"Where you can find almost anything with A Click A Pick!"
Go to content
Coronavirus (Covid-19) - Page 2

The U.S. currently has more confirmed cases of the coronavirus than any country in the world. Coronavirus is real it is not a hoax. Coronavirus is not the flu no matter what they say, you can get a flu shot which reduces the chances of you getting the flu, you cannot get a coronavirus shot because there are currently no coronavirus vaccines shots. Coronavirus is deadlier than the flu and spreads faster than the flu. Currently there are no shots or cures for the coronavirus. Coronavirus kills people of all ages. Coronavirus can remain in the air and on surfaces for more than an hour. Someone who is not showing any signs of illness can infect you. Be safe; stay home if directed, keep your distance from others, stay home if sick to prevent possible spread of the disease, wash your hands with soap before you touch your face and wash your hands with soap frequently. Below you can find the latest coronavirus updates statistics, totals, new cases, deaths per day, mortality and recovery rates, current active cases, recoveries, trends, timelines and more.
Donald J. Trump failure to act quickly and reasonably to protect the American people from the Coronavirus has put America lives at risks.
Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, and death toll by country due to the COVID 19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, historical data, and info. Daily charts, graphs, news and updates
View United States Coronavirus update with statistics and graphs: total and new cases, deaths per day, mortality and recovery rates, current active cases, recoveries, trends and timeline.
By Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung (DZD)

People who have had Covid-19 are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is the result of a study by DDZ, DZD and IQVIA, which has now been published in Diabetologia. Studies show that the human pancreas can also be a target of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 virus). Following a Covid-19 infection, reduced numbers of insulin secretory granules in beta cells and impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion have been observed. In addition, after Covid-19 disease, some patients developed insulin resistance and had elevated blood glucose levels although they had no previous history of diabetes. SARS-CoV-2 infection may lead to a strong release of pro-inflammatory signaling substances (cytokines). Activation of the immune system may persist for months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and impair insulin effectiveness (muscle, fat cells, liver).
By Candice Ortiz

Howard Stern fumed at the easing of mask mandates in certain states, warning that Republican “wackos are winning!” On Wednesday’s episode of The Howard Stern Show, mask mandates were the hot topic of discussion. “The reason they’ve lifted these mask mandates is because we gave into this small minority of people who are completely out of their fucking mind, who think masks are some sort of prison sentence,” Stern lamented. Co-host Robin Quivers chimed in to say, “the government is tired of fighting with people who want to get sick and die.” Stern agreed. He then referenced their interview earlier in the week with comedian Jon Stewart, in which they discussed division in America.
By Elizabeth Llorente | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A major study on the impact of COVID-19 on the brain indicates even a mild case can significantly affect the complex organ, thinning tissue and disrupting functions that control smell and some cognitive abilities. The findings are sobering for the nearly 2 million New Jersey residents — and 80 million Americans — who have contracted the coronavirus. The study, published in the journal Nature and described as the first detailed look into the neurological impacts of mild COVID-19, reveal a reduction in brain size and gray matter as well as tissue damage in areas linked to smell, taste and memory among those who had the coronavirus. Those patients also required more time to complete cognitive tests, such as trail-making.
By Rich Haridy

Two new studies are reporting on an ongoing long COVID research project investigating the persistent effects of COVID-19 on cognition in the months after acute disease. The University of Cambridge-led research found many long COVID patients are experiencing significant and measurable memory or concentration impairments even after mild illness. “Long COVID has received very little attention politically or medically,” said Lucy Cheke, senior author on the new studies. “It urgently needs to be taken more seriously, and cognitive issues are an important part of this. When politicians talk about ‘Living with COVID’ – that is, unmitigated infection, this is something they ignore.”
By Debbie Lord, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the BA.2 sub-lineage of the omicron variant is now responsible for a quarter of new COVID-19 infections in the United States. The number of cases linked to BA.2 jumped from 10% last week to 25% this week. more...
While gateway remains open, ships are accumulating as trucks are unable to move cargo, with the city enduring restrictions
By Costas Paris

