Coronavirus category, Page 19
Contemplating a covid party for your kids? It’s still a bad idea
In the days before a vaccine for chicken pox became widely available, some parents would host “chicken pox parties” amidst an outbreak to try to ensure that their kids wouldn’t be left out of the wave of infections. The thinking was that chicken pox was a mild disease for kids...
Families despair over post-holiday return to remote learning
DETROIT — Parent Latonya Peterson sums up her frustration over Detroit schools returning — at least temporarily — to virtual learning in three short words: “I hate it.” Facing a surge in covid-19 cases, the Detroit district this week joined a growing number of others in moving classes online after...
West Virginia wants to administer 4th covid-19 vaccine dose
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Thursday he will ask the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for permission to offer a fourth dose of covid-19 vaccines to residents 50 and older as well as to essential workers. At a news conference, Justice pointed to Israel, which...
Omicron surge vexes parents of children too young for shots
Afternoons with Grammy. Birthday parties. Meeting other toddlers at the park. Parents of children too young to be vaccinated are facing difficult choices as an omicron variant-fueled surge in covid-19 cases makes every encounter seem risky. For Maine business owner Erin Connolly, the most wrenching decision involves Madeleine, her 3-year-old...
U.S. urges covid boosters starting at age 12 to fight omicron
The U.S. is urging that everyone 12 and older get a covid-19 booster as soon as they’re eligible, to help fight back the hugely contagious omicron mutant that’s ripping through the country. Boosters already were encouraged for all Americans 16 and older, but Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and...
Hospitals across Pittsburgh region brace as covid surge delivers more patients
Hospital systems across Southwestern Pennsylvania are braced for another surge of patients seeking treatment for covid-19 — though they are weathering the storm for now as cases increase and staffing shortages persist. The number of ICU covid-related patients at Allegheny Health Network hospitals is holding steady, though there has been...
Mayo Clinic dropping 700 workers for lacking covid-19 vaccination
About 700 workers are losing their jobs at Mayo Clinic for failing to comply with a vaccine mandate policy at the Rochester-based health system. Employees had until Monday to either receive their first shots or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Mayo said it granted the majority of...
Covid positivity rate in Allegheny skyrockets to 26% as omicron spreads
The covid-19 positivity rate in Allegheny County has skyrocketed over the past week as the omicron variant spreads, and Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen said the fast-spreading variant likely makes up most of the county’s cases at this point. The seven-day average for positive PCR tests in the county is...
Hospitals across Pittsburgh region brace as covid surge delivers more patients
Hospital systems across Southwestern Pennsylvania, including UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, are braced for another surge of patients seeking treatment for covid-19 — though they are weathering the storm for now as cases increase and staffing shortages persist. Nationally, some experts say the focus should be on the health of...
Grammys postpone ceremony, citing omicron variant risks
LOS ANGELES — The Grammy Awards were postponed Wednesday weeks before the planned Los Angeles ceremony over what organizers called “too many risks” from the omicron variant, signaling what could be the start of another year of pandemic upheaval for awards season. The attempt at a back-to-normal show had been...
U.S. hospitals seeing different kind of covid surge this time
Hospitals across the U.S. are feeling the wrath of the omicron variant and getting thrown into disarray that is different from earlier covid-19 surges. This time, they are dealing with serious staff shortages because so many health care workers are getting sick with the fast-spreading variant. People are showing up...
Anti-vaccination protesters attack Guadeloupe hospital staff
Dozens of anti-vaccination protesters in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe attacked a hospital director and other medical staff following recent violent demonstrations against vaccines and covid-19 restrictions, officials said Wednesday. The attack occurred Tuesday outside the University Hospital Center as police tried to escort the director and other staff...
UPMC Children’s adds covid unit as precautionary step as hospitalizations rise
A second covid-19 unit has opened at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to prepare for the potential of rising cases. It is a precautionary step, hospital officials said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a 114% increase in admissions for covid-positive children — from...
When should you get a covid vaccine if you’re pregnant? Here’s what one study found
Health officials recommend covid-19 vaccines and boosters for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding and trying to become or planning on getting pregnant. The guidance is based on studies that show risks of severe disease are high among the group. Now, a new study of more than 1,300 pregnant patients reveals...
Navy blocked from acting against 35 covid vaccine refusers
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Texas has granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Navy from acting against 35 sailors for refusing on religious grounds to comply with an order to get vaccinated against covid-19. The injunction is a new challenge to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to make vaccinations...
In locked down Chinese city, some complain food hard to get
BEIJING — Residents of the Chinese city of Xi’an are straining under a strict coronavirus lockdown, with some complaining of difficulties finding food, despite assurances from authorities that they are able to provide necessities for the 13 million people largely confined to their homes. Stringent measures to stem outbreaks are...
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recovering from covid-19, campaign says
AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tested positive for covid-19 on Dec. 27 and experienced mild symptoms, his campaign announced Monday. Patrick began testing negative starting on New Year’s Day and is completing his time in quarantine at his Houston home, said Allen Blakemore, senior adviser to Patrick’s campaign. “His...
‘Flurona’: First verified case of a rare double infection of covid-19 and influenza reported in Israel
A newly documented threat dubbed “Flurona,” is the simultaneous infection of the coronavirus and influenza, and Israeli health officials have documented the world’s first verified case, reports say. According to The Daily Beast, the new threat presented in a young unvaccinated pregnant woman, who was unaware she had either disease,...
FDA expands Pfizer boosters for more teens as omicron surges
The U.S. is expanding covid-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and federal regulators on Monday decided they’re also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds...
How will pandemic end? Omicron clouds forecasts for endgame
Pandemics do eventually end, even if omicron is complicating the question of when this one will. But it won’t be like flipping a light switch: The world will have to learn to coexist with a virus that’s not going away. The ultra-contagious omicron mutant is pushing cases to all-time highs...
Fauci: CDC mulling covid test requirement for asymptomatic
WASHINGTON — As the covid-19 omicron variant surges across the United States, top federal health officials are looking to add a negative test along with its five-day isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus, the White House’s top medical adviser said Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci said the Centers...
1 in 15 people in London likely has covid
LONDON — New figures from Britain’s official statistics body estimate that about 1 in 25 people in private households in England had covid-19 in the week before Christmas, as the highly transmissible omicron variant spread rapidly across the country. The figure was even higher in London, the British capital, where...
Researchers: 2 doses of J&J’s covid vaccine slashes omicron hospital stays
Two doses of Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine slashed hospitalizations caused by the omicron variant in South Africa by up to 85%, a critical finding since the shot is being increasingly relied upon across the continent, researchers said. The results are a welcome bit of news as the explosive rise...
UPMC receives limited supply of preventative antibody treatment for the most immunocompromised
George Spine Jr. thought it was a scam when he first got a call from UPMC around 7:45 a.m. Thursday offering a new antibody treatment meant to protect the most immunocompromised before they’re exposed to covid-19. “I thought it was a scam, so I gave the girl a hard time,”...
Florida sees spike in covid cases as hospitalizations rise
MIAMI — Florida is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections as the omicron variant rages through the state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 58,000 new cases for Wednesday and revised its tallies to add thousands of cases to the daily counts of...
