New bivalent COVID booster recieves less attention than previous vaccines
As we approach nearly three years of social distancing, mask mandates and Zoom meetings, Americans appear more than ready to leave COVID-19 in the past, an MSN article reported. But the article’s documentation of the low numbers of those receiving the new booster and the concerns these statistics could pose for another surge suggest that the danger of COVID-19 may not be gone from the United States.
More people need to start talking about long COVID
President Joe Biden’s “60 Minutes” interview remarks on Sept. 18, 2022, during which he declared that “the pandemic is over,” serve as a painful confirmation that the institutions meant to protect us — namely the government — have neglected the American public in the face of a more subliminal, yet similarly-grave ailment: long COVID. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that Long COVID is a term used to refer to a variety of conditions that develop after a COVID-19 infection.
Annual Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium postponed due to COVID-19
Presenting at scientific conferences can be difficult for early-career scientists, especially with the logistical challenge of traveling to these events. Microbiologists in the Five College Consortium and beyond have the advantage of having a symposium right in their own backyard. The Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium is an annual graduate-student-run one-day scientific symposium hosted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and faculty members who conduct microbiology research are invited to present their work. Mount Holyoke College microbiologists — professors and students alike — often attend this symposium.
A new coronavirus variant, Omicron, leads travel restrictions
COVID-19 booster shots become widely available in the United States
In mid-October, both the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration released statements on their websites that endorsed a booster shot for COVID-19 in certain populations. The CDC stated that people who are 65 years and older, as well as those who are over 18 years old and live in a long-term care setting, work or live in high-risk settings and/or have underlying medical conditions, are eligible to get the shot. Some states, such as Colorado, Kentucky and Michigan, are allowing anyone 18 or older to receive the booster shot.
Over 200 medical journals issue joint statement calling for action on climate change
On Sept. 5, over 230 medical journals from across the world came together to publish a joint statement demanding “urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5 C, halt the destruction of nature and protect health.” Authors of the statement believed that action had to be taken immediately — it was not possible to wait for the COVID-19 pandemic to fade. The joint statement, which NPR referred to as “unprecedented” in a Sept. 7 article, involved prominent members of medical journals from around the world.
The dark underbelly of the crystal trade
After spending years being dismissed as a mystical, new-age spiritual fad, healing crystals have seeped into the mainstream through a combination of social media aesthetics and the wellness juggernaut. Despite general economic stagnation during the pandemic, the sales of near-gemstones like amethysts and clear quartz skyrocketed in 2020. Since 2015, demand for crystals has more than doubled in the U.S.