Cargo ships are accumulating at one of China’s busiest ports after another Covid-19 outbreak shut down factories and warehouses in Shenzhen, raising the prospect of a new round of bottlenecks that could push up freight rates and slow deliveries. There are more than 35 ships waiting to dock in Shenzhen and another 30 farther north in Qingdao, according to shipping brokers. The Port of Shenzhen, which serves a major manufacturing and export hub, includes the Yantian terminal, which handles about a quarter of all U.S.-bound Chinese exports. Shenzhen remains open, but most manufacturing plants and warehouses were ordered to close this past week, and container loading is falling fast as fewer trucks are arriving. more...
Russell Falcon, Nexstar Media Wire

(NEXSTAR) – Misinformation and conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccines have flourished on social media since the start of the pandemic — even before the vaccines were officially available. But new data reveals how Russia, currently in the midst of its invasion of Ukraine, aided in spreading misinformation in an attempt to make the U.S. look bad. According to a study by Stanford University, fake social media profiles pretending to be based in the U.S. cropped up around November 2020. The operation was linked to “Russian actors,” researchers say. Throughout the pandemic, accounts for fake people zeroed in on far-right forums and “alternative” social media platforms like Gab and Parler with bad-faith information. more...
By Arlette Saenz, CNN

(CNN) Former President Barack Obama announced Sunday that he has tested positive for Covid-19.
"I've had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise," he said on his official Twitter account. Obama also said that his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, has tested negative. more...
by DAVID RISING Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — The official global death toll from COVID-19 is on the verge of eclipsing 6 million — underscoring that the pandemic, now in its third year, is far from over. The milestone is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe. The death toll, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, stood at 5,997,994 as of Sunday afternoon and was expected to pass the 6 million mark later in the day. more...
Those who recovered from COVID-19 are more likely to have anxiety, depression and other mental health issues
By Matthew Rozsa

Long Covid — the shorthand term for people who continue to have long-term side effects long after their initial COVID-19 infection has subsided — has become a major condition that affects tens of millions. Doctors estimate that 10 percent of children who get COVID-19 will develop long COVID, and a study published earlier this month found that COVID-19 patients are more likely to have long-term heart problems. Now, a new study published in the medical journal BMJ reveals that COVID-19 is linked to long-term mental health issues. The findings suggest that a dual mental-health crisis, evidently caused directly or indirectly by COVID-19 itself, now looms. more...
By Max Foster and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN

London (CNN) Britain's Queen Elizabeth II canceled her planned virtual engagements on Tuesday as she continues to suffer from mild Covid-19 symptoms, Buckingham Palace has said. The palace announced Sunday that the 95-year-old monarch had contracted the virus. "As Her Majesty is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties," the palace said. Light duties likely refer to her head of state responsibilities such as reading and answering documents and letters, which she receives daily in her famous red despatch boxes. more...

HealthDay News -- After you have recovered from COVID-19, getting at least one dose of a vaccine provides added protection against reinfection, Israeli researchers report. Stay unvaccinated after a bout with COVID-19 and you're five times more likely than someone who has had the shot to get COVID again, the new study found. That's because the immunity acquired through an infection is short-lived. "It's very good for three months, and may well be good for a lot longer, but it's not permanent," said infectious disease expert Dr. Bruce Farber of Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y., who reviewed the findings. more...
nature.com

