For several days now, an anti-malarial drug has been touted by President Trump and others as a promising treatment for COVID-19. The FDA, which has approved hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as a treatment for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, issued an emergency order recently allowing physicians to administer them to COVID-19 patients. But infectious disease experts…
The average age of death from the coronavirus is 80, the U.S. surgeon general said earlier this month. Dr. Jerome Adams apparently was referring to the global average. The latest statistics here in Georgia, though, show the average age of death from COVID-19 is 68. Though there are exceptions, deaths and serious illnesses from the…
One medical term that has become newly familiar to Americans during this pandemic is PPE. It’s an abbreviation for personal protective equipment — the gowns, masks, gloves and face shields that are essential for medical personnel dealing with the new coronavirus. These items are in desperately short supply in many places where they’re needed most….
This Commentary was first published by the Philadelphia Inquirer By Fatima Syed, Deep Shah and Ravi Parikh Just a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. physicians feel that they are at war. War metaphors are now being invoked across the country. The president of the United States even declared himself a wartime leader. Media…
Georgia’s number of coronavirus cases spiked by more than 30 percent in a day, reaching 2,198 statewide, state officials reported. That total, reported at 7 p.m. Friday, climbed by 555 from Thursday’s figure of 1,643 as of Thursday evening. Nine more Georgians have died, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 65. The increases represent more…
Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday ordered the shutdown of bars and nightclubs in Georgia, and required medically fragile individuals, including those in long-term care facilities, to “shelter in place.’’ The governor said he is also banning gatherings of 10 or more people ‘‘unless you can maintain at least six feet between people at all times.’’…
By Holly Lang There’s a famous quote by Mr. Rogers in which he recalls his mother telling him that in times of trouble, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Across the state, COVID-19 is testing all of our communities and health systems – especially those primarily serving low-income and uninsured…
Story updated Dr. Tom Frieden, a former director of the CDC, said Sunday that he would feel “a lot safer’’ if he saw the Atlanta-based public health agency playing a more prominent role in the federal task force against COVID-19. “The CDC is the nation’s leading protection agency,” Frieden told Fox News. “Fighting this without…
The state’s Department of Public Health and the CDC are sending a team of epidemiologists to investigate the rising number of cases of COVID-19 in Albany, where six people have died from the disease. As of noon Friday, Dougherty County had 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus – the fourth-highest total in the state. Phoebe Putney…
This story will be updated after Gov. Brian Kemp’s afternoon press conference The expected jump in coronavirus cases in Georgia has begun. State health officials said Thursday that there are now 287 COVID-19 cases in Georgia, up from 197 the day before. And there are now 10 deaths from the disease in the state –…