More than half of all Americans have been personally affected by COVID-19 at this point in the pandemic, according to a new HealthDay-Harris Poll survey. The national survey was conducted by The Harris Poll between Oct. 8 and 12. It found that 55% of U.S. adults now say they know someone in their immediate or extended network of family and acquaintances who’s been infected, hospitalized or passed away from COVID-19. About two in every five people said they’d had even more direct experience with COVID-19, with either themselves or someone very close to them falling ill, being hospitalized or dying. “By now, we’re all accustomed to regularly seeing the sobering figures for COVID infection and death rates, but these findings translate to something so much bigger in terms of the full and relentless impact of the virus on millions of Americans,” said Robyn Bell Dickson, managing director of The Harris Poll. These results come in the midst of a COVID-19 resurgence in the United States, with the nation averaging 59,000 new cases a day. There have been more than 8.3 million reported infections, and around 220,000 U.S. deaths caused by COVID-19. The online poll of 2,021 U.S. adults also found that 39% reported a direct impact on their lives from the pandemic, including: Having personally had COVID-19 (7%) or being hospitalized (4%) from their infection.…  read on >

Homeless people are three times more likely to die after a heart attack than other patients, a new study finds. “Our study shows a dramatically higher rate of mortality after heart attacks in people experiencing homelessness compared to non-homeless patients,” said researcher Dr. Samantha Liauw of the University of Toronto. “More research is needed to discover the reasons for this disparity in outcomes so that the chances of survival can be improved in this vulnerable population.” Liauw and her colleagues compared more than 2,800 heart attack patients admitted to a Toronto hospital between 2008 and 2017. Of those, 75 were homeless. Among homeless patients, 19% died in the hospital, compared with 6% of others. Homeless patients were younger than others and more likely to be men. Eighty-four percent of homeless patients smoked compared to half of patients who were not homeless. Rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes were similar between the groups. Also, more homeless patients suffered from mental conditions. They were more likely than others to abuse alcohol and drugs and were more likely to suffer a serious complication of heart attack called cardiogenic shock that occurs when the heart cannot supply enough blood and oxygen to the brain and other vital organs. They were more likely than other patients to go into cardiac arrest. Both groups received medications, testing and…  read on >

The United States on Thursday recorded its second highest daily total of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with 75,000 new infections, while eight states broke single-day records of new cases. Also on Thursday, the antiviral medicine remdesivir became the first drug to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to fight COVID-19. Such drugs are urgently needed: Adding to bleak national numbers, 13 additional states have added more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch, The New York Times reported. The Midwest and Rocky Mountains are struggling to contain major outbreaks, while new hot spots are emerging in other parts of the country. Kentucky announced more than 1,470 cases on Thursday, the biggest one-day jump ever in that state. And Colorado reported more than 1,300 cases, setting another single-day record, the Times reported. In Chicago, a nightly curfew will start on Friday, after officials reported an average of 645 new cases a day this past week, the newspaper said. The current record for new daily cases was recorded in mid-July, when over 77,000 infections were recorded in one day. Coronavirus cases have also been climbing on college campuses, where more than 214,000 infections have been diagnosed this year, a Times survey showed. More than 35,000 of those cases have been reported since early October. While some colleges moved all…  read on >

The new coronavirus holds no political views. The pathogen’s only aim is to infect, spread and thrive. But in what is surely no surprise in a deeply divided America, it turns out that your political views play a large role in your attitude towards COVID-19 prevention efforts. Republicans tend to be much less worried than Democrats about the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore less likely to take steps to ward off infection, according to a new HealthDay/Harris Poll survey. Twice as many Republicans believe the U.S. reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic is overblown, 52% versus 26% of Democrats, the survey shows. Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to be optimistic that COVID-19 will be under control by early 2021 (66% versus 48%). Perhaps as a result, about seven in 10 Republicans said they accept certain risks when it comes to COVID-19 so they can go on with life as they choose, compared with about four out of 10 Democrats. Additionally, eight out of 10 Democrats (82%) said they “always” wear a mask when they go out, compared with 66% of Republicans. Similarly, twice as many Republicans think that restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19 should be lifted across the country, 55% versus 26% of Democrats. “American attitudes around COVID-19 have been deeply swayed by their political leaning,” said Robyn Bell Dickson, managing director of The…  read on >

