How do we deal with global vaccine inequity? Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images
People in wealthier countries are far more likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Some countries have committed funds to help resolve global vaccine inequity, but others have not.
A new paper proposes a solution: a sliding-scale tax to be built into the price of vaccines and collected by manufacturers.
As of December...
The U.S. will roll out a new travel system in two weeks that will open borders up for millions of vaccinated international visitors.
The system launching Nov. 8 will end the U.S. travel ban that has been in place for dozens of countries since the start of the pandemic . It will also make reentry more challenging for unvaccinated U.S. citizens and...
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are falling and the number of new cases per day is about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months.
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are coming down again, hospitalizations are dropping, and new cases per day are about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months — all signs that the summer surge is waning.
Not wanting to lose momentum, government leaders and employers are looking to...
As the Delta variant continues to account for the vast majority of cases of COVID in the United States, Google Trends data shows users are asking if natural immunity could protect against what is proving to be the most virulent strain of the virus.
The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) currently estimates that the Delta variant is behind as much as 99.8 percent of the country's total COVID cases....
The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights issued guidance today explaining that COVID-19 vaccine status would not be covered under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules.
Within its new guidance, HHS reminded that HIPAA does not apply to employer or employment records on the grounds that the rules only apply to HIPAA-covered entities like health care providers...
The U.S. has fallen far behind in distributing the vaccines that it pioneered.
In April, when I received my second Moderna shot, America was on a roll. Adjusted for population, the United States had distributed more COVID-19 vaccines per capita than any country but Israel, Chile, the United Kingdom, and a smattering of small nations and islands. With a surge of doses, we could have been No. 1 in the world.
Five months later, the U.S. is...
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant rise in mental distress around the world.
A recent study in the United States concludes that getting the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine significantly improved mental health.
Specifically, the researchers investigated the link between receiving a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine and short-term improvements in mental health.
The results may help explain how pandemic-related...
While many assume that side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine mean that the shot is working, researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore state that people should not interpret the symptoms that way.
The researchers found that whether one experienced side effects or not, the vaccines worked exceedingly well at generating a strong immune response.
Overall, 99.9% of the study participants successfully developed antibodies for fighting...
A new heart disease drug hailed as “life changing” has been approved for use in areas of the United Kingdom.
The manufacturer, Novartis, and the National Health Service (NHS) of England and Wales struck a deal to offer the drug at a reduced cost.
The decision came after a global trial showed that the drug can “safely cut cholesterol by 50% .”
If 300,000 people receive the drug,...
The mu variant of the coronavirus was first identified in Colombia in January and has since caused isolated outbreaks in South America, Europe and the United States.
It's a version of the coronavirus that was first identified in Colombia in January and has since caused isolated outbreaks in South America, Europe and the United States.
The World Health Organization last month listed it as a “variant of interest”...
Mandates for hospital employees to get the shot could end up raising tensions.
In July, stories about Olivia Guidry’s death went viral. The 24-year-old had, earlier in the pandemic, posted a vaccine conspiracy theory to her Twitter account. “This vaccine has been released using recombinant DNA faster than any vaccine in the world,” it read. “Do. Not. Get. It. It’s not safe.” Then,...
On Thursday, Ana Amira Rivera celebrated her first birthday. But earlier this month, her mom worried her baby girl wouldn’t make it.
Ava woke up one night in early August with a fever and seizures. Estefani Lopez rushed her to the emergency room, where her daughter stopped breathing, going limp in her arms. The otherwise healthy baby was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Doctors stabilized Ava and said she needed to get immediately to...