Author:

With the number of new cases of COVID-19 continuing to set records in the U.S. and deaths from the disease rising daily, public health officials and politicians have increasingly pinned their hopes on a vaccine to overcome the pandemic. Dr. Uché Blackstock, Yahoo News’ medical contributor and Advancing Health Equity CEO, explains the issues involved in developing a vaccine and how one might be deployed to the general public. Video Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] UCHE BLACKSTOCK: So right now, we're at about 145 vaccines that are in development; about 21 are in clinical trials. But typically vaccines take several years to research and develop. Like, I think the mumps vaccine took about three to four years. And so this idea of developing a vaccine within less than a year's time but by the end of...

A COVID-19 outbreak has forced a Christian sleepaway camp in Missouri to shut down after dozens of staff, campers and counselors tested positive for the coronavirus. The Kanakuk K-2 camp in Lampe, just north of the Arkansas border, closed after 41 campers, counselors and staff became infected with the coronavirus, the Stone County Health Department announced last week. Four days later, local health officials said the number of infections had doubled, to 82. Many of those who tested positive had already left the camp and returned home, with cases in at least 10 states and to multiple counties in Missouri. At least one case is in Stone County, where the camp is located. "The decision to close has resulted in all campers, counselors and staff to return to ...

Governor Steve Bullock announced on April 22 a phased re-opening plan for Montana. Many retail businesses are up and running with restaurants, bars, casinos, and breweries becoming operational again on Monday. Saying the city needs more time to prepare for a phased reopening and still lacks testing materials, the Missoula City-County Health Department on April 24 implemented guidelines more stringent than those issued this week by Gov. Steve Bullock in his Phase 1 plans. Gov. Bullock announced new guidelines on May 7 that will allow gyms and fitness studios, movie theaters and museums the option to reopen beginning Friday, May 15 as long as they adhere to strict guidelines. We know the COVID-19 pandemic is changing our community. To keep you and your family informed as we move forw...

A mutation in the protein that allows SARS-CoV-2 to enter cells might make it easier for the virus to spread — or it might not make a difference at all. That's the crux of a debate over a mutation known as D614G, which affects the spike protein on the virus' surface. The mutation is not new. It appears in low levels in samples taken from COVID-19 patients as far back as February. But this variation of the virus (nicknamed the "G" variation) seems to show up in more and more of the virus samples taken from people infected recently compared to early in the pandemic. A new paper, published July 2 in the journal Cell, argues that the rise in the "G" variation of the new coronavirus is due to natural selection. The study finds that virus particles with this mutation have an easier time ma...

Cells infected with the new coronavirus grow stringy, tentacle-like arms that allow the virus to invade other cells, according to a new study. The novel coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, has now infected more than 12.2 million people worldwide and killed more than 555,500, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard. To defeat the virus, researchers around the world are taking part in an unprecedented effort to find new drugs and repurpose old ones. But to truly find the right therapeutic weapon, scientists need to understand in detail how the virus invades human cells. To figure that out, an international group of researchers looked at how the virus changes activity inside cells in order to invade more and more cells. They specifically analyzed how the virus can alter certain proteins ...

MIAMI (AP) — Fighting a surge in coronavirus cases in the spring, Florida appeared to be “flattening the curve” as theme parks shuttered, sugar sand beaches closed and residents heeded orders to stay home. Now, it’s almost as if that never happened. Bars, restaurants and gyms began reopening in May — critics said it was too soon — and weeks later, the Sunshine State became one of the country’s virus hot spots, experiencing an alarming surge in cases. On Thursday, officials reported 120 deaths in one day, the highest number since the previous record of 113 in early May. “We thought maybe we could keep this thing under wraps. And that worked for a little bit of time,” Dr. Jason Wilson, an E.R. physician at Tampa General Hospital, said during a conversation with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor t...