COVID-19

  • Proning COVID Patients; Treating Aortic Stenosis; New Drug for Pulmonary Fibrosis
    on May 21, 2022 at 2:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, and Rick Lange, MD, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center…

  • Young Physicians Don’t Bear the Scars From Infectious Diseases of Yore
    on May 21, 2022 at 12:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — I am a member of the Boomer generation — born between 1946 and 1964. We were the last generation in the U.S. to deal with measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, and polio on a large scale. My mother swears she almost went crazy…

  • COVID Cases Emerge After Emergency Medicine Meeting
    on May 20, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    (MedPage Today) — A number of attendees at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) annual meeting tested positive for COVID-19 following the event that brought thousands to a hotel in New Orleans amid an uptick in cases and hospitalizations…

  • Experts Attempt to Demystify Paxlovid Prescribing
    on May 20, 2022 at 4:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) may interact with a number of medications, but that does not mean doctors should shy away from prescribing it, Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) experts said during a press call on…

  • CMS Proposal to Suppress Hospital Safety Data Angers Advocates
    on May 20, 2022 at 2:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Large employer coalitions and consumer advocates are angrily pushing back against a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule to suppress public reporting of key measures of preventable hospital-caused…

  • More Monkeypox Cases; Infant Formula Update; 2M Suspected With COVID in North Korea
    on May 20, 2022 at 9:30 am

    (MedPage Today) — Note that some links may require registration or subscription. Montreal health officials are investigating 17 suspected cases of monkeypox infection. (Reuters) Meanwhile, a potential case of monkeypox is being investigated…

  • Younger Kids ‘Should’ Get COVID Booster, Says CDC Panel
    on May 19, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Similar to their older peers, children ages 5 to 11 should get a third dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty), the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) said on Thursday. In an 11-1 vote…

  • Here’s How Doctors Are Trying to Help Long COVID Patients
    on May 19, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Hospital systems in the New York metropolitan area were among the first in the nation to form multidisciplinary programs dedicated to treating long COVID. Two years later, those programs are no closer to defining the condition…

  • 76% of Long COVID Patients Were Not Hospitalized for Their Infection
    on May 19, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Most individuals with long COVID did not have an initial infection that would be considered severe, according to a white paper from FAIR Health that relied on private insurance claims. In the analysis of over 78,000 people diagnosed…

  • Misinformation Docs See Their Political Stars Rise
    on May 19, 2022 at 1:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Two of the most visible right-wing, conservative political movements in the U.S. right now — “Defeat the Mandates” and the “ReAwaken America” tour — have extensive involvement from physicians who have been flagged for spreading…

  • US air force academy cadets denied commission over vaccine refusal
    by Ramon Antonio Vargas and agencies on May 21, 2022 at 9:27 pm

    Trio will receive college degrees but will not be commissioned ‘as long as they remain unvaccinated’, spokesperson saysFor refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, three US air force academy cadets won’t be commissioned as military officers, though they will receive college degrees, a spokesperson for the school said Saturday.Academy spokesperson Dean Miller said in a statement that the three cadets in question won’t be commissioned as air force officers “as long as they remain unvaccinated,” though they would get their bachelor’s of science degrees. The military branch had not decided yet whether to require the trio to reimburse the US for education costs in lieu of service, Miller said. Continue reading…

  • Lack of bouncers slams the doors on Britons’ big nights out
    by Sarah Butler on May 21, 2022 at 3:00 pm

    A post-Covid recruitment crisis overs security staff is forcing pubs and clubs to cut hours or open fewer days a weekAfter the tumult of the past two and a half years, the hospitality sector had been hoping for a bumper 2022 to recoup its pandemic losses. But while businesses have seen a surge in customers seeking to spend their lockdown savings, the twin pressures of staff shortages and rising costs are now forcing many clubs, restaurants, pubs and hotels to turn people away and close their doors midweek.Bouncers are one role in particularly short supply. Three-quarters of clubs, pubs and bars said they were short of security staff, with some closing earlier or shutting entirely on Tuesdays or Wednesdays as well as Mondays, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA). Continue reading…

  • Biden and South Korean president mull expanding joint military exercises
    by Justin McCurry in Tokyo on May 21, 2022 at 10:18 am

    US president willing to meet Kim Jong-un, while Seoul says deployment of US ‘strategic assets’ was discussedJoe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, have said they are considering expanding joint military exercises in response to the “threat” posed by North Korea, a move that is expected to enrage the regime as speculation builds that it could conduct a nuclear test.Speaking in Seoul on the second day of his visit to South Korea, Biden said he was willing to meet North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, but only if he was “sincere and serious” about dismantling his nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Continue reading…

  • ‘Caught unawares’: Covid is preventing Australians in hospital from voting
    by Christopher Knaus on May 21, 2022 at 3:45 am

    Mobile polling in health facilities was stopped amid the pandemic and patients in hospital unexpectedly have no way to cast their ballotAustralia federal election 2022 LIVE – latest news and updatesElection 2022 results: live votes tracker and federal seat countsGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingAustralians unexpectedly admitted to hospital before the election are struggling to cast their vote due to a decision to abort mobile polling in health facilities due to Covid.The Australian Electoral Commission announced before the campaign that it would not be sending mobile teams into hospitals to take votes in the lead-up to polling day, in an attempt to balance voting access with the risk of spreading Covid in vulnerable settings. Continue reading…

  • Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon tests positive for Covid
    by PA Media on May 20, 2022 at 9:48 pm

    Sturgeon tweeted she had been experiencing mild symptoms on Friday eveningNicola Sturgeon has tested positive for Covid-19.The Scottish first minister tweeted she had been experiencing mild symptoms on Friday evening. Continue reading…