Countries and regions in Europe are toughening coronavirus restrictions amid a surge in fresh infections, with Wales imposing a “fire-break” lockdown of 14 days, Ireland announcing a nationwide “stay at home” order for six weeks and Belgium shutting down bars and restaurants for a month as authorities there warned of a possible “tsunami” of new [...]

BETH KALB WAS worried about the pews. This summer, the century-old Catholic church she attends in a small town outside Minneapolis had, like many places, reopened its doors with new rituals of disinfection. Kalb had quickly noticed the side effects. The varnish on the pews had begun to wear, and the wood was often sticky with [...]

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in collaboration with the Department of Defense (DOD) awarded a $481 million Other Transaction Agreement to Cue Health, Inc. to expand U.S. production capacity for a cartridge-based point-of-care COVID-19 molecular test that produces results in about 20 minutes. This partnership with HHS and DOD will [...]

Summary Renal impairment is common in patients who are critically ill with coronavirus disease‐19 (COVID‐19). We examined the association between acute and chronic kidney disease with clinical outcomes in 372 patients with coronavirus disease‐19 admitted to four regional intensive care units between 10 March 2020 and 31 July 2020.     Credit: Pixabay Read more… [...]

As part of the Operation Warp Speed effort — a partnership between the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services — long-term care facilities across the U.S. will be able to sign up to have one of two major U.S. pharmacy companies come to their facilities and administer COVID-19 vaccines to residents [...]

Voters who have not yet submitted ballots by mail headed to the polls Tuesday amid what one top health official called “the most concerning and most deadly phase” of the coronavirus pandemic. The virus has claimed at least 231,000 lives in the United States, and record numbers of coronavirus-related hospitalizations are forcing doctors in rural states to [...]

Seven in 10 Americans are concerned about the presence of chemical products in food, according to a survey. The poll by Mérieux NutriSciences and bioMérieux found 70 percent of respondents were troubled about this topic that covers pesticides, antibiotics and additives. Two thirds were concerned about bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria in food and 61 percent [...]

Coronavirus cases are rising rapidly in many states as the U.S. heads into the winter months. And forecasters predict staggering growth in infections and deaths if current trends continue. It’s exactly the kind of scenario that public health experts have long warned could be in store for the country, if it did not aggressively tamp down [...]

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited more than 25 healthcare facilities for COVID-19 safety violations, totaling fines of at least $285,000. Since the pandemic began, OSHA has cited 37 establishments for related violations. Notably, healthcare facilities in New Jersey account for at least 14 of these violations. Citations were issued if employers [...]

Summary The description of a so-called cytokine storm in patients with COVID-19 has prompted consideration of anti-cytokine therapies, particularly interleukin-6 antagonists. However, direct systematic comparisons of COVID-19 with other critical illnesses associated with elevated cytokine concentrations have not been reported. In this Rapid Review, we report the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of [...]