When healthy kids have surgery, serious complications are uncommon. But even in that low-risk scenario, Black children fare worse, a new study finds. Looking at more than 172,000 U.S. children who had inpatient surgery, researchers found that Black kids faced higher post-operative risks. That included more than three times the risk of dying within 30…  read on >

Each COVID-19 death in the United States leaves an average of nine close family members to grieve, researchers say. With more than 137,000 deaths so far in the pandemic, that means about 1.2 million Americans have lost a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse, child or other close relative. “In just a few short months, over 1…  read on >

Some key molecules used by the new coronavirus to cause infection aren’t found in the placenta, which may explain why the virus is rarely detected in fetuses or newborns of women with COVID-19. U.S. government researchers found that placental membranes lack the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule required to make the ACE2 receptor. SARS-CoV-2 — the…  read on >

It’s the Holy Grail for containing the spread of coronavirus, but contact tracing only works if it is done quickly, researchers report. The modeling study showed that even if all contacts are successfully traced, a delay of three days or more between the start of symptoms and testing will not reduce transmission of the virus…  read on >

Even as new coronavirus infections soar in the United States, a new study offers one piece of good news: Severely ill COVID-19 patients are significantly more likely to survive now compared to a few months ago. In fact, deaths for COVID-19 patients in intensive care units have fallen by nearly a third in North America,…  read on >

(HealthDay News) As 64,000 new U.S. coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday and states struggled to control the spread of the virus, the Trump Administration stripped the country’s leading public health agency of the ability to collect hospitalization data on COVID-19. Instead of patient information going to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it…  read on >