How Often Should Immunocompromised People Get a COVID Booster?
Preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in immunocompromised people hasn’t gotten any easier as the pandemic trundles on into its fifth year. The monoclonal antibody tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld) has long gone by the wayside for pre-exposure prophylaxis and no replacements are on the horizon. Other prevention strategies among the general population, such as mask-wearing, have all but disappeared. Vaccination […]
Yes, Time Does Feel Different Since The Pandemic — And There’s A Reason Why
LOADINGERROR LOADING The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic now four years ago, on March 11, 2020. It feels like yesterday, last month and decades ago all at the same time. Running out of toilet paper feels like a distant memory. Wiping down groceries, doing elbow bumps instead of handshakes and being unable to […]
COVID Takes Center Stage at Trump Town Hall
Former President Donald Trump offered his take on the history of the COVID-19 pandemic — ranging from its origins, to lockdowns, to his relationship with Anthony Fauci, MD — during a town hall event in Iowa that also touched on Medicare solvency and abortion. During the Wednesday-night event, which was hosted by Fox News and […]
Asthma Attacks Decreased Among Black Patients During the Pandemic
Despite Black patients having the highest prevalence of asthma prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing trends in asthma attacks were observed for this population during the pandemic relative to white patients, according to findings from a national survey study. Asthma attack rates decreased from 29.3% in 2019 to 22.1% in 2022 among Black adults, with […]
Study of ancient British oral microbiomes reveals shift following Black Death
The Second Plague Pandemic of the mid-14th century, also known as the Black Death, killed 30-60 percent of the European population and profoundly changed the course of European history. New research led by Penn State and the University of Adelaide suggests that this plague, potentially through resulting changes in diet and hygiene, may also be […]
Brain Health Took a Hit During the COVID Pandemic
Brain health deteriorated more rapidly for people 50 and older during the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the PROTECT study in England suggested. Across the entire cohort of 3,100 people, both executive function (effect size 0.15) and working memory (effect size 0.51) worsened during the first year of the pandemic, according to Anne Corbett, PhD, of […]
COVID Upended Bronchiolitis Admission Patterns in Kids
Pediatric bronchiolitis hospitalizations took a brief downturn during the pandemic before consistently rising thereafter, with seasonal patterns yet to return to normal, a nationwide study found. After admissions plummeted by 69.2% in the 2020-2021 season, the subsequent 2022-2023 season tracked at 75.3% above the pre-pandemic median. Patients who were ages 12 to 23 months saw […]
How COVID Lawsuits and Media Coverage Keep Misinformation Churning
Public health has had its day in court lately. And another day. And another day. Over the course of the pandemic, lawsuits came from every direction, questioning public health policies and hospitals’ authority. Petitioners argued for care to be provided in a different way, they questioned mandates on mask and vaccine use, and they attacked […]
Fired COVID Whistleblower Will Take His Case to Trial With New Lawyers
Ming Lin, MD, the emergency physician who was fired early in the COVID pandemic for airing alleged safety concerns, has hired new lawyers to take his case to trial. After parting ways with lawyers working for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) because he didn’t want to settle his case as they recommended, Lin selected […]
Across Borders, Worse COVID Outcomes Seen in Polluted Areas
During the pandemic, people exposed to more air pollution were at greater risk of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death, a nationwide study from Denmark showed. Based on the country’s COVID-19 surveillance system covering over 3.7 million residents, there were significant associations between local levels of inhalable particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and incident […]