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Ali is, in the opinion of almost all boxing historians, in his prime, the very best heavyweight who ever lived. In addition, he is ranked in the top three or four all time pound for pound.CREDIT PICTURE BRITTANICAAli fought everyone and anyone who was a contender, with no reservations. In contrast to today's fighters who cherry pick, Ali fought everyone.There were 17 top 100 all time heavyweights active during Ali’s reign - he faced every one.Ali faced those 17 top 100 heavyweights, and beat all but one, and when he was 39 and ill; he faced and beat 21 of 22 top 150 fighters, the best of any heavyweight, ever.Ali himself quoted in “The Greatest” said:“When people ask me about who was the greatest of all time, I say look at the records. I fought better competition, over a longer period of time than any other fighter in history.”Ali faced the best of the best:#2 Archie Moore (ranked as light-heavyweight but fought for heavyweight title twice)#4 Sonny Liston#13 Joe Frazier#14 Larry Holmes#15 Floyd Patterson#19 George Foreman#20 Bob Foster (ranked as light heavyweight but fought for heavyweight title twice)#22 Cleveland Williams#34 Ken Norton#36 Zora Folley#43 Henry Cooper#44 Ernie Terrell#48 Jimmy Ellis#51 Karl Mildenberger#57 Oscar Bonavena#67 Jerry Quarry#68 Ron LyleAli faced 17 top 100 all time heavyweights in 26 fights, he beat 16 of the 17 at least once, 5 of them twice, for a 94% victory rate against all time top 100 competition!In addition, Ali beat five fighters ranked between 100 and 160, to wit:#116 Joe Bugner#118 Doug Jones#124 Jimmy Young#131 Mac Foster#141 Earnie Shavers,and Ali faced 23 fighters in the top 150 and beat 22 of them at least once in 31 fights.That meant more than half of his fighters were against top 150 competition, the best percentage in any weight class in boxing history!And his ring accomplishments stand the test of time…For 14 wonderful years, Ali dominated boxing in a way no other has before or since. He because the only heavyweight to retire and return almost 4 years later to regain the UNDISPUTED title. He is the only 3 time lineal undisputed heavyweight champion. He fought every single contender of his age.Max Kellerman says:“From 1970, when Ali came back from his forced exile, to 1978, when Ali won back his crown for the final time (against Leon Spinks), Ali shared the very top shelf with Joe Frazier and George Foreman, and the three of them were supported by Ken Norton and Joe Bugner and, in the beginning of the decade, Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry and Jimmy Ellis, and at the end of the decade Ernie Shavers, Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young. Ali fought them all, and many of the others fought each other. The greatest heavyweight era ever."Max also said:“If you count from the day he dethroned the most feared boxing champion ever, he dominated his sport for 14 years! NO one else ever did that."Ali’s physical ability was unmatched by any heavyweight everIn his prime, before his exile in 1967, Cleveland Williams said of Ali:“You can't hit him, you just cannot hit him!"According to CompuBox, Williams landed only 10 punches the entire fight. Williams said:“I threw hooks, I threw uppercuts, I missed them all! Hell, I couldn't even land a jab!"Zora Folley, after facing Ali, said:“You can't hit him! But he sure can hit you."His technique in his prime was a reflection of simply unrivaled physical ability. He adapted as he got older, and after almost four years of his prime were taken away. He worked on adapting his decreased physical abilities to better technique, and the results speak for themselves:His record stands the test of time as the greatest heavyweight everAli was and is the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion. He was and remains the first World Heavyweight Champion to come back from retirement and regain the title. He beat 14 world champions, from the years 1962 to 1978, over an incredible 16 year period. Ali won twenty-two World Heavyweight Championship fights over a 14 year period. Ali made a total of nineteen successful title defenses of the undisputed title, nine during his first reign and ten during his second reign.Another record he set which stands today, he has a record of 11-0 in rematches. Ali faced a heavyweight record of 8 Hall of Fame fighters, winning against all but one, and making 11 total fights against Hall of Famers.Ali was named Ring "Fighter of the Year" for 1963, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978. Ali was named the Boxing Writers Association of America "Fighter of the Year" for 1965, 1974 and 1975. Ali was named Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year" for 1974. Ali was named The Ring "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1970s.Ali was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983. He received the Boxing Writers Association of America James J. Walker Memorial Award for 1984. Ali was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1986. He was inducted into the The Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1987. Ali was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Ali was named "Athlete of the Century" by GQ magazine in 1998. He was named "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC in 1999, and "Sportsman of the 20th Century" by Sports Illustrated.Perhaps his ability was best summed by Archie Moore, who tried to train him, and who faced him in the ring in 1962:“He won't listen, he does everything he ain't supposed to do, but damn, he is so good he wins against anybody they put in with him!"Ali in his prime was a master at slipping punches, and his defense was sublime.But let us go to the real experts, the fighters, in this case, the ones who fought Ali, and who studied Ali's career as part of their own training:Bob Foster:“Muhammad Ali. He was the man. He was big, fast; he was smart and never did get hit easy. Man, was he fast and slick in the ring"Or Joe Bugner, who was the best fighter you ever met, including Ali and Frazier?Joe Bugner:“Best overall was Muhammad Ali, who was the greatest of all time in my opinion."What about George Foreman, who faced fighters in two generations, who was the best fighter you ever faced or saw? Foreman said:“It's clear that “The Greatest” remains exactly that. Ali has the vastly superior record and his accomplishments are beyond reproach."What did Ken Norton say, about the man he fought three closely contested bouts with? In an interview with boxing writer and historian Frank J. Lotierzo on ESPN radio 1490Frank:“In your book you say Ali is the best ever. Do you believe that?Norton:“As far as I’ve been around, yes."Frank:“Is Ali the best fighter you ever fought?"Norton:“Yes."In his book, "Going the Distance," Ken Norton described Ali's later career and defense as:“He didn't have the lightning speed he had in the 60's, but he was still one hell of a fighter, and man, could he slip punches!"Ernie Shavers, said in his book "Welcome To The Big Time" by Earnie Shavers, that the best fighters of that era were Ali, Foreman and Frazier. He said:“Even an old Ali was still the greatest."Rocky Marciano, who filmed the "computer fight" with Ali in 1969 while Ali was banned from boxing, said of Ali "the fastest man on wheels, no fighter who ever lived was that fast." Rocky, when asked how good he thought Ali was, said:“Most would make the guy before they made him stop fighting – the fighter that destroyed Cleveland Williams, before time off took so much of the skip and slip from his legs – a strong favorite over anybody, anytime, anywhere, including me."Canadian heavyweight George Chuvalo said of Ali:“My plan for the fight was simple: as the shorter guy, I wanted to stay close to Ali, nullify his speed and prevent him from using the whole ring. I also wanted to make it rough. The rougher, the better. But it took all of about 30 seconds for me to realize he was the fastest fighter I’d ever seen. It’s one thing to expect it; it’s another thing to feel it, live it."Chuck Wepner, beaten by Ali in 1975, said, "The day of the Ali fight I bought my wife a powder blue negligee and told her 'wear this tonight, 'cause you'll be sleepin' with the heavyweight champion of the world'. That night, when I got back to the room, she said: 'Do I go to his room or will he be coming to mine?'"Joe Frazier, who truly hated Ali, said after their third fight, the Thrilla in Manilla:“Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city. Lordy, lordy, he's a great champion."Jerry Quarry, after fighting Ali in his first fight back after Ali's 1,314 day exile - an exile during which he did not spend one day in the gym - said of Ali the fighter:“Man if this cat is this damn good after three years out of the game, no damn body could have beaten him back in the day!"Mike Tyson, a student of boxing to this day, and a guy who has probably watched more boxing film than any other boxing historian, said of ranking the great heavyweights:Mike said when asked if he’d have beaten him, prime against prime:“Nobody beats Ali”.And Mike explains that those who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s and perceived Tyson as the winner just because he hit harder and had bigger muscles let themselves be fooled by Ali’s physical appearance:“Ali is a fuckin’ animal, he looks more like a model than a fighter, but what he is, he’s like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a pretty face. And fast, Lord God he was fast!”But could you have beaten him on your best day, the reporter said? Mike emphasized, saying Ali was simply too fast, and too skilled, saying again:“NOBODY beats Ali.”What about Lennox Lewis:“Ali was the greatest heavyweight EVER in my opinion.... I would never put myself in his class...and never have."Asked about Ali against modern fighters, Joe Frazier laughed and said:“You got to be kidding me!"That Ali would be favored against not just modern fighters, but any fighter, in his prime, is not just my opinion, but that of real experts, the guys who fought him:Two-time foe Floyd Patterson told David Remnick for his book "King of the World:“I came to love Ali. “I came to see that I was a fighter and he was history. Before they took boxing away from him for three years, he was the best fighter who ever lived, period.”Angelo Dundee, Ali's and Sugar Ray Leonard's trainer, said:“Look at Ali’s quality of opposition. He shook up the world against Liston, then did it again. He shocked the world against Foreman. He won two out of three against Frazier. Same against Ken Norton. He beat Patterson twice. The also-rans on Ali’s record—Jerry Quarry, Ron Lyle, Zora Folley, Oscar Bonavena, Bob Foster, Ernie Terrell—were as good as all but two or three opponents Joe Louis beat during his 11 years as champ."Legendary American boxing historian and writer Bert Sugar, said of Ali:“Ali did all kind of things fighters are not supposed to do, lean back, kept his hands down, and more. But true greatness comes from within as well as the physical, and Ali had it all. On his best night, he beats any fighter who ever lived."BBC boxing writer and historian Ben Dirs said of Ali compared to Wlad Klitschko and other fighters of this generation:“Ali reigned in the most talent-rich era of heavyweight boxing, winning the title from the fearsome Sonny Liston in 1964, winning it again from the even more fearsome George Foreman 10 years later and beating greats such as Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier and Ken Norton in between."Much of Ali's technique depended on speed, and even old Ali had speed - Foreman said after Zaire:“I thought he was 32, he couldn't be that fast, but man, he hit me with shots I couldn't even see!"In his pre-exile form, he was the fastest heavyweight, perhaps fastest fighter, of all time. How fast was Ali? The Muhammad Ali pre-exile was the fastest heavyweight ever. In the May 5, 1969 issue of Sports Illustrated, Ali’s jab was measured with an omegascope. Ali’s jab, it was found, could smash a balsa board 16.5 inches away in 19/100 of a second. It actually covered the distance in 4/100 of a second, which is the blink of an eye. (and a lot faster than Floyd "beat up your Grandma" Mayweather)Jimmy Jacobs, who owned the world’s largest collection of fight films, said that on film tests with a synchronizer Ali’s jab was faster than that of Sugar Ray Robinson, or any middleweight, welterweight, or lightweight, he could measure. Jacobs contended that Ali was not only the fastest heavyweight, but also the fastest fighter he ever saw on film.Marv Jenson, who managed Gene Fullmer, concurred saying:“Ali has the fastest hands on any heavyweight I have ever seen, hell, he has the fastest hands, period."Asked about Ali, and his technique as a boxer, Howard Cosell summed it up best:“The greatest Ali ever was as a fighter was against [Cleveland] Williams in 1966. That night, he was the most devastating fighter who ever lived." Cosell went on to say "no fighter ever lived could beat that version of Ali, no one."I think also, when you assess a fighter, you also have to assess how they functioned in defeat - because almost all great fighters taste defeat if they meet enough other great fighters and stay around long enough.Ali's tale in defeat comes against Larry Holmes, in his second to last fight, when he was already desperately ill.Ali retired for the first time - we are not counting his forced, 3 1/2 year "retirement" from 1967 to 1970 when he was barred from boxing - on September 15, 1978 after he regained the title from Leon Spinks. He was almost 37 when he retired, had been in 59 fights, 56-3, with losses only to Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and Leon Spinks.Two years later, King offered the almost 39 year old Ali $8 million dollars to come out of retirement, the largest amount of money he was ever paid, and face Larry Holmes, who by then had defeated Ken Norton, and become the WBC champion.Ali, already badly ill with Parkinson's, could not pass the standard fight physical and the Nevada State Athletic Commission had the former champion examined at the famed Mayo Clinic as a pre-condition to being granted a boxing license.Ali checked into the clinic on July 23, 1980. His neurological exam was conducted by Dr. Frank Howard, whose tests and examination recorded: Ali literally could not touch his finger to his nose, (he could not get closer than an inch to his nose), he had difficulty in coordinating the muscles used in speaking, and he did not hop on one foot with even standard agility for a man his age.Nonetheless, incredibly, Dr. Howard found no specific condition to prohibit Ali from fighting. The Mayo Clinic report was given directly to the Nevada State Athletic Committee, but it was not made public. Based on the report, Ali was granted a boxing in Nevada.In addition to being unable to touch his nose, speak normally, or hop up and down the way a man his age should, the champ was vastly overweight, and had to starve himself down to be presentable for the fight.And not only should the Parkinson's have stopped the right, his own medial team nearly killed Ali. Dr. Charles Williams, who was a member of Ali's medical team, believing that Ali had a thyroid imbalance, had prescribed one tablet of Thyrolar per day.Thomas Hauser, in his book Muhammad Ali: His Life & Times, wrote:“Thyrolar is a potentially lethal drug, and no one on Thyrolar should engage in a professional fight."Incredibly, Ali doubled the dosage with his team's knowledge because he "thought the pills would be like vitamins."Known side effects of Thyrolar include fatigue, sluggishness, headache, increased blood pressure, tremor, nausea, increased heart rate, frequent urination and weight loss. The drug also can impair the body’s ability to cope with heat, causing dehydratation then heat stroke.Against Holmes, Ali on fight night was weak, fatigued and short of breath from round one on. His body wasn't able to cool itself properly, and his temperature rose. That, Dr. Williams would later acknowledge:“Led to heat exhaustion that went into heat stroke with an immediate period of slight stupor and maybe delirium." He added, "I may have placed him in jeopardy inadvertently."Ali's former physician, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, told Hauser:“Ali was a walking time-bomb in the ring that night. He could have had anything from a heart attack to a stroke to all kinds of bleeding in the head."Four days after losing to Holmes, Ali checked into UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Dennis Cope, who supervised Ali's stay, determined:“That prior to medical intervention, Muhammad's thyroid gland was functioning properly."In other words, Dr. Williams had almost killed Ali for a thyroid problem which did not exist.Dr. Cope found it beyond belief he had actually tried to fight in his condition.In a fight he never should have been allowed to make, Ali's corner threw in the towel with him on his stool, suffering heat stroke symptoms, but wanting to continue. Though Holmes had won every round, he never succeeded in knocking Ali down or out.Angelo Dundee, till his dying day, said the most courage he ever saw a fighter exhibit was Ali getting off the stool, in heatstroke, unable to even lift his arms enough to ward off punches, and trudging forward, defenseless, round after round, because, as he whispered to Dundee after round one:“I can't quit, man, I can't quit. I got to try."That incredible courage in the face of defeat has to count.But there is yet more. I think, in assessing any fighter's place in history, you have to also assess their impact outside the right. Joe Louis, for instance, whom I would rate second to Ali, was a huge influence in the 1930's and 1940's in this country.And then came Ali. When he resisted induction into the Army, and stood up to the racial inequity so blatant at that time, emphasizing the unfairness of the draft, and the racism so casually prevalent in America at the time, many people were angered. But most came to respect the fact that a man who could have fled the country, made tens of millions of dollars in exile while living in adulation and comfort, instead stayed, risked prison, to fight for change.And the Supreme Court said that the Government was wrong, that he was improperly drafted and President Obama said best how the vast majority of Americans came to feel about Ali and the draft: “At the time it would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled, and nearly send him to jail,” Obama said:“But Ali stood his ground. And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today.”Joe Louis, who served during WW2, said about Ali resisting the draft:“At first I didn't understand, but as time passed I did. He was right, you know, and it cost him a lot."Floyd Patterson, who opposed Ali's stance on the draft at first, said later on:“People, including me, know he was right, right then, and right now, on the draft and Vietnam."The New York Times, after Ali rescued 19 hostages in Iraq in 1990, said:“However great he was in the Ring, Ali is greater as a human being. Despite being ill, the Champ has given millions of his own money, raised tens of millions more for charity, to feed people, for medical treatment, and perhaps most importantly for a man who is ill, he donates his time to help others. His recent trip to Iraq to rescue hostages held there, during which he ran out of medications he must take, and which caused him considerable suffering, is an example of one man reaching out to help others with no regard for his own health or safety."After retiring from boxing in 1981, at age 39, Ali focused on religion and charity, until his declining health prevented him from public appearances. Ali donated millions to charity organizations and disadvantaged people of all ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds. He helped raise tens of millions more.Ali helped to feed more than 22 million people afflicted by hunger across the world. He never asked for, or wanted, praise for these efforts.Among his many charitable efforts, Ali worked with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease to raise awareness and encourage donations for research. In 1987, the California Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Constitution selected Ali to personify the the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Ali rode on a float at the following year's Tournament of Roses Parade, launching the U.S. Constitution's 200th birthday celebration.In 2012, Ali was awarded the Philadelphia Liberty Medal in recognition of his lifelong efforts in activism, philanthropy and humanitarianism.On a personal note, on January 19, 1981, in Los Angeles, Ali was in Los Angeles when a man out on 9th floor ledge talking about jumping mentioned the champ. Ali was notified, and rushed to the scene, and talked the suicidal man down from jumping off a ninth-floor ledge, an event that made national news.Ali simply said he was glad he could help and said the first responders should get the credit and were the real heroes.But perhaps nothing sums up Ali's life, and who he was, than what he did in 1990. That year, Ali went to Bagdad as the first Gulf War was looming, to try and free 15 American hostages being held by Saddam Hussein. Ali, already significantly disabled with Parkinson's, ran out of his medications while in Bagdad, and endured very real suffering, yet refused to leave, and persevered until Saddam allowed him to take all 15 American hostages home to their families.On Dec. 2, 1990, Ali and the hostages flew out of Baghdad, headed for JFK.The men remain overwhelmed to this day:“You know, I thanked him,” said former hostage Bobby Anderson. “And he said, ‘Go home,’ be with my family . . . what a great guy.”Ali asked the media not to make the story about him, but about the hostages and their reunited families.All fighters who hit the big time are generous with their friends and family. The only ones notable for charity to people they do not know are Ali and George Foreman.Can there be any doubt that Ali was the greatest fighter ever in terms of his impact on national and world consciousness? No, there can be no doubt.Who said so? The New York Times, among others.Can there be much doubt he was the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time? NO, to practically everyone who knows boxing.I will close with my favorite Muhammad Ali stories: when he was a fighter, on the night he stunned the world and beat George Foreman, sensing the mood in his dressing room he asked: “What’s wrong around here? Everybody scared? Scared? A little thing like this? This is like another day in the gym.”And on September 10, 1966, a young Ali defended his title in Frankfurt Germany against Karl Mildenberger as part of his "European tour." He was tired and stressed by a return to the USA to continue his fight against the military draft, but he won the fight nonetheless. In the 12th round, with Mildenberger on the ropes, referee Teddy Waltham stopped the fight.At the airport the next day, Waltham’s fee of 1,000 pounds was stolen. Waltham, who was counting on the money to pay his mortgage and bills, was distraught. When Ali heard, he gave Waltham the money from his own pocket.When asked about the incident, Ali shrugged it off, saying:“Man, don't make this a story, he needed the money more than I did."He really was the greatest, both in and out of the ring.And those are the real facts!CREDIT TO:Ali: A Life by Jonathan EigCox’s Corner and Monte CoxMuhammad Ali: A Life by Thomas HauserMuhammad Ali: A View From the Corner by Dr. Ferdie PachecoThe Greatest: My Own Story by Muhammad AliThe Los Angeles Times’s accountThe Real Ali by Rahman AliWhen Muhammad Ali Met a Man on a Ledge

