Category: Infectious Disease
90% efficacy for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is striking. But we need to wait for the full data
These early results are what is known as an “interim analysis”. It’s an early look at the data before a study is complete to see if the vaccine might work.
Vaccine trial raises hopes, but distribution will be a challenge
Up to 330 million people will need to be vaccinated.
Biden Is Under Pressure to Name New FDA Chief ASAP
Biden faces immense pressure to move faster than any other modern president as the pandemic rages and COVID deaths are expected to surge through the winter.
COVID-19 surges in Western Washington
Western Washington is seeing a surge in new COVID-19 cases similar to that seen in much of the rest of the country, with King, Snohomish and Pierce counties are now considered to be “hot zones” of disease transmission, Washington State…
As treatments have improved, COVID-19 death rates have fallen 18%
Along with new treatments, physicians have learnt simple techniques, such as putting a patient in a prone position to distribute oxygen more evenly in the lungs.
5 ways the pandemic affects mental health
Recent studies have shown increases in the prevalence and severity of depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse.
How Surging COVID Cases Forced Montana to Change Its Mask Strategy
When appealing to people’s sense of community didn’t work, officials began to escalate: adding in guilt, then shaming, and now to attempts to punish.
How to prevent COVID-19 ‘superspreader’ events indoors this winter
The pandemic has largely been driven by superspreader events, in which a single individual directly infects several contacts.
Scientists Warn Americans Are Expecting Too Much From a Vaccine
Many have pinned their hopes on a COVID-19 vaccine being developed at “warp speed.” But some scientific experts warn they’re all expecting too much, too soon.
Hydroxychloroquine fails to prevent COVID-19, UW study finds
The drug has been touted as effective for prevention of and treatment for COVID-19 by a number of physicians and public figures, including President Trump.
Free flu shots now available for the uninsured
Health officials are concerned that the presence of both viruses could put more people in the hospital and strain Washington’s health care system.
What Exactly Is A Close Contact?
Public Health Insider, Public Health – Seattle & King County One of the most important steps we can take in slowing the spread of COVID-19 is for anyone who has had close contact with an infected person to get tested…
The Curve is Fattening, Not Flattening. What Can We Do?
Now is not the time to give up. If we are lax we will fatten the curve, not flatten it. The smart thing to do is to wait this out until we have a vaccine.
COVID-19 Patients Swamp Rural Hospitals
The nation’s pandemic hotspots have shifted to rural communities, overwhelming small hospitals that are running out of beds or lack enough intensive care units.
COVID-19 cases rise sharply in western Washington
COVID-19 case numbers in western Washington counties are climbing at an alarming rate, near or beyond previous peaks in some areas.