Coronavirus category, Page 12
FDA authorizes 1st breath test for covid-19 infection
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued an emergency use authorization for what it said is the first device that can detect covid-19 in breath samples. The InspectIR covid-19 Breathalyzer is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the FDA said, and can be used...
WHO says Covid cases, deaths in Africa drop to lowest levels yet
JOHANNESBURG — The number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Africa have dropped to their lowest levels since the pandemic began, marking the longest decline yet seen in the disease, according to the World Health Organization. In a statement on Thursday, the U.N. health agency said covid-19 infections due to...
Pfizer to seek covid booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds
Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its covid-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids. U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50...
CDC extends travel mask requirement to May 3 as covid cases rise
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for airplanes and public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in covid-19 cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was extending the order, which was set to expire on...
Allegheny County health officials have no plans to reinstate mask mandate
Allegheny County health officials said Wednesday they have no plans to reinstate a mask mandate locally as officials in Philadelphia did. “Cases in Allegheny County continue to be low, particularly when compared to the omicron surge in late December and January,” said health department spokesman Chris Togneri. He said there...
U.S. orders consular to leave Shanghai amid covid outbreak
BEIJING — The United States has ordered all non-emergency consular staff to leave Shanghai, which is under a tight lockdown to contain a covid-19 surge. The State Department said the order is an upgrade from the “authorized” departure issued last week that made the decision voluntary. The order covers “non-emergency...
Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate amid case surge
Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed covid-19 cases have risen more than...
Efforts to make protective medical gear in U.S. falling flat
UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — When the coronavirus pandemic first hit the U.S., sales of window coverings at Halcyon Shades quickly went dark. So the suburban St. Louis business did what hundreds of other small manufacturers did: It pivoted to make protective supplies, with help from an $870,000 government grant. But...
Germany may have to junk 3 million covid shots by late June
BERLIN — Germany’s health ministry said Monday that the country may have to discard 3 million doses of expired covid-19 vaccine by the end of June. Ministry spokesman Hanno Kautz told reporters in Berlin that “not many doses” have been destroyed so far, though he couldn’t give an exact figure....
Shanghai discharges thousands of patients, boosts supplies
BEIJING — Shanghai on Sunday discharged over 11,000 recovered covid-19 patients and health authorities emphasized that they must be allowed to return home despite the lockdown that has severely restricted movement in China’s largest city. “We hope their family and community will not worry about them or discriminate against them,”...
Another lawsuit filed against Brighton Rehab and Wellness in connection with covid-19 outbreak
The family of a Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center employee who died from covid-19 after they said he contracted the illness at work filed a wrongful death suit against the owners on Thursday. Kevin Carroll, 54, worked as part of the housing and laundry staff at the facility in Brighton...
Appeals court OKs Biden federal employee vaccine mandate
NEW ORLEANS — President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against covid-19 was upheld Thursday by a federal appeals court. In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court and ordered dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the mandate. The...
Shanghai wrestles with food shortages under virus shutdownVideo
BEIJING — Residents of Shanghai are struggling to get meat, rice and other food supplies under anti-coronavirus controls that confine most of its 25 million people in their homes, fueling frustration as the government tries to contain a spreading outbreak. People in China’s business capital complain online grocers often are...
Future of covid boosters comes down to crucial meeting of FDA advisers
An all-star panel of covid-19 experts will convene this week to hash out how and when vaccines should be updated to address future variants as the virus continues to rapidly mutate. The meeting of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers should provide some of the first hints of its strategy...
Biden orders push on long covid, pandemic’s shadowy mystery
WASHINGTON — Confronting the pandemic’s lasting shadow, President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered a new national research push on long covid, while also directing federal agencies to support patients dealing with the mysterious and debilitating condition. Biden assigned the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate an urgent new...
Medicare enrollees to get free covid-19 tests at drug stores
WASHINGTON — Amid worries that the latest coronavirus variant could spark another rise in cases, Medicare announced Monday that millions of enrollees will finally have access to free over-the-counter covid-19 tests at drug stores. More than 59 million people with Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient coverage will be able to get...
More Republicans have died of covid-19. Does that mean the polls are off?
WASHINGTON — Doctors and demographers recently noticed another tragic example of how polarization shapes America: The pandemic has killed more people in the nation’s Republican enclaves than its Democratic strongholds. They explain the gap by pointing to Republican resistance to vaccines and the GOP’s more cavalier approach to combating the...
5 questions with an expert: Who needs a covid booster?
Now that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized a second covid-19 booster for Americans age 50 and older, many people are probably wondering how to proceed. The Tribune-Review posed five questions to Pittsburgh-based infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health...
Into the wild: Animals the latest frontier in covid fight
GRAND PORTAGE, Minn. — To administer this covid test, Todd Kautz had to lay on his belly in the snow and worm his upper body into the narrow den of a hibernating black bear. Training a light on its snout, Kautz carefully slipped a long cotton swab into the bear’s...
Shanghai lockdown tests ‘zero-covid’ limits, shakes marketsVideo
BEIJING — Chinese authorities sought to reassure companies and jittery investors on Tuesday as a two-phase lockdown of Shanghai’s 26 million people entered its second day, casting an unusual quiet over the normally bustling center of finance, manufacturing and trade. The omicron outbreak in Shanghai is one of a series...
Poll: Americans ease up on masks, coronavirus safeguards
Many Americans have taken significant steps back from once-routine coronavirus precautions, with less than half now saying they regularly wear face masks, avoid crowds and skip nonessential travel. Americans are letting down their guard even as experts warn a new wave of covid-19 cases is coming. A new poll from...
Poll: Americans ease up on masks, virus safeguards
Many Americans have taken significant steps back from once-routine coronavirus precautions, with fewer than half now saying they regularly wear face masks, avoid crowds and skip nonessential travel. Americans are letting down their guard even as experts warn a new wave of covid-19 cases is coming. A new poll from...
FDA OKs another Pfizer, Moderna covid booster for 50 and up
Americans 50 and older can get a second covid-19 booster if it’s been at least four months since their last vaccination, a chance at extra protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus rebounds. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or...
Shanghai lockdown tests ‘zero-covid’ limits, shakes markets
BEIJING — A two-phase lockdown of Shanghai’s 26 million people is testing the limits of China’s hard-line “zero-covid” strategy, which is shaking markets far beyond the country’s borders. China’s largest city on Tuesday entered the second day of the lockdown’s first phase, which includes the Pudong financial district and adjacent...
Home testing, new variant add uncertainty to latest round of covid infections
As dramatic as the covid-19 omicron variant spike was in early 2022, health experts around the world were encouraged to see it drop just as quickly. In Pennsylvania, the total number of reported statewide positive cases this past Friday was around 600, nowhere near the 33,398 cases reported at the...
