Month: June 2021

First COVID-19 case of delta variant reported in the area LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine has reportedly identified the first delta variant case in Region 1 of Louisiana, which includes the New Orleans metropolitan area. Updated: 3:26 PM CDT Jun 25, 2021 The Precision Medicine Lab at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine has reportedly identified the first delta variant case in Region 1 of Louisiana, which includes the New Orleans metropolitan area.Statewide, Louisiana has reported about a dozen cases of the delta variant not including presumptive cases.According to a news release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimat...

In this May 8, 2021 photo, a health worker displays empty vials of covid-19 vaccines in Gauhati, India. Photo: Anupam Nath (AP) Covid-19 booster vaccines could eventually be needed for everyone, though some faster than others—at least, those are the apparent expectations coming from the World Health Organization. On Thursday, Reuters reported on WHO internal documents laying out their scenarios for the near future of the pandemic, including one that predicts most people may need boosters two years after their last dose. More vulnerable groups like the elderly may need them in one year after their last dose. According to Reuters, the forecasts were set to be discussed during a board meeting held Thursday by Gavi, an organization and public–private partnership formed in 2000 by the WHO...

This cancer-finding blood test has gotten the green light.  A blood test capable of detecting more than 50 kinds of cancer — before a person even shows symptoms of the disease — has proven accurate enough to roll out as a screening test for those at higher risk, including asymptomatic patients age 50 or older, according to a press release. “Finding cancer early, when treatment is more likely to be successful, is one of the most significant opportunities we have to reduce the burden of cancer,” said Dr. Eric Klein, author of a paper published Friday that found the blood test boasts a very low false-positive rate and a high level of accuracy for predicting where in the body the cancer is. “These data suggest that, if used alongside existing screening test...