Month: February 2021

Can wearing glasses protect against COVID-19? A news study suggests the answer is yes. (WKMG) The study, out of India, found people who wear glasses are three times less likely to get the virus because they’re less likely to touch their eyes, WABC-TV reported. The study, conducted last summer in Kanpur Dehat, involved 304 patients, ages 10 to 80. Researchers noted that COVID-19 infection through the eyes is extremely rare, but they said that droplets from the virus can easily go from the eyes to one’s nose or mouth, WABC-TV reported. A previous study conducted in China found 5% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 wore glasses, while about 30% of the population wears glasses. Copyright 2021 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

RICHARDS, WHO HAS WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OKLAHOMANS ACTIVELY TRYING TO GET THE VACCINE. DILLON: YES. YOU HAVE PROBABLY HEARD OF IT THE JOHNSON AND JOHNSON VACCINE. TWO BIG ADVANTAGES. THE FIRST IS THAT IT DOES NOT NEED THAT ULTRACOLD STORAGE. PLUS, IT NEEDS ONE-SHOT SHOT INSTEAD OF THOSE TWO THINGS WILL TWO. BE A BIG DEAL FOR OKLAHOMA ESPECIALLY, PERHAPS, FOR RURAL AREAS, WHERE IT’S HARDER TO GET ENOUGH OF THAT ULTRA-COLD STORAG MR. REED: THIS ONE IS LOGISTICALLY MUCH EASIER TO HANDLE. HOW WE WILL USE IT? WE’RE STILL WORKING OUT SOME OF THE DETAILS EXACTLY ON WHERE WE WILL SEND THIS. DILLON: STILL NOT CLEAR HOW MANY J&J SHOTS WE’LL GET OR WHEN. BUT ONE ESTIMATE PUTS IT AT 30,000 NEXT WEEK. MR. REED: THERE ARE SOME POPULATIONS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SUPPORT LOGISTICALLY WIT...

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 651 on Friday, with 17 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health. Eight of those deaths occurred before Feb. 5 but were still being investigated by state medical examiners, according to the health department. The health department now estimates there are 17,979 active cases of the disease in Utah. Another 22,092 vaccine doses were administered as of Friday, according to the health department. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 694, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period reported with the "people over people" method is now 12.3%. The positive test rate per day seven-day average calculated with the "test over test" me...

People wait in line for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Willowbrook, Los Angeles, California, February 25, 2021. Lucy Nicholson The U.S. is "nowhere close" to achieving herd immunity from Covid, and more transmissible variants mean even more people will need to get vaccinated to reach it, a CDC scientist said Friday. Herd immunity occurs when enough people in a given community have antibodies against a specific disease, either through vaccination or prior exposure to the virus. That makes it difficult to spread from person to person and even protects people who don't have any immunity. "Currently we know that the majority of the U.S. population is not immune to SARS-CoV-2 and variants may cause this...

In late September, before covid-19 swept through southern Illinois like a prairie fire, before nearly every single resident of a nursing home in Du Quoin was infected, before the disease pushed Perry County’s rural health-care system to the breaking point, confidence was in the air. The county clerk, Beth Lipe, realized the pandemic wasn’t causing any rush for absentee ballots. Of 9,300 applications she mailed out, she got back fewer than 1,000 requests, about the same as any other year. The staff of the St. Nicholas Brewing Co. on a Friday afternoon set up 10 tables for their evening food and bar service next door in the parking lot of the Du Quoin State Bank. As usual, fewer than half their customers showed up in masks. Fairview Rehabilitation and Healthcare, on East Jackson ...

Restrictions on public gatherings and indoor dining, as well as improved rates of mask-wearing and social distancing helped bring down the rate of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Restrictions on public gatherings and indoor dining, as well as improved rates of mask-wearing and social distancing helped bring down the rate of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. ...