US households can now order four free Covid tests from the government – latest guidelines

An updated Coronavirus booster is now being rolled out nationwide

Jill Biden tested positive for Covid and experienced “mild symptoms”, per a 4 September statement from the White House.

New Covid boosters from Pfizer and Moderna are now available at pharmacies nationwide, and the US has restarted its free Covid test program.

Tests can be ordered from COVIDTests.gov; you can order four per household.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending one dose of the updated vaccine for everyone six months and older in the US; some children may be eligible for up to three doses depending on their age and previous vaccination status.

Hospitalisations and deaths rose steadily during the last weeks of summer, and global health authorities are monitoring two new variants, BA.2.86, known as Pirola, and EG.5, known as Eris.

First reported in February, Eris is now responsible for nearly 30 per cent of Covid cases in the US, per CDC estimates.

Some experts are urging Americans to wear a mask when necessary to slow the spread of the virus.

CDC Covid tracker

16,186 hospitalisations from 15 October to 21 October

Key Points

• How to get free Covid tests from the government
• You should see a doctor for Covid if you develop these symptoms
• Everything we know about the latest round of Covid boosters, including how to book an appointment
• Covid exposure guidelines 2023: What to know

[1 November 2023 06:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Parents are suing California for eliminating religious expemtions to school-mandated vaccines

Parents are suing the state of Califnornia over a law that mandates vaccines for school children—and doesn’t allow for religious exemptions—as Governor Gavin Newsom is reportedly trying to add the Covid vaccine to the list of those that will be required.

Per Fox News, the parents are backed by a conservative group.

[1 November 2023 00:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Many long Covid patients haven’t recovered 18 months after diagnosis, research shows

Long Covid will affect many people for more than one-and-a-half years after their diagnosis, new research has shown.

The study, published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, found that “more than 50% of long COVID patients failed to improve using any outcome measure” 18 months after their diagnosis.

[31 October 2023 20:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

New York City offers free at-home tests

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is offering free at-home tests at sites across New York.

[31 October 2023 17:43 · Maggie O’Neill]

US Covid booster rates are shockingly low

Very few people have received the updated Covid boosters that were released nationwide in September, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[31 October 2023 14:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

How long Covid changes lives

The condition can cause debilitating symptoms that affect one’s day-to-day functioning.

Tara Cobham reports:

[31 October 2023 06:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Experts slam anti-vaxxers for associating Matthew Perry’s death with Covid vaccine

Prominent anti-vaxxers have publicly speculated on whether Matthew Perry’s death was linked to the Covid vaccine. Now, experts are criticizing the exploitative comments.

[31 October 2023 00:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Why pregnant people should get vaccinated

Pregnancy makes a person high-risk from severe disease for Covid-19, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agency has released a bulletin that states, “Pregnancy causes changes in the body that could make it easier to get very sick from respiraotry viruses like the one that causes COVID-19.”

Severe illness from the virus could result in hospitalisation, admission to an ICU, or even reliance on a ventilator.

[30 October 2023 20:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Anti-vaxxers falsely blame Matthew Perry’s death on Covid vaccine

Prominent anti-vaxxer Kandiss Taylor took to X, formerly Twitter, to falsely associate Friends star Matthew Perry’s death with the Covid vaccine.

[30 October 2023 17:26 · Maggie O’Neill]

Flu, RSV and Covid starting to circulate in the US amid fears of ‘tripledemic’

Experts have been urging Americans to stay up-to-date on their Covid, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines for weeks now, ahead of the worst of cold and flu season.

Now, reports show the viruses are already circulating in the US.

[30 October 2023 14:00 · Maggie O’Neill]

Experts say it’s still safe to get flu and Covid shots together

A recent study suggested older adults may have a slightly increased risk of stroke if they get the Covid and flu shots together, but experts say there’s not enough evidence to suggest the risk is so severe people should stop getting these vaccinations at the same time.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, recently told ABC News, “There is no need for panic, and emphatically no need to stop giving COVID and flu shots at the same time to older adults.”