Anticipating B117 surge, experts urge continued focus on elders, deferred 2nd vaccine doses
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 18, 2021
Infectious disease and vaccine experts have laid out a plan for thwarting yet another uptick in transmission and illness. A new surge is likely by the end of April, they say in a CIDRAP report.
Clinical briefs for Monday, May 3
By
Alicia Lasek
May 03, 2021
Feds push combo therapy treatments in LTC to combat new COVID variants … People connections buoyed elders during pandemic, investigators say … Task force pinpoints eldercare services that drive up...
Robust response to virus variants expected in former COVID patients and the vaccinated
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 31, 2021
Blood samples from recovered COVID-19 patients show that they and their vaccinated peers should be able to fend off the virus and its variants in future encounters, NIH researchers say.
November’s drop in COVID deaths may hint at early nursing home success, experts contend
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 16, 2021
Between spring pandemic lockdowns and November, mortality rates due to COVID-19 in nursing homes declined significantly — well before a vaccine was approved to treat the disease, according to a new study.
Clinical briefs for Tuesday, Aug. 3
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 03, 2021
SNF recovery threatened by spread of delta variant: LTC exec … Nursing home COVID-19 outbreaks rising again in hot spots … Massachusetts outbreak prompts CDC to suggest re-upped pandemic mitigation...
J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine 74 percent effective, real-world study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 04, 2021
Data from more than 8,800 vaccinated Mayo Clinic patients has found that a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine reduces hospitalization in the face of widely circulating gene variants.
COVID vaccines lost some effectiveness in delta surge, ongoing CDC study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 25, 2021
The three federally sanctioned COVID vaccines have lost a “moderate” amount of effectiveness against SARS-CoV-19 ever since the delta gene variant became the predominant U.S. strain, the agency reports.
HHS halts Eli Lilly’s single-drug COVID antibody treatment in U.S.; dual-drug alternative remains in...
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 26, 2021
U.S. distribution of an infusion treatment using bamlanivimab only has been halted due to virus variant concerns, but an alternative antibody cocktail from the drugmaker can still be ordered, according...
FDA OKs third antibody COVID therapy; variants spur new pause on another
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 01, 2021
A new COVID-19 treatment made by GlaxoSmithKline now is the third monoclonal antibody therapy federally authorized to help prevent severe disease outcomes in high-risk patients. But gene variants are interfering...
Clinical briefs for Wednesday, Dec. 1
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 01, 2021
Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody drug may be less effective against omicron, drugmaker says … Pandemic taking toll on healthcare workers’ sleep patterns … Ambulance staffing shortage frustrating nursing...