Health

Danielle Seal likens going for a walk during the pandemic to an extreme sport. “When I go [and walk] the dog I have to ask people to stay two meters away,” she told CNN. “And that’s what really upsets me. If you try and squeeze past me, you are putting my life in danger. Going

Congress was convulsed by controversy over the incendiary behavior of a freshman Republican from Georgia. Wall Street was roiled by insurgent amateurs trading in GameStop stock to punish giant hedge funds. But in a week of extremes, the biggest underlying story — and the central challenge facing the Biden administration — was the race to

Maryland on Saturday became the second state to report a case of a coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa — a strain that health experts say is more transmissible than previous ones. The announcement by the Maryland governor’s office came two days after South Carolina reported two cases of the strain. The Maryland case

At least four new variants of the coronavirus are keeping scientists awake at night. One, first identified in southeast England, has now shown up in at least 50 countries and appears to be spreading more efficiently than older variations of the virus. Its appearance has frightened political leaders, who have closed borders and imposed travel

If you’re pregnant during the pandemic, major medical groups in the United States have a clear message for you — please consider being vaccinated against Covid-19. “US regulatory bodies and medical experts have clearly stated that all eligible pregnant individuals should have the choice to receive the vaccine,” said Dr. Christopher Zahn, vice president of

As health experts warn that highly contagious coronavirus variants could soon worsen the spread in the US, the country is about to require masks on public transportation. The pending order from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes as the country wraps up its deadliest month of the pandemic. The CDC announced an

It was one year ago today the World Health Organization declared that the novel coronavirus was a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. “At the time there were fewer than 100 cases of the disease we now call Covid-19 and no deaths outside China,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday. “This week we reached

As Covid-19 variants are increasingly found in the United States, experts say Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate would help in the pandemic fight, despite trial reports showing apparently lower efficacy rates than two vaccines already authorized in the US. Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine was shown to be 66% effective in preventing moderate and

Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 single-shot vaccine was shown to be 66% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease in a global Phase 3 trial, but 85% effective against severe disease, the company announced Friday. The vaccine was 72% effective against moderate and severe disease in the US, the company said. It’s a striking difference from

A third Covid-19 vaccine, one made by Johnson & Johnson, could be authorized for use in the United States in the near future. Data about the single-shot vaccine released Friday, and the company is now collating its data to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization. The vaccine was made

The anti-science movement has set up the United States and the world up for a worse Covid-19 pandemic than otherwise would have been, infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Hotez argued Thursday. “An anti-science disinformation campaign of unprecedented magnitude and led by both multinational corporations and some governments, especially the Russian and US Governments, fuels the

Severe cases of Covid-19 might impact the quality of a man’s sperm, thus possibly impacting his fertility, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Reproduction. “This report provides the first direct evidence to date that COVID-19 infection impairs semen quality and male reproductive potential,” the study said. However, experts not involved in

Last March former President Donald Trump said “anybody that wants a test can get a test” for Covid-19. That wasn’t true then, and in some parts of the country, finding a test appointment is about as easy to get as Super Bowl tickets. Regular and affordable testing, if done right, could not only diagnose people

A year into the pandemic, winter is the last of the four seasons we’re newly experiencing during this crisis. Each season has had its curveballs, but one winter challenge may be staying warm if you can’t afford or are cutting back on indoor heating. Since we still need to prevent spreading the coronavirus, pre-pandemic ways