Category: Featured Headlines
CDC says JN.1 variant accounts for about 86% of COVID cases in US
Reuters The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday estimated COVID subvariant JN.1 to account for about 85.7% of cases in the United States, as of Jan. 19. The agency said JN.1 remains the most widely circulating variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country and globally. There is no evidence at present that […]
Jan 23, 2024
You can still be contagious with COVID if you have a negative test — here’s why
NBC News As the nation experiences what many experts believe is the second-largest wave of COVID infections since the pandemic started, many Americans will be checking to make sure they don’t have the respiratory illness. COVID testing guidelines and what we know about how long you’re contagious have changed since the start of the pandemic. So we […]
Jan 23, 2024
Can’t stop coughing? Persistent cough has made this virus season exhausting.
Washington Post Some doctors say lingering coughs are worse than usual this winter. Others say post-pandemic patients are just more aware of coughing. Coughs are common during every winter virus season. But this year it seems like more people than usual are complaining about a cough that just won’t go away. Cathy Conger, 60, who […]
Jan 23, 2024
Why diphtheria is making a comeback
NPR It had been over 30 years since the last case of diphtheria was seen in Guinea. So when patients began showing up six months ago with what looked like flu symptoms — fever, cough and sore throat – doctors weren’t alarmed. Until the children started dying. That’s when they realized that this longtime scourge, […]
Jan 23, 2024
ABC News Health officials are asking recent travelers out of two D.C. airports to proceed with caution after they may have potentially been exposed to measles. The Virginia Department of Health put out a news release Saturday saying it was aware of a person with a confirmed case of measles who recently traveled through Northern Virginia after returning […]
Jan 16, 2024
H5N6 avian flu hospitalizes woman in China
CIDRAP A 59-year-old woman from China’s Sichuan province is hospitalized in serious condition with H5N6 avian flu, Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said today. The woman is from Ziyang City, her symptoms began on November 25, and she was hospitalized 4 days later. An investigation revealed that she had visited a live-poultry market before her symptoms […]
Jan 16, 2024
How Covid-19’s symptoms have changed with each new variant
BBC With a new variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus causing a spike in cases, it is demonstrating just how much the disease has changed since the pandemic began – and what happened to “Covid toe”. “For almost four years, I’ve managed to dodge Covid-19,” TV broadcaster Mehdi Hasan tweeted a fortnight ago. “But it finally got […]
Jan 16, 2024
How to Make the Most of Your At-Home Covid Test
NYT Here’s what you need to know about when to take a test for accurate results, and how to get kits for free. While Covid has become a regular part of respiratory virus season, community testing centers and drive-through sites where you could determine whether it’s the source of your sniffles have all but vanished. […]
Jan 16, 2024
What if every germ hit you at the exact same time? An immunologist explains
The Conversation When I was younger, I would watch “Batman” on my black-and-white television after school. Usually, Batman would face either the Joker, the Penguin, the Puzzler, Catwoman or any one of his usual opponents. However, on some occasions, Batman would have to face them all at the same time. What would happen if, like […]
Jan 16, 2024
COVID Mask Mandates Return to Hospitals in Five States
Newsweek Hospitals across the U.S. are reinstating COVID-19 mask mandates as the JN.1 variant becomes the dominant strain spreading throughout the country. Hospitals in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Washington D.C. have all brought back divisive rules meaning masks are mandatory for selected people in medical settings. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control has recorded a 10.4 percent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations […]
Jan 2, 2024