Health
Telemedicine shines during pandemic but will glow fade?
Racked with anxiety, Lauren Shell needed to talk to her cancer doctor. But she lives at least an hour away and it was the middle of her workday. It was also the middle of a pandemic. Enter telemedicine. The 34-year-old Leominster, Massachusetts, resident arranged a quick video visit through the… Read
Is breastfeeding safe during the coronavirus pandemic?
Some mothers are worried about transmitting the novel coronavirus to their newborns during nursing, after it was reported in Japan that a mother's breastmilk tested positive for the virus causing COVID-19. Medical organizations differ on how to tackle the issue, although at least one doctor is urging calm, arguing that… Read
Pre-orders of COVID-19 vaccine top 5 billion
Although none of the coronavirus vaccines under development has proved its efficacy yet in clinical trials, at least 5.7 billion doses have been pre-ordered around the world. First shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine created by Western laboratories have often been snapped up by the United States. Five vaccines -- three… Read
Scientists look beyond antibodies in virus immunity hunt
Could the ghosts of your previous colds help protect you from COVID-19, even if you have never been infected by the new coronavirus spreading across the planet? Scientists are investigating a poorly-understood immune mechanism in the body that they hope could help efforts to curb the pandemic. At the moment,… Read
Asymptomatic coronavirus carriers have high viral loads: study
People who are infected with the coronavirus carry similar levels of the pathogen in their nose, throat and lungs whether they have symptoms or not, according to a new study from South Korea. The paper, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, is an important biological line of evidence in support of… Read
COVID-19 long-term toll signals billions in healthcare costs ahead
Late in March, Laura Gross, 72, was recovering from gall bladder surgery in her Fort Lee, New Jersey, home when she became sick again. Her throat, head and eyes hurt, her muscles and joints ached and she felt like she was in a fog. Her diagnosis was COVID-19. Four months… Read
Lack of study and oversight raises concerns about tear gas
On June 2, Justin LaFrancois attended a protest against police violence and racism in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, where he planned to livestream the event for his alternative newspaper’s website. Shortly into the march, police, who reported that water bottles and rocks were being thrown at them, unleashed a volley… Read
Next big COVID-19 treatment may be manufactured antibodies
As the world awaits a COVID-19 vaccine, the next big advance in battling the pandemic could come from a class of biotech therapies widely used against cancer and other disorders - antibodies designed specifically to attack this new virus. Development of monoclonal antibodies to target the virus has been endorsed… Read
Young children carry higher levels of coronavirus: study
Children under the age of five have between 10 to 100 times greater levels of genetic material of the coronavirus in their noses compared to older children and adults, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics. Its authors wrote this meant that young children might be important drivers of COVID-19… Read
Seasonal flu reports hit record lows amid global social distancing
Global social distancing rules targeting coronavirus have pushed influenza infection rates to a record low, early figures show, signaling that the measures are having an unprecedented impact on other communicable diseases. In China, where the earliest wide-scale lockdown measures began, new reports of diseases including mumps, measles and some sexually… Read
