Each week, we answer "frequently asked questions" about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider
As thousands of pharmacies get shipments of doses and start vaccinations at their stores this week, the country is taking a significant step toward reaching more Americans. Public health officials and advocates, however, say that won t go far enough in communities where people have been the sickest.
More Black and Hispanic Americans have been hospitalized and died from Covid-19. They often face bigger barriers to get vaccine, too: A lack of transportation. A juggle of multiple jobs. Hesitance because of past mistreatment by the medical community.
CVS Health and Walgreens will play a bigger role in the effort as a federal program ships doses to more of their stores and those of other retail pharmacies. The expansion represents a business opportunity for the nation s two largest pharmacy chains as they get paid for each vaccine and draw more foot traffic to stores. The vaccine rollout will also test the companies commitment to expanding health-care access in Black and Hispanic commu
Novel tool guides evaluation of patients who develop COVID-19 symptoms
When patients arrive in emergency departments and hospitals with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, it s critical to isolate them to avoid the potential spread of infection, but keeping patients isolated longer than needed could delay patient care, take up hospital beds needed for other patients, and unnecessarily use up personal protective equipment.
A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has now created a tool to guide frontline clinicians through diagnostic evaluations of such patients so that they ll know when it s safe to discontinue precautions. The tool was developed and validated in a study published in
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Nearly 1.5 million Americans are being vaccinated every day against COVID-19. Allergic reactions have led some to question if they should get the vaccine; and scant data from clinical trials for the currently approved vaccines in vulnerable populations means we don t fully know how those with certain conditions will react.
Does that mean those with certain allergies or conditions like HIV, multiple sclerosis, or cancer should pass on the shot? What about those who are pregnant?