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COVID Health
People With Long COVID Face Barriers to Government Disability Benefits
When Josephine Cabrera Taveras was infected with COVID-19 in spring 2020, she didn’t anticipate that the virus would knock her out of work for two years and put her family at risk for eviction. Taveras, a mother of two in Brooklyn, New York, said her bout with long COVID...
When Cancer Screenings Are Free but Follow-ups Aren’t, Patients Foot the Bill
If you’ve gotten a free cancer screening in the past decade, you likely have Dr. Mark Fendrick to thank. Fendrick is an internist and director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan. “I have to tell you that the intuitive idea of having more...
Experimental Monoclonal Antibodies Show Promise Against Epstein-Barr Virus
A panel of investigational monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting different sites of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) blocked infection when tested in human cells in a laboratory setting. Moreover, one of the experimental mAbs provided nearly complete protection against EBV infection and lymphoma when tested in mice. The results appear online today...
Will COVID Spike Again This Fall? 6 Tips to Help You Stay Safe
Last year, the emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus caught many people by surprise and led to a surge in cases that overwhelmed hospitals and drove up fatalities. Now we’re learning that omicron is mutating to better evade the immune system. Omicron-specific vaccines were...
Cancer Patients on Immunotherapy Can Safely Receive mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines
New research published in the October 2022 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network confirms the safety of mRNA vaccines in people with cancer undergoing immunotherapy treatment. The researchers analyzed the frequency of side effects (also referred to as immune-related adverse events, or irAEs) in 408 patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy between January 16 and March 27, 2021. They found no increase in type, frequency, or severity of side effects from those receiving both immunotherapy and the vaccine at the same time.
As Links to MS Deepen, Researchers Accelerate Efforts to Develop an Epstein-Barr Vaccine
Maybe you’ve never heard of the Epstein-Barr virus. But it knows all about you. Chances are, it’s living inside you right now. About 95% of American adults are infected sometime in their lives. And once infected, the virus stays with you. Most viruses, such as influenza, just come...
Assessing How SARS-CoV-2 Mutations Might Affect Rapid Tests
Since the start of the pandemic, diagnostic testing has played a crucial role in controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Rapid antigen tests, taken at home or in a clinical setting, can provide results in 15 minutes or less. The sooner a person is diagnosed, the sooner they can seek medical care and isolate from others. But when new viral variants appear, the variants may escape detection by these tests.
COVID-19 Complacency: “A Hard Shift for the Immunocompromised”
Are we there yet? It’s a common question and one that millions of Americans have been asking since around the end of March 2020. Are we finally done with this awful pandemic?. Not yet, say scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, which helped conduct clinical trials on...
Are People Living With HIV More Prone to Long COVID?
People living with HIV may be more likely to develop long-term symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection—commonly known as long COVID—and this might be related to differences in immune function, according to research published in the October 1 edition of AIDS. The study, conducted by Michael Peluso, MD, of the...
Study Suggests COVID-19 Rebound Is Not Caused by Impaired Immune Response
Findings from a small study of eight patients published in Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest that COVID-19 rebound is likely not caused by impaired immune responses. The study, led by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, aimed to define the clinical course and the immunologic and virologic characteristics of COVID-19 rebound in patients who have taken nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid), an antiviral therapeutic developed by Pfizer, Inc.
FDA Warns Evusheld May Not Protect Against Certain COVID-19 Variants
FDA releases important information about risk of COVID-19 due to certain variants not neutralized by Evusheld. FDA added important information to the authorized Fact Sheets for Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab) to inform health care providers and individuals receiving Evusheld of the increased risk for developing COVID-19 when exposed to variants of SARS-CoV-2 that are not neutralized by Evusheld.
How Well Do Hospitals Track Discrimination and Culturally Competent Care?
Each day, thousands of patients get a call or letter after being discharged from U.S. hospitals. How did their stay go? How clean and quiet was the room? How often did nurses and doctors treat them with courtesy and respect? The questions focus on what might be termed the standard customer satisfaction aspects of a medical stay, as hospitals increasingly view patients as consumers who can take their business elsewhere.
Study Confirms Link Between COVID-19 Vaccination and Menstrual Cycle Length
Study confirms link between COVID-19 vaccination and temporary increase in menstrual cycle length. A large international study has confirmed the findings of a previous U.S. study that linked COVID-19 vaccination with an average increase in menstrual cycle length of less than one day. The increase was not associated with any change in the number of days of menses (days of bleeding).
More than 16,000 Cancer Deaths Due to Complications from COVID-19 in 2020 in U.S.
From March through December 2020, more than 16,000 cancer deaths were due to complications of COVID-19 in the United States, according to a new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS). Also, higher percentages of blood or prostate cancer deaths were from COVID-19 complications compared with cancer deaths without COVID-19 complications. The research is to be published today [September 29] in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oncology.
Is COVID ‘Under Control’ in the US? Experts Say Yes
President Joe Biden caused a stir in a “60 Minutes” interview on Sept. 18 when he declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. “We still have a problem with COVID — we’re still doing a lot of work on it,” Biden said. “But the pandemic is over.”
Should I get an annual flu shot?
Yes. Annual flu shots are recommended for everyone except infants younger than six months and anyone who may be severely allergic to the flu vaccine or ingredients contained in it, such as gelatin. People who are allergic to eggs should talk to their doctor before getting a flu shot. Also,...
COVID Still Kills, but the Demographics of Its Victims Are Shifting
As California settles into a third year of pandemic, COVID-19 continues to pose a serious threat of death. But the number of people dying — and the demographics of those falling victim — has shifted notably from the first two years. Given the collective immunity people have garnered...
Did the U.S. Jump the Gun With the New Omicron-Targeted Vaccines?
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized omicron-specific vaccines, accompanied by breathless science-by-press release and a media blitz. Just days after the FDA’s move, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) followed, recommending updated boosters for anyone age 12 and up who had received at least two doses of the original covid vaccines. The message to a nation still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic: The cavalry — in the form of a shot — is coming over the hill.
Many Preventive Medical Services Cost Patients Nothing. Will a Texas Court Decision Change That?
A federal judge’s ruling in Texas has thrown into question whether millions of insured Americans will continue to receive some preventive medical services, such as cancer screenings and drugs that protect people from HIV infection, without making a copayment. It’s the latest legal battle over the Affordable Care Act,...
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