Epidemics
Pfizer says omicron booster is better against new subvariants like BQ.1.1 than old shots
A staff member draws up a syringe with the Comirnaty vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer adapted to the Omicron-BA.1 variant at the Mainz vaccination center. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow | dpa | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Pfizer said its omicron booster triggers a stronger immune response against a number of emerging Covid subvariants circulating in […]
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Kid’s hospitals call on Biden to declare emergency in reaction to ‘unprecedented’ RSV surge
Kazuma Seki | Istock | Getty Images Medical practitioners are calling on the Biden administration to declare an emergency in reaction to an “alarming surge” of young children hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus and flu this time. The Kid’s Medical center Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics warned President Joe Biden and Health Secretary […]
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FDA could approve over-the-counter nasal spray, autoinjectors to treat opioid overdoses
Naloxone, packaged with instructions, is one of the items given out by the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition outreach workers. Amy Davis | Baltimore Sun | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday indicated it might approve over-the-counter nasal sprays and autoinjectors that prevent opioid overdoses, part of its efforts to expand access to […]
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World population reaches 8 billion people, with India expected to surpass China as most populous nation
Indian passengers stand and hang onto a train as it departs from a station on the outskirts of New Delhi. Money Sharma | AFP | Getty Images The world population reached 8 billion people on Tuesday, and India is expected to surpass China as the most populous country in the next year, according to projections […]
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As flu hospitalizations surge in the U.S., the Southeast is the hardest hit
Flu hospitalizations have surged to a decade high in the U.S. with the Southeast the hardest region right now. Five out every 100,000 people in the U.S. were hospitalized with the flu during the week ending Nov. 5, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the highest hospitalization rate this […]
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Moderna says new Covid booster better against omicron BA.5, triggers immune response against BQ.1.1
Moderna’s new Covid booster triggered a stronger immune response against omicron BA.5 and also appears to work against the emerging BQ.1.1 subvariant, according to the company. Moderna, in clinical trial data published Monday, found that the new booster triggered five times more antibodies against omicron BA.5 than the old vaccines in people with prior Covid […]
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U.S. will keep Covid public health emergency in place at least until mid January
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra answers questions during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss reopening schools during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., September 30, 2021. Greg Nash | Pool | Reuters The U.S. Covid public health emergency will remain in place past […]
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U.S. is extending Covid public health emergency through spring 2023, administration official says
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra answers questions during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss reopening schools during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., September 30, 2021. Greg Nash | Pool | Reuters The U.S. is extending the Covid public health emergency through the […]
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Omicron BQ variants resistant to antibody treatments are quickly becoming dominant in U.S.
Omicron subvariants resistant to key antibody treatments will soon make up a majority of new Covid infections in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 now make up 44% of new Covid cases compared to 32% last week, according to CDC data. These subvariants will likely […]
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Nearly 2% of healthy infants hospitalized with RSV before first birthday, study finds
Even healthy infants face a considerable risk of hospitalization from respiratory syncytial virus, according to a large European study published Thursday. Dutch and British scientists, in a study published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine, found that 1.8% of healthy infants are hospitalized with RSV before their first birthday. This means about 1 in 56 healthy infants […]
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