Health Article Archives

Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to those in poverty faces trouble

October 1, 2020

LONDON (AP) — An ambitious humanitarian project to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorest people is facing potential shortages of money, cargo planes, refrigeration and vaccines themselves — and is running into skepticism even from some of those it’s intended to help most.

In one of the biggest obstacles, rich countries have locked up most of the world’s potential vaccine supply through 2021, and the U.S. and others have refused to join the project, called Covax.

“The supply of vaccines is not going to be there in the near term, and the money also isn’t there,” warned Rohit Malpani, a public health consultant who previously worked for Doctors Without Borders.

Covax was conceived as a way of giving countries access to coronavirus vaccines regardless of their wealth.

It is being led by the World Health Organization, a U.N. agency; Gavi, a public-private alliance, funded in part by the Bill

With ‘Twindemic’ Looming, 2 out of 5 Americans Plan to Skip Flu Shot | Health News

October 1, 2020

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By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Oct. 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Despite a potential looming “twindemic” of influenza and COVID-19, about 2 in 5 U.S. adults do not plan to get a flu shot, a new survey shows.

Only 59% of adults surveyed said they will get the influenza vaccine during the 2020-2021 flu season, according to results released Thursday by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

That’s up slightly from the 52% who planned to get a flu shot in 2019, but nowhere near enough to stave off the potential for overlapping flu and COVID-19 epidemics, said Dr. William Schaffner, the NFID’s medical director.

“We in the infectious disease community have been talking about a potentially ‘double-barreled’ respiratory virus season, when flu and COVID-19 converge,” Schaffner said. “There’s a real risk that even if we only have a moderate flu season, we could be in for a

Restaurants can return to 100% capacity soon

October 1, 2020

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Gov. Henry McMaster said Thursday that he will soon lift restrictions that allowed South Carolina restaurants to only fill half their tables because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

McMaster didn’t say exactly when he would issue an order allowing full capacity at restaurants. The governor said other restrictions such as requiring masks when not eating and cutting off alcohol sales at 11 p.m. would remain.

“South Carolina is open for business. We never closed,” McMaster said to reporters after a Thursday meeting with military leaders.

McMaster announced the restaurant restrictions two months ago as a summer spike in COVID-19 cases reached its peak.

The rate of new cases has declined significantly from that mid-July peak, but the steady decline stopped in late August. Newly diagnosed cases have been fluctuating since with schools restarting. South Carolina never dipped below the national average.

More than 143,500 people have contracted

All AZ counties now OKed for partial reopenings

October 1, 2020

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PHOENIX — Arizona is reporting 705 additional COVID-19 cases and 24 more deaths as health officials say all 15 counties have cleared state benchmarks for partial reopening of certain businesses.

The overall statewide total of confirmed cases is now 219,212 cases, and the death toll 5,674.

Arizona’s Department of Health Services says the classification of largely rural, southeastern Graham County improved to “moderate transmission stage.” That made it the final county to meet criteria for reopening businesses such as indoor gyms, bars serving food and movie theaters.

One county, tiny Greenlee in southeastern Arizona, is at “minimal” status, the highest step below normal conditions.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to the poor faces trouble

— In Appalachia, people watch COVID-19, race issues from afar

— NFL postpones Steelers-Titans game after more positive tests

— The White House is

Genetics might explain some cases of cerebral palsy

October 1, 2020

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Genetic problems cause about 14% of cerebral palsy cases, and many of the implicated genes control the wiring of brain circuits during early fetal development, new research shows.

The largest genetic study of cerebral palsy supports previous findings and provides “the strongest evidence to date that a significant portion of cerebral palsy cases can be linked to rare genetic mutations, and in doing so identified several key genetic pathways involved,” said study co-senior author Dr. Michael Kruer. He’s a neurogeneticist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

The study was largely funded by the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“We hope this will give patients living with cerebral palsy and their loved ones a better understanding of the disorder, and doctors a clearer road map for diagnosing and treating them,” Kruer said in an

Rapid Coronavirus Spit Tests Aren’t Coming Soon

October 1, 2020

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For months, public health experts have been eagerly watching the companies developing spit tests for the coronavirus that could be used at home, producing results in a matter of minutes.

If these rapid saliva tests worked, as many news articles have pointed out, they could greatly expand the number of people getting tested. Some experts have even said they could perform as well as a vaccine in curbing the spread of the coronavirus and paving a path back to normalcy.

But so far, the technology is not panning out as some have hoped.

