How the Search for Covid-19 Treatments Faltered While Vaccines Sped Ahead

By BY CARL ZIMMER from NYT Health Vaccine development exceeded everyone’s expectations. But the next few months will still bring many sick people — and doctors have woefully few drugs with which to treat them. https://ift.tt/3cnO6wI

Health care unions amplify the voices of frontline workers overwhelmed by pandemic conditions.

By BY IAN PRASAD PHILBRICK AND REED ABELSON from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3owMALc

Which Covid Vaccine Should You Get? Experts Cite the Effect Against Severe Disease

By BY DENISE GRADY from NYT Health Infectious disease doctors say getting a shot of the J&J vaccine, which has a lower efficacy against the virus than other vaccines, would still be well worthwhile. https://ift.tt/3afsa47

The W.H.O. drops opposition to vaccinations for pregnant women.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The change aligns the organization with the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://ift.tt/39vyLZf

The W.H.O. drops opposition to vaccinations for pregnant women, aligning with the C.D.C.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3tbUYmL

Health care unions amplify the voices of frontline workers overwhelmed by pandemic conditions.

By BY IAN PRASAD PHILBRICK AND REED ABELSON from NYT Health https://ift.tt/2MfCZeG

Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine Offers Strong Protection but Fuels Concern About Variants

By BY CARL ZIMMER, NOAH WEILAND AND SHARON LAFRANIERE from NYT Health The vaccine’s efficacy rate dropped from 72 percent in the United States to just 57 percent in South Africa, where a highly contagious variant is driving most cases. https://ift.tt/3thE4U2

Pregnant women receive conflicting advice on vaccines.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI AND RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3r0FOij

Pregnant Women Get Conflicting Advice on Covid-19 Vaccines

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI AND RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health The W.H.O. and the C.D.C. provide differing views, and experts partly blame a lack of data because expectant mothers have been excluded from clinical trials. https://ift.tt/36oZXXI

Novavax’s Vaccine Works Well — Except on Variant First Found in South Africa

By BY KATIE THOMAS, CARL ZIMMER AND SHARON LAFRANIERE from NYT Health An early analysis in Britain found that the vaccine had an efficacy rate of nearly 90 percent. But in a small South Africa trial, the efficacy rate dropped to just under 50 percent. https://ift.tt/3t04Lwl

Health Care Unions Find a Voice in the Pandemic

By BY IAN PRASAD PHILBRICK AND REED ABELSON from NYT Health Faced with the urgent need to protect their members and patients from the virus, labor organizations are pushing hospitals to do more. https://ift.tt/39qWxpl

How the Coronavirus Turns the Body Against Itself

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Some patients struggling with Covid-19 develop antibodies against their own tissues, scientists have found. https://ift.tt/2MsjfUS

Researchers found more evidence that the variant from South Africa can evade antibodies.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3a86QOa

Cómo funciona la vacuna Gamaleya

By POR JONATHAN CORUM AND CARL ZIMMER from NYT Health Dos adenovirus preparan al sistema inmunitario a luchar contra el coronavirus. https://ift.tt/3opKWuE

With All Eyes on Covid-19, Drug-Resistant Infections Crept In

By BY MATT RICHTEL from NYT Health The spread of other dangerous germs is surging — a result, in part, of the chaotic response to the pandemic. https://ift.tt/2NJ5G4d

Aetna Agrees to Expand Coverage for Gender-Affirming Surgeries

By BY REED ABELSON from NYT Health One of the nation’s largest health insurers is agreeing to pay for breast augmentation for some trans women. https://ift.tt/3omnEWL

A vaccine ad invokes the culture of Mardi Gras to reduce hesitancy.

By BY JAN HOFFMAN from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3ciy8Uq

Moderna Says Vaccine Still Protects Against Virus Variants

By BY DENISE GRADY from NYT Health The vaccine yields fewer antibodies against the variant discovered in South Africa, and so the company plans to test an alternate version. https://ift.tt/3c6sS6s

A vaccine ad invokes the culture of Mardi Gras to reduce hesitancy.

