In addition to wearing a well-fitting mask, all travelers should maintain a physical distance of six feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash hands often. Anyone who is sick or who has tested positive for COVID should not travel by public transportation if at all possible. Stay current on travel advisories from regulatory agencies. The immune system responds to COVID infection by stimulating white blood cells called lymphocytes to form antibodies that fight the infection.
These antibodies and lymphocytes retain a temporary protective effect against reinfection. But it is only temporary. There was a rise in reinfections with the Delta variant, and an explosive increase in the reinfection rate due to the Omicron variant. Omicron has about 50 mutations, including more than 30 mutations on the spike protein, the region of the virus that our immune systems recognize after previous infection.
Because of this, Omicron is more capable than previous variants of evading our immune defenses and causing reinfection. We have learned that vaccination plus a booster dose strengthens the natural immune response, even in those who have been previously infected, and further reduces the risk of reinfection. Although breakthrough infections after vaccination are also more common with Omicron than previous variants, vaccination continues to protect well against severe illness. Vaccines against pneumonia, such as pneumococcal vaccine and Hemophilus influenza type B Hib vaccine, only help protect people from these specific bacterial infections.
They do not protect against any coronavirus pneumonia, including pneumonia that may be part of COVID However, even though these vaccines do not specifically protect against the coronavirus that causes COVID, they are highly recommended to protect against other respiratory illnesses. However, pets can spread other infections that cause illness, including E. Research has found that cats and ferrets are more likely to become infected than dogs. This means you should forgo petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked, and sharing food or bedding with your pet until you are feeling better.
When possible, have another member of your household care for your pets while you are sick. If you must care for your pet while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with your pets and wear a face mask. Your immune system is your body's defense system. When a harmful invader — like a cold or flu virus, or the coronavirus that causes COVID — gets into your body, your immune system mounts an attack.
Known as an immune response, this attack is a sequence of events that involves various cells and unfolds over time. Following general health guidelines is the best step you can take toward keeping your immune system strong and healthy. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and bolstered by healthy-living strategies such as these:. There is no evidence that taking high-dose vitamin D protects you against getting infected with this coronavirus.
In addition, if you are infected, it does not prevent a more severe illness. However, most studies looking at people hospitalized with COVID found that having an abnormally low vitamin D blood level was associated with a worse outcome, including death, compared to patients with a normal blood level.
These studies are observational only, meaning they only show a link between low vitamin D levels and a higher risk of severe illness. This does not mean that the low level caused the worse outcome.
The best advice regarding COVID is similar to what is recommended to maintain bone health — making sure you get enough vitamin D to meet standard requirements. Our bodies make vitamin D when exposed to sunshine. Five to 10 minutes of sun exposure on some or most days of the week to the arms, legs, or back without sunscreen will enable you to make enough of the vitamin. Good food sources of vitamin D include fatty fish such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon , foods fortified with vitamin D such as dairy products, soy milk, and cereals , cheese, and egg yolks.
The recommended dietary dose of vitamin D is IU each day for adults 70 and younger, and IU each day for adults over For adults, the risk of harmful effects increases above 4, IU per day. Load comments 0. Let us know if there is a problem with our content. Your message to the editors. Your email only if you want to be contacted back. Send Feedback.
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I'm OK with that Cookie options. E-mail newsletter. It appears that you are currently using Ad Blocking software. What are the consequences? From New York City to Seattle, the widespread absences have only added to the difficulty of keeping students on track in yet another pandemic-disrupted school year.
He won funding through a neighborhood small-business contest for minority and women-owned businesses. It is thanks to this community that we were able to share our story with thousands of people, whether at our restaurant, in interviews, or on Chopped. It was thanks to our customers that we were able to stay open and help provide meals to those in need throughout this pandemic.
Covid cases among U. A record 57, nursing-home workers tested positive for Covid during the week ending Jan. Cases are also spiking among nursing-home residents. About 32, residents tested positive last week, close to the previous peak in late While deaths have also increased, much of the nursing-home population is vaccinated, and the death rate is about one-tenth what it was last winter.
Nursing-home industry groups called on the federal government to provide tests, booster shots, treatments and other support. The Covid burden on U. The omicron surge in the U.
