THURSDAY, Feb. 4, 2020 (HealthDay) — Being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 is not a foolproof shield against reinfection, a small preliminary study warns. The finding stems from tracking nearly 3,250 young U.S. Marine recruits between May and October. Of those, 189 had previously tested positive for the SAR-CoV-2 virus. During the six-week study itself, 10% of those who had tested positive got reinfected. “You don’t have a get-out-of-jail-free card just because you have antibodies from a previous infection,” said study author Dr. Stuart Sealfon. He’s a professor of neurology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, which conducted the study in collaboration with the Naval Medical Research Center. The findings were recently published in the preprint server medRXiv and have not been peer-reviewed. All the Marines were beginning basic training and were initially held in Navy quarantine for two weeks, after two weeks of at-home quarantine, according to the study. Once training began, recruits were tested for COVID-19 every two weeks over a six-week period. The result: 19 of the 189 recruits who already had COVID tested positive for a second infection during the study. Researchers said first- and second- infections involved the same strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and none involved the new, more transmissible U.K., South African or Brazilian strains that have raised alarm in…  read on >  read on >

Want to live like you did in the carefree days before the pandemic? Just roll up your sleeve when your turn comes to get the COVID-19 vaccine, three major medical groups urge in a new public service campaign. The vaccines are safe, effective and will help end the pandemic, according to the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association. “To defeat COVID-19 and get back the moments with friends and family we all miss, we need as many shots in arms as possible,” said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the hospital association. “It’s imperative that all Americans consider the health of their loved ones and make the decision to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it is their turn,” Pollack said in a joint association news release. Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, agreed, calling on Americans to exercise civic responsibility. “Whether enough people get the COVID-19 vaccine decides our future and the future toll of the virus, so be ready to do your part,” Bailey said. What if you have concerns in the meantime? Ernest Grant, president of the American Nurses Association, suggested reaching out to a nurse, doctor or other health care professional to get your questions answered. “Try to connect with someone you know and trust who has received a COVID-19 vaccine and ask them about…  read on >  read on >

THURSDAY, Feb. 4, 2020 (HealthDay) — Being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 is not a foolproof shield against reinfection, a small preliminary study warns. The finding stems from tracking nearly 3,250 young U.S. Marine recruits between May and October. Of those, 189 had previously tested positive for the SAR-CoV-2 virus. During the six-week study itself, 10% of those who had tested positive got reinfected. “You don’t have a get-out-of-jail-free card just because you have antibodies from a previous infection,” said study author Dr. Stuart Sealfon. He’s a professor of neurology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, which conducted the study in collaboration with the Naval Medical Research Center. The findings were recently published in the preprint server medRXiv and have not been peer-reviewed. All the Marines were beginning basic training and were initially held in Navy quarantine for two weeks, after two weeks of at-home quarantine, according to the study. Once training began, recruits were tested for COVID-19 every two weeks over a six-week period. The result: 19 of the 189 recruits who already had COVID tested positive for a second infection during the study. Researchers said first- and second- infections involved the same strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and none involved the new, more transmissible U.K., South African or Brazilian strains that have raised alarm in…  read on >  read on >

Want to live like you did in the carefree days before the pandemic? Just roll up your sleeve when your turn comes to get the COVID-19 vaccine, three major medical groups urge in a new public service campaign. The vaccines are safe, effective and will help end the pandemic, according to the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association. “To defeat COVID-19 and get back the moments with friends and family we all miss, we need as many shots in arms as possible,” said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the hospital association. “It’s imperative that all Americans consider the health of their loved ones and make the decision to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it is their turn,” Pollack said in a joint association news release. Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, agreed, calling on Americans to exercise civic responsibility. “Whether enough people get the COVID-19 vaccine decides our future and the future toll of the virus, so be ready to do your part,” Bailey said. What if you have concerns in the meantime? Ernest Grant, president of the American Nurses Association, suggested reaching out to a nurse, doctor or other health care professional to get your questions answered. “Try to connect with someone you know and trust who has received a COVID-19 vaccine and ask them about…  read on >  read on >

They’re medical miracles: A new report finds that vaccines against 10 major diseases prevented 37 million deaths between 2000 and 2019 in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, with young children benefiting most. Vaccinations are also projected to prevent a total of 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030, researchers say. Their modeling study also shows that vaccination against the 10 diseases — including measles, rotavirus, HPV and hepatitis B — means that people born in 2019 will have a 72% lower risk of death from those diseases over their lifetime. “There has been a much-needed investment in childhood vaccination programs in low-income and middle-income countries [LMICs] and this has led to an increase in the number of children vaccinated,” explained study co-author Caroline Trotter, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. The greatest benefit of vaccination is among children under age 5. In this age group, deaths from the 10 diseases would be 45% higher without vaccination, according to findings published Jan. 29 inThe Lancet medical journal. Vaccinations against measles will have the biggest impact, preventing 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2030. Over the lifetime of people born between those years, vaccination will prevent 120 million deaths — 65 million of them in kids under age 5. The study assessed vaccination programs in 98 countries. Other pathogens studied were…  read on >  read on >