COVID-19

Roxane Silver
LiveScience, March 15, 2023

COVID pandemic had ‘minimal’ effect on mental health, study says. Is that true?

"While the studies may have had the advantage of pre- and post-pandemic measurements, they had other limitations. Most didn't capture a representative sample of society, and many participants in these studies didn’t answer follow-up surveys over time. Those drawbacks should temper the conclusions of the meta-analysis." (Roxane Cohen Silver)
Margaret_Schneider_Thumbnail
Real Clear Science, March 14, 2023

The Science Isn’t Clear on Masks. It’s Okay to Say So

"As scientists, we looked at the question the study was designed to answer. We were surprised to learn that none of studies directly tested the effects of mask mandates. In these trials, people were asked to wear masks. There was no mandate." (Margaret Lynn Schneider)
Andrew Noymer
Mercury News, February 9, 2023

COVID vaccines remain optional at K-12 schools. Will colleges keep requiring them?

"Mandates are harder to justify for vaccines that don’t stop spread of the virus, especially for young healthy college students at low risk from COVID-19, which mostly afflicts the elderly. We know people who are vaccinated can still spread it. Carrots are better than sticks. There are unintended consequences when people are too draconian, telling a student you can’t register for classes if you’re not vaccinated." (Andrew Noymer)
Andrew Noymer
KNX, February 7, 2023

Deaths in California on the rise

"Absolutely, I’d say it’s quite directly related, these are deaths that are not being coded as COVID deaths, as the underlying cause of death, but COVID has impacted the mortality of Californians and people elsewhere, there are strokes and heart attacks that follow in the wake of COVID infection and in the coming years we are going to find out how long this effect lasts but in the meantime mortality is up." (Andrew Noymer)
Bernadette Boden-Albala
Men's Health, February 1, 2023

These Are the Most Common Symptoms of Covid This Winter

"Just like with most winters, it’s not uncommon for many people to be dealing with coughing, congestion, and sore throats right now, all of which can signal the flu, common cold, RSV, and, yes, Covid." (Bernadette Boden-Albala, MPH, DrPH)
Bernadette Boden-Albala
Becker's Hospital Review, January 27, 2023

FDA panel votes for bivalent COVID-19 shots, debates ‘annual’ schedule

"Going forward, strategies that the public has had experience with like annual vaccine campaigns similar to the annual flu vaccine are likely to be more readily accepted and manageable. Is this a perfect solution? No, but it's a strategy that the nation can get its arms around and a strategy which will likely save more lives and decrease significant disease transmission." (Bernadette Boden-Albala)