Category: Featured
Can COVID, Flu, and RSV Shots Be Given at the Same Time
MedPageToday Many adults ages 60 and up will be eligible for three vaccines this fall — a COVID booster the flu shot, and the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine — so the big question is, can they get them all at once? Since there are no data on giving this trio of vaccines at the same time, […]
Aug 29, 2023
4 Connecticut residents test positive for rare Powassan virus, which comes from tick bites
Connecticut News Four Connecticut residents have tested positive for the rare Powassan virus, marking the first cases of the year, state officials said. All four residents were hospitalized and treated; they have been released from the hospital and are recovering, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) said. Each person had reported being bitten by a […]
Aug 22, 2023
Maryland: another case of locally acquired malaria
CBS News Another case of locally acquired malaria was recently identified, this time in Maryland, according to health officials. It’s the latest in a series of infections that have popped up in the U.S., including seven in Florida and one in Texas. These are the first confirmed malaria cases acquired locally in the U.S. since 2003 when eight cases […]
Aug 22, 2023
What to know about COVID Pirola: How new lineage BA.2.86 differs from other variants
USA Today The World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have announced another addition to their lists tracking variants of COVID-19 — and this one may be a little different. Described by the CDC as a new lineage of the virus that causes COVID-19, the mutation has some distinctions from other currently […]
Aug 22, 2023
What to Know About the Latest Covid Wave in New York City
NYT Is the city in another Covid wave? Where can you get a test? Should you be wearing a mask? And what if you end up sick? Do you know a friend or co-worker who has recently come down with Covid? Do you have a sore throat or sniffles yourself? Figuring out whether Covid is […]
Aug 22, 2023
How Bad Is a Second (or Third or Fourth) Case of Covid?
NYT Reinfections are becoming more common. Experts are still unsure about how damaging they can be. Doctors and scientists who study Covid-19 agree that for most people, getting infected for a second — or third or fourth — time is basically inevitable. The longer the virus sticks around, the more common repeat infections have and will become, […]
Aug 22, 2023
Should We Be Surprised by Leprosy’s Recent Spike in Florida?
MedPageToday Earlier this month, a report in Emerging Infectious Diseases prompted a flurry of internet headlines plus some outlandish theories. COVID vaccines causing leprosy? Seriously? Nonetheless, the data themselves were notable. Although the overall count of newly diagnosed Hansen’s disease in the U.S. — roughly 150 to 200 cases per year — hasn’t changed in several decades, the percentage […]
Aug 22, 2023
How 10,000 years of plagues left their mark on our DNA
Washington Post Agnolo di Tura was a sometime shoemaker and tax collector with a yen for keeping a journal. He was also his family’s sole survivor when the Black Death tore through Siena, Italy, in 1348. He buried his wife and five children with his own hands, he wrote in his journal. He was somehow […]
Aug 16, 2023
New COVID ‘Eris’ variant: The symptoms, how dangerous it is and whether vaccines work
Yahoo News There’s a new COVID-19 variant dominating infections in the U.S. EG.5 — or “Eris,” as it’s been nicknamed — was identified in China in February and detected in the U.S. in April, and now accounts for more than 17% of COVID-19 cases nationwide, which is the most of any variant. Here’s what you need to know about […]
Aug 15, 2023
COVID hospitalizations accelerate for fourth straight week
CBS News New COVID-19 hospitalizations have accelerated for a fourth straight week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data now shows. A total of 10,320 patients in the U.S. were newly hospitalized with COVID-19 for the week ending August 5, according to the figures published Monday, an increase of 14.3% from the week before. Levels remain far below […]
Aug 15, 2023