Coronavirus COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2): The Latest News, Updates and Information

THURSDAY, April, 9, 2020 -- Some doctors are questioning the way ventilators are being used for people with serious cases of COVID-19. Why? More data shows a high death rate for patients treated under current ventilator practices.

At the same time, doctors are saying patients are showing mystery COVID-19 lung problems and symptoms. Some behave more like they have high altitude sickness than a viral infection... Read more

THURSDAY, April 9, 2020 -- With the U.S. coronavirus death toll edging closer to 15,000 on Thursday, Americans faced more bleak news on unemployment numbers.

U.S. Labor Department statistics released Thursday morning showed that... Read more

THURSDAY, April 9, 2020 -- If you or your child has type 1 diabetes, you already have a lot of extra health worries, and now you need to add COVID-19 infections to the list.

You may be wondering if you have a higher risk of catching COVID-19, if you'll be able to get your diabetes supplies and how you might handle the illness if you do get sick.

Is your risk of COVID-19 higher? Read more

THURSDAY, April 9, 2020 -- As happens with colds and the flu, might COVID-19 begin to fade with hotter weather? And a new study conducted between early January and early March in 224 coronavirus-endemic cities found that... Read more

WEDNESDAY, April 8, 2020 -- The coronavirus death rate in New York City is two times higher among men than among women, and men also have higher rates of infection and hospitalization, new data show.

Experts say there are a number of possible explanations for the male/female disparity, including... Read more

April 7, 2020 -- As doctors treat more patients who are severely ill from COVID-19, they're noticing differences in how their lungs are damaged.

Some patients coming to the hospital have... Read more

Tests for coronavirus may use two methods to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of COVID-19 disease, a debilitating and potentially deadly viral pneumonia.

The first and most prevalent method to detect the virus in individuals is based on... Read more

Many emergency room workers remove their clothes as soon as they get home -- some before they even enter. Does that mean you should worry about COVID-19 transmission from your own clothing, towels, and other textiles?

While researchers found that the virus can remain on some surfaces for up to 72 hours, the study... Read more

A widely available anti-parasite drug is getting a fresh look after a study published Friday shows it may be useful against COVID-19.

Usually prescribed for pinworm and nematode infections, and sometimes head lice, ivermectin (Stromectol) was shown to reduce viral colonies of COVID-19 by 5,000 times within... Read more

To protect those they love from a virus that can kill, people online are flooding the internet with search results for the best vitamins, foods, and activities to boost your immune system against coronavirus COVID-19.

The internet provides plenty of answers—some reliable, others not... Read more

Spanish flu was the most devastating pandemic ever recorded, leaving major figures like medical philanthropist Bill Gates to draw comparisons to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. How did the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic cause such a high death toll? And how can the Spanish flu prepare us for coronavirus?

It started as a mild flu season, not different from any other. When its first wave hit in the spring of 1918, the Spanish flu seemed like just another flu. But then... Read more

The American Red Cross is seeking blood plasma donations from COVID-19 coronavirus survivors in the hope that their immune antibodies can help the sickest patients fight the infection.

This approach, called convalescent serum antibody therapy, has been effective against other viral infections. "People who have fully recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies in their plasma that can attack the virus... Read more

Public health officials have been warning that a COVID-19 vaccine will not be available to the public for 12 to 18 months, dampening hopes that there will be a quick end to the global pandemic nightmare.

But Chinese researchers cracked the virus' genetic code within weeks of its emergence late last year, and two vaccine candidates are already in early human trials -- one in China and the other in the United States.

What's the hold up? Read more

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, remains viable in aerosols for hours and on surfaces for days, according to a new study.

The data indicate that the stability of the new virus is similar to that of SARS-CoV-1, which caused the SARS epidemic. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has quickly outstripped the pace of the 2003 SARS epidemic. "Superspread" of the earlier disease arose from infection during medical procedures, in which a single infected individual seeded many secondary cases. In contrast, the novel coronavirus appears to be spread more through... Read more

Besides causing COVID-19, the new coronavirus can also lead to "pink eye," and Chinese researchers say the virus may be spread by tears.

Of 38 patients with COVID-19, a dozen also had pink eye (conjunctivitis), a new study found. In two patients, the coronavirus was present in both nasal and eye fluids... Read more

In the midst of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and clinics are running out of masks. Healthcare workers are going online to beg for more, the hashtags #GetMePPE and #WeNeedPPE are trending on Twitter, and some hospitals have even put out public calls for mask donations. They know that the moment the masks run out, they're at increased risk for disease. So instead of waiting for mask shipments that may be weeks off, some people are making their own... Read more

Researchers are gathering data from thousands of Americans to create an "early warning system" that can identify people in the early stages of COVID-19.

More than 12,000 people -- including thousands of health care workers in California and West Virginia -- are already wearing specially designed Oura rings that track... Read more

When Joan's 94-year-old mother got sick in mid-March with symptoms of the new coronavirus, her family called an ambulance to rush her to the hospital. But as they prepared to follow the ambulance to the hospital, paramedics in full protective gear broke the news: The hospital was no longer allowing visitors to go with patients inside in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

So Joan's mother went to the emergency room, and then on to the intensive care unit, and she never... Read more

A drug originally developed to treat Ebola is getting a second chance in the spotlight, as research teams in the United States, Asia and Europe race to test it against the new coronavirus

The drug, called remdesivir, has already been given to a limited number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, on a "compassionate use" basis... Read more