Main benefit of staying in India is cheap medical expense.NEW DELHI — In October 2008, Henry Konczak went to get a blood test.“I was getting short of breath,” says Konczak, a 65-year-old musician and video producer from Ohio. “All of a sudden they said, ‘Get to the hospital immediately.’”Konczak had a blood infection and spent the next month receiving intravenous antibiotics, but his misfortune didn’t stop there. A doctor discovered that he had a heart murmur and would need surgery to replace his mitral valve. He called the nearby Cleveland Clinic to inquire about costs. The quote? A whopping $130,000, not including the surgeon’s fees.Konczak says his insurance had been abruptly terminated when he turned 50 and he could not afford a replacement. When he heard the procedure price, he was shocked.“I said, ‘I’ll send you my financials. I don’t make that kind of money,’” he recalls. “She said, ‘Well, good luck with that.’”Facing a choice between bankruptcy and death, Konczak chose a third option: India. On Dec. 23, 2008, Konczak successfully underwent surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, a prominent private facility in New Delhi. The entire three-week trip — from flights to lodging to medical fees — cost $10,000.Facing a choice between bankruptcy and death, Konczak chose a third option: India“I saved my life, and I saved my business,” he says.Konczak’s story may seem unorthodox, but he’s hardly alone. For Americans struggling to meet health care costs, medical tourism has become a surprisingly common choice. Estimating the number of medical tourists is tricky, but according to a government survey, more than 300,000 U.S. residents may go abroad each year for health care. There are many reasons why Americans travel for treatment, but the main one is money.India is a particularly attractive choice for American patients, since it has a number of hospitals offering quality care from English-speaking professionals at affordable rates. Vinayak Shourie, the international marketing director at Fortis Healthcare, estimated that 20 percent of his company’s business comes from foreigners — and that figure is growing. India introduced medical visas in June 2005 to promote the industry, and it recently began allowing citizens of nearly 150 countries to apply entirely online. The tourism ministry issued more than 170,000 medical visas in 2016, a 45 percent increase over the previous year. It’s become a big business for the country, and business is booming.But India also has one of the world’s most unequal health care systems. The gap between the services available to the wealthy and the poor is yawning, and roughly 86 percent of the rural population lacks health insurance.“If you have a lot of money, you can access a lot of medical care,” says George Thomas, an orthopedic surgeon from Chennai, India. “On the other hand, very large numbers of people in India cannot access even basic health care.”Medical tourism thus presents both opportunities and risks. At its best, the industry can help India grow its health care system, using the revenues generated from international patients to improve local care. At its worst, it risks shifting resources to private hospitals catering to elites at the expense of public institutions serving the poor.“What’s the effect on health care for Indians? Here, the answer is the story is kind of messy,” says Glenn Cohen, a professor at Harvard Law School and an expert on medical tourism. “But there’s some reason to be concerned.”***I am a poster child for the quality of India’s top medical facilities. One month after moving to New Delhi, I started to feel lightheaded and dizzy while walking back from my Hindi class. Shortly after reaching my home, I collapsed, had a seizure, and was rushed by my roommate to the nearest emergency room.After being discharged, I went to see a neurologist my friend recommended at Max Super Specialty Hospital, a well-regarded private institution. I was admitted for three days and underwent a battery of tests, none of which revealed anything serious. My stay — in a hotel-like private room with free meals and Wi-Fi — was comfortable. My total costs, before insurance, were $2,892.This was a small fraction of the approximately $25,000 bill I could have been saddled with in the United States. Yet the average annual income in India is only about $1,600, meaning that for many, my medical expenses would have been more than a year’s worth of pay. That stays true if you subtract the roughly $250 extra the hospital charged me as an international patient. Eventually, my health care plan reimbursed me for the majority of my expenses. But most Indians don’t have any medical insurance.The average Indian hospital, of course, is not nearly as pricey as the top-tier private institutions frequented by wealthy locals and medical tourists. The country’s central and state governments operate hospital networks, and they have enacted various programs to try to ensure that India’s poorer residents don’t have to pay at government facilities.Public hospitals are overburdened and deficient, frequently producing stories about patients who suffer from medical malpractice. Recently, a government hospital in Uttar Pradesh — India’s most populous state — made international headlines after 63 people died in two days when the facility ran out of oxygen.Public hospitals are overburdened and deficient, frequently producing stories about patients who suffer from medical malpracticeIt’s therefore no surprise that Indians prefer private health care. A 2016 government report found that the country’s public facilities treated less than 30 percent of people’s illnesses. The preference is particularly stark in cities, where most of India’s high-quality private hospitals are located. Between 2004 and 2014, the public-to-private distribution of urban hospitalization cases shifted toward the latter by roughly 6 percent. But private health care is more expensive, and during the same period of time, the average amount spent on each urban hospital visit increased by approximately 176 percent.***For the industry’s proponents, medical tourism’s promise is this: My experience (and payments) can be channeled, redirected, and perhaps ultimately replicated for India’s less affluent, nonexpat communities. Some, for example, argue that medical tourism inspires Indian doctors to return home — reversing brain drain. Others say it improves services nationwide. Apollo Hospitals executive Preetha Reddy recently wrote that medical tourism helps “contribute to the objective of health for all.”Josef Woodman, the CEO of Patients Beyond Borders, says the industry is pushing hospitals to seek international accreditation.“When you get a JCI [Joint Commission International] that comes in and makes certain demands of the hospital, that’s a benchmark for the rest of the health care system,” he says.But many academics are skeptical that the industry will improve things overall. Valorie Crooks, a health geographer at Simon Fraser University, says medical tourism’s potential spillover benefits were “mostly pie-in-the-sky things” for which there’s little evidence.Crooks is determinedly nonpartisan in debates about whether medical tourism is, on the whole, good or bad. But she does maintain that any benefits for the local population require well-enforced redistribution.“Where the benefit can be is in relation to the revenue and ensuring that the revenues that are brought in have some benefit, not just to that private institution but back into the public sector,” she says.Deepanshu Mohan, a professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs who researches Indian health care, agrees.“The distribution of the revenue that has accumulated in the private sector has to be worked out,” he says.Mohan argues that after India’s economy opened up in the early 1990s, the amount of private health care spending shot up while public expenditures languished. The result, he says, is a staggering gap between the nation’s private hospitals and its government facilities.***To see what he meant, I visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi’s most prominent public hospital. Constructed in 1956, the AIIMS campus is a collection of mostly brown, white, and green buildings packed with doctors, nurses, and medical students. Hundreds of patients and their families camp out on the surrounding lawns and walkways, waiting for treatment. Many have traveled hundreds of miles in hopes of receiving quality, affordable care.Hundreds of patients and their families camp out on the surrounding lawns and walkways, waiting for treatmentSome are lucky to have reached AIIMS at all. Emergency medical services in India are far more fractured than in the United States or Europe, especially outside cities. Residents of rural regions may not knowthat ambulance systems exist, and those in need often have to wait long periods and travel substantial distances to find suitable doctors. It’s therefore no surprise that trauma victims in India are more than twice as likely to die as their counterparts in wealthy states.Among those gathered outside AIIMS is Vishnu Dayal, a 32-year-old farmer who arrived at the hospital two days ago with his mother. She was suffering from bile duct stones — a painful condition that often requires surgery. Dayal had come from Pilibhit, a district roughly 150 miles away.“Our district hospital is very bad,” he says, explaining why they chose an eight-hour bus ride over receiving local treatment. His criticism is indicative of Indian health care’s structural flaws. According to the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, nearly 80 percent of Indian doctors work in urban areas, serving only 28 percent of the country’s population. Those who do practice outside cities are often dismally unqualified. A World Health Organization report released in 2016 found that only 18.8 percent of people working as doctors in rural India had medical credentials.Like many of the other patients and attendants sprawled about the site, Dayal was living outside. He spent most of his waking hours sitting on a makeshift mat near the hospital’s central buildings. At 8 p.m., when the AIIMS grounds closed to nonpatients, Dayal packed up, left, and went to sleep on a nearby road.Despite this, Dayal says he felt santusht(“satisfied”) with his experience. He had good reason. Dayal’s mother had to wait only one day before being admitted, a comparatively short period of time. There are reports of some AIIMS patients waiting months before starting treatment, even when suffering from potentially fatal ailments. Additionally, AIIMS doctors are highly regarded. There was a big gap between AIIMS and the smooth, five-star experience at top private facilities — but an even bigger one between the nation’s flagship public hospital and its desolate rural counterparts.“It tells you a lot about the quality of medical resources in the area that he is coming from,” Mohan says. “You have a proliferating demand for medical services in cities because there’s a huge amount of migration coming from rural areas.”Most of these deficiencies are related to low government spending. In 2014, roughly 1.4 percent of India’s public GDP expenditures went to health care, the 15th lowest in the world, and less than half the 3.3 percent of private GDP that was spent. The lack of financing shows. Many government hospitals — especially outside the biggest metropolises — lack critical technology such as ventilators, leading to needless deaths. Rural regions depend more heavily on government facilities and are therefore especially impacted by the lack of public resources.Many government hospitals — especially outside the biggest metropolises — lack critical technologyThis scarcity extends to doctors. The country has only one government physician for every 10,189 residents, and these practitioners work more but are paid less than their counterparts in the private sector. As a result, most doctors try to move into the lucrative private hospitals located in large cities. Some states are trying to make rural service compulsory for recent graduates of government medical schools. But the idea has received strong pushback from students, and these requirements can be poorly enforced. Physicians serving in public hospitals, for example, are known to open better-paying, time-consuming private practices on the side.“Without an effective redistribution mechanism … doctors trained within India are more and more likely to migrate from the public health care system to the private health care system,” Mohan says. “The medical tourism industry may lead to an exacerbation.”The government’s support for the private hospitals that take international patients is also worrying. India’s central government provides financial support to these institutions as part of its Marketing Development Assistance Scheme. Forty-three of New Delhi’s private hospitals received city land at concessional rates. The government made these discounts contingent on each hospital reserving 10 percent of inpatient and 25 percent of outpatient services for low-income individuals, free of cost.Unfortunately, private hospitals often flout these rules. Last year, New Delhi’s government fined five of the largest institutions roughly $100 million for failing to treat the poor, including Max — the hospital where I received care. It wasn’t the first time the judiciary found that private medical facilities were ignoring state requirements. In 2009, the Delhi High Court fined Indraprastha Apollo Hospital — where Konczak was treated — for violating the terms of its land agreement.In theory, these penalties may be significant enough to deter future violations (Max Healthcare reported approximately $400 million in gross revenue last year). But Rupa Chanda — an economist and health care expert at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore — says between judicial delays and corruption, major hospitals could find ways to avoid the full cost.“The influential will pay their money and get out of it,” she says. “These requirements are not working.”***An incomplete system that leaves millions of people uninsured. An enormous urban-rural divide. A government that indirectly subsidizes high-quality private facilities that many cannot afford. The more one looks at India’s medical system, the more it starts to look like the American one.The more one looks at India’s medical system, the more it starts to look like the American one.Even the stories of these countries’ underserved populations overlap. Dayal’s mother and Konczak were treated in dramatically different situations. But despite poor health, both spent hours traveling to New Delhi because the hospitals near their homes could or would not provide them with adequate care.The comparison might be even more apt were it not for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which extended health insurance to nearly 20 million people in the United States. According to experts like Cohen, that’s already leading to a decline in medical tourism, as more people find themselves with adequate coverage at home.The tax bill that recently passed Congress, however, eliminates the ACA’s individual mandate, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the change will increase the number of uninsured Americans by 13 million. Experts say the rising number of uninsured people will, in turn, produce an upsurge in foreign health care travel.Konczak is a good example of the ACA’s impact. After returning to the United Stats, he eventually managed to purchase “a little bit of insurance” — a $600-a-month major medical plan. Once the ACA was implemented, however, he used Ohio’s marketplace to buy more substantive and affordable insurance that he imagines would have enabled him to do valve replacement surgery much closer to home.“My health insurance cost monthly went down to $130,” he says. “I almost cried.”India has no ACA analogue, but its public hospital system was partially designed to provide less affluent residents with affordable and accessible treatment. Like the United States but unlike, say, Belgiumor Slovenia, India’s constitution does not list health care as a fundamental right. But it does declare that the government shall regard raising “the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties.”The medical tourism industry highlights these countries’ flaws, and it showcases some of the shortcomings of health care worldwide. Releasing the stress on fractured systems could help ensure a fairer distribution of resources. But it’s hard to see how moving patients to India’s overburdened system makes global health care any more just.Issues of fairness weighed on Konczak during his trip. It’s nearly impossible to visit India without witnessing stark poverty, and even as he was lying in the ICU, Konczak says he was perturbed by what he saw.But he didn’t go to India to save the world. He went to save his life.“It bothered me,” Konczak says. “But also, I’m dying.”Daniel Block is a journalist in New Delhi.Source :foreignpolicy.com

If you want to know How To Cure COVID-19, check out this Blog. It's got all the Details About Covid 19.In what ways has the coronavirus affected your lives?COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has affected day coronavirus affected you day life and is slowing down the global economy. This pandemic has affected thousands of peoples, who are either sick or are being killed due coronavirus affected you the spread of this disease. The most common symptoms of this viral infection are fever, cold, cough, bone pain and breathing problems, and ultimately leading coronavirus affected you pneumonia. This, being a new viral disease affecting humans for the first time, vaccines are not yet available. Thus, the emphasis is on taking extensive precautions such as extensive hygiene protocol (e.g., regularly washing of hands, avoidance of face coronavirus affected you face interaction etc.), social distancing, and wearing of masks, and so on. This virus is spreading exponentially region wise. Countries are banning gatherings of people coronavirus affected you the spread and break the exponential curve.1 , 2 Many countries are locking their population and enforcing strict quarantine coronavirus affected you control the spread of the havoc of this highly communicable disease.COVID-19 has rapidly affected our day coronavirus affected you day life, businesses, disrupted the world trade and movements. Identification of the disease at an early stage is vital coronavirus affected you control the spread of the virus because it very rapidly spreads from person coronavirus affected you person. Most of the countries have slowed down their manufacturing of the products.3 , 4 The various industries and sectors are affected by the cause of this disease; these include the pharmaceuticals industry, solar power sector, tourism, Information and electronics industry. This virus creates significant knock-on effects on the daily life of citizens, as well as about the global economy.Presently the impacts of COVID-19 in daily life are extensive and have far reaching consequences. These can be divided into various categories:A)Healthcare• Challenges in the diagnosis, quarantine and treatment of suspected or confirmed cases• High burden of the functioning of the existing medical system• Patients with other disease and health problems are getting neglected• Overload on doctors and other healthcare professionals, who are at a very high risk• Overloading of medical shops• Requirement for high protection• Disruption of medical supply chainB)Economic• Slowing of the manufacturing of essential goods• Disrupt the supply chain of products• Losses in national and international business• Poor cash flow in the market• Significant slowing down in the revenue growthC)Social• Service sector is not being able coronavirus affected you provide their proper service• Cancellation or postponement of large-scale sports and tournaments• Avoiding the national and international travelling and cancellation of services• Disruption of celebration of cultural, religious and festive events• Undue stress among the population• Social distancing with our peers and family members• Closure of the hotels, restaurants and religious places• Closure of places for entertainment such as movie and play theatres, sports clubs, gymnasiums, swimming pools, and so on.• Postponement of examinationsThis COVID-19 has affected the sources of supply and effects the global economy. There are restrictions of travelling from one country coronavirus affected you another country. During travelling, numbers of cases are identified positive when tested, especially when they are taking international visits.5 All governments, health organisations and other authorities are continuously focussing on identifying the cases affected by the COVID-19. Healthcare professional face lot of difficulties in maintaining the quality of healthcare in these days.How Is the Coronavirus Outbreak Affecting Your Life?How are you staying connected and sane in a time of social distancing?The coronavirus has changed how we work, play and learn: Schools are closing, sports leagues have been canceled, and many people have been asked coronavirus affected you work from home.On March 16, the Trump administration released new guidelines coronavirus affected you slow the spread of the coronavirus, including closing schools and avoiding groups of more than 10 people, discretionary travel, bars, restaurants and food courts.How are you dealing with these sudden and dramatic changes coronavirus affected you how we live? Are you practicing social distancing — and are you even sure what that really means?What is social distancing?Put simply, the idea is coronavirus affected you maintain a distance between you and other people — in this case, at least six feet.That also means minimizing contact with people. Avoid public transportation whenever possible, limit nonessential travel, work from home and skip social gatherings — and definitely do not go coronavirus affected you crowded bars and sporting arenas.