Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to phone scammer schemes and malicious attempts to capitalize on panic. The FCC expanded their list of scam and hoax test messages, phone calls, and related media with new coronavirus-related instances that've appeared over the last couple of weeks. These scams range from offers for "free test kits" to a rumor that President Trump will be issuing a "mandatory quarantine" for the entire USA for a 2-week period (he hasn't.)

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Two new bits of Guidance were released today by the FDA in order to get hand sanitizer back in the hands on people that need it the most during our current COVID-19 health emergency. "These guidances provide flexibility to help meet demand during this outbreak," said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. "We will continue to work with manufacturers, compounders, state boards of pharmacy and the public to increase the supply of alcohol-based hand sanitizer available to Americans."

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The CDC has launched a coronavirus self-checker, allowing people who believe they may have been infected with COVID-19 to figure out the next steps in healthcare. The automated tool isn't designed to diagnose coronavirus, but could help triage potential new cases - as well as reassure those with atypical symptoms.

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Days after its initial announcement, CVS has revealed that it is launching COVID-19 testing sites in the state of Massachusetts. The testing sites will be located at CVS facilities in the state where 'a limited population' can go and get tested for the new infectious disease. The testing sites are being launched in 'close coordination' with the US Public Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services, and more.

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A vaccine trial currently being performed by the FDA is expected to take "12 months" according to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. This came right after President Donald Trump suggested that the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) showed "very encouraging results" with COVID-19, and that "we're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately."

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Eating a diet high in sugary foods may result in an early death, but not for the reasons you think, a new study has found. Researchers with MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences studied fruit flies that were fed a diet high in sugar and found that though they died at younger ages, the reason wasn't due to metabolic issues like obesity or diabetes.

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Chinese state media has announced that a subunit vaccine against the novel coronavirus has been developed and is now entering clinical trials. The approval for the tests was granted late local time on March 16 and was officially announced to the public on March 17 by China Central Television. According to the announcement, this vaccine was developed by the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

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COVID-19 in the USA was the reason for President Donald Trump's invoking of the Defense Production Act (DPA). This act was originally put in place by President Truman during the Korean War, and has been changed significantly since then. As laid out in the last major change of provisions in the act, in a CRS (Congressional Research Service) Report for Congress by Daniel H. Else, Specialist in National Defense, on May 14, 2009, "DPA authorities are not permanent."

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It's no secret that eating a plant-based diet can have beneficial heart health effects for some people, but there's a catch. A new study warns that these diets are only potentially helpful for people who avoid certain foods -- the wrong kind of plant-based diet may eradicate the 'heart-healthy' aspect of it, making it just as unhealthy as the average animal-based diet.

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A newly published study reveals that so-called 'stealth' transmission of the novel coronavirus largely fueled the outbreak that impacted China. The study says that many of the COVID-19 cases in China likely didn't have severe symptoms, meaning infected people may have thought they had a simple cold and went on with their lives. This, in turn, caused the virus to rapidly spread through the Wuhan population.

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Although multiple efforts, including educational campaigns and higher taxes, have greatly reduced the number of smokers in only a couple of months, there are estimated to be around 34 million smokers in the United States. The FDA wants to reduce that number and plans to ramp up gruesome packaging as a disincentive. The new packaging will include imagery of lesser-known consequences linked to cigarettes.

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On Friday, AMC Theatres said that it would start capping auditorium capacity in light of the coronavirus outbreak. The initial plan was for AMC to reduce auditorium capacity by at least 50-percent, which would enable moviegoers to keep an empty seat on each side of them. The change went into effect on March 14 -- this past weekend -- and was scheduled to run through April 30. That has changed.

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