Articles related to COVID-19/CORONAVIRUS

Researchers explain why the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is so contagious and spreads so rapidly in the general population.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has issued guidance on managing drug interactions with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid). Specifically, the IDSA recommends clinicians take six steps to minimize the risk of drug interactions for patients with COVID-19 who are eligible for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir.

A report in MedPage Today states that standard heart care is recommended for COVID-19 survivors left with cardiomyopathy and other cardiac conditions, though more answers are needed regarding how long they need to undergo special monitoring, and which groups are at particularly high risk.

Although vaccinations to the arm can still prevent serious illness, their ability to ward off infection completely has been diminished. And part of the reason may be the location of the vaccines, which some scientists now want to change by delivering inoculations to the site where the virus first makes contact: the nose. Three separate nasal sprays, now in advanced trials, could trigger stronger immune responses in people who have COVID-19.

How does the diagnostic performance of home antigen tests change during the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection? Symptomatic individuals with an initial negative home antigen test result for SARS-CoV-2 infection should test again one to two days later because test sensitivity seems to peak several days after illness onset.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the US continued to rise during the first year of the pandemic. For the first time in seven years, the overall number of reported STD cases was lower than the previous year, but the CDC attributed the drop-off to a decline in reported cases of chlamydia — the nation’s most common STD — that was likely a result of pandemic-related interruptions to screening.