Rob Stein appears in the following:
This winter's U.S. COVID surge is fading fast, likely thanks to a 'wall' of immunity
Friday, February 03, 2023
The main reason the surge is ebbing now, pandemic experts suspect, is the significant immunity many people in the U.S. have acquired from prior infections and COVID vaccinations many received.
FDA proposes easing restrictions on blood donations, seeks public comment
Friday, January 27, 2023
The Food and Drug Administration proposes easing many restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood.
FDA moves to ease restrictions on blood donations for men who have sex with men
Friday, January 27, 2023
Long criticized as discriminatory, the policy has prevented many gay and bisexual men from donating blood. The Food and Drug Administration revealed a draft of its new approach on Friday.
A controversial proposal would update COVID vaccines each year for dominant strain
Thursday, January 26, 2023
FDA advisers debate the agency's controversial proposal to start handling the COVID vaccines like the flu shots — updating them annually to target the most likely strain to be dominant each winter.
FDA considers major shift in COVID vaccine strategy
Monday, January 23, 2023
The new approach would simplify vaccination guidance so that, every fall, people would get a new shot, updated to try to match whatever variant is dominant.
Can you get COVID and the flu at the same time?
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
And what about a cold or RSV? With all the illness spreading, it's virus soup out there these days. Some people feel so sick they're wondering if they're fighting more than one germ at once.
China's COVID surge prompts CDC to expand a hunt for new variants among air travelers
Saturday, January 14, 2023
It would make more sense to screen a plane's wastewater to look for new variants than to screen individual passenger volunteers, some researchers say. Others say any information is helpful.
Screening at U.S. airports expands to try to detect new COVID variants
Friday, January 13, 2023
The CDC has expanded screening of incoming international air travelers to try to more quickly spot any new variants that might emerge from China's massive COVID outbreak.
The RSV surge has peaked, and the flu is receding — but COVID rates are up again
Sunday, January 08, 2023
The Respiratory Syncytial Virus - or RSV - surge has peaked, and the flu appears to be receding. But COVID rates are up again, driven by holiday gatherings and an even more transmissible variant.
RSV recedes and flu peaks as a new COVID variant shoots 'up like a rocket'
Friday, January 06, 2023
RSV and the flu appear to be receding in the U.S., but COVID is on the rise, new data suggests, driven by holiday gatherings and an even more transmissible omicron subvariant that has become dominant.
Travelers from China must now test negative for COVID to enter the U.S.
Thursday, January 05, 2023
The U.S. has started requiring all travelers from China to test negative for COVID, even though many experts think it won't help much.
Government agency examined how often long-COVID was cited as a cause of death
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that cases of long-COVID have caused more the 3,000 deaths in the U.S., but this is undoubtedly an undercount.
CRISPR gene-editing may boost cancer immunotherapy, new study finds
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Using CRISPR to modify certain immune cells could make cancer-fighting immunotherapy more potent for a broader set of patients. Two people who went through the treatment share their stories.
What to know about the fears of a 'tripledemic' this holiday season
Tuesday, December 06, 2022
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association warn that the surge in RSV, flu and COVID is threatening the upcoming holiday season.
CDC updates the status of the 'tripledemic'
Monday, December 05, 2022
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the status of the "tripledemic" in the wake of Thanksgiving.
The FDA considers easing restrictions on blood donations by gay and bisexual men
Thursday, December 01, 2022
The Food and Drug Administration is likely to propose easing restrictions on blood donations by gay and bisexual men.
This year's holiday season is making infectious disease doctors very nervous
Monday, November 28, 2022
Looming over the holiday season this winter are three viruses instead of two: RSV, COVID and flu.
Experts are concerned Thanksgiving gatherings could accelerate a 'tripledemic'
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
As the holiday approaches, infectious disease specialists are bracing for the possibility that big family get-togethers and travel will propel the spread of RSV, flu and COVID-19.
New omicron subvariants now dominant in the U.S., raising fears of a winter surge
Friday, November 11, 2022
Step aside, BA.5. The new variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, appear to be among the most adept yet at evading immunity from previous infection and vaccination.
These two omicron subvariants could be the source of another COVID surge
Friday, November 04, 2022
Two subvariants that have emerged from the soup of Omicron offspring are among the most adept at evading immunity. They appear poised to become dominant in the U.S. and could fuel a new surge.