New COVID vaccine and booster shots for this fall to be available by end of September

New COVID vaccine and booster shots for this fall to be available by end of September

The first new COVID-19 vaccines updated for this fall season are now expected to be available by the end of September, once both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sign off on the new shots. The new shots are designed to target the XBB variants — strains of … Read more

Loss of smell or taste was once a telltale sign of COVID. Not anymore.

Loss of smell or taste was once a telltale sign of COVID. Not anymore.

Once a hallmark sign of many COVID-19 cases — sometimes more reliable than even flu-like symptoms at sniffing out people infected by the virus early in the pandemic — was the sudden loss of smell and taste. But growing research suggests this symptom has become far less common, with only a small fraction of new … Read more

First long COVID treatment clinical trials from NIH getting underway

First long COVID treatment clinical trials from NIH getting underway

Two new clinical trials to test potential treatments for long COVID are now set to launch, the National Institutes of Health said Monday, opening enrollment for the first of an array of federally-funded studies aimed at evaluating treatments for long-term symptoms still faced by many COVID-19 survivors. They will begin with a study into using … Read more

How to protect yourself against COVID, flu and RSV

How to protect yourself against COVID, flu and RSV

How to protect yourself against COVID, flu and RSV – CBS News Watch CBS News Health officials have updated advice for protecting against seasonal viruses. Dr. Celine Gounder explains what’s new this year and who will need a COVID-19 booster. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive … Read more

CDC says COVID variant EG.5 is now dominant, including strain some call

CDC says COVID variant EG.5 is now dominant, including strain some call

The EG.5 variant now makes up the largest proportion of new COVID-19 infections nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated, as multiple parts of the country have been reporting their first upticks of the virus in months. Overall, as of Friday, 17.3% of COVID-19 cases nationwide were projected to be caused by EG.5, … Read more

Virus season is approaching. Here’s expert advice for protection against COVID, flu and RSV.

Virus season is approaching. Here’s expert advice for protection against COVID, flu and RSV.

It may still feel like summer, but the fall is quickly approaching — along with the risk of seasonal viruses. On “CBS Mornings” Monday, Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, shared what you need to know about protecting yourself from COVID-19, the respiratory illness RSV … Read more

U.S. COVID hospitalizations climb for second straight week. Is it a summer surge?

U.S. COVID hospitalizations climb for second straight week. Is it a summer surge?

Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen by more than 12% across the country, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marking a second straight week of this key indicator of the virus climbing.  At least 8,035 hospital admissions of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were reported for the week of July 22 nationwide, the CDC … Read more

Concerns grow over rising flu cases amid pandemic

Concerns grow over rising flu cases amid pandemic

Concerns grow over rising flu cases amid pandemic  ABC News Is flu making a comeback? New York issues public health warning over ‘early and aggressive’ outbreak  Daily Mail Growing concerns over rising flu cases amid the pandemic  WHAS11 NY issues flu warning as cases spike  FOX 5 New York How the midterm elections could affect the COVID response  The Hill … Read more

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines increase risk of cardiac-related death, says Florida Surgeon General

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines increase risk of cardiac-related death, says Florida Surgeon General

Florida Surgeon General Dr Joseph A Ladapo on Saturday (local time) recommended against receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, especially to males aged 18 to 39 as it increases the risk of cardiac-related death. “Today, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of … Read more

Mouthwashes inhibit the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 variants

Mouthwashes inhibit the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 variants

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is an airborne disease transmitted via aerosols, which are spread from the oral and nasal cavities-;the mouth and the nose. In addition to the well-known division and spread of the virus in the cells of the respiratory tract, SARS-CoV-2 is also known to infect the cells of the lining … Read more

Most Americans don’t plan to get a flu shot this season — lots of them say they’ll mask to avoid germs instead

Most Americans don’t plan to get a flu shot this season — lots of them say they’ll mask to avoid germs instead

Only 49% of U.S. adults plan to get their flu shot this flu season, according to a survey conducted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). Even 1 in 5 of those who are at higher risk for influenza-related complications say they won’t get vaccinated. People who are more likely to have severe outcomes … Read more

