Author: Claudinne Miller
Precision Vaccinations The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently confirmed sporadic human cases of avian influenza A (H9N2) have been observed in 2023, mainly in young children. As of June 12, 2023, one new human infection with H9N2 was reported in Sichuan province, China. And since 1998, a total of 125 laboratory-confirmed cases, […]
Jun 20, 2023
Unprecedented Avian Flu Outbreak Continues
Science Friday Podcast, link to audio file at the link above. Avian influenza has been circulating for decades among wild birds, but the US is now experiencing the worst outbreak in its history. That’s because of a specific strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has left around 60 millions birds—mostly poultry—dead. This has implications for […]
Jun 20, 2023
AI is already tracking the next pandemic
Harvard Public Health The technology was in development long before COVID-19, but the pandemic spurred a surge of interest. or a motley collection of artificial intelligence researchers and startups, the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is just the beginning. The pandemic provided would-be entrepreneurs an opportunity to prove that artificial intelligence technology can help flag emerging illnesses […]
Jun 20, 2023
Researchers Are Working on At-Home Tests for Lyme Disease
Time If there has been one silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been the rise of rapid self-tests, which provide results at home in minutes. Researchers are hard at work at developing similar tests for other diseases—including Lyme. Lyme disease is transmitted by the black-legged (or deer) tick and infects about 476,000 Americans each year. The faster […]
Jun 20, 2023
Cleveland.com Scientists are now sharing a first look at the data they had collected from adults with long COVID-19 and they found some interesting patterns. Among them, thirst is a common complaint among long haulers. The national study followed nearly 10,000 patients for six months. It included those who had received a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis within 30 […]
Jun 20, 2023
The Lancet Background The omicron BA.1 bivalent booster is used globally. Previous open-label studies of the omicron BA.1 (Moderna mRNA-1273.214) booster showed superior neutralising antibody responses against omicron BA.1 and other variants compared with the original mRNA-1273 booster. We aimed to compare the safety and immunogenicity of omicron BA.1 monovalent and bivalent boosters with the […]
Jun 20, 2023
‘Bold’ study that gave people COVID reveals ‘supershedder’ phenomenon
Nature A small subset of infected people spew huge amounts of virus into the air — despite having only mild symptoms. A study of people who were intentionally infected with SARS-CoV-2 has provided a wealth of insights into viral transmission — showing, for example, that a select group of people are ‘supershedders’ who spew vastly […]
Jun 20, 2023
How Did COVID-19 Affect Plans of American High-Schoolers?
VOA In a recent survey of 12th-graders, about 40% said the COVID-19 pandemic made them rethink their choice of career or undergraduate degree, and about 10% said it made them doubt the value of college at all. Nirvi Shah of USA Today unpacks the findings. (June 2023). The lives of students graduating from high school this year were […]
Jun 20, 2023
Meta is rolling back its covid-19 misinformation rules in the US
The Verge Meta is rolling back its covid misinformation rules in countries like the US, where the pandemic’s national emergency status has been rescinded as recommended by its independent oversight board in April of this year, The Washington Post reported Friday morning (via Engadget). In an update to the July announcement that it asked the Meta Oversight Board to investigate the safety of doing […]
Jun 20, 2023
Inflammation Firestorm Could Be The Secret Culprit of Long COVID
Neuro News Summary: An overactive inflammatory response might be the key to many long COVID cases. Through an examination of proteins in the blood, the researchers discovered unique inflammation markers present only in a subset of long COVID patients. The findings suggest that targeted anti-inflammatory treatments could potentially alleviate symptoms for this group. However, pinpointing which […]
Jun 20, 2023