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The rat problem in Washington, DC, is so bad, two people got hantavirus

Enlarge / A rat drinks water in a back alley in the Park View neighborhood near a construction site on Saturday, September 10, 2017, in Washington, D. C. (credit: Getty | The particular Washington Post ) Many people might already think of the nation’s capital as a political rat’s nest, teeming with rat-related features, like […]

COVID 19 Tech

How kids’ COVID vaccines are holding up in the real world amid omicron surge

Enlarge / A nurse gives a 16-year-old a COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty | Sopa images) New data on the real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in children and teens largely mirrors what we’ve seen in adults so far: Vaccine effectiveness is strong against the delta coronavirus variant but takes a significant hit when up against omicron. […]

COVID 19 Tech

Omicron subvariant BA.2 continues global rise as experts assess mixed data

Enlarge (credit: Getty | Xinhua News Agency) A sub-lineage of the omicron coronavirus variant, dubbed BA.2, continues to increase steadily around the globe as scientists and health officials are still working to understand the risk it poses to public health. So far, the overall data has been a mix. Some recent laboratory and animal data […]

COVID 19 Tech

Vaccine makers announce slowdowns for omicron-specific booster

Enlarge / Vials of undiluted Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty | BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI ) Vaccine makers are pushing back when omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccines could be ready for use. The shots were initially expected in March. Delays in the vaccines’ development come as cases of omicron have been dropping rapidly, and several animal studies have suggested […]

COVID 19 Tech

CDC wants to “give people a break” from masks, says new guidance coming

Enlarge / Signage on a window of a coffee shop informs customer of their masking policy in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. The state’s indoor mask requirement, which requires everyone to wear face coverings indoors regardless of vaccination status, expired on Wednesday. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg) With national cases of COVID-19 […]

COVID 19 Tech

Omicron wave was brutal on kids; hospitalization rates 4X higher than delta’s

Enlarge / Boston Medical Center Child Life Specialist Karlie Bittrich sees to a baby while in a pediatrics tent set up outside of Boston Medical Center in Boston on April 29, 2020. (credit: Getty | Boston Globe) Despite being widely seen as mild, the omicron coronavirus variant has been brutal on children and adolescents—particularly babies […]

COVID 19 Tech

Booster protection from omicron hospital stay dips from 91% to 78%

Enlarge / A vial containing Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine at a vaccination center. (credit: Getty | SOPA Images) COVID-19 booster doses are largely holding up against the ultratransmissible omicron variant, despite the fact that protection inevitably wanes over time, according to a recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, with […]

COVID 19 Tech

COVID raised heart risks 63% for a year after infection in study of 11M people

Enlarge / X-ray technicians take a chest X-ray of an unvaccinated COVID-19 patient on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) floor at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, U. S., on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg ) A bout of COVID-19 can take a hefty toll on the heart and blood vessels; people who […]

COVID 19 Tech

Tonga’s first COVID outbreak erupts; vaccination surges to 98%

Enlarge / Photo taken on Jan. 20, 2022 shows a beach resort hit by the tsunami on the outskirts of Nuku’alofa, capital of Tonga. (credit: Getty | Xinhua News Agency ) The ultra-transmissible omicron coronavirus is now spreading in Tonga, causing the archipelago nation’s first COVID-19 outbreak as it tries to recover from an underwater […]

COVID 19 Tech

As states drop masking, CDC stands by guidance: “We are not there yet”

Enlarge / Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on January 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (credit: Getty | Pool) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is standing by its mask guidance, despite more and […]