Health Info, In the News

COVID-19 Update from Dr. Jones

Dear Patient:

I hope this finds you well. Currently there are 33 persons hospitalized at NCH with COVID and we have tested 25,500 people. Recently, the positivity rate of tests in Collier County is down to 8% (less than 10% is good). Please remember to remain vigilant with hand washing, social distancing and mask wearing when exposed to others. Below are several very interesting articles I liked:


 

COVID-19 rapid test distribution to start this month

HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir, M.D., said the administration will start sending rapid COVID-19 tests to governors later this month, leaving states to decide how to distribute the $5 tests, which return results within 15 minutes. The administration announced last week that it will purchase 150 million of the tests from Abbott Laboratories for distribution through the remainder of this year.

Full Story: The Hill (9/1)

 

Panel releases COVID-19 vaccine distribution proposal

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released draft guidelines for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine calling for a four-phase distribution strategy. The first phase would prioritize health care workers, first responders and people with underlying health conditions that put them at increased risk from COVID-19, as well as older adults in nursing homes, assisted living and other dense residential settings.

Full Story: The Hill (9/1)

Researchers say coronavirus antibodies may last at least four months after diagnosis

The AP (9/1, Marchione) reports researchers tested more than 30,000 people in Iceland and found “antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.