Although the ratio of severe outcomes to cases is lower, the sheer number of infections is so high that hospitalizations and intensive-care unit admissions have shot up as well. Some parts of the Northeast are flashing signs that the wave itself may have crested, echoing the experience of South Africa, where the surge was intense but ultimately short-lived. Hints of that have started to show in the moderating uptick in new hospital arrivals.
Yet intensive-care unit bed utilization and ultimately deaths significantly lag infections, which means even the Northeast probably still faces grueling weeks ahead. President Joe Biden said Thursday he is deploying military doctors, nurses and others to six hospitals in six states, including New York and New Jersey, to ease pressures on medical staff. The intensity of the viral peaks can be particularly challenging in rural parts of the country, where hospital staffing is more limited and facilities are farther apart.
Everything you need to know about masks: What kind to get, where to buy them, and how often you can reuse them — p. With the highly contagious Omicron variant driving a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, the discussion over the most effective face coverings to stave off infection has again been elevated in the headlines. But shifting guidance and shady online retailers marketing masks that turn out to be counterfeit have left many scratching their heads.
Here we try to break down some of the most common questions surrounding masks — from learning how to detect frauds to knowing when to toss them out.
She said that as of a couple of days ago, 1, teachers and other school staff were out with COVID Biden also announced that starting next week 1, military medical personnel will begin deploying across the country to help overwhelmed medical facilities ease staff shortages due to the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Many facilities are struggling because their workers are in at-home quarantines due to the virus at the same time as a nationwide spike in COVID cases. The new deployments will be on top of other federal medical personnel who have already been sent to states to help with acute shortages.
Read more R. Nicole Alexander-Scott stepping down — a. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the state Department of Health, is stepping down, the state announced Thursday. Officials said the teams are expected to help triage patients arriving at hospitals to offset staffing challenges at emergency departments. Read more Mass. Massachusetts has joined a nationwide effort to test white-tailed deer for COVID, after prior studies detected virus antibodies in the animals, officials said.
Most Mass. Russia on Thursday recorded a sharp increase in coronavirus cases amid warnings by government officials that another surge in infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant could be on its way. The task force also recorded new deaths. The new spike in infections comes after a steady decline of new cases over several weeks following an earlier record-setting surge. Starting next week, 1, military medical personnel will begin arriving to help mitigate staffing crunches at hospitals across the country.
Read more France eases UK border restrictions for vaccinated people — a. UK travelers will no longer need an essential reason to enter France from Friday as long as they are vaccinated, the French government said. All travelers will need a negative test less than 24 hours old. The French government said the travel restrictions were no longer needed given the omicron variant was now widespread in both countries.
Read more French teachers go on strike over handling of pandemic — a. Teachers are upset and want clarifications on rules and more protections, such as extra masks and tests to help with the strain. The figures are expected to worsen in the coming weeks. Since Jan. High-risk people should consider wearing two face masks to guard against contracting the Omicron variant, two Hong Kong virus experts said, as the city attempts to stamp out an outbreak of the highly infectious virus.
He recommended the measure for high-exposure groups, people in outbreak areas and on public transport. Read more China finds Omicron in another port city, further threatening supply chains — a.
Chinese officials said Thursday that at least one person has the more transmissible omicron variant in Dalian, a city of seven million. The patient showed no symptoms, but tested positive after returning from their college in the nearby city of Tianjin, where at least other cases were traced as of Wednesday.
A second person in Dalian has also tested positive with the virus, but the variant is unknown. Dalian joins Tianjin as the second crucial port city with confirmed omicron cases. Their ports are among the twenty largest in the world -- processing a combined total of 25 million TEU in -- and serve as major production hubs for foreign companies such as Airbus and Volkswagen. Amid Covid-induced delays near Beijing and elsewhere, ships are heading for Shanghai, causing growing congestion there and delaying schedules for container ships by about a week, according to freight forwarders.
The delays could ripple as far as the U. Read more Jan. Delta Air Lines said Wednesday it will extend through the window for customers to rebook credits earned when they purchased but then canceled flights during the pandemic. Before the announcement, Delta flight credits were set to expire at the end of The new date will also apply to all tickets bought in Customers will be able to use the credits throughout if the trip is booked by Dec.
The move was not immediately matched by American Airlines or United Airlines, where credits are set to expire March 31 and Dec. All tickets already sold will remain valid, the statement said, with no changes or cancellations expected. Read more Omicron waves on in New York City, other major metropolitan areas — p. New York Gov.
Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said Tuesday that the rates of tests returning positive and case increases seem to be slowing - particularly in New York City, which emerged as an early epicenter of the highly contagious variant. It was just past 7 a. Good morning! Massachusetts hospitals, sagging under a tsunami of patients and an unprecedented shortage of workers to care for them, are facing a fresh challenge: a new data reporting method that some worry may obscure the toll that COVID is taking on the health care system.
The Baker administration said that beginning next week, it will break the hospitalization numbers it publishes into two sets: one that records those patients being treated primarily for COVID, and a second for those patients who were hospitalized for other reasons but happened to test positive upon admission. Recent reports increasingly suggest that the proportion of COVID-positive patients hospitalized across the country primarily because of the virus is decreasing, particularly among vaccinated and boosted individuals.
The Baker administration hopes the new data will provide a more exact count of how many people are sick enough with COVID to require hospitalization. Boston Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said on Wednesday the district is taking every step possible to avoid moving learning online amid a surge in coronavirus cases, while student leaders announced they are planning a walkout.
Students said they are concerned about the safety of everyone in the school buildings as well as those they interact with outside of school. Read more GOP congressman compares D. A Republican member of Congress drew swift condemnation Wednesday after comparing D. Religious and medical exemptions are allowed.
The Auschwitz Memorial responded directly to Davidson condemning his comments. The rapid test delivery program is a partnership with National Institutes of Health and Amazon and comes at a time when the state, with a population of more than ,, has seen a surge in COVID cases. The website for ordering opened at 10 a. Scott said he knew the limited supply would go quickly and said the pilot project will help inform future decisions.
Another 75, test kits are expected to become available in a second phase of the program but a timeline has not been announced. The administration will continue to work to get more tests for Vermonters as supply allows, his office said. Scott has said he hopes rapid tests will be readily available at local pharmacies for lower prices in the near future. Justice said in a statement he woke up with a cough and congestion, then developed a headache and high fever.
The year-old governor said he initially took a rapid test for the coronavirus, which came back negative. The governor then was administered a PCR test that was positive. A test by a state laboratory confirmed the initial result and an additional test was being administered Tuesday night. Justice, who is fully vaccinated and received a booster shot, had been scheduled to give his sixth State of the State address to the Legislature on Wednesday night.
The address will now be delivered by written message to lawmakers to fulfill constitutional requirements and Justice will address them at a later date, the statement said. The governor is scheduled to receive a monoclonal antibody treatment, as recommended by his physicians. Among the physicians treating him is Dr. Almost all teenagers who needed intensive care for Covid were unvaccinated in a study that bolsters the use of the Pfizer Inc.
The research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a network of 31 hospitals is one is one of the most detailed yet showing that vaccines can prevent severe Covid complications in teenagers.
The study compared adolescents hospitalized with Covid to a control group of admitted for other reasons, including those with Covid-like symptoms who tested negative. It ran from July 1, through Oct. Most of the kids hospitalized with Covid in the study were in the South, where the delta wave first hit the U. All seven patients who died of Covid and all of the 13 patients who received a last-ditch treatment called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were unvaccinated, according to the findings.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles has updated its mask policy and will no longer allow cloth masks. The policy change comes as Los Angeles and other cities across the country grapple with the Omicron surge. On Monday, the CDC said it was considering updating its mask guidance to recommend that people opt for the highly protective N95 or KN95 masks worn by health-care professionals. Read more Biden increasing focus on testing amid widespread shortages and confusion — p.
The Biden administration is redoubling its efforts to expand supply and accessibility of COVID testing as it faces mounting criticism over long lines and supply shortages for testing nationwide and confusion about when to get tested amid the Omicron surge.
The White House announced Wednesday that a dedicated stream of 5 million rapid tests and 5 million lab-based PCR tests will be made available to schools starting this month to ease supply shortages and promote the safe reopening of schools.
The president, who is up for re-election this year, has been digging in to his position against vaccines. He vowed to not allow his daughter to receive the shot and promised to continue to fight against lockdowns, even as Omicron makes landfall in the country, causing cases to surge past 70, a day.
For most of December, daily infections rarely surpassed the 10, mark. Of those, it found that federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers had died because of COVID
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