Wash Your Hands to Stay Healthy During COVID-19
Handwashing is one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19 and the flu. CDC’s Dr. Schuchat discusses the importance of keeping hands clean to stay healthy and key times to wash during the pandemic.
Targeted lockdowns are the new way to control the coronavirus
Precision shutdowns can slow emerging outbreaks while lessening the overall economic impact of the response. But they risk a backlash from those who are targeted, and may not be strong enough to keep a highly contagious virus under control. Several countries have used area-level lockdowns. In the U.S., New YorkContinue Reading
Remdesivir and interferon fall flat in WHO’s megastudy of COVID-19 treatments
One of the world’s biggest trials of COVID-19 therapies released its long-awaited interim results yesterday—and they’re a letdown. None of the four treatments in the Solidarity trial, which enrolled more than 11,000 patients in 400 hospitals around the globe, increased survival—not even the much-touted antiviral drug remdesivir. The results, announcedContinue Reading
Study: Anti-virus face shields allow almost all minute droplets to leak
Researchers have bad news for people who wear face shields to prevent novel coronavirus infections: The equipment is woefully inadequate in containing droplets that can spread the virus. According to the results released in August, the face shield allowed nearly 100 percent of aerosol particles, which measure 5 micrometers orContinue Reading
Healthy young people might not be able to get the coronavirus vaccine until 2022, WHO says
Healthy young people might not get the coronavirus vaccine until 2022 as public health officials focus on immunizing the elderly and other vulnerable groups first, top officials from the World Health Organization said Wednesday. Researchers have been warning that production constraints and hoarding could limit SARS-CoV-2 vaccine supplies. This warningContinue Reading
The hidden long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19
Harvard Health reports on new research that is suggesting that there may be long-term neurologic consequences in those who survive COVID infections, including more than seven million Americans and another 27 million people worldwide. Particularly troubling is increasing evidence that there may be mild — but very real — brainContinue Reading
Eli Lilly Covid-19 Antibody Treatment Trial Is Paused Due To ‘Potential Safety Concern’
Eli Lilly on Tuesday confirmed to the New York Times that a clinical trial for its antibody treatment for Covid-19 has been paused because of a “potential safety concern,” just one day after Johnson & Johnson halted its Covid-19 vaccine trial because a participant got sick. An independent data safetyContinue Reading
COVID Misinformation Is Killing People
Scientific American writes about what can be done to counter the problem of COVID-19 misinformation. In the United States, misinformation spread by elements of the media, by public leaders and by individuals with large social media platforms has contributed to a disproportionately large share of COVID-19 burden: we house 4Continue Reading
Clear Evidence COVID-19 Mask Mandates Significantly Reduce Spread of Virus
SciTechDaily reports on a new study by Canddian researchers that has found clear evidence that wearing a mask can have a significant impact on the spread of COVID-19. The researchers, from SFU’s Department of Economics, have determined that mask mandates are associated with a 25 percent or larger weekly reductionContinue Reading
Brazil’s coronavirus death toll passes 150,000
Brazil has the second-highest coronavirus death toll in the world, after the US, and the third-highest number of cases after the US and India. The country also passed five million total infections earlier this week. There have been recent signs of relief in Brazil. Over the last month and aContinue Reading
