One of the most important tools in stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is rapid, reliable and relatively cheap diagnostic testing at the point of care. Scientists in Europe recently evaluated the frontline capabilities of a commercially available, 15-minute disposable antigen test to detect COVID-19 infections. Their findings, reported in Frontiers in Medicine,…
Temperature and latitude do not appear to be associated with the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a study of many countries published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) //www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.200920, but school closures and other public health measures are having a positive effect. “Our study provides important new evidence, using global data from…
In a move that could significantly expand the nation’s testing capacity, the Food and Drug Administration has posted new guidelines that could pave the way for millions of people to test themselves for the coronavirus at home. The guidelines allow companies to develop and market testing kits with the tools to swab their noses and…
For three weeks the Food and Drug Administration allowed the sale of several types of N95-style face masks for American health care workers despite evidence from other parts of the federal government that the masks were not effective for blocking the coronavirus. Millions of these masks, produced in China, have been bought by or donated…
Here’s what you need to know: ImagePolice guards outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in London last month.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times New statistics underscore the racial gap in Britain’s death toll. Black people in England and Wales are twice as likely to die from the coronavirus as white people, even accounting for differences in…
As society tries to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, some scientists hope a decades-old technology could zap pathogens out of the air in stores, restaurants and classrooms, potentially playing a key role in containing further spread of the infection. It has the ungainly name of upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, and it is something like bringing…
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here. Both Alfredo and Susana Pabatao, who were married for 44 years, worked on the front lines in the fight against the coronavirus — he as a transport aide at a hospital in North Bergen, N.J.,…
One of the first biotech companies to begin human trials of an experimental vaccine for the coronavirus is now ready to move onto the next phase of testing. On Thursday, Moderna announced that the Food and Drug Administration had cleared its application to proceed to a clinical trial involving about 600 people. “The imminent Phase…
What’s more comforting than stirring together a bowl of brown, beige and white ingredients, sliding it into the oven and watching as it transforms into something golden and spectacular? For some, baking is a regular affair, while, for others, it’s a big-deal project. With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a collection of 21 recipes,…
A new study offers a glimmer of hope in the grim fight against the coronavirus: Nearly everyone who has had the disease — regardless of age, sex or severity of illness — makes antibodies to the virus. The study, posted online on Tuesday but not yet reviewed by experts, also hints that anyone who has…