While the Spanish flu of 1918 has held the record as the deadliest disease event in the nation’s history with 675,000 deaths, it is clear that COVID-19, with 674,000 deaths and rising, will soon bypass this number. The global death rate due…

On September 17, the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine Advisory Committee voted against recommending a third shot, or booster, for vaccinated individuals older than 16. The vote applies to both the Pfizer and Moderna…

A certain segment of those who recover from COVID-19 experience lingering symptoms such as breathing difficulty, fatigue, post-exertional malaise, brain fog, and headache. In order to better understand these post-COVID symptoms, the United…

On September 16, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) released a new update to its “Interim Guidance on Returning to Work,” which was initially published in May 2020. The update is based on revisions to the United States…

Tennessee has earned the unwanted prize of being home to the most new COVID-19 cases per capita in the United States. One out of 81 Tennessee residents tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the past week. The number of COVID-19 cases in the…

All oral health professionals, exhibitors, guests, and staff members who wish to attend the annual meeting, SmileCon, of the American Dental Association (ADA) must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result. The meeting…

While booster shots to the COVID-19 vaccination are recommended for those who are immunocompromised, whether healthy, previously vaccinated individuals need a booster remains an unanswered question. A group of public health experts recently…

On September 10, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an update to the agency’s COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidance for healthcare settings. The update is designed to provide a…

While many variants of SARS-CoV-2 exist, only four have raised alarm. The World Health Organization designates those variants that pose the greatest health threats as “variants of concern.” Thus far, the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Mu…

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review 2 months of safety data from clinical trials on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines among children ages 5 to 11. This suggests that COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers…