The battle against Covid-19 took a major step forward on Friday as the US moved closer to distributing its first one-shot Covid-19 vaccine, after an independent expert advisory panel recommended drug regulators authorize the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic #USA
Vaccine, along with those from Pfizer and Moderna, should provide US with more than enough supply to vaccinate every personwww.theguardian.com
fizer-BioNTech has begun testing a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine in a small group of people. The vaccine is currently authorized in several countries in a two-dose regimen, given 21 days apart, and has proven in studies to be about 95% effective in protecting against COVID-19 disease. But as new (and more infectious) genetic variants of the COVID-19 virus start circulating—so far, scientists have identified three major strains, first found in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil, respectively—questions about how well authorized vaccines can still thwart the virus have become more urgent.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
The companies are launching trials where a third dose will be added to the regimen in an effort to stay ahead of new COVID-19 variants.time.com
New government-funded research this week should offer some comfort to people who have survived covid-19. It suggests they have a low risk of reinfection from the coronavirus, at least around three months later.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
New government-funded research this week should offer some reassurance to people who have survived covid-19. It suggests they have a low risk of reinfection from the coronavirus, at least around three months later.gizmodo.com
Ghana has become the first country to receive coronavirus vaccines through the Covax vaccine-sharing initiative.For all of us to be safe, it needs all of us to be safe.
The World Health Organization (WHO) programme aims to ensure that vaccines are shared fairly among all nations.
Covax is aiming to deliver about two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines globally by the end of the year.
It is a milestone for the WHO scheme, which aims to ensure the fair distribution of Covid-19 jabs.www.bbc.co.uk
French researchers have developed a coronavirus test that they say delivers results three times faster than rapid lateral flow antigen tests with – according to initial trial data – almost the same accuracy as more reliable, but slower, PCR tests.No, you don’t hold a camel under your chin...
The test, which will next undergo a three-month trial on 1,000 people, uses nanobodies taken from the camelid group of animals – which includes camels, llamas and alpacas – because they are more stable than antibodies from other animals.
Test developed in France is as accurate as PCR test and does not require lab processingwww.theguardian.com
Real-world evidence from the Covid vaccination programmes in England and Scotland show that one dose of vaccine gives high protection against severe disease and admission to hospital – and protects against even mild disease with no symptoms in younger people.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
First real data from mass vaccinations programmes in England and Scotland is promisingwww.theguardian.com
Not a single case of influenza has been detected by public health officials in England for the past seven weeks, with infection rates at historic lows amid the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic #lockdown #SocialIsolation #SocialDistancing #flu #influenza
Experts say decline in infections could justify continued use of hand sanitiser and masks following coronavirus pandemicwww.independent.co.uk
Scientists are developing a range of second-generation Covid vaccines aimed at expanding protection against the disease.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
Candidates include one version that could provide immune defence against many different virus variants, while other researchers are investigating vaccines that would generate responses aimed specifically at blocking transmission of the disease.
From immunity to blocking transmission of the virus, labs across the UK are hunting for second-generation jabswww.theguardian.com
Ministers are to reconsider vitamin D as a potential weapon against Covid-19 after Matt Hancock wrongly claimed that government scientists had run unsuccessful tests.Recognise that name?
The health secretary told the Commons last week that he had ordered a trial that showed vitamin D did not “appear to have any impact”. Officials now admit that no trials took place.
Ministers are to reconsider vitamin D as a potential weapon against Covid-19 after Matt Hancock wrongly claimed that government scientists had run unsuccessful tests.The health secretary told thewww.thetimes.co.uk
Matt Hancock acted unlawfully when his department did not reveal details of contracts it had signed during the Covid pandemic, a court has ruled.Oh, look! The government has broken the law again. I do wish people would stop calling it "cronyism" and start calling it what it is - corruption.
The health secretary breached his "legal obligation" to publish details of deals, the High Court rules.www.bbc.co.uk
I'm sweating, need a drink and the bridge of my nose is red-raw when I look in the mirror.#photography #photojournalism #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic #medicine #health
I've just stepped out of the intensive care ward at Harrogate District Hospital.
I thought I knew what to expect, but nothing prepares you for what it's like on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.
Newsbeat spent two days inside Harrogate District Hospital. This is what we saw.www.bbc.co.uk
A drug normally used to treat arthritis can be a life-saver for some of the sickest hospital patients with Covid, new research shows.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
For every 25 patients treated with tocilizumab, along with a cheap steroid already routinely given, an additional life would be saved, the experts say.
Giving it along with a steroid drug can help the sickest patients with Covid-19, research reveals.www.bbc.co.uk
Scientists advising the World Health Organisation have recommended the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in adults of all ages.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
Scientists advising the World Health Organisation have recommended the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in adults of all ages.news.sky.com
A commonly used asthma treatment appears to reduce the need for hospitalizations as well as recovery time for COVID-19 patients if given within seven days of symptoms appearing, researchers at the University of Oxford said on Tuesday.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
The findings were made following a mid-stage study of the steroid budesonide, sold as Pulmicort by AstraZeneca Plc and also used for treating smoker’s lung.
A commonly used asthma treatment appears to reduce the need for hospitalizations as well as recovery time for COVID-19 patients if given within seven days of symptoms appearing, researchers at the University of Oxford said on Tuesday.www.reuters.com
Over 42 million Americans have so far received a dose of a covid-19 vaccine, as of late January. Importantly, though, most of these people have only received the first of two doses required for the similar Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, currently the only vaccines authorized for use in the U.S.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
Both vaccines are highly effective at preventing symptoms from covid-19, at least for people who receive two doses about a month apart. Yet some people, even scientists, have wondered whether a single dose or two doses taken more than a month apart may provide similar benefits, largely based on select data from the clinical trials used to secure their emergency approval.
Over 42 million Americans have so far received a dose of a covid-19 vaccine, as of late January. Importantly, though, most of these people have only received the first of two doses required for the similar Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, currently the only vaccines authorized for use in the U.S.gizmodo.com
HuffPost UK reader Lisa asked: “Does the vaccine give the same or better protection than actually having had the virus? I am unclear why people who have had Covid are also being told to get vaccinated.”#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
People who’ve previously had Covid-19 are still urged to have the vaccine – but many are wondering why. Surely they should have built up enough immunity to coronavirus naturally, some argue, so shouldn’t need to have the jab as well.
Researchers from Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center developed a coronavirus therapy that was found to cure COVID-19 in 3-5 days in most volunteers who received the drug.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
EXO-CD24 is a medication delivered directly to the lungs, where it’ll help prevent the immune system dealing with COVID-19 from overreacting and causing complications.
The drug is administered once a day for five minutes via inhalation. In Phase 1 trials, 29 out of 30 people suffering from moderate to severe COVID-19 recovered within 3-5 days, and all of them survived.
Prix Pictet, the world’s leading prize for photography and sustainability, gathered responses to Covid-19 by 43 artists from 20 nations. A featured collaboration of four photographers with the Guardian, in the summer of 2020, draws on themes of isolation, confinement and political instability, and includes laureates and shortlisted photographers from the prize’s eight editions#photography #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic #lockdown #SocialIsolation #SocialDistancing
Prix Pictet, the world’s leading prize for photography and sustainability, has gathered together responses to Covid-19 by 43 artists from 20 nationswww.theguardian.com
Up to 100 children a week are being hospitalised with a rare disease that can emerge weeks after Covid-19, leaving them in intensive care, doctors have said.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
In a phenomenon that is worrying paediatricians, 75% of the children worst affected by paediatric inflammatory multi-system syndrome (PIMS) were black, Asian or ethnic minority (BAME). Almost four out of five children were previously healthy, according to an unpublished snapshot of cases.
Exclusive: 75% of children worst affected by paediatric inflammatory multi-system syndrome are BAMEwww.theguardian.com
It might be possible to be infected with different variants of coronavirus at the same time, a preprint study from Brazil suggests.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
For the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers from Feevale University in Brazil looked at the makeup of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, in 92 people who had tested positive.
When researchers sequenced the virus – which is basically a way for them to track the virus’ mutations – they say they identified two people who had been infected with two different variants of the virus in November.
About one in three people recently given a Covid vaccine by the NHS report some side-effects.Good news. So far no one's head has jumped off and run away screaming.
None was serious - a common one was some soreness around the injection site, the UK researchers who gathered the feedback found.
It found no serious side effects in tens of thousands vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech jab by the NHS.www.bbc.co.uk
A UK trial has been launched to see if giving people different Covid vaccines for their first and second doses works as well as the current approach of using the same type of vaccine twice.Presumably they'll only be given to people who haven't had Covid-19. If they don't test for this, would 800 volunteers be enough?
The idea is to provide more flexibility with vaccine rollout and help deal with any potential disruption to supplies.
Scientists say mixing jabs could also possibly give even better protection.
The vaccines minister said no changes would be made to the UK's current approach until at least the summer.
The hope is the new approach gives more flexibility for vaccine schemes in the UK and worldwide.www.bbc.co.uk
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine may have a "substantial effect" on transmission of coronavirus, and a three-month gap between doses does not lower protection, according to a report.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
Tests results by University of Oxford, published in a pre-print report with The Lancet, showed a 67% reduction in positive COVID-19 swabs among those vaccinated.