Several variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged. Those with mutations in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) receptor binding domain (RBD) are associated with increased transmission and severity. In this study, we developed both antibody quantification and functional neutralization assays. Analyses of both COVID-19 convalescent and diagnostic cohorts strongly support the use of RBD antibody levels as an excellent surrogate to biochemical neutralization activities. Data further revealed that the samples from mRNA vaccinated individuals had a median of 17 times higher RBD antibody levels and a similar degree of increased neutralization activities against RBD-ACE2 binding than those from natural infections. Our data showed that N501Y RBD had fivefold higher ACE2 binding than the original variant. While some antisera from naturally infected subjects had substantially reduced neutralization ability against N501Y RBD, all blood samples from vaccinated individuals were highly effective in neutralizing it. Thus, our data indicates that mRNA vaccination may generate more neutralizing RBD antibodies than natural immunity. It further suggests a potential need to maintain high RBD antibody levels to control the more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants. more...
On paper, 900,000 Americans have died from covid-19—but excess death tracking tells a different story.
By Ed Cara

Over a million more Americans than expected have died during the covid-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found. An overwhelming majority of these excess deaths can be directly tied to the coronavirus, but others may be the result of increased fatalities from conditions indirectly worsened by the pandemic. The CDC has been keeping track of excess deaths (deaths above the average baseline of a given time period) throughout the pandemic. As of last week, their tally climbed to over a million dead, and as of Wednesday morning, it stands at 1,045,389. Officially, just around 925,000 Americans have died from covid-19. more...
As the US nears 900,000 Covid deaths, much of the blame has fallen on individuals despite vast income inequality and vaccine accessibility issues
Melody Schreiber

The US has suffered 900,000 deaths from Covid-19, the highest figure of any nation. The death toll would be equivalent to the 15th most populous city in the country, more than San Francisco, Washington DC or Boston – a city of ghosts with its population swelling each day. It’s not just the total numbers. America also has the highest death rate of any wealthy country, with half of the deaths occurring after vaccines became available. The US has never responded to the Covid pandemic in a sustained, proactive way as a unified nation. Instead, much of the responsibility – and blame – has fallen on individuals. In a country with vast income inequality, poor health and sharp political divides, the results have been grim. “All of those factors put people at higher risk of Covid death,” said Megan Ranney, emergency physician and academic dean of public health at Brown University. more...
By Zachary Stieber

A combination of remdesivir and a concentrated solution of antibodies did not work well in people hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a newly published study. The clinical trial tested remdesivir, an antiviral from Gilead Sciences, combined more...
Since last summer, the conservative campaign against vaccination has claimed thousands of lives for no ethically justifiable purpose.
By Kurt Andersen

In the early phases of the pandemic, as the coronavirus spread in the United States and doctors and pharmacists and supermarket clerks continued to work and risk infection, some commentators made reference—metaphorical reference, fast and loose and over the top—to ritual human sacrifice. The immediate panicky focus on resuming business as usual in order to keep the stock market from crashing was the equivalent of “those who offered human sacrifices to Moloch,” according to the writer Kitanya Harrison. That first summer, as Republicans settled into their anti-testing, anti-lockdown, anti-mask, nothing-to-worry-about orthodoxy, Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, said it was “like a policy of mass human sacrifice.” The anthropology professor Shan-Estelle Brown and the researcher Zoe Pearson wrote that people who continued to do their jobs outside their homes were essentially victims of “involuntary human sacrifice, made to look voluntary.” Meanwhile, people on the right likewise compared the inconvenience of closing down public places to ritual sacrifice. more...
By Daniel Avis

A fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was insufficient to prevent infection with the omicron variant of Covid-19, according to preliminary data from a trial in Israel released Monday. Two weeks after the start of the trial of 154 medical personnel at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, researchers found the vaccine successfully raised antibody levels. But that only offered a partial defense against omicron, according to Gili Regev-Yochay, the trial’s lead researcher. Vaccines which were more effective against previous variants offer less protection with omicron, she said. Still, those infected in the trial had only slight symptoms or none at all. more...
By Madison Czopek

