Why is Good News on COVID-19 Bad?
There seems to be a pattern emerging to push back on any new information that suggests COVID-19 may not be as severe as initially believed, even if that new information comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It is unclear why, although one might speculate […]
Allergy Risks Increase as FDA Changes Food Labeling Requirements During COVID-19 Pandemic
Opinion | On May 22, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public comment providing new guidance that will relax the labeling requirements on packaged food to allow food companies more flexibility during the COVD-19 pandemic. Companies selling food are now allowed to make minor changes to the formulation of food products […]
Virginia Legislature Gives CDC, Board of Health Power to Mandate Vaccines for School Children
In the 2020 Legislative session, the Virginia Legislature passed H.B.1090, a bill that amended a law requiring children attending public and private schools in the state to receive vaccines (§ 32.1-46. Immunization of patients against certain diseases).1 Virginia Delegate Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) was the lead sponsor of H.B. 1090 introduced on Jan. 8, 2020, which […]
Misleading CDC Report on COVID-19 Testing Combines “Apples and Elephants”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged last week that it had lumped genetic tests that identify people with current COVID-19 infections together with serology (blood) antibody tests that measure whether someone has had the viral infection in the past.1 Combining the tally of the two tests overstates the country’s ability to […]
CDC Reduces COVID-19 Fatality Rate to 0.26 Percent
In a new document providing guidance for public health officials on COVID-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the infection fatality rate (IFR) for the disease at 0.4 percent, or about half the nearly one percent fatality rate the CDC estimated in March 2020 when it was predicting up to 1.7 […]
Autism Numbers Increase by 8.5 Percent in U.S.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of children diagnosed with autism in the United States continues to increase. In a report published on Mar. 27, 2020, the CDC estimated the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the country is now 1 in 54 children—up from 1 in […]