Category: COVID
In depth analysis explains why preschoolers are less likely to develop severe COVID-19
Medical Express Five years ago, at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, a phenomenon became abundantly clear: Preschool-age children rarely developed severe cases of COVID-19. It wasn’t that children under the age of 5 were avoiding infection. To the contrary, they were coming down with COVID like everyone else. In the United States, the Centers […]
Oct 15, 2024
What causes long COVID? For nearly half of cases, new research suggests an answer.
Boston Globe A study from researchers at Mass General Brigham may pave the way for effective treatments. Scientists and doctors have suspected for years that one cause of the mysterious condition known as long COVID may be reservoirs of the virus that remain hidden in the bodies of its victims long after their acute infections […]
Oct 15, 2024
FDA authorizes 1st over-the-counter combo flu and COVID test outside of emergency use
ABC News The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first over-the-counter combination COVID-19 and flu test outside of emergency use on Monday evening. This means the Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test is available without a prescription. The FDA said the test is for those who are experiencing respiratory symptoms. While there are other over-the-counter combination tests […]
Oct 8, 2024
How long does COVID live on surfaces? Experts answer your coronavirus FAQs
USA Today Around the globe, a new strain of COVID-19 is spreading exponentially. The COVID-19 XEC variant is derived from Omicron strains KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, says Dr. Francesca Torriani, MD, an infectious disease specialist with UC San Diego Health. XEC was first detected in Europe earlier this year, and it’s now reached the US. “We expect this could become the […]
Oct 8, 2024
3 Things to Know About XEC, the Latest COVID Strain
Yale Medicine Experts think this new, highly transmissible variant could soon take hold in the U.S. A new highly transmissible coronavirus subvariant is starting to spread in the United States. Experts say it could become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain just in time for winter, when COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations tend to peak. The variant is called XEC. […]
Oct 2, 2024
When Nerve Pain and Numbness Are Linked to Long COVID
Yale Medicine Our nerves help us sense, react to, and change our surroundings. Simply put, our nerves are our connection to the world. This connection is disrupted, however, when peripheral neuropathy strikes. The peripheral nervous system starts when nerves leave the spinal cord and ends when the nerves reach our tissues. Peripheral neuropathy, defined as […]
Oct 2, 2024
COVID cases are on a downward trend. How long will this last?
USA Today COVID-19 cases continue to fall throughout the country after a large summer wave peaked in early August, surveillance data shows. The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests dropped from 17.8% the week of Aug. 10 to 14.9% the week of Sept. 7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Walgreens’s national respiratory disease tracker showed […]
Sep 25, 2024
Remdesivir-Dexamethasone Tied to Fewer Deaths in Severe COVID
MedPage Treatment with the antiviral remdesivir (Veklury) plus dexamethasone was linked to fewer deaths among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 compared with dexamethasone monotherapy, a retrospective study suggested. Using propensity score matching, the drug duo was associated with an overall 26% reduction in mortality at 14 days (adjusted HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.69-0.78, P<0.0001) and an overall […]
Sep 24, 2024
New XEC Covid variant starting to spread
BBC People have started catching a new Covid variant that could soon take off and become the dominant type, according to scientists. Identified in Germany, in June, cases of the XEC variant have since emerged in the UK, US, Denmark and several other countries, say users on X, formerly known as Twitter. It has some new mutations […]
Sep 17, 2024
COVID more severe, longer-lasting than other respiratory diseases
CIDRAP Healthcare workers (HCWs) with COVID-19 had more severe symptoms that lasted longer than those with other respiratory diseases, and a higher proportion met the World Health Organization (WHO) or UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) definitions of long COVID, according to a report published in Viruses and Viral Diseases. A team led by Murdoch Children’s Research […]
Sep 11, 2024