why kids are “great little vectors” for COVID-19
(AMA) Offering new revelations on the behavior of SARS-CoV-2, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study suggests that young children and people with obesity may be significant vectors of viral transmission in households. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) enlisted scientists from Henry Ford Health and other groups to participate in the project, which focused on […]
Jan 17, 2023
The quiet cost of covid: A million people missing work each month
(Washington Post) Some 1.5 million people missed work because of an illness last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The month before that, it was 1.6 million. In October, 1.3 million and in September 1.2 million. In fact, the last time there were fewer than a million Americans missing work because of an illness […]
Jan 17, 2023
Pregnant people with COVID-19 are 7 times more likely to die in childbirth
(Popular Science) The study of over 13,000 pregnancies across 12 countries found that those infected with COVID-19 were seven times as likely to die during childbirth and are more than three times more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit during during pregnancy, compared to COVID-free pregnant people. About 2,000 patients had a […]
Jan 17, 2023