Disease

A poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that 1 in 5 American households had to delay care for serious illnesses in the past few months. In Idaho's hospitals, breast cancer surgeries and standard cancer screenings have been…

Merck announced that their pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 50% in recent clinical trials. The pill is designed to be taken during the first few days of a COVID-19 infection. During this period, the virus is replicating quickly, but the immune system has not yet responded.…

This past week the CDC released a report that found the coronavirus vaccines do not increase the risk of birth defects or miscarriages. The study was done on a total of 1,613 pregnant women who were all inoculated with the coronavirus vaccine. The majority of those in the study (70%) were…

As the delta variant continues to rampage the country, unvaccinated individuals are being hit the hardest. Among this group are children under the age of 12 who have not yet become eligible for vaccination due to a lack of data surrounding safety and tolerance (Read the Epicenter's update on…

Moderna announced this week that they are working on a two-in-one vaccine that would combine their covid vaccine with a flu shot currently under development. The new shot, called mRNA-1073, would hopefully increase convenience for individuals who plan on receiving a booster shot. The company hopes…

Although the presence of prevention methods for COVID-19 have reduced prevalence of some contagious illnesses, others such as H.I.V, TB and Malaria have been put on the backburner in terms of testing and treatment. In countries that already struggle to treat and diagnose COVID-19 cases, the above…

President Biden plans to establish a “Mission Control” office that would coordinate government agencies to forecast and spot pandemics in the future. The pandemic preparedness plan includes five goals:  1. expand the nation’s arsenal of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics 2. improve…

The Mu variant of the Coronavirus was marked as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization this past week. The designation indicates that the variant is potentially more transmissible than the original strand of the coronavirus, and some initial concerns were voiced surrounding the…

Studies have shown that effectiveness of the vaccine against COVID-19 has been declining as time passes, thus the main COVID-19 vaccines within the U.S.

As schools and businesses are opening back for in-person businesses, there are still many who hesitate to receive the vaccination shot.

A Chinese gene company called BGI Group has been collecting millions of women's genetic information through their global distribution of prenatal tests. The prenatal tests branded NIFTY: Non-Invasive Fetal TrisomY, have been used by over 8 million women globally. Furthermore, the BGI Group is in…

As vaccination rates increase throughout the country, the CDC and other companies have begun to offer various incentives to further boost the upward trajectory in hopes to reach herd immunity--where at least 60% to 90% of the population is vaccinated. For example, in Maryland, employees are offered…

Despite being a year into the pandemic, very little information is known about neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19. However, recently, a new research paper was published which presents information about various neurological after-signs from COVID-19. A very high percentage (82%) of those…

Now that the nation has opened up vaccines for the general public and vaccine companies have produced optimistic news about the safety of vaccines in adolescents and children, Pfizer has began to develop a new form of treatment. Their new treatment, currently in Phase 1, is an oral pill used to…