Author: Shannon Becker
Flu is expected to flare up in U.S. this winter, raising fears of a ‘twindemic’
The flu virtually disappeared for two years as the pandemic raged. But influenza appears poised to stage a come-back this year in the U.S., threatening to cause a long-feared “twindemic.” The strongest indication that the flu could hit the U.S. this winter is what happened during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter. Flu returned to some countries, such […]
Sep 23, 2022
FDA Finds Flaws at Vaccine Factory, Accepts Moderna’s Assurances
Bloomberg – FDA inspectors found that particles in Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine made by Catalent weren’t adequately looked into by the company.
Sep 22, 2022
18 U.S. Labs Join Forces To Battle Infectious Diseases
Texas A&M – Leading experts from research universities and federal agencies gathered at Texas A&M to discuss how to better protect the nation from high-consequence pathogens that harm livestock and wildlife.
Sep 22, 2022
New Tool Guides Clinicians to Identify and Treat Patients at Risk for Monkeypox Virus
Mass General – In the setting of the current global monkeypox outbreak, clinicians are on now alert to identify, isolate, and treat individuals infected with the virus that causes it. Investigators recently developed a clinical decision support system to help with this effort, and they tested its initial performance in a large integrated healthcare system.
Sep 22, 2022
Nirmatrelvir–Ritonavir and Viral Load Rebound in Covid-19
NEJM – Cases of recurrence of clinical symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after completion of treatment with nirmatrelvir–ritonavir have been reported by researchers1 and in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Advisory.2 The frequency and clinical implications of potential recurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are unknown.
Sep 22, 2022
Post-Ebola Symptoms 7 Years after Infection: The natural history of Long Ebola
Clinical Infectious Diseases – Lingering symptoms have been reported by survivors of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). There are few data describing the persistence and severity of these symptoms over time.
Sep 22, 2022
Polio is officially circulating in the US again
Popular Science – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that polioviruses found recently in Rockland County, New York, meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) criteria for circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV), which means that the pathogen continues to be transmitted in the county and surrounding areas. Vaccine-derived refers to the strain’s relationship to the […]
Sep 22, 2022
Don’t ask when the pandemic will end. Ask how we’re going to live with covid.
Grid – The coronavirus isn’t going anywhere. We need to learn to minimize its impact. “A lot of people think of the pandemic as a hurricane: It has to be completely gone, blue skies,” said Amesh Adalja, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “That’s not the case. This is not […]
Sep 22, 2022
Updated COVID booster tied to strong Omicron immune response
CIDRAP – The new bivalent (two-strain) Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster triggered stronger neutralizing antibody responses against the highly transmissible Omicron variant at 28 days than the previously authorized booster, with no safety concerns, according to the interim results of a phase 2/3 open-label, nonrandomized study published late last week in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Sep 22, 2022
When should I get the omicron booster?
Washington Post – The broad protection from these updated shots — called bivalent boosters — could prevent more than 100,000 hospitalizations in the coming months, according to one estimate. But many people still have questions about who should get the new booster, the best timing for the shot and if it would be better to delay […]
Sep 22, 2022