coronavirus

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Boris Johnson at COVID Inquiry: 'I Should Have Twigged'

Former UK prime minister says his government 'got some things wrong' but did its best

(Newser) - Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his handling of COVID-19 on Wednesday at a public inquiry into the pandemic, saying his government "got some things wrong" but did its best. Johnson began two days of questioning under oath by lawyers for the judge-led inquiry about his initial reluctance...

US Life Expectancy Jumps, but There's Another 'Bleak' Stat

Life expectancy is now 77.5 years, but that boost hasn't recouped pandemic losses

(Newser) - Fresh stats out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer some good news and some bad news in terms of our collective longevity. "The good news is that life expectancy increased for the first time in two years," the CDC's Elizabeth Arias, a co-author on...

You Can Now Order 4 More Free COVID Tests

Government is sending out another round to anyone who requests it

(Newser) - Americans can order more free COVID-19 tests online for home delivery, the AP reports. The US government is offering to send another round of four at-home virus tests ahead of the typical surge in cases during the winter holiday season. Anyone who did not order a batch of four COVID-19...

Experts: Numbers on Updated COVID Shots Are 'Abysmal'

Per CDC, only 7% of adults, 2% of children have received most recent coronavirus vaccine

(Newser) - A month after federal officials recommended new versions of COVID-19 vaccines, 7% of US adults and 2% of children have gotten a shot. One expert called the rates "abysmal," per the AP . The numbers, presented Thursday at a meeting held by the CDC, come from a national survey...

Inmates Win $2K Each After Jail's Ivermectin 'Cocktail'

Arkansas prisoners received antiparasitic drug, which wasn't FDA-approved for COVID, in 2021

(Newser) - Five inmates at an Arkansas jail received a small settlement last month after being given ivermectin to treat their bouts with COVID. The Washington Post reports that the detainees involved in a lawsuit against Fayetteville's Washington County Detention Center were each awarded $2,000, in what ACLU Arkansas calls...

Penn Gave Nobel-Winner Ultimatum: Leave, or Take Pay Cut

Katalin Kariko didn't leave, keeping up her dogged research that led to COVID vaccines

(Newser) - Hungarian researcher Katalin Kariko looks pretty good on paper these days: She co-pioneered mRNA research at the University of Pennsylvania that led to COVID vaccines that helped save millions of lives worldwide during the pandemic; as of last week she has a Nobel for her trouble ; and, just as icing...

Neanderthal Genes Suspected in Severe COVID Cases
Neanderthal Genes Suspected
in Severe COVID Cases
NEW STUDY
Sep 22, 2023 11:45 AM CDT

Neanderthal Genes Suspected in Severe COVID Cases

Study looks at a hard-hit city in Italy

(Newser) - Individuals who suffer a severe COVID-19 infection may perhaps blame genes inherited from our cousins the Neanderthals. A new study focused on the northern Italian city of Bergamo, an early epicenter found to have one of the world's highest COVID-19 death rates, links a set of DNA variants, or...

Free At-Home COVID Tests Are Coming Back

Government will once again offer 4 per household

(Newser) - With COVID hospitalizations back on the rise and experts warning about a possible winter surge, the federal government is once again offering free at-home tests that people can order starting next week. Four free testing kits will be mailed per household, Politico reports. The government had previously distributed COVID tests...

Biden Wears, Then Removes Mask at White House Ceremony

President tested negative for COVID Tuesday

(Newser) - President Biden turned up in a mask for the first time in months on Tuesday, a day after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. But the president quickly ditched it during a ceremony honoring an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran, and the two unmasked octogenarians shared a hearty handshake before they parted....

As School Year Kicks Off, a 'Rude Reminder' From COVID
Think We're Done
With COVID? It's
Not Done With Us
THE RUNDOWN
Aug 29, 2023 9:25 AM CDT

Think We're Done With COVID? It's Not Done With Us

Illness is more manageable now, but late-summer wave shows our 'new normal' will include the virus

(Newser) - If you're seeing a sudden uptick in people around you contracting COVID, more than three years after the start of the pandemic, and more than three months after the pandemic public health emergency was declared over , you're not imagining it. Per the New York Times , there's been...

