Coronavirus

Will I Be Able To See A Dentist Before A Coronavirus Vaccine Is Available?

By 5 months ago

If you received an email from your dentist in late March explaining that they will only be available for emergency visits, you are not alone.

This new

… Read More

Popular heartburn medicine being studied as treatment for coronavirus

By 5 months ago

Over the past few weeks researchers have been discreetly studying a new potential treatment for COVID-19 — and it might not be what you expect.

The treatment in question is called famotidine, and it’s the active ingredient in Pepcid, an over-the-counter medication commonly used to alleviate heartburn.

Since March 13, researchers at Northwell Health, a network of hospitals in New York, have been enrolling patients hospitalized with COVID-19 into their study of famotidine, which is being delivered through an IV in megadoses nine times greater than the typical over-the-counter dose. The drug is being given in combination with the much-touted antimalarial hydroxychloroquine.

Researchers said some data on safety will be available “in a few weeks,” but did not say when data will be available showing whether the drug combination is effective.

Dr. Kevin Tracey, CEO and president of the Feinsteins Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health, says the study

… Read More

Coronavirus: How can China build a hospital so quickly?

By 5 months ago

Diggers on the site of the new hospital in WuhanImage copyright
Getty Images

Image caption

Constuction on the site in Wuhan has already begun with staff hoping it will be completed within six days

The Chinese city of Wuhan is set to complete a hospital in six days in order to treat patients suspected of contracting the coronavirus.

There are now about 10,000 confirmed cases in China, 213 of whom have died.

The outbreak began in Wuhan, home to around 11 million people. Hospitals in the city have been flooded with concerned residents and pharmacies are running out of medicine.

According to state media, the new hospital will contain about 1,000 beds.

Video footage posted online by Chinese state media showed diggers at the site, which has an area of 25,000 square metres (269,000 square feet).

After five days, progress could be seen on the once empty site.

Interactive

See how the new Wuhan hospital has taken shape

January

… Read More

Dentist creates 3D masks to fight coronavirus shortages

By 5 months ago

CUMMING, Ga. — A Georgia dentist spent the weekend brainstorming with friends that had a background in engineering and medicine to help fill the shortage of face masks for those on the front line.

Dr. Mark Causey runs a 3D capable orthodontic office that can scan patients and create full models of their teeth.

As dental offices close during the coronavirus outbreak, Causey has found a way to help the rest of the medical community. 

“There have been nurses in OR’s that have written my staff messages saying they were crying because they weren’t being given the proper equipment,” explains Causey.

He started by creating a 3D design for a mask that, when adding a filter and seal, can make potential substitutes for medical professionals. 

3D Printing Mask

Dr. Mark Causey

Causey has made over 80 in the past few days and says it’s “better than a bandanna, a scarf

… Read More

Dentist says coronavirus crisis is a ‘disaster’ for dental care in Cornwall

By 5 months ago

A dentist in Cornwall says that the coronavirus crisis has created a “major problem for dentistry in Cornwall, in fact it’s a disaster”.

Jason Smithson, on behalf of the British Association of Private Dentistry, has hit out that there is only one emergency Urgent Dental Care Centre operating for the whole of Cornwall, offering only limited treatment.

The dentist says that people in the county are in agony and not receiving the treatment they desperately need and that many dental businesses could be bankrupt within weeks leaving patients without access to care.

Dr Smithson says that the situation is exceptionally disastrous for Cornwall as it already has well-documented access problems for patients, which are being exacerbated by the current situation.

“We now have perhaps the most major problem in the history of dentistry in Cornwall,” said Dr Smithson. 

“We only have one urgent dental care centre offering emergency treatment for

… Read More

These Babies Have Little Face Shields On To Protect Them From The Coronavirus

By 5 months ago


Lillian Suwanrumpha / Getty Images

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.

They’ve been born into a world gripped by a viral pandemic that they know nothing about — but that doesn’t mean they don’t need protection.

Babies born at a hospital in Thailand have been fitted with special plastic face shields to protect them from contamination from the coronavirus.

The masks are designed to stop any droplets with the virus from coughs or sneezes from reaching the baby’s face.

In a statement on Facebook, staff at the Praram 9 Hospital in the capital of Bangkok said the masks were being used “because safety is what we care about the most.”

Photos from the maternity ward on Thursday showed nurses wearing surgical masks

… Read More

Navy hospital ship to see patients from Philadelphia amid coronavirus

By 5 months ago

A view of the USNS Comfort at the Pier 90 on April 1, 2020 in New York City. The Comfort, a naval hospital ship, is equipped to take in patients within 24 hours but will not be treating patients with COVID-19. The ship’s 1,000 beds and 12 operation rooms will help ease the pressure on New York hospitals, many of which are now overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

Nancy Rivera | Bauer-Griffin | Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced Thursday that it will begin to receive patients from the greater Philadelphia area on the USNS Comfort hospital ship amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“In anticipation of medical support needed in the greater Philadelphia area, the USNS Comfort is prepared to admit patients within a one-hour traveling radius from the ship,” according to a statement by Northern Command, the Pentagon’s lead for Covid-19 operations in the United States.

The Pentagon deployed the

… Read More

Island fans say they would be hesitant to return to stands at stadiums because of the coronavirus

By 5 months ago

When the coronavirus first started wreaking havoc on the world, some professional sports leagues played their games without any fans in the stands to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

But even when the social-distancing restrictions are lifted and fans are allowed to attend games, some arenas and stadiums may still be near empty.

That according to a recent metropolitan area poll asking fans if they would return to arenas and stadiums. A whopping 72% of the people polled said they would no longer attend games if there was no vaccine for COVID-19, which has claimed the lives of more than 109,000 worldwide, including around 20,000 in New York state.

Those polled included sports fans and non-sports enthusiasts. Still, 61% were sports fans and the results don’t bode well for sports franchises.

Closer to home, some Staten Islanders feel the same about attending professional games in the future.

“I

… Read More

Singer Pink reveals she had coronavirus, donates $500,000 to Temple University Hospital

By 5 months ago

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Doylestown native P!nk revealed Friday night that she has recovered from coronavirus and is donating $500,000 to Temple University Hospital in honor of her mother as medical professionals there and all over the country continue to fight the virus.

According to P!nk’s social media accounts, she and her son began showing symptoms of COVID-19 about two weeks ago. She tested positive and spent the last couple of weeks sheltering at home.

She said they were retested a few days ago and the tests came back negative.

In her social media post, the singer criticized the government response to the pandemic and said that testing should be more available to the public.

“This illness is serious and real. People need to know that the illness affects the young and old, healthy and unhealthy, rich and poor, and we must make testing free and more widely accessible to protect

… Read More

Post-Soviet strongmen prescribe vodka, hockey and folk medicine against coronavirus

By 5 months ago

Take, for instance, Belarus, a small country sandwiched between Russia and European Union member Poland: President Alexander Lukashenko has shrugged off concerns about Covid-19, telling his people that hockey, vodka, and banya — a traditional sauna — are the best cures.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country of 9.5 million people for more than a quarter of a century, has imposed few restrictions to prevent coronavirus from spreading further.

Restaurants, parks and bars remain open. Mass sporting events go on as scheduled and attract hundreds of spectators, in defiance of the World Health Organization’s social distancing recommendations. The Belarussian Premier League is now the only soccer competition on the continent.

And Lukashenko himself hasn’t limited public appearances, opting to play in a hockey match on Saturday.

“It’s better to die standing than to live on your knees,” he said, rinkside in full hockey gear, in an interview with state television.
… Read More