FDA Actions FDA-ARGO SARS-CoV-2 Reference Grade Sequencing Data: The FDA has partnered with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Biodefense and Emerging Infections Research Resources Repository (BEI Resources) and the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University…
If it comes to rationing, I shouldn’t have to be the one deciding who should live and who should die
Medical school didn’t teach me how to decide which of my patients should live and which should die if it becomes rationing of medical equipment or treatment becomes necessary. But I’ve spent most of my time recently planning for the…
Covid-19 spreads too fast for traditional contact tracing. New digital tools could help
Every strategy for releasing Covid-19’s vise-grip on daily life starts with identifying cases and tracing their contacts — the laborious task of public health workers tracking down people who have crossed paths with a newly diagnosed patient, so they can…
J&J and US government invest $1 billion in COVID-19 vaccine
Johnson & Johnson has announced plans to team up with the US government to invest more than $1 billion in a new vaccine against COVID-19, aiming to begin clinical trials by September. Medical devices giant Abbott has also helped the…
Amazon and Boots to provide COVID-19 tests in UK – report
Consumers in the UK will be able to log onto either Amazon or Boots’s website to order a home test for delivery that will tell them whether they have had the coronavirus, according to a press report. According to the…
Understanding what works: How some countries are beating back the coronavirus
With Europe and the United States locked in deadly battle with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, a number of countries that were hit early by the virus are doing a far better job of beating it back. China, which is…
‘We’re racing against the clock’: Researchers test wearables as an early warning system for Covid-19
Researchers at two prominent California universities launched ambitious new studies this week to test whether wearables can serve as a sort of early-warning system for parts of the country not yet flooded with coronavirus cases. University of California, San Francisco,…
When can we let up? Health experts craft strategies to safely relax coronavirus lockdowns
With countries from Italy to the U.S. having waited too long to combat the coronavirus, many experts in public health and epidemiology are pleading with government officials not to compound the mistake by lifting stay-at-home and other social distancing measures…
A plea from doctors in Italy: To avoid Covid-19 disaster, treat more patients at home
Adozen physicians at the epicenter of Italy’s Covid-19 outbreak issued a plea to the rest of the world on Saturday, going beyond the heartbreaking reports of overwhelmed health care workers there and a seemingly uncontrollable death toll to warn that…
How touching your face can spread viruses — and why you’re so bad at avoiding it
With the outbreak of Covid-19, health care professionals are urging people to regularly refrain from touching their face. Is that too much to ask? There’s no question it’s easier said than done. According to a 2015 study in the American…
