If someone gets a headache or feels a bit under the weather after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, it’s become common to hear them say something like “Oh, it just means my immune system is really working hard.” On the flip side, when people don’t notice any side effects, they sometimes…
Pandemic eviction bans found to protect entire communities from COVID-19 spread
A new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania uses computer modeling to suggest that eviction bans authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the infection rate and not only protected those who would have lost their housing but also entire communities from the spread of…
Antifungal and antidepressant drugs may help protect against COVID-19
New research published in the British Journal of Pharmacology indicates that two currently available medications—an antifungal drug and an antidepressant—can effectively inhibit the virus that causes COVID-19 in laboratory cells. Investigators found that the antifungal itraconazole and the antidepressant fluoxetine each blocked the production of infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell…
High vitamin D levels may protect against COVID-19, especially for Black people
A new research study at the University of Chicago Medicine has found that when it comes to COVID-19, having vitamin D levels above those traditionally considered sufficient may lower the risk of infection, especially for Black people. The study, published March 19 in JAMA Network Open, retrospectively examined the relationship…
Prominent Scientists Call on CDC to Better Protect Workers From Covid
A prominent group of academics is pressing the Biden administration to move faster and take stronger action to protect high-risk workers from airborne exposure to the coronavirus, urging enforceable standards to help safeguard risky workplaces including health care, food processing and prisons. The researchers say that even though the Centers…
Studies find having COVID-19 may protect against reinfection
Two new studies give encouraging evidence that having COVID-19 may offer some protection against future infections. Researchers found that people who made antibodies to the coronavirus were much less likely to test positive again for up to six months and maybe longer. The results bode well for vaccines, which provoke…
U.S. Marshals to Protect COVID-19 Vaccines
FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2020 — COVID-19 vaccines will be protected by U.S. Marshals deputies as they are distributed throughout the United States. “Deputy Marshals are working hand-in-hand with Operation Warp Speed personnel to provide security for COVID-19 vaccines from the facilities where they are manufactured to distribution sites,” the agency…
Research finds promising treatment to protect kidney function in diabetes
A clinical trial involving researchers at University of Limerick, Ireland has demonstrated the potential benefits of new drugs in protecting kidney function in diabetes. The new study has found that combining two treatments that lower uric acid concentrations in the blood reduces the leakage of albumin in the urine, one…
Exercise may protect bone health after weight loss surgery
Although weight loss surgery is a highly effective treatment for obesity, it can be detrimental to bone health. A new study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggests that exercise may help address this shortcoming. The study randomized 84 patients undergoing weight loss surgery to an exercise…
Follow your gut: How farms protect from childhood asthma
Asthma impacts millions of children at a young age, but children growing up on a farm have a lower risk of developing asthma than children not living on a farm. The mechanisms behind this protective farm effect on childhood asthma are largely unknown. A group of researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum…
Antibodies protect against wide range of influenza B virus strains
Researchers have identified two antibodies that protect mice against lethal infections of influenza B virus, report scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Together with an antibody that targets the other major kind of influenza viruses that infect people—influenza…