“Every single reduction in the number of contacts you have per day with relatives, with friends, co-workers, in school will have a significant impact on the ability of the virus coronavirus affected you spread in the population,” said Dr. Gerardo Chowell, chair of population health sciences at Georgia State University.This strategy saved thousands of lives both during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and, more recently, in Mexico City during the 2009 flu pandemic.The article continues with expert responses coronavirus affected you some common questions about social distancing. Here are excerpts from three:I’m young and don’t have any risk factors. Can I continue coronavirus affected you socialize?Please don’t. There is no question that older people and those with underlying health conditions are most vulnerable coronavirus affected you the virus, but young people are by no means immune.And there is a greater public health imperative. Even people who show only mild symptoms may pass the virus coronavirus affected you many, many others — particularly in the early course of the infection, before they even realize they are sick. So you might keep the chain of infection going right coronavirus affected you your own older or high-risk relatives. You may also contribute coronavirus affected you the number of people infected, causing the pandemic coronavirus affected you grow rapidly and overwhelm the health care system.If you ignore the guidance on social distancing, you will essentially put yourself and everyone else at much higher risk.Experts acknowledged that social distancing is tough, especially for young people who are used coronavirus affected you gathering in groups. But even cutting down the number of gatherings, and the number of people in any group, will help.Can I leave my house?Absolutely. The experts were unanimous in their answer coronavirus affected you this question.It’s O.K. coronavirus affected you go outdoors for fresh air and exercise — coronavirus affected you walk your dog, go for a hike or ride your bicycle, for example. The point is not coronavirus affected you remain indoors, but coronavirus affected you avoid being in close contact with people.You may also need coronavirus affected you leave the house for medicines or other essential resources. But there are things you can do coronavirus affected you keep yourself and others safe during and after these excursions.When you do leave your home, wipe down any surfaces you come into contact with, disinfect your hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer and avoid touching your face. Above all, frequently wash your hands — especially whenever you come in from outside, before you eat or before you’re in contact with the very old or very young.How long will we need coronavirus affected you practice social distancing?That is a big unknown, experts said. A lot will depend on how well the social distancing measures in place work and how much we can slow the pandemic down. But prepare coronavirus affected you hunker down for at least a month, and possibly much longer.In Seattle, the recommendations on social distancing have continued coronavirus affected you escalate with the number of infections and deaths, and as the health system has become increasingly strained.“For now, it’s probably indefinite,” Dr. Marrazzo said. “We’re in uncharted territory.”Abdullah Shihipar writes in an Opinion essay, “Coronavirus and the Isolation Paradox,” that while social distancing is required coronavirus affected you prevent infection, loneliness can make us sick:A paradox of this moment is that while social distancing is required coronavirus affected you contain the spread of the coronavirus, it may also contribute coronavirus affected you poor health in the long run. So while physical isolation will be required for many Americans who have Covid-19 or have been exposed coronavirus affected you it, it’s important that we don’t let such measures cause social and emotional isolation, too.The Health Resources and Services Administration cautions that loneliness can be as damaging coronavirus affected you health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Feelings of isolation and loneliness can increase the likelihood of depression, high blood pressure, and death from heart disease. They can also affect the immune system’s ability coronavirus affected you fight infection — a fact that’s especially relevant during a pandemic. Studies have shown that loneliness can activate our fight-or-flight function, causing chronic inflammation and reducing the body’s ability coronavirus affected you defend itself from viruses.The essay continues:For solutions, we can look coronavirus affected you countries where people have been dealing with coronavirus for some time. As the BBC reported, people in China are turning coronavirus affected you creative means coronavirus affected you stay connected. Some are streaming concerts and gym classes. Others are organizing virtual book-club meetings. In Wuhan, people gathered at their windows coronavirus affected you shout “Wuhan, jiayou!” which translates coronavirus affected you “Keep fighting, Wuhan!” A business owner packed 200 meals for medical workers, while a villager in a neighboring province donated 15,000 masks coronavirus affected you those in need.For those of us who know people, especially elderly people, who may be isolated, get connected. Check in daily and look for ways coronavirus affected you spend time together, either through a FaceTime or WhatsApp call, through collaborative gaming or just by using the telephone.How are you staying connected and sane in a time of social distancing? How have you been staying in touch with your social groups? What new routines have you developed?What helps you deal with all the changes brought about by the coronavirus outbreak? How do you cope with feelings of isolation and loneliness? Do any of the coping strategies suggested by Mr. Shihipar resonate with you? What strategies would you recommend coronavirus affected you others?Coronavirus Has Affected Everyone’s LivesFor many people I know, including me, COVID-19 started out as a joke. It shares the same name as a beer, for example.But then, the Chinese city of Wuhan was quarantined. That was when I realized the situation is much more serious than I had thought. Still, at that time the outbreak was only reported in China, and it seemed so far away.Then the coronavirus started coronavirus affected you spread coronavirus affected you Italy, Iran, and other places. I remember walking coronavirus affected you work and laughing at the irony that Iran’s deputy health minister had tested positive for the virus.When Italy began shutting down recently, my friend messaged me about how lucky we were coronavirus affected you have visited last year rather than this year.I watched as the opinions about the disease expressed by those around me shifted in just a few weeks. COVID-19 went from something that seemed slightly humorous coronavirus affected you something that caused panic.Two weeks ago, the employers of my friends and me asked us coronavirus affected you test our virtual private networks coronavirus affected you ensure that we could use them coronavirus affected you connect coronavirus affected you our companies’ servers in case we would need coronavirus affected you work from home. And just last week, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology joined educational institutions across the nation in asking students coronavirus affected you stay home and take classes digitally.One concerning detail about this virus is how quickly it spreads. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded the suggested distance one should keep from a sick person from 3 feet coronavirus affected you 6 feet. It takes symptoms about five days coronavirus affected you show, if they do at all, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t contagious before. The coronavirus also has a higher mortality rate than the common flu, estimated somewhere between 1 and 3.4 percent.Given these considerations, it’s important coronavirus affected you take precautions, including washing your hands and practicing social distancing. That helps coronavirus affected you slow down the rate that the virus spreads, which can help coronavirus affected you reduce the overcrowding of hospitals, an ongoing concern.Although I am lucky that I am not immuno compromised and can work from home, I can’t help but feel enveloped by the panic that surrounds me. Everything in the news is about the coronavirus. It is affecting the lives of everyone I know, and most haven’t even been tested for it yet. It’s hard coronavirus affected you remember that the world isn’t actually ending and that there will be life for me after this.On one hand, it has been a distraction from fears about my own future with Huntington’s disease. It’s hard coronavirus affected you think that far ahead when all I can see are the next few weeks and months trapped indoors. On the other hand, this outbreak might prevent my mother from being able coronavirus affected you see me in a few weeks. Because she’s been diagnosed with Huntington’s, it feels like every second I have with her is even more important, and there is a good chance that I won’t be able coronavirus affected you see her.Here’s How the Coronavirus Pandemic Has Changed Our LivesTo say that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the world would be an understatement. In less than a year since the virus emerged — and just over 6 months since tracking began in the United States — it’s upended day-coronavirus affected you-day lives across the globe.The pandemic has changed how we work, learn and interact as social distancing guidelines have led coronavirus affected you a more virtual existence, both personally and professionally.But a new survey, commissioned by Parade magazine and Cleveland Clinic, reveals the pandemic has also changed how Americans approach their health and health care in ways both positive and negative.Conducted by Ipsos, the survey was given coronavirus affected you a nationally representative sample of 1000 American adults 18 years of age & older, living in the U.S.Here’s what the survey found.Mental health challengesUnsurprisingly, the pandemic has triggered a wave of mental health issues. Whether it’s managing addiction, depression, social isolation or just the general stress that’s resulted from COVID-19, we’re all feeling it.It seems coronavirus affected you especially be hitting younger people. Of those surveyed, 55% reported experiencing mental health issues since the onset of the pandemic, including 74% of respondents in the 18-coronavirus affected you-34-year-old age range.Of those respondents, four of the most common issues were:Stress (33% overall; 42% of 18-coronavirus affected you-34-year-olds)Anxiety (30% overall; 40% of 18-coronavirus affected you-34-year-olds)Depression (24% overall; 31% of 18-coronavirus affected you-34-year-olds)Loneliness or isolation (24% overall; 31% of 18-coronavirus affected you-34-year-olds)Many are also feeling overwhelmed by the constant, sometimes shifting and conflicting flow of information around the virus and the pandemic. Overall, 41% of those surveyed claimed that they were so overwhelmed by COVID-19 news and information that they weren’t paying attention.Pandemic-induced hesitationWhile much of the world has come coronavirus affected you a stop at times during the pandemic, the need for health care has not. Yet, 38% of respondents said they skipped or delayed preventive health care visits because of the pandemic even though health care providers have gone coronavirus affected you great lengths coronavirus affected you ensure that keeping those appointments are safe for everyone.Women are more likely coronavirus affected you skip these appointments than men, 46% coronavirus affected you 29%, and as many as 15% of total respondents avoided visits for more serious issues like injury or even chest pain.“In a time when we need coronavirus affected you be able coronavirus affected you focus on keeping ourselves as healthy as we can, we must not skip preventive visits coronavirus affected you our healthcare providers. When we miss early signs of disease, we allow it coronavirus affected you grow into a serious or even life-threatening illness,” says infectious disease expert Kristin Englund, MD.“Our clinics and hospitals are taking every precaution available coronavirus affected you assure patients are safe from COVID-19 within our walls. We cannot let fear of one disease keep us from doing what we need coronavirus affected you do coronavirus affected you stay healthy,” she continues.This is especially true for children who need coronavirus affected you continue their routine immunizations. As pediatrician Skyler Kalady, MD, points out, “We can’t lose sight of other diseases that children will be at high risk for contracting, like measles and pertussis (whooping cough), without those regular vaccinations.”Staying healthy during the pandemicBut there is good news as far as respondents’ health is concerned. From lifestyle changes coronavirus affected you better eating habits, people are using this time coronavirus affected you get healthier in many areas.Since the pandemic started, nearly two-thirds of the survey’s participants (62%) say they’ve made a significant lifestyle change, including:More time outdoors or experiencing nature.Improved sleep patterns.Starting or modifying an exercise program.Other healthy dietary changes.Eating and exercise are new areas of focus for many respondents. One-third of the participants (34%) say they’re eating more healthy food and most (a whopping 87%) say they’ll keep the habit up.Meanwhile over a quarter of respondents (28%) say they’ve increased their exercise frequency during the pandemic, perhaps a sign that more people are embracing the advantages of working out at home while gyms remain a risky venture.Better health awarenessThere’s more coronavirus affected you healthy living than just exercising and food, though. And 68% of respondents said that the pandemic has them paying more attention coronavirus affected you certain risk factors for other health issues. That number is even higher (77%) for those younger respondents, 18-coronavirus affected you-34 years old. Some of those risk factors include:Stress, anxiety, depression and mental health (37%).Risk factors for chronic diseases, autoimmune or other chronic diseases (36%).Weight (32%).Physical fitness (28%).Lung health (15%).Additionally, the pandemic is motivating people coronavirus affected you take better care of more serious issues with 41% of respondents who already have a chronic condition saying they’ll now be even more likely coronavirus affected you comply with treatment.Family and the pandemicThroughout the pandemic, we’ve seen both benefits and drawbacks of being cooped up with family for long periods of time. And there’s certainly been added stress for families who have had coronavirus affected you deal with remote learning situations for school-aged children.Some, though, reported positive experiences with their families in such close quarters. Overall, 34% of those who responded said that they feel closer coronavirus affected you their family and, in households with kids, 52% reported feeling like they’ve forged new connections. Additionally, 78% agreed that quarantine made them value their relationships.As for that stress with kids, 27% of those surveyed who have kids in their households say their children have benefited from being able coronavirus affected you spend more time with family.VaccinationsAs flu season looms and the coronavirus pandemic stretches on, it’s especially important that everyone get a flu shot this year. According coronavirus affected you the survey, 26% of respondents said they’re now more likely coronavirus affected you get a flu shot. And among adults 18-coronavirus affected you-34-years old, 35% are more likely coronavirus affected you get vaccinated against the flu.As for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, 60% of respondents said that yes, they absolutely would get that vaccine when available. Of those who answered no or that they weren’t sure if they’d get the COVID-19 vaccine, the top reasons given were concerns about potential side effects (61%) and concerns about the efficacy of the vaccine (53%).OutlookIn the short term, those who took the survey show a dedication coronavirus affected you being safe and following guidelines for the foreseeable future. And that’s where their concerns remain, too.Staying vigilantOf those surveyed, 78% say they won’t spend the holidays as they normally do with only 9% planning coronavirus affected you attend holiday church services and only 12% planning coronavirus affected you attend holiday parades or New Year’s Eve firework celebrations.Respondents are also putting common personal interactions on hold with 78% saying they won’t shake hands with people through the end of the year and only 13% saying they will hug a non-family member.Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that a resurgence of COVID-19 is a big concern among those surveyed. Over half (59%) said they were concerned about another surge of cases while 44% said they’re worried about another round of quarantine.It’s also not a surprise coronavirus affected you see that two-thirds (68%) of respondents aged 55 years or older, the group with the highest risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19, are concerned about another surge of cases.Staying positiveDespite these concerns and the difficulties faced throughout the pandemic, those who responded coronavirus affected you the survey also showed that they’ve managed coronavirus affected you find positives in their experiences.Overall, 78% of those surveyed said that while quarantine and social distancing was difficult, it’s made them value their relationships. Meanwhile, 65% said the pandemic has made them reevaluate how they spend their time and 58% said it’s made them reevaluate their life goals.And while 58% say that the pandemic has changed their way of life forever, nearly three-quarters (72%) said that they still have hope for the future.Coronavirus has affected us so muchI am a member of a youth fraternity and a Boys & Girls Club member. Right now, in the world we are in a fight of our lives against the coronavirus. It has affected many people including myself. I'm now at home every day and it really is affecting me socially. Not being able coronavirus affected you speak coronavirus affected you friends and see people I see on a regular basis is hard for me. Also, now that school is closed for the rest of the year it has really had an effect on my school life. I am not used coronavirus affected you being at home all the time and working on the computer. I'm usually in a classroom surrounded by my peers. However, I am human so I will learn coronavirus affected you adapt, but for now it is hard.It has affected me personally in the social and educational aspect, but I know around the city of Detroit it's affecting others as well. In Detroit, which is one of the cities around the country hit hard by the virus, the pandemic has also affected the youth. Youth are now forced coronavirus affected you stay home instead of going coronavirus affected you school and spending time with friends. Most kids need coronavirus affected you be outside and with people coronavirus affected you release their energy and socialize. Now this cannot happen, because the virus has affected us so much. One thing we also see happening is food insecurities and social distancing. Due coronavirus affected you what is happening in the world, people are very much afraid and cautious about food supply and interactions with people. People are afraid and are told coronavirus affected you stay inside, so we stock up supplies that will last them about a month. Usually people get stuff that we will last them about two weeks, but now we need coronavirus affected you stay home as much as we can.With social distancing, we now separate ourselves from other parts of society. This has made me feel very much disconnected from my friends. Humans are made coronavirus affected you be out and about and socialize with beings on Earth. These unfortunate events have led many people coronavirus affected you be disconnected from society. This has allowed my mind coronavirus affected you go coronavirus affected you the dark side, where my fears come out. My main fear is “How long will my life be on pause?” I’m afraid of how long I will be stuck in the house and can’t see my friends. Will it be a couple more weeks or will it be a couple months?The Boys & Girls Club has helped me a lot during this crisis. Just for a couple hours, I’m able coronavirus affected you forget about the real world and have a good time. This is because the club has come coronavirus affected you us. The Virtual Club has helped me still talk coronavirus affected you people and meet new people as well. BGCSM has helped me through a lot of things in my life these past few years. So, I know for sure it helps other kids through these tough times. This experience with BGCSM virtually is helping lighten my heart, through my darkest time.This essay is part of a four-part series in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan exploring the impact on youth and local organizations serving youths as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.How has the coronavirus pandemic affected you? Share your storyWe're asking Australians coronavirus affected you tell us how COVID-19 has transformed their lives.In a year like no other, what were the highs, the lows and the standout moments of your experience of the pandemic?Have you had firsthand experience with the virus? Lost a job? Been separated from loved ones? Or have you flourished while the world was in crisis? No matter how you've been impacted, we want coronavirus affected you hear from you.By responding coronavirus affected you this survey, you are agreeing coronavirus affected you have the information you submit published as part of an ABC News project about how the pandemic has affected Australians. If you prefer coronavirus affected you contribute anonymously, please enter any character into the name field and, if you don't wish youThe information collected will not be used for any other purpose than that described, nor will it be shared with third parties. For details about how we handle the personal information we collect when you contribute your content, questions or views, see the ABC Crowdsourcing Collection Statement.The ABC is using the Screen door tool for this survey. If you don't want coronavirus affected you fill in this form and would prefer coronavirus affected you speak coronavirus affected you a reporter in confidence,5 Ways the Coronavirus Is Changing Everyday LifeLast week the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, with cases reported on every continent except Antarctica. From social distancing coronavirus affected you self-quarantine, the steady rise in COVID-19 cases is dramatically changing day-coronavirus affected you-day life across the globe.Everyday Health wanted coronavirus affected you know just how much the outbreak is affecting everyday life, so we surveyed our readers. Then we spoke with healthcare professionals about the most common responses, best practices during the virus outbreak, and how people can manage their stress levels.Tele medicine is important coronavirus affected you take advantage of during this time, says Tania Elliott, MD, a clinical instructor of medicine and an infectious-diseases specialist at New York University's Langone Health in New York City. According coronavirus affected you Dr. Elliott, there are three reasons medical professionals should make use of virtual care; coronavirus affected you minimize sick patients’ contact with others, coronavirus affected you give mildly ill patients who don’t need hospitalization recommendations for symptomatic relief, and coronavirus affected you enable people with chronic conditions coronavirus affected you still have access coronavirus affected you care.