COVID-19 cases increased nationwide this week for the first time since mid-January, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published April 8.
Category: Public Health
Why did flu, COVID-19 ‘twindemic’ never happen? 1 explanation
Despite public health experts’ fears about coinciding surges of flu and COVID-19 engulfing the country, a so-called “twindemic” never materialized. Now, scientists are considering a theory that could explain why, The New York Times reported April 8.
US life expectancy fell again in 2021
Life expectancy in the U.S. fell again last year after a dramatic drop in 2020, according to research published April 7 in the medical preprint server MedRxiv.
BA.2 may not drive up hospitalizations, Fauci says: 3 COVID-19 updates
COVID-19 cases will likely rise nationwide over the next few weeks, but hospitalizations may not follow suit, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Bloomberg April 6.
8 states where COVID-19 deaths have climbed the last 2 weeks
COVID-19 deaths are falling nationwide, but eight states are still seeing higher daily death averages than recorded two weeks ago.
New Laws Let Visitors See Loved Ones in Health Care Facilities, Even in an Outbreak
To contain the spread of covid, hospitals and nursing homes barred visits. The separation and isolation took a toll on patients and families. Florida is one of the latest states to ensure access for visitors.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Finally, a Fix for the ‘Family Glitch’
week to announce a new policy for the Affordable Care Act that would make subsidies available to more families with unaffordable employer coverage. Meanwhile, Congress struggled to find a compromise for continued federal funding of covid-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
FDA advisers weigh booster strategy: 4 things to know
The FDA’s outside panel of vaccine experts largely agreed for the need to tailor future COVID-19 vaccines during a virtual meeting April 6, though the exact path and timeline to do so is still unclear, according to NPR.
It could take years to know what ‘endemic COVID-19’ looks like
It can take years for scientists to determine endemic patterns while pandemics settle, and consequences of widespread illness can be long lasting after new infections fade, leaving the endemic stage of COVID-19 a “mystery,” The New York Times reported …
A Shortfall of ECMO Treatment Cost Lives During the Delta Surge
About 50% of the covid-19 patients who got the last-ditch life support treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center died. Researchers wanted to know what happened to the many patients they had to turn away because ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machines and the specialized staffers needed were in short supply. The grim answer: 90% of those turned away perished.