As most of America prepares for the Nov. 1 return of standard time, 63% want one fixed, year-round time, a new survey finds. “Evidence of the negative impacts of seasonal time changes continue to accumulate, and there is real momentum behind the push to end seasonal time changes,” said Dr. Kannan Ramar, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), which favors a fixed, nationwide time. A recent position statement from AASM said public health and safety would benefit if seasonal time changes were eliminated. It called for permanent use of standard time, which it said more closely aligns with the daily rhythms of the body’s internal clock. More than 20 organizations have endorsed the statement. They include the National Safety Council, the National Parent Teacher Association and the World Sleep Society. AASM noted that time changes increase the risk of stroke, hospital admissions and sleep loss, and also add to inflammation, one of the body’s responses to stress. Researchers recently reported an 18% increase in adverse medical events due to human error in the week after switching to daylight saving time in the spring. “Permanent, year-round standard time is the best choice to most closely match our circadian sleep-wake cycle,” said Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, a specialist in sleep medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire, Wisc. “Daylight saving time results in…  read on >

Coronavirus outbreaks in the Midwest and Western United States have driven the national case count to its highest level since August, fueling fears of what the coming winter will mean for the country. COVID-19 cases are starting to climb in 36 states, including parts of the Northeast, which is starting to backslide after months of progress, The New York Times reported. More than 820 new deaths and more than 54,500 new cases were announced across the country on Tuesday, the newspaper said. Idaho and Wisconsin set single-day records for new cases. About 50,000 new cases are being reported each day in the United States for the week ending Monday, the Times reported. That is still less than in late July, when the country was seeing more than 66,000 cases each day. But the trajectory is worsening, and experts fear what could happen as cold weather drives people indoors, where the virus can spread more easily, the newspaper said. The latest spike in cases shows up just before the increased mingling of people that comes with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sixteen states each added more new cases in the seven-day period ending Monday than they had in any other weeklong stretch of the pandemic. North Dakota and South Dakota are reporting more new cases per person than any state has previously, the Times reported. “A lot…  read on >

The nation’s top infectious diseases expert warned Wednesday that Americans need to consider canceling family gatherings for Thanksgiving because coronavirus cases are now surging in 37 states. Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News that those surges might worsen if families across the country travel and gather for the beloved holiday. “That is unfortunately a risk, when you have people coming from out of town, gathering together in an indoor setting,” he told CBS News. “It is unfortunate, because that’s such a sacred part of American tradition — the family gathering around Thanksgiving. But that is a risk.” Asked what his advice would be to Americans making plans for the November holiday, Fauci had this to say: “I think people should be very careful and prudent about social gatherings, particularly when members of the family might be at a risk because of their age or their underlying condition. You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering, unless you’re pretty certain that the people that you’re dealing with are not infected.” Fauci noted that his own family’s Thanksgiving “is going to look very different this year.” His children, who live in three different states, will not come home for the holiday to protect his health since he is 79 and considered high-risk. “They themselves, because of their concern for me and my age,…  read on >

The number of new U.S. coronavirus cases topped 60,000 on Thursday, a tally not reported since early August, as health experts worried the coming winter might push the toll even higher. The latest numbers have also sent the country’s total COVID-19 case count past 8 million, the The New York Times reported. The surge is nationwide, with cases multiplying across the country: Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have higher caseloads now than in mid-September, and the new coronavirus is spreading across rural communities in the Midwest, the Upper Midwest and the Great Plains, the Washington Post reported. On Thursday, Wisconsin set a record with more than 4,000 new cases reported, the newspaper said. Illinois also reported more than 4,000 cases on Thursday, breaking records that were set in April and May. Ohio set a new high, as did Indiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana and Colorado, the Post reported. “We know that this is going to get worse before it gets better,” Wisconsin Department of Health Services secretary-designee Andrea Palm said during a briefing Thursday, the Post reported. “Stay home. Wear a mask. Stay six feet apart. Wash your hands frequently.” Some hospitals in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains have become jammed with patients and are running low on ICU beds, the Post reported. Montana reported a record 301 hospitalized COVID-19 patients…  read on >