“Telemedicine is also an approach coronavirus affected you reduce person-coronavirus affected you-person transmission of SARS-CoV2 through reducing person-coronavirus affected you-person direct contact,” says Jill E. Weatherhead, MD, an assistant professor at the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.By participating in telemedicine there are reduced interactions between patients sitting out in waiting rooms and between patients and healthcare providers within the exam room, Dr. Weatherhead explains. This could also potentially reduce the rate of transmission within the community. But this practice should be used only if patients have mild SARS-CoV2 symptoms or are in need of non-SARS-CoV2-related and non-emergent medical care, such as refills on daily prescriptions or coronavirus affected you discuss lab tests, she says.2. I Am Working From Home MoreWorking from home may aid in reducing the rate of community transmission of SARS-CoV2. If more people are at home it reduces potential interactions with sick individuals. According coronavirus affected you experts, this is also why it is imperative for individuals who are sick coronavirus affected you stay at home.“We determine the contagiousness of a virus by the reproductive number known as R0 (R-naught). This refers coronavirus affected you how many people one single infected individual can transmit the virus coronavirus affected you within the community,” explains Weather head.According coronavirus affected you Weather head, the estimated R0, or how quickly SARS-CoV2 can spread in a community is between 2-4, meaning one sick individual can spread the virus coronavirus affected you 2 coronavirus affected you 4 other people. As a result of rapid spread, health systems can be overwhelmed with the volume of patients infected."When social distancing is practiced, including telecommuting, the rate of transmission will be reduced, allowing hospital systems coronavirus affected you better handle the pandemic [and] flatten the curve,” explains Weather head.3. I Am Stocking Up on Medications and OTC Medicines“It’s essential for individuals coronavirus affected you have their normal daily medical supplies available at home, particularly their medications,” says Weather head. This is important in case they develop symptoms and need coronavirus affected you be quarantined at home for 14 days.For people with chronic conditions, it’s very important coronavirus affected you make sure they get a minimum of a three-month supply of prescription medications, says Elliott. Keeping chronic conditions under control is very important, because people with them are at the highest risk for the COVID-19 disease.The CDC recommends considering mail-order services for medications, if you need coronavirus affected you stay home for a prolonged period of time.Elliott also recommends keeping open communication with your doctor: tele medicine, email and patient portals are all good options during this time when we are practicing social distancing.4. I Am Buying Medical Supplies I Wouldn’t Normally PurchaseA common survey response: People are buying medical supplies that they normally wouldn’t purchase. The two most popular? Thermometers and face masks.According coronavirus affected you Weather head, face masks play a role for individuals who are infected who need coronavirus affected you seek medical assistance and for caregivers of people who have become infected so they can protect themselves. It is not currently recommended for non infected persons coronavirus affected you wear a mask, according coronavirus affected you the CDC. Preserving access coronavirus affected you masks for those who need them the most is critical for their health, she says.Experts generally recommend keeping thermometers on hand coronavirus affected you take your temperature if you feel feverish, a common symptom of COVID-19.“For people with chronic conditions, I recommend having a blood pressure cuff at home, ideally one with Bluetooth so you can upload the information easily coronavirus affected you your doctor,” says Elliott. She says inexpensive blood pressure cuffs work fine, too.People with lung conditions may want coronavirus affected you consider home digital stethoscopes that can listen coronavirus affected you the heart and lungs and send information coronavirus affected you your doctor. Elliott recommends Tytocare, an at-home medical exam kit that works in tandem with a healthcare provider.5. I Will Be Practicing More Social DistancingThere are many things we can do coronavirus affected you help protect ourselves against this novel coronavirus. These things include what we call social distancing, [which means] avoiding contact with sick individuals [and] trying coronavirus affected you stay six feet away from somebody who’s coughing or might be sick, says Mark Mulligan, MD, the director of the division of infectious diseases and immunology at NYU Langone Health and the director of the NYU Langone Vaccine Center.“Don’t feel shy on public transportation, for example, about moving away from somebody who’s coughing,” says Dr. Mulligan. He also recommends not going coronavirus affected you work if you’re sick. Stay home until at least 24 hours after a fever. For elderly individuals, avoid unnecessary visits and interactions, he says.How coronavirus affected you Cope With Stress During a PandemicOur survey results included responses related coronavirus affected you stress, like avoiding too much news, staying home and watching Netflix, and other activities coronavirus affected you quell anxiety.“We’re seeing people engaging in things that give them illusory control, like panic buying and compulsively checking the news as a reassurance,” says Vaile Wright, PhD, the director of clinical research and policy at the American Psychological Association. The level of uncertainty around the coronavirus brings a sense of threat or danger, which exacerbates people’s anxiety and stress, because the uncertainty reminds people of all the things out of their control, Dr. Wright explains.Her advice is coronavirus affected you identify activities you do have control over. She said it’s good coronavirus affected you stay aware of things like places closing in your neighborhood because of the coronavirus but otherwise limit the news you’re taking in, especially if you’re looking at the same headlines over and over again. Identify reliable sources like WHO and the CDC and your local government; she recommended avoiding platforms like Twitter and Facebook for news updates.“We see people — they can’t stop themselves from scrolling. They’re not posting about how many recoveries there have been but the number of deaths and the spread of the disease,” Wright explains. These are important coronavirus affected you know but it’s not good coronavirus affected you be overly saturated with them, she notes.According coronavirus affected you Wright, it’s important coronavirus affected you think about preparation measures for school closures, teleworking, and coming up with contingency plans like buying supplies for a week or two. While people need coronavirus affected you be doing important basic things that are good for them and their communities, they also need coronavirus affected you pivot and think about their mental health and self-care routines:Get enough sleep.Eat well.Stay active.Reach out coronavirus affected you friends and family virtually.Find things you enjoy.Wright calls these “opposite actions,” when you purposely do something coronavirus affected you counter what’s going on around you. She specifically advises against watching films and shows about pandemics (no matter what Netflix says is trending) because that's similar coronavirus affected you panic buying — it lends a false sense of control. Instead she recommends choosing a comedy coronavirus affected you watch, putting on some music, reading a comforting book or taking a bath — even if it's just for 10 minutes.“Try coronavirus affected you focus on things within your control and accept that things are uncertain now but they will get better,” she says. “Remember, we’re all coming together coronavirus affected you reduce the spread of the virus.”From the COVID-19 Front Lines: ‘I Was Exhausted. Mindfulness Can Really Help’Practicing mindfulness doesn’t have coronavirus affected you be time-consuming. Healthcare providers on the front lines say breathing exercises and body scans that only take a moment make a big difference.Getty ImagesIn May, 2020, rates of severe COVID-19 spiked over and over again in Columbus, Ohio, and the surrounding Franklin County. People infected with the new coronavirus flooded into The Ohio State University (OSU) Wexner Medical Center.Kelsey Black, MD, in the first year of a fellowship training program in pulmonology critical care there, was tasked with the roles of determining which patients needed coronavirus affected you go on ventilators and then helping her team intubate them. “We take care of the sickest of the sick with COVID-19,” Dr. Black says. “We saw people die and had people on ventilators for long periods of time.”Patients’ families were distraught. They wanted coronavirus affected you know why they couldn’t be at the bedside of their loved ones, Black says. Healthcare teams were still learning about the new virus and how coronavirus affected you stay safe.Figuring out how coronavirus affected you balance doing your job while protecting yourself and your fellow healthcare workers was stressful, she says. "We were helping families navigate a new disease as we were learning about it ourselves.”In November, Black heard about and took the Mindfulness in Motion course, a mindfulness-based intervention developed by other OSU researchers and offered virtually at the medical center.“I had been interested in mindfulness from a research standpoint. Now, I’ve found it so helpful personally,” she says.The OSU course teaches individuals how coronavirus affected you notice their feelings, thoughts and responses in the moment — and how coronavirus affected you use tools like mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises, and yoga coronavirus affected you boost awareness and reduce stress. Some of the techniques Black learned include: scanning her body for tension and noticing her breathing. She also learned simple techniques for feeling grounded and relaxed, including yoga poses (like Tree, Chair, and Eagle poses) that can be done at work. She learned self-massage techniques.“Mindfulness works because it’s a gateway coronavirus affected you restoration,” says Maryanna Klatt, PhD, a professor of clinical family medicine at Ohio State who developed the program. “Once you’re aware of what’s really going on for you in a difficult situation or really any situation, you have the power coronavirus affected you deal with it. You can do something about it or let it go. It works because its grounded in each person’s real, in-the-moment experience.”Even catching a few seconds for a mindfulness break helped in the most stressful moments of being a first responder during the COVID-19 health crisis over the past year, Black says.“When I’m busy there isn’t always time for a 10-minute meditation,” Black says. “But just taking five breaths is something I do. I put my feet on the floor, let my muscles relax, stack the vertebrae in my spine so I’m sitting up straight and do some diaphragmatic breathing through pursed lips. It can really help, especially if I’m feeling overwhelmed.”And now, new research from Dr. Klatt’s group that evaluated the effectiveness of the Mindfulness in Motion program found that it can indeed ease burn-out, stress and emotional exhaustion for a wide range of people working in healthcare.The study was published in January 2021 in the journal Global Advances in Health and Medicine and found significant mental-health benefits for 267 hospital workers — doctors and nurses as well as therapists, pharmacists, dietitians, and administrative assistants — who took the free eight-week mindfulness class and practiced on their own with videos.Data Show Mindfulness Programs Can Curb Stress and BurnoutResearchers began collecting data for the recent study years before the COVID-19 pandemic began, tracking outcomes of healthcare works who participated in Klatt’s Mindfulness in Motion program between 2017 and 2019.The paper also tracked use of stress-reducing, five- coronavirus affected you six-minute mindfulness videos also developed by Klatt made available online through OSU at the start of the pandemic. The publicly-available videos were viewed 10,896 times in the first 90 days they were available. “We’re at over 20,000 views now,” Klatt says.Study volunteers who took the mindfulness classes also filled out questionnaires before and after the eight-week program that measure burnout, stress, resilience, and engagement at work.After completing the program, 27 percent fewer participants met criteria for burnout, which is significant because job burnout is a widespread risk for healthcare workers in high-stress environments. Levels of perceived stress dropped. Scores for resilience and work engagement increased substantially, with the participants reporting more vigor, absorption, and dedication coronavirus affected you their work.The study also tracked views of 30-minute video “mindfulness booster sessions,” which were made available coronavirus affected you all healthcare practitioners at the medical center during the pandemic. The booster videos got 1,720 views in the first 90 days, while the five- coronavirus affected you six-minute mindfulness videos Klatt developed in the early days of the pandemic got 8,471 views in 60 days. “These were available coronavirus affected you anyone, not just hospital employees, so we don’t know who was watching,” Klatt says. “But clearly people were interested.”Why Mindfulness Helps: ‘I Notice the Good Moments That Sustain Me’Interventions that can help with first responder stress and exhaustion are important during a health emergency. Healthcare practitioners are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress, anxiety and exhaustion during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a national survey of emergency medical technicians, nurses, doctors, therapists and other healthcare workers by Mental Health America, 76 percent reported burnout, 75 percent said they were overwhelmed, and more than half reported sleep problems. One in 4 U.K. hospital workers, including doctors and nurses, had signs of post-traumatic stress disorder in a study published December 29, 2020, in BJPsych Open.“When you’re dealing with extreme illness all the time, it’s hard coronavirus affected you see the positives,” Black says of her experience treating patients with COVID-19. “The course helped me stay open coronavirus affected you what’s going on around me. I notice the beautiful interactions between staff members and families, the ways coworkers come together as a team, and the good moments that sustain me.”Klatt says her group is currently working on two-minute videos that nurses and other healthcare practitioners can use during very short breaks such as between patients. These new videos are the result of a request for such tools from a critical-care nursing supervisor, Klatt says. “The short videos are like using a rescue inhaler during an asthma attack coronavirus affected you help you get through high stress and anxiety. They will include a simple stretch or relaxation move coronavirus affected you reduce tension, a breathing exercise, and a [reminder] coronavirus affected you check in with yourself.”John Shepard, RN, a critical care nurse and mindfulness program manager for the Indiana University Health System, says he sees even brief mindfulness moments reduce stress at the 16-hospital system where he works in Indiana.Shepard was not involved with Klatt’s work. But he’s found similar results from a five-week course he teaches called Aware or through the “pop-up” mindfulness sessions he leads for hospital staffers.“We’ll do a few yoga stretches, a mindfulness exercise with breathing, and we often end with laughter yoga,” he says. “When a group of people simulate deep belly laughs — just making the sounds and using their breath — pretty soon people find themselves smiling and laughing for real.”Due coronavirus affected you the pandemic, nurses and other healthcare workers are strained and stressed, Shepard says. “We care for everyone who comes through the door, whether they wore a mask and practiced social-distancing or not, whether they’re in favor of the new COVID-19 vaccines or not. We have coronavirus affected you rise above our personal feelings. It can take a toll.”What Makes a Mindfulness Intervention Successful at Scale: Connection and InvestmentIn Klatt’s classes and Shepard’s pop-up sessions, group support plays a quietly important roll.Klatt, who leads the virtual Mindfulness in Motion classes, says sessions begin with participants asking one another questions and sharing responses. “It’s good coronavirus affected you know you’re not in this alone. To see that other people have different responses coronavirus affected you situations is so valuable. And we hear new ideas about resilience and mindfulness every week from participants.”Having time with colleagues coronavirus affected you acknowledge emotions and vulnerability is also important, Shepard says. “It’s a place where you don’t have coronavirus affected you be tough,” he says.Klatt and Shepard also note that their programs are successful because the institutions where they work supports them. The investment of money and staff coronavirus affected you develop programs is important; so is giving staff permission coronavirus affected you work on mindfulness while they’re at work, right on the frontlines of medicine.“People take Mindfulness in Motion during the workday,” Klatt says. “They have the support coronavirus affected you leave their job for an hour a week, turn off their cell phones, and focus on this. That makes a big difference for them in the moment — with long-term benefits for their own health and for the care of patients”A Brief History of COVID, 1 Year InOn February 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the first person in the United States had died from COVID-19 — a man in his fifties living in Washington state.Since then, close coronavirus affected you 28 million Americans have been infected with the novel (new) coronavirus, officially known as SARS-CoV-2, according coronavirus affected you the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Nearly half a million have died, more than in any other country in the world.The year has been one of unspeakable tragedy, but also hope with the arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines. The development of these highly effective vaccines is “a great scientific tour de force,” according coronavirus affected you Thomas Russo, MD, chief of infectious disease at the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in New York.Here’s a look back at the most significant U.S. milestones in the pandemic’s first year, where we stand now, and the challenges ahead.On the last day of 2019, health officials in Wuhan, China, notify the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office of a cluster of pneumonia-like illnesses in the Hubei Province. The officials aren’t able coronavirus affected you identify the origin of the outbreak, and by January 3, 2020, 44 people are sick.Local authorities are able coronavirus affected you report that some patients work at the Huanan Seafood market. Later, the WHO will identify the Huanan market — a “wet” market that sells live animals — as the source of the coronavirus.The CDC Confirms the First Case of COVID-19 in the United StatesA 35-year-old man living in Washington state is the first in the United States coronavirus affected you test positive for the coronavirus six days after his return from Wuhan, says the CDC. Health officials in the United States still don’t have much information regarding how the virus spreads, and the general consensus is that it likely moves from animals coronavirus affected you humans, with very limited human-coronavirus affected you-human transmission.A COVID-19 case is confirmed in Hong Kong on February 1: A patient with COVID-19 symptoms who disembarked from the Diamond Princess en route coronavirus affected you Yokohama, Japan, on January 25. Japanese authorities order the ship coronavirus affected you remain at Yokohama port upon arrival, with none of the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members permitted coronavirus affected you leave. By the time passengers are allowed off the ship, on February 23, confirmed cases have risen coronavirus affected you 691 and two people have died, according coronavirus affected you an account published in March 2020 in the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.The CDC Sends Out COVID-19 Testing Kits Later Revealed coronavirus affected you Be DefectiveAfter a sluggish start, the CDC begins coronavirus affected you roll out coronavirus testing kits coronavirus affected you state and local labs — tests that are soon revealed coronavirus affected you be faulty. Problems with testing will become a hallmark of the U.S. pandemic response.The WHO Officially Names the VirusAs infections spread in the United States largely undetected, the WHO gives the virus a name — severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 for short) and assigns the name COVID-19 coronavirus affected you the disease it causes.The CDC Announces the First COVID-19 Death in the United StatesHealth officials declare that a Washington state man in his fifties is the first in the country coronavirus affected you die of COVID-19. The CDC reports the man’s death, as well as another first: A healthcare worker at a long-term