Month: April 2021

Radoslav Zilinsky | Moment | Getty Images Scientists at Texas A&M University's Global Health Research Complex say they've detected a new Covid-19 variant that shows signs of a more contagious strain that causes more severe illness and appears to be resistant to antibodies. The new variant, BV-1, named after its Brazos Valley origin, was found during Texas A&M's routine coronavirus screening via saliva sample in a young student who had mild cold-like symptoms. The student tested positive for Covid on March 5 and tested positive again on March 25, showing that the new strain may cause a longer infection in younger people. The student's symptoms resolved by April 2 and a third test on April 9 came back negative. Texas A&M scientists say that cell ...

Radoslav Zilinsky | Moment | Getty Images Scientists at Texas A&M University's Global Health Research Complex say they've detected a new Covid-19 variant that shows signs of a more contagious strain that causes more severe illness and appears to be resistant to antibodies. The new variant, BV-1, named after its Brazos Valley origin, was found during Texas A&M's routine coronavirus screening via saliva sample in a young student who had mild cold-like symptoms. The student tested positive for Covid on March 5 and tested positive again on March 25, showing that the new strain may cause a longer infection in younger people. The student's symptoms resolved by April 2 and a third test on April 9 came back negative. Texas A&M scientists say that cell ...

Gov. Charlie Baker said this week that there’s “very little hesitancy” about getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts. According to recently released federal data, he’s right. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mapped the results of a national survey last week on the number of Americans who said they would “probably not” or “definitely not” get the COVID-19 vaccine, and 10 of the 11 counties with the lowest rates of hesitancy in the entire country are in Massachusetts. Additionally, Massachusetts had the lowest statewide hesitancy rate, at just 7 percent; and just 3 percent of Bay Staters said they would definitely not get the vaccine. At the county level, Norfolk County had the lowest estimated vaccine hesitancy at 5.8 percent, followed by Dukes and Nantucket c...

The acute clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are well characterized1,2; however, its post-acute sequalae have not been comprehensively described. Here, we use the national healthcare databases of the US Department of Veterans Affairs to systematically and comprehensively identify 6-month incident sequalae including diagnoses, medication use, and laboratory abnormalities in 30-day survivors of COVID-19. We show that beyond the first 30 days of illness, people with COVID-19 exhibit higher risk of death and health resource utilization. Our high dimensional approach identifies incident sequalae in the respiratory system and several others including nervous system and neurocognitive disorders, mental health disorders, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, m...

Radoslav Zilinsky | Moment | Getty Images Scientists at Texas A&M University's Global Health Research Complex say they've detected a new Covid-19 variant that shows signs of a more contagious strain that causes more severe illness and appears to be resistant to antibodies. The new variant, BV-1, named after its Brazos Valley origin, was found during Texas A&M's routine coronavirus screening via saliva sample in a young student who had mild cold-like symptoms. The student tested positive for Covid on March 5 and tested positive again on March 25, showing that the new strain may cause a longer infection in younger people. The student's symptoms resolved by April 2 and a third test on April 9 came back negative. Texas A&M scientists say that cell ...

The bulk of the risk factors for dementia are utterly out of our control, like age and genetics. But growing scientific evidence says there are measures people can take to mitigate their risk of developing the condition, which impacts an estimated 50 million people around the world. A large new study published this week in the journal Nature Communications points to one relatively straightforward prevention tactic: Get enough high-quality sleep when you’re in your 50s and 60s. The study, which followed nearly 8,000 participants in the United Kingdom for 25 years, found that people who regularly slept for six hours or less in middle age had about a 30% higher risk of developing dementia than those who clocked seven or more hours per night. How sleep may help decrease risk of dementia The ...

How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last? Experts don't know yet because they're still studying vaccinated people to see when protection might wear off. How well the vaccines work against emerging variants will also determine if, when and how often additional shots might be needed. "We only have information for as long as the vaccines have been studied," said Deborah Fuller, a vaccine researcher at the University of Washington. "We have to study the vaccinated population and start to see, at what point do people become vulnerable again to the virus?" PFIZER CONFIRMS FAKE COVID VACCINES FOUND IN MEXICO, POLAND BLACK MARKETS So far, Pfizer's ongoing trial indicates the company's two-dose vaccine remains highly effective for at least six months, and likely longer. People who...