Large U.S. Study Finds No Link Between COVID Vaccine and Shingles
No association was detected between COVID-19 vaccination and herpes zoster infection in a database study involving more than 2 million individuals in the U.S. Using a self-controlled risk interval (SCRI) analysis, the risk of herpes zoster in the month after receiving a dose of COVID-19 vaccine was no different when compared with a control period […]
Monoclonals for COVID in Pregnancy Pass Safety Test, Efficacy on the Other Hand …
Monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 was safe to use in pregnancy, but wasn’t all that effective, according to a single-center study. Among pregnant patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who received monoclonal antibody treatment, infusion reactions were rare, with 1.4% of patients experiencing mild, drug-related adverse events (AEs), reported Erin McCreary, PharmD, of University of Pittsburgh Medical […]
Is It COVID, The Flu Or RSV? Here’s How To Tell.
Three respiratory viruses are circling at a high rate right now — the flu, COVID-19 and RSV (or respiratory syncytial virus). These viruses have similar symptoms in most healthy adults but can impact certain populations (children, older adults or immunocompromised people) more severely. Also, it can be helpful, in general, to know what virus you’re […]
Anticoagulation Again Flops for Outpatient COVID-19
CHICAGO — For outpatient COVID-19, prophylactic anticoagulation with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) did not improve outcomes in elevated thrombotic risk patients, the PREVENT trial showed. Compared with placebo, giving the direct-acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC) for 35 days in non-hospitalized patients with symptomatic COVID-19 who had at least one risk factor for thrombosis didn’t reduce thromboembolic events or […]
Why Respiratory Sicknesses Are Hitting Kids So Hard This Year
You might think that as COVID-19 becomes less of a threat, we would all be spending less time talking about viruses, testing and how to prevent the spread of germs. But it seems that everywhere you turn these days, there are sick kids. Pediatricians are tending to a never-ending stream of patients, and children’s hospitals […]
Ivermectin: Still on a Losing Streak as COVID-19 Treatment
WASHINGTON — There were no differences in relief from mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms for patients on ivermectin versus placebo, according to the ongoing ACTIV-6 trial. Among >1,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, the median time to recovery was 12 days for those in the ivermectin group and 13 days in the placebo group, reported Matthew McCarthy, MD, […]
4 Major Problems Dentists Are Seeing Because Of The Pandemic
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people avoided the dentist unless there was a real emergency (in fact, this is still the case for many). People have been afraid of the possibility of encountering COVID in public spaces — and, in the case of the dentist, afraid of having to take off their […]
Distressing Study On Long COVID-19 Reveals Just How Enduring It Can Be
While most people can recover from COVID-19 and go back to their normal lives, many still have symptoms for months after an initial infection, according to new research from Scotland. A study published Wednesday in the Nature Communications journal followed 33,281 people with recent COVID-19 infections, as well as a control group of 62,957 people […]
‘I Didn’t Think COVID-19 Was Real’: Why 40% Misled During the Pandemic
Three in five Americans say they either misled others about their COVID-19 infection or vaccination status, or didn’t follow pandemic-related public health measures, a new study indicated. In a survey involving over 1,700 respondents, 41.6% suggested they either misrepresented and/or did not adhere to at least one of nine survey items, most commonly 24.3% saying […]
WHO Chief Strikes Optimistic Tone On COVID: ‘The End Is In Sight’
The World Health Organization head said the end of the COVID-19 pandemic “is in sight,” saying reported global deaths last week reached their lowest point since March 2020. Speaking at the U.N. agency’s COVID briefing on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “we have never been in a better position to end the […]