Researchers Theorize Long COVID May Be an Autoimmune Disease
The National Institutes of Health is conducting a $470 million study to determine why COVID-19 symptoms persist for so long among many patients.
IVIG Plus Glucocorticoids Effective for Treating COVID-19 Pediatric Syndrome
A large multicenter clinical trial has found intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) plus glucocorticoids may be better than IVIG alone for treating multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) caused by COVID-19.
Studies Reveal Antibody Responses of Pregnant Women Infected with SARS-CoV-2
Two recent studies effectively determined the antibody responses of pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 and the effect of the fetal sex on those responses, as well as the direct clinical implications for COVID-19 infection and future maternal-fetal vaccination strategies.
CMS Launches New Medicare.gov Tool to Compare Nursing Home Vaccination Rates
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making it easier to check COVID-19 vaccination rates for nursing home staff and residents by making vaccination data available in a user-friendly format.
HHS Announces the Availability of $25.5 Billion in COVID-19 Provider Funding
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is making $25.5 billion in new funding available for healthcare providers affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic.
OCR Issues Guidance on HIPAA, COVID-19 Vaccinations and the Workplace
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance to help the public understand when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule applies to disclosures and requests for information about whether a person has received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Universal Flu Vaccines Advance from Concept to Clinical Trials
“Scientists have identified components of the influenza virus that do not really change muchat all. The critical challenge is getting a vaccine to induce a response to those components.”
— Anthony Fauci, MD, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Anti-COVID Monoclonal Cocktails
Newly created treatments for high-risk COVID-19 patients have proved highly effective. Unfortunately, challenges with their distribution and administration have limited their use.
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children: A Complication of COVID-19
Much remains to be learned about this new condition affecting a growing number of children. However, it is hoped with increased vaccination and fewer cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, case numbers of MIS-C will also go down.
Against the Storm: High-Dose IVIG as an Immunoregulatory Treatment Strategy for Severe COVID-19
While there may be no “magic bullet” to treat cytokine storm, one widely used immunomodulatory agent in particular — polyclonal intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) purified from healthy donor plasma — is distinguished by the simple fact that it is anything but a narrowly targeted treatment.