By BY JAN HOFFMAN from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3a5PTnz

Fauci on What Working for Trump Was Really Like

By BY DONALD G. MCNEIL JR. from NYT Health From denialism to death threats, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci describes a fraught year as an adviser to President Donald J. Trump on the Covid-19 pandemic. https://ift.tt/3iHopZa

To Promote Vaccines, New Orleans Dances With Its Heart on Its Sleeve

By BY JAN HOFFMAN from NYT Health The new, upbeat ‘Sleeves Up, NOLA’ campaign deftly uses local personalities and the Carnival dance culture to encourage citizens to get a Covid shot. https://ift.tt/39cHqzo

Welcome to the Graveyard of New Year’s Resolutions

By BY MARIA CRAMER from NYT Health It seems a long time since we pledged to drink less, eat better, exercise more, cut spending and stop doom-scrolling. Be gentle on yourself: It’s been a tough month. https://ift.tt/3sUK7gO

Do Curfews Slow the Coronavirus?

By BY GINA KOLATA from NYT Health A restriction more often used in natural disasters, or to quell unrest, has never been tested against a pathogen like the virus. https://ift.tt/2Y8PNpm

Pfizer Will Ship Fewer Vaccine Vials to Account for ‘Extra’ Doses

By BY NOAH WEILAND, KATIE THOMAS AND SHARON LAFRANIERE from NYT Health After the surprise discovery of an extra dose in every vial, Pfizer executives successfully lobbied the F.D.A. to change the vaccine’s formal authorization language. The company charges by the dose. https://ift.tt/2MaWULn

Pfizer Will Ship Fewer Vaccine Vials to Account for ‘Extra’ Doses

By BY NOAH WEILAND, KATIE THOMAS AND SHARON LAFRANIERE from NYT Health After the surprise discovery of an extra dose in every vial, Pfizer executives successfully lobbied the F.D.A. to change the vaccine’s formal authorization language. The company charges by the dose. https://ift.tt/3sRCR5k

F.D.A. Approves Monthly Shots to Treat H.I.V.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health A combination of two injectable drugs will provide an alternative to daily pills for people with H.I.V. https://ift.tt/3p8T3gi

Biden Inherits a Vaccine Supply Unlikely to Grow Before April

By BY SHARON LAFRANIERE AND NOAH WEILAND from NYT Health But with 200 million doses pledged for the first quarter of the year, some experts say President Biden’s plan for 100 million shots in 100 days is far too modest. https://ift.tt/362dXXf

Drug Prevents Coronavirus Infection in Nursing Homes, Maker Claims

By BY GINA KOLATA from NYT Health A monoclonal antibody protected residents and staff members in facilities where the virus had appeared. https://ift.tt/395w3cE

Cómo funciona la vacuna de Moderna

By POR JONATHAN CORUM AND CARL ZIMMER from NYT Health Dos inyecciones pueden preparar el sistema inmunológico para luchar contra el coronavirus. https://ift.tt/3p68PJ7

Cómo funciona la vacuna de Pfizer-BioNTech

By POR JONATHAN CORUM AND CARL ZIMMER from NYT Health Dos inyecciones pueden preparar el sistema inmunitario para combatir el coronavirus. https://ift.tt/3bZcWTx

Biden Inherits a Vaccine Supply Unlikely to Grow Before April

By BY SHARON LAFRANIERE AND NOAH WEILAND from NYT Health But with 200 million doses pledged for the first quarter of the year, some experts say President Biden’s plan for 100 million shots in 100 days is far too modest. https://ift.tt/3o64hkr

Drug Prevents Coronavirus Infection in Nursing Homes, Maker Claims

By BY GINA KOLATA from NYT Health A monoclonal antibody protected residents and staff members in facilities where the virus had appeared. https://ift.tt/394Fhpy

U.S. Covid Vaccine Supply: How to Make Sense of Those Confusing Numbers

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health Can President Biden really boost production? Why are governors trying to buy directly from Pfizer? And when will supply exceed demand? https://ift.tt/3sNruf1

