The World Health Organization on Monday warned countries against giving up on efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic, with the head of the agency saying doing so would be “dangerous.” “Giving up on control is dangerous,” said Tedros Adhamon Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general. “Control should … be part of the strategy.” The remarks by Tedros, as he is known, came a day after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows seemed to indicate in a CNN interview that the administration has concluded containment of the virus is not possible. advertisement “We are not going to control the […]Read full article >

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so familiar routine of Zoom meetings, Skype calls, and deadlines has, not surprisingly, returned. To cope, yes, we are brewing cups of stimulation — maple bourbon is our choice today — and we invite you to join us. Meanwhile, we are pleased to celebrate STAT’s fifth birthday. Have a slice of virtual cake on us. And now, time to get cracking. Here are some tidbits to help you along, Have a smashing day, and do stay in touch. … A Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of […]Read full article >

As a physician, I never thought that I would someday be lumped into the category of patients known as “not otherwise specified,” or NOS for short. This category is dominated by women suffering nonspecific symptoms that are inconsistently appreciated by clinicians who eventually conclude that the problem is entirely in the mind. My induction into this group began on March 23. The emergency department in which I work had been seeing coronavirus patients, at first without our donning standardized personal protective equipment or following universal masking protocols. So when I developed a deep, dry cough, it was not outside the […]Read full article >

After President Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19, the nation watched intently as he received experimental treatments to combat the virus. Some of these therapies are the result of published clinical trials; others are under so-called compassionate use — as-yet unapproved treatments that are employed when nothing else is available. The time has clearly come for a national coalition to coordinate hypothesis-driven clinical research trials to give the medical community the evidence it needs to safely and effectively treat and prevent Covid-19. During the early days of the pandemic, research was fragmented and led by groups already […]Read full article >

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Messenger RNA may not be as famous as its cousin, DNA, but it’s having a moment in the spotlight. This crucial intermediary in the protein-making process is now being harnessed by scientists to to try to protect us from disease — including Covid-19. Companies like Moderna and Pfizer are working on mRNA vaccines that allow people to build immunity to viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. These vaccines contain specifically designed mRNA that instructs cells how to make viral proteins. Find out how mRNA vaccines can trigger immune cells, in this video. […]Read full article >