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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

In boost for COVID-19 battle, Pfizer vaccine found 94% effective in real world
Reuters - February 25, 2021
Up until now, most data on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has come under controlled conditions in clinical trials, leaving an element of uncertainty over how results would translate into the real world with its unpredictable variables. The research in Israel - two months into one of the world’s fastest rollouts, providing a rich source of data - showed two doses of the Pfizer shot cut symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94% across all age groups, and severe illnesses by nearly as much. The study of about 1.2 million people also showed a single shot was 57% effective in protecting against symptomatic infections after two weeks, according to the data published and peer-reviewed in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.
FDA Analysis Of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Finds It Safe, Effective
NPR - February 25, 2021
The FDA released an analysis of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday morning that supports its authorization for emergency use. On Friday, a panel of advisers to the agency will meet to evaluate the vaccine and make a recommendation about whether it should be given the OK. If the agency goes on to authorize the J&J vaccine, it would be the third, after those made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, to become available in the U.S. … Immunization with the J&J vaccine requires only one shot, unlike the two-shot dosing for the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. The J&J vaccine also doesn't require special refrigeration for shipment and storage.
Gyms with maskless users shown to be at high risk for COVID spread: Study
Good Morning America - February 25, 2021
The CDC are urging people to stop ignoring face covering and social distancing rules when they hit the gym after two new studies confirmed they are strong spreader locations. … In Hawaii, 21 people contracted the virus in July from a cycling fitness instructor who had the disease and taught classes for three days. In the Chicago location, 55 out of 81 people who attended high-intensity fitness classes during the last week of August contracted COVID-19, the studies said. The common factor in both outbreaks was the lack of mask use, according to the CDC report.
New Findings on 2 Ways Children Become Seriously Ill From the Coronavirus
The New York Times - February 25, 2021
The study, published on Wednesday in the journal JAMA, analyzed 1,116 cases of young people who were treated at 66 hospitals in 31 states. Slightly more than half the patients had acute Covid-19 … while 539 patients had the inflammatory syndrome that has erupted in some children weeks after they have had a typically mild initial infection. … Young people with the syndrome, called [MIS-C], were more likely to be between 6 and 12 years of age, while more than 80 percent of the patients with acute Covid-19 were either younger than 6 or older than 12. More than two-thirds of patients with either condition were Black or Hispanic…
New data suggest ‘long COVID’ symptoms last up to 9 months: Fauci
The Hill - February 25, 2021
Fauci shared the findings of research conducted by the University of Washington during a White House news briefing on the novel coronavirus. He stated that nearly 30 percent of patients reported symptoms including fatigue, sleep disorders and shortness of breath lasting for months. Researchers have referred to the symptoms as Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), which can often develop some time after the initial infection and can range from being mild to “incapacitating,” Fauci stated. “The magnitude of the problem is not fully known,” Fauci said.
California coronavirus variant may spread faster, inflict severe disease, early data suggests
Fox News - February 25, 2021
Early data suggests a coronavirus variant first detected in California may be more transmissible, possibly cause more severe disease, and could have an impact on vaccine efficacy. Study authors are awaiting approval from public health departments for publishing of a preprint, though Dr. Charles Chiu, co-study author ... "I am worried, concerned but not panicking about this," Chiu said. "This is something that needs to be further investigated…”
People with antibodies after COVID-19 may have short-term virus protection: Study
ABC News - February 25, 2021
People who test positive for antibodies after being sick with the virus that causes COVID-19 may have protection against reinfection for at least a few months, according to a new study. Researchers from the NIH analyzed 3 million antibody test results … [and] found that people with positive antibody tests were only about one-tenth as likely as those who didn't have antibodies to test positive for the virus 90 days after their initial antibody test. After 90 days, a positive test likely represents a new infection rather than viral shedding from the original infection.
COVID in Pregnancy Tied to Higher Odds for ‘Preemie’ Delivery
HealthDay - February 25, 2021
Pregnant women with COVID-19 may be more likely to have a preterm birth. But they don't have an increased risk of stillbirth or baby death soon after birth, researchers found. … None of the women's babies died from COVID-19, and the women didn't have higher-than-normal rates of stillbirth or low birth weight babies, according to the study. … The rate of preterm birth among the U.S. women was almost 16%, which is 57% higher than the national average of 10%.