Coronavirus News
4 Years On, What Progress is Being Made on Long COVID?
- FDA OKs New Treatment to Prevent COVID in High-Risk People
March 26, 2024 — A new antibody treatment has been approved to help prevent COVID-19, and it will be available in a matter of days for many of the estimated 3 in every 100 people in the U.S. who have compromised immune systems.
- COVID Levels Decline, but Other Viruses Remain High
March 19, 2024 — COVID-19 may be headed toward a springtime retreat. The indication comes from declining levels of the virus SARS-CoV-2 being detected in wastewater over the past 3 weeks.
- Long COVID Symptoms Among Americans on the Rise
March 15, 2024 — Symptoms of long COVID are becoming more common among Americans, according to a new CDC survey.
- At-Home Medical Tests: Are They Right for You?
March 11, 2024 — At-home medical diagnostic testing has exploded in recent years. Here's what to know.
- COVID Virus Can Remain in the Body Over a Year
March 8, 2024 — New research shows that remnants of the COVID-19 virus can linger in blood and tissue for more than a year after a person is first infected.
- CDC Officially Shortens Recommended COVID Isolation Period
March 1, 2024 — Previously, the CDC had urged people with COVID to stay home for at least five days. But the new instructions suggest staying home until at least 24 hours after a fever and symptoms have subsided.
- COVID Infection Tied to Drop in IQ
February 29, 2024 — COVID-19–related cognitive declines in severe cases were equal to a 9-point drop in IQ, new data show, with most loss of memory, reasoning, and executive function.
- CDC Could Cut COVID Isolation Time: What It Could Mean
February 23, 2024 — The agency appears to be walking a fine line between reducing COVID transmission, including the JN.1 variant, and the reality that many people struggle to forgo work or school for days at a time.
- Paxlovid Lowers Risk of COVID-19 Hospitalization, Study Finds
February 22, 2024 — Almost 5,000 people in the study group received Paxlovid. The use of Paxlovid was the best indicator of avoiding hospitalization, with three of those people being hospitalized.
- U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Higher Than Official Record, Study Says
February 21, 2024 — The number of deaths from COVID-19 is at least 16% higher than official records show, according to a new study.
- Mild COVID-19 Can Cause Sleep Problems, Study Finds
February 7, 2024 — Even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause people to have trouble sleeping, according to new research.
- Home Tests Detect the New COVID Variant, But May Take Longer
January 23, 2024 — JN.1, the now-dominant COVID-19 variant that accounts for nearly 86% of all currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains, may take longer to show a positive result on home antigen tests.
- If the COVID Threat Grows Again, How Prepared Are We?
January 18, 2024 — The JN.1 variant, while causing a spike in cases and worse outcomes, isn’t expected to be the sky-is-falling-variant many have worried about. But what if the next one is? Will we be prepared?
- CDC Says Second Tripledemic Season May Have Peaked
January 16, 2024 — Raging rates of the flu, COVID-19, and RSV may have peaked during the holidays and appear to be on a downward track, according to new CDC data.
- COVID Linked to Long-Term Risk of Digestive Diseases: Study
January 12, 2024 — The risk of getting serious digestive conditions – like gastrointestinal dysfunction and gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD – persists for months after an active COVID-19 infection, a new study says.
- Complacency Has Replaced Alarm in the Newest COVID Surge
January 12, 2024 — There's a massive surge of the JN1 COVID variant at present, but unlike the early years of the COVID experience, the shared, global alarm and uncertainty have been largely replaced with complacency.
- At-Home COVID Tests Now Taking Longer to Show Positive Result
January 10, 2024 — Some health care providers are warning that it can now take longer after COVID symptoms appear for tests to return a positive result.
- Researchers Link Fatigue from Long-COVID to Changes in Muscles
January 10, 2024 — People with long-COVID suffer from persistent fatigue that new research from Amsterdam attributes to changes in the muscles.
- Signs Point Toward Post-Holiday Surge in Respiratory Viruses
January 2, 2024 — The big three respiratory illnesses of flu, COVID-19, and RSV are showing up at the same time at high levels across the country, and further increases due to holiday gatherings are expected.
- COVID May Cause Ongoing Brain Injury Unseen by Routine Tests
December 29, 2023 — A study from the United Kingdom shows that brain damage may keep happening months after infection.
- COVID Strain JN.1 Is Now a ‘Variant of Interest,’ WHO Says
December 20, 2023 — The World Health Organization called the COVID variant JN.1 a standalone “variant of interest” and said JN.1 will drive an increase in cases of the virus, the global health agency announced late Tuesday.
- CDC Reports COVID-19 Subvariant JN.1 Spreading Quickly
December 19, 2023 — A subvariant of the COVID-19 virus is growing in the United States and is already dominant in the Northeast, according to the latest CDC figures.
- COVID, Flu, and RSV: What to Know Right Now
December 12, 2023 — It’s not necessarily a sign that another tripledemic is looming, but post-Thanksgiving rates of COVID-19 and influenza continue to rise nationwide. And instead of peaking as health officials hoped, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases have plateaued at higher levels.
- Federal Program Offers Free COVID, Flu At-Home Tests, Treatments
December 7, 2023 — The U.S. government has expanded a program offering free COVID-19 and flu tests and treatment. The Home Test to Treat program is virtual and offers at-home rapid tests, telehealth sessions, and at-home treatments to people nationwide.
- New COVID Variant JN.1 Could Disrupt Holiday Plans
December 7, 2023 — No one planning holiday gatherings or travel wants to hear this, but the rise of a new COVID-19 variant, JN.1, is concerning experts, who say it may threaten those good times.
