Month: May 2021

The biotech firm Oxitec has released its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, with the goal of suppressing wild, disease-carrying mosquito populations in the region. This is the first time genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in the U.S. Oxitec previously released its modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama and Malaysia, and the company reported that local A. aegypti populations fell by at least 90% in those locations, Live Science previously reported. A. aegypti can carry diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, and releasing modified mosquitoes offers a way to control the population without using pesticides. Oxitec's modified mosquitoes, all male, have been engineered to carry a lethal gene; when the...

A new report issued Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals a variant of COVID-19 first identified in California may more frequently cause serious disease than other variants and may weaken antibody treatments. The B.1.427/B.1.429 variant was identified in California in December and went on to become the predominant variant in the state, according to the New York Times. It has spread to many states across the country. The report documents analysis by the Colorado Department of Public Health looking at cases of B.1.427/B.1.429 between Jan. 4 and March 20 in Colorado. They found the strain went from making up 3% to 4% of cases in late January to 20% to 22% of cases in early March.  B.1.427 and B.1.429 refers to t...

For some homebound travelers yearning for a vacation, the question isn't whether to book a vacation this year, but when.  Enthusiasm for travel is at its highest point in a year, with 87% of American travelers expected to take a trip this summer, according to a survey conducted last week by travel market research company Destination Analysts. But is the summer the best time to travel this year, or is it prudent to wait? Medical professionals present several scenarios of how the rest of 2021 may play out.    1. A summer of low infection rates Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, said she expects this summer to have lower infection rates than the winter. "When I add in the idea that kids 12...

As vaccination demand has slowed down a bit, several counties throughout the Sacramento area are changing their strategy for easier vaccine access. Almost 50% of the Yolo County population has been vaccinated but there are still thousands of people that have yet to receive their dose. To knock down those barriers, they're bringing vaccination clinics to smaller and different locations.That same effort is being pushed by Sacramento County. They held a vaccination event this morning at The Galt Flea Market."We have multiple languages. We have nurses that know sign language ... There isn't a translation that you can come up with, that we can't handle," says Kevin Mackey, the regional fire medical director in Sacramento.Elk Grove resident Ivan Morales Suarez, who was out at the flea mark...