TimeMagazine Moderna Therapeutics, a biotech company based in Cambridge, Mass., has shipped the first batches of its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was created just 42 days after the genetic sequence of the COVID_19 virus, called SARS-CoV-2, was released by Chinese researchers in mid-January. The first vials were sent to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious … Read more
(Bloomberg) — State hospitals in South Africa have sterilized some pregnant HIV-positive women without their consent, according to an investigation by the government’s Commission for Gender Equality. The investigation was prompted by a 2015 complaint by the non-profit Women’s Legal Centre, which documented 48 cases where women were allegedly either forced or coerced into agreeing … Read more
As the number of people infected with a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 has ticked up worldwide—totaling more than 80,000 as of Tuesday afternoon—the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has routinely emphasized that the risk to Americans remains relatively low. But that tone changed somewhat during a call with reporters Tuesday, when … Read more
An American woman feared to have potentially spread COVID-19 to other passengers aboard Holland America Line’s Westerdam cruise ship does not seem to have the novel coronavirus after all, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed. The false-positive is only the latest development in the Westerdam saga. After rumors spread that a … Read more
A surge in deadly coronavirus cases outside China is raising concerns that the outbreak has reached a new stage and could continue its global spread to even more vulnerable countries. In the central Chinese province of Hubei, where the virus is believed to have originated, the number of cases appears to be stabilizing, according to … Read more
Buses and subways in Seoul, the normally crowded South Korean capital, were unusually quiet on Monday, and social media was filled with posts with the hashtag “work from home.” South Koreans work some of the longest hours in the world, and companies tend to frown on allowing employees to telecommute. This drastic departure from the … Read more
(NEW YORK) — It may end up being a bad flu season for kids, but early signs suggest the vaccine is working OK. The vaccine has been more than 50% effective in preventing flu illness severe enough to send a child to the doctor’s office, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. … Read more
(NOVI SANZHARY, Ukraine) — Ukraine’s effort to quarantine more than 70 people evacuated from China over the new virus outbreak plunged into chaos Thursday as local residents opposing the move hurled stones at the evacuees and clashed with police. Officials deplored the violence and the country’s health minister pledged to share evacuees’ quarantine for two … Read more
Just the rumor that there could be coronavirus aboard the Westerdam led five ports to deny the luxury cruise ship entry earlier this month. When Cambodia finally agreed to let the vessel dock at Sihanoukville on Feb. 13, the Holland America cruise line and public health officials took precautions to determine if anyone on board … Read more
Seeking out help for depression is hard enough. It doesn’t make things any easier that it can take weeks, months or longer of trying different treatments to find something that works. Doctors typically start patients on antidepressants, but they take at least four weeks to start working, and research has shown that only about 30% … Read more