Public Health

Why it could be useful to have a home COVID-19 test kit

Thu, 2021-07-01 00:54 — mike kraft

... At-home rapid Covid tests — which allow you to swab your own nose and get the results in minutes — can be a useful and reassuring way for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated to navigate the ongoing pandemic.

With the availability of vaccines for all people 12 years and older in the United States, it may be hard to imagine why anyone would still need a home test for Covid-19. But the coronavirus isn’t going away anytime soon, and a rise in infections this fall among the unvaccinated appears inevitable as a new, highly-infectious variant called Delta spreads around the world.

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Indonesia faces coronavirus catastrophe , Red Cross warns.

Thu, 2021-07-01 00:30 — mike kraft

Red Cross warns Indonesia faces coronavirus catastrophe JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia needs to urgently increase medical care, testing and vaccinations as the number of new infections in the country has rapidly increased and left it “on the edge of a COVID-19 catastrophe,” the Red Cross said Tuesday. AP NEWS

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COVID-19 now surging in vulnerable Africa rural areas

Thu, 2021-07-01 00:23 — mike kraft

Virus infections surging in Africa's vulnerable rural areas ZVIMBA, Zimbabwe (AP) — For Pelagia Bvukura, who lives in a rural part of north-central Zimbabwe, COVID-19 had always been a “city disease,” affecting those in the capital, Harare, or other, distant big towns. AP NEWS

ZVIMBA, Zimbabwe (AP) — For Pelagia Bvukura, who lives in a rural part of north-central Zimbabwe, COVID-19 had always been a “city disease,” affecting those in the capital, Harare, or other, distant big towns.

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Africa

Conakry

Democratic Republic of the Congo

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France delays some regional relaxing of COVID restrictions as concerns grow over fourth wave

Wed, 2021-06-30 14:54 — mike kraft

France delays some regional unwinding of COVID restrictions as concerns over fourth wave grow France decided on Wednesday to delay the unwinding of COVID-19 restrictions in a southwestern region of the country, while the government's leading scientific adviser said a fourth wave of the virus was likely to the emergence of the Delta variant. Reuters Reuters

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OVERVIEW: U.S. Military, Asia, South Pacific developments

Wed, 2021-06-30 14:41 — mike kraft

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Reuters Staff U.S.

-- Members of the U.S. military who were vaccinated against COVID-19 showed higher-than-expected rates of heart inflammation, although the condition was still extremely rare, according to a study released on Tuesday.

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MASKS: Three articles on reconsideration of masks as precautions

Wed, 2021-06-30 14:15 — mike kraft

Throughout the pandemic, masks have ranked among the most contentious public health measures in the United States, symbolizing a bitter partisan divide over the role of government and individual liberties.

Now, with a new variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreading across the globe, masks are again the focus of conflicting views, and fears, about the course of pandemic and the restrictions required to manage it.

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The simple text message seems to work best in encourging people to get vaccinated--new study

Wed, 2021-06-30 00:05 — mike kraft

This simple text message can encourage people to get vaccinated, researchers say Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania found that people who received text messages about the annual flu vaccine were more likely to get the shot. Now, some states and jurisdictions are using the same strategy to help boost Covid-19 vaccine coverage. Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN CNN

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Delta variant continues to spread, prompting new restrictions worldwide

Tue, 2021-06-29 18:41 — mike kraft

Spread of delta variant prompts new restrictions worldwide The new curbs on travel and daily life stretched from Australia and Bangladesh to South Africa and Germany. The World Health Organization urged faster deployment of coronavirus vaccines. Erin Cunningham Washington Post

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Research indicating protecting people who are immuno-compromised from getting COVID is important not just for their sake – it could be critical in the effort to end the pandemic for everyone.

Tue, 2021-06-29 17:34 — mike kraft

There's mounting research to suggest that protecting people who are immuno-compromised from getting COVID is important not just for their sake – it could be critical in the effort to end the pandemic for everyone.

The evidence comes from two separate strands of studies.

Dr. Laura McCoy has been doing the first type. She's an infectious disease researcher at University College London.

"The group of people that I'm particularly interested in are those living with HIV," she says.

She's been studying how well their immune systems respond to vaccines against COVID-19 — specifically the Pfizer vaccine.

So far, it's worked quite well for HIV-positive people.

But there's a catch. In her studies, "all of our participants had really quite well-controlled HIV."

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