Respiratory Infections News

Northeastern cities, including New York and Washington, D.C., have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases, but increased immunization, low hospitalization rates and a growing armamentarium against infection may serve to temper calls for alarm.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, launched a multi-billion dollar plan to accelerate the development and production of vaccines during the next pandemic, with a goal of making them available in just 100 days.

Researchers uncovered gaps in the care cascade for latent tuberculosis in the United States, including that less than half of people diagnosed with latent TB in 2016 and 2017 initiated treatment.

Vaccinated people who were subsequently infected with SARS-CoV-2 experienced a shorter duration of symptoms if they were infected with the omicron variant vs. the delta variant, mobile-app based data showed.

Young children were more likely to be infected with the omicron variant than the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 but less likely to experience severe health outcomes, researchers reported in JAMA Pediatrics.

People aged 50 years or older with COVID-19 had a 15% increased risk for developing herpes zoster, according to the results of a large retrospective cohort study.

Ivermectin did not lower the incidence of hospitalization among high-risk adults with COVID-19 enrolled in a large double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Brazil, researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Convalescent plasma, when administered within 9 days of symptom onset in patients with COVID-19, may reduce the risk for hospitalization, according to data published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Rates of serious influenza-related illness were 1.5 to 2 times higher among older adults with diabetes compared with those without diabetes during five recent influenza seasons, according to a study.

The FDA on Tuesday authorized a second booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 50 years or older and certain immunocompromised patients, citing evidence that it improves protection against severe disease.