Coronavirus News & Updates

April 13, 2023 — Investigators discovered the spike protein from the virus in brain tissue of animals and people after death. The finding suggests these virus fragments build up, stick around, and trigger inflammation that causes long COVID symptoms.

April 12, 2023 — The clinical burden of long COVID is somewhere on par with the whole of heart disease all over again, or the whole of oncology all over again, one of the book's authors says.

April 11, 2023 — A new COVID variant that recently landed on the World Health Organization’s radar may cause previously unseen symptoms in children, with many experiencing "itchy" or "sticky" eyes, according to a new report.

April 11, 2023 — As data tracking declines and mandates disappear, some experts say it’s time to move on, but others are worried about the ability to gear up for the next variant, calling for better surveillance.

April 8, 2023 — New York City's Health Department says Life expectancy in New York City fell to 78 years from 2019 to 2020, a 4.6-year drop mostly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 7, 2023 — Researchers say they’ve discovered two rare cases in which the coronavirus breached a mother's placenta and caused brain damage in infants they were carrying.

April 7, 2023 — The Census Bureau found that while 27% of adults have gotten long COVID, the condition has impacted some states more than others. The proportion of residents hit with long COVID ranged from a low of 18.8% in New Jersey to a high of 40.7% in West Virginia.

April 6, 2023 — A new study of patients at the Cleveland Clinic shows that 4 in 10 people with long COVID have moderate to severe sleep problems, and that Black people with long COVID are significantly more likely to have serious sleep issues.

April 5, 2023 — COVID-19 can harm the makeup of microbes in the gut, which play a significant role in the body’s immune system and overall health, new research shows.

April 4, 2023 — Emerging research has identified a checklist of sorts that doctors should consider when a patient seeks care for what appears to be long COVID. Here's what to know.

April 1, 2023 — The World Health Organization has identified XBB.1.16 as a new Omnicron variant of COVID-19 as being a variant that is "one to watch."

March 31, 2023 — An antiviral therapy in early development has the potential to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection when given as a nasal spray in as little as 4 hours before or after exposure.

March 28, 2023 — An emerging body of evidence suggests that Black and Hispanic patients are more likely to get long COVID – and more likely to have a broader range of symptoms and serious complications when they do.

March 27, 2023 — A review finds that certain groups are more likely to get long COVID, but patients who had at least two COVID vaccine doses had a lower risk of it down the line.

March 23, 2023 — The lack of knowledge regarding long COVID makes it difficult for doctors to counsel patients on how long symptoms will last, why they are experiencing it, or what its actual cause is.

March 18, 2023 — The leader of the World Health Organization said Friday that he expects the organization to declare an end to the COVID-19 pandemic later this year because statistics on the virus keep declining.

March 17, 2023 — Many experts say we have entered a new phase as health care crises seem to have quieted and the public has moved on to endemic behavior. Others say it's too soon to label COVID trajectory predictable.

March 16, 2023 — NOVIDS is the term some use to describe those who haven't gotten COVID. But researchers are not overly fond of the word. They're looking for the possible genetic underpinnings to a group of people they prefer to call "resisters."

March 16, 2023 — Pregnancy-related deaths have surged as much as 40% during the pandemic, with the increase entirely linked to COVID-19, according to a pair of new reports. The rise in deaths was most pronounced among Black mothers.

March 15, 2023 — Three years after COVID-19 rocked the world, the pandemic has evolved into a steady state of commonplace infections, less frequent hospitalization and death, and continued anxiety and isolation for older people and those with weakened immune systems.

March 15, 2023 — With the third anniversary of COVID upon us, various experts give us their takes on the future of COVID-19 and how their perspectives have changed over 3 years.

March 15, 2023 — Our current poll found that almost a third – 30% – of our audience thinks the pandemic has already come to an end, up from 16% a year ago.

March 15, 2023 — More than 3 years into the pandemic, finding out how many Americans have long COVID – and what to about it – has proved to be far harder than identifying those infected with the virus who have recovered or died from it.

