Wellness

Large study confirms men have 62% increased risk of COVID-19 associated death, possibly related to higher degree of inflammation

New research presented at this week’s ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, online 23-25 September) confirms that men with COVID-19 have worse outcomes than women, possibly related to them experiencing higher levels of inflammation. The study is by Dr Frank Hanses, University Hospital Regensburg, Germany, and colleagues, and shows that men have a 62% increased…

Study suggests elderly care home outbreaks in England were caused by multiple indepedent infections and also within-home spread

New research presented at this week’s ESCMID Congress on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online 23-25 September) shows that outbreaks of COVID-19 in elderly care homes were caused by multiple independent infections from outside, plus within care home spread. There is also evidence of transmission between residents and healthcare workers, including paramedics, possibily linking care home…

Over 200,000 People Have Died in the US: Live Covid-19 Updates

Here’s what you need to know: ImageVanessa Acosta gives a lecture using an online platform from her empty classroom in Miami Lakes, Fla., on Aug. 31.Credit…Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA, via Shutterstock Miami-Dade County, Fla., one of the largest school districts in the U.S., will reopen classrooms to students next month. Students in Miami-Dade County, the fourth-largest district…

F.D.A. to Release Stricter Guidelines for Emergency Vaccine Authorization

The Food and Drug Administration plans to soon issue stricter guidelines for the emergency authorization of any new coronavirus vaccine, adding a new layer of caution to the vetting process even as President Trump continues to contradict his own scientific experts and promise that a vaccine will be available as early as next month. The…

Despite Claims, Trump Rarely Uses Wartime Law in Battle Against Covid

As schools reopen and cold weather heightens the likelihood of a spike in coronavirus cases, nurses and doctors fear that shortages of the respirator masks, surgical gowns and disposable gloves needed to shield them from infection will return with a vengeance. President Trump has sweeping powers to compel companies to produce protective gear and to…

‘I Had Heart Surgery in the Middle of a Coronavirus Hot Spot’

MIAMI — I really did not want to have heart surgery. Who wants their chest sliced open and carved like a turkey in the middle of a pandemic hot zone? But that’s what I did in August. An unruptured aneurysm quietly bulged in my aorta, the main artery of the body. For more than a…

Coronavirus Upends College Admissions Tests, Creating Chaos for Students

Here’s what you need to know: ImageBetween coronavirus concerns and wildfires in the West, many ACT tests were postponed last weekend.Credit…Eric Thayer for The New York Times The virus and wildfires stopped many students from taking the ACT Saturday. The same may happen with the SAT this week. After a spring and summer when most…

For Young People’s Sexual Health, the Pandemic Changes the Game

Experts in adolescent sexual health are concerned that the coronavirus pandemic will have serious effects on the sexual health and social behavior of young people. “I would start from the fact that our young people are not OK,” said Laura Lindberg, a researcher at the Guttmacher Institute, who was the lead author of an article…

Healing the Whole Family

The night I submitted my college applications, I lay in bed and stared out my window for hours. I prayed to the moon that I would die soon. On paper, I looked perfect (at least to the adults who told me so): a perfect SAT score in one try, three perfect SAT II subject tests,…

Johns Hopkins researchers publish COVID-19 ‘prediction model’

Using a combination of demographic and clinical data gathered from seven weeks of COVID-19 patient care early in the coronavirus pandemic, Johns Hopkins researchers today published a “prediction model” they say can help other hospitals care for COVID-19 patients — and make important decisions about planning and resource allocations. Brian Garibaldi, M.D., associate professor of…