The coronavirus pandemic is tearing up the country with the Omicron variant shattering infection records and rates and this viral strain and the Delta variant overwhelming hospitals and threatening to break the already exhausted U.S. health care system. Uncertainty has returned to conversations about the pandemic’s course, as educators decide whether to return students at….
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Omicron tears across country, as Delta rips unvaccinated skeptics
The Omicron variant swiftly has become the nation’s dominant strain, with coronavirus infections skyrocketing from coast to coast. Officials are anxiously awaiting data to gauge the severity of Omicron infections and if the sharp rise in cases involving this variant will mean overwhelming numbers of patients requiring care in hospitals, too many of which already….
Continue ReadingMake the season bright: Get those shots and tests, and stay healthy!
It’s that time of year to offer seasonal greetings and best wishes for happiness, prosperity, hope, peace, and goodwill. May many good things especially go to the courageous, beleaguered, and stalwart folks struggling with the coronavirus pandemic 24-7 (including through the holidays), notably in health care, as first responders, and, of course, in service for….
Continue ReadingPandemic toll nears 800,000, as Delta rages and Omicron threatens
The coronavirus pandemic is nearing another grim mark: 800,000 deaths in this country in its two-year run, with 1 in 100 of the fatalities occurring among those 65 and older. The pandemic toll exceeds the population of cities like Washington, D.C., Seattle, Denver, Boston, and Memphis, and is heading toward the equivalent of spots like….
Continue ReadingShots and boosters get yet more emphasis as Omicron spreads
The steady, global spread of the Omicron variant and the huge uncertainty about what menace it may pose also may provide a powerful prod for anyone still fence-sitting to finally get those coronavirus vaccinations, including booster shots. Experts are furiously researching and may not know for weeks or longer whether Omicron will be worse than….
Continue ReadingFDA under renewed fire over dubious approval of Alzheimer’s drug
Taxpayers and patients are suffering the rising negative consequences of the federal Food and Drug Administration’s dubious decision to overrule its own independent expert advisors and to approve on scant evidence Aduhelm. It is a prescription drug targeting Alzheimer’s disease, and concerns are rising about the medication’s safety and costs, not to mention whether it….
Continue ReadingNot so fast, Omicron variant says, as U.S. races for holiday normalcy
Americans’ Thanksgiving holiday traveling, socializing, and shopping resumed with vigor, near pre-pandemic norms. And yet: Public health, political, and financial leaders expressed increasing concern about B.1.1.529, a new variant detected in South Africa, Israel, and elsewhere. The World Health Organization dubbed this coronavirus strain Omicron, the next alphabetic-derived Greek name in the group’s list. WHO….
Continue ReadingU.S. urges booster shots for all 18 and older and especially the 50+
With studies showing that as many as half of patients infected with the coronavirus suffer physical and psychological problems for six months or more after they thought they first recovered, wise people may want to take every precaution they can against the disease. They may wish to heed new federal recommendations calling for vaccine boosters,….
Continue ReadingPandemic battles focus on boosters for all and more shots for kids
The coronavirus pandemic continues to kill an average of 1,200 Americans each day and the disease infects more than 76,000 people daily — unwavering numbers that have led public health officials — wary of what the hectic holidays will bring — to double down on their campaign for vaccinations against the virus. This is especially….
Continue ReadingThousands admitted to hospitals for other reasons ended up with Covid-19
When hospitals too often fail to disclose and to adequately deal with their problems, patients and their loved ones suffer. That’s what happened during the coronavirus pandemic, when individuals admitted for other reasons were infected in hospitals and died of Covid-19 at alarming rates. The federal government, separately, also is stepping up its efforts to….
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