How You Can Help Prevent Suicide During the COVID-19 Pandemic

SATURDAY, Sept. 26, 2020 — Challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the risk of suicide, so it’s crucial to know the warning signs, a mental health expert says. Suicide is often preventable, because people considering suicide want help, according to Dr. Ahmad Hameed, a psychiatrist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical […]

U.S. reports over 55,000 new coronavirus cases — the most in more than a month

Flags on the Washington National Mall on Sept. 22, each representing 1,000 people killed from the virus. Photo: Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images The United States reported 55,054 new coronavirus cases on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Why it matters: It was the highest single-day increase since August 14, when the […]

Johnson & Johnson Starts Its Phase 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

UPDATE (September 23, 2020): At the end of March, as the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 were becoming increasingly apparent, Johnson & Johnson announced that it expected to be able to test its candidate vaccine on people by September 2020. The pharmaceutical company met that goal with July's Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical study, […]

Study: Death counts fail to capture full mortality effects of COVID-19

More than 200,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19. Some argue that statistic is inaccurate due to inconsistencies in how deaths are being reported. But researchers from the University of South Florida claim that even if those deaths have been correctly measured, the number doesn’t fully convey the true mortality effects of COVID-19. […]

A cheaper, faster COVID-19 test developed with simplified buffer formations

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method for fast, cheap and accurate testing for COVID-19 infection. The method simplifies testing by eliminating expensive reaction steps, enabling upscaling of the diagnostics. This makes the method particularly attractive for places and situations with limited resources. It is equally interesting for repeated testing and for moving resources […]

Many school employees at increased risk for severe COVID-19

(HealthDay)—Nearly half of all school employees meet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition for increased or potentially increased risk for severe COVID-19, according to a study published online Sept. 17 in Health Affairs. Thomas M. Seldon, Ph.D., from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues used prepandemic […]

Stress, Depressive Symptoms Up With Increasing COVID-19 Deaths

MONDAY, Sept. 21, 2020 — Acute stress and depressive symptoms have increased as COVID-19 deaths increased across the United States, with COVID-19-related media exposure and secondary stressors associated with these symptoms, according to a study published online Sept. 18 in Science Advances. E. Alison Holman, Ph.D., from the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing […]

COVID-19 pandemic halts cancer care and damages oncologists’ well-being

Delays and cancelation of cancer treatments and other safety measures undertaken to minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus (COVID-19) have generated a huge backlog in oncology care and research.Thethreat of delayed diagnoses looms while oncology professionals face burnout, according to new studies discussed at the ESMO Virtual Congress 2020. But is only COVID-19 […]