Coronavirus / COVID

The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer test detects chemical compounds in breath samples associated with a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Antimicrobial stewardship efforts, such as education for healthcare providers, significantly decreased community-acquired pneumonia antibiotic prescriptions in COVID-19 patients.

A study presented at the SHEA 2022 conference determined how common and severe breakthrough infections were for Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen COVID-19 vaccine recipients.

An examination of COVID-19 infections by occupation found that most cases occurred in people who worked in management and healthcare, and COVID-19 death rates were highest among building/grounds cleaning and maintenance employees.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of community-acquired pneumonia antibiotics increased significantly, while relative utilization of carbapenems decreased.

Although the numbers overall remain relatively low, the city states the rising cases as the reason for its decision.

Humanigen’s monoclonal antibody lenzilumab shows promise for treating COVID-19 as new variants of the disease challenge the efficacy of other therapies.

Though many monoclonal antibodies were paused after demonstrated to be insufficient against the BA.1 Omicron subvariant, they may be more effective against BA.2.

Adding v-safe active monitoring to VAERS passive reporting produced "most comprehensive" program, and affirmed COVID-19 vaccine safety.

A systematic review of clinical trials found a high probability that fluvoxamine prevented COVID-19 hospitalizations in outpatient settings.

The risks of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding events were increased at 3 or more months after COVID-19 infection.

Here is a rundown of the most popular stories we covered this past week.

As this is National Public Health Week, and COVID-19 is still top of mind for clinicians and public health officials, what is it going to take for it to become a secondary issue.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met today to discuss how to proceed with informing future COVID-19 vaccine strain composition and booster decisions.

After the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine, series-completing second doses increased substantially. However, first vaccine doses were actually administered at lower rates after the approval.

New data coming from Israel shows the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine did offer some protection initially, but waning immunity occurs rapidly.

A new study found people who staunchly oppose COVID-19 vaccines were more likely to have experienced adverse childhoods, making them distrustful from a young age.

Notoriously slow to implement new practices, most hospitals rapidly updated their standard treatment procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A pair of new studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association add to growing evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy, showing no increased risk for adverse outcomes among women who were vaccinated during pregnancy and their babies.

Children under 5 became infected with the Omicron variant 6-8 times more frequently than young children who contracted Delta. However, Delta COVID-19 infections were more severe than Omicron.

Here is a rundown of the most popular stories we covered this past week.

Despite lower comorbidity risk scores than Black or White COVID-19 patients, Mississippi’s Indigenous populations had significantly higher in-hospital mortality rates.

One day after the FDA approved second booster shots for certain vulnerable populations, the National Institute of Health (NIH) announced they have begun enrolling adult US participants in a phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate a second COVID-19 booster dose.

2 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduced Omicron hospitalizations by 68% in children 5-11 and by 40% in adolescents 12-18 years old.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines were found to produce different antibody and killer T-cell responses, suggesting a “mix and match” booster approach may provide the best protection against COVID-19.

“Together these 2 diseases create a perfect storm”: Black people with cancer were more likely to have severe or fatal COVID-19 disease.

New policy appears inconsistent and, on the surface, unfair, expert says.

The new action by the federal agency now means the additional booster shot can be administered to people 50 years and older.

The coronavirus pandemic caused the first global recorded decline in human life expectancy.

The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced a pause in sotrovimab distribution in regions where BA.2 is the dominant COVID-19 variant, citing evidence that the monoclonal antibody therapy would not effectively neutralize the BA.2 Omicron variant.