COVID-19

  • AAN Issues Formal Position Statement on COVID-19 Vaccine
    on August 2, 2021 at 5:30 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Based on existing evidence, neurologists should recommend COVID-19 vaccination to their patients, a newly released American Academy of Neurology (AAN) paper said. “Barring the rare circumstance of an absolute contraindication…

  • Bring House Calls Into the 21st Century
    on August 2, 2021 at 4:07 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Prior to the pandemic, telemedicine was thought by many to be a solution only applicable to reaching patients in rural settings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve come to recognize telemedicine as an incredibly valuable, multifaceted…

  • Retracted COVID Paper Lives on in New Citations
    on August 2, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Researchers around the world have continued breathing new life into a retracted study, which suggested that common antihypertensive medications were harmful in patients with COVID-19. Published online on May 1, 2020 in the New…

  • White House Pans ‘Breakthrough’ Hype; ACOG Backs Vax; Mask-Optional K-12 in Florida
    on August 2, 2021 at 9:32 am

    (MedPage Today) — Note that some links may require registration or subscription. Sources say the White House is frustrated over the media’s “hyperbolic” and “irresponsible” coverage of breakthrough COVID infections, claiming this will lead to…

  • Who Needs to Mask Up Indoors Again?
    on July 31, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — You passed medical training, now see if you can pass our weekly quiz

  • COVID Is Spreading Like Wildfire in ICE Facilities
    on July 31, 2021 at 12:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — In recent months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reported higher-than-ever rates of COVID-19 among people in its custody. Since February, the COVID-19 positivity rate among those held by ICE has doubled. Today…

  • Join Me in the Fight Against COVID-19 Misinformation
    on July 31, 2021 at 10:00 am

    (MedPage Today) — Another COVID outbreak appears to be upon us. As America celebrated significant milestones with vaccination efforts, many people were still spurred by misinformation and lack of evidence and education. The COVID-19 vaccine naysayers…

  • Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail Authorized for Post-COVID Exposure
    on July 30, 2021 at 5:30 pm

    (MedPage Today) — FDA expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the monoclonal antibody cocktail casirivimab and imdevimab, to include post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) among certain people exposed to COVID-19, manufacturer Regeneron announced…

  • School Kids and Faculty Should Mask Up — Will They?
    on July 30, 2021 at 3:00 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Masks for children are a hot topic. But while some facts are clear (no, masks are not harmful to children; yes, masks do significantly reduce disease transmission), setting, communicating, and enforcing school and community policies…

  • How to Talk to Patients About the COVID Vaccine
    on July 30, 2021 at 1:15 pm

    (MedPage Today) — Ms. Clark comes for her annual visit. You notice on her medical record that she has not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19. Near the end of the visit, you ask her why she hasn’t been vaccinated yet. She replies that she has…

  • Therapy via Zoom should make mental healthcare available for all – it hasn’t | Hannah Zeavin
    by Hannah Zeavin on August 3, 2021 at 7:00 am

    Good quality remote treatment is still proving to be expensive and in short supplyWhether with a private therapist on Zoom, through an app that daily reminds us to log our emotions, or in a back-and-forth with a chatbot, teletherapy is often proffered as a catch-all salve for our current mental healthcare crises. Remote treatment is touted as an efficient way to reach more patients in a time of extreme difficulty, an intimate intervention that can scale.During the on-and-off mandated social distancing that has marked the past 18 months of the pandemic, teletherapy has shed its status as a minor form of care to become, at times, the only thing on offer. The popularity of remote therapeutic sessions has soared in the US and the “users” we once called patients are increasingly comfortable with and, in some cases, even prefer such practices. Continue reading…

  • Morrison reveals modelling for Covid vaccine targets; NSW confirms 199 new local cases; Qld records…
    by Amy Remeikis on August 3, 2021 at 6:58 am

    Scott Morrison releases Doherty Institute modelling on vaccine targets; Berejiklian can’t say whether cases have ‘peaked’ as NSW confirms 199 new local cases, 50 infectious in the community; Queensland records 16 new Covid cases. Follow latest updatesMost Australians comfortable with vaccination passports for domestic travel and venues, poll revealsSome Australians turned away from getting Covid vaccine because of register errorsNSW restrictions; NSW hotspots; border restrictions; Qld hotspotsVaccine rollout tracker; get our free news app; get our morning email briefing 7.55am BSTOh, and in the midst of all of that today, the Reserve Bank of Australia shocked everyone by NOT lifting rates and making NO changes to its strategy.(Obviously this is sarcastic – I’m as shocked as Captain Renault was to find gambling going on at Rick’s Café Américain.) 7.52am BSTWhile I am on PSAs, another reader let me know that Telstra is making all domestic phone calls on its payphone network (what is left of it) free.Which is an excellent idea. Continue reading…

  • Coronavirus live news: US reaches 70% first-shot goal while Japan shifts to home care for most…
    by Robyn Vinter (now), Helen Livingstone (earlier) on August 3, 2021 at 6:53 am

    White House greets vaccine news as ‘Milestone Monday’ while Japan moves to ensure it has enough hospital beds amid a spike in Covid casesUS reaches Biden’s 70% first-shot goal as threat to unvaccinated people growsHundreds of health workers in isolation as Delta hits Australian state of QueenslandJohnson dumps ‘amber watchlist’ plan as it emerges top adviser has quit 7.53am BSTI absolutely love this story from Ashifa Kassam in Spain. If you fancy yourself as a Line of Duty-style CHIS, police in Ibiza are looking for foreigners to go undercover in the island’s party scene and report any rule-breakers.It comes as Ibiza seeks to tackle a two-week Covid incidence rate that has soared to 1,814 cases per 100,000 of the population. With most nightclubs shuttered and gatherings in restaurants and bars limited to small groups, officials have blamed illegal parties for the spike in cases. Related: Ibiza plan for foreign ‘detectives’ to infiltrate parties as Covid cases surge 7.37am BSTThe optimal vaccination schedule to protect pregnant women against Covid-19 is to be explored in a UK clinical trial researchers hope will also allay concerns about getting the jab.Last week, Prof Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, chief midwifery officer for England, urged expectant mothers to get vaccinated as soon as possible, with evidence suggesting the Delta variant poses a significantly greater risk to pregnant women than previous forms of the virus. Related: Hopes UK trial will allay pregnant women’s Covid vaccine concerns Continue reading…

  • Vaccination rates lowest in Sydney suburbs with most Covid cases
    by Elias Visontay on August 3, 2021 at 6:52 am

    New Australian vaccine data shows more jabs given to inner city residents in NSW, than those hardest hit by latest outbreakVaccination map of Australia and the latest data on the rolloutNSW premier sets target of 6m jabs by end of AugustNSW restrictions and NSW hotspotsGet our free news app and our morning email briefingSuburbs in south-west and western Sydney under the harshest lockdown conditions have the lowest Covid vaccination rates in New South Wales, while northern parts of the city have the highest rates of vaccinated residents.In south-west Sydney, which includes the suburb of Fairfield which was the first area to have tighter LGA-based restrictions imposed, just 33.1% of residents over the age of 15 have received their first dose – the lowest amount in the state. Just under 15% of residents have received both doses. Continue reading…

  • Australian way, Australian results: Scott Morrison’s 28 ‘Australias’ in one press conference –…
    on August 3, 2021 at 6:40 am

    In opening remarks to a press conference on Tuesday, the Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said the word ‘Australia’ or its variants 28 times in the first 10 minutes. He was releasing modelling from the Doherty Institute, on which his government based its four-phase roadmap out of Covid. Count along in this video Continue reading…