Science s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation
Influenza forecasters are a cautious bunch. Flu cases can spike in late winter after months of low infection rates, making experts reluctant to predict a mild season too soon. But many are ready to declare that COVID-19 control measures have dramatically tamped down the flu and other respiratory viruses that would normally be ripping through the Northern Hemisphere.
The World Health Organization (WHO), based on global surveillance data collected through late last month, says flu activity in the Northern Hemisphere is at “interseasonal levels,” meaning it s as low as in an ordinary summer. In the United States, the percentage of outpatient visits for influenzalike illness is at 1.6%, well below the 2.6% baseline used to define a seasonal epidemic. U.S. clinical labs have collected 925 positive samples since the end of September 2020, versus 63,975 at this point in the 2019–20 flu
Cancer patients and the COVID-19 vaccines
Clinicians, cancer patients and coronavirus researchers weigh in on vaccination safety, timing, allergy concerns and more January 14, 2021 • By Diane Mapes / Fred Hutch News Service Metastatic breast cancer patient and family doctor Dr. Carla Kakuta of Winters, California, receives her first COVID-19 shot, before heading off to cancer treatment. I went straight from vaccination to the infusion center because I’m awesome like that, she wrote on Twitter. “I ve been seeing patients in person through the pandemic. Since Thanksgiving the % positive rate of the people I test has been 15 to 20%. Grateful I’ve been able to avoid bringing it home to my family.
The Health 202: The era of bipartisan work on lowering drug prices might be over Paige Winfield Cunningham
with Alexandra Ellerbeck Dare we say it: The window for bipartisan work on drug pricing reform may be closed. Sen. Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, is focusing on a wish-list item for Democrats but poison pill for the GOP: eliminating a ban on the federal government using its negotiating power to directly force lower drug prices under Medicare. “I think we’ve got to take bold action on prescription drug prices,” Wyden (Ore.) told reporters yesterday. “We’re going to be looking at all the tools to get this done.”
In Washington state, the chances of dying from the virus are also greater for Latino, Black and Indigenous communities. According to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Mexicans, Central Americans and other Latinos in Washington state are six times more likely to die from the virus. In fact, according to the institute, Washington state is one of the riskiest states for Latinos with regard to COVID-19. The chances of dying from the virus is only higher in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Leo Morales, chief diversity officer at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said the reasons why Latinos have a