A new drug seeks ‘true revenge’ on COVID by turning the virus against itself

A new drug seeks ‘true revenge’ on COVID by turning the virus against itself

A neurologist at a prestigious U.S. research institute has developed an experimental COVID treatment he calls “true revenge” that weaponizes the virus against itself. The treatment, dubbed NMT5, was created by Scripps Research Institute’s Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center founding director Dr. Stuart Lipton and a team of scientists. It’s a derivative of memantine, an Alzheimer’s … Read more

Terrifying Russian Bat Virus Could Spark the Next Pandemic

Terrifying Russian Bat Virus Could Spark the Next Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over. In fact, it shows signs of lingering for, well, a long time. But even as politicians and health authorities struggle with how, if at all, to keep addressing the current pandemic, scientists are already anticipating the next one. They’re scouring the planet for animal viruses that, like SARS-CoV-2, could leap … Read more

Second COVID booster effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in nursing home residents: study

Second COVID booster effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in nursing home residents: study

A new study published this week found that the second COVID-19 booster that was made available to U.S. adults older than 50 this year was highly effective at protecting nursing home residents from hospitalizations and deaths, though its ability to prevent infections was not as potent. The analysis, published in the Centers for Disease Control … Read more

Older Adults Who Had COVID May Be More At Risk For Alzheimer’s

Older Adults Who Had COVID May Be More At Risk For Alzheimer’s

Though SARS-CoV-2 was originally thought to be a respiratory virus, it’s become increasingly clear that the virus can have serious consequences on brain health. Many people have experienced neurological symptoms — like loss of taste and smell, headache and memory and attention issues— while infected, and most people who develop long COVID experience brain fog … Read more

New Discovery Can Kill COVID With ‘Hugs’—but There’s a Catch

New Discovery Can Kill COVID With ‘Hugs’—but There’s a Catch

Scientists have identified a molecule that just loves SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It loves it so much that it “hugs” it, practically to death—binding so tightly to the virus that the virus can’t infect our cells. The discovery of this molecule, a so-called “HR2 peptide,” is a big deal. It could form the … Read more

Khosta-2: US scientists warn Russian bat virus could be the next COVID

Khosta-2: US scientists warn Russian bat virus could be the next COVID

When SARS-CoV-2 – the virus behind COVID-19 – surfaced in China and quickly brought the entire world to a standstill, then-President Donald Trump liked to refer to it as “the Chinese virus”. Fast forward two and a half years, and US scientists are warning that a newly-discovered virus harboured by Russian horseshoe bats is also … Read more

Why fatigue from long COVID goes beyond simply feeling tired

Why fatigue from long COVID goes beyond simply feeling tired

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers in the Netherlands examined the role of inflammatory genes, cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CD8+  T cells), and pro-inflammatory cytokines in long-lasting severe fatigue experienced by a large number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Study: Severe fatigue as symptom of long COVID is characterized by increased … Read more

‘Should I get my omicron booster and flu shot at the same time?’ and other questions about fall vaccines, answered

‘Should I get my omicron booster and flu shot at the same time?’ and other questions about fall vaccines, answered

With flu season approaching, plus the possibility of another surge of Covid cases this fall, many Americans are wondering two things: When is the best time to get the flu vaccine – if there is one – and is it okay to double up and receive both the seasonal flu vaccine and new omicron-specific Covid-19 … Read more

Spike Protein From Infection and Vaccines Contributing to Autoimmune Diseases, Studies Suggest

Spike Protein From Infection and Vaccines Contributing to Autoimmune Diseases, Studies Suggest

Photos of Debbie Botzum-Pearson before (left) and after neuromyelitis optica (Courtesy of Debbie Botzum-Pearson). On the morning of Jan. 15, 2022, Debbie Botzum-Pearman, who had been a strong healthy woman for 66 years, woke up paralyzed from the chest down. On Sept. 13, 2022, nearly nine months later, she managed to stand up without assistance … Read more