U.S. Covid Vaccine Supply: How to Make Sense of Those Confusing Numbers

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health Can President Biden really boost production? Why are governors trying to buy directly from Pfizer? And when will supply exceed demand? https://ift.tt/395nQp2

Amid One Pandemic, Students Train for the Next

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health Researchers have banded together to find safe, virtual ways to teach the principles of microbiology and epidemiology. https://ift.tt/390yqxp

Emerging Coronavirus Variants May Pose Challenges to Vaccines

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Laboratory studies of mutations circulating in South Africa suggest they may dodge some of the body’s immune responses. https://ift.tt/3sLvQD4

Hahn Leaves F.D.A.; Woodcock Named Acting Commissioner

By BY SHEILA KAPLAN from NYT Health The Biden administration has yet to name a permanent chief of the Food and Drug Administration, amid a deep review of potential treatments and vaccines against the coronavirus. https://ift.tt/393a5XI

Exit Interview: C.D.C. Head Redfield Reflects on His Time on the Job

By BY SHEILA KAPLAN from NYT Health He predicted the “worst is yet to come” in the pandemic and expressed frustration with the politicization of mask-wearing and mitigation efforts. https://ift.tt/3p50MMo

Could a Smell Test Screen People for Covid?

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health A new modeling study hints that odor-based screens could quash outbreaks. But some experts are skeptical it would work in the real world. https://ift.tt/39O7KPr

Could a Smell Test Screen People for Covid?

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health A new modeling study hints that odor-based screens could quash outbreaks. But some experts are skeptical it would work in the real world. https://ift.tt/2XVe7uR

New California Variant May Be Driving Virus Surge There, Study Suggests

By BY CARL ZIMMER from NYT Health Researchers found that the variant originated in California and showed up in more than half of samples tested last week by researchers in Los Angeles. https://ift.tt/35S4lhu

Inside the B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant

By BY JONATHAN CORUM AND CARL ZIMMER from NYT Health What researchers have learned about the U.K. variant. https://ift.tt/38Wzlit

Twins with Covid Help Scientists Untangle the Disease’s Genetic Roots

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health “I want to know,” one twin said, “why did she have Covid worse than me?” https://ift.tt/3ilZqdI

Children’s Screen Time Has Soared in the Pandemic, Alarming Parents and Researchers

By BY MATT RICHTEL from NYT Health “There will be a period of epic withdrawal,” warned one addiction specialist, once schools, activities and social life return to normal. https://ift.tt/2LU9kqP

How to (Literally) Drive the Coronavirus Away

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health What’s the transmission risk inside a car? An airflow study offers some insight for passengers and drivers alike. https://ift.tt/2XKW6iS

C.D.C. Warns the New Virus Variant Could Fuel Huge Spikes in Covid Cases

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI AND RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health The more contagious version, first identified in Britain, is expected to spread widely and lead to further strains on an already overburdened health care system. https://ift.tt/3qmf9fE

Need a New Knee or Hip? A Robot May Help Install It

By BY JOHN HANC from NYT Health As more people strive to stay active on aging frames, robots and other technologies are likely to play a wider role in helping surgeons replace joints. https://ift.tt/38JJjDr

Biden Picks Former F.D.A. Chief to Lead Federal Vaccine Efforts

By BY SHEILA KAPLAN from NYT Health Dr. David Kessler, who helped speed the development and approval of AIDS drugs in the 1990s, will become the top science official at Operation Warp Speed. https://ift.tt/3soXMN4

What Does a More Contagious Virus Mean for Schools?

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The coronavirus variant discovered in Britain is more easily spread among children, as it is among adults. Current safeguards should protect schools, experts said, but only if strictly enforced. https://ift.tt/3nEzo6w

Coronavirus Cases Surge in Arizona

By BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Health Arizona has recorded the highest number of new coronavirus cases per capita in the country. A medical official said the hospital systems are under “immense pressure” to keep up with the amount of Covid-19 patients. https://ift.tt/3ibdhnc