Tests results by University of Oxford showed a 67% reduction in positive COVID-19 swabs among those vaccinated.news.sky.com
Death rates among people who end up in intensive care with Covid-19 have improved dramatically since the start of the pandemic thanks to advances in treatment, new research has found.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
The proportion of those worst affected by the disease who die from it has fallen from 60% when it first appeared early last year to 36% by October, the study of global trends shows.
New research shows global death rates among patients in intensive care have fallen from 60% to 36%www.theguardian.com
The great hope for drug treatments against Covid-19 – the monoclonal antibodies – are failing against variants of the virus, such as those that have emerged in South Africa and Brazil, scientists have found.Just to clarify: these are just one type of treatment for people who have Covid-19. I think it's unlikely that the others will have changed in effectiveness, as they tend to work on the human immune system, not directly on the virus.
Exclusive: no leading contender is effective against all the South African, Brazilian and Kent variantswww.theguardian.com
Captain Sir Tom Moore has been admitted to hospital with coronavirus, his daughter has said.Such a shame.
The 100-year-old, who raised more than £33m for the NHS, was taken to Bedford Hospital after requiring help with his breathing, Hannah Ingram-Moore said on Twitter.
She said he had been treated for pneumonia over the past few weeks and last week tested positive for Covid-19.
His daughter says he was taken to hospital after requiring help with his breathing.www.bbc.co.uk
Most people who have Covid-19 develop a decent immune response.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
“But this guy’s response is 100 to 1,000-fold that,” Turville said.
“His response is that good. To put it in context, we are eight or nine months out since he was infected. And he still ranks in the top 1% of responders, so what that means is if we could ever bottle a vaccine that could mimic his response, you’d want to do it. I would say that we’re going to see him responding just as well probably a year out, and maybe after about two years we might start to see some response decay.”
Researchers walk through three negative-pressure chambers before entering the submarine-like structurewww.theguardian.com
Clinical trial data showed that the vaccines from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson had significantly less efficacy at preventing coronavirus in trial participants in South Africa, where the new variant is widespread, compared with countries where the variant is less common.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic #vaccine
Early trial data shows Novavax and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have much less efficacy against new variantwww.theguardian.com
The llama has provided nanobodies that effectively prevent infection, but the use of other species in Covid research raises troubling ethical questions#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic #AnimalTesting
The llama has provided nanobodies that effectively prevent infection, but the use of other species in Covid research raises troubling ethical questionswww.theguardian.com
Peter Attwood died on the 30 January 2020 but his cause of death wasn't officially discovered until seven months later.Public Health England announced the first cases on the 31 January, but Peter died a day before this. There are many people who had Covid-19 symptoms before either of these dates, but no one is looking into this. It seems obvious to me that it should have been part of early track and trace, but our government wasn't interested in this at that time.
Peter Attwood died on the 30 January 2020 but his cause of death wasn't officially discovered until seven months later.news.sky.com
Covid-19 infections in the UK are reducing but remain stubbornly high, despite a month of lockdown measures. So could we be doing more as individuals to curb transmission of the virus? A virologist, a psychologist and a public health expert share their views on some of the Covid-19 mistakes that we are all still making.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
Can we do more as individuals to help slow the spread of coronavirus? We ask the expertswww.theguardian.com
UK phase three trials of the experimental Novavax COVID-19 vaccine have found it demonstrated 89.3% efficacy against the virus.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic#vaccine #CovidVaccine
Preliminary analysis showed the new UK variant was detected in more than half of the coronavirus cases recorded in the trials, with the vaccine candidate shown to be 95.6% effective against the original strain and 85.6% effective against the variant.
UK phase three trials of the experimental Novavax COVID-19 vaccine have found it demonstrated 89.3% efficacy against the virus.news.sky.com
People may soon be offered a "spit in a pot" coronavirus test, after promising trial results.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
The LampORE test checks for the virus in saliva samples, and work carried out with the help of more than 1,000 NHS volunteers shows it is good at finding cases, even if someone has no symptoms.
Studies show the no-swab saliva test is accurate, and experts say it may be more convenient for users.www.bbc.co.uk
A man whose cousin died after a positive Covid test says coronavirus deniers are "complicit" in the death.I wonder if prison sentences are perhaps the most appropriate way of dealing with Covid deniers. In these particular circumstances, I'm inclined to think they could be.
Gary Matthews, 46, was found dead in his Shrewsbury flat the day after he tested positive.
He had been part of a Facebook group that, according to his cousin Tristan Copeland, spread false conspiracy theories about Covid-19.
