Month: March 2021

GRANT COUNTY, Wash. -- The Washington Department of Health (DOH) and the Grant Country Health District are reporting the first case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) connected with COVID-19 in Grant County.  The child spent several days in the Intensive Care Unit before returning home in stable condition. The child is 10 years old.  The DOH says that there have only been 42 known cases of MIS-C in Washington State.  MIS-C is a condition that causes inflammation in different body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. Symptoms can ra...

More than a million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the region, the County Health and Human Services Agency reported today. Of those vaccinated to date, more than 319,000, or nearly 12 percent of San Diegans 16 and older, are fully immunized. A total of 619,924 people, or 23.1 percent, have received at least one dose of the two-dose regimen. “We are making great progress in vaccinating San Diegans but it is too soon to let our guard down,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “Herd immunity does not occur until at least 70 percent of the population 16 and older is fully vaccinated and we have a ways to go before we can get back to many of the things we miss.” The region’s vaccination efforts are slowed by shortages in vacci...

Posted: Mar 5, 2021 / 04:47 PM CST / Updated: Mar 5, 2021 / 04:53 PM CST A 3-D rendering of the coronavirus (Getty Images). CHICAGO — A third COVID-19 variant has been identified in Illinois and the strain is thought to be more contagious than other ones. Northwestern University researchers have determined the P.1 variant, first identified in travelers from Brazil, was confirmed in a Chicago resident. Health officials said their household partner also had COVID-19 and they did not travel outside of Illinois. Health officials believe this variant is more contagious and may affect antibodies. “Evidence suggests that this variant can spread more easily than most currently circulating strains of COVID-19, and there is some evi...

New Hampshire's top health official says Granite Staters need to be ready to deal with some level of COVID-19 for a long time, but the virus should be more manageable as vaccinations continue.Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said a change in approach to the pandemic is coming in the months ahead when COVID-19 goes from being a statewide crisis to something managed more by doctors and hospitals."I think you're seeing that coming probably spring into summer," Shibinette said. "We anticipate our numbers are going to go down with the vaccination program and through seasonable variability."The commissioner said it's important for acceptance of lower levels of COVID-19 not to become complacency or panic when cases rise again later in the year. "When you ...

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Floridians ages 16-21 with medical conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 can sign up to get vaccines at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital starting next week, the Miami-Dade facility announced Friday. Doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be available to people of that age who are “currently under the care of physicians or specialists for medical conditions identified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as posing an increased risk for severe illness associated with COVID-19,” Nicklaus said in a news release. Appointment requests can be submitted at Nicklauschildrens.org/Covid19Vaccine beginning Monday, March 8. Candidates will need to provide the Florida COVID-19 Determination of Extreme Vulnerability form completed by their doctor. Ad The hosp...