Global Health

Study: Paxlovid safe, effective in pregnancy EmiliaU / iStock CIDRAP

A study based on 211 pregnant women given the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir and ritonavir (Paxlovid) during pregnancy for acute COVID-19 infections shows no increased risk of adverse events in the women or their babies and a reduced risk of complications called the maternal morbidity and mortality index (MMMI).

The findings, published today in Nature Medicine, suggest the drug is safe to use in pregnancy and is effective in reducing MMMI risk but not COVID-related hospitalizations.

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Health misinformation and lack of confidence in vaccines continue to grow, years after the Covid-19 pandemic, survey shows | CNN Vaccine misinformation, which first began spiraling during the Covid-19 pandemic, has grown in the United States in the years since, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Carma Hassan CNN

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Unapproved stem-cell therapies marketed to people with long COVID Evgeniia Medvedeva/iStock CIDRAP

New research has identified 38 direct-to-consumer businesses marketing stem-cell treatments and exosome therapies for COVID-19 infections and, especially, long COVID, despite lacking approval by US Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory body in the United States. Descriptions of the businesses and an analysis of their marketing strategies are published in Stem Cell Reports.

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