care facility in the same state is diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized. A resident of the facility also contracts the virus and is hospitalized. Washington will soon becomes the first COVID-19 hotspot in the United States.Retroactive studies will later reveal that two people in California died of COVID-19 weeks before, on February 6 and 17.Trump Equates COVID-19 coronavirus affected you the Flu“This is a flu. This is like a flu,” says the President in a press briefing, as recounted by Fox News. “It’s a little like a regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”Grand Princess Cruise Ship Docked off San Francisco Begins COVID-19 QuarantineFollowing the death of an elderly man who tested positive for the coronavirus after returning home from a Grand Princess cruise, 2,422 passengers are quarantined in their staterooms by order of the CDC. On March 6, President Trump says he wants those on board the Grand Princess coronavirus affected you stay on the ship so they won’t be counted as American cases. “I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need coronavirus affected you have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault,” Trump says.The WHO Designates COVID-19 as a PandemicThe WHO puts the COVID-19 toll at 118,000 cases and 4,291 deaths in 114 countries. “In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled,” says WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, in a briefing.Dr. Tedros says he hopes the pandemic designation will prompt countries coronavirus affected you implement more drastic measures coronavirus affected you protect against COVID-19, and help countries with fewer resources. “Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled. The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same — it’s whether they will,” he says.In a statement released on Instagram, the actor reveals that he and Wilson, who are traveling in Australia, have tested positive for the coronavirus: “We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too.” As for what will happen next, he writes, “We Hankses will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more coronavirus affected you it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?” Hanks and Wilson become Hollywood’s first celebrities coronavirus affected you have COVID-19, a list that will eventually include names like Idris Elba and Pink.Trump Declares a National EmergencyAs part of this announcement, Trump issues a ruling blocking non-U.S. citizens from entering the country if they have been in areas that are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, including China, Iran, and 26 European countries. The order allows the government coronavirus affected you unlock billions of dollars in federal aid coronavirus affected you help state and local governments with their COVID-19 response.Anti-Asian Sentiment in the United States Leads coronavirus affected you an Act of Shocking ViolenceTrump repeatedly calls the coronavirus the “China virus,” helping inflame anti-Asian sentiment in the United States On March 14, members of a family from Myanmar, including a 2-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy, are stabbed outside a grocery store in Midland, Texas, by someone who thought they were Chinese and believed they were infecting people with the coronavirus, according coronavirus affected you an FBI report obtained by ABC News.California Is the First State coronavirus affected you Issue a Stay-at-Home OrderCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom orders residents of the state coronavirus affected you leave home only for necessities. During the next two months, 42 states and territories will implement restrictions.New York governor Andrew Cuomo advises hospitals coronavirus affected you increase capacity by 50 percent as COVID-19 cases surge. New York City becomes a global epicenter of the pandemic. By the end of May, the city will have logged approximately 203,000 cases, with nearly 10 percent resulting in death. Latino New Yorkers are hit hardest, with 260 deaths per 100,000 people, followed closely by Black New Yorkers, with 248 deaths per 100,000 people. The COVID-19 death rate among Asian New Yorkers is 111 per 100,000, and for white New Yorkers, 123 per 100,000.This off-label use for the malaria drug becomes controversial as Trump declares it a miracle cure for COVID-19, despite a lack of evidence. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ultimately revokes the emergency use authorization on June 15, after an extensive FDA–Center for Drug Evaluation and Research report documents serious issues related coronavirus affected you heart arrhythmia, blood and lymph system disorders, kidney injuries, and liver failure.The CDC Urges Americans coronavirus affected you Wear Masks in PublicUntil April, the CDC discouraged people without COVID-19 symptoms from wearing face coverings, largely in an effort coronavirus affected you reserve the limited supply of N95s and surgical masks for healthcare workers. But the agency changes its stance as evidence mounts that infected people without symptoms can transmit the virus. Americans take coronavirus affected you their sewing machines coronavirus affected you churn out cloth masks even as shortages of medical-grade masks and other PPE (personal protective equipment) endanger healthcare workers.The ambitious partnership between private companies and government agencies is an all-out effort coronavirus affected you produce and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2020.May 29, 2020: The United States Withdraws Funding coronavirus affected you the WHOTrump announces that the United States will sever its relationship with the WHO. He says the decision is based on the WHO’s reluctance coronavirus affected you take a tough stance against China, which he believes has not been forthcoming about sharing COVID-19 information.June 26, 2020: White House Coronavirus Task Force Addresses Rising Cases in the American SouthVice President Mike Pence and White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, MD, speak on behalf of the U.S.’s Coronavirus Task Force as cases spike in Texas, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada, and Utah, driven by young adults who are spreading the virus at social gatherings.July 9, 2020: The WHO Announces That COVID-19 May Be AirborneThe announcement comes three days after a group of scientists publish an open letter in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, urging public health officials coronavirus affected you acknowledge that the virus likely can spread through the air. “Studies by the signatories and other scientists have demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking, and coughing in microdroplets small enough coronavirus affected you remain aloft in air and pose a risk of exposure at distances beyond 1 coronavirus affected you 2 meters from an infected individual,” the letter reads. Previously, public health experts had focused on virus spread through respiratory droplets or direct contact with a contagious person or contaminated surfaces.The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which brings nearly half a million people coronavirus affected you South Dakota from August 7 through August 16, helps fuel a surge in cases across the Midwest through the fall. Cases traced back coronavirus affected you the event are eventually found in 87 Minnesota counties alone, according coronavirus affected you a CDC report.White House Rose Garden Event for Judge Amy Coney Barrett Become Likely Superspreader EventAround 150 people gather in the Rose Garden for a ceremony at which President Trump nominates judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, followed by an indoor reception. Numerous guests — including former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former counselor coronavirus affected you the president Kellyanne Conway, and Senators Mike Lee of Utah, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — test positive for COVID-19 within days.Trump Leaves White House via Helicopter coronavirus affected you Be Hospitalized for COVID-19Trump announces on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus. At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he is treated with an experimental monoclonal antibody “cocktail” as well as the experimental antiviral remdesivir, the steroid dexamethasone, and other medications, then discharged from the hospital three days later.The FDA Approves First COVID-19 DrugThe FDA approves the antiviral drug Veklury (remdesivir) for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.The United States Reports 100,000 Cases in 1 Day for the First TimeMissouri, Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and New Mexico all reach record seven-day averages for cases and hospitalizations, according coronavirus affected you CNBC. By mid-November, North Dakota has the highest rate of cases per capita in the world, followed by South Dakota.The FDA Authorizes First Monoclonal Antibody Treatment for Emergency UseThe experimental drug bamlanivimab is a treatment for mild coronavirus affected you moderate COVID-19 in adults and children over age 12 who are at high risk for progressing coronavirus affected you severe COVID-19 and hospitalization. Monoclonal antibodies are made in the lab coronavirus affected you mimic proteins that the body produces naturally as part of its immune response.On December 11, the FDA authorizes Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine for emergency use in people ages 16 and older. Clinical trials show the vaccine has an efficacy rate of 95 percent, far exceeding expectations. A week later, the FDA authorizes Moderna’s two-dose vaccine for people 18 and older, with an efficacy comparable coronavirus affected you the Pfizer vaccine.Colorado Documents First U.S. Case of U.K. Coronavirus VariantThe result of viral mutations, this variant is more highly contagious. Since Colorado documented the first cases of B.1.1.7 in the United States in early January, it has been identified in more than 500 cases in 33 states.On January 25, a Minnesota Department of Health lab confirms the first U.S. case of the P.1 variant, which originated in Brazil. Three days later, South Carolina documents the first case of B.1.351, the variant from South Africa.Johnson & Johnson Announces Safety and Efficacy Data for Its COVID-19 VaccineThe single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected coronavirus affected you receive FDA emergency use authorization in early March. While it is 66 percent effective at preventing moderate coronavirus affected you severe COVID-19, it appears coronavirus affected you eliminate the risk of hospitalization and death. “In a vacuum, the Johnson & Johnson data looks tremendous. It will still have a very important role in bringing this pandemic coronavirus affected you an end,” says the University of Buffalo’s Dr. Russo.Number of Americans Who Have Received a COVID-19 Vaccine Surpasses Total Number of Cases in the United StatesBy the beginning of February, data gathered by the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker shows that for the first time, more Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine than have contracted the virus.The FDA Authorizes New Monoclonal Antibody Combination Treatment for Emergency UseThe government agency greenlights a combination of two monoclonal antibody drugs — bamlanivimab and etesevimab — for the treatment of mild coronavirus affected you moderate COVID-19 in patients aged 12 and up who are high risk for progressing coronavirus affected you severe COVID-19 or hospitalization. Researchers hope this combo therapy will give doctors another weapon in the fight against new coronavirus variants.U.S. Marks a COVID-19 AnniversaryIn the year since the CDC announced the first U.S. death from COVID-19, scientists have fundamentally changed their view of the disease. “It’s not just a respiratory virus like we had originally thought. Virtually every organ in the body is affected because the virus causes inflammation and disrupts blood vessels,” says Russo. “Currently, we are looking at who is hospitalized and dying and who is not, but I don’t think that’s the end of the story.”Coronavirus Alert: U.S. Death Toll Reaches Half a Million, Vaccinations Linked coronavirus affected you Drop in Hospitalizations, Fauci Says Masks May Still Be Needed Into 2022Top StoriesU.S. deaths from COVID-19 have hit 500,000. Just over a year since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was identified in America, the United States has now recorded more than half a million deaths related coronavirus affected you the virus, according coronavirus affected you the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.The death rate, however, is falling. Data analysis from the Washington Post shows that COVID-19 fatalities are almost 30 percent lower this week than last week, and hospitalizations are down 15 percent. The seven-day rolling average for daily infections has dropped under 65,000 — a significant decline from more than 200,000 a day being recorded in December.Biden honors the dead. President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Monday, marking the grim milestone of more than 500,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19. Biden struck a personal note as he spoke coronavirus affected you "the loved ones left behind," CNN reported."I know what it's like coronavirus affected you not be there when it happens. I know what it's like when you are there holding their hands. There's a look in their eye, and they slip away," Biden said. But, he added, "we will get through this, I promise you."Following his remarks, the president joined first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in a moment of silence amid 500 lighted candles outside the White House.Vaccines delayed by the storm are now arriving. On Sunday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC’s This Week that about two million of the six million COVID-19 vaccine doses delayed by last week’s winter weather were delivered over the weekend, and they should be catching up with the rest this week.Masks may be needed into 2022, Dr. Fauci says. Anthony Fauci, MD, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told CNN viewers on Sunday that Americans may still need coronavirus affected you wear masks in 2022 coronavirus affected you protect against the coronavirus, even as the country may reach “a significant degree of normality” by the end of this year.National NewsPfizer expects coronavirus affected you double vaccine output in next few weeks. After President Biden toured the Pfizer vaccine manufacturing facility in Michigan on Friday, the company's chief executive Albert Bourla, PhD, said that company expects coronavirus affected you “more than double” its average output of five million doses per week, as Reuters reported.The FDA has warned of pulse oximeter limitations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement on Friday cautioning that although pulse oximeters can be useful for estimating blood oxygen levels, the devices have limitations and a risk of inaccuracy under certain circumstances. FDA experts underscored that the devices may be less accurate in people with dark skin pigmentation. The agency urged consumers who are monitoring their condition at home coronavirus affected you “pay attention coronavirus affected you all signs and symptoms of their condition and communicate any concerns coronavirus affected you their healthcare provider.”Pfizer's vaccine no longer requires deep freezing. Pfizer-BioNTech submitted new data coronavirus affected you the FDA on Friday demonstrating the stability of their COVID-19 vaccine when stored at temperatures more commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators. An allowance coronavirus affected you store the product at lower freezer temperatures is expected coronavirus affected you improve distribution.A CDC report has confirmed the safety of vaccines. The CDC presented data on Friday reassuring healthcare providers and vaccine recipients about the safety of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. During a month-long period starting December 14, CDC surveillance recorded 7,000 adverse events from about 14 million vaccine doses administered, but 91 percent were not serious. Most common side effects are headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, chills, and dizziness.State UpdateNew York has reached its lowest infection rate in three months. As reported by the New York Daily News, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office released figures on Sunday indicating that the New York State infection rate had reached 2.99 percent, a new low since a holiday resurgence in cases beginning around Thanksgiving.A Florida restaurant posted a "Face Diapers Not Required" sign. BeckyJack’s Food Shack near Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Spring Hill, Florida, sparked a social media stir after posting a sign saying “Face Diapers Not Required! Everyone Welcome,” according coronavirus affected you the Orlando Sentinel. Although public health officials urge mask wearing coronavirus affected you stop the spread of the virus, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has not implemented a statewide mask mandate. The restaurant management has said that it does not believe in the use of masks coronavirus affected you protect against the virus.Around the WorldBritain unveiled plans coronavirus affected you gradually ease restrictions. On Monday, Britain, which had imposed some of the world’s strictest lockdown measures, revealed plans coronavirus affected you begin easing restrictions, according coronavirus affected you The New York Times. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that schools would reopen on March 8, and people would be allowed coronavirus affected you socialize outdoors starting on March 29. Pubs, restaurants, retail shops, and gyms, however, will stay closed for at least another month.Vaccinations in Scotland have led coronavirus affected you a drop in hospitalizations, a study has found. As The Guardian reported on Monday, a study by Scottish universities and Public Health Scotland has found that the risk of serious illness from COVID-19 dropped starting a week after people received their initial dose of either the Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, cutting hospitalizations in the country by more than 85 percent. Scientists, however, are investigating data showing a possible uptick in hospitalizations after four weeks.Rising suicide rates in Japan may provide a warning for world. An investigation by the BBC February 18 revealed that suicide rates in Japan went up for the first time in 11 years during the pandemic. The report highlights that rates among women surged nearly 15 percent while male suicides fell slightly.Vaccine and Research NewsThe FDA will review Johnson & Johnson's vaccine authorization. The FDA is scheduled coronavirus affected you meet this week on February 26 for an all-day meeting coronavirus affected you discuss emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, according coronavirus affected you MarketWatch. The agency is expected coronavirus affected you issue authorization within days of that meeting.Johnson & Johnson revealed phase 3 trial data indicating that its vaccine was 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate coronavirus affected you severe COVID-19, 28 days after inoculation.Interim analysis showed, however, that the vaccine provided complete protection against COVID-related hospitalization and death, and it was 85 percent effective at preventing severe disease.Swelling of lymph nodes after vaccination may mimic signs of breast cancer. The Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) is recommending that women may want coronavirus affected you wait four coronavirus affected you six weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine coronavirus affected you schedule a mammogram. Research published in the journal Clinical Imaging has found that some individuals who have received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines have experienced a swelling in the lymph nodes, which may be misinterpreted as a symptom of breast cancer. SBI says that a temporary swelling of the lymph nodes may be “a sign that the body is making antibodies in response [coronavirus affected you the vaccine] as intended."The U.K. variant is likely deadlier, a study has found. The British government has released a study showing that the coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom is "likely" more lethal than the original strain. The British scientists estimate that the variant could be 30 coronavirus affected you 70 percent deadlier than the original strain. The U.K. government has warned that the variant is more transmissible than other forms of the virus.One shot of the Pfizer vaccine produces a robust response. A study out of Israel published in the Lancet Thursday demonstrated that Pfizer’s vaccine was 85 percent effective 15 coronavirus affected you 28 days after receiving the first dose, according coronavirus affected you The New York Times.Pfizer will test a vaccine booster shot targeting the South African variant. Chief scientific officer of viral vaccines at Pfizer Vaccines Research and Development, Phil Dormitzer, MD, PhD, told Reuters that the company was developing plans coronavirus affected you test a redesigned booster for the vaccine that specifically targets the South African variant.Dr. Dormitzer is a coauthor of a lab study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday suggesting that antibody protection from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be cut by two-thirds due coronavirus affected you the South African variant (B.1.351). Scientists said that it’s not yet known exactly how the vaccine’s level of protection will be impacted, but study coauthor Pei-Yong Shi, PhD, told Reuters that the vaccine should still be effective at neutralizing the virus.Similarly, scientists from Moderna published a letter in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday showing a reduced antibody response coronavirus affected you the South African variant but not enough coronavirus affected you diminish the shot’s effectiveness.Vitamin D doesn’t seem coronavirus affected you help COVID patients. A single dose of vitamin D did not have any significant effect on moderate coronavirus affected you severe COVID-19 infections, according coronavirus affected you an investigation detailed on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.Track the Vax: When Is It Too Risky coronavirus affected you Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?Welcome back coronavirus affected you Track the Vax, a weekly podcast from Everyday Health and MedPage Today, in which we speak with leading experts, pharmaceutical company reps, physicians, and patients on the latest news and science behind the race for a COVID-19 vaccine.Nearly 1.5 million Americans are being vaccinated every day against COVID-19. Still, allergic reactions have led some people coronavirus affected you question whether they should get the vaccine. Scant data on vulnerable populations gleaned from clinical trials for the currently approved vaccines means we don’t fully know how those with certain conditions will react.Does that mean those with allergies or conditions like HIV, multiple sclerosis, or cancer should pass on the shot? What about pregnant women?Barbara Alexander, MD, an infectious-disease specialist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and the current president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America joins us coronavirus affected you explore who should get the shot.Mark Turrentine, MD, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and cochair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) COVID-19 OB Expert Work Group also joins coronavirus affected you explain whether the vaccine is safe for pregnant and nursing women.Vaccine Side Effects and ReactionsAs millions of Americans are receiving a COVID-19 vaccine every week, reports have been coming in regarding side effects. For the most part, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that side effects from either the Pfizer-BioNtech or the Moderna shot are relatively minor. The most frequent side effects are pain and swelling at the injection site and flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, tiredness, and headaches.Dr. Alexander notes that while most people “don't have too much of a reaction” after the first shot, the second dose may be more likely coronavirus affected you produce “pain, fatigue, headache, and myalgias, or muscle pains” that usually resolve within two or three days.