All articles tagged with #covid 19
The Boston Globe collects stories from over 500 readers who say they never contracted COVID and investigates whether shared traits or behaviors might explain why some people dodged infection, offering an early look at the mystery surrounding the so-called 'superdodgers'.
The Boston Globe investigates a small group of people who say they’ve never contracted COVID, explaining that true genetic resistance is extraordinarily rare. Researchers with the COVID Human Genetic Effort are scouring for genetic variants that might confer protection, while early findings link interferon-pathway mutations and autoantibodies to severe disease; for now, NOVID statuses remain unproven and likely rare, with many responders attributing their experience to vaccines, caution, or luck.
An FDA advisory panel recommended updating the COVID-19 vaccines to better match circulating variants, a move that would influence vaccine composition and regulatory steps for the next rollout.
Thailand’s health authorities urge calm about Singapore’s Covid spike, noting NB.1.8.1 is already circulating in Thailand and now accounts for about 50.95% of sequenced samples. From Jan 1 to May 23, 2026, Thailand recorded 3,642 cumulative cases and one death. NB.1.8.1 is a descendant of JN.1 with spike mutations but there’s no evidence it causes more severe illness. Covid-19 is treated as endemic; officials advise routine precautions, testing if symptomatic, and protecting vulnerable groups, especially during the monsoon season. Singapore’s spike is being monitored but hospitalizations remain manageable.
The piece argues that global readiness for a future pandemic is weaker than during COVID-19, citing reduced funding for public health, staff burnout, gaps in disease surveillance, and insufficient stockpiles, and it calls for sustained, cooperative investment in early warning systems, rapid vaccine development, surge capacity, and stronger international health coordination to prevent a repeat of COVID-era weaknesses.
Despite lessons from COVID-19, the world has not meaningfully improved pandemic preparedness; persistent gaps in surveillance, stockpiles, funding, and international coordination leave nations vulnerable to future outbreaks.
The WHO director dismissed Alex Jones’s claim that hantavirus is “COVID 2.0,” clarifying that hantavirus and SARS-CoV-2 are distinct viruses and that such misinformation can undermine public health efforts; there is no evidence to support Jones’s assertion.
A 2020 outbreak in Santander’s seven-story building was likely driven by shared bathroom ventilation ducts, with virus-laden aerosols moving between vertically connected apartments. Researchers sequenced viruses to confirm links, monitored air flow and CO2 levels, and found infections only in units connected via the same shaft; blocked vents appeared protective. The findings underscore the risk of shared infrastructure in multi-unit housing and echo past scenarios like Amoy Gardens, prompting proactive ventilation safeguards in buildings.
A NEJM trial shows the antiviral ensitrelvir (Xocova) significantly reduces COVID-19 risk after exposure in households, cutting symptomatic infections from about 9% to 3% and total infections from 21.5% to 14% when given as a five‑day course. Japan has approved ensitrelvir for post‑exposure use; US/EU decisions are pending. The drug is generally well tolerated and may help vulnerable groups, though real‑world impact may be limited as immunity rises and variants shift.
A five‑day course of ensitrelvir (Xocova) significantly reduced the risk of developing COVID-19 after household exposure in a double‑blind NEJM phase 3 trial of about 2,000 participants: 9% in the placebo group developed symptoms within 72 hours versus 2.9% in the drug group; by day 10, 14% vs 21.5% tested positive. Side effects were similar between groups. The drug is already approved in Japan for treatment and is being considered for post‑exposure prevention by US/EU regulators; pregnancy safety was not studied.
Five infectious-disease experts explain that hantavirus spread is driven by rodent exposure and is not yet comparable to COVID-19 in terms of contagiousness; transmission usually occurs via dust or contact with rodent droppings, with human-to-human spread being rare. Symptoms can mimic the flu and may progress to respiratory distress; there is no widely available vaccine, and treatment is supportive. Prevention centers on rodent-proofing homes, careful cleanup of rodent-contaminated areas (moistening dust, using damp cloths, wearing a mask and gloves), and reducing outdoor exposure in infested areas. Overall risk to the general public is low compared with COVID-19, though localized outbreaks can occur where rodent populations are high.
The world's reaction to hantavirus is shaped by memories of the COVID-19 pandemic, influencing media framing, public concern, and policy responses as authorities monitor the outbreak.
A hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship in Tenerife has drawn pandemic-era visuals, but experts caution it isn’t a COVID-19–level threat: the virus typically spreads via rodent urine or feces, and even the ship’s strain appears to require very close contact with a severely ill person for person-to-person transmission. Health authorities, including the CDC and WHO, are coordinating a cautious response and passenger repatriation, with no confirmed U.S. cases to date and ongoing rodent control as a preventive measure.
A small hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is becoming a proving ground for public health: how to act quickly and firmly without eroding trust, as WHO tightens guidance, quarantines passengers, and experts warn that risk uncertainty must be clearly communicated.
A UK analysis of nearly 16 million English adults aged 65+ found that about 28% of those who died from COVID-19 in the first 2.5 years would likely have lived at least five more years if they had not contracted the virus, while roughly 23.5% would not have survived more than a year; overall, life expectancy for those who died was reduced by about four to five years. The study, which used linked health data and accounted for vaccination status and pandemic waves, argues that many older COVID-19 decedents were not near death before infection and highlights real-time mortality-displacement modeling for future pandemics.