Medical - global

Antiviral used for mpox no better than placebo, NIH says Just as mpox is declared a global health emergency, the antiviral tecovirimat is found to be no better than placebo against it. Jason Mast STAT

The National Institutes of Health said Thursday that an antiviral often used to treat mpox did not resolve patients’ symptoms faster than placebo in a randomized trial.

The results are notable because the drug, tecovirimat, has rarely been studied clinically for mpox, despite its wide use during the 2022 and 2023 outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe.

COVID is surging again. Here’s the latest on new variants, updated vaccines, and masking | AAMC The latest, highly contagious subvariants are driving infections, but new vaccines expected this fall may help stem the tide of another wave. AAMC

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The reason COVID-19 cases are increasing this summer is likely because people who haven’t been recently vaccinated or infected have fewer antibodies at the ready to fight off the first sign of the virus and are more likely to experience its symptoms, including fever, chills, sore throat, cough, congestion, body aches, gastrointestinal issues, and fatigue.

Healthy lifestyle lowers the risk of post-COVID complications, finds study (medicalxpress.com)

... the study found that individuals with a favorable lifestyle had a lower risk of hospitalization, lower incidence of long-term or on-going health issues affecting multiple parts of the body, and reduced risk of post-COVID death, compared to those with an unfavorable lifestyle.

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