High blood pressure plus COVID doubles risk of hospital stay: study
By
Alicia Lasek (f3)
Jul 25, 2022
Even after three COVID-19 vaccine doses, high blood pressure more than doubles the risk for hospitalization with an omicron variant infection, researchers report.
Fed’s booster OK too late? Nursing home loses 8 to coronavirus outbreak this fall
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 17, 2021
A Connecticut nursing home has weathered a facility-wide COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened 89 residents and staff. Booster shots were not yet authorized when the first cases appeared, the operator reports.
Best bet against omicron? Prior infection or a booster shot, early research suggests
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 09, 2021
A two-dose course of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may not be enough to effectively combat the new omicron coronavirus variant, but a booster shot may do the trick, two early lab studies suggest....
New wave of flu cases, COVID-19 hospitalizations hits U.S., impacting seniors
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 06, 2022
Flu activity was the highest in a decade last week and hospitalizations for three respiratory viruses are straining healthcare systems, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Monday.
Two years into pandemic, we’re better prepared to fight off virus variants
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 02, 2021
Despite the threat of the quickly spreading and highly mutated omicron coronavirus variant — which has just landed in the U.S. — we are safer than we were before the pandemic, some experts say.
CDC: Two booster shots cut severe COVID risk in nursing home residents by 74 percent
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 03, 2022
Nursing home residents who received a second mRNA booster shot during omicron were much less likely to suffer severe COVID-19 outcomes than their peers who received only one dose, a new study shows.
All nursing home staff in Massachusetts must get COVID-19 shots
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 05, 2021
The state is requiring staff and contract employees in all of its 378 facilities to receive a vaccination, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday.