The World Health Organization (WHO) became aware of the disease known as COVID-19 on December 31, 2019. Since then, there have been 86 million confirmed cases, over 1.8 million deaths, and 355,000 deaths in the U.S. alone. After months of effort and billions of dollars spent, distribution of the first COVID-19 vaccines is underway. A… Continue reading COVID-19 Vaccines: What are the Side Effects?
Tag: coronavirus
COVID-19 Update: Convalescent Plasma
On Sunday, August 23, the US Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma as a treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients citing “known and potential benefits of the product outweigh the known and potential risks of the product.” The EUA would effectively enable physicians to treat COVID-19 patients… Continue reading COVID-19 Update: Convalescent Plasma
COVID-19 Update: The Race for a Vaccine
Vaccine development for COVID-19 is topic number one, and our collective hope for going back to “normal” dangle on that needle. The global race to market includes pharma’s heavy hitters like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Moderna, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company that displayed hopeful results in Phase-1 trials and just this week received another… Continue reading COVID-19 Update: The Race for a Vaccine
COVID-19 Update: The Disparity Between the US and the EU COVID-19 Experience
As the US topped a whopping 2.8 million cases and a death count of 130,000 last week, cities and towns across the nation canceled July 4th firework displays and large public gatherings in an effort to prevent further spread of COVID-19. The fervor for holiday travel was scaled down this past weekend compared to prior… Continue reading COVID-19 Update: The Disparity Between the US and the EU COVID-19 Experience
COVID-19 FACT SHEET WITH PHYSICIAN-RECOMMENDED PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
This page was last updated on May 5, 2020. Overview: The United States is experiencing sustained human-to-human transmission of the novel COVID-19 virus, first discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Since then, every state in the US has confirmed cases, and new cases are emerging every day. Susceptibility to the virus sub-type may also… Continue reading COVID-19 FACT SHEET WITH PHYSICIAN-RECOMMENDED PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
Coronavirus Update: Serological Testing
Serological testing, also known as antibody testing, is a critical element of discussion when determining how and when the country will reopen. The process requires a blood sample to detect the presence of neutralizing antibodies (IgM, IgG) against a microorganism. Serological antibody tests are unlike polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests as the latter specifically… Continue reading Coronavirus Update: Serological Testing
Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Modeling & General-Use Face Masks
COVID-19 Modeling & Projections One of the only constants of the COVID-19 pandemic is how often data and projections are changing. This is frustrating for our society, as there is a collective overwhelming desire to know when the US will hit its peak of cases, and when life can resume normalcy, and those timelines seem… Continue reading Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Modeling & General-Use Face Masks
Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Testing in the United States
On February 29, less than one month ago, the US reported 16 cases of COVID-19. Today, the US has the third-highest number of cases in the world (behind China and Italy) topping 46,548 cases and at least 600 deaths, reflecting mass community spread and an uptick in testing capacities across the states. As daunting as… Continue reading Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Testing in the United States
Coronavirus Update: Trump: Americans Should Work from Home/Case Fatality Rates, Flu vs COVID-19
American life as we know it has changed drastically over the past week, and today President Trump asked all Americans to work from home if they can and to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. The NBA, NHL and PGA, college basketball and other US sports have all suspended play. Nearly 20 states have… Continue reading Coronavirus Update: Trump: Americans Should Work from Home/Case Fatality Rates, Flu vs COVID-19
Coronavirus Update: WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic
Today the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. The novel virus which was discovered just three short months ago has taken over 4,300 lives and infected upwards of 120,000 people in 114 countries around the world. The exact definition of a pandemic is the “global spread of disease” (and not the severity) but… Continue reading Coronavirus Update: WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic
Coronavirus Update: Spread to the US is “Inevitable”
Cases of COVID-19 are spreading rapidly and freely outside China for the first time. While the cases in China have declined since the beginning of February, the illness has erupted far from the point of origin in Wuhan. Hundreds of confirmed cases in pockets of South Korea, Italy and Iran have skyrocketed in a short… Continue reading Coronavirus Update: Spread to the US is “Inevitable”
Coronavirus Update: WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
The World Health Organization declared today the coronavirus that originated from Wuhan, China, last month, is now a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, stated that the main reason for the declaration was not necessarily because of the rising number of cases in China, but… Continue reading Coronavirus Update: WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)