COVID, Flu, Strep Cases Get Classes Canceled 9 Days After School Begins
School Barely Begins, Gets
Canceled Due to Mass Illness
in case you missed it
Aug 27, 2023 10:45 AM CDT

School Barely Begins, Gets Canceled Due to Mass Illness

Kentucky district says nearly a fifth of the student body got sick

(Newser) - The first day of school for Kentucky's Lee County School District was August 9, but by Friday, attendance had already dropped to 82%. By Monday, it was 81%, and 14 teachers had called out sick—so classes were canceled Tuesday and Wednesday, with remote learning planned for Thursday and...

Hollywood Studio Brings Back Mask Mandate

Others could follow, 'Deadline' speculates

(Newser) - A mask mandate has been reinstated at a major Hollywood studio, at least for some employees. After multiple employees at Lionsgate's Santa Monica flagship office tested positive for COVID, the studio said workers on two of the five floors of the building (which amounts to almost half of the...

Germans Blame Barbenheimer for COVID Surge

Mass gatherings may have played a role in rise in case numbers

(Newser) - Germany is experiencing a summer surge in COVID cases, and experts say something Spiegel calls the "Barbenheimer effect" is partly to blame. Epidemiologists say mass gatherings, including trips to the cinema to see blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer, often as a double bill, have played a role in what appears...

Human COVID Pills Could Help Save Cyprus' Cats

Thousands of felines have died since the start of the year

(Newser) - Cyprus will make 80,000 anti-COVID pills that were intended for people available to veterinarians to treat the island's cats. The Guardian reports a highly virulent strain of feline coronavirus—which can't be transmitted to humans—was detected in January in the island's capital of Nicosia. FCov-2023...

Detecting COVID May Get a Lot Easier
Detecting COVID
May Get a Lot Easier
New Study
Jul 22, 2023 4:30 PM CDT

Detecting COVID May Get a Lot Easier

Researchers develop a portable device that can detect it in a room's air in a few minutes

(Newser) - Researchers have developed a portable gizmo the size of a microwave that can determine if COVID is present in the air of a room in five minutes, reports Science News . The new tool described in Nature is akin to an air-quality monitor and can detect the airborne virus in real...

After Humans Spread COVID to Deer, They Got Us Back

Researchers identify cases of deer-to-human transmission

(Newser) - Humans spread COVID-19 to American deer more than 100 times, according to a new analysis, which shows the "deer-adapted" virus jumped back to humans on a few occasions. The study, confirming early alpha and gamma variants were circulating in deer after becoming rare in people, raises concerns that the...

Long COVID Patients May Fare Worse Than Some With Cancer

Fatigue is No. 1 symptom among this group, which sees 'shockingly' low quality-of-life scores

(Newser) - Medical experts and researchers are still wrangling with the intricacies of long COVID , the label given to health issues that persist or emerge after one's initial bout with the coronavirus is believed to have "ended." Now, a study out of the UK sheds more light on how...

At 'Disease Detectives' Forum, a COVID Outbreak
181 Caught COVID
at CDC Conference
May 31, 2023 10:55 AM CDT

181 Caught COVID at CDC Conference

Gathering of 'disease detectives' gets unwanted surprise

(Newser) - A group of CDC specialists described as "disease detectives" by the Washington Post have gotten an unexpected case study to examine—their own. Of the 1,800 people who attended an agency conference in Atlanta last month, at least 181 contracted COVID, reports Ars Technica , citing an agency news...

Report: China Frees COVID Whistleblower After 3 Years

Sources say Fang Bin is back home in Wuhan in good health

(Newser) - A whistleblower who disappeared three years ago after publicizing videos of overcrowded hospitals and bodies during the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in China has been released from jail and returned to his Wuhan home, sources tell the BBC . The report has not been independently verified. Fang Bin and...

National COVID Emergency Now Over
National COVID
Emergency Now Over
Apr 11, 2023 12:00 AM CDT

National COVID Emergency Now Over

Biden signed congressional resolution to bring it to a close

(Newser) - The US national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years—weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency, the AP reports. The national emergency allowed...

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