TimeMagazine Dr. George Diaz was at home in Edmonds, Wash., on Jan. 20 at 8:30 p.m., when his phone rang with news that he was both anticipating and dreading. On the line was his hospital’s infection-prevention manager, who had just received a call from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency wanted … Read more
Johnson & Johnson discontinued its legacy talc-based baby-powder products in the U.S. and Canada after thousands of suits alleging asbestos contamination led to a decline in sales. The health-care giant said Tuesday it had stopped shipping hundreds of talc-based items in the U.S. and Canada after coming to a “commercial decision” to discontinue them. J&J … Read more
From her laboratory in the far western reaches of Montana, Elizabeth Fischer is trying to help people see what they’re up against in COVID-19. Over the past three decades, Fischer, 58, and her team at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories, part of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have … Read more
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump emphatically defended himself Tuesday against criticism from medical experts that his announced use of a malaria drug against the coronavirus could spark wide misuse by Americans of the unproven treatment with potentially fatal side effects. Trump’s revelation a day earlier that he was taking hydroxychloroquine caught many in his administration … Read more
While most people are familiar with the hallmark symptoms of COVID-19 by now—cough, fever, muscle aches, headaches and difficulty breathing—a new crop of medical conditions are emerging from the more than 4 million confirmed cases of the disease around the world. These include skin rashes, diarrhea, kidney abnormalities and potentially life-threatening blood clots. It’s not … Read more
Patients lie motionless in a hospital ICU ward, as doctors hurry around their beds. The patients’ faces are concealed by ventilators; the doctors’ by masks. The death rate is rising so quickly that doctors can no longer keep count. “The beds don’t even have time to cool before they are taken up by other patients,” … Read more
Of the many ways COVID-19 has changed American life, social distancing is among the toughest for many people to bear. Humans are social animals, hard-wired to crave touch and interaction. So it’s only natural that, as caution fatigue sets in and social-distancing guidelines in many places are extended into the indeterminate future, even well-intentioned people … Read more
(LONDON) — Health experts say U.S. President Donald Trump’s increasing attacks on the World Health Organization for its handling of the coronavirus demonstrate a profound misunderstanding of the U.N. agency’s role and could ultimately serve to weaken global health. In a letter to the WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Trump wrote that the WHO’s “repeated … Read more
The global coronavirus pandemic has brought renewed interest and focus on scientific models as we try to get a handle on what the future will bring, how many people will fall sick and die, what the economic impacts will be, and what actions politicians should take. But confusion abounds about what these “models” say and … Read more
Amid the American flags, “Make America Great Again” hats and “freedom is essential” posters appearing at recent protests against coronavirus lockdowns in Sacramento, Calif., another familiar slogan has materialized: “We do not consent.” It’s long been a popular rallying cry among antivaccine activists, who claim without evidence that vaccines cause autism or other conditions. As … Read more