On Jan. 10, when the U.S. reported 1.35 million new COVID-19 cases — the highest daily total for any country on record — White House press secretary Jen Psaki faced pushback regarding President Joe Biden’s assertion that the pandemic is, at this point, "a pandemic of the unvaccinated." During a press briefing that day, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy implied that Biden’s characterization was inaccurate. "I understand that the science says that vaccines prevent death," he said. "But I’m triple vaxxed, still got COVID. You’re triple vaxxed, still got COVID. Why is the president still referring to this as a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated?’" more...
Spencer Kimball

General Electric suspended its Covid vaccine and testing requirement on Friday after the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s mandate, a company spokesperson told CNBC. GE, which had174,000 employees at the end of 2020, has encouraged its employees to get vaccinated, the spokesperson said. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority, in a 6-3 ruling, called the Biden administration’s requirements a “blunt instrument” that “draws no distinctions based on industry or risk of exposure to Covid-19.” more...
Sky Palma

In a heated exchange during a Senate hearing this Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci fired back at GOP Sen. Rand Paul's accusations that he used his alleged media connections to smear scientists who disagreed with his approach to tackling the covid pandemic. During the exchange, Fauci held up a screenshot of a "Fire Fauci" fundraising link Paul uses to solicit donations -- a link Fauci said shows that Paul is using the pandemic for political purposes. more...
Study published by Oregon State University researchers, tested on 2 variants
Ken Haddad, Digital Special Projects

A new study published by researchers at Oregon State University found hemp compounds have the ability to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells. Findings of the study led by Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy and Linus Pauling Institute, were published this week in the Journal of Natural Products. Hemp, known scientifically as cannabis sativa, is a source of fiber, food and animal feed, and multiple hemp extracts and compounds are added to cosmetics, body lotions, dietary supplements and food, van Breemen said. more...
Future variants could combine the most dangerous traits of older COVID lineages—to devastating effect.
David Axe

Even as daily new COVID cases set all-time records and hospitals fill up, epidemiologists have arrived at a perhaps surprising consensus. Yes, the latest Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus is bad. But it could have been a lot worse. Even as cases have surged, deaths haven’t—at least not to the same degree. Omicron is highly transmissible but generally not as severe as some older variants—“lineages” is the scientific term. We got lucky. But that luck might not hold. Many of the same epidemiologists who have breathed a sigh of relief over Omicron’s relatively low death rate are anticipating that the next lineage might be much worse. more...
DH Web Desk

Israel recently detected the first case of ‘florona’, a combined infection of coronavirus and influenza, according to a tweet by Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily newspaper. The reports stated that the first case was detected in a pregnant woman who was admitted to a hospital for delivery. The woman was not vaccinated against coronavirus.

What is florona?
Florona is a combined infection of coronavirus and flu. It is not a new variant of Covid-19, however, it is a double infection. Till now, there is no proper definition of florona by the World Health Organization (WHO) but it said that “it is possible to catch both diseases at the same time”. more...
By Christina Maxouris, CNN

(CNN) The US kicked off 2022 amid a massive Covid-19 case spike -- driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant -- that some experts warn will be different than any other time in the pandemic. "What we have to understand is that our health system is at a very different place than we were in previous surges," professor of emergency medicine Dr. Esther Choo told CNN on Saturday. "We have extremely high numbers of just lost health care workers, we've lost at least 20% of our health care workforce, probably more." "This strain is so infectious," Choo added, "that I think all of us know many, many colleagues who are currently infected or have symptoms and are under quarantine." The high number of health care staff out with the virus will also have an impact on Americans' doctors appointments and could make for dangerous circumstances when people are hospitalized with Covid-19, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of Baylor University's National School of Tropical Medicine, said Friday. "That's a different type of one-two punch: people going into the hospitals ... and all of the health care workers are out of the workforce," he told CNN. more...
Jason Gale | Bloomberg

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, can spread within days from the airways to the heart, brain and almost every organ system in the body, where it may persist for months, a study found. In what they describe as the most comprehensive analysis to date of the virus’s distribution and persistence in the body and brain, scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health said they found the pathogen is capable of replicating in human cells well beyond the respiratory tract. The results, released online Saturday in a manuscript under review for publication in the journal Nature, point to delayed viral clearance as a potential contributor to the persistent symptoms wracking so-called long COVID sufferers. Understanding the mechanisms by which the virus persists, along with the body’s response to any viral reservoir, promises to help improve care for those afflicted, the authors said. more...

