Get the shot now, with the latest COVID outbreak sweeping the country, or hold it in reserve for the winter wave?
It's a COVID shot quandary: Get the new one now or wait until closer to the holidays and the inevitable winter wave? Here are some things to consider.
While the newly formulated vaccines are better targeted at the circulating COVID variants, uninsured and underinsured Americans may have to rush if they hope to get one for free. A CDC program that provided boosters to 1.5 million people over the last year ran out of money and is ending Aug. 31.
Nassau county banned masks, now disabled people are suing
In New York's Nassau County, you need a cop's permission to mask up.
“This mask ban poses a direct threat to public health and discriminates against people with disabilities,” said Timothy A. Clune, the group’s executive director, in a press release.
New Covid Vaccines Are Coming. Here’s What to Know.
The F.D.A. approved one vaccine from Pfizer and one from Moderna. Representatives from the drug companies said that their shots were ready to ship immediately after approval.
Both vaccines target KP.2, a strain of the coronavirus that started to spread widely this spring. The variants that are most prevalent in the United States right now are very similar to KP.2, and so the vaccines should protect against them.
The biotechnology company Novavax is waiting for the F.D.A. to authorize its retooled vaccine, which will target JN.1, a variant that is also close to the strains circulating widely now.
University of Houston researchers make nasal vaccine that prevents COVID from spreading
Through two nasal sprays — an immune activating therapeutic treatment and a new vaccine — the team of UH researchers have not only broken ground on vaccinating against SARS-CoV-2 and the flu virus, but also on creating a universal coronavirus vaccine.
COVID-19 making worrying comeback WHO warns
COVID-19 infections are surging worldwide - including at the Olympics - and are unlikely to decline anytime soon, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
Data from our sentinel-based surveillance system across 84 countries reports that the percent of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been rising over several weeks,” she said. “Overall, test positivity is above 10 per cent, but this fluctuates per region. In Europe, percent positivity is above 20 per cent,” she added.
What’s different about this summer’s FLiRT COVID wave
COVID could be a staple of summer, experts say
COVID is the “two-humped camel.” Indeed, this isn’t the first time COVID has made a splash in summer. August 2021 marked the COVID comeback, as did a surge in summer 2022 and then there was 2023’s “hot COVID summer.”
Mask Bans Insult Disabled People, Endanger Our Health, and Threaten Our Ability to Protest
Mask bans in cities like LA and New York are a dangerous prospect, putting people’s health at risk and allowing cities to identify protesters who wish to remain anonymous.
In my opinion, the ableist, fascistic, and eugenic nature of proposed mask bans under consideration in New York City and Los Angeles is bleak. But what is happening now is not new or surprising; the hate is more explicit, that’s all.
COVID-19 is on the rise with wide-ranging symptoms
Interview: Epidemiologist Stephanie Silvera, Montclair State University
new variants of the coronavirus — called FLIRT variants — have found a way to evade immunity, affecting even people who have previously had COVID-19. And symptoms can be hard to spot
‘Playing COVID roulette’: Some infected by FLiRT variants report their most unpleasant symptoms yet
COVID cases and hospitalizations rise in L.A. County — and some of those recently reinfected with the FLiRT variants are finding the latest bout the worst yet.
“The dogma is that every time you get COVID, it’s milder. But I think we need to keep our minds open to the possibility that some people have worse symptoms,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert. [...]
anecdotally, including on social media sites, people are expressing shock at how sick they’ve become from the latest subvariants, which have been collectively nicknamed FLiRT.
NYC COVID cases up 250% in 2 months — and this variant's harder to duck
The increases is driven by the new FLiRT variant.
New York City data shows an average of 687 cases of COVID reported per day during the week ending on June 22, 250% higher than the amount reported two months prior. That same week, there was an average of 53 COVID-related hospitalizations each day
CDC finds that COVID-19 can surge throughout the year
COVID-19 peaks in the winter, like many other respiratory virus illnesses, but can also surge at oth
Many respiratory virus illnesses peak during the winter due to environmental conditions and human behaviors. COVID-19 has peaks in the winter and also at other times of the year, including the summer, driven by new variants and decreasing immunity from previous infections and vaccinations. You can protect yourself from serious illness by staying up to date with vaccinations, getting treated if you have medical conditions that make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, and using other strategies outlined in CDC's respiratory virus guidance.
A covid summer uptick is underway as FLiRT and LB.1 variants ascend
Covid infections are growing in nearly all states -- with the sharpest increases in the West, according to CDC data. The FLiRT and LB.1 variants are most common.
