Author: Claudinne Miller
Why it’s easier to catch a cold, the flu or COVID in the winter
(Science News) When bitter winds blew and temperatures dropped, my grandmother would urge me to come inside. “You’ll catch your death of cold out there,” she’d say. Sure, freezing to death is possible in frigid temperatures. But doctors and other health experts have long stressed that being cold won’t give you a cold. Still, winter is undisputedly […]
Jan 17, 2023
Conspiracy Theories Prompt Top Finnish Health Authority to Quit Twitter
(Bloomberg) The rampant spread of conspiracy theories on Twitter has pushed Finland’s top health authority to stop using the platform to disseminate its public-health messages. A lack of proper tools on the social media site means the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is unable to effectively weed out false and deliberately misleading information, as […]
Jan 17, 2023
Antigenic mapping of emerging SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants BM.1.1.1, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1
(The Lancet) Novel SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants, including BM.1.1.1, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1, continue to emerge at an unprecedented rate, evading pre-existing immunity from vaccination and previous infection. Quantifying the antigenic diversity of variants might assist in selecting future vaccine strains. To determine the antigenic relationships between emerging SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants, we and others used antigenic cartography, […]
Jan 17, 2023
CDC, FDA Flag Early Signal of Stroke Risk With Bivalent COVID Vaccine
(MedPageToday) An early signal of stroke risk was detected in older adults who received Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, the FDAopens in a new tab or window and CDCopens in a new tab or window announced in a joint statement late on Friday, yet the agencies found no link in further analyses and are not recommending a change in COVID-19 […]
Jan 17, 2023
Adverse maternal, fetal, and newborn outcomes among pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection: an individual participant data meta-analysis
(BMJ) Despite a growing body of research on the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, there is continued controversy given heterogeneity in the quality and design of published studies. We screened ongoing studies in our sequential, prospective meta-analysis. We pooled individual participant data to estimate the absolute and relative risk (RR) of adverse outcomes among pregnant […]
Jan 17, 2023
WHO recommends that China monitor excess COVID-19 mortality
(Reuters) The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday it recommended that China monitor excess mortality from COVID-19 to gain a fuller picture of the impact of the surge in cases there.
Jan 17, 2023
China Reports Nearly 60,000 Covid-Linked Deaths Since Lifting Restrictions
(NYT) The unexpected disclosure was made as the country faces mounting criticism for providing unreliable data on its latest coronavirus outbreak.
Jan 17, 2023
For long covid fatigue, a strategy called ‘pacing’ helps, but at a cost
(Washington Post) Taking a lesson from people with chronic fatigue, many patients with long covid are scaling back daily activity to cope. What is it like to live with the chronic fatigue of long covid? It feels like dragging your body through wet cement, says Judy Schaefer, 58, a once avid hiker who lives in […]
Jan 17, 2023
China’s COVID surge prompts CDC to expand a hunt for new variants among air travelers
(NPR) It’s early morning at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.,and Ana Valdez is already hard at work at one of the international gates. “Hello everybody. Welcome,” she shouts with a big smile as arriving travelers flood through two large swinging doors. “Do you like to help the CDC to find new variants for COVID?” […]
Jan 14, 2023
Bivalent vaccines vs. BQ & XBB
(UNMC Global Center for Health Security) UNMC’s Global Center for Health Security leadership team meets weekly with local and state public health representatives to review and discuss new COVID-19 developments and other infectious disease challenges. James V. Lawler, MD, MPH, FIDSA, provides an overview of new data, developments, and updates on a local, state, national, […]
Jan 10, 2023