GI Infections Dipped Sharply During Pandemic Restrictions
Reported gastrointestinal (GI) outbreaks in England were halved during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with a similar period over the 5 years’ prior, a retrospective ecological study found. From February to July 2020, there was a 52% decrease in GI outbreaks — including reports of food poisoning, hemolytic uremic syndrome, infectious […]
Mother-to-Baby COVID-19 Transmission Likely Rare
New mothers with COVID-19 had a low chance of passing the infection on to their baby, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. In 472 studies that included over 14,000 babies born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection, only 1.8% (95% CI 1.2-2.5) tested positive on an RT-PCR test, reported Shakila Thangaratinam, MD, PhD, of the […]
Bell’s Palsy, Other Rare Events Not Linked With COVID-19 Vaccines
Immune-mediated neurologic events did not increase after COVID-19 vaccination, electronic health record data in the U.K. and Spain showed. No safety signal was found between COVID-19 vaccines and Bell’s palsy, encephalomyelitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, or transverse myelitis, reported Daniel Prieto-Alhambra, MD, PhD, of the University of Oxford in England, and co-authors. However, rates of Bell’s palsy, […]
No Underlying Conditions in 63% of Young Kids Hospitalized During Omicron
During the peak of the Omicron wave, weekly hospitalizations for infants and toddlers due to COVID-19 were approximately five times what they were during the peak of the Delta variant, new research from the CDC showed. In the first week of January, COVID-associated hospitalizations in children ages 0-4 years reached 14.5 per 100,000 children, reported […]
Depression May Follow Those Bedridden for COVID
Patients who had severe acute COVID-19 but avoided hospitalization saw higher risks for certain mental health conditions, according to an observational study. Among nearly 10,000 individuals, those diagnosed with COVID-19 had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.18, 95% CI 1.03-1.36) and poorer sleep quality (PR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.24) compared with […]
COVID’s Death Toll 3 Times Worse Than Official Counts
The global COVID-19 death toll may be three times higher than official tallies suggest, according to a systematic analysis of excess mortality during the pandemic. From Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021, global deaths directly attributed to COVID-19 reached 5.9 million, yet estimates put excess deaths during this period at a staggering 18.2 million […]
How Will COVID End? Experts Look To Past Epidemics For Clues
NEW YORK (AP) — Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the world has seen a dramatic improvement in infections, hospitalizations and death rates in recent weeks, signaling the crisis appears to be winding down. But how will it end? Past epidemics may provide clues. The ends of epidemics are not as thoroughly researched […]
COVID in Your Junk? The Idea Isn’t Bunk, Study Suggests
No one knows for sure why COVID-19 is linked to male sexual woes, but growing evidence, including a new study in monkeys, has suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 virus directly infects the male reproductive system — just like other viruses such as mumps and Zika. Thomas J. Hope, PhD, a cell biologist at Northwestern University in […]
6 Months of U.S. Data Support Safety of mRNA COVID Vaccines
Nearly all local and systemic adverse events (AEs) reported after Pfizer or Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines were mild and transient, and only a fraction of individuals reported seeking medical care, according to data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and CDC’s v-safe tracker. Out of almost 300 million mRNA vaccine doses administered in the […]
Public Health Experts Pitch Their Own Path to the ‘Next’ Normal
Less than a week after the White House released its updated COVID-19 preparedness plan, a group of 24 public health experts issued a white paper with their own ideas for moving the nation into what they call the “next” normal. While there’s quite a bit of overlap between the two plans, the 132-page document by […]