FULL CLAIM: the pandemic was planned; the COVID-19 vaccines are experimental; previously infected people have “permanent immunity”; masks don’t work; using three or four doses of vaccine is “wild”; VAERS shows vaccines killed thousands of people, vaccine-induced spike protein causes damage, Omicron comes from vaccinated people

REVIEW: The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast hosted by actor and comedian Joe Rogan, interviewed cardiologist Peter McCullough in December 2021. During the interview, which spanned about two hours and 45 minutes, McCullough made multiple inaccurate, misleading and/or unsubstantiated claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccines. This isn’t the first time McCullough propagated health misinformation, as these earlier fact-checks by Health Feedback, Full Fact, and AFP show.
By Manas Mishra and Carl O'donnell

Dec 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. on Thursday authorized Merck & Co's (MRK.N) antiviral pill for COVID-19 for certain high-risk adult patients, a day after giving a broader go-ahead to a similar but more effective treatment from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Merck's drug could be used when other authorized treatments are not accessible or clinically appropriate. The drug, molnupiravir, was developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by around 30% in a clinical trial of high-risk individuals early in the course of the illness. The authorization allows use of the drug for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and along with the Pfizer pill, could be an important tool against the fast-spreading Omicron variant, which is now dominant in the United States. more...
ByBrenton Blanchet

A new study has found that fully vaccinated people who are then infected with COVID-19 may acquire a “super immunity” to future variants of the virus, NBC Chicago reports. The Oregon Health & Science University study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has discovered that antibodies in breakthrough case blood samples were at most 1,000% more effective than the antibodies found in non-infected blood samples taken two weeks after a Pfizer vaccination. The study collected blood samples from 52 university employees who had the Pfizer vaccine, and of the 26 of them who had mild breakthrough infections, 10 had the Delta variant, nine were described as non-Delta, and 7 had unknown variants. A breakthrough infection “generates a robust immune response against the delta variant,” according to the summary of findings, and researchers believe that responses will be similar to other variants like Omicron. more...
By Roshan Abraham and Aparupa Mazumder

Dec 12 (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday reached 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths, according to a Reuters tally, as the nation braces for a potential surge in infections due to more time spent indoors with colder weather and the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. more...
Compared to people who tested negative for covid-19, those who survived severe illness were more than twice as likely to die within a year's time.
By Ed Cara

New research this week finds that people who are hospitalized with severe covid-19 but survive often pay a heavy price afterward. The study concluded that these survivors were more than twice as likely to die in the subsequent 12 months compared to people who had tested negative for the virus. This relatively increased risk of death was even higher for people under the age 65.

While there remains much research to be done, studies thus far have made it clear that many covid-19 survivors can experience lingering symptoms even after the infection itself has cleared up. And those who are hospitalized are all the more vulnerable to these aftereffects. Severe covid often seriously damages the lungs and other organs, while life-saving interventions like steroids, ventilators, and life support devices like ECMO can take a toll on the body as well. more...
By Tara John, CNN

(CNN) When South African officials sounded the alarm on the new Omicron variant last Thursday, stocks around the world tumbled and up to 70 countries, including the United States, imposed travel bans and restrictions to southern African countries. The knee-jerk response followed the news that the variant had an unusually high number of mutations, which scientists feared could make it more transmissible and result in immune evasion. Much is still unknown about Omicron, including its origin, severity and its transmissibility. Researchers are also racing to discover if it could displace existing variants and become dominant, as Delta has. Early "indications" show that people who have received the coronavirus vaccine booster are "protected" against the new variant, Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Tuesday. more...
Celina Tebor, John Bacon | USA TODAY

