On COVID Vaccinations, Pope Says Health Care is a ‘Moral Obligation’

On COVID Vaccinations, Pope Says Health Care is a ‘Moral Obligation’

Pope Francis greets the pilgrims during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s square at the Vatican on May 28, 2014. (Shutterstock) By NPR ROME — Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the […]

Our Relationship With COVID Vaccines is Just Getting Started

We probably will need additional shots. But just how many depends on our immune systems, the virus, and how often they collide.

Our Relationship With COVID Vaccines is Just Getting Started

By Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic Walter Barker has, since the fall of 2020, had five doses of COVID-19 vaccine. He’s already starting to ponder when he might need a sixth. Barker, a 38-year-old office worker in New York, received his first two doses a year ago, as part of an AstraZeneca vaccine trial. But […]

They were so careful, for so long. They got Covid anyway.

‘I’d just ruined everybody’s Christmas, including my own family’s’.

They were so careful, for so long. They got Covid anyway.

By Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post Fareha Ahmed had been cautious since the beginning of the pandemic. She had eaten in restaurants only three times. She and her husband were vaccinated and boosted, and their 7-year-old got vaccinated in November as soon as he was eligible. In mid-December, Ahmed, 39, who lives in Brightwood Park in […]

Additional Paid Leave for Child Vaccinations Goes Into Effect December 24, Available Retroactively to November 2

Additional Paid Leave for Child Vaccinations Goes Into Effect December 24, Available Retroactively to November 2

NEW YORK, NY – Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Peter A. Hatch today announced that the amendment to the NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law that provides additional leave for parents to get their kids vaccinated goes into effect tomorrow. In an effort to keeping the city healthy during the pandemic, the […]

Stay Safe and Healthy Over the Holidays

Stay Safe and Healthy Over the Holidays

By Dr. Dave A. Chokshi  The holidays are here, and I know many New Yorkers are making difficult decisions on how to connect with family, friends and loved ones. This is a time of the year we all look forward to, and while this holiday may not be exactly what we wished for, we can […]

COVID-19 Cases Tripled in the Americas in 2021, but Millions Now Protected Thanks to Vaccine

Vaccine inequity continues to divide the region. Lessons must be learned to bring pandemic under control and ensure access to future COVID-19 therapeutics.

COVID-19 Cases Tripled in the Americas in 2021, but Millions Now Protected Thanks to Vaccine

Washington D.C. (PAHO) – While COVID-19 infections tripled in 2021 and health systems struggled to cope, “we have learned what it takes to bring this virus under control,” and must urgently address gaps in vaccine access to ensure everyone is protected, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne urged. “When we compare […]

Omicron: South African Scientists Probe Link Between Variants and Untreated HIV

Omicron: South African Scientists Probe Link Between Variants and Untreated HIV

By Andrew Harding, BBC News South African scientists – hailed for their discovery of Omicron – are investigating the “highly plausible hypothesis” that the emergence of new Covid-19 variants could be linked, in some cases, to mutations taking place inside infected people whose immune systems have already been weakened by other factors, including, though not […]

Full Vaccination Against Covid-19 and a Breakthrough Infection Builds ‘Super Immunity,’ Study Finds

Full Vaccination Against Covid-19 and a Breakthrough Infection Builds ‘Super Immunity,’ Study Finds

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY A study by Oregon researchers finds that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 who have a breakthrough infection end up with what the authors call “super immunity.” They caution the vaccinated should not seek COVID-19 infection, but the “hybrid immunity” offers some solace for those who catch one despite having been […]