Month: January 2021

The coronavirus can warp the body’s defenses in many ways — disarming the body’s early warning systems, for example, or causing immune cells to misfire. But a spate of new studies suggests another insidious consequence: The infection can trigger the production of antibodies that mistakenly attack the patient’s own tissues instead of the virus. The latest report, published online this week, suggests that so-called autoantibodies can persist months after the infection has resolved, perhaps causing irreparable harm. If other studies confirm the finding, it may explain some of the lingering symptoms in people who have recovered from Covid-19. The syndrome, sometimes referred to as long Covid, can include dementia, “brain fog” and joint pain. Autoantibodies are not new to science: They are th...

ANNE: GOOD MORNING. THE LANCASTER COUNTY COMMISSIONER SAYS THEY ARE GETTING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PANDEMIC. THEY HAVE QUESTIONS THEY WANT TO ANSWER, CONCERNING THE VACCINE ROLLOUT. THERE HAVE BEEN 36,657 POSITIVE CASES. COVID CASES ARE TRENDING DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY. WHEN IT COMES TO VACCINATIONS, ACCORDING TO THE LANCASTER COUNTY DASHBOARD, 28,091 VACCINATIONS HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED. FTHAT IS OUT OF 36,000 -- THAT I 30 -- THAT IS OUT OF 30,600 VACCINATIONS DELIVERED TO THE COUNTY. COMMISSIONER JOSH PARSONS BELIEVES THE COUNTY AND ITS HEALTH SYSTEMS ARE DOING A GOOD JOB BUT HE’S FRUSTRATED WITH THE STATE’S RESPONSE. >> WE WANT TO ARTICULATE TO THEM THAT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THERE BE A RATIONAL AND FAIR WAY TO DISTRIBUTE THOSE VACCINES AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT TO REP...

The U.S. is working to vaccinate a high percentage of its population against COVID-19 as soon as possible to stop the spread of the disease and end the outbreak in the country. The mission becomes even more urgent as coronavirus variants emerge around the world, raising concerns that the virus could evade our efforts to control it, if the spread is not curbed quickly. Since vaccine distribution began in the U.S. on Dec. 14, more than 24 million doses have been administered, reaching 6.2% of the total U.S. population, according to federal data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. is currently administering around 1 million shots a day. Strategies for distribution — along with the efficiency and equity of the process — vary ...

But Weber and his team of 20 staff members and volunteers didn’t have that much time to use the six Moderna doses they had left before the vaccines expired. That’s when Weber had an idea: If he couldn’t make it to the clinic on time, he could bring the clinic to six other drivers stranded on the highway. “I decided to start going door-to-door, car-to-car, offering [the vaccine]," Weber, who is Josephine County’s public health director, told The Washington Post on Wednesday night. Weber’s six leftover Moderna doses, which had already been transferred to syringes earlier on Tuesday, needed to be used quickly or discarded. Like the Pfizer version, the Moderna vaccine must be used within six hours after being removed from subzero storage and reaching room temperature. “We knew the vacci...

The Biden administration has issued a mask mandate requiring individuals to wear masks on federal property, and he's encouraging all Americans to wear them in public for 100 days. Face coverings are also required on planes, trains, buses and at airports, renewing questions about which kinds of masks provide the best protection against COVID-19, as well as where to find them.  The goal of the "100 Days Masking Challenge" is to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus, which has already claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans. Indeed, a study published on January 19 in the Lancet Digital Health journal Studies found that increasing mask-wearing across the U.S. by just 10% would significantly curb the transmission of the coronavirus.  Mask-wearing is even more effective when ...