WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Almost overnight, the pandemic has turned cotton masks into an American wardrobe staple. But a coughing simulation shows that not all cotton masks are equal as a defense against COVID-19. “We focused primarily on nonmedical-grade masks that are recommended for use by theContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A blood test may predict which COVID-19 patients are likely to need a ventilator. This finding could lead to a scoring system that would flag at-risk patients for closer monitoring and to personalized treatments. It may also help explain how diabetes makes outcomesContinue Reading
TUESDAY, June 30, 2020 (HealthDay News) — As U.S. coronavirus infections surged in many states, four of America’s top health officials plan to testify in Congress on Tuesday about how to safely reopen the country. Originally billed as an “update on progress toward safely getting back to work and backContinue Reading
TUESDAY, June 30, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Even as the United States reopens, it’s crucial that people wear face masks when they can’t maintain proper social distancing, experts emphasize. “While it’s tempting to view [things] as being back to normal, that’s simply not the case,” said Dr. Patrick Gavigan, aContinue Reading
MONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 is being diagnosed in Hispanic communities at a disproportionately high rate, a new study of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area shows. Researchers found that among nearly 38,000 patients tested for SARS-CoV-2 at Johns Hopkins Health System, 16% were positive for the virus thatContinue Reading
MONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Working at home during a pandemic isn’t an option for about three-quarters of U.S. workers, putting them at increased risk of infection, a new study finds. Those 108 million workers tend to be among the lowest paid and are more likely to faceContinue Reading
MONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) — As the worldwide coronavirus case count passed 10 million and the death toll topped 500,000 on Sunday, 36 U.S. states continued to struggle with alarming spikes in COVID-19 infections. Experts cautioned that Florida could become the next epicenter for infections while Texas hasContinue Reading
FRIDAY, June 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) — As the United States reported yet another record-breaking number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday, public health officials warned that younger Americans now account for an ever-growing percentage of infections. In Arizona, where drive-up testing sites were being overwhelmed, nearly half of allContinue Reading
FRIDAY, June 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Huge declines in patient visits during the coronavirus pandemic have slashed U.S. primary care doctors’ revenues, a new study finds. As a result of decreases in office visits and fees for services from March to May during the pandemic, a full-time primary careContinue Reading
THURSDAY, June 25, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Patients with severe COVID-19 may be at risk for a variety of brain complications — from stroke to psychosis, new research suggests. “There have been growing reports of an association between COVID-19 infection and possible neurological or psychiatric complications, but until now theseContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, June 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 patients with no symptoms are as likely as those with symptoms to contaminate many surfaces in their rooms, researchers report. The investigators sampled the surfaces and air of six negative pressure non-intensive care unit rooms with 13 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients — twoContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, June 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — There’s new evidence that a 2,000-year-old medicine might offer hope against a modern scourge: COVID-19. The medication, called colchicine, is an anti-inflammatory taken as a pill. It’s long been prescribed for gout, a form of arthritis, and its history goes back centuries. TheContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, June 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, warned Congress on Tuesday of “disturbing spikes” in coronavirus cases, as seven states reported record-high numbers of hospitalizations and 33 states and U.S. territories saw sharp jumps in new infections. “The next couple of weeksContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, June 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Blood plasma transfusions from people who have developed antibodies to the new coronavirus appear to be safe for many COVID-19 patients, a large study suggests. The experimental treatment — called convalescent plasma therapy — is popular because no drug has been approved specificallyContinue Reading