“We have consistently seen over the past three years that there is a winter surge and there is also a summer surge,” Marlene Wolfe, program director for WastewaterSCAN, a private initiative that tracks municipal wastewater data, and an assistant professor of environmental health at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. “Right now we are waiting to see whether we actually will see a downturn over the next couple of weeks and we’ve hit the peak here, or whether those levels will actually go up.”
Mask bans continue to spread but their impact on the health of the community is under-reported, even by leftist publications
Eugenics has been successfully mainstreamed by libertarian think tanks, yet many popular left-wing journalists look on indifferently.
Study finds all N95 masks effective for reducing an ill person's danger to others, especially duckbill masks
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(24)00192-0/fulltext
"All masks and respirators significantly reduced exhaled viral load, without fit tests or training. A duckbill N95 reduced exhaled viral load by 98% (95% CI: 97%–99%), and significantly outperformed a KN95 (p < 0.001) as well as cloth and surgical masks. Cloth masks outperformed a surgical mask (p = 0.027) and the tested KN95 (p = 0.014)."
During COVID the Pentagon ran a secret anti-vax campaign
The covert effort began under Trump and continued into Biden’s presidency, Reuters found. Health experts say it endangered lives for possible geopolitical gain.
During the peak of the pandemic the Pentagon ran anti-vax propaganda targeting the Philippines in order to undermine China. However, because the internet is global, it spread.
FLiRT and LB.1 Subvariants are responsible for thousands of deaths, with 44,000 in less than a year
Across California, COVID in wastewater has entered the high level, the first time since February.
COVID lulls aren't being earned by policy; they're being bought with infections and deaths
Celebrating a COVID lull years into the Biden Administration's utter abandonment is woefully out of touch with the science
Cases are low right now for one simple reason: most people have recently had COVID. If not during the massive winter JN.1 surge, which infected an estimated 100 million people, then in the previous variant-soup wave of late summer 2023. COVID infections confer a temporary immunity, meaning that after a big surge- when tens of millions of people are infected in a matter of months- the public has a transient “wall” of immunity that lowers transmission in the short-term. Celebrating lulls that were “bought” with a surge is celebrating the successful mass infection of the public, thousands of new Long COVID cases, overall worsened health of the public, and tens of thousands of dead people. That’s the cost of every lull that wasn’t earned with policy. [...]
75,603 deaths in one year makes COVID the infectious disease killing the most people in the US by far, and likely to remain so. [...]
There are a bunch of modern tools that could easily and quickly reduce infectious disease burden in the US, of both COVID and other airborne viruses (which, it turns out, is many of them). We could upgrade indoor ventilation and filtration standards, introduce Far UVC, provide guaranteed paid sick leave, adopt a new OSHA standard that penalizes employers for failing to mitigate airborne disease in indoor spaces, educate the public about which masks prevent airborne transmission most effectively, provide those masks and tests for free, stop stigmatizing masking and framing it as weird or crazy, help people understand why boosters are critical, stop privatizing tools like the vaccines and tests, push for higher durability vaccines and more accurate RATs, the list goes on.
Instead, we’re doing just one thing: telling people to get vaccinated, with a poor success rate.
Scientists theorize uptick in aggressive cancers may be tied to COVID
It’s not a new idea that viruses can cause or accelerate cancer. But it will probably be years before answers emerge about covid and cancer.
“We are completely under-investigating this virus,” said Douglas C. Wallace, a University of Pennsylvania geneticist and evolutionary biologist. “The effects of repeatedly getting this throughout our lives is going to be much more significant than people are thinking.”
As COVID precautions vanish, people with disabilities struggle with safety and isolation
The pace of COVID fatalities in the U.S. has slowed significantly, with the nation’s death toll standing at more than 1 million people. With precautions like mandatory masking no longer in place, it can seem as if worries about the virus are gone as well. But for many people with disabilities, the threat is still very real. We hear from people in the disability community about their concerns.
Up to 5.8 million kids have long COVID, study says
Amanda Goodhart says her 6-year old son Logan caught COVID multiple times. But even months later, his symptoms didn't get better.
The research also shows long COVID can raise the chances of a child developing type 1 diabetes. And it can even be deadly, leading to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes the syndrome as a "rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19 in which different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs."
Alarming rise in Americans with long Covid symptoms
CDC data shows nearly 18m people could be living with long Covid even as health agency relaxes isolation recommendations
Some 6.8% of American adults are currently experiencing long Covid symptoms, according to a new survey from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), revealing an “alarming” increase in recent months even as the health agency relaxes Covid isolation recommendations, experts say.
