Mi hijo tiene secreción nasal. ¿Deberíamos hacernos la prueba de Covid?

Posts en Español Testing and Contact Tracing

A) Las secreciones nasales son complicadas. Por un lado, son un síntoma común de COVID-19. Por otro lado, normalmente son causados por algún otro germen. Hacerte la prueba es la única forma de saber con certeza lo que tienes. 👃🏻La secreción nasal es uno de los síntomas más comunes de COVID-19 en los niños. Un Read more…

I just got my third vaccine dose, but I tested positive for COVID19…..Now what?

Infection and Spread Testing and Contact Tracing

Positively confusing! I just got my third vaccine dose, but I tested positive for COVID19…..Now what? QUICK ANSWER: ➡️ Tell your healthcare provider you have had a positive test result right away. ➡️ Isolate for 10 days after symptoms appeared or after your positive test if you never had symptoms. ➡️ Make sure you don’t Read more…

POSTCARDS FROM THE UK: Buckle up America (and everywhere else).

COVID Variants Data and Metrics Infection and Spread

And by buckle up, I mean BOOST-UP. And take other sensible precautions, especially leading up to the holidays. Nerdy Girl Jenn (🇺🇸 in 🇬🇧 ) writing from not-so-sunny England, home of the strangest shaped epidemic curve ever seen (Figure 1). Delta has been raging here since June and never went away. Omicron has a significant Read more…

💥 #GoodNewsTues: Clinical Trial Edition! 💥

Treatments

Pfizer’s antiviral regimen appears highly effective at keeping high-risk COVID-19 patients alive and out of the hospital, and demonstrates no safety concerns in the final reporting from its pivotal randomized controlled trial. These findings are especially welcome in the wake of deep disappointment surrounding the lackluster final trial results of Merck’s antiviral. But before we Read more…

¿Pueden los niños padecer Covid a largo plazo?

Families/Kids Posts en Español

Lamentablemente, sí. No sabemos con exactitud cuántos niños se verán afectados, ya que el Covid Largo es posible incluso en niños con infecciones leves o asintomáticas. Es posible que oigas llamarlo “Covid largo”, “Covid a largo plazo” o “Condiciones post-Covid”. Todos estos nombres se refieren a lo mismo: síntomas que duran más de 4 semanas Read more…

How does one variant push out another? Why do two variants not take off at the same time in a country?

COVID Variants

TL;DR: Great question! There are new variants emerging all the time. It’s a normal part of viral evolution. They compete by infecting people and making copies of themselves. Because of exponential math, even a small transmission advantage can quickly add up. This all goes back to evolution and math. Here’s how it works. A virus Read more…

Can our current COVID-19 diagnostics, like PCR tests and rapid antigen tests, detect the Omicron variant?

COVID Variants Testing and Contact Tracing

A: Good news. Standard diagnostic PCR tests can pick up the Omicron variant. As far as we know, most rapid antigen tests can also detect Omicron, but tests are ongoing to determine if any specific brands are less sensitive to Omicron. Stay tuned! WHICH VARIANT DO I HAVE? 🦠 Standard diagnostic tests can’t tell you Read more…

I keep hearing all these new terms since the omicron variant came on the scene-can you clarify what all these words mean?

COVID Variants

A: Yes! Here are some explanations of many of the buzzwords flying 🦟 around right now….variant of concern, neutralizing antibodies, immune evasion and more! *Variant*: A variant is a version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that has changes to its genetic sequence (i.e., mutations). These changes make it distinct from the other versions of the virus Read more…

OMICRON Y PFIZER/BIONTECH

COVID Variants Posts en Español

Pfizer publicó datos recientes que muestran una fuerte respuesta inmune sobre la variante Omicron después de una tercera dosis de su vacuna, pero una reducción significativa para la 2 dosis. Puntos a destacar: ➡️ 2 dosis mostraron una significativa reducción de la cantidad de anticuerpos neutralizantes contra Omicron. ➡️ Una tercera dosis de Pfizer / Read more…

How long do I need to wait after getting COVID-19 to get my first vaccine series or my booster?

Vaccines

A: For both children and adults, COVID-19 vaccines can be given any time after they are feeling better and are no longer contagious. Two big exceptions: People treated for COVID-19 with monoclonal antibodies OR children who had multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) need to wait at least 90 days. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for everyone in Read more…

OMICRON AND PFIZER/BIONTECH

COVID Variants Vaccines

The trickle of Omicron data is quickly becoming a fountain ⛲. On the heels of yesterday’s Omicron studies, (see summary here) Pfizer today released data showing strong neutralization of Omicron after 3 doses of its vaccine, but a significant reduction for 2 doses. Highlights: ➡️ 2 doses showed significantly reduced neutralization titers against Omicron. ➡️ A Read more…

Hope for the Holidays

Uncategorized

A friend recently asked me (Nerdy Girl Lindsey): How will you cultivate hope through the long winter months ahead? * My answer: My hope lies in the unsung grassroots heroes. The security guard pictured below, Cordarlye Frost, helping children feel happy and at ease at a vaccination clinic. The nurses in the ED, the librarians Read more…

THIS JUST IN: Preliminary Omicron neutralizing antibody study

COVID Variants Vaccines

⬇️ TL;DR: IN A LAB DISH (so NOT in real life), antibodies from vaccinated individuals (two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech), were significantly less effective at neutralizing Omicron compared to the original variant—about a 20-40-fold reduction in neutralization. While this is substantially more loss of neutralization than previous variants…this does NOT tell us how well the vaccines Read more…

Advertencia: este post habla sobre la caza de ciervos y el virus Covid-19.

Posts en Español Uncategorized

Científicos han descubierto recientemente que muchos ciervos de cola blanca de E.E.U.U. tienen el virus que causa el COVID-19. Esta es una noticia importante y muy mala. Si vas a cazar ciervos, definitivamente debes vacunarte y usar una mascarilla N95 en todo momento mientras manipules o estés cerca de alguien que manipule cuerpos de ciervos. Read more…