“When the body gets that second dose, it’s really revved up,” she says. “It’s really ready coronavirus affected you act against the antigen that the vaccine is providing. It’s an inflammatory response from the body.”The reaction is a natural sign, however, that the inoculation is kicking in and the body’s immune system is building protection against the virus.Severe Reactions Can Occur, but There Have Been FewThe CDC has received some reports of people who have experienced non-severe allergic reactions within four hours after getting vaccinated, such as hives, swelling, and wheezing (respiratory distress). The health agency has also learned of a few severe allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis, after a COVID-19 vaccine.While Alexander cautions that anaphylaxis is a concerning issue, she cites figures showing that the frequency of anaphylaxis is around five cases per million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and about 2.8 cases per million doses of the Moderna vaccine.“The chance that you're going coronavirus affected you have an anaphylactic reaction is very, very slim,” she says.Alexander also emphasizes that people with allergies don’t typically face a greater threat when it comes coronavirus affected you the immunizations. “People have allergies coronavirus affected you a lot of different allergens: different food products, pet dander, bee venom, or even latex; but none of these are contraindicated,” she says.An article published in December 2020 in Science points out that the Moderna vaccine contains the compound polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is found in many drugs that have triggered anaphylaxis but has never been used before in an approved vaccine. Individuals may want coronavirus affected you consult with a doctor if they have had a known hypersensitivity coronavirus affected you PEG or polysorbate (which isn’t in the vaccines but is closely related coronavirus affected you PEG).Alexander warns that people who have had allergic reactions coronavirus affected you these ingredients in the past must proceed carefully when it comes coronavirus affected you getting a COVID inoculation. Those with concerns about a serious allergic reaction may still be able coronavirus affected you get vaccinated, but they may have coronavirus affected you do so in a center that’s equipped coronavirus affected you immediately treat them if they develop anaphylaxis.She adds that if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved, it may pose less less risk of allergic reactions because it uses an adenovirus vector platform, which already has been used safely in many other vaccines. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use an mRNA platform, a new type of genetic technology that teaches our cells how coronavirus affected you make a protein that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.Immunocompromised populations, such as people living with HIV infection, cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, and organ transplant recipients, may not have a robust immune response coronavirus affected you the vaccine. These populations, however, are at high risk for severe disease related coronavirus affected you COVID-19, so Dr. Alexander and other public health experts recommend that they get the vaccine.“We’ve not seen any signals that these vaccines are not safe in these populations,” she says. “Even a small degree of response coronavirus affected you the vaccine may actually prevent these people from developing severe COVID infection and dying.”Addressing Vaccine Concerns Among Pregnant WomenAnother population with safety concerns are mothers-coronavirus affected you-be and new mothers who question how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may affect them or their newborn. The uncertainty comes from a dearth of research on these groups of women.“Even before the COVID-19 vaccine trials, pregnant women have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials of new medications and vaccines,” says Dr. Turrentine. “So, we have this situation where we had these two large placebo controlled randomized clinical trials with essentially no pregnant women or women breastfeeding.”The advice from public health authorities has been confusing, according coronavirus affected you Turrentine. At the end of January, the World Health Organization (WHO) published information about the Moderna vaccine specifically indicating that “very little data are available coronavirus affected you assess vaccine safety in pregnancy.” But because there are “no specific risks that would outweigh the benefits of vaccination for pregnant women,” the health organization advised that pregnant women at high risk of exposure coronavirus affected you the virus (such as healthcare workers) or those who have comorbidities that add coronavirus affected you their risk of severe disease “may be vaccinated in consultation with their healthcare provider.”Still, the WHO did not endorse a COVID vaccine for all pregnant women. The CDC, while not outright recommending the vaccine coronavirus affected you these women, cautions that pregnant women with COVID-19 have an increased risk of severe illness, and the virus may also increase the chances of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a policy stating that the COVID-19 vaccines should not be withheld from pregnant women or lactating women who otherwise meet criteria for vaccination.Despite the confusing messaging, Turrentine says, “Hopefully we’ve reassured our pregnant patients, breastfeeding moms, and women contemplating pregnancy that if after some informed decision-making they either choose coronavirus affected you obtain a COVID-19 vaccine or not, they feel they've made the right choice.”Serena Marshall: We've heard that getting one of these COVID-19 vaccines, especially the second doses, can be painful and even put you out for a few days. Is this just anecdotal, or is there some science behind it?Barbara Alexander: I think there is definitely science emerging now. Actually, the most recent safety data was reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the committee that advises the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) on vaccine safety and efficacy.It's true that it seems the second dose is more reactogenic than the first dose. Most symptoms do occur within the first three days after vaccination and most spontaneously resolve within a couple or three days. The most common side effects seem coronavirus affected you be pain, fatigue, headache, and myalgias or muscle pains.Serena Marshall: Is it because of these vaccines’ mRNA (messenger RNA) technology, or is it something coronavirus affected you do with the COVID antibody response that they're generating?Barbara Alexander: I suspect it has more coronavirus affected you do with the antibody response. With the first vaccine, most people don't have too much of a reaction. It's after that second vaccine that we see most people developing more side effects. Probably that's because after the first dose our bodies begin coronavirus affected you make an antibody response or an immune response. When it gets that second dose, the body's really revved up. It's really ready coronavirus affected you act against the antigen that the vaccine is providing. In that scenario then, what we're getting is an inflammatory response from the body.Barbara Alexander: The most important and worrisome allergic reaction that we think about is an immediate allergic reaction — the scientific term we use is a type 1 hypersensitivity reaction. The majority of these types of reactions occur within 30 minutes after vaccination.The types of reactions that we're talking about here are urticaria or hives; angioedema is swelling in the lower layers of the skin, and typically it involves the face and tongue or throat and wheezing. If you see one or two of these symptoms in combination with a low blood pressure or fast heart rate, then in that scenario that is anaphylaxis.Barbara Alexander: Actually, no. When the vaccines were first rolled out, there were cases reported early on of anaphylaxis and it received a lot of attention. It was something that obviously we were very concerned about.But as we accrued more data, we know now that anaphylaxis is probably not as common as we thought it might be. The safety data is accruing not only from clinical trials, but from the real world.Serena Marshall: If you have a food, pet, or environmental allergy, is that an indication that you might [be at risk] for anaphylaxis and should pass on the COVID vaccine?Barbara Alexander: People have allergies coronavirus affected you a lot of different allergens. Different food products, pet dander, bee venom, or even latex. None of these are contraindicated; even if you have anaphylaxis coronavirus affected you these products, it's safe coronavirus affected you get the messenger RNA vaccines.The only major contraindication coronavirus affected you the messenger RNA vaccines is if you've had an immediate allergic reaction, a hypersensitivity response, coronavirus affected you the first dose or if you've had such a response coronavirus affected you a component of the vaccine in the past. That includes polyethylene glycol because this component is in both vaccines, and some people will react coronavirus affected you it.If you're going coronavirus affected you receive the vaccine, do it in a center that's equipped coronavirus affected you immediately treat it in case you did develop anaphylaxis. And all people with a prior history of an anaphylactic reaction should be monitored for at least 30 minutes after they receive the dose.Serena Marshall: Could the version of the vaccine you get dictate how you react coronavirus affected you it? We've talked a lot about these mRNA ones because they're the ones that have been released coronavirus affected you the public. Looking forward, would we expect coronavirus affected you see different reactions and perhaps different contraindicators for different styles of vaccines?Barbara Alexander: Absolutely. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, specifically, is using an adenovirus vector. It's a platform that has been used widely in vaccines before that we've used in teenagers, infants, and children. So we feel reasonably comfortable with adenovirus vector vaccines. We'll just have coronavirus affected you wait and see what the safety data looks like and, importantly, coronavirus affected you see what their efficacy data looks like.Barbara Alexander: These populations — patients living with HIV infection, people with cancer, or patients who may have received a solid organ transplant — are receiving immunosuppressive drugs or chemotherapy, which can weaken their immune system. Accordingly, they may not have a robust immune response coronavirus affected you the vaccine. But some degree of immunity is better than none. And particularly since these people are at certainly higher risk for severe disease, we are recommending that they get the vaccine.Q&A With Dr. Mark TurrentineSerena Marshall: Explain coronavirus affected you us why there has been what appears coronavirus affected you many people as a mixed message for moms-coronavirus affected you-be.Mark Turrentine: Even before the COVID-19 vaccine trials, pregnant women have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials of new medications and vaccines.In 2013, the National Institutes of Health developed guidelines for protocol design and safety assessment for clinical trials conducted in pregnant women.In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published draft guidance that gave a framework for consideration of inclusion of pregnant women in clinical trials. The conclusions were that including pregnant and breastfeeding women is essential, unless there is some compelling, scientific reason coronavirus affected you exclude them.We have this situation where we had these two large placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials with essentially no pregnant women or women breastfeeding.So with limited information coronavirus affected you guide us, it comes down coronavirus affected you expert consensus with mass medical ailments and the interventions we have had good clinical experience with.The World Health Organization initially on January 8 of this year stated that due coronavirus affected you insufficient data they did not recommend the vaccination of pregnant women with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at that time.Then on January 27, the WHO came out with a statement on the Moderna vaccine that recommended not getting a COVID-19 vaccine unless the woman was at a high risk of exposure. And this led coronavirus affected you a lot of confusion in many parts of the world.Mark Turrentine: There's definitely a lot of initial confusion. We're all looking at the same information. And I think this is the challenge, when you have limited information coronavirus affected you guide you and you're trying coronavirus affected you combat a potentially life threatening disease. As someone who's been personally involved with guideline and policy development on a national level for many years, it's complex.I can at least feel professional comfort in that the guidelines in the United States have been consistent coronavirus affected you date. We tried coronavirus affected you base them on the best evidence we have available coronavirus affected you us, and hopefully we've reassured our pregnant patients, breastfeeding moms, and women contemplating pregnancy that if after some informed decision-making they either choose coronavirus affected you obtain a COVID- 19 vaccine or not, they feel they've made the right choice.Mark Turrentine: Bottom line is yes, they should get the vaccine. But what I tell my pregnant patients is, first learn everything you can about the COVID-19 disease and the COVID-19 vaccine.The disease is dangerous, and it's more dangerous for pregnant women. COVID patients who are pregnant are five times more likely coronavirus affected you end up in the intensive care unit or on a ventilator than COVID patients who are not pregnant. And although the absolute risk is low, pregnant individuals are more likely coronavirus affected you die of COVID than their non-pregnant peers who are the same age.The pregnant individual should be given the opportunity coronavirus affected you make their own decision about whether they receive the vaccine, and barriers should not be put into place coronavirus affected you prevent access or hinder the ability of a pregnant woman coronavirus affected you protect herself from a virus that could be potentially life-threatening.Track the Vax: How Worried Should You Be About New Coronavirus Variants?Welcome back coronavirus affected you Track the Vax, a weekly podcast from Everyday Health and MedPage Today, in which we speak with leading experts, pharmaceutical company reps, physicians, and patients on the latest news and science behind the race for a COVID-19 vaccine.As many as a dozen COVID-19 variants are known coronavirus affected you be circulating worldwide. Among them are B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, the highly transmissible strains that originated in the UK and South Africa, respectively.While more vaccines continue coronavirus affected you move toward emergency approval worldwide, we’re still learning the effectiveness of the current vaccines against the new strains; and how the new mutations mean that even those who have already had COVID-19 may not be immune coronavirus affected you reinfection.To explore the new strains and what they mean for vaccination efforts, future mutations, and herd immunity, the virologist Angela Rasmussen, PhD, of Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and Security in Washington, DC, joins us on this week’s episode.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that variants that have been identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil appear coronavirus affected you spread more easily and quickly than other variants. Their high transmission rate could fuel a new surge in infections, which health authorities fear could further strain the healthcare system.As of mid-February, the CDC had recorded at least 1,173 cases of the UK variant in 40 states, 17 instances of the South African variant in eight states, and three reports of the Brazilian mutation in two states.Research published in MedRXiv February 7found that the UK variant may be doubling about every 10 days in the United States. Scientists estimated that the variant is 35 percent coronavirus affected you 45 percent more transmissible than strains that have appeared earlier in the country. Perhaps even more troubling, the British government in January released a study showing that the coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom is "likely" more lethal than the original strain.Besides being more contagious and possibly deadlier, some variants may also be more resistant coronavirus affected you vaccines, according coronavirus affected you the World Health Organization. Although the latest coronavirus numbers have been encouraging, as infections, hospitalizations, and deaths steadily drop, the director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, has warned that the “continued proliferation of variants remains a great concern.”Variants Call for VigilanceAs the Cleveland Clinic reports, the idea of a virus mutating is scary, but it’s very normal — viruses mutate constantly. Daniel Rhoads, MD, a microbiologist and pathologist at the clinic, points out that most of the time, mutations are so small that they don’t significantly affect how the virus works, or they make the virus weaker, but it’s clear that some of the current coronavirus variants are more transmissible.Because some variants may be more contagious, Dr. Rasmussen stresses that the public has coronavirus affected you remain on guard at this time and keep up with all the basic CDC recommendations: Wear a mask, practice social distancing (stay at least six feet away from others who don’t live with you), and avoid crowds.“Anytime the virus is getting a lot of different opportunities coronavirus affected you replicate — such as in places where there is widespread transmission and a lot of new hosts for the virus — that’s going coronavirus affected you increase the likelihood that these variants will emerge,” she says. “If we really apply risk-reduction measures, in addition coronavirus affected you ramping up vaccination, that will give us a much better shot at preventing these variants from being commonplace and widespread in the United States.”Unknowns Arise as New Variants EmergeAs researchers race coronavirus affected you study the mutations as quickly as possible, questions topping the list of concerns are: Can individuals who have had the coronavirus be reinfected by the variants, and will the current vaccines offer protection?Researchers with the Children’s Hospital of Mexico published a review finding that SARS-CoV-2 has a low mutation rate, suggesting that “a vaccine, as well as the immunity developed in recovered patients, could provide long-lasting protection compared with vaccines against influenza, which are rendered obsolete as the virus mutates.”A recent investigation published online February 12 at MedRxiv has raised some alarm because it indicates that the AstraZeneca vaccine may not protect against mild coronavirus affected you moderate infection caused by the South Africa variant.Rasmussen reminds us that this is only one study, and so much more research is needed coronavirus affected you understand how shielded individuals may be who have already had the virus or been vaccinated.“All the data that we have so far suggests that even in situations where the vaccines may not protect completely against symptomatic COVID, they all seem coronavirus affected you remain effective against severe COVID-19,” she says.South Africa is set coronavirus affected you be the first country coronavirus affected you start administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after research has shown the product coronavirus affected you be effective against multiple emerging viral mutations. Similarly, Novavax released trial data at the end of January demonstrating that its vaccine provided protection against both the UK and South African variants.