covid-19

China is making bold promises in the race of developing a coronavirus vaccine. Chinese health officials state that the vaccine will be ready by the end of the year; China has also committed to sharing the vaccine with other countries, particularly low-income countries that it has ties with. Under…

Public health officials now warn that even moderately overweight people, not only obese people, are at higher risk of developing severe symptoms when infected with COVID-19. Forty percent of adult Americans are obese, while an additional 32 percent are overweight. As a result, nearly three-quarters…

The standard for COVID testing so far has been qPCR, but a new development at UCLA Health offers a method with a faster turnaround time of 12-24 hours. It builds upon current PCR technology with the use of a synthetic RNA standard that mimics COVID and a set of primer adaptors that act as molecular…

After quickly revoking publishing advice on airborne COVID transmission on September 21st, the CDC has put forth a revision on Monday to acknowledge that airborne transmission is possible. Aerosols (less than 5 microns) are smaller than respiratory droplets, and can “linger in the air for minutes…

China has already promised to have a vaccine ready by the end of the year and has committed to sharing the vaccine with certain nations. It has also joined COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access which is aiming to provide doses of the vaccine to the most vulnerable groups and health care workers. However…

Following President Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis on early October 2nd, members of the White House have also been testing positive for the virus. Contact tracers are having difficulty determining Patient Zero for this particular outbreak of infections due to the various places Trump had…

The F.D.A. sent a proposal that included more strict guidelines for coronavirus vaccine approvals. The guidelines included changes that almost certainly guaranteed no vaccine by election day. But, the White House chief of staff has blocked the proposal. The White House continues to give public…

During the pandemic, reports of domestic violence have increased significantly as women find themselves trapped at home with their abuses. Research also suggests women are enduring the heaviest economic burden because of the increase in unpaid caregiving and that they are more likely to work in…

Airbnb is banning reservations in the United States and Canada on October 30th and 31st, as well as cancelling previously booked reservations on these dates in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The company is also honing in on guests with bad reviews to restrict last minute or certain…

Following the news that President Donald Trump contracted the coronavirus, his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, relayed a message to the public that the president's conditions were improving and that he no longer had a fever. However, not long after, the chief of staff of the President, Mark Meadows,…

Amongst all the havoc that Hurrican Sally has wreaked last week, there is some good news. The public health department in Mobile County (Alabama)  has reported a decrease in COVID-19 cases which they believe the hurricane may have played a role in. Dr. Scott Chavers with the Mobile County Health…

A 26-year-old American woman that works in a hotel that serves the US military in Germany has been accused by German authorities for causing an outbreak in the Bavarian town, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The woman reported symptoms of the virus following a trip to Greece but refused to quarantine until…

During a Senate hearing on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the integral physicians on the White House's coronavirus task force, came head to head with Kentucky senator, Rand Paul. The two discussed New York's response to coronavirus, Sweden, and herd immunity. Fauci challenged Paul's…

In a Facebook Live, top official for the Department of Health and Human Services, Michael Caputo, proposed a conspiracy theory suggesting that Democrats and scientists are purposely prolonging COVID-19 in the U.S. to reduce Donald Trump's chances at re-election in November. Caputo was also recently…