Month: January 2021

Scientists at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine have discovered a new strain of COVID-19.The new variant has a mutation identical to the U.K. strain, but it likely arose in a virus strain already present in the United States, researchers said in a release. The new strain was discovered in one patient from Ohio. Researchers said they don't yet know the prevalence of the strain in the state. "This new Columbus strain has the same genetic backbone as earlier cases we've studied, but these three mutations represent a significant evolution," said study leader Dr. Dan Jones, vice chair of the division of molecular pathology. "We know this shift didn't come from the U.K. or South African branches of the virus."Like the U.K. strain, the mutations in the ...

A deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center has grown to more than 90 cases, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department said Tuesday. At least 15 patients and at least 77 staff have been infected, with one additional staff member still needing verification on a lab result, the health department said. On Christmas Day, an employee wearing an air-powered tree costume walked the hallways of the emergency department at the hospital. Kaiser said the costume "likely" is responsible for the employees getting COVID-19, including a registration clerk who later died. The health department said the source of the outbreak is still under investigation.

But he's not sure he'll get a chance to use it, given health officials have so far not said when private doctor's offices will get vaccine. "I'm really angry," Carroll said. Not only are doctors having trouble getting vaccine for patients, but many of the community-based physicians and medical staff that aren't employed by hospitals or health systems also report mixed results in getting inoculated. Some have had their shots, yet others are still waiting, even though health workers providing direct care to patients are in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's top-priority group. Many of these doctors say they don't know when — or if — they will get doses for their patients, which will soon become a bigger issue as states attempt to vaccinate more people. "The reason that's im...