That means an estimated 17.6 million Americans could now be living with long Covid.
Research shows that even mild COVID-19 can lead to the equivalent of seven years of brain aging
Two new high-profile studies add to the increasingly worrisome picture of how even mild cases of COVID-19 can have detrimental effects on brain health.
there is now abundant evidence that being infected with SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – can affect brain health in many ways.
In addition to brain fog, COVID-19 can lead to an array of problems, including headaches, seizure disorders, strokes, sleep problems, and tingling and paralysis of the nerves, as well as several mental health disorders.
"We’re still in a pandemic," says a lead COVID official with the World Health Organization
“We’re still in a pandemic,” says a lead COVID official with the World Health Organization
The virus is rampant. We’re still in a pandemic. There’s a lot of complacency at the individual level, and more concerning to me is that at the government level.
Lack of access to lifesaving tools such as diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines is still a problem. Demand for vaccination is very low around the world. The misinformation and disinformation that’s out there is hampering the ability to mount an effective response. So we feel there’s a lot more work to do, in the context of everything else—[we no longer have a] COVID lens only, of course, but using masks for respiratory pathogens that transmit through the air is a no-brainer—plus vaccination, plus distancing, plus improving ventilation.
Senate hearing highlights Long Covid crisis — but not Covid-19 prevention — while advocacy groups bring their demands to DC
On January 18, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) convened a hearing about Long Covid, discussing research priorities and healthcare challenges for the disease. Senators heard from people with Long Covid and scientists studying it in front of a packed room full of Long Covid advocates and allies, along with thousands watching online.
While advocates and scientists agreed the hearing was a milestone in the government’s response to this crisis, they also called out ways in which the event emulated challenges that people with Long Covid face: navigating spaces without precautions against SARS-CoV-2 infection, a lack of accessibility for people with severe symptoms, and insufficient support for accessing healthcare or other facets of daily life.
As cases continue to rise and more variants arrive on the scene, infectious-disease experts are warning that repeat infections could have cumulative, lasting effects.
Common as they are, reinfections may have lasting impacts.
Regardless of a person's health status, each COVID-19 infection can raise the risk of developing blood clots, which can travel to the brain or lungs. That’s why Smith believes anyone who is eligible for antiviral drugs such as Paxlovid should take them, since controlling the virus as quickly as possible can reduce any potential long-term or lingering effects an infection can have on the body.
Hydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during Covid, according to a study by French researchers
Former US President Donald Trump said: ‘What do you have to lose? Take it.’
Researchers from universities in Lyon, France, and Québec, Canada, used that figure to analyze hospitalization data for Covid in each of the six countries, exposure to hydroxychloroquine and the increase in the relative risk of death linked to the drug.
How to Get the New COVID-19 Vaccine in New York City
The newest shot is not a booster, and it’s available at pharmacies at no cost. Here’s how to make your appointment for a jab.
How States Can Better Regulate Indoor Air Quality
We spend most of our lives indoors, so how can we ensure the air we breathe there is as safe as possible? A new model law could help.
COVID levels are so high, they’re hovering near 2020’s initial peak, as the WHO urges those at high risk to take any booster they can get their hands on
It’s yet another sign that while the official pandemic state may be over, the days of COVID are far from it.
Where Have All The Masks Gone?
Covid cases are rising. We know that there is aerosol transmission of the virus and masks prevent infection. Why is the CDC silent on this, pushing hand washing instead?
FDA could greenlight new Covid boosters as early as Friday
The Food and Drug Administration plans to greenlight updated versions of the Covid boosters, according to some familiar with the agency's plans. The cost of the shots will also no longer be covered by the federal government.
Don’t call it a booster: What NYC should know about COVID vaccines this year
If you’ve had COVID-19 before and didn’t feel too bad, that’s not necessarily what will happen the next time you get sick because of new variants.
The New COVID 'Eris' Variant and Rising Cases: What You Need to Know
A new COVID variant is spreading. Here's what you need to know about the incubation period, symptoms and when to take a test.
Schools grapple with COVID safety amid late summer surge
Some districts have reinstated limited masking and other precautions as COVID cases and hospitalizations rise.
COVID Continues to Surprise Us. Here’s How to Stay Safer
Boosters shots are critical, even for those who have tested positive.