CEOs at two pharmaceutical giants whose double-shot COVID-19 vaccines are dominating the U.S. market are pitching different perspectives on the impact of the omicron variant. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said current vaccines for COVID-19 will likely be less effective against the new omicron variant. Bancel told the Financial Times in an interview published Tuesday that he has spoken to scientists who told him that omicron is "not going to be good." He said it could be months before enough vaccines can be produced to crush omicron. more...
By Associated Press

TOKYO — Japan has asked international airlines to stop taking new reservations for all flights arriving in Japan until the end of December as the country further tightens its border controls against a new coronavirus variant, the transportation ministry said Wednesday. It said the request is an emergency precaution amid growing concern over the spread of the new omicron variant. Those who have already made reservations are not affected, although flights may be canceled if there are insufficient passengers, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said. Transit passengers are also unaffected, it said. Japan is a major transit hub for flights to and from Asia. more...
CBS News

Durban, South Africa — The Omicron variant of the coronavirus that was first detected in South Africa has now spread to at least 14 countries. Some experts believe it's likely already reached the U.S., but as governments including America's race to impose travel restrictions, scientists are racing to figure out how much more dangerous than previous strains this mutated virus really is. From Monday, the U.S. was imposing restrictions on travelers from South Africa and seven other countries in the region. Already the new variant has been confirmed in Canada, with two cases in people who recently arrived from Nigeria — not one of the nations under the new U.S. travel restrictions. more...
ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republicans fighting President Joe Biden's coronavirus vaccine mandates are wielding a new weapon against the White House rules: natural immunity. They contend that people who have recovered from the virus have enough immunity and antibodies to not need COVID-19 vaccines, and the concept has been invoked by Republicans as a sort of stand-in for vaccines. Florida wrote natural immunity into state law this week as GOP lawmakers elsewhere are pushing similar measures to sidestep vaccine mandates. Lawsuits over the mandates have also begun leaning on the idea. Conservative federal lawmakers have implored regulators to consider it when formulating mandates. more...
Investigators have launched an inquiry into a series of “COVID parties” in northern Italy where people try to get the deadly virus to get around vaccine mandates.
Barbie Latza Nadeau Correspondent-At-Large

ROME—A prosecutor in the northern Italian province of Bolzano has opened an investigation after one man died and several others landed in intensive care after they reportedly attended a COVID party to try to get sick. The trend has taken hold in northern Italy, where people who don’t want to get vaccinated are trying to get COVID to acquire a Green Pass to work, go inside bars and restaurants, and ride public transportation. In Italy, proof of recovery is sufficient to get the coveted pass for six months. The parties are being primarily held in the German-speaking region of South Tyrol along the border with Austria, which has some of the highest case numbers and lowest vaccine rates in all of Europe. more...
By Leslie Albrecht

People trust local TV and network news the most when it comes to information about the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by Kaiser Family Foundation. Most U.S. adults have heard or seen falsehoods about COVID-19, but their chances of believing the misinformation depends a lot on their news diet. Some 78% of U.S. adults said they either believe at least one myth about COVID-19, or are unsure whether it’s true or false, according to the latest study tracking public opinions about COVID-19 from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Belief in COVID-19 falsehoods tracked with political persuasion and vaccination status, with Republicans who are not vaccinated “much more likely to believe or be unsure about” false statements compared with Democrats who are vaccinated, KFF found. KFF is a nonpartisan San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides information on health policy. Researchers also found a correlation between the news outlets that people trusted for COVID-19 information and their tendency to believe untruths about the pandemic, which currently kills an estimated 1,200 Americans each day. There’s no news outlet that a majority of the public trusts. more...
Asher Price

Unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people, per new state research. Driving the news: To determine the effects of COVID-19 vaccination in Texas, researchers at the Department of State Health Services analyzed data from electronic lab reports, death certificates and the state immunization registry. more...
Posted by Mike Florio

The good news, if there is any, for the Packers arising from the positive COVID test generated by quarterback Aaron Rodgers is that, for 90 days after his positive test, the previously secretly unvaccinated quarterback won’t have to be tested. That’s one of the aspects of the joint NFL-NFLPA COVID protocols about which the delicate genius surely won’t be complaining. So when does the 90 days expire? MDS has done the count. Rodgers won’t be tested again until two days after the NFC Championship, if the Packers are still alive at that point. more...
CNN’s “New Day” hit the network, other media outlets and GOP lawmakers with a stinging supercut that pointed out the same statistic again and again.
By Lee Moran

CNN “New Day” anchors Brianna Keilar and John Berman hammered home the same point over and over on Wednesday — that 99% of people who are now dying from COVID-19 in the United States are unvaccinated. They also called out Fox News personalities including Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, other conservative media outlets and GOP lawmakers who have sown doubt about the COVID-19 vaccines that have been declared by scientists worldwide to safely slow the spread of the coronavirus. more...
Kenneth Niemeyer

The FBI is investigating a Chicago hospital that gave COVID-19 vaccines to ineligible Trump International Hotel & Tower employees through a program meant to immunize communities of color, according to Block Club Chicago. Dr. Anosh Amhed, the former COO and CFO of Loretto Hospital, stepped down from his position in March after reports that he provided vaccines to employees at Chicago's Trump Tower, where he reportedly owned a $2 million condo. more...
Celina Tebor, John Bacon | USA TODAY

More than 90% of New York City's employees have been vaccinated and half of the rest have applied for exemptions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. The mayor's vaccine mandate requires that any of the city's 300,000 workers who haven't had their first dose be placed on unpaid leave today. The exemption requests are still being processed, de Blasio said. "A vast majority of city workers, 91%, stepped up to put the health and safety of their city first and got vaccinated," de Blasio tweeted early Monday. The number had been 83% Friday night. more...
COVID-19′s global death toll tops 5 million in under 2 years
By CARLA K. JOHNSON

The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 5 million on Monday, less than two years into a crisis that has not only devastated poor countries but also humbled wealthy ones with first-rate health care systems.

Together, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Brazil — all upper-middle- or high-income countries — account for one-eighth of the world’s population but nearly half of all reported deaths. The U.S. alone has recorded over 745,000 lives lost, more than any other nation. “This is a defining moment in our lifetime,” said Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public Health. “What do we have to do to protect ourselves so we don’t get to another 5 million?” more...
Analysis by Nectar Gan and Steve George, CNN

Hong Kong (CNN) Health workers in hazmat suits are not typically among the cast of characters featured at Shanghai Disneyland's Halloween party. That was until this year, when a single confirmed case sent the park, and its adjacent shopping district, Disneytown, into a snap lockdown Sunday evening. The extreme measure saw tens of thousands of visitors and staff forced to undergo coronavirus testing before they were allowed to leave the park, as police blocked the exits and secured the grounds. more...
Michelle Shen | USA TODAY

Long-term COVID-19 side effects could include memory loss and other cognitive dysfunctions commonly labeled as "brain fog," according to a study released that examined 740 patients in the Mount Sinai Health System. The study, which was published Friday in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed patients who contracted COVID-19, not people who only received the COVID-19 vaccine. The most common cognitive deficits the study identified were memory encoding and memory recall, which showed up in 24%  and 23% of the participants, respectively. more...
By Jacqueline Howard, CNN

ATLANTA — Cognitive impairment — described as brain fog — can persist for months in COVID-19 patients, even for some who were not hospitalized, according to a new study. The research, published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that nearly a quarter of COVID-19 patients in a Mount Sinai Health System registry experienced some issues with their memory — and although hospitalized patients were more likely to have such brain fog after a coronavirus infection, some outpatients had cognitive impairment too.

