Jan 19th, 2021 - For Immediate Release: January 19, 2021 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the following actions taken in its ongoing response effort to the COVID-19 pandemic: Today, to help protect consumers from methanol poisoning, the FDA issued a new guidance, “Policy for Testing of Alcohol (Ethanol) and Isopropyl Alcohol for Methanol, Including During the Public Health Emergency (COVID-...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. The U.S. passed 400,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, nearly a year after the country's first case was confirmed in Seattle on Jan. 21, 2020. The U.S. is expected to hit 500,000 COVID-19 deaths by mid-February, Rochelle Walensky, MD, the incoming di...

Jan 18th, 2021 - (Reuters) - Researchers have discovered an important line of attack used by the novel coronavirus: it targets the mitochondria, which not only generate the energy that powers a cell's biochemical reactions but also play important roles in immune function. "We knew that when the virus attacks cells, bad things happen - but we didn't know why," said Dr. Pinchas Cohen of the University of Southern...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Many emergency medicine (EM) physicians who responded to a Medscape survey said they have treated COVID-19 patients without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). In the Medscape Emergency Medicine Physicians' COVID-19 Experience Report, 21% of respondents said that that was sometimes ...

Jan 18th, 2021 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Virtual follow-up visits work well for patients who have had minimally invasive appendectomy or cholecystectomy, new research indicates. "Post-discharge video-based virtual visits did not increase hospital encounter proportions and provided shorter overall time commitment but equal time with the surgical team member," report Dr. Caroline Reinke with Carolinas Medical...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. NEW YORK (AP) — Frustrated by the flow of coronavirus vaccine from the federal government, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday floated the idea of buying shots for New Yorkers directly from one of the vaccine makers, Pfizer. The idea seemed far from a sure bet, with the pharmaceutical giant saying it wo...

Jan 18th, 2021 - For Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City and surrounding areas, the pandemic experience started with Purim. The holiday is usually joyous, commemorating the salvation of Jews from an evil annihilation plot. It is a time of celebrations, weddings, and even imbibing alcohol. In 2020, Purim took place on March 10, as COVID-19 cases were first being widely reported. Alarmed, physicians from...

Jan 18th, 2021 - This month, while many people were committing to their New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, Cosmopolitan UK magazine released covers portraying 11 women of different shapes and sizes, with the headline, "This is healthy!" Each version of the cover features one or more of the 11 women wearing athletic gear and makeup, some of whom are caught mid-action — boxing, doing yoga, or simply rejoicing...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Three-quarters of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were still experiencing at least one symptom of the infection 6 months after being discharged, according to a follow-up study involving 1,733 patients.   "Patients with COVID-19 had symptoms of fatigue or muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, ...

Jan 18th, 2021 - This transcript has been edited for clarity. Robert D. Glatter, MD: Hi and welcome. I'm Dr Robert Glatter, medical advisor for Medscape Emergency Medicine. COVID-19 has killed more than 320,000 Americans so far. What was evident from the outset of the pandemic was the lack of a clear national policy and strategy related to testing as a way to reduce transmission of the virus. Here to discuss th...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. The Federation of State Medical Boards is the umbrella organization for all state medical boards, which issue the required licenses to practice medicine to physicians and physician assistants. The state boards are also responsible for disciplining physicians. The primary mission of a state medical board, by la...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. The COVID pandemic continues to hammer Southern California. Los Angeles County recently became the first county in the nation to top 1 million cases.  On Monday, L.A. County reported 9,927 new cases (1,024,190 total), 88 deaths (12,936 total), and 7,328 hospitalizations. So many people are dying...

Jan 18th, 2021 - MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday the government aimed to compensate for a reduction in deliveries of COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer Inc with those from other providers. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday it was in advanced talks with Pfizer about including its vaccine in the agency's portfolio of shots to be shared with poorer countr...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Those of us who try to prepare communities for outbreaks of infectious diseases have a saying: Once you've seen one pandemic, you've seen one pandemic. In other words, each deadly outbreak is different, and brings with it new challenges. As members of a team that helps the nation's largest publi...

Jan 18th, 2021 - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday named Dr. Rachel Levine to service as assistant U.S. health secretary, a historic first as Levine would become the first openly transgender official to be confirmed by the Senate. The pick of Pennsylvania's top health official for a critical role during the raging COVID-19 pandemic continues Biden's pattern of selecting a historically ...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Groups nationwide are looking for ways to secure coronavirus vaccines for people of color who have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic, according to USA Today. States that rank highly on COVID-19 vulnerability indexes, in particular, have fallen behind on vaccinations for high-risk g...

Jan 18th, 2021 - Medscape UK's latest Burnout & Lifestyle Survey asked some additional questions, including about religion and spiritual beliefs. Fifty-two percent of respondents who answered this question told us they had a religious or spiritual belief, 48% did not. Seventy-six percent of the doctors who had religious or spiritual beliefs said this helped them with work challenges. So how do medicine and reli...

Jan 18th, 2021 - As we start a new year, it is important to pause and reflect on what a challenging year 2020 was for so many — one that was filled with heartbreak and uncertainty due to a pandemic, the likes of which have not been seen in our lifetime. As we remember the difficulties we've faced, and the challenges that remain, we would be remiss not to acknowledge the incredible scientific achievements that h...

Jan 18th, 2021 - JOHANNESBURG, Jan 15 (Reuters) - South African scientists have discovered chemical compounds that could potentially be used for a new line of drugs to treat malaria and even kill the parasite in its infectious stage, which most available drugs do not. The research led by the University of Pretoria, published in the Nature Communications journal this week, found that chemical compounds undergoin...

Jan 18th, 2021 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new rapid test, the Clinical Olfactory Dysfunction Assessment (CODA), uses paper strips and essential oils to help in the diagnosis of COVID-19, researchers say. "Olfactory dysfunction is not anecdotal; our study confirms its high prevalence in COVID-19 (one out of three patients), and the follow-up shows a significant proportion of patients for whom recovery is la...