Jill Biden positive for COVID, President Biden tests negative, White House says
U.S. first lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 just days before President Joe Biden, who tested negative for the virus, is due to travel to a Group of 20 summit in India, the White House said on Monday.
NIH trials fail to test meaningful long Covid treatments — after 2.5 years and $1 billion
The NIH says it’s used up most of its $1.15 billion of long Covid funding and more money is not forthcoming, per new budget details.
Millions of Americans have suffered symptoms ranging from debilitating fatigue to heart issues, some still sick after initial coronavirus infections in the pandemic’s first wave. Congress provided the NIH with $1.15 billion to help patients in December 2020 — and the agency has now spent most of that funding, according to a detailed new budget breakdown shared with MuckRock and STAT, with the majority going towards observational research rather than clinical trials.
Covid Long Haulers Spark Call for Increased Disability Funding
A new report calls for increased federal funding for rental assistance, nutrition programs and disability insurance.
Doctors who put lives at risk with covid misinformation rarely punished
Medical boards received more than 480 complaints related to covid misinformation. A Washington Post investigation found at least 20 doctors have been punished.
NYC Has Left People With Long COVID Behind
A New Yorker with long COVID confronts a life where public officials have all but abandoned her, doctors throw up their hands, and her friends and loved ones move on.
Column: U.S. government debunks COVID lab-leak conspiracy theory, enraging conspiracy theorists
A long-awaited government intelligence report suggests that COVID didn't come from a Chinese lab, but don't expect conspiracy-mongers to be satisfied.
Millions who had COVID still can’t smell or taste, new study reports: ‘Many people never fully recovered those senses’
Nearly 28 million Americans may still be coping with COVID-related loss of taste and/or smell, according to new research from the Harvard University-affiliated Mass General Brigham.
For covid long-haulers, the pandemic is far from over
The end of the coronavirus public health emergency has left long-covid patients fearful they will be forgotten.
Covid could do for ventilation what cholera did for cleaner water systems
Could better ventilation have prevented covid from becoming a pandemic that killed millions of people?
RFK Jr. says COVID may have been ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jews
Kennedy — a longtime aficionado of conspiracy theories — floated the idea during a question and answer portion of a raucous booze and fart filled dinner at Tony’s Di Napoli on the Upper East …
Opinion: California health care providers’ retreat from COVID masking is shameful
In what universe is it ethically appropriate for physicians and hospitals to infect their own patients with COVID?
Hospitals Intensify Efforts to Treat Long COVID in Kids and Teens
Doctors are struggling to meet the needs of young people suffering from a severe disease that many still question is real.
The NIH has poured $1 billion into long Covid research — with little to show for it
The federal government has burned through more than $1 billion to study long Covid, and there's basically nothing to show for it.
Diabetes risk rises after COVID, massive study finds
Even mild SARS-CoV-2 infections can amplify a person’s chance of developing diabetes, especially for those already susceptible to the disease.
You Have Long Covid and You Don’t Know What to Do, Let Me Help
I wish I could give you a checklist of things to do and treatments to try; unfortunately, Long Covid is so many things, and it manifests differently in everyone. What I can do is give you a list of more efficient ways to seek answers, and some ideas about how to manage while you look for them.
A recent useful resource for people who are suffering from long COVID.
Vaccination, Paxlovid decrease risk of long Covid, studies show
People who are vaccinated or who take Paxlovid during a Covid-19 infection have a lower risk of developing long Covid, new research shows.
How Covid can affect your heart and circulatory system
We explain how coronavirus progresses in the body, including how it can affect your heart and circulatory system.
Compared to uninfected people, this group was around 40% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and five times more likely to die during the 18 months afterwards. People who had experienced severe infection were at even higher risk.
Long COVID Comes Into the Light
The flood of patients never materialized. Why?
Long COVID Now Looks like a Neurological Disease, Helping Doctors to Focus Treatments
The causes of long COVID, which disables millions, may come together in the brain and nervous system
Millions of workers are still missing after COVID. Where did they go?
Economists are scratching their heads as to how big the gap actually is and where all these people went.
While many older workers initially left the pandemic workforce out of health concerns, others chose to hang their hats for good. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has cited research by the central bank’s economists that show “excess retirements” account for more than 2 million of the missing workers, but that hasn’t been updated per the Labor Department’s revision.
A higher-than-average number of deaths in recent years, mainly from COVID-19, accounts for around 400,000 of the labor-force shortfall, according to the Fed. The pandemic killed many more people — about 1.1 million — but the majority were older and more likely to be out of the workforce.
