Author: Claudinne Miller
Scientists have a theory on covid loss of smell: Damage to nasal cells
(Washington Post) Persistent loss of smell has left some covid-19 survivors yearning for the scent of their freshly bathed childor a waft of their once-favorite meal. It’s left others inured to the stink of garbage and accidentally drinking spoiled milk. “Anosmia,” as experts call it, is one of long covid’s strangest symptoms — and researchers may be one […]
Dec 27, 2022
HHS Increases Access to Tamiflu through the Strategic National Stockpile
(HHS) Tthe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), announced that they are making additional supply of Tamiflu available to jurisdictions to respond to an increased demand for the antiviral during this flu season, including through the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). Jurisdictions will work with […]
Dec 27, 2022
Growing vaccine hesitancy fuels measles, chickenpox resurgence in U.S.
(Washington Post) A rapidly growing measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio — largely involving unvaccinated children — is fueling concerns among health officials that more parent resistance to routine childhood immunizations will intensify aresurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases. Most of the 82 children infected so far are old enough to get the shots, but their parents chose not to […]
Dec 27, 2022
Niger reports severe bird flu among poultry
(Zawaya) Niger has reported the highly contagious H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, among poultry in a village in the south of the country, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday. The outbreak in the south of the Tahoua region killed most of a 4,920-strong flock, with the remaining […]
Dec 27, 2022
Autopsies Show COVID-19 in the Brain
(MedPageToday) Early this year, leading researchers discussed what we knew — and didn’t know — about COVID-19 and the brain. Since then, new findings have emerged about SARS-CoV-2 and the nervous system, including the results of an autopsy study that showed the presence of the virus throughout the body and brain. How can a respiratory pathogen […]
Dec 27, 2022
The epidemiology of long COVID in US adults
(Clinical Infectious Diseases) We estimated the prevalence of long COVID and impact on daily living among a representative sample of adults in the United States (US). We conducted a population-representative survey, June 30-July 2, 2022, of a random sample of 3,042 United States adults aged 18 years or older and weighted to the 2020 US […]
Dec 27, 2022
The COVID-19 virus keeps evolving. These ‘disease detectives’ are on the case
(Canadian News) The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 was last year’s unpleasant holiday surprise. More than a year later, a loosely knit group of “disease detectives” across Canada continues to keep watch for key mutations. Officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) say Omicron is better able to pass from person to person […]
Dec 27, 2022
Uganda receives second batch of Ebola vaccines
(Pulse) The World Health Organisation (WHO) explains that there are currently no licensed vaccines for the Sudan strain of the virus that caused the infections in Uganda, adding that the trial is to determine whether any of the vaccines are effective in combating the Sudan strain.
Dec 27, 2022
(ERS Publications) Post mortem examination of lung and heart tissue has been vital to developing an understanding of COVID-19 pathophysiology; however studies to date have almost uniformly used tissue obtained from hospital-based deaths where individuals have been exposed to major medical and pharmacological interventions.
Dec 27, 2022
COVID-19 vaccine patent battles continue into 2023
(Reuters) A tangle of high-stakes U.S. patent disputes over COVID-19 vaccines could be tamed by court rulings or grow even more complex next year. In the headlining fight, Moderna sued Pfizer and BioNTech in August, accusing them of infringing three patents on mRNA-related innovations Moderna said it developed before the COVID-19 pandemic. Pfizer and BioNTech responded earlier this month […]
Dec 27, 2022