COVID-19 Updates
Feature
Asymptomatic infections drive many epidemics, including monkeypox, polio, and COVID
“I think 80% of [COVID] transmissions are done by 20% of infected people because those are the ones who are shedding the most virus.”
News from the FDA/CDC
CDC gives final approval to Omicron COVID-19 vaccine boosters
“If you are eligible, there is no bad time to get your COVID-19 booster,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD.
Feature
Many young kids with COVID may show no symptoms
The relationship between symptoms and viral load also differed between adults and young children in a new study.
News
FDA authorizes updated COVID boosters to target newest variants
The agency cited data to support the safety and efficacy of this next generation of mRNA vaccines targeted toward variants of concern.
News from the FDA/CDC
Children and COVID: New cases increase; hospital admissions could follow
Parents do not seem to be rushing to have children vaccinated before school starts.
Feature
How do you live with COVID? One doctor’s personal experience
Early in 2020, Anne Peters, MD, caught COVID-19. The author of Medscape’s “Peters on Diabetes” column was sick in March 2020 before state-mandated...
From the Journals
Autoimmune disease patients’ waxing, waning response to COVID vaccination studied in-depth
Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases have weaker vaccine-induced immunity to COVID but are able to build a humoral immune response...
From the Journals
Paxlovid reduces risk of COVID death by 79% in older adults
“Treatment with Paxlovid significantly reduces the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.”
Conference Coverage
COVID-19 vaccine safe in patients with heart failure
There should be no concern about cardiovascular side effects from mRNA vaccines in patients with HF; moreover, vaccines provide a survival benefit...
News from the FDA/CDC
COVID to blame as U.S. life expectancy falls
The overall drop took national life expectancy from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 years in 2020.
From the Journals
Metformin fails as early COVID-19 treatment but shows potential
Metformin may merit further investigation for adults who are overweight or obese.