Minority Populations Targeted for Early COVID-19 Vaccination
Story Highlights Minority populations including Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in the U.S., with evidence indicating they have a higher risk of being infected and/or are at an increased risk of serious disease and death from the infection. Many agencies, public figures and states are advocating that such at-risk […]
32 Nursing Home Residents Die in COVID-19 Outbreak During Mass Vaccination Drive
Thirty-two residents have died in The Commons on St. Anthony, a nursing home in Auburn, Cayuga county, New York during a COVID-19 outbreak that started at the end of December 2020. On Jan. 5, 2021, there were 130 residents, who tested positive for COVID-19 and, as of Jan. 11, there were 104 active coronavirus cases […]
South African Variant of SARS-CoV-2 Virus May Evade Vaccines
Story Highlights A highly transmissible new strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been identified in South Africa and has now spread to at least eight other countries including the U.K., Switzerland, Finland, Japan, Australia, Zambia, France and South Korea. The mutations of the new strain represent significant changes to key structures involved […]
Biologists Report Chemical Compounds in Some Foods May Affect Replication of Coronavirus
Story Highlights Plant biologists at North Carolina State University have found that chemical compounds in some foods may affect the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to bind to and replicate in human cells. Using both computer simulations and in vitro laboratory testing, the researchers were able to demonstrate that muscadine grape cultivars, green tea, cacao […]
PCR Test for Coronavirus Questioned by Prominent Scientists
An International Consortium of Scientists in Life Sciences (ICSLS) have submitted a retraction request to the European public health journal Eurosurveillance of a well-cited article published in January 2020,1 2 which contained the first protocol for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The test has been used by the […]
Understanding PCR Tests for Coronavirus
Opinion | From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clarion call has been to test, test and test some more. However, right from the start, serious questions arose about the tests being used to diagnose this infection, and questions have only multiplied since then. Positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests have been […]