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Feds OK’d export of millions of N95 masks as U.S. workers cried for more

In the midst of a national shortage of N95 masks, the U.S. government quietly granted an exception to its export ban on protective gear, allowing as many as 5 million of the masks per month to be shipped overseas.

19 Feb 2021

New single-payer bill intensifies Newsom’s political peril

A group of Democratic state lawmakers introduced legislation Friday to create a single-payer health care system to cover all Californians, immediately defining the biggest health policy debate of the year and putting enormous political pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom.

19 Feb 2021

FDA warns 10 companies for selling unlawful dietary supplements that claim to treat mental health problems

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced warning letters to 10 companies for illegally selling dietary supplements that claim to cure, treat, mitigate, or prevent depression and other mental health disorders, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).

19 Feb 2021

UNH's new report on child maltreatment shows mixed trends

A new report from the University of New Hampshire's Crimes against Children Research Center, using data collected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, showed a marked increase in the share of child maltreatment cases resulting in fatalities as well as a decline in cases of physical abuse and neglect in 2019.

19 Feb 2021

To vaccinate veterans, health care workers must cross mountains, plains and tundra

A Learjet 31 took off before daybreak from Helena Regional Airport in Montana, carrying six Veterans Affairs medical providers and 250 doses of historic cargo cradled in a plug-in cooler designed to minimize breakage.

19 Feb 2021

Spurred by pandemic, Little Shell Tribe fast-tracks its health service debut

Linda Watson draped a sweater with the words "Little Shell Chippewa Tribe" over her as she received the newly recognized tribal nation's first dose of covid-19 vaccine.

19 Feb 2021

Companies pan for marketing gold in vaccines

For a decade, Jennifer Crow has taken care of her elderly parents, who have multiple sclerosis. After her father had a stroke in December, the family got serious in its conversations with a retirement community — and learned that one service it offered was covid-19 vaccination.

19 Feb 2021

Live attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate shows protective efficacy in vivo

A new preprint on the bioRxiv* server describes the development of a live attenuated vaccine candidate to counter the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 Feb 2021

Llama-derived nanobodies show neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in vitro

A new study reports the development of nanoantibodies (nAbs) – also called or nanobodiesTM or single-domain antibodies – that effectively bind the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein from the ancestral Wuhan variant as well as the recently detected UK and South African variants.

19 Feb 2021

Chicken-derived antibody shows potent neutralizing capacity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Researchers report on a Chicken-derived antibody against SARS-CoV-2, offering preliminary data on a potential therapeutic for COVID-19 warranting further research.

19 Feb 2021

COVID-19 and lung cancer have a common pathway, say researchers

A new preprint on the bioRxiv* server describes the common features COVID-19 shares with lung cancer.

19 Feb 2021

Juvenile inflammatory rheumatic disease associated with higher antibody responses to seasonal coronaviruses

A new study released on the bioRxiv* server compared the antibodies produced in young patients with these three conditions against the two immunodominant coronavirus antigens, the spike and the nucleocapsid antigens.

19 Feb 2021

Domestic dogs unlikely to transmit SARS-CoV-2, say researchers

Researchers in Spain and Germany have conducted a study showing that domestic dogs are unlikely to contribute to the transmission and community spread of SARS-CoV-2 – the agent that causes COVID-19.

19 Feb 2021

Researchers find CXCR6 gene plays a role in COVID-19 severity

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study demonstrating that a gene called CXCR6 (C-X-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 6) may play an important role in determining the severity of COVID-19.

19 Feb 2021

Does climate play a large role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission?

A team of researchers from the Universidade Federal de Itajuba in Brazil has reported that weather plays a vital role in determining the transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

19 Feb 2021

How does the SARS-CoV-2 E484K mutation increase viral fitness?

How do mutations benefit SARS-CoV-2? To explore this, a team of researchers from China took a closer look at the physical interactions that occur between the proteins after viral mutation.

19 Feb 2021

Report proposes new system of universal coverage to support long-term care of older Americans

The COVID-19 pandemic's heavy toll on older Americans highlights the need to strengthen the nation's safety net for people in need of long-term services and supports, an Oregon Health & Science University researcher and co-authors argue in a new report published by Milbank Quarterly.

19 Feb 2021

Study: American values and activities have changed dramatically during COVID-19

American values, attitudes, and activities have changed dramatically during COVID-19, according to a new study of online behavior.

19 Feb 2021

Study explores the perceptions and use of antibiotics among older adults

While most adults over 50 understand that overuse of antibiotics is a problem, and say they're cautious about taking the drugs, a sizable minority have used antibiotics for something other than their original purpose, and appear to think the drugs could help treat colds, which are caused by viruses not bacteria.

18 Feb 2021

Zambia study casts doubt on the assumption that COVID-19 skipped Africa

A new study concluding out of Lusaka, Zambia last summer has found that as many as 19% (almost 1 in 5) of recently-deceased people tested positive for COVID-19.

18 Feb 2021