Senior citizens who received a second booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination had a 78 percent lower mortality rate from the disease than those who got one only, a study from Israel showed on March 27.
The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic was reflected in a natural decrease during 2021 in the population of nearly three-quarters of U.S. counties versus the two previous years, the census bureau said on March 24.
People may be at increased risk for developing diabetes for up to a year after a diagnosis of COVID-19, according to two studies. Additionally, organ donation from dying donors with current or previous COVID-19 infection is likely safe, transplant teams from the United States and Italy will report at the April 2022 European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases meeting.
Top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on March 22 he would not be surprised to see an increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States, but he does not expect a major surge.
A new position paper from noted thought leaders and the Association of Clinical Research Professionals provides the much-needed voice of the clinical trial professional.
The BA.2 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus was responsible for over a third of all COVID-19 cases in the United States in the week ending March 19, according to an estimate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 22.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla raked in $24.3 million in total compensation in 2021. In other news, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in one or both ears) might be a side effect of COVID-19 vaccines.
Hong Kong reported more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases on March 18 as health experts called for a clear way out of a “zero COVID” policy that has left the city isolated.
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on March 18 that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in the WHO’s latest weekly data.
U.S. President Joe Biden on March 17 named public health expert Dr. Ashish Jha to replace White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients, who will leave his post in April, as the administration prepares for new COVID-19 variants and infection surges that could hit the country.