Tristan Copeland thinks cousin Gary Matthews would be alive if he had not listened to conspiracies.www.bbc.co.uk
The Food and Drug Administration has issued an unprecedented alert, warning that Americans are being poisoned by a long list of hand sanitizers imported from Mexico during the covid-19 pandemic. More than 900 Americans have reportedly been poisoned this month alone, according to figures obtained by CBS News.#Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic #sanitizer
The Food and Drug Administration has issued an unprecedented alert, warning that Americans are being poisoned by a long list of hand sanitizers imported from Mexico during the covid-19 pandemic. More than 900 Americans have reportedly been poisoned this month alone, according to figures obtained by CBS News.gizmodo.com
Coughs, sore throats and fatigue are more common in people who test positive for the new variant of coronavirus, but a loss of taste or smell is less likely, a study has found.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
ONS survey finds people more likely to have cough compared with old variants, though loss of taste or smell less likelywww.theguardian.com
County officials have no official policy, but they also don’t want injections to go to waste – to some people’s benefit#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic#vaccine #CovidVaccine
County officials have no official policy, but they also don’t want injections to go to waste – to some people’s benefitwww.theguardian.com
New coronavirus variants seem to be cropping up everywhere. There's one from the U.K., which is more contagious and already circulating in the United States. There's one from South Africa, which is forcing Moderna and Pfizer to reformulate their COVID-19 vaccines and create "booster" shots, just to make sure the vaccines maintain their efficacies.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
But for some scientists, the most worrying variant might be the newest one. A variant called P.1, which emerged in early December in Manaus, Brazil, and by mid-January had already caused a massive resurgence in cases across the city of 2 million people.
They don't yet understand why the coronavirus variant called P.1, has spread so explosively there. Its set of mutations seem especially dangerous. And this week P.1 was confirmed in the U.S.www.npr.org
We must never have a winter like this again, and we need a concrete plan and strategy to make sure Britain does not face a third wave and a fourth lockdown. This must involve suppressing transmission, building a functioning test, trace, isolate and support system, guarding against the reimportation of infections with strict travel restrictions, while trying to reopen schools and as much of the domestic economy as possible.
The UK needs to come up with a concrete plan to avert a disastrous third wave, says health expert Devi Sridharwww.theguardian.com
So fuhren 23 der kleinen Messgeräte von Ende November bis Anfang Januar durch den Berliner Untergrund, empfingen einmal pro Minute Corona-Warn-App Daten und sendeten die Messwerte regelmäßig an unseren Server.#Microcontroller #Coronavirus #CoronaWarnApp
In Bussen und Bahnen steckt man sich nicht mit Corona an, behaupten die Verkehrsunternehmen immer wieder1 und starten Werbekampagnen zum “wieder einsteigen”. Das erscheint auf den ersten Blick irrational, da ÖPNV-Umgebungen viele Merkmale aufweisen, die laut RKI das Infektionsrisiko erhöhen: viele Menschen, geringe Abstände, geschlossene Räume. Die Verbünde begründen ihr Vertrauen in die Sicherheit des ÖPNV damit, dass nur ein Bruchteil der ans RKI gemeldeten Infektionsorte Bus und Bahn betreffen. Allerdings konnten die Gesundheitsämter mehr als 75% der Übertragungsorte gar nicht ermitteln. Das @rki_de-Diagramm zum "Infektionsumfeld" ist noch immer gefährlich missverständlich.Ich habe das mal repariert: https://t.co/cCNwlmHb6S pic.twitter.com/iGHMgNpHDj— Michael Kreil (@MichaelKreil) January 18, 2021 Der ÖPNV ist ein idealer “versteckter” Übertragungsort: Viele Zufallsbegegnungen mit ständig wechselnden, unbekannten Menschen. Es ist damit unmöglich, ein Kontakttagebuch zu führen und diese Kontakte dem Gesundheitsamt mitzuteilen. Um die tatsächliche Gefahr einschätzen zu können, überlegten wir uns also, wie wir bessere Daten über Coronafälle im ÖPNV erfassen können. Nach kurzer Überlegung, uns selbst in die Bahn zu stellen und die Leute zu fragen, ob sie Corona haben und dabei unsere Gesundheit zu gefährden, hatten wir eine sehr viel bessere Idee…zerforschung.org
Make no mistake, I know iPhones are the best mobile devices in the world, but when what I see as the utterly failed UK ‘Test & Trace’ scheme spends millions of pounds on the devices, you have to ask why. And this is an angry post.Failure on top of failure.
Researchers think a promising coronavirus treatment is 30 times more potent than remdesivir and can work against the highly infectious new mutations.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
Cancer drug plitidepsin can speed up the recovery of patients and, a study said a few months ago.
A UCSF-led team has two studies out, indicating that the drug is more efficient than remdesivir and can kill the UK mutation.
Plitidepsin doesn’t target the virus directly, but rather a human protein that the virus needs to replicate.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine may be authorised only for younger people in Europe, because there is insufficient data on how well it works in the over-65s, the head of the regulatory body has suggested.#science #medicine #health #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus #pandemic
European Medicines Agency approval could stipulate age range, suggests Emer Cookewww.theguardian.com