BY PETER SULLIVAN COVID-19 cases are on the rise, but many Americans are over thinking of the virus as a crisis. Even in blue cities, restaurants are packed with people, and many Americans don’t wear masks even on the subway or on airplanes. ...
Experts perplexed over number of people getting long COVID
BY JOSEPH CHOI Public health experts are divided over how many people are getting long COVID-19, a potentially debilitating condition that comes after a patient has recovered from the coronavirus. Ill effects from the condition can include fatigue, pain, neurological...
The COVID-19 shutdown: A timeline of how the pandemic changed the US economy
BY LEXI LONAS Although the U.S. has passed the two-year mark since the arrival of COVID-19, the country is still working to recover from the economic toll of the pandemic. In March 2020, the U.S. shut down its economy, shuttering businesses and telling all...
Moderna expects ‘large amounts’ of omicron booster available by fall
BY MONIQUE BEALS Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said on Sunday that his company was preparing to provide large amounts of its vaccine booster against omicron and other COVID-19 variants this fall. “We’re confident by the fall of this year we should...
Birx says US must prepare for summer COVID surge as immunity wanes
BY MONIQUE BEALS Deborah Birx, a leading member of the Trump administration’s White House coronavirus task force, said on Sunday the U.S. should be prepared for another potential COVID-19 surge after a recent uptick in infections in South Africa. “They’re on an...
Former Trump surgeon general blasts ending travel mask mandate: It will ‘endanger’ lives
BY MYCHAEL SCHNELL Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who served in the role in the Trump administration, blasted a federal judge’s decision to strike down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) travel mask mandate, arguing that...
Merck’s COVID-19 pill to be produced by more than two dozen drugmakers
BY MONIQUE BEALS Medicines Patent Pool, an organization supported by the U.N., announced on Thursday that over two dozen generic drug makers will soon begin producing Merck's COVID-19 pill to make the treatment more accessible in developing...
EU agency says omicron pushing COVID-19 out of pandemic phase
BY JOSEPH CHOI An official from Europe's top medical product regulation agency said Tuesday that the COVID-19 omicron variant may be pushing the pandemic into becoming endemic. Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy for the European Medicines Agency (EMA), told...
French President Macron refuses to back off controversial remarks about unvaccinated
BY SARAKSHI RAI French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to take back his recent controversial comments on the unvaccinated in France. Macron acknowledged his use of coarse language while referring to the country's unvaccinated population may have upset some, but...
Israeli study shows second booster is safe, gives fivefold antibody increase
BY MAUREEN BRESLIN An Israeli study looking into the effects of a fourth total, or second booster, of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine showed with a "high degree of certainty" it's safe and increased antibodies by fivefold one week post-vaccination, Israeli Prime...
Surgeon General on public’s pandemic fatigue: ‘We will get to the end of this’
BY DOMINICK MASTRANGELO Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said while it is understandable that much of the public is likely growing fatigued with the ebbs and flows of the coronavirus pandemic, he is optimistic the nation is now in a...
Health expert: Surge in COVID-19 cases should no longer be ‘major metric’ of pandemic
BY DOMINICK MASTRANGELO A leading health expert said the largely more mild symptoms reported by vaccinated people against the coronavirus proves the inoculation is the best way to protect yourself from being seriously sick or dying from the disease and that a surge in...
Fauci: ‘If it becomes necessary to get yet another boost, then we’ll just have to deal with it’
BY MYCHAEL SCHNELL White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday said health officials will "have to deal with it” if it is determined that another COVID-19 booster shot is necessary to protect against the virus, but said he is hoping that additional jabs will...
Dozens of lawsuits seek to force hospitals to treat COVID-19 with ivermectin
BY RACHEL SCULLY There have been at least two dozen lawsuits filed around the U.S. demanding hospitals give ivermectin, a deworming drug, to COVID-19 patients, The Associated Press reported. The lawsuits follow much of the same format; families have gotten a...
Merck says COVID-19 pill cuts risks in half, will seek emergency authorization
BY NATALIE PRIEB Pharmaceutical company Merck on Friday said it will seek an emergency authorization for its oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment after the medicine was shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 50 percent during clinical trials. An analysis of...