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COVID Health
PBMs, the Brokers Who Control Drug Prices, Finally Get Washington’s Attention
For two decades, patients and physicians eagerly awaited a lower-cost version of the world’s bestselling drug, Humira, while its maker, AbbVie, fought off potential competitors by building a wall of more than 250 patents around it. When the first Humira biosimilar — essentially a generic version — finally hit...
How to Grow Your Social Network as You Age
Friends sitting around a table, talking and laughing. A touch on the arm, as one of them leans over to make a confiding comment. A round of hugs before walking out the door. For years, Carole Leskin, 78, enjoyed this close camaraderie with five women in Moorestown, New Jersey, a group that took classes together, gathered for lunch several times a week, celebrated holidays with one another, and socialized frequently at their local synagogue.
Large Study Provides Deeper Insight Into Long COVID Symptoms
Initial findings from a study of nearly 10,000 Americans, many of whom had COVID-19, have uncovered new details about long COVID, the post-infection set of conditions that can affect nearly every tissue and organ in the body. Clinical symptoms can vary and include fatigue, brain fog, and dizziness, and last for months or years after a person has COVID-19. The research team, funded by the National Institutes of Health, also found that long COVID was more common and severe in study participants infected before the 2021 Omicron variant.
Does Your Vaccine Type Matter in the Battle Against COVID?
COVID vaccines offered varying degrees of protection in the six months after patients receive them, with levels climbing and plunging in two cases and climbing and climbing in another. Age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and smoking status also play roles, according to new UC San Francisco research. In the...
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Associated With Increased Risk for Long COVID
Among people who have had COVID-19, adults with obstructive sleep apnea were more likely to experience long-term symptoms suggestive of long COVID than those without the sleep disorder, according to a large study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In fact, multiple analyses of electronic health records (EHR)...
How Boosters Produce Broad Protection Against COVID-19
Vaccines developed early in the COVID-19 pandemic continue to provide substantial protection against severe disease and death from the disease. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated significantly since late 2019. But, in many cases, the immune system can recognize later variants such as Omicron. This ability comes in part from features...
Study Identifies Features of Long COVID Neurological Symptoms
Twelve people with persistent neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection were intensely studied at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and were found to have differences in their immune cell profiles and autonomic dysfunction. These data inform future studies to help explain persistent neurological symptoms in Long COVID. The findings, published in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, may lead to better diagnoses and new treatments.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky Announces Departure
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced today, May 5, her intent to depart the agency at the end of June. Walensky has led CDC through a transition to greater normalcy across the country, after two years of COVID-19 related closures and waves of dangerous, new virus variants. She also launched Moving Forward — a wide-ranging set of reforms designed to strengthen CDC communications and response operations. Walensky described this moment for the agency and the country in a letter to President Joe Biden.
Study Reveals How Epstein-Barr Virus May Lead to Cancer
Chances are good that you’ve had an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, usually during childhood. More than 90% of us have, though we often don’t know it. That’s because most EBV infections are mild or produce no symptoms at all. But in some people, EBV can lead to...
As Federal Emergency Declaration Expires, the Picture of the Pandemic Grows Fuzzier
Joel Wakefield isn’t just an armchair epidemiologist. His interest in tracking the spread of COVID is personal. The 58-year-old lawyer who lives in Phoenix has an immunodeficiency disease that increases his risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 and other infections. He has spent lots of time since 2020 checking state, federal, and private sector COVID trackers for data to inform his daily decisions.
Liver Cirrhosis Linked to Lower COVID Vaccine Response
While people with chronic liver disease generally responded to COVID-19 vaccines, being older and having liver cirrhosis were linked to weaker responses, according to study results published in JHEP Reports. The good news is that people with viral hepatitis and those on antiviral treatment had better vaccine responses. People with...
Immune System Profiles of Extremely Long-Lived People
The mix of various immune cells in the body changes with age. These changes may contribute to various age-related diseases. Many centenarians—people who live to at least 100 years—tend to have delayed onset of age-related diseases such as cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. This suggests that their immune systems remain healthier for longer compared with other people.
Biden to Tap Monica Bertagnolli as Director of National Institutes of Health
According to multiple news reports, President Biden has nominated Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, to serve as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This role is critical to ensuring ongoing innovation in medical research, including in oncology, and Bertagnolli could not be a better choice to lead the NIH into the bold future. In addition to previously holding many professional memberships and appointments, Bertagnolli also served on the American Cancer Society (ACS)’s Board of Directors.
Universal Influenza Candidate Vaccine Performs Well in Phase 1 Trial
Scientists at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC) report in two new studies that an experimental influenza vaccine, designed to elicit immunity against a broad range of influenza viruses, performed well in a small trial of volunteers. In fact, the vaccine has advanced to a second trial led by scientists at Duke University through NIAID’s Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs).
NAFLD Linked to Severe COVID Among Younger People
Among people younger than 60, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was independently associated with more severe COVID-19, according to study results published in the Journal of Hepatology. A second study found that liver cirrhosis was an independent risk factor for death among people with COVID. Arising from the accumulation of...
Is there a vaccine to prevent cancer?
You can take several steps to lower your risk for cancer, including smoking cessation, limiting alcohol and eating a healthy diet. But for some cancers, vaccines are the best prevention. Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical, anal, penile, mouth, throat and other cancers, but many people are unaware of this link....
The Big Squeeze: More Enrollees and Smaller Networks Plague Some ACA Plans
The Affordable Care Act may be struggling with its own success. Record enrollment over the last two years brought more consumers into the market. At the same time, many insurers began offering smaller networks of doctors and hospitals, partly to be price-competitive. That combination left some patients scrambling to find...
FDA and CDC Change COVID Vaccine Recommendations
On April 18, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended its emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Today, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee and CDC director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, endorsed corresponding changes to its vaccine and booster recommendations. The aim, the agencies say, is to simplify the vaccination schedule for most people.
The Potential and Challenges of Mucosal COVID-19 Vaccines
In November 2022, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) co-hosted a virtual workshop on the importance and challenges of developing mucosal vaccines for SARS-COV-2. The highlights of this workshop have now been published as a report in npj Vaccines. Although vaccines currently available for COVID-19 are usually...
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COVID Health is here to help people navigate the unknowns of a COVID-19 diagnosis and what lies beyond. The site is also designed to help people learn how to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus, which is called SARS-CoV-2.
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