Tag: pandemic

Ontario Hospitals May Have to Withhold Care as COVID-19 Fills ICUs

TORONTO (Reuters) – Doctors in the Canadian province of Ontario may soon have to decide who can and cannot receive treatment in intensive care as the number of coronavirus infections sets records and patients are packed into hospitals still stretched from a December wave. Canada’s most populous province is canceling elective surgeries, admitting adults to

No evidence of an increase in risk of suicide in first months of the pandemic, but continued monitoring needed

A new observational study is the first to examine suicides occurring during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple countries and finds that suicide numbers largely remained unchanged or declined in the pandemic’s early months. The study is published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. The authors note that—while their study provides the best

12% of Children With COVID Are Hospitalized, Study Says

About 12% of U.S. children with COVID-19 were hospitalized in 2020, and nearly a third of those had severe disease that required mechanical ventilation or admission to an intensive care unit, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open on Friday. That means about 1 in 9 kids with COVID-19 needed hospitalization, and

Designing better contact-tracing apps for the next pandemic

As COVID-19 began to spread last spring, apps were developed to track cellphone signals and other data so people who had been near those who were infected could be notified and asked to quarantine. The novel coronavirus rapidly outpaced such efforts, becoming so widespread that tracing individual exposures could not contain it. But the issues

Determination of vaccine-elicited SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in breastmilk

Scientists have reported that in most cases, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mildly infects infants. However, around 10% of infants experienced severe COVID-19 infection who required advanced medical treatments. In rare cases, even asymptomatic infection can result in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in

Determination of vaccine-elicited SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in breastmilk

Scientists have reported that in most cases, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mildly infects infants. However, around 10% of infants experienced severe COVID-19 infection who required advanced medical treatments. In rare cases, even asymptomatic infection can result in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine causes steep drop in COVID-19 among healthcare workers

A team of scientists from Spain has recently evaluated the efficacy of an mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2).  Their findings reveal that a 2-dose regimen of BNT162b2 vaccine is capable of providing almost 100% protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in healthcare workers. The study is

Even in a pandemic, child vision tests are crucial

It’s critical for parents to maintain their children’s vision checkups during the COVID-19 pandemic, an expert says. “All children should have their eyes checked by their pediatrician at regular intervals, even if they don’t have any symptoms,” said Dr. Samantha Feldman, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Krieger Eye Institute in Baltimore. “Part of the reason

Researchers develop novel nanoadjuvant COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Finding effective and safe vaccines is crucial in the fight against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As a vital component of a subunit vaccine, the adjuvant strengthens the antigen-induced immune responses. Researchers at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, the

Researchers examine the evolutionary race between SARS-CoV-2 and human defenses

Analysis indicated the number of mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding domain (RBD) doubles every 72 days. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues infecting more people, SARS-CoV-2 is also evolving. Several new variants of the virus have now been discovered, some more infectious than the original strains. This

Most US COVID-19 Deaths Could Have Been Avoided, Birx Says

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Most of the coronavirus-related deaths in the US were avoidable, Deborah Birx, MD, the coronavirus response coordinator under former President Donald Trump, told CNN. Birx and several doctors who ran the pandemic response spoke with Sanjay Gupta, MD, CNN’s chief medical

CDC Director Says She Has a Sense of ‘Impending Doom’ About Fourth COVID Wave: ‘I’m Scared’

https://www.youtube.com/embed/QP-Ni4CPVKI Although vaccinations are on the rise, health officials are concerned about a possible fourth COVID-19 wave in the United States as cases, hospitalizations and deaths increase. During a White House briefing on Monday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky delivered an "off-script" message, noting that while there's "so much reason