Allergies to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines rare, generally mild, study finds
Allergic reactions to the new mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are rare, typically mild and treatable, and they should not deter people from becoming vaccinated, according to research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings will be published online Sept. 17 in JAMA Network Open. “We wanted to understand the spectrum of allergies to the […]
Pennsylvania Doctor Issued Blanket Mask Exemptions for School
As children return to school — many of whom are too young to be vaccinated against COVID-19 — Pennsylvania, among other states, is requiring that masks be worn inside K-12 buildings and other early learning programs. But the public health measure hasn’t been without pushback, including anti-mask action taken by members of the medical community. […]
More Than a Nursing Shortage: A ‘Skills Gap’, Too
During the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have closed beds, shut down elective surgeries, and called in federal assistance due to a shortage of a critical healthcare resource — nurses. Shortages of nurses and other healthcare workers are plaguing hospitals throughout the U.S., especially those in COVID hotspots. Mississippi has 2,000 fewer nurses […]
Stressed Healthcare Workers Face Another Threat: Harassment
Healthcare workers across the country, already strained by the demands of caring for COVID-19 patients, face another threat in the workplace: medical conspiracy theorists harassing them with phone calls, and even showing up at their hospitals. Last week, a Chicago hospital treating known anti-vaxxer and QAnon supporter Veronica Wolski for COVID became the target of […]
Older age, chronic co-morbidities associated with more severe COVID disease in children
Over the course of the pandemic, researchers nationwide noticed differences in COVID-19 disease between children and adults. While risk factors for hospitalization and poor outcomes are well documented in adults, less is known about the clinical factors associated with COVID disease severity in children. In an effort to aid mitigation strategies for children who are […]
Experts Predict What Flu Season Will Be Like This Year
You probably didn’t hear too much about the flu season last year, since the COVID-19 pandemic took the spotlight from the usual fall and winter viruses. But while you may still be focused on the coronavirus (as you should be), flu season is fast approaching. Below, experts share their predictions for the flu season, how […]
COVID-19 antibodies persist, reduce reinfection risk for up to six months, study finds: The antibodies’ ability to neutralize COVID-19 did not differ significantly over the six-month period.
A Michigan Medicine study found that most patients with mild COVID-19 infections produce antibodies that persist and protect them from reinfection for up to six months. Researchers analyzed nearly 130 subjects with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 illness between three and six months after initial infection. Three patients were hospitalized while the rest were treated as outpatients and […]
Biden Urges Docs to ‘Reach Out’ to Unvaccinated Patients About a COVID Shot
WASHINGTON — President Biden on Thursday announced a six-point plan for battling the COVID-19 pandemic and appealed directly to physicians for help in getting more Americans vaccinated. “To the nation’s family physicians, pediatricians, and general practitioners: you’re the most trusted medical voice to your patients,” Biden said in an address in the White House State […]
Fauci: Mask, Vaccine Mandates Needed in Schools
Mask mandates are needed in schools as part of a layered approach to prevent the spread of COVID-19, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, MD, said during a New York Times event on Thursday. COVID vaccines could become available for some children under the age of 12 as early as this fall, he said, but until that […]
Après the Pandemic, the Deluge
If it’s not COVID-19, what else could it be? There’s an old joke in internal medicine about a large team rounding on an inpatient cardiology service, consisting of multiple medical students, interns, residents, fellows, and an elderly senior attending. After a long and detailed presentation of an overnight admission by the post-call intern, the attending […]