US households can now order four free Covid tests from the government – latest guidelines

An updated Coronavirus booster is now being rolled out nationwide

Jill Biden tested positive for Covid and experienced “mild symptoms”, per a 4 September statement from the White House.

New Covid boosters from Pfizer and Moderna are now available at pharmacies nationwide, and the US has restarted its free Covid test program.

Tests can be ordered from COVIDTests.gov; you can order four per household.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending one dose of the updated vaccine for everyone six months and older in the US; some children may be eligible for up to three doses depending on their age and previous vaccination status.

Hospitalisations and deaths rose steadily during the last weeks of summer, and global health authorities are monitoring two new variants, BA.2.86, known as Pirola, and EG.5, known as Eris.

First reported in February, Eris is now responsible for nearly 30 per cent of Covid cases in the US, per CDC estimates.

Some experts are urging Americans to wear a mask when necessary to slow the spread of the virus.

CDC Covid tracker

16,186 hospitalisations from 15 October to 21 October

Key Points

• How to get free Covid tests from the government
• You should see a doctor for Covid if you develop these symptoms
• Everything we know about the latest round of Covid boosters, including how to book an appointment
• Covid exposure guidelines 2023: What to know

[22 October 2023 07:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

How Covid put the National Institutes of Health at the heart of partisan debates

During the Covid-19 pandemic, issues rooted in science—such as the benefits of vaccines and infection prevention techniques—quickly became partisan issues.

A new comment published by Nature shows how the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 affected the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically.

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy explained, “The NIH became a lightning rod for partisan debates during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that eroded trust between the NIH and the public.”

[22 October 2023 01:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Hospitalisations from Covid continue to decline, CDC says

From 8 October to 14 October, hospitalisations from Covid decreased 5 per cent, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Emergency department visits from the virus went down during that time, as did the test positivity rate. However, deaths from the virus increased 4.3 per cent during that time.

[21 October 2023 21:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Study pinpoints why some refuse to get the Covid vaccine

Despite the fact that health authorities like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recommended the latest Covid vaccines for everyone six months and up, vaccine hesitancy remains a public health issue in the US.

A new study from JAMA Network Open found that “building trust in health authorities, promoting vaccine confidence, and countering misinformation” are crucial next steps for leaders to take to get more Americans vaccinated.

[21 October 2023 18:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Emergency department visits from Covid continue to decline, CDC says

From 8 October to 14 October, emergency room visits from Covid decreased 11.9 per cent, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hospitalisations from the virus went down during that time, as did the test positivity rate. However, deaths from the virus increased 4.3 per cent during that time.

[21 October 2023 15:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

A petition to make healthcare workers wear the most protective masks is circulating online

Healthcare systems across the country have implemented varying policies on mask mandates, but now some are asking the CDC to require healthcare workers to use N95 masks, which provide more protection than other types of masks.

A petition is circulating, and has been promoted by Project N95 on social media:

[21 October 2023 07:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Experts slam Pfizer’s Paxlovid price

Pfizer said the company’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid will cost $1,390 per course, according to reporting from Reuters.

It is the most commonly prescribed at-home treatment for Covid, and is often recommended for people who test positive who are at high-risk for severe disease from SARS-CoV-2, including people who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised.

Experts have criticised the move, which will likely prevent some who need the lifesaving treatment from getting it.

[21 October 2023 01:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Covid test positivity rate continues to decline, CDC says

From 8 October to 14 October, the Covid test positivity rate in the US went down 0.7 per cent, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hospitalisations from the virus went down during that time, as did emergency department visits. Deaths from the virus, however, increased 4.2 per cent.

[20 October 2023 21:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Barack Obama alters schedule due to ‘Covid-like symptoms’

Former president Barack Obama, 62, cancelled a trip to Harvard this week after experiencing “Covid-like symptoms”, according to reporting from CBS News Boston.

He was set to visit the Applied Social Media Lab at the university, which issued a statement saying, “Out of an abundance of caution, he is not attending his public events today.”

[20 October 2023 19:25 · Maggie O’Neill]

Deaths from Covid are rising again, CDC says

From 8 October to 14 October, deaths from Covid rose 4.2 per cent, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hospitalisations from the virus went down during that time, as did emergency department visits and the test positivity rate.

[20 October 2023 12:52 · Maggie O’Neill]

The cost of long Covid in the US

Doctors and scientists are pushing public health authorites to take long Covid seriously, highlighting the financial toll the disease will take alongside the suffering it can render.

According to a new paper published in Nature, “For the United States alone, the economic cost of long COVID is estimated to be $3 trillion over the next five years.”

The authors of the paper argue that the US needs to invest $1 billion into long Covid research annually for the next 10 years to “improve the lives of millions and save trillions in economic costs.”