The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been vigilant in providing information about both new vaccines that have been approved to provide protection against COVID-19. On December 11, 2020, the FDA issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and the Moderna vaccine received an EUA shortly after on December 18, 2020. The FDA has web …
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 43,548 participants underwent randomization, of whom 43,448 received injections: 21,720 with BNT162b2 and 21,728 with placebo. There were 8 cases of COVID-19 with onset at least 7 days after the second dose among participants assigned to receive BNT162b2 and 162 cases among those assigned to placebo; BNT162b2 was 95% effective …
With the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infecting over 50 million people worldwide with hundreds of thousands experiencing severe respiratory illness, researchers have been trying to find the factors associated with severe disease. From the start of the pandemic in March this year, several studies have indicated heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, …
The COVID-19 pandemic presents an urgent need to investigate whether existing drugs can enhance or even worsen prognosis. Metformin, a known mammalian target of rapamycin (m-TOR) inhibitor (or in layman terms, medication to control high blood glucose levels) has been identified as a potential agent. In nursing home residents infected with SARS-CoV-2, taking metformin was associated with lower 30-day mortality relative to SARS-Co-V2 infected …
That is the big question. There are researchers who believe it does and there are researchers who say it doesn’t. Hard to know who to believe right? In a multicentered, blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial conducted at 34 hospitals in the U.S., adults hospitalized with respiratory symptoms from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections were enrolled between April 2 and …
It is becoming increasingly clear that some patients struggle with COVID-19 health consequences and costs for longer than a few weeks. The virus can have a severe impact on the lungs, as you might expect. Pneumonia associated with the disease can damage air sacs in the lungs and the resulting scar tissue can cause long-term breathing problems. These are things …
A study published in the British Medical Journal was conducted to determine whether isolated patients admitted to hospitals have a higher incidence of adverse events (AEs), to identify their nature, impact, and preventability. The study involved 400 patients, 200 isolated and 200 non-isolated, age ≥18 years old from April 2017 to October 2018. Not surprisingly, the study showed that adverse events were significantly …
Case studies have revealed neurological problems in severely affected COVID-19 patients. However, there is little information regarding the nature and broader prevalence of cognitive problems post-infection or across the full spread of severity. One study analyzed cognitive test data from Great British Intelligence Test participants who completed a questionnaire regarding suspected and biologically confirmed COVID-19 infection. People who had recovered, …
Healthcare is nearly as much about relationships as it is about medicine. Relationships among patients, clinicians, staff and administrators all affect the delivery of care, the patient’s experience of care and the outcomes of that care. Healthcare is a journey of a thousand touch points and data points from finding a provider to refilling a prescription; each one with the …
In a recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Directors Association, residents in nursing homes were evaluated to describe symptomatology, mortality, and risk factors for mortality related to COVID-19. Data was collected from residents with clinically-suspected COVID-19, via electronic health records and registration was performed on diagnostic status (confirmed COVID-19+/ruled out COVID-19-) and symptomatology (typical and atypical symptoms). …
