Statin use associated with reduction in mortality of patients with severe COVID-19
People who took statins to lower cholesterol were approximately 50% less likely to die if hospitalized for COVID-19, a study by physicians at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian has found. Our study is one of the larger studies confirming this hypothesis and the data lay the groundwork for future randomized clinical trials that are needed to confirm the benefit of statins in COVID-19, says Aakriti Gupta, MD, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and one of the co-lead authors of the study.
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NEW YORK, NY (Feb. 26, 2021) People who took statins to lower cholesterol were approximately 50% less likely to die if hospitalized for COVID-19, a study by physicians at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian has found. Our study is one of the larger studies confirming this hypothesis and the data lay the groundwork for future randomized clinical trials that are needed to confirm the benefit of statins in COVID-19, says Aakriti Gupta, MD, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and one of the co-lead authors of the study. If their beneficial effect bears out in randomized clinical trials, statins could potentially prove to be a low-cost and effective therapeutic strategy for COVID-19, adds co-lead author Mahesh V. Madhavan, MD, also a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
As new coronavirus variants spread widely, drugmakers are scrambling to update their vaccines
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Researchers say they ve identified a new coronavirus variant in New York City that could be less susceptible to current vaccines, adding to worries that new variants could threaten progress against the pandemic. In response, drugmakers are scrambling to tweak and test their Covid-19 vaccines against new variants of the virus.
Researchers identify New York variant that could be less susceptible to current vaccines
According to the
New York Times, researchers first detected the new variant circulating in New York City, called B.1.526, among coronavirus samples collected in November 2020. Now, two new studies, which haven t yet been peer-reviewed, show the B.1.526 variant has spread widely and may be less susceptible to current Covid-19 vaccines.
KEY CONCEPTS
Ready or not, next week brings us the first day of March and the beginning of meteorological spring. In our analysis of 243 cities across the U.S., 120 cities (49%) have recorded an increase in average spring temperatures of 2℉ or more over the past fifty years. Further, 96% of cities (234) reported an increase in the number of above-normal spring days since 1970, with 81% of cities (196) reporting an increase of 5 days or more.
Warming spring temperatures follow a pattern of warmer seasons encroaching on the cold of winter resulting in an earlier advent of spring and throwing timing of natural events into misalignment. For instance, earlier snowmelt can result in changes in water availability and challenges to the breeding of native fish. Earlier spring temperatures can also lengthen the growing season, supporting longer pollen allergy seasons that start earlier and stick around for longer.
| UPDATED: 15:01, Tue, Feb 23, 2021
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his roadmap plan out of lockdown on Monday. The cautious reopening promises a summer of normality if certain preconditions are met. The news should boost the national mood but it should not take our eye off the ball. There is a second battle to fight now - the symptoms of long Covid.