GOP Ex-Sen. Inhofe Retired Due To Long COVID After Opposing COVID Aid
The longtime senator from Oklahoma said complications from the virus contributed to his stepping aside.
Remote Work Is Costing Manhattan More Than $12 Billion a Year
That translates into big savings for individuals, who are spending nearly $5,000 a year less on meals, shopping and entertainment near work as schedules shift to a new norm.
Heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case
Massive study shows a long-term, substantial rise in risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Sick and Alone
Fighting the pandemic through individual choice meant not fighting the pandemic.
Why COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ Variant Is So Contagious
A new variant of the virus that causes COVID has mutations that make it more transmissible, but vaccines are still likely to protect against severe disease
New XBB.1.5 COVID subvariant spreads rapidly in Northeast, sparking concerns it evades vaccines
Three years into the pandemic and yet another new variant of the coronavirus has emerged. The omicron subvariant known as XBB.1.5 now accounts for more than 40% of new COVID infections in the U.S. and around 75% of cases in the Northeast. Dr. Jay Varma of the Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response joined William Brangham to discuss the concerns.
No, Vaccines Aren’t Making New Covid Variants Worse
The omicron sequel XBB.1.5 is driving a new wave of infections — and misinformation.
The Most Common Side Effects Of The New Bivalent COVID Booster
Here's what you can expect when you get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and how you can ease any symptoms.
The Year the Pandemic 'Ended' (Part 1)
The following piece presents an incomplete timeline of the sociological production of the end of the pandemic over the last year. In Part I, we look at the way elected officials and the press were …
COVID spreading faster than ever in China. 800 million could be infected this winter
Scientists predict China will see the largest COVID surge of the pandemic this winter, with hundreds of millions of people infected. But some experts say that it could have been even worse.
Meet a woman suffering from long COVID who quit her job, spent $11,000 on treatments, but still can't get disability insurance
Jenna Dreier is the breadwinner of her family, but had to stop working after long COVID symptoms kept her bed-bound for 20 hours a day.
Repeat COVID is riskier than first infection, study finds
The risk of death, hospitalization and serious health issues from COVID-19 jumps significantly with reinfection compared with a first bout with the virus, regardless of vaccination status, a study published on Thursday suggests.
Nirmatrelvir and the Risk of Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19
Long Covid – the disease encompassing the post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) —affects millions of people around the world. Prevention of PASC is an urgent public health priority. In this work, we aimed to examine whether treatment with nirmatrelvir in the acute phase of COVID-19 is associated with reduced risk of post-acute sequelae. We used the healthcare databases of the US Department of Veterans Affairs to identify users of the health system who had a SARS-CoV-2 positive test between March 01, 2022 and June 30, 2022, were not hospitalized on the day of the positive test, had at least 1 risk factor for progression to severe COVID-19 illness and survived the first 30 days after SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. We identify those who were treated with oral nirmatrelvir within 5 days after the positive test (n=9217) and those who received no COVID-19 antiviral or antibody treatment during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection (control group, n= 47,123). Inverse probability weighted survival models were used to estimate the effect of nirmatrelvir (versus control) on a prespecified panel of 12 post-acute COVID-19 outcomes and reported as hazard ratio (HR) and absolute risk reduction (ARR) in percentage at 90 days. Compared to the control group, treatment with nirmatrelvir was associated with reduced risk of PASC (HR 0.74 95% CI (0.69, 0.81), ARR 2.32 (1.73, 2.91)) including reduced risk of 10 of 12 post-acute sequelae in the cardiovascular system (dysrhythmia and ischemic heart disease), coagulation and hematologic disorders (deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism), fatigue, liver disease, acute kidney disease, muscle pain, neurocognitive impairment, and shortness of breath. Nirmatrelvir was also associated with reduced risk of post-acute death (HR 0.52 (0.35, 0.77), ARR 0.28 (0.14, 0.41)), and post-acute hospitalization (HR 0.70 (0.61, 0.80), ARR 1.09 (0.72, 1.46)). Nirmatrelvir was associated with reduced risk of PASC in people who were unvaccinated, vaccinated, and boosted, and in people with primary SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection. In sum, our results show that in people with SARS-CoV-2 infection who had at least 1 risk factor for progression to severe COVID-19 illness, treatment with nirmatrelvir within 5 days of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test was associated with reduced risk of PASC regardless of vaccination status and history of prior infection. The totality of findings suggests that treatment with nirmatrelvir during the acute phase of COVID-19 reduces the risk of post-acute adverse health outcomes.### Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.### Funding StatementThis research was funded by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.### Author DeclarationsI confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.YesThe details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:The Institutional Review Board of the VA Saint Louis Health Care System gave approval of this study.I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.YesI understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).YesI have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable.YesData is available from the US Department of Veterans Affairs
Biden officials worry pandemic exhaustion could lead to bad covid winter
Their focus is on getting reformulated coronavirus vaccine booster shots to seniors and the immunocompromised to avert thousands of preventable deaths.
