Published March 22, 2022 | Originally published on The Conversation Health & Medicine A new omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19, BA.2, is quickly becoming the predominant source of infections amid rising cases around the world. Immunologists Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti of the University of South Carolina explain what makes it different […]
KHN (APRIL 1, 2022) – The United States is nearing 1 million deaths from COVID — an almost incomprehensible number of lives lost that few thought possible when the pandemic began. Pennsylvania’s Mifflin County, with over 300 dead, offers a snapshot into how one hard-hit community is coping. As US Nears 1 Million Covid Deaths, […]
The Philadelphia Inquirer (March 29) – The BA.2 subvariant has become the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the United States and the Northeast, new CDC data showed Tuesday — meaning an uptick in cases could be around the corner, just after COVID-19 spread had reached its lowest level since July. In New Jersey, the […]
PENNSYLVANIA, USA (March 30th, 2022) — Just one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved a second COVID-19 booster for Americans 50 and older, Rite Aid announced all of its Pennsylvania locations are now offering the shot. According to a media release from […]
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will weigh the benefits of authorizing a round of boosters of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a broader population in the fall, a top official said on Tuesday. The agency authorized on Tuesday a second booster dose of either vaccine for […]
The New York Times (3/29) reports that according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, the Omicron subvariant BA.2 “is now the dominant version of the virus in new U.S. cases.” The variant “accounted for about 55 percent of new U.S. cases in the week ending Saturday, according to” the CDC. The Wall Street […]
Reuters (3/29) reports the “Food and Drug Administration will weigh the benefits of authorizing a round of boosters of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a broader population in the fall…said” FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research director Peter Marks, MD, PhD. Dr. Marks said, “It would not be surprising if there […]
MedPage Today (3/29) reports that “fewer than 0.5% of children” had SARS-CoV-2 reinfection after a primary infection, “and reinfection was not associated with more severe disease, British researchers found.” According to the study findings published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, “reinfection rates were highest among adolescents ages 12 to 16 (0.49%), followed by […]
The Washington Post (3/29) reports, “Older adults can get second booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, federal agencies announced Tuesday as they expanded access to additional shots to help shore up protection against severe illness.” The Food and Drug Administration authorized the second mRNA booster doses “for people 50 and older at […]
Reuters (3/22) reports, “About one-in-three COVID-19 cases in the United States are now caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus, according to government data on Tuesday that also showed overall infections still declining from January’s record highs.” Despite the “rise of the extremely contagious sub-variant also seen in other countries, U.S. health experts say […]