“The Johnson & Johnson and Novavax trials suggest that those vaccines do remain protective against severe COVID-19 in the case of people infected with that [South African] variant,” says Rasmussen. Even if the vaccines may not totally block the virus, she sees “quite a bit of value if a vaccine is capable of protecting against severe outcomes.”Vaccines Can Be Adjusted coronavirus affected you Target MutationsScientists already know that the recipe for a vaccine can be tweaked coronavirus affected you fight off mutations. The flu, for instance, offers a model. Influenza mutates much faster than the novel coronavirus, and flu shots have coronavirus affected you be adjusted almost every year.As the CDC details, health authorities meet every February coronavirus affected you review the results of surveillance, laboratory, and clinical studies, and make recommendations regarding the composition of the influenza vaccine. On the basis of all this information, the World Health Organization and other health experts then agree on the vaccine recipe for the upcoming flu season, and drug manufacturers churn out new batches of vaccine coronavirus affected you fight any new strains.Rasmussen says that the good news is vaccines, especially the mRNA-based ones, are “relatively easy coronavirus affected you change,” and that research coronavirus affected you update formulas will not have coronavirus affected you be prolonged.“We do this with the influenza vaccine every year, and it doesn’t require extensive phase three clinical trials coronavirus affected you do it,” she says.According coronavirus affected you Rasmussen, heterologous boosting may also offer a solution. This means an initial inoculation with one type of vaccine (for example, Pfizer’s product), then a booster with a different vaccine platform (for example, Moderna’s shot).In the journal Current Opinion in Immunology, Shan Lu, MD, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, wrote that in many cases, a “heterologous prime-boost can be more immunogenic than a homologous prime-boost.”“I think if we have coronavirus affected you start developing boosters for emerging variants, we probably will get a lot of experience with using heterologous vaccine regimens,” says Rasmussen.Although vaccinations are ramping up, and President Joe Biden projects we’ll have enough vaccine by the end of July coronavirus affected you cover every American adult, Rasmussen warns that, as of now, we haven’t yet vaccinated enough people coronavirus affected you fight off potentially dangerous variants, and we should not rush coronavirus affected you drop common protective measures on a broad scale.“We don’t know how quickly we're going coronavirus affected you be able coronavirus affected you immunize large portions of the country; much less in individual communities,” she says. “So I think it's a very, very bad idea coronavirus affected you be opening things back up, even if we're doing so ‘cautiously.’ What I would rather see is people hanging on just a little bit longer. Until we can get more vaccines rolled out and continue coronavirus affected you reduce transmission, then we will be able coronavirus affected you actually open up sooner and for good.”Serena Marshall: We have all these new COVID strains — from Brazil, South Africa, the UK. The CDC has called them a threat coronavirus affected you the United States. How concerned should we be?Angela Rasmussen: We need coronavirus affected you be very concerned, but we also shouldn't freak out. We need coronavirus affected you make sure that these variants are not able coronavirus affected you spread further within our population. One way coronavirus affected you do that is through vaccination, of course. But right now, we don't have enough vaccine supplies coronavirus affected you vaccinate enough people quickly enough. That means that we also should be directing our energy and our concern coronavirus affected you reducing transmission as much as possible through other means … doubling down on the precautions that we have been taking for the past year. Masking, physical distancing, avoiding enclosed spaces, not having gatherings unless they're absolutely necessary, improving ventilation if possible, washing our hands, and disinfecting high touch surfaces — by taking all of those measures and applying them as much as we can in any given situation, we'll be able coronavirus affected you reduce our transmission risk until we can ramp up vaccination coronavirus affected you the point where enough people are immunized.Angela Rasmussen: Let me back up and explain mutation. A mutation is essentially a spelling error. When the enzyme that copies the genomes for these viruses is copying them, it can sometimes make a typo. That typo is called a mutation. Sometimes mutations have absolutely no impact at all. Sometimes they're bad for the virus. Sometimes they give the virus an advantage. Those are the mutations that we are concerned about — the advantage ones. The ones that make the virus better at doing what viruses do, which is replicating. Any mutation that does that is going coronavirus affected you be of concern coronavirus affected you us.Now, coronaviruses don't mutate as rapidly as the flu for a couple of reasons. They actually have an enzyme, in addition coronavirus affected you the one that replicates the genome, that acts as sort of a spellchecker. And it can correct some of the mutations that are made. So it has a lower mutation rate in general than other RNA viruses, such as influenza. It also doesn't have a segmented genome, meaning its genome is all just one big piece of RNA. Influenza has a segmented genome. Those genome segments can sort of be shuffled together in unpredictable ways, like a deck of cards. This allows new variants coronavirus affected you emerge very rapidly.Angela Rasmussen: We already certainly know that there are variants that have emerged in the United States. Whether or not they are of concern, meaning that they have some of these mutations that will confer some type of advantage coronavirus affected you the virus, remains coronavirus affected you be seen. But we also are having a harder time tracking the new variants that might emerge here just because we're not doing as much genomic surveillance as other countries. So it's entirely possible that there could be U.S. variants that are circulating that we should be worried about, but we just don't know about them yet.Serena Marshall: That's kind of a terrifying thing coronavirus affected you think about — that we could have these U.S. strains that are going coronavirus affected you emerge.Angela Rasmussen: It's certainly scary. What coronavirus affected you me is scarier, though, rather than a hypothetical future U.S. variant, are the P.1, B.1.351, B.1.1.7 variants, which we know are already in the United States. Not being able coronavirus affected you track those as well as we'd like is a concern that I have all the time.Serena Marshall: Let's talk now about vaccines that we've seen ramp up throughout the country. Will that mean that we can reduce these strains and their spread? Will we be able coronavirus affected you vaccinate our way out of these new variants?Angela Rasmussen: I don't think we'll be able coronavirus affected you completely vaccinate our way out of them. Doing the math — and that's completely ignoring all the distribution issues we have — on the number of doses that we have, it's going coronavirus affected you be very unlikely that we would be able coronavirus affected you vaccinate enough people in the population coronavirus affected you reduce the risk of these variants posed by vaccination alone. I think that if we really apply different risk-reduction measures, in addition coronavirus affected you ramping up vaccination, that will give us a much better shot at preventing these variants from being commonplace and widespread in the United States.Serena Marshall: We're starting coronavirus affected you see that some of these vaccines do protect against some of these variants, but we don't really know the full picture of protection with these new strains. So are those vaccines still going coronavirus affected you be helpful against these strains?Angela Rasmussen: Absolutely. All the data that we have so far suggests that even in situations where the vaccines might not protect completely against symptomatic COVID, they all seem coronavirus affected you remain effective against severe COVID-19. And that's really the most basic and most important thing that we want these vaccines coronavirus affected you be able coronavirus affected you do. We want coronavirus affected you be able coronavirus affected you keep people out of the hospital. If somebody is going coronavirus affected you get COVID, we want coronavirus affected you make sure they don't die from it. So I think that we should absolutely take the vaccines as soon as we have access coronavirus affected you them. And that is what I'm planning coronavirus affected you do. That's what I've encouraged all of my family and friends coronavirus affected you do as well.Track the Vax: When Is It Too Risky coronavirus affected you Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?Welcome back coronavirus affected you Track the Vax, a weekly podcast from Everyday Health and MedPage Today, in which we speak with leading experts, pharmaceutical company reps, physicians, and patients on the latest news and science behind the race for a COVID-19 vaccine.Nearly 1.5 million Americans are being vaccinated every day against COVID-19. Still, allergic reactions have led some people coronavirus affected you question whether they should get the vaccine. Scant data on vulnerable populations gleaned from clinical trials for the currently approved vaccines means we don’t fully know how those with certain conditions will react.Does that mean those with allergies or conditions like HIV, multiple sclerosis, or cancer should pass on the shot? What about pregnant women?Barbara Alexander, MD, an infectious-disease specialist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and the current president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America joins us coronavirus affected you explore who should get the shot.Mark Turrentine, MD, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and cochair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) COVID-19 OB Expert Work Group also joins coronavirus affected you explain whether the vaccine is safe for pregnant and nursing women.Vaccine Side Effects and ReactionsAs millions of Americans are receiving a COVID-19 vaccine every week, reports have been coming in regarding side effects. For the most part, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that side effects from either the Pfizer-BioNtech or the Moderna shot are relatively minor. The most frequent side effects are pain and swelling at the injection site and flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, tiredness, and headaches.Dr. Alexander notes that while most people “don't have too much of a reaction” after the first shot, the second dose may be more likely coronavirus affected you produce “pain, fatigue, headache, and myalgias, or muscle pains” that usually resolve within two or three days.“When the body gets that second dose, it’s really revved up,” she says. “It’s really ready coronavirus affected you act against the antigen that the vaccine is providing. It’s an inflammatory response from the body.”The reaction is a natural sign, however, that the inoculation is kicking in and the body’s immune system is building protection against the virus.Severe Reactions Can Occur, but There Have Been FewThe CDC has received some reports of people who have experienced non-severe allergic reactions within four hours after getting vaccinated, such as hives, swelling, and wheezing (respiratory distress). The health agency has also learned of a few severe allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis, after a COVID-19 vaccine.While Alexander cautions that anaphylaxis is a concerning issue, she cites figures showing that the frequency of anaphylaxis is around five cases per million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and about 2.8 cases per million doses of the Moderna vaccine.“The chance that you're going coronavirus affected you have an anaphylactic reaction is very, very slim,” she says.Alexander also emphasizes that people with allergies don’t typically face a greater threat when it comes coronavirus affected you the immunizations. “People have allergies coronavirus affected you a lot of different allergens: different food products, pet dander, bee venom, or even latex; but none of these are contraindicated,” she says.An article published in December 2020 in Science points out that the Moderna vaccine contains the compound polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is found in many drugs that have triggered anaphylaxis but has never been used before in an approved vaccine. Individuals may want coronavirus affected you consult with a doctor if they have had a known hypersensitivity coronavirus affected you PEG or polysorbate (which isn’t in the vaccines but is closely related coronavirus affected you PEG).Alexander warns that people who have had allergic reactions coronavirus affected you these ingredients in the past must proceed carefully when it comes coronavirus affected you getting a COVID inoculation. Those with concerns about a serious allergic reaction may still be able coronavirus affected you get vaccinated, but they may have coronavirus affected you do so in a center that’s equipped coronavirus affected you immediately treat them if they develop anaphylaxis.She adds that if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved, it may pose less less risk of allergic reactions because it uses an adenovirus vector platform, which already has been used safely in many other vaccines. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use an mRNA platform, a new type of genetic technology that teaches our cells how coronavirus affected you make a protein that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.Immunocompromised populations, such as people living with HIV infection, cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, and organ transplant recipients, may not have a robust immune response coronavirus affected you the vaccine. These populations, however, are at high risk for severe disease related coronavirus affected you COVID-19, so Dr. Alexander and other public health experts recommend that they get the vaccine.“We’ve not seen any signals that these vaccines are not safe in these populations,” she says. “Even a small degree of response coronavirus affected you the vaccine may actually prevent these people from developing severe COVID infection and dying.”Addressing Vaccine Concerns Among Pregnant WomenAnother population with safety concerns are mothers-coronavirus affected you-be and new mothers who question how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may affect them or their newborn. The uncertainty comes from a dearth of research on these groups of women.“Even before the COVID-19 vaccine trials, pregnant women have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials of new medications and vaccines,” says Dr. Turrentine. “So, we have this situation where we had these two large placebo controlled randomized clinical trials with essentially no pregnant women or women breastfeeding.”The advice from public health authorities has been confusing, according coronavirus affected you Turrentine. At the end of January, the World Health Organization (WHO) published information about the Moderna vaccine specifically indicating that “very little data are available coronavirus affected you assess vaccine safety in pregnancy.” But because there are “no specific risks that would outweigh the benefits of vaccination for pregnant women,” the health organization advised that pregnant women at high risk of exposure coronavirus affected you the virus (such as healthcare workers) or those who have comorbidities that add coronavirus affected you their risk of severe disease “may be vaccinated in consultation with their healthcare provider.”Still, the WHO did not endorse a COVID vaccine for all pregnant women. The CDC, while not outright recommending the vaccine coronavirus affected you these women, cautions that pregnant women with COVID-19 have an increased risk of severe illness, and the virus may also increase the chances of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a policy stating that the COVID-19 vaccines should not be withheld from pregnant women or lactating women who otherwise meet criteria for vaccination.Despite the confusing messaging, Turrentine says, “Hopefully we’ve reassured our pregnant patients, breastfeeding moms, and women contemplating pregnancy that if after some informed decision-making they either choose coronavirus affected you obtain a COVID-19 vaccine or not, they feel they've made the right choice.”Q&A With Dr. Barbara AlexanderSerena Marshall: We've heard that getting one of these COVID-19 vaccines, especially the second doses, can be painful and even put you out for a few days. Is this just anecdotal, or is there some science behind it?Barbara Alexander: I think there is definitely science emerging now. Actually, the most recent safety data was reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the committee that advises the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) on vaccine safety and efficacy.It's true that it seems the second dose is more reactogenic than the first dose. Most symptoms do occur within the first three days after vaccination and most spontaneously resolve within a couple or three days. The most common side effects seem coronavirus affected you be pain, fatigue, headache, and myalgias or muscle pains.Serena Marshall: Is it because of these vaccines’ mRNA (messenger RNA) technology, or is it something coronavirus affected you do with the COVID antibody response that they're generating?Barbara Alexander: I suspect it has more coronavirus affected you do with the antibody response. With the first vaccine, most people don't have too much of a reaction. It's after that second vaccine that we see most people developing more side effects. Probably that's because after the first dose our bodies begin coronavirus affected you make an antibody response or an immune response. When it gets that second dose, the body's really revved up. It's really ready coronavirus affected you act against the antigen that the vaccine is providing. In that scenario then, what we're getting is an inflammatory response from the body.Serena Marshall: What would an allergic reaction coronavirus affected you this vaccine be?Barbara Alexander: The most important and worrisome allergic reaction that we think about is an immediate allergic reaction — the scientific term we use is a type 1 hypersensitivity reaction. The majority of these types of reactions occur within 30 minutes after vaccination.The types of reactions that we're talking about here are urticaria or hives; angioedema is swelling in the lower layers of the skin, and typically it involves the face and tongue or throat and wheezing. If you see one or two of these symptoms in combination with a low blood pressure or fast heart rate, then in that scenario that is anaphylaxis.Serena Marshall: Is it something that most people should be worried about?Barbara Alexander: Actually, no. When the vaccines were first rolled out, there were cases reported early on of anaphylaxis and it received a lot of attention. It was something that obviously we were very concerned about.But as we accrued more data, we know now that anaphylaxis is probably not as common as we thought it might be. The safety data is accruing not only from clinical trials, but from the real world.Serena Marshall: If you have a food, pet, or environmental allergy, is that an indication that you might [be at risk] for anaphylaxis and should pass on the COVID vaccine?Barbara Alexander: People have allergies coronavirus affected you a lot of different allergens. Different food products, pet dander, bee venom, or even latex. None of these are contraindicated; even if you have anaphylaxis coronavirus affected you these products, it's safe coronavirus affected you get the messenger RNA vaccines.The only major contraindication coronavirus affected you the messenger RNA vaccines is if you've had an immediate allergic reaction, a hypersensitivity response, coronavirus affected you the first dose or if you've had such a response coronavirus affected you a component of the vaccine in the past. That includes polyethylene glycol because this component is in both vaccines, and some people will react coronavirus affected you it.If you're going coronavirus affected you receive the vaccine, do it in a center that's equipped coronavirus affected you immediately treat it in case you did develop anaphylaxis. And all people with a prior history of an anaphylactic reaction should be monitored for at least 30 minutes after they receive the dose.Serena Marshall: Could the version of the vaccine you get dictate how you react coronavirus affected you it? We've talked a lot about these mRNA ones because they're the ones that have been released coronavirus affected you the public. Looking forward, would we expect coronavirus affected you see different reactions and perhaps different contraindicators for different styles of vaccines?Barbara Alexander: Absolutely. