An employee works at a lab at the Spanish pharmaceutical company PharmaMar — which developed plitidepsin, a potential COVID-19 drug — in Colmenar Viejo, Spain January 26, 2021. Susana Vera/Reuters
Researchers are hopeful that new antiviral drugs in the pipeline could reduce COVID hospitalizations and save lives. Right now, remdesivir is the only antiviral authorized for use against COVID-19, but its effectiveness is limited. Two emerging drugs — both still in clinical trials —
could outperform remdesivir and offer a contingency plan for unvaccinated people, especially those in countries that are lagging behind in the race to vaccinate their populations.
Fully vaccinated but feeling sick? You might need to get a COVID test. If you have COVID symptoms, you could have COVID.
Even if that test comes back positive, it’s unlikely that you’ll develop a severe or fatal case of the disease. Still, getting tested is important —it helps local health officials keep track of outbreaks, and lets you know to self-isolate in order to protect vulnerable people in your community.
Don’t rely on antibody tests to confirm your protection after you’ve gotten your COVID vaccine. Some vaccinated people mistakenly believe that the test is a useful tool to check how effective their vaccines are, but experts say it doesn’t paint a full picture. While antibody tests are useful for
identifying prior infections among people who have had COVID-19 in the past, they can’t tell you much about your body’s immune response to the vaccine.
To prevent the next pandemic, experts say we need to focus on monitoring disease “hot spots.” The current prevention model rests on the idea that health care professionals will sound the alarm when infected patients show up to their hospitals, according to the Conversation. But
taking a more proactive approach — like surveilling places where zoonotic diseases, or pathogens that jump from animals to humans, are likely to most emerge — could save lives in the long run.
“Pandemic misery” has declined over time, but 80 percent of Americans have reported experiencing significant hardship since it began. That’s according to the U.S. Pandemic Misery Index, which aims to quantify the extreme challenges — like
financial and food insecurity or psychological distress — that people across the United States have endured since the pandemic began. Black and Latino people reported experiencing those challenges at higher rates, and were also more likely to know someone who died from COVID.
The emotional toll of the pandemic has also had a significant impact on children. One large hospital system in Colorado is calling it a “state of emergency": Adolescents are experiencing high rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm. Suicide is now the
leading cause of death for children over the age of 10 in the state.
Public health experts consider grief a pandemic within the pandemic. Many people who lost loved ones over the past year are still processing their grief and trauma as the country continues to reopen. Pandemic precautions largely prevented families from holding funerals to honor those they lost, and many
did not get a chance to say goodbye in person. For some, celebrating the pandemic’s end feels both premature and “insulting to their loved ones’ memories,” according to Kaiser Health News.
Ask the science desk:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people get vaccinated even if they’ve already been infected with COVID-19, to increase the chance of protection. But if you’re currently sick with the disease, you should wait until you’ve recovered.
Exactly how long you need to wait depends on your symptoms, but is generally around 10 days. Check the CDC website to make sure you
meet the criteria for discontinuing isolation. People who had severe cases or who have a compromised immune system may need to wait up to 20 days and should talk to their doctors.
The CDC notes that if you received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma over the course of your illness, you should wait 90 days to get vaccinated.
Regardless of your circumstances, check in with your doctor or another health care professional if you have any questions about getting or scheduling your vaccine.
jusr saying 2imptoving mebeee