- COVID, Flu Rates Rising Nationwide, But RSV May Have Peaked
December 4, 2023 — COVID-19 appears to be heading for a holiday season increase across most of the country. More people are testing positive, visiting emergency rooms for treatment, and being admitted to the hospital with severe symptoms. This follows a relatively quiet autumn for COVID, and comes as rates of other respiratory illnesses like the flu are also picking up.
- Biden Administration Will Send COVID-19 Tests to Schools
November 30, 2023 — The federal government will send millions of free COVID-19 tests to schools across the country. School districts can give the tests for free to students, staff, parents, and communities.
- New CDC Advisory Once Again Flags BA.2.86 COVID Variant
November 28, 2023 — An emerging variant of COVID-19 called BA.2.86 that caused alarm earlier this summer has landed on the CDC’s radar again.
- Novel MRI Study Detects Brain Changes in Long COVID Patients
November 27, 2023 — People who have long COVID exhibit changes in certain sections of their brains not found in people who are fully recovered from COVID, according to a study that used a novel kind of magnetic resonance imaging.
- Survey: Most People Not Worried About COVID-19 Over Holidays
November 20, 2023 — About three-quarters of people don’t have great worries about getting COVID-19 over the winter holidays, according to a survey of about 1,400 adults conducted by KFF.
- Salt Water Gargling, Nasal Cleansing Lower COVID Hospitalizations
November 10, 2023 — The traditional home remedy of gargling and rinsing your nasal passages with salt water may ease the symptoms of COVID-19 and help keep people out of the hospital, according to a new study.
- What Happens if You Get Both COVID and Flu (or RSV) at Once?
November 8, 2023 — One Johns Hopkins doctor says the patients he sees with multiple infections with respiratory viruses are "by far our sickest patients." Good news, though: There are vaccines and drugs to treat most of them.
- Study Says People Over 50 Lost Brain Power in Pandemic
November 2, 2023 — Adults over 50 lost brain strength during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of infection, a new study says. Results showed a cognitive decline, with stress, loneliness, and alcohol use possibly explaining some findings.
- Long COVID Lasts At Least 18 Months for Most People: Study
October 31, 2023 — A new study out of Denmark showed that more than half of people with severe cases of long COVID failed to improve after a year and a half.
- Federal Government to No Longer Cover COVID Drugs
October 30, 2023 — Two medicines that help prevent severe COVID-19 will no longer be distributed by the federal government starting Wednesday.
- People With Long COVID Don’t Show Signs of Brain Damage
October 27, 2023 — Study results showed that long COVID does not appear to be linked to the SARS-CoV-2 virus invading the brain or causing active brain damage.
- Human Immunity Pushing Back on COVID As New Variant Arises
October 27, 2023 — The coronavirus is constantly mutating to survive the growing antibody pushback it encounters as our bodies learn how to fight it. COVID's newest variant is an offshoot of BA.2.86 called JN.1.
- Clinics Peddle Unproven Stem Cell Treatment for Long COVID
October 26, 2023 — Researchers identified 38 direct-to-consumer businesses selling purported stem cell therapies to prevent and treat the virus – 36 of which also claim to treat post-COVID syndrome.
- Child-Care Centers Are Not Big COVID Spreaders, Research Says
October 25, 2023 — Child-care centers are not significant sources of COVID-19 transmission, according to a new University of Pittsburgh Medical School study published in JAMA Open Network.
- COVID Linked to Higher Risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Study
October 19, 2023 — A large new study links COVID-19 with an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Vaccination against COVID appeared to reduce the risk of GBS, which is a rare illness that can result in paralysis.
- Government Reduces Paxlovid Stockpile, Returns Millions of Doses
October 17, 2023 — The U.S. government has returned millions of doses of the COVID-19 antiviral medicine Paxlovid to its manufacturer.
- Study of Serotonin Levels Offers Hope for Long COVID Treatment
October 17, 2023 — Long COVID is associated with lower levels of circulating serotonin, new research has found, and less serotonin could be relevant to neurological, cognitive and memory symptoms associated with long COVID.
- 10 Percent of COVID Tests Are Positive As Hospitalizations Decline
October 16, 2023 — Severe cases of COVID-19 that require hospitalization continue to decline in the U.S., according to the CDC’s latest update on the pandemic.
- Research: Autoimmune, Autoinflammatory Disorders Rise After COVID
October 10, 2023 — After being infected with COVID-19, people have a much higher risk of getting autoimmune and autoinflammatory connective-tissue disorders like alopecia, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and vitiligo, according to new research.
- COVID-19 Hospitalizations Dropping, CDC Reports
October 2, 2023 — Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have dropped after about two months of increases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, though COVID-related deaths continue to go up.
- COVID Shot While Pregnant Limits Severe Cases in Infants Says CDC
September 29, 2023 — A study from the CDC found that vaccines were 54% effective at protecting infants from COVID-19 hospitalization in the first 3 months of life, and 35% effective at protecting babies from ages 3 months through 5 months old
- COVID-19 Infects Coronary Arteries, Causes Plaque Inflammation
September 28, 2023 — COVID-19 can raise the risk of heart attack and stroke by infecting the arteries of the heart and causing fatty plaque in the arteries to become inflamed, according to new research.
- 250,000 Courses of Paxlovid Administered Weekly, Pfizer CEO Says
September 27, 2023 — About 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s anti-COVID pills are being administered weekly, CEO Albert Bourla said this week.The oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid is being distributed at no charge by the U.S. government, which bought about 24 million doses. About 15 million courses have been distributed so far.
- New Data Lowers Estimate of Long COVID’s Impact: CDC
September 26, 2023 — An estimated 18 million adults in the U.S. have had long COVID, and half of them are still dealing with the condition, new national survey data shows.