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, specifically, is using an adenovirus vector. It's a platform that has been used widely in vaccines before that we've used in teenagers, infants, and children. So we feel reasonably comfortable with adenovirus vector vaccines. We'll just have coronavirus affected you wait and see what the safety data looks like and, importantly, coronavirus affected you see what their efficacy data looks like.Serena Marshall: What about those who are immunocompromised or have an autoimmune disease?Barbara Alexander: These populations — patients living with HIV infection, people with cancer, or patients who may have received a solid organ transplant — are receiving immunosuppressive drugs or chemotherapy, which can weaken their immune system. Accordingly, they may not have a robust immune response coronavirus affected you the vaccine. But some degree of immunity is better than none. And particularly since these people are at certainly higher risk for severe disease, we are recommending that they get the vaccine.Q&A With Dr. Mark TurrentineSerena Marshall: Explain coronavirus affected you us why there has been what appears coronavirus affected you many people as a mixed message for moms-coronavirus affected you-be.Mark Turrentine: Even before the COVID-19 vaccine trials, pregnant women have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials of new medications and vaccines.In 2013, the National Institutes of Health developed guidelines for protocol design and safety assessment for clinical trials conducted in pregnant women.In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published draft guidance that gave a framework for consideration of inclusion of pregnant women in clinical trials. The conclusions were that including pregnant and breastfeeding women is essential, unless there is some compelling, scientific reason coronavirus affected you exclude them.We have this situation where we had these two large placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials with essentially no pregnant women or women breastfeeding.So with limited information coronavirus affected you guide us, it comes down coronavirus affected you expert consensus with mass medical ailments and the interventions we have had good clinical experience with.The World Health Organization initially on January 8 of this year stated that due coronavirus affected you insufficient data they did not recommend the vaccination of pregnant women with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at that time.Then on January 27, the WHO came out with a statement on the Moderna vaccine that recommended not getting a COVID-19 vaccine unless the woman was at a high risk of exposure. And this led coronavirus affected you a lot of confusion in many parts of the world.Serena Marshall: So what are you hearing from your patients?Mark Turrentine: There's definitely a lot of initial confusion. We're all looking at the same information. And I think this is the challenge, when you have limited information coronavirus affected you guide you and you're trying coronavirus affected you combat a potentially life threatening disease. As someone who's been personally involved with guideline and policy development on a national level for many years, it's complex.I can at least feel professional comfort in that the guidelines in the United States have been consistent coronavirus affected you date. We tried coronavirus affected you base them on the best evidence we have available coronavirus affected you us, and hopefully we've reassured our pregnant patients, breastfeeding moms, and women contemplating pregnancy that if after some informed decision-making they either choose coronavirus affected you obtain a COVID- 19 vaccine or not, they feel they've made the right choice.Serena Marshall: What's your lasting message for those women? Bottom line: Do they get the vaccine?Mark Turrentine: Bottom line is yes, they should get the vaccine. But what I tell my pregnant patients is, first learn everything you can about the COVID-19 disease and the COVID-19 vaccine.The disease is dangerous, and it's more dangerous for pregnant women. COVID patients who are pregnant are five times more likely coronavirus affected you end up in the intensive care unit or on a ventilator than COVID patients who are not pregnant. And although the absolute risk is low, pregnant individuals are more likely coronavirus affected you die of COVID than their non-pregnant peers who are the same age.The pregnant individual should be given the opportunity coronavirus affected you make their own decision about whether they receive the vaccine, and barriers should not be put into place coronavirus affected you prevent access or hinder the ability of a pregnant woman coronavirus affected you protect herself from a virus that could be potentially life-threatening.Coronavirus Alert: U.S. Death Toll Reaches Half a Million, Vaccinations Linked coronavirus affected you Drop in Hospitalizations, Fauci Says Masks May Still Be Needed Into 2022U.S. deaths from COVID-19 have hit 500,000. Just over a year since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was identified in America, the United States has now recorded more than half a million deaths related coronavirus affected you the virus, according coronavirus affected you the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.The death rate, however, is falling. Data analysis from the Washington Post shows that COVID-19 fatalities are almost 30 percent lower this week than last week, and hospitalizations are down 15 percent. The seven-day rolling average for daily infections has dropped under 65,000 — a significant decline from more than 200,000 a day being recorded in December.Biden honors the dead. President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Monday, marking the grim milestone of more than 500,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19. Biden struck a personal note as he spoke coronavirus affected you "the loved ones left behind," CNN reported."I know what it's like coronavirus affected you not be there when it happens. I know what it's like when you are there holding their hands. There's a look in their eye, and they slip away," Biden said. But, he added, "we will get through this, I promise you."Following his remarks, the president joined first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in a moment of silence amid 500 lighted candles outside the White House.Vaccines delayed by the storm are now arriving. On Sunday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC’s This Week that about two million of the six million COVID-19 vaccine doses delayed by last week’s winter weather were delivered over the weekend, and they should be catching up with the rest this week.Masks may be needed into 2022, Dr. Fauci says. Anthony Fauci, MD, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told CNN viewers on Sunday that Americans may still need coronavirus affected you wear masks in 2022 coronavirus affected you protect against the coronavirus, even as the country may reach “a significant degree of normality” by the end of this year.National NewsPfizer expects coronavirus affected you double vaccine output in next few weeks. After President Biden toured the Pfizer vaccine manufacturing facility in Michigan on Friday, the company's chief executive Albert Bourla, PhD, said that company expects coronavirus affected you “more than double” its average output of five million doses per week, as Reuters reported.The FDA has warned of pulse oximeter limitations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement on Friday cautioning that although pulse oximeters can be useful for estimating blood oxygen levels, the devices have limitations and a risk of inaccuracy under certain circumstances. FDA experts underscored that the devices may be less accurate in people with dark skin pigmentation. The agency urged consumers who are monitoring their condition at home coronavirus affected you “pay attention coronavirus affected you all signs and symptoms of their condition and communicate any concerns coronavirus affected you their healthcare provider.”Pfizer's vaccine no longer requires deep freezing. Pfizer-BioNTech submitted new data coronavirus affected you the FDA on Friday demonstrating the stability of their COVID-19 vaccine when stored at temperatures more commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators. An allowance coronavirus affected you store the product at lower freezer temperatures is expected coronavirus affected you improve distribution.A CDC report has confirmed the safety of vaccines. The CDC presented data on Friday reassuring healthcare providers and vaccine recipients about the safety of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. During a month-long period starting December 14, CDC surveillance recorded 7,000 adverse events from about 14 million vaccine doses administered, but 91 percent were not serious. Most common side effects are headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, chills, and dizziness.State UpdateNew York has reached its lowest infection rate in three months. As reported by the New York Daily News, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office released figures on Sunday indicating that the New York State infection rate had reached 2.99 percent, a new low since a holiday resurgence in cases beginning around Thanksgiving.A Florida restaurant posted a "Face Diapers Not Required" sign. BeckyJack’s Food Shack near Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Spring Hill, Florida, sparked a social media stir after posting a sign saying “Face Diapers Not Required! Everyone Welcome,” according coronavirus affected you the Orlando Sentinel. Although public health officials urge mask wearing coronavirus affected you stop the spread of the virus, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has not implemented a statewide mask mandate. The restaurant management has said that it does not believe in the use of masks coronavirus affected you protect against the virus.Around the WorldBritain unveiled plans coronavirus affected you gradually ease restrictions. On Monday, Britain, which had imposed some of the world’s strictest lockdown measures, revealed plans coronavirus affected you begin easing restrictions, according coronavirus affected you The New York Times. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that schools would reopen on March 8, and people would be allowed coronavirus affected you socialize outdoors starting on March 29. Pubs, restaurants, retail shops, and gyms, however, will stay closed for at least another month.Vaccinations in Scotland have led coronavirus affected you a drop in hospitalizations, a study has found. As The Guardian reported on Monday, a study by Scottish universities and Public Health Scotland has found that the risk of serious illness from COVID-19 dropped starting a week after people received their initial dose of either the Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, cutting hospitalizations in the country by more than 85 percent. Scientists, however, are investigating data showing a possible uptick in hospitalizations after four weeks.Rising suicide rates in Japan may provide a warning for world. An investigation by the BBC February 18 revealed that suicide rates in Japan went up for the first time in 11 years during the pandemic. The report highlights that rates among women surged nearly 15 percent while male suicides fell slightly.Vaccine and Research NewsThe FDA will review Johnson & Johnson's vaccine authorization. The FDA is scheduled coronavirus affected you meet this week on February 26 for an all-day meeting coronavirus affected you discuss emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, according coronavirus affected you MarketWatch. The agency is expected coronavirus affected you issue authorization within days of that meeting.Johnson & Johnson revealed phase 3 trial data indicating that its vaccine was 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate coronavirus affected you severe COVID-19, 28 days after inoculation.Interim analysis showed, however, that the vaccine provided complete protection against COVID-related hospitalization and death, and it was 85 percent effective at preventing severe disease.Swelling of lymph nodes after vaccination may mimic signs of breast cancer. The Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) is recommending that women may want coronavirus affected you wait four coronavirus affected you six weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine coronavirus affected you schedule a mammogram. Research published in the journal Clinical Imaging has found that some individuals who have received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines have experienced a swelling in the lymph nodes, which may be misinterpreted as a symptom of breast cancer. SBI says that a temporary swelling of the lymph nodes may be “a sign that the body is making antibodies in response [coronavirus affected you the vaccine] as intended."The U.K. variant is likely deadlier, a study has found. The British government has released a study showing that the coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom is "likely" more lethal than the original strain. The British scientists estimate that the variant could be 30 coronavirus affected you 70 percent deadlier than the original strain. The U.K. government has warned that the variant is more transmissible than other forms of the virus.One shot of the Pfizer vaccine produces a robust response. A study out of Israel published in the Lancet Thursday demonstrated that Pfizer’s vaccine was 85 percent effective 15 coronavirus affected you 28 days after receiving the first dose, according coronavirus affected you The New York Times.Pfizer will test a vaccine booster shot targeting the South African variant. Chief scientific officer of viral vaccines at Pfizer Vaccines Research and Development, Phil Dormitzer, MD, PhD, told Reuters that the company was developing plans coronavirus affected you test a redesigned booster for the vaccine that specifically targets the South African variant.Dr. Dormitzer is a coauthor of a lab study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday suggesting that antibody protection from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be cut by two-thirds due coronavirus affected you the South African variant (B.1.351). Scientists said that it’s not yet known exactly how the vaccine’s level of protection will be impacted, but study coauthor Pei-Yong Shi, PhD, told Reuters that the vaccine should still be effective at neutralizing the virus.Similarly, scientists from Moderna published a letter in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday showing a reduced antibody response coronavirus affected you the South African variant but not enough coronavirus affected you diminish the shot’s effectiveness.Vitamin D doesn’t seem coronavirus affected you help COVID patients. A single dose of vitamin D did not have any significant effect on moderate coronavirus affected you severe COVID-19 infections, according coronavirus affected you an investigation detailed on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.A Brief History of COVID, 1 Year InOn February 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the first person in the United States had died from COVID-19 — a man in his fifties living in Washington state.Since then, close coronavirus affected you 28 million Americans have been infected with the novel (new) coronavirus, officially known as SARS-CoV-2, according coronavirus affected you the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Nearly half a million have died, more than in any other country in the world.The year has been one of unspeakable tragedy, but also hope with the arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines. The development of these highly effective vaccines is “a great scientific tour de force,” according coronavirus affected you Thomas Russo, MD, chief of infectious disease at the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in New York.Here’s a look back at the most significant U.S. milestones in the pandemic’s first year, where we stand now, and the challenges ahead.On the last day of 2019, health officials in Wuhan, China, notify the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office of a cluster of pneumonia-like illnesses in the Hubei Province. The officials aren’t able coronavirus affected you identify the origin of the outbreak, and by January 3, 2020, 44 people are sick.Local authorities are able coronavirus affected you report that some patients work at the Huanan Seafood market. Later, the WHO will identify the Huanan market — a “wet” market that sells live animals — as the source of the coronavirus.January 21, 2020: The CDC Confirms the First Case of COVID-19 in the United StatesA 35-year-old man living in Washington state is the first in the United States coronavirus affected you test positive for the coronavirus six days after his return from Wuhan, says the CDC. Health officials in the United States still don’t have much information regarding how the virus spreads, and the general consensus is that it likely moves from animals coronavirus affected you humans, with very limited human-coronavirus affected you-human transmission.A COVID-19 case is confirmed in Hong Kong on February 1: A patient with COVID-19 symptoms who disembarked from the Diamond Princess en route coronavirus affected you Yokohama, Japan, on January 25. Japanese authorities order the ship coronavirus affected you remain at Yokohama port upon arrival, with none of the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members permitted coronavirus affected you leave. By the time passengers are allowed off the ship, on February 23, confirmed cases have risen coronavirus affected you 691 and two people have died, according coronavirus affected you an account published in March 2020 in the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.February 5, 2020: The CDC Sends Out COVID-19 Testing Kits Later Revealed coronavirus affected you Be DefectiveAfter a sluggish start, the CDC begins coronavirus affected you roll out coronavirus testing kits coronavirus affected you state and local labs — tests that are soon revealed coronavirus affected you be faulty. Problems with testing will become a hallmark of the U.S. pandemic response.February 11, 2020: The WHO Officially Names the VirusAs infections spread in the United States largely undetected, the WHO gives the virus a name — severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 for short) and assigns the name COVID-19 coronavirus affected you the disease it causes.February 20, 2020: The CDC Announces the First COVID-19 Death in the United StatesHealth officials declare that a Washington state man in his fifties is the first in the country coronavirus affected you die of COVID-19. The CDC reports the man’s death, as well as another first: A healthcare worker at a long-term care facility in the same state is diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized. A resident of the facility also contracts the virus and is hospitalized. Washington will soon becomes the first COVID-19 hotspot in the United States.Retroactive studies will later reveal that two people in California died of COVID-19 weeks before, on February 6 and 17.February 27, 2020: Trump Equates COVID-19 coronavirus affected you the Flu“This is a flu. This is like a flu,” says the President in a press briefing, as recounted by Fox News. “It’s a little like a regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”March 5, 2020: Grand Princess Cruise Ship Docked off San Francisco Begins COVID-19 QuarantineFollowing the death of an elderly man who tested positive for the coronavirus after returning home from a Grand Princess cruise, 2,422 passengers are quarantined in their staterooms by order of the CDC. On March 6, President Trump says he wants those on board the Grand Princess coronavirus affected you stay on the ship so they won’t be counted as American cases. “I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need coronavirus affected you have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault,” Trump says.March 11, 2020: The WHO Designates COVID-19 as a PandemicThe WHO puts the COVID-19 toll at 118,000 cases and 4,291 deaths in 114 countries. “In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled,” says WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, in a briefing.Dr. Tedros says he hopes the pandemic designation will prompt countries coronavirus affected you implement more drastic measures coronavirus affected you protect against COVID-19, and help countries with fewer resources. “Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled. The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same — it’s whether they will,” he says.March 11, 2020: Tom Hanks Announces That He and His Wife, Rita Wilson, Have COVID-19In a statement released on Instagram, the actor reveals that he and Wilson, who are traveling in Australia, have tested positive for the coronavirus: “We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too.” As for what will happen next, he writes, “We Hankses will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more coronavirus affected you it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?” Hanks and Wilson become Hollywood’s first celebrities coronavirus affected you have COVID-19, a list that will eventually include names like Idris Elba and Pink.March 13, 2020: Trump Declares a National EmergencyAs part of this announcement, Trump issues a ruling blocking non-U.S. citizens from entering the country if they have been in areas that are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, including China, Iran, and 26 European countries. The order allows the government coronavirus affected you unlock billions of dollars in federal aid coronavirus affected you help state and local governments with their COVID-19 response.March 14, 2020: Anti-Asian Sentiment in the United States Leads coronavirus affected you an Act of Shocking ViolenceTrump repeatedly calls the coronavirus the “China virus,” helping inflame anti-Asian sentiment in the United States On March 14, members of a family from Myanmar, including a 2-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy, are stabbed outside a grocery store in Midland, Texas, by someone who thought they were Chinese and believed they were infecting people with the coronavirus, according coronavirus affected you an FBI report obtained by ABC News.March 19, 2020: California Is the First State coronavirus affected you Issue a Stay-at-Home OrderCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom orders residents of the state coronavirus affected you leave home only for necessities. During the next two months, 42 states and territories will implement restrictions.New York governor Andrew Cuomo advises hospitals coronavirus affected you increase capacity by 50 percent as COVID-19 cases surge. New York City becomes a global epicenter of the pandemic. By the end of May, the city will have logged approximately 203,000 cases, with nearly 10 percent resulting in death. Latino New Yorkers are hit hardest, with 260 deaths per 100,000 people, followed closely by Black New Yorkers, with 248 deaths per 100,000 people. The COVID-19 death rate among Asian New Yorkers is 111 per 100,000, and for white New Yorkers, 123 per 100,000.March 26, 2020: The U.S. Becomes the Global COVID-19 EpicenterBy the end of March, the U.S. has more COVID-19 cases and deaths than any other country. The CDC counts over 81,000 cases and 1,000 deaths, more than in early epicenters including China and Italy, according coronavirus affected you data gathered by The New York Times.March 28, 2020: The FDA Authorizes Hydroxychloroquine for Emergency Use in COVID-19 PatientsConclusion:It may provide some comfort coronavirus affected you know that thousands of other people are going through the same thing, and as in China, collective coping strategies will emerge. TikTok videos, memes, stories, essays and poems about living in isolation will all become part of the culture. We could come out of this feeling more connected coronavirus affected you each other than before.Students, read ONE of the articles in its entirety, then tell us:How is the coronavirus affecting your life — physically, socially and emotionally? What changes have you, your friends, family and community experienced? What has been the most difficult aspect for you?How is the coronavirus outbreak disrupting your middle or high school experience? Has your school been closed? If so, what does your education look and feel like now? If not, are you worried about your school closing? Does your school have a plan in place if it does?Are you and your family practicing any forms of social distancing? If yes, which ones and why? Will you practice more social distancing now that you have read this article?