Biden officials worry pandemic exhaustion could lead to bad covid winter
Their focus is on getting reformulated coronavirus vaccine booster shots to seniors and the immunocompromised to avert thousands of preventable deaths.
People who caught mild Covid had increased risk of blood clots, British study finds
Patients with mild Covid, defined as those not hospitalized, were 2.7 times more likely to develop blood clots, according to the U.K. journal study.
It’s a Bad Time to Be a Booster Slacker
Americans aren’t getting the new bivalent COVID shot. What does that mean for the looming winter wave?
American test scores prompt ‘a moment of truth’ for schools
The “Nation’s Report Card” reveals steep declines in math and reading scores among U.S. fourth- and eighth-graders.
A mild COVID infection changed my life. Why aren't we warning others?
Most Americans know little to nothing about long COVID. Here's one man's experience with the condition.
New York’s struggle with the new Omicron variant BQ is trying to tell us something
What happens in New York doesn’t stay in New York—not during a pandemic, anyway.
If you had COVID, several of your organs could be aging 3-4 years faster: Study
"You can start thinking about getting COVID as almost as an accelerant to aging," Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly said.
Long COVID Experts: ‘So Incredibly Clear What’s at Stake’
COVID-19 is a new type of coronavirus that causes mild to severe cases. Here’s a quick guide on how to spot symptoms, risk factors, prevent spread of the disease, and find out what to do if you think you have it.
What is XBB? The new ‘immune-evasive’ COVID strain that combines Omicron variants is driving cases in two countries
The XBB COVID subvariant combines Omicron strains and is driving cases in Singapore and Bangladesh.
COVID increases risk of 44 different neuro disorders, including Alzheimer's, 1 year post-infection
The lead author of a new study on the neurological impact of COVID-19 infection says that the disease "is not as benign" as people may think.
How much of right-wing opposition to vaccination was Fox News’s fault?
New research shows lower vaccine uptake among Fox News viewers.
How much of right-wing opposition to vaccination was Fox News’s fault?
New research shows lower vaccine uptake among Fox News viewers.
Generation COVID: Record Numbers of Youth Opt Out of College, Work
Teens coming of age in the pandemic era are shunning college in record numbers. Many aren't working, either. The future looks rough.
What Long COVID Is Like For These 14 People
Find out how 14 people described their experience with long COVID, and the challenges it's presented them with.
Hundreds of Americans Will Die From COVID Today
It may take years to understand the full impact of the pandemic and its aftermath on Black people in the US.
Hundreds of Americans Will Die From COVID Today
Is this what normal now looks like?
The Long Haul
Inside Igor Koralnik’s efforts to solve the mystery of COVID’s most puzzling complication.
If you already had Omicron, do you still need the new COVID vaccine booster?
If you already had Omicron, do you still need the new COVID vaccine booster? Here's what the experts say.
New study offers clues as to how long COVID affects the heart
Researchers at Houston Methodist looked into why some long COVID patients are still suffering from chest pain and shortness of breath.
Blood abnormalities found in people with Long Covid
Study implicates lack of key hormone, battle-weary immune cells, and reawakened viruses
Millions of Americans have long COVID. Many of them are no longer working
An estimated 4 million workers in the U.S. are struggling to work due to debilitating symptoms from long COVID. The government is urging employers to provide accommodations to keep them on the job.
Remembering the New Yorkers We’ve Lost to COVID‑19
Read the stories of those who died from the coronavirus — and help THE CITY tell the stories of thousands more.
Biden tests positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he’s tested positive for Covid-19 but will continue to work while in isolation at the White House despite his mild symptoms.
NYC recommends masking indoors again with COVID cases rising
COVID-19 cases are rising in New York City and city leaders are taking notice. The city’s Department of Health tweeted Friday asking New Yorkers to mask up indoors and outside in crowded areas.
Data from the governor’s office shows New York City’s seven-day positivity rate at over 9%, the second highest region in the state.
COVID-19 cases led DOH to recommend New Yorkers wear masks.
