The district has seen more new cases in the last week than in any other seven-day stretch in the pandemic, part of a broader surge in the nation’s Mid-Atlantic region.
A newâand reportedly more transmissibleâCOVID-19 variant was identified in the U.K. last month, and another similar strain was found in South Africa. But a new study suggests the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is likely to still be effective against those variants, just as experts predicted.
It s not unusual for a virus to mutate, but the new COVID-19 variants share at least one mutation that may be concerning. The mutation, called N501Y, specifically affects the spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. That spike protein is what the virus uses to bind to and actually enter human cells, causing an infection. And the N501Y mutation can make it easier for the protein to bind to those cells, possibly also making it more likely for a COVID-19 variant with that mutation to actually cause an infection.Â
Hispanic women with high levels of stress and anxiety gain less weight during pregnancy, study finds
December 18, 2020
Megan W. Harvey ‘16 Ph.D. (Left) and Lisa Chasan-Taber
Gaining too much or too little weight during pregnancy is associated with poor maternal and infant outcomes, but too little research has examined factors affecting gestational weight gain (GWG) in Hispanic women. A new study co-authored by UMass Amherst faculty, which was selected as the Editor’s Choice for the November/December issue of
Women’s Health Issues, reports that in a group of predominantly Puerto Rican women, those with the highest levels of stress and anxiety gained less weight during pregnancy than those with the lowest levels.
Whoâs Next in Line for the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Written by Shawn Radcliffe on December 21, 2020 â Fact checked by Dana K. Cassell
Healthcare workers and nursing home residents are already getting the COVID-19 vaccine. People ages 75 and older as well as frontline essential workers are next. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
More than 4.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped, and more than 600,000 people in the United States have been inoculated.
The first group to receive the vaccine were mostly healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
The CDC has released a new priority list: People ages 75 and older and frontline essential workers are next.
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It’s a tough tweet to send. “Unfortunately one of our team members in Shaw has tested positive for COVID-19,”
All-Purpose Pizzeriaannounced Nov. 30 on its social media accounts. “This person is currently doing fine but we will be closed tonight while we await test results for the rest of our employees.”
Ultimately, the restaurant closed for a week. All of the tests came back negative, which ownership attributes to strict safety protocols. The Shaw location has not allowed indoor dining since the public health emergency was declared in March. Not even delivery drivers can cross the threshold.