Georgia Covid-19 updates

The state had on Tuesday the highest one-day death total since the pandemic began: at least 145 Georgians died from Covid.

More than 9,000 new infections were also reported Tuesday, along with 435 new hospitalizations. The overall number of COVID hospitalizations currently has hit 5,700, continuing its steady, record-breaking climb.

With the vaccine rollout still experiencing hiccups, some appointment servers have crashed from the load. Meanwhile, Wellstar Health System said it’s scheduled 10,000 appointments (!) for patients 65 and older.

And no, it’s not a Georgia thing

Across the country, states and counties* are struggling to get the vaccine out. The issues: Lack of funds, lack of direction, and “and the dovetailing public health crises of surging hospitalizations and case numbers.”

But lots of people have ideas on how to fix it:

* Quit looking so smug, West Virginia

…and does the dishes

A sizeable number of Americans are still hesitant about getting a Covid-19 vaccine. What (asked an Oklahoma State University political scientist) would it take to get them to vaccinate?

The answer: It must be…

  • made in the U.S.;
  • administered in a single dose;
  • over 90% effective;
  • carry a less than 1 in 100 chance of experiencing even minor side effects;
  • spent just over a year in development.

And, of course, cost nothing, leave their breath fresh, and make their feet smell like roses.

Technicians, listen up!

The feds say you can give the Covid-19 vaccines (under the supervision of a pharmacist). So get yourself as ready as possible with GPhA’s Immunization Delivery Training for Pharmacy Technicians — a 5-½ hour CE program consisting of both home-study and live training.

The home study you can do any time. GPhA is offering the live training twice on Sunday, February 7, 2021. Space is limited due to social distancing guidelines, so don’t wait — click here for all of the details and to register now!

Beware the litterbox

Further evidence that your cat is trying to kill you: A parasite in their poop seems to be linked with a greater risk of brain cancer.

Normally exposure to Toxoplasma gondii isn’t a big deal; most people fight off any infection. (Although there’s evidence that it can make you more willing to take risks.) But now researchers at Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center say exposure to T. gondii might raise your risk of glioma.

To be fair, they’ve only shown a correlation between T. gondii exposure and brain cancer, not necessarily a cause-and-effect. But still, they say, it’s worth a follow-up.

Can Esperion block PCSK9 with a pill?

It’s not quite the Holy Grail of cholesterol treatment, but it’s certainly “beacon on the distant hill*” territory: a pill form of the currently injection-only PCSK9 antibody treatment for LDL cholesterol.

The current treatments work, sure, but they’re expensive ($14K a year) and require that needle twice a month. And other companies have tried to make pills, but without success. So here’s to Esperion, which is spending a nice chunk of change to try its hand.

* Clear photo of Bigfoot? Coin from Atlantis? DB Cooper autograph?

So you want to get pregnant?

Lay off the marijuana. Maybe. A small study by National Institutes of Health researchers found “using marijuana while trying to conceive was linked with a 40% reduced chance of getting pregnant.”

But… why? Maybe this: “[M]arijuana users had differences in levels of certain reproductive hormones, which could potentially affect their pregnancy chances.”

Pregnancy sickness breakthrough

Let’s say you do get pregnant. “Pregnancy sickness” is common, and now British researchers have made a couple of interesting discoveries.

  1. It’s real and has a physical (not psychological) cause.
  2. Symptoms begin in a specific three-day window — eight to 10 days after ovulation.

That means, they said, that they can “concentrate their efforts on that particular stage of development to find the cause of the condition, both anatomically and biochemically.”

Latest supplement news

Italian researchers say it appears that “Higher intake of vitamins C and E was associated with a reduced risk for Parkinson’s disease,” but it has to be both vitamins, not just one.

You know the drill: “More research is needed to confirm these findings.”

Gut bacteria: end results

We’re learning all the ways gut bacteria affect health (the latest: it seems to influence bone strength). But it’s hard to research more without having a catalog of which bacteria are in whose gut.

Enter those shifty Danes, who are combining poop samples and artificial intelligence to create a ‘map’ of intestinal bacteria.

’One gram of faeces contains around a billion bacteria of 500-1000 different kinds. If we are able to reconstruct their DNA, it will give us an idea of the types of bacteria we are dealing with, what they are capable of and what they actually do. It is not the complete picture, but it is a huge step forward.