E25Bio and OraSure, two companies pursuing rapid at-home coronavirus tests, have abandoned efforts to use saliva in their products. Their tests, which detect pieces of coronavirus proteins called antigens, will for now rely on shallow nose swabs instead.

“If I was placing a bet — which I am, because I’m leading an antigen-based testing company — I

Traces of coronavirus found in Lake Superior water, researchers say

October 1, 2020

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Traces of the novel coronavirus were found in water samples taken from Lake Superior beaches in Duluth, Minn., according to researchers with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus.

Since July, researchers have collected water samples from eight different beaches in Duluth in an effort to better understand how the novel virus “acts in the water and whether it can spread there,” the Star Tribune reported. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is “no evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can spread to people through water” at oceans, lakes and other natural bodies of water, as well as pools, water playgrounds and hot tubs.)

“The research team describes the detection level at 100 to 1,000 copies per liter, or 10,000 times lower than levels observed in wastewater,” the researchers said.
(iStock)

In September, the researchers found traces of SARS-Cov-2 for the first time in

Trump is main source of Covid ‘infodemic’, Cornell study says

October 1, 2020

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Covid-19 spread from China, but much of the “infodemic” is coming from the White House.

According to a new study from Cornell University, President Donald Trump is the world’s biggest spreader of coronavirus misinformation.

Nearly 38 percent of the “misinformation conversation” began with Trump doing things such as promoting unproven “miracle cures” for Covid-19 or claiming with zero evidence that the pandemic was a “Democratic Party hoax” aimed at derailing his presidency, the researchers from the Cornell Alliance for Science found.

Talk like that is dangerous, alliance Director Sarah Evanega said.

“We were interested in exploring this issue because the World Health Organization has identified Covid misinformation, which it dubbed an ‘infodemic,’ as a serious concern in fighting the pandemic,” she said. “If people are misled by unscientific and unsubstantiated claims about the disease, they may be less likely to observe official guidance and thus risk spreading the disease.”

In

NBC’s Kristen Dahlgren Opens Up About the Hardest Side Effect of Breast Cancer Treatment

October 1, 2020

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The Daily Beast

Trump’s Jab on Hunter Biden’s Drug Addiction Horrifies Treatment Advocates

Even by the historically low standards of decorum and decency set by President Donald Trump’s pugilistic performance in his first presidential debate with former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, the president’s attack on his opponent’s son for his past struggles with substance use was singular in its ugliness.“Are you talking about Hunter?” Trump said late into the debate, interrupting Biden as he reflected on his late son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015. “Hunter got thrown out of the military. He was thrown out, dishonorably discharged for cocaine use—he didn’t have a job until you became vice president, and once you became vice president, he made a fortune.”Trump’s callous and incorrect comments—Hunter Biden was not dishonorably discharged— about his opponent’s lone surviving son’s past drug use were clearly wielded to leave a mark,

Survey: Amid COVID-19 pandemic, less than 60% in U.S. plan to get flu vaccine

October 1, 2020

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Oct. 1 (UPI) — Less than 60% of people in the United States plan to be vaccinated against the flu this winter, according to a survey released Thursday by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

Although fewer than one-third of respondents said that the COVID-19 pandemic would make them more likely to be vaccinated, nearly half said they were concerned about the potential effects of the new coronavirus on the seasonal bug, the data showed.

However, 25% said that if flu vaccines were offered in alternative settings — like drive-thru clinics — as well as medical offices and pharmacies, they would be more likely to be vaccinated.

“If there was ever a time to get the flu vaccine, this is the year,” Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, said Thursday during a conference call with reporters.

“We are going to see a double-barreled respiratory

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Category: Health Article

Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to those in poverty faces trouble

With ‘Twindemic’ Looming, 2 out of 5 Americans Plan to Skip Flu Shot | Health News

Restaurants can return to 100% capacity soon

All AZ counties now OKed for partial reopenings

Genetics might explain some cases of cerebral palsy

Rapid Coronavirus Spit Tests Aren’t Coming Soon

Traces of coronavirus found in Lake Superior water, researchers say

Trump is main source of Covid ‘infodemic’, Cornell study says

NBC’s Kristen Dahlgren Opens Up About the Hardest Side Effect of Breast Cancer Treatment

Trump’s Jab on Hunter Biden’s Drug Addiction Horrifies Treatment Advocates

Survey: Amid COVID-19 pandemic, less than 60% in U.S. plan to get flu vaccine