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In a survey, 22 percent of respondents said they knew of at least one vaccinated person who suffered health issues after taking the injections. People who did not comply with COVID-19 vaccine requirements were hesitant because they knew someone who had experienced a health problem after getting the injection, according to recent research. “Knowing someone who experienced a health problem following COVID-19 injection reduced the likelihood of injection, the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research reported. Such people “were more likely to oppose injection mandates and passports. .. Conversely, “knowing someone who had health problems following the COVID-19...

CHICAGO -- People age 65 and older should get an additional dose of the current COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. The agency's independent vaccine advisers voted Wednesday to recommend the additional shot, and CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen endorsed the recommendation, CNN reported. The vaccine is recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older, but data from the CDC shows that people haven't been getting the shots.

An “unknown” outbreak aboard a cruise ship is spreading, and now 154 people are sickened, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an update this week. So far, 25 crew members and 129 passengers on the Carnival-owned Cunard Cruise Line’s Queen Victoria have become ill during the trip, which is up by about 15 cases from when the illnesses were reported earlier in February, according to the CDC. The Queen Victoria cruise has 1,824 passengers and 967 crew members on board, according to the agency. It’s still not clear what’s causing the outbreak on the cruise...

The new year is kicking off with a spike in respiratory illnesses across the U.S., including COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus. Considering all the circulating illnesses right now, it might be time for masking to make a comeback, experts say. "We're certainly in the winter peak of respiratory viruses," Dr. Albert Ko, professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Yale School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com. A post-holiday COVID spike alongside upticks of the usual winter illnesses, like flu and RSV, make this surge "very much expected," he adds. Amid this rise in the spread of illnesses, mask mandates...

While the U.S. is only a few weeks into winter, this year’s respiratory virus season is already looking different than last year’s. Covid and flu are both surging and there’s no peak in sight. During the previous winter, flu and RSV got off to an early start but were already declining by the time hospitalizations from the omicron virus started to spike in December 2022.

A new Covid variant that is behind a resurgence in hospital admissions may be more deadly than previously thought, research suggests. BA.2.86 — or 'Pirola' — is a mutation on the Omicron BA.2 subvariant and is the ancestor of the currently dominant JN.1, which is responsible for more than three in five Covid cases as of January 6. Both strains have around 60 more spike protein mutations than the original coronavirus and over 30 more than other Omicron variants such as BA.2 and XBB.1.5.

(NEXSTAR) — As Americans prepare to gather for the holidays, many say they fear becoming sick in the coming months. Based on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those concerns may be genuine. While the CDC doesn’t track COVID-19 testing as closely as it did during the pandemic, it does still track other COVID-related data. That includes hospital admissions for COVID, jumped by almost 9% in the most recent week of data, through Nov. 11. The percentage of people visiting the emergency room and testing positive for COVID is up by 7%, and the number...

Covid-19 remains a threat as a virus variant has been spreading steadily around the globe, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday. "This virus, SARS-CoV-2, is circulating in every country right now and it still poses a threat," WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove said. "We have to remain vigilant because the virus is circulating, evolving and changing," she told a discussion on the WHO's social media channels. Van Kerkhove was the WHO's technical lead during the coronavirus pandemic that struck in 2019 and is now the UN health agency's interim director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention

The federal program offering free COVID-19 rapid at-home tests through the mail has just been restarted ahead of the winter holiday season and a potential rise in cases.Every American household may order four of the tests starting Monday, Nov. 20 by visiting covid.gov/tests, the Department of Health and Human Services says.If a household did not order four tests when the program was restarted in late September, it may place two orders for a total of eight tests now.About 15 million households ordered tests in September.Rapid tests ordered this week will begin being delivered on Monday, Nov. 27. The cost of...

The Biden administration on Monday said it is offering another round of free at-home Covid tests to U.S. households ahead of the holiday season, when more people gather indoors and the virus typically spreads at higher levels. Starting Monday, Americans can use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests per household. Those who have not ordered any tests this fall can now place two orders for a total of eight tests, according to the website. The administration in September allowed people to request an initial round of four free tests through the site, resuming a federal program that temporarily shut down...

