Author: Claudinne Miller
Covid Is Coming Back in China; Lockdowns Are Not
NYT In December, China abruptly abandoned its draconian “Zero Covid” policies, battered by a surge of infections and rising public anger against lockdowns. Half a year on, Covid cases again are on the rise, but this time the nation appears to be determined to press on with normal life as the government focuses on reigniting […]
Jun 6, 2023
F.D.A. Approves Pfizer’s R.S.V. Vaccine for Older Adults
NYT The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., for adults age 60 and older, the second approval granted for shots offering protection from the virus this month. GSK was the first drugmaker to get the F.D.A.’s permission to market an R.S.V. vaccine on May 3. The vaccines are expected […]
Jun 6, 2023
An Inside Look at Covid’s Lasting Damage to the Lungs
More than three years after the start of the pandemic, many Covid survivors continue to struggle. Some, especially those who became so severely ill that they were hospitalized and unable to breathe on their own, face lasting lung damage. To better understand the long-term impact of Covid’s assault on the lungs, The New York Times […]
Jun 6, 2023
For These Bird Flu Researchers, Work Is a Day at the Very ‘Icky’ Beach
NYT The H5N1 virus poses “a great unknown threat” to birds and humans alike. Understanding and thwarting it begins with excrement collection. It was a glorious day for field work on the shores of the Delaware Bay. The late afternoon sun cast a warm glow over the gently sloping beach. The receding tide revealed a […]
Jun 6, 2023
Vaccination and awareness could help keep mpox in check this summer
NPR A dozen people came down with mpox in Chicago around early May, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to warn doctors of a potential mpox resurgence. To those that were watching mpox closely, the increase in U.S. cases wasn’t a surprise. New cases had been recently reported in Europe, and U.S. health officials had been […]
Jun 6, 2023
Bird flu outbreak more virulent than ever recorded – study
JP While the viruses’ risk to humans remains low, the researchers noted only a few amino acid changes are needed for that to change. The ongoing outbreak of avian influenza, which began in late 2021 in Europe and the Americas, has been marked by rapid genetic changes and highly increased virulence in both birds and mammals, […]
Jun 6, 2023
Kyrgyzstan registers 559 cases of measles
AKI Express Event International health officials have reported elevated measles activity across multiple regions in Kyrgyzstan, with an additional 207 measles cases reported May 20-31, bringing the total case count to 559 cases since Jan. 1. This is compared to the 23 cases of measles reported in the country for 2022. The Osh region (386 […]
Jun 6, 2023
Lessons From the Tuberculosis Patient on the Lam
MedPage Today We can learn from the case now that she’s receiving treatment. Over the last few months, a woman from Tacoma, Washington has been widely featured in local and national media including the New York Times, for refusing to take medication for active tuberculosis (TB). In February 2023, a judge issued a civil warrant for her arrest. In […]
Jun 6, 2023
Covid Lockdowns Really Did Mess With Our Memories
Bloomberg The psychological toll of Covid lockdowns could lead some people to misremember the timing of recent events, according to a new study published by University of Aberdeen researchers. The lapses were similar to distorted time perception observed among some prisoners, said the study, conducted in 2022 and published in open-access journal Plus One on […]
May 31, 2023
Companies won’t share COVID-19 shots, stalling future vaccine research
Science Developing more broadly protective products requires comparisons with existing shots that Pfizer and Moderna won’t allow. The U.S. government has tens of millions of unused doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines, regularly trashing shots as they pass their expiration dates. It’s a dismal reflection on recent vaccine uptake, but it’s also a serious […]
May 31, 2023