Respiratory Infections News

Last week, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed an order suspending entry into the United States of any noncitizens traveling within 14 days of being in South Africa.

Johnson & Johnson has applied for emergency use authorization from the FDA for its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine, which experts have said could help change the trajectory of the pandemic.

Researchers found that a large percentage of staff in skilled nursing facilities with access to a COVID-19 vaccination clinic have not been vaccinated, raising concerns about vaccine hesitancy.

Almost half of the recommendations graded as “strong” in 17 current Infectious Diseases Society of America clinical practice guidelines are based on lower-quality evidence, an analysis found.

It is still important for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear masks and practice social distancing, experts said.

To help slow the spread of COVID-19, the CDC has mandated that face masks be worn on all forms of public transportation and extended a moratorium on evictions to prevent homelessness and unnecessary congregate living.

The U.S. government will spend $230 million to scale up manufacturing of the first over-the-counter COVID-19 test kit, which can provide results in 15 minutes and is authorized for people aged 2 years or older, a White House official said.

Intensive COVID-19 protocols helped reduce exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the National Football League, according to a recent MMWR report.

Novavax said its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, was nearly 90% efficacious in a phase 3 clinical trial in the United Kingdom, during which most cases were attributed to the emerging B.1.1.7 variant.

Johnson & Johnson said its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 85% efficacious at preventing severe disease in a phase 3 trial being conducted in eight countries, and 66% efficacious overall at preventing moderate to severe disease.