Covid was vanishing last Memorial Day. Cases are five times higher now.
The United States is recording more than 100,000 infections a day — at least five times higher than this point last year — as it confronts the most transmissible versions of the virus yet. Immunity built up as a result of the record winter outbreak appears to provide little protection against the latest variants, new research shows. And public health authorities are bracing for Memorial Day gatherings to fuel another bump in cases, potentially seeding a summer surge.
Covid-weary Americans enter summer with little effort to contain a still-raging pandemic.
Pfizer covid shot 80 percent effective in younger kids, early data shows
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech said their three-dose coronavirus vaccine regimen was safe and generated a robust immune response in infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
The data is a step toward a vaccine for infants, toddlers and children younger than 5 — the last age group to lack access to a coronavirus vaccine in the United States.
A new Omicron variant, BA.2.12.1, has taken over in Massachusetts. Here’s what you need to know.
Read the article
BA.2.12.1, first identified in New York, now accounts for 70 percent of new cases in Massachusetts, according to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
The virus that causes COVID-19 didn’t change much in the early days of the pandemic. Then the number of mutations started increasing, and scientists began using an alphabet soup of letters and numbers to distinguish them.
Even mild Covid is linked to brain damage, scans show
The United States is entering a new normal. Now many Americans are not only living with the effects of long haul covid, but are struggling to qualify for long-term disability.
How The Koch Network Hijacked The War On COVID
As Omicron surges, a shadowy institute filled with fringe doctors appears to be part of big business’ two-year strategy to legitimize attacks on pandemic interventions.
This tech millionaire went from covid trial funder to misinformation superspreader
After boosting unproven covid drugs and campaigning against vaccines, Steve Kirsch was abandoned by his team of scientific advisers—and left out of a job.
Trump’s COVID Advisers Are at Their Breaking Point
With the president infected, the group responsible for combating the virus remains a mess. At the center of the drama is one man: Dr. Scott Atlas.
Koreans Believed America Was Exceptional. Then Covid Happened.
With American Covid-19 deaths sprawling and Trump raging against the election result, South Koreans' respect for American leadership is plummeting.
Food Banks Struggle To Meet Demand During Covid Thanksgiving
The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has seen a 145% increase in the amount of food they give out compared to before the the pandemic.
The kids aren’t alright: How Generation Covid is losing out
A global FT survey shows resentment is brewing among the under-30s as unemployment and restrictions bite
New York Needs Money for Vaccine Distribution, Cuomo Says
Cuomo has criticized the vaccine distribution plan.
Covid-19 Is Resurging, and This Time It’s Everywhere
The pervasive spread in smaller communities has fueled a nationwide case record, though mortality rates are lower than in the spring.
Wrong Masks and ‘Missing’ Ventilators: NYC’s Billion-Dollar COVID Gear Bungle
At the height of the pandemic, the city issued $1.4 billion in emergency, no-bid contracts for crucial medical equipment — and got the wrong masks and lost track of deliveries, records show. “Stop this s—t!” one bureaucrat cried during an online meeting.
We Finally Have a COVID Strategy
The Biden-Harris plan is vastly better than Trump’s “you’re on your own” approach—but it’s not perfect
Different Experiences with the Data: DC's COVID Math
I thought learning about DC’s Covid-19 response would help me regain the sense of control I lost in March. I’d been inside for three months, court closures had made my day job as a paralegal largely…
White House looks at cutting Covid funds, newborn screenings in ‘anarchist’ cities
Documents show funding for a host of health programs is at risk under the president’s order targeting liberal strongholds.
In these rural parts of the country, medical resources to battle COVID-19 are limited
COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are soaring in areas that have previously been relatively unaffected -- including rural, less populated states in the West and Midwest. Dr. Bridget Brennan, chief medical officer of Benefis Health System in...
Baltimore Museum of Art uses COVID as cover to sell a Warhol - Los Angeles Times
A fiscally robust museum plans to fund operations by selling $73 million of its art. The scope of the move threatens to accelerate a troubling trend.
Covid-19: The global crisis — in data
Charts and maps show paradoxes of a pandemic that has claimed a million lives
A Rising Orthodox Populist Is Leading A Violent Campaign Of COVID Denial In Borough Park
Violence and rage erupted in Borough Park for the second straight night on Wednesday, as police fell back.
The Lancet’s Cutting Edge
Should medical journals enter the political realm?