"In this study, we found a relatively high frequency of cognitive impairment several months after patients contracted COVID-19. Impairments in executive functioning, processing speed, category fluency, memory encoding, and recall were predominant among hospitalized patients," Jacqueline Becker and her colleagues at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, wrote in the study. more...
Andrea Hsu

For 33 years, Karl Bohnak worked at his dream job delivering weather forecasts on TV for what he considers one of the most challenging but beautiful spots in the United States — Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He became so popular that "That's what Karl says!" became a slogan at his station in the 1990s and even inspired a song. But Bohnak's time as chief meteorologist for news station TV6 came to an abrupt end last month. He was fired after refusing to comply with the vaccine mandate imposed by his station's corporate owner, Gray Television. more...
Study During their illnesses, many patients with Covid-19 experience symptoms, such as tiredness, difficulty breathing, chest pain, sore joints and loss of taste or smel...
PTI, Washington,

More than half number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 experience post-Covid symptoms, known as long Covid, up to six months after recovering, according to a study. The researchers at Penn State College of Medicine in the US noted that governments, health care organisations and public health professionals should prepare for the large number of Covid-19 survivors who will need care for a variety of psychological ... more...
Carl Zimmer

In the summer of 2020, half a year into the coronavirus pandemic, scientists traveled into the forests of northern Laos to catch bats that might harbor close cousins of the pathogen. In the dead of night, they used mist nets and canvas traps to snag the animals as they emerged from nearby caves, gathered samples of saliva, urine and feces, then released them back into the darkness. The fecal samples turned out to contain coronaviruses, which the scientists studied in high security biosafety labs, known as BSL-3, using specialized protective gear and air filters. more...
Reinfections give scientists clues about how long protection lasts—and how well vaccines might perform
By Jop de Vrieze

In late June, Sanne de Jong developed nausea, shortness of breath, sore muscles, and a runny nose. At first, she thought it might be lingering effects from her COVID-19 infection in the spring. De Jong, 22, had tested positive on 17 April and suffered mild symptoms for about 2 weeks. She tested negative on 2 May—just in time to say farewell to her dying grandmother—and returned to work as a nursing intern in a hospital in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

But when her symptoms re-emerged, her doctor suggested she get tested again. "A reinfection this soon would be peculiar, but not impossible," she told De Jong, who by then had again lost her sense of smell and had abdominal pains and diarrhea. The call from her municipal health service came on 3 July. De Jong had tested positive again. "You're kidding me!" she recalls saying. more...
By Joseph Choi

The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday issued a fine over $3.5 million to a county government for violating the state's ban on vaccine passports. The Leon County government was fined $3.57 million for what the Florida Department of Health called a "blatant violation of the law relating to the ban of vaccine passports in our state."

"It is unacceptable that Leon County violated Florida law, infringed on current and former employees' medical privacy, and fired loyal public servants because of their personal health decisions,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in the announcement of the fine. more...
Republican’s do not believe government should tell business how to run their business unless they are the ones telling them how to run their business.

Dartunorro Clark

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday prohibiting any entity, including private businesses, from imposing Covid-19 vaccination requirements on employees or customers. "The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced," Abbott said in a statement. Abbott, a Republican, said in his order that it was prompted by the Biden administration's vaccination mandate, which he said was federal overreach. more...
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large

(CNN) Despite the fact that all three Covid-19 vaccines have shown a remarkable ability to keep you from being hospitalized or dying if you contract the virus, there are still lots and lots of people who continue to resist getting the shot. And the divide over the vaccine reflects our partisan differences. In Gallup polling conducted at the end of September, 92% of Democrats had received at least one dose of the vaccine, while just 56% of Republicans had done the same. Donald Trump thinks he knows why. Here's his explanation during an "interview" with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday night: more...
Back to content