Articles Tagged With: COVID-19
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Still Standing: Antivaxx Groups Fail to Intimidate Hotez
On Feb. 1, 2022, Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, was nominated, along with a colleague, for the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to design and distribute a nonproprietary, free COVID-19 vaccine to impoverished nations globally. The very next day Hotez received an email with the subject line: “You will hang for crimes against humanity.” Hotez recently documented this harassment and attempts at intimidation in his new book, The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning.
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Threat of Reinfection Includes Long COVID
Accumulating research suggests reinfections with SARS-CoV-2 increase the likelihood of developing long COVID, the horrific post-acute syndrome with indefinite duration and a panoply of neurological, autoimmune, and physical conditions. Moreover, the risk of developing long COVID incrementally increases with each reinfection, according to a study that found this cumulative effect continues in up to three reinfections.
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Wounded Healers: Long COVID Community Helps Its Own
Despite her limitations, Karyn Bishof, MS, founded the COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project and began distributing information to others. Hospital Employee Heath reached out to Bishof for an interview.
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CDC Seeks Clarity on Masks, Respirators
An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently completed draft isolation guidelines for respiratory patients, but got a thumbs down and a loaded question for their trouble: “Should N95 respirators be recommended for all pathogens that spread by the air?”
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Is Brain Impairment Following COVID-19 Hospitalization Worse Than for Other Severe Illnesses?
The authors of this prospective cohort study with matched controls found that long-term brain health following severe COVID-19 hospitalization was impaired but was similar to hospitalization from other severe diseases.
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The Pandemic Did Not Affect Single-Visit LARC Insertion
Adolescents who used public insurance and were seeing a non-OB/GYN provider had lower odds of a single-visit placement of long-acting reversible contraception, new research shows.
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Blood Pressure Management with Devices Improved Outcomes During the Pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted case management, care coordination, transitions, and clinical monitoring of patients with chronic illness, the entire health industry switched to remote monitoring, virtual clinic visits, and virtual case management whenever feasible. A new study revealed that using self-measured blood pressure monitoring and telehealth were among the top ways healthcare professionals adapted to the pandemic’s forced limits on in-person clinic visits.
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Molnupiravir vs. Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir for Early Symptomatic COVID-19
A randomized, controlled, multicenter Phase II clinical trial compared molnupiravir, ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir, or no drug for low-risk adult patients ages 18-50 years with symptomatic COVID-19. Viral clearance was 84% faster with ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir and 37% faster with molnupiravir compared to no treatment.
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An Update on What Is New During the 2023-2024 Flu Season
As the fall and winter months descend in the Northern Hemisphere, it is time for healthcare providers to focus on preventing and treating the influenza virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates from the current flu season (Oct. 1, 2023, to present) suggest 1 million cases of flu illness and between 5,000 to 12,000 hospitalizations. Healthcare practitioners on the frontline must have current knowledge of prevention and treatment strategies.
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COVID Resurges Amid Pandemic Fatigue, Anemic Vaccine Uptake
As more hospitals nationally go to universal masking for patient care, we see the other side of an incoming problem: Only 19% of adults older than 18 years of age have received the latest vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.