PCR and rapid tests aren't the only places where evidence of SARS-COV-2, commonly known as COVID-19, shows up. The virus that causes COVID-19 also turns up in a city's wastewater. Because of that, wastewater has become a powerful tool to give scientists early glimpses into when infections are peaking. "Wastewater actually tells us a really great story," said Amanda Wegner, communications and public affairs director at the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. "What we've learned with viruses is that people shed the virus. When they use the bathroom, that enters the wastewater stream." According to the Centers for Disease Control and...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - As numbers grow, has COVID fatigue turned into COVID apathy? We are in a new wave of COVID and there is a growing trend away from testing which experts have said is disturbing. This week, the top doctors in all our local healthcare institutions came out with a joint statement warning against "COVID complacency." In their offices and emergency rooms, they're seeing it. "This is a real thing," said UPMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Don Yealy. "We see that the biggest threat now with COVID and soon to be with flu is what we call 'presenteeism' that...

Just 36% of registered Republican voters who got a Covid-19 vaccine say it was worth it, while 57% say it was not, according to new NBC News polling. The survey results highlight deep partisan divisions about how Americans view the vaccines — as public health officials recommend Americans get new booster shots this fall. While more than half of Republicans who received a Covid-19 vaccine believe it wasn’t worth it, that sentiment was shared by just 29% of independents and 5% of Democrats who say they are vaccinated. Of those who say they got a vaccine, 67% of independents and...

On Sunday, The Gateway Pundit reported the Mayo Clinic quietly made an admission on their site that states “Hydroxychloroquine may be used to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) in certain hospitalized patients.” Now less than 48 hours later, the Mayo Clinic has deleted their admission on their site and has replaced it with a statement that reads “Hydroxychloroquine is not recommended as a treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). ” The updated web page goes on to state “Also, hydroxychloroquine doesn’t prevent infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.” Here’s what the Mayo Clinic originally showed on its site:

People are becoming more concerned about COVID-19 amid the recent uptick in cases and new variants, according to Gallup’s latest quarterly poll. Gallup polled more than 5,000 U.S. adults between Aug. 29 and Sept. 5. Thirty percent of respondents said they believe the pandemic is getting worse — up from 5% in late May/early June and 8% in February, according to a news release on Gallup’s website.

Some California college students are fighting to have mask mandates reinstated amid ongoing discussions around the return to some COVID-19 precautions. Last week, the Disabled Students Union (DSU) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), announced on Instagram that a proposed resolution titled "A Resolution to Mandate Masking, Weekly PCR testing, and Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccines, and to Improve Ventilation, and Reinstate the COVID-19 Task Force" failed to receive enough votes from the university's Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC). Some of the main aspects of the resolution proposed by the DSU included mask requirements for indoor and crowded outdoor spaces,...

… While some families never stopped masking, a recent Yahoo News/YouGov survey of 1,665 adults in the U.S. found that just 12% had practiced regular mask-wearing outside of the home over the previous week. … Dr. Zachary Hoy, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Pediatrix in Nashville, says he doesn’t believe that families should overreact to the uptick in COVID-19 cases just yet, though it is worth monitoring. … If your family decides to return to masking, Amodio suggests including kids in any discussions. “Help them to understand the reasons behind the choice, and be sure to validate their emotions...

Seems like COVID's everywhere again. But here's good news from Pfizer! This season's updated COVID-19 shots are now available for ages 6 months and up, and they're designed to help protect against recent variants. That is why today, at 8pm, the Empire State Building turned its iconic building blue to announce that the CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age and older get this season's updated COVID-19 shot. The blue light symbolizes our gratitude and appreciation for the updated vaccines and all those who made it possible.

Former White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that there were “a number of studies that show that masks actually do work” to stop the spread of COVID-19. Anchor Jon Karl said, “There’s a new study out that suggests that masks were actually not effective, at least not in a global sense, in containing the pandemic. What is your sense looking back at all of this? Did masks prove to be less effective than you anticipated?”

The White House announced Monday evening that Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 while on vacation in Delaware and is “experiencing only mild symptoms.” Jill Biden is double-vaxxed and twice boosted. Jill previously tested positive in August 2022 and again that month in a rebound case after treatment with Paxlovid. Jill’s case comes as a new wave of COVID hysteria has started with the emergence of a new variant (Pirola). A follow-up statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Joe Biden tested negative for COVID Monday evening. The Bidens were on vacation this weekend in Rehoboth, Delaware....