Apr 26 Could enhanced COVID tests help U.S. track virus variants? By Marion Renault, STAT Genomic sequencing is the gold standard of virus surveillance. But souped-up diagnostic tests could help us monitor variants in real time. Continue reading
Apr 25 Watch 4:31 Chemicals in plastic, electronics are lowering fertility in men and women By PBS NewsHour Several chemicals found in everyday use products including plastic and electronics are lowering fertility in men, women and even some non-human species. Shanna Swan, a leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist who has authored the book “Count Down” on the subject,… Continue watching
Apr 25 Virus ‘swallowing’ people in India; crematoriums overwhelmed By Sheikh Saaliq, Aijaz Hussain, Associated Press The stories are told on social media and in television footage, showing desperate relatives pleading for oxygen outside hospitals or weeping in the street for loved ones who died waiting for treatment. Continue reading
Apr 24 Watch 4:21 Overcrowded hospitals, oxygen shortage: India’s COVID-19 tally breaks records By PBS NewsHour India’s health system is collapsing amid a tsunami of COVID-19 cases—the highest in the world. As patients struggle to find hospital beds, doctors are sounding the alarm on dwindling medical supplies, including oxygen, on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Modi govt., which… Continue watching
Apr 24 With OK from experts, some states resume use of J&J vaccine By David Crary, Associated Press With a green light from federal health officials, several states resumed use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Saturday. Among the venues where it was being deployed: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Continue reading
Apr 23 U.S. to resume Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccinations despite rare clot risk By Lauran Neergaard, Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday the benefits of the single-dose COVID-19 shot outweigh a rare risk of blood clots. Continue reading
Apr 23 Watch 10:46 Fauci on brief J&J pause, ‘breakthrough’ infections, and sharing vaccines with the world Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Adviser to President Joe Biden, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the effect of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause on U.S. inoculation numbers,… Continue watching
Apr 23 Venezuela’s Maduro begins allowing aid against hunger, virus By Regina Garcia Cano, Jorge Rueda, Associated Press Maduro for years had rejected numerous humanitarian aid offers as unnecessary and as veiled attempts by the United States and other hostile forces to destabilize his socialist government. That stance appears to have wavered amid continuing hardships. Continue reading
Apr 23 Michigan’s outbreak worries scientists. Will conservative outposts keep pandemic rolling? By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Will pockets of COVID denialism and vaccine resistance like that in Hillsdale serve as reservoirs for a wily virus, which will resurface to cause outbreaks in nearby cities and states?… Continue reading
Apr 23 FDA says N95 face masks should no longer be reused By Martha Mendoza, Juliet Linderman, Associated Press Now U.S. manufacturers say they have vast surpluses for sale, and hospitals say they have three to 12 month stockpiles. Continue reading