Category: Coronavirus
HOW TO GET THE COVID VACCINE IN KING COUNTY
Getting a COVID shot this fall might look a little different from state to state, but here in Washington, it’s pretty simple: all people ages 6 months and up can get the updated (2025-26) COVID vaccine. Here’s what you need to know.
More states protect access to the COVID shot as feds restrict eligibility
For decades, states have followed the lead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on which vaccines Americans should get, and when they should get them. Now, rejecting the antivaccine stance of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an increasing number of states say they will rely instead on their own public health experts and professional medical organizations for that advice.
Washington State DOH order allows most residents to get COVID vaccine without prescription
The vaccine remains covered by most private insurers, Apple Health, and Washington’s Adult Vaccine and Childhood Vaccine Programs, removing barriers and helping people stay healthy.
‘Pandemic babies’ turn 5: Here’s what research tells us about their development and remarkable resilience
Given the effects early-life stress exposure has on a child’s development, many people worried the pandemic would create a generation of children who wouldn’t achieve their potential. But the most recent evidence suggests that pandemic babies are doing better than anyone expected.
Mixed Lessons from Intentionally Infecting People with Covid-19
The idea sounded counterintuitive, but by carefully dosing individuals with SARS-CoV-2 in a controlled setting, scientists could study how the virus affects the body and learn what factors may offer protective benefits.
These types of studies, called human challenge trials, could help fast-track understanding the deadly virus devastating the world, experts claimed. Others, though, questioned whether the potential benefits were worth the risk, particularly given the host of unknowns surrounding Covid-19, and the lack of available treatments at the time.
Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including significant drops in IQ scores
Ziyad Al-Aly, Washington University in St. Louis From the very early days of the pandemic, brain fog emerged as a significant health condition that many experience after COVID-19. Brain fog is a colloquial term that describes a state of mental…
Can you die from long COVID? The answer is not so simple
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 3,544 long-COVID-related deaths from the start of the pandemic up to the end of June 2022.
The symptoms of long COVID – such as fatigue, shortness of breath and “brain fog” – can be debilitating. But can you die from long COVID? The answer is not so simple.
CDC Recommends Second Dose of 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine for People 65 Years and Older and for People Who are Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised
The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults and those who are immunocompromised, along with the currently available data on vaccine effectiveness and year-round circulation of COVID-19.
Health News Headlines
CDC to screen travelers for Marburg virus – Brain stem damage linked to long COVID – US sets 10-year deadline to replace lead pipes
What pathogen might spark the next pandemic? How scientists are preparing for ‘disease X’
There are also the unknown unknowns, or “disease X” – an unknown pathogen with the potential to trigger a severe global epidemic. To prepare for this, we need to adopt new forms of surveillance specifically looking at where new pathogens could emerge.
Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation
In what has become a pattern of spreading vaccine misinformation, the Florida health department is telling older Floridians and others at highest risk from covid-19 to avoid most booster shots, saying they are potentially dangerous.
Clinicians and scientists denounced the message as politically fueled scaremongering that also weakens efforts to protect against diseases like measles and whooping cough.
Health News Headlines
Covid cases surge – Measles in Oregon – OTC continuous glucose monitoring – Lower your cholesterol without a statin?
The New Covid Vaccine Is Out. Why You Might Not Want To Rush To Get It.
The FDA has approved an updated covid shot for everyone 6 months old and up, which renews a now-annual quandary for Americans: Get the shot now, with the latest covid outbreak sweeping the country, or hold it in reserve for the winter wave?
Health News Headlines
Dementia drug debate – Should you take Paxlovid? – Free COVID tests coming – EEE in MA – Stem cell diabetes study
Seattle study findings may help explain why we keep getting colds
The most common cause of the common cold, the rhinovirus, increases its chances of infecting someone who lacks immunity by simultaneously circulating many versions of itself, according to new research from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.