Covid: how Excel may have caused loss of 16,000 test results in England
Public Health England data error blamed on limitations of Microsoft spreadsheet
A Notorious COVID Troll Actually Works for Dr. Fauci’s Agency
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Trump Lied About COVID to Protect the Markets, Not Human Beings
Here's whom Trump didn't want to panic.
Mask Up and Shut Up
COVID-19 transmission would go down if we spoke less, or less loudly, in public spaces. Why aren’t more people saying so?
Millennials Slammed by Second Financial Crisis Fall Even Further Behind
The economic fallout of the Covid pandemic has been harder on millennials, who are already indebted and a step behind on the career ladder from the last financial crisis. This second pummeling could keep them from accruing the wealth of older generations.
After hundreds of covid-19 deaths in state-run veterans homes, lawmakers press VA to adhere to science
At the Southeastern Veterans Center in Pennsylvania, some residents were given a “covid cocktail” including an unproven drug, hydroxychloroquine, without being tested for covid-19. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) has sent a letter to the Veterans Health Administration, demanding more information about the use of anti-malarial drugs including hydroxychloroquine at veterans homes and whether the VA was actively involved in the unproven treatment.
US workers file over 1 million jobless claims for 20th straight week
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits topped 1 million for the twentieth straight week — bringing the total number of initial jobless claims filed during the coronavirus …
The $1.9 Million Covid Patient
The most perplexing cases include those stuck in limbo for weeks, neither improving nor worsening, straining hospital systems and racking up huge bills. “Can this be happening to my family?”
Sweden hoped herd immunity would curb COVID-19. Don't do what we did. It's not working.
Sweden's approach to COVID has led to death, grief and suffering. The only example we're setting is how not to deal with a deadly infectious disease.
How Many Sick Children and Teachers Are Worth It? What About Dead Ones?
The Trump administration is leaving parents and school districts with an impossible decision this fall.
Team Trump Says It Was a COVID Testing ‘Joke.’ His Own Health Officials Aren’t Laughing.
Under the unshielded rage of God’s angriest sun
Team Trump Says It Was a COVID Testing ‘Joke.’ His Own Health Officials Aren’t Laughing.
The president said he wanted to slow down coronavirus testing. White House aides say it was for laughs. Others find it not funny at all.
A looming deadline for tens of millions of Americans
The GOP battles over a trillion-dollar stimulus deal. Ahead of the November election, President Trump guts a landmark environmental law. And, how to avoid a devastating potential kink in the vaccine supply chain.
We are finally starting to understand brain fog and how to treat it
Brain fog – which encompasses memory problems, lack of mental clarity and an inability to focus – had eluded scientific scrutiny until covid-19 thrust it into the spotlight. Now, we're starting to learn more about what exactly it is and how we can beat it
Three Reasons Stocks Are Rising
In the time that U.S. deaths have increased from 100 to more than 100,000, the S&P 500 has gone up 20 percent.
COVID-19 Can Last For Several Months
The disease’s “long-haulers” have endured relentless waves of debilitating symptoms—and disbelief from doctors and friends.
Surgisphere: governments and WHO changed Covid-19 policy based on suspect data from tiny US company
Surgisphere, whose employees appear to include a sci-fi writer and adult content model, provided database behind Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine hydroxychloroquine studies
The Lancet’s Cutting Edge
Malaria drug taken by Trump could raise risk of death and heart problems, study shows
Antibody tests support what’s been obvious: Covid-19 is much more lethal than the flu.
New data suggest coronavirus infections greatly outnumber confirmed cases — potentially by a factor of 10 or more.
The Real Reason to Wear a Mask
Much of the confusion around masks stems from the conflation of two very different uses.
Will Google’s and Apple’s COVID Tracking Plan Protect Privacy?
The proposed system is anonymous but vulnerable to trolls and spoofing
First Rikers Virus-Positive Fatality Was Jailed on Technicality
Michael Tyson, who died Sunday, was awaiting a hearing on parole violation. Inmate advocates said he shouldn’t have been behind bars.
Is ‘Viral Load’ Why Some People Get a Mild Case of COVID-19?
A medical biologist on why the coronavirus might leave some hospitalized and others unaffected.
Colleges Become Reservoirs of Covid Ready to Spill Over
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Hong Kong takes emergency measures as mystery ‘pneumonia’ infects dozens in China’s Wuhan city
Most cases have originated from a single seafood market and health workers are still trying to identify virus responsible.
Chinese officials investigate cause of pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan
Chinese health authorities said they are investigating 27 cases of viral pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan, after rumors on social media suggested the outbreak could be linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).