March 14, 2023 — New research published in Cortex, links long COVID to face blindness – or prosopagnosia -- the inability to recognize faces.

March 13, 2023 — Deaths from COVID-19 and official case counts have declined dramatically, compared to the surges seen during the winter of 2021-2022.

March 13, 2023 — Black children had almost three times as many COVID-related deaths as white children and about twice as many hospitalizations, according to a new study

March 11, 2023 — The COVID-19 pandemic declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, is now three years old.

March 10, 2023 — Those who tested positive with the original virus had a 67% higher risk of developing long COVID, while the chances of developing long COVID among workers whose first infection was with Omicron did not appear to be greater.

March 9, 2023 — Metformin led to a 42% drop in long COVID among people who had a mild to moderate COVID-19 infection.

March 7, 2023 — At least 26% of parents lied about their child having COVID-19 or defied public health instructions for their children during the height of the pandemic, according to new survey data.

March 7, 2023 — New Harvard poll shows that only four in ten Americans believes COVID information from the CDC.

March 6, 2023 — The system has lost 20% of its workforce over the course of the pandemic, with hospital understaffing at hospitals resulting in burnout and fatigue among frontline medical professionals.

February 25, 2023 — The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for the at-home test Lucira as the first over-the-counter, test that detects both COVID-19 and influenza.

February 21, 2023 — Deaths among prison inmates soared almost 50% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to newly available data.

February 17, 2023 — COVID-19 remains deadlier than influenza in severe cases requiring hospitalization. People hospitalized with Omicron COVID-19 infections were 54% more likely to die, compared to people hospitalized with the flu.

February 15, 2023 — A lesser-known concern when recovering from COVID-19 is low blood pressure. Here's what to know.

February 15, 2023 — People who took the antiviral Paxlovid to treat COVID-19 infections were not more likely to get back-to-back bouts of the virus, a new study shows.

February 11, 2023 — The New York Department of Health has announced that face masks will no longer be required in hospitals and other health care facilities in New York state regardless of a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status.

February 9, 2023 — Results from a phase III trial of a new COVID-19 treatment showed it reduced the risk of hospitalization or long ER visits by half.

February 8, 2023 — No new COVID-19 variants emerged in China’s recent surge of infections when the country ended its zero-COVID policy, according to an analysis published in The Lancet.

February 7, 2023 — People with healthy lifestyles may be less likely to have prolonged COVID-19 symptoms, a new study suggests.

February 2, 2023 — People no longer need a positive COVID-19 test to be prescribed the antiviral medications Paxlovid or Lagevrio.

February 1, 2023 — The Biden administration announced Monday that it will be ending the twin emergency declarations of COVID-19, marking the switch from COVID-19 “pandemic” to “endemic” status. Here's what to know.

February 1, 2023 — Nonstop inflammation and immune problems top the list of potential causes of long COVID, but doctors say it’s growing clear that more than one factor is to blame for the wide swath of often debilitating symptoms that could last months or even years.

January 30, 2023 — The adviser to seven presidents reflects on his career, the highs and lows, and offers advice for staying safe 3 years into the COVID-19 pandemic.

January 30, 2023 — Doing so will have many effects, including the end of free vaccines and health services to fight the pandemic. The public health emergency has been renewed every 90 days since it was declared by the Trump administration in January 2020.

January 28, 2023 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 antibody drug Evusheld because the drug is not effective against the Omicron variants now dominating the nation.

January 27, 2023 — Almost 36% of students and faculty at George Washington University with a history of COVID-19 reported symptoms consistent with long COVID in a new study.

January 26, 2023 — One of New York state’s largest workers' compensation insurers says it paid an average of $17,400 in lost wages and medical costs per person who met its long COVID criteria.

January 21, 2023 — The Navajo Nation ended its COVID-19 mask mandate on Friday, almost three years after it was instituted.