New COVID-19 Variants Are Emerging
New COVID-19 variants have been emerging over the course of the pandemic; these include: alpha, beta, gamma and delta. Delta is the newest, more transmissible variant and poses a great threat, especially to those unvaccinated. Scientists are closely monitoring existing, as well as new variants, in order to take necessary action. How These Variants Occur […]
CDC Recommends Tuberculosis Testing for Healthcare Personnel
The CDC recommends testing and screening healthcare personnel for tuberculosis (TB) upon hiring. Doing so aligns with TB Infection Control Plans or state regulations. Personnel included should be anyone working or volunteering in the healthcare setting. Annual tuberculosis education should also be provided for healthcare workers. This education explains the risk factors, possible signs and symptoms […]
Teen COVID-19 Hospital Cases Rise
COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations in U.S. Teens In the months of March and April, the United States has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases among its teenage population. Many of these cases resulted in hospitalizations. Of the hospitalized teens, one- third required intensive care and five percent needed mechanical ventilation. Causes Behind the Hospitalizations Over […]
COVID- 19 Vaccine Availability Expanded to Adolescents
The COVID- 19 pandemic has taken the world by surprise. As a result, it has created a great public health burden. In an effort to fight the disease, Pfizer-BioNTech is one of several pharmaceutical companies to create a COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 has affected all age groups and within the span of one year, approximately 1.5 […]
J&J requests FDA emergency authorization for C19 vaccine
By Zion Samuel On February 4, 2021, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced its request for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The FDA is generally expected to approve J&J’s application. As a result, the U.S. would have three Covid vaccines in use. How the J&J Vaccine Compares to Others Currently, Pfizer and […]
Vaccine rollout speed should pick up in the coming days, says CDC head
By Akiva O’Connor There’s no doubt that we are all anxious to see the end of COVID-19. And for the most part we are hanging our hopes on the rollout of the approved vaccines. People’s patience, however, wore thin over the past ten months. We were sent into lockdowns. Many of us lost our jobs. […]
A slow start to COVID-19 vaccine effort
As the U.S. continues to roll out the COVID-19 vaccines, cases are continuing to increase significantly. Hospitalizations across the country are reaching new record highs since the beginning of the pandemic. On Tuesday, there were reports of 130,834 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 3,684 fatalities. This is the second-highest death toll in a day, according to Reuters. […]
U.S. begins COVID-19 Vaccination
The United States swiftly prepares for COVID-19 vaccination as the death toll approaches 300,000. On Friday, health officials finalized plans to begin the distribution of the vaccine across the U.S. The U.S. saw a new record high of over 3000 COVID-19 deaths in a day on Wednesday, December 10, according to the Washington Post. This […]
COVID-19 Testing in the U.S. Is Lacking
The Struggle with COVID-19 Testing in the United States Although the United States has one of the highest testing capacities for COVID-19 in the world, U.S. COVID-19 testing is still falling short. Why are labs struggling to keep up, and why are many patients waiting longer than usual to receive results? The main issue labs […]
COVID-19: Mask Enforcement, a Losing Battle for Industries
Current Headlines Considering the resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States, entire industries are scrambling to maintain consistency in mitigation measures. In addition to the numerous patchwork guidance introduced by government and health entities, implementing respective policies among businesses and healthcare facilities grows to a challenge. Particularly, certain customers and patrons, even employees, express opposition […]
States Face a Surge of COVID-19 Cases
States Seeing Another Increase in Case Counts Many states that were hit hard by the coronavirus expected they had already endured the worst. Now, states like Louisiana, California, Washington, and Michigan are seeing a surge of COVID-19 cases after experiencing a period of decline. While the number of cases and deaths continues to rise, experts […]
Preparing for a Second Coronavirus Wave
Coronavirus Cases Continue to Rise The number of COVID-19 cases is still increasing, rather than decreasing, in many states across the nation. This has led many experts to believe a second wave of coronavirus is possible coming this fall. The Washington Post stated that 29 states have a higher weekly case average compared to the […]