Category: Science and Tech
U.S. FDA authorizes Roche’s monkeypox test
(Reuters) The U.S. health regulator on Tuesday issued an emergency use authorization to Roche’s test for the detection of DNA from monkeypox virus in swab specimens collected from people suspected of the virus infection. The tests will be conducted on the Swiss company’s cobas systems, which can also detect HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses. […]
Nov 21, 2022
Monoclonal Antibodies May No Longer Be a Match for Emerging COVID Strains
(MedPageToday) Evusheld, bebtelovimab losing potency as circulation of BQ.1, BQ.1.1 grows. Tixagevimab/cilgavimab (Evusheld) and bebtelovimab are likely ineffective against approximately 60% of currently circulating Omicron variants, creating a big gap in protection, particularly for immunocompromised individuals, researchers from a Harvard Medical School-led consortium said at a briefing on late last week.
Nov 21, 2022
Paxlovid rebound more common than initially thought, doctors say
(ABC News) Six months ago, Dr. Joseph Boselli said he was prescribing the antiviral drug Paxlovid to nearly everyone who turned up at his practice with COVID. Now, the internal medicine physician at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia said he’s reserving it mostly for people who are 60-plus, with serious health problems, or who aren’t up-to-date on their […]
Nov 10, 2022
New VA study finds Paxlovid may cut the risk of long COVID
(NPR) It’s well-documented that Paxlovid — a 5-day course of antiviral pills from Pfizer — can reduce the risk of hospitalization in COVID-19 patients who are more likely to develop severe illness. Now, researchers from the Veterans Health Administration find that taking the medication may also reduce the risks of later developing long COVID, according […]
Nov 8, 2022
Pfizer’s Paxlovid Antiviral Lowered Long-Covid Risk in Study
(Bloomberg) Pfizer Inc.’s blockbuster Paxlovid antiviral that lowers rates of illness and death in people infected with the coronavirus also cuts the risk of some symptoms of disabling long Covid, a study found.Taking the oral medication within five days of testing positive for a SARS-CoV-2 infection was linked to a 26% lower risk of lingering […]
Nov 7, 2022
USDA to Fund Research on SARS-CoV-2 in Animals
(Pork) USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will disseminate $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to address SARS-CoV-2 in animals and advance the nation’s ability to protect the health of humans and animals. This funding opportunity is part of APHIS’ multipronged approach under its American Rescue Plan Strategic Framework, to build […]
Nov 1, 2022
UNMC tapped for trial of monkeypox treatment
(Nebraska Examiner) The University of Nebraska Medical Center is among more than 60 sites nationally that has been tapped for a trial study of a monkeypox treatment. The STOMP (Study of Tecovirimat for Human Monkeypox Virus) is a phase 3 trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the antiviral tecovirimat drug.
Nov 1, 2022
Bird flu infects Iowa egg farm with 1 million chickens
(ABC News) Iowa agriculture officials say another commercial egg farm has been infected with bird flu, the first commercial farm case identified since April when a turkey farm was infected. Iowa agriculture officials said Monday that another commercial egg farm in the state has been infected with bird flu, the first commercial farm case identified […]
Nov 1, 2022
Covid uses our proteins against us. A new strategy seeks to block that.
(Washington Post) With the United States headed into its third full winter of the pandemic amid fears that new variants will evade immunity from vaccines and prior infections, some scientists are seeking ways to blunt the coronavirus’s slippery evolution by blocking the human proteins it uses against us. If the strategy works, it has the potential […]
Nov 1, 2022
U.S. government to test Pfizer’s Paxlovid for long COVID
(Reuters) The U.S. National Institutes of Health’s $1 billion RECOVER Initiative has picked Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) antiviral drug Paxlovid as the first treatment it will study in patients with long COVID, organizers of the study said on Thursday. The complex medical condition involves more than 200 symptoms ranging from exhaustion and cognitive impairment to pain, fever and […]
Oct 28, 2022