Why is COVID-19 more severe in some people? Researchers use genetics, data science to find out Why do some people have a more severe course of COVID-19 disease than others? A genome sequence database created by an international collaboration of researchers, including many from the University of ... Tyler Irving Medical Xpress

Why do some people have a more severe course of COVID-19 disease than others? A genome sequence database created by an international collaboration of researchers, including many from the University of Toronto and partner hospitals, may hold the answers to this question—and many more.

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Severe mental illness linked to 50% increase in COVID-related death The study was based on outcomes seen among 660,000 UK patients from February 2020 to April 2021. CIDRAP

People with severe mental illness (SMI) are at a 50% increased risk of death from all causes following COVID-19 infections, according to a study yesterday  in The British Journal of Psychiatry.

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Pfizer combination Covid, flu vaccine shows positive trial data (cnbc.com)

• Pfizer said its combination vaccine candidates targeting Covid and the flu will move to a final-stage trial in the coming months after showing positive initial results. ..
• Pfizer and other vaccine makers like Moderna and Novavax believe combination shots will simplify the process for people to protect themselves against respiratory viruses that typically surge around the same time of the year.
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Statin linked to improved outcomes in COVID-19 patients, vitamin C shows no benefits - UPI.com Clinical trials show vitamin C was not beneficial in critically ill COVID-19 patients, but the statin drug simvastatin had a 96% likelihood of improving outcomes. UPI

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AstraZeneca, maker of FluMist, seeks to allow at-home administration of vaccine People eligible to use the only needle-free flu vaccine available in the United States may be able, next year, to give it to themselves or to eligible children at home. Helen Branswell STAT

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Moderna doses 1st participant in phase 3 clinical trial of combo flu, COVID vaccine Moderna announced the first participant has been dosed in the company's phase 3 clinical trial of its combination flu and COVID vaccine. ABC News ABC News

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In a press release, the biopharmaceutical company said the combination vaccine has "the potential to efficiently reduce the overall burden of acute viral respiratory disease" by giving simultaneous protection against flu and COVID in a single dose.

Health workers face mental health crisis, CDC says | CNN Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sounding the alarm on a mental health crisis for health workers around the country. Giri Viswanathan CNN

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Using nationwide survey data between 2018 and 2022, a new report from the agency found that nearly half of health workers reported feeling burned out in 2022, up from under a third four years prior. Health workers’ reports of being harassed at work more than doubled, as well.

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People with HIV at higher risk of COVID reinfection: CDC A new CDC study found people with HIV were more likely to be reinfected with COVID than those without HIV. ABC News ABC News

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Rates of reinfection were higher among people with HIV (6.7%) than among people without HIV (5.2%).

People with HIV are more likely to have completed a primary COVID vaccine series plus a booster before their reinfection -- 31.8% versus 27% for those without HIV.

Study: Kids with COVID shed virus for median of 3 days, supporting school-isolation policies iStock CIDRAP

Children who tested positive for COVID-19 in 2022 were contagious for a median of 3 days, regardless of vaccination status, suggesting that 5-day school isolation policies are sufficient amid Omicron variant predominance, University of Southern California (USC) and Stanford University researchers report today in JAMA Pediatrics.

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