An Indian SARS-CoV-2 Variant Lands In California. More Danger Ahead?
Yet another variant of SARS-CoV-2 has arrived on our shores from afar. A recent survey of the viral sequences infecting Californians turned up six independent isolates of a variant that is now circulating widely in India. Over the past two months, infection …
Covid-19 Cases Are Rising Again Globally
Random variation is an essential component of all living things. It drives diversity, and it is why there are so many different species. Viruses are no exception. Most viruses are experts at changing genomes to adapt to their environment. We now have …
Will Population (Herd) Immunity To Covid-19 Be Permanent Or Seasonal?
In just three weeks, the number of Covid-19 cases in the United States has plummeted by 35 percent. Death rates have yet to follow suit, but they have leveled out, with hospitalization rates on the decline, too. Given that the vaccine rollout is …
Understanding Vaccine Effectiveness
There has been a flurry of press releases on vaccine effectiveness. There is a risk of misunderstanding these numbers by lay people. Multiple factors influence the risk of developing Covid-19 illness. These include innate immunity (first defense response when body is exposed …
One Tenth Of Americans Infected By Covid-19 Are Children
Children aren’t as likely to become severely ill from Covid-19 as adults, and for this reason their ability to contract and transmit infection is often downplayed or unrecognized. But according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than …
Large Contact Tracing Study In India Shows People Of All Ages Can Be Infected With And Transmit COVID-19
The first ever large scale study using contact tracing data from two states in India provides critical new information about the virus that causes Covid-19 and how it spreads. Using data from over 85,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and their 575,071 contacts, the study found …
The COVID Commentaries: A Chronicle of a Plague —Volume II
In early 2020, rumors of a new pneumonia-like illness coming from Wuhan, China were just beginning to emerge. COVID-19 has gone on to infect at least thirty five million people worldwide and has killed more than one million. The COVID Commentaries is …
The COVID Commentaries: A Chronicle of a Plague —Volume I
In early 2020, rumors of a new pneumonia-like illness coming from Wuhan, China were just beginning to emerge. COVID-19 has gone on to infect at least thirty five million people worldwide and has killed more than one million. After a lifetime spent …
India Approves Antigen Test To Speed Detection And Management Of SARS-CoV-2 Infections
On July 23, India approved a rapid antigen test to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections. The product is called the Pathocatch COVID-19 Antigen Rapid testing kit, developed and manufactured in India by Mylab Discovery Solutions. The test will be used as part of an integrated program to …
The Other Shoe Drops: Gilead’s Outrageous Pricing Of Remdesivir
Gilead says it will charge governments $2,340 and private insurers $3,120 for a 5-day course of remdesivir, a treatment for Covid-19 patients. This is an outrageous price for a drug that has demonstrated little to no ability to save lives or lower …