Category: COVID
4 Big COVID Predictions for 2024
AARP It’s been about four years since COVID-19 was first identified, and in that time, much has changed, including the virus itself. We now have pills that can treat it and at-home tests that can identify an infection. We also have vaccines that have been updated to better match versions of the virus that are currently circulating. Despite […]
Dec 19, 2023
What to Know About the New Covid Variants
NYT HV.1 has overtaken EG.5 as the leading variant in the U.S. Scientists are also watching two other variants, BA.2.86 and JN.1. Two closely related variants, EG.5 and HV.1, currently comprise nearly half of the Covid-19 cases in the United States. EG.5 became the dominant variant nationwide in August. At that time, the World Health Organization classified […]
Dec 19, 2023
How long are you contagious with COVID? Here’s what to know if you test positive
NBC News/Chicago With COVID cases and other respiratory viruses on the rise, you might know someone who has recently tested positive or wondered how long a person is contagious. The answer depends on several factors. As of Friday, 44 counties in Illinois were at an elevated level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the state’s Department of […]
Dec 12, 2023
What Does A Faint Line On A COVID-19 Rapid Test Mean? Here’s What Experts Say
Women’s Health Nothing puts a damper on your holiday plans like a positive COVID-19 test, am I right? But what if that line is, like, super faint? Do you still have COVID—or can you go ahead and attend your office party like you planned? Well, unfortunately, infectious disease experts stress that a faint line is definitely worth paying […]
Dec 12, 2023
We’re Living the Reality of the Pandemic’s Simplest Math
The Atlantic Sick season will be worse from now on. Last fall, when RSV and flu came roaring back from a prolonged and erratic hiatus, and COVID was still killing thousands of Americans each week, many of the United States’ leading infectious-disease experts offered the nation a glimmer of hope. The overwhelm, they predicted, was probably temporary—viruses making […]
Dec 5, 2023
True prevalence of long-COVID in a nationwide, population cohort study
Nature Long-COVID prevalence estimates vary widely and should take account of symptoms that would have occurred anyway. Here we determine the prevalence of symptoms attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infection, taking account of background rates and confounding, in a nationwide population cohort study of 198,096 Scottish adults. 98,666 (49.8%) had symptomatic laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections and 99,430 (50.2%) […]
Dec 5, 2023
Anthony Fauci to testify before Congress about pandemic mandates, COVID-19 origins
USA Today Dr. Anthony Fauci, former chief White House medical advisor, will testify before Congress early next year on the origins of COVID-19 and other preventative steps officials took in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Fauci’s testimony comes as the House’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus continues to investigate the pandemic. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, […]
Dec 5, 2023
What To Know About Rapidly Spreading ‘Pirola’ Covid Variant BA.2.86—And If Vaccines Offer Protection
Forbes Pirola, or BA.2.86, is the third most prevalent Covid strain in the U.S., and although there may be concerns the new monovalent vaccines—which protect against the XBB lineage that Pirola isn’t a part of—don’t offer protection against Pirola and its subvariants, drugmakers and the CDC are sure the vaccines offer defense. Pirola made up 8.8% of […]
Nov 29, 2023
COVID variant BA.2.86 triples in new CDC estimates
CBS News Nearly 1 in 10 new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are from the BA.2.86 variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Monday, nearly triple what the agency estimated the highly mutated variant’s prevalence was two weeks ago. Among the handful of regions with enough specimens reported from testing laboratories, BA.2.86’s prevalence is largest […]
Nov 28, 2023
Long COVID Immune Profiles Appear Largely Normal
MedPageToday Brain inflammation may not be a cause of long COVID cognitive problems. Spinal fluid immune profiles were largely normal in people with neurologic long COVID symptoms in a case-control study, suggesting brain inflammation was not a cause of long COVID cognitive symptoms. In 37 people with post-COVID neuropsychiatric conditions — most commonly, brain fog […]
Nov 14, 2023
