The global health body is now trying to figure out how severe the sub-variant is. By CARMEN PAUN The coronavirus Omicron strain XBB.1.5, which has become the dominant strain in the U.S. in just a matter of weeks, could drive a new wave of cases, a World Health...
Biden on ‘60 Minutes’: ‘The pandemic is over’
He also called former President Donald Trump “totally irresponsible“ in his handling of classified documents, and hedged on whether he was fully committed to seeking reelection. By DAVID COHEN and ADAM CANCRYN President Joe Biden said “the pandemic is over” in...
‘Left to rot’: The lonely plight of long Covid sufferers
Some studies suggest long Covid could affect as much as 30 percent of people who are infected. By DANIEL PAYNE Thousands of long Covid patients across the globe are urging their governments to provide more help for the growing number of people facing lingering...
Anthony Fauci wants to put Covid’s politicization behind him
The disease fighter says he’s plotting his departure and reflecting on how he wants to be remembered. By SARAH OWERMOHLE The most famous scientist in America is facing retirement. After more than five decades of federal service under seven presidents, Anthony Fauci...
Travel mask mandates have majority support, despite the viral videos
By ALEX DAUGHERTY — The federal mask mandate for travel still has more than 50 percent support among Americans, despite its uncertain future after a federal judge struck it down. TRANSPORTATION MASK MANDATES POPULAR? A Florida judge’s decision to strike down the...
‘We’ve learned absolutely nothing’: Tests could again be in short supply if Covid surges
Covid-19 infections are rebounding in several European countries and Biden officials are monitoring infections in the United Kingdom. By DAVID LIM The United States could yet again find itself with too few Covid-19 tests if Congress fails to authorize new funds and...
‘The virus isn’t done with us’
By MYAH WARD THE LULL IN THE LULL — We’ve reached another one of those unsettling, too-good-to-be-true moments in the pandemic. Cases have plummeted in the U.S., and the CDC says more than 98 percent of the population can go mask-free. I’m feeling hopeful...
Health experts plead with Biden to ‘reverse course’ in global pandemic response
They are seeking a global pandemic action plan to match the national plan the administration rolled out last week. By DANIEL PAYNE Over 100 public health, medical and epidemiology experts and advocates sent the Biden administration a letter on Wednesday begging it to...
Moderna says it will ‘never’ enforce Covid-19 vaccine patents in dozens of low- and middle-income countries
The 92 countries are members of the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment, a mechanism aimed at securing financing for vaccines to go to those areas. By KRISTA MAHR Moderna pledged on Monday to “never enforce” its patents for Covid-19 vaccines against manufacturers...
How to spot the next Omicron
By MYAH WARD CONNECT THE DOTS— It’s been two weeks since South African scientists alerted the world of a new Covid variant on Friday, Nov. 26. Two weeks is also the amount of timethe president’s top health adviser, Anthony Fauci, said it would take to...
Fauci: ’I’m going to be saving lives and they’re going to be lying’
Anthony Fauci said claims he lied about certain research funding in the Wuhan lab smacked of contempt for science. By Allie Bice Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Sunday said Sen. Ted Cruz’s call to prosecute...
A two-shot regimen for vax skeptics
By JOANNE KENEN Published in Politico Nightly ~ November 17, 2021 Joanne Kenen, a former POLITICO health care editor and a contributing POLITICO writer, is the Commonwealth Fund Journalist in Residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 1, 2...
How I got Covid
By SARAH OWERMOHLE I HAD BREAKTHROUGH COVID, AND YOU CAN TOO — I was 20 months into covering the pandemic, yet when I started showing symptoms I was in denial. “Probably just a bad cold!” I texted friends as I sat on the floor with ginger ale because I was dizzy...
Biden nominates Califf as FDA chief
The selection ends the administration's lengthy search for a permanent FDA commissioner. By ADAM CANCRYN President Joe Biden on Friday nominated former Commissioner Robert Califf to lead the Food and Drug Administration, in a move that would bring the Obama-era...
Diet-related diseases pose a major risk for Covid-19. But the U.S. overlooks them.
Other countries have been galvanized to confront diet issues. The U.S. has had no such wakeup call. By HELENA BOTTEMILLER EVICH The same week British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care for Covid-19, two studies came out identifying obesity as...