COVID-19 is becoming more like the flu and, as such, no longer requires its own virus-specific health rules, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday alongside the release of a unified “respiratory virus guide.” In a lengthy background document, the agency laid out its rationale for consolidating COVID-19 guidance into general guidance for […]
Tag: covid
Army sends letters to troops dismissed for refusing Covid vaccine
The U.S. Army sent a letter to former service members dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, informing them they can request corrections of their discharge records, as the military branch reportedly struggles with recruitment three years after the onset of the pandemic. The letter, which gained traction on social media, was addressed to former service […]
Fauci admits that masks don’t protect the public
Anthony Fauci has sparked a backlash from politicians and commentators after saying that wearing face masks protects individuals from spreading coronavirus, but that there was inconclusive evidence to suggest it prevented a pandemic spiraling at a whole population level. The former chief medical adviser to the president, who was regularly the face of the government’s […]
Mask mandates are back across the US
The U.S. is seeing a late-summer spike in COVID cases, prompting some schools, hospitals and businesses to encourage — or even require — people to start masking up again. The most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, from earlier this month, shows nationwide COVID hospitalizations increased by nearly 19% in a single week […]
NYC has lost 1/2 million residents in last 3 years
Some of America’s largest cities have seen a significant decrease in population since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, with the Big Apple topping the list during the three-year period. A report by the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday estimated more than 468,200 residents left New York City between April 2020 and July 2022, accounting […]
New Covid variant Arcturus causes pink eye
About 1 in 10 cases of COVID-19 nationwide is caused by an emerging coronavirus strain, XBB.1.16. The World Health Organization has elevated this strain of omicron to one of two “circulating variants of interest.” The variant, which has been called Arcturus, is responsible for a growing share of coronavirus cases in the United States. As […]
US Life expectancy lowest in 20 years
The average life expectancy for Americans shortened by over seven months last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That decrease follows an already big decline of 1.8 years in 2020. As a result, the expected life span of someone born in the U.S. is now 76.4 years — […]
Chinese protesters-‘Xi Jinping, step down’
Protests in China against government’s strict Covid measures have intensified, with some people publicly venting their anger at the Communist Party leaders. Thousands of protesters have turned out in Shanghai, where people bundled into police cars have been seen. Students have also demonstrated at universities in Beijing and Nanjing. The latest unrest follows a protest […]
Thanksgiving gatherings could accelerate a ‘tripledemic’
For each of the last two years, Thanksgiving helped usher in some very unwelcome guests: Devastating waves of COVID-19. No one thinks this year will be anything like the last two dark pandemic winters, at least when it comes to COVID-19. But the country is now dealing with a different kind of threat — an […]
Nation’s Report Card since COVID shows scores are way down
Math and reading scores for students across the country are down following years of disrupted learning during the pandemic. On Monday, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, released a full report for the first time since 2019; the results show a slight dip in reading scores and […]
White House: Prepare for Winter Covid blast
The U.S. should prepare for a spike in COVID cases this winter as more people gather indoors and infections already begin to rise in Europe, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha says. The warning echoes that of some other experts who anticipate a rise in cases in the coming months, while other modelling suggests […]
COVID is now less risky than flu say scientists
Has COVID-19 become no more dangerous than the flu for most people? That’s a question that scientists are debating as the country heads into a third pandemic winter. Early in the pandemic, COVID was estimated to be 10 times more lethal than the flu, fueling many people’s fears. “We have all been questioning, ‘When does […]