Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Tocilizumab in Hospitalized Patients with Severe Covid-19 Pneumonia | NEJM – (no positive effect)

In this trial involving hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19 pneumonia, we found no significant difference in clinical status between the tocilizumab group and the placebo group at day 28. No mortality benefit was associated with the use of tocilizumab, although the trial was not powered for this outcome.  Source: Tocilizumab in Hospitalized Patients with Severe Covid-19 Pneumonia | NEJM

Valor and Disability

A Lawyer's Prayers

Public Notice for the Invalid Corps (1863), Author US War Dept. (PD)

The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matt. 11: 5).

In the midst of a brutal Civil War, the need for manpower was so great that the US War Dept. on April 28, 1863 created the Invalid Corps a/k/a Veteran Reserve Corps [1].

Comprised of men severely disabled by wounds or disease, the Invalid Corps was to have been an honor corps of soldiers who had already served faithfully, but would now be assigned light tasks in order to free up healthy men for the front lines.

Instead, the Invalid Corps was despised by one and all – its members reviled as cripples, cowards, and malingerers.

Despite this, the Invalid Corps served valiantly.  Jeered…

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Biden admin will allow families separated under Trump to remain in US | TheHill

The Biden administration will allow families separated at the southern border by the Trump administration to reunite and remain in the U.S., the White House announced Monday.

“We are hoping to reunite the families, either here or in their country of origin. We hope to be in a position to give them the election. And if, in fact they seek to reunite here in the United States, we will explore lawful pathways for them to remain in the United States, and to address the family needs,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a press briefing.

Source: Biden admin will allow families separated under Trump to remain in US | TheHill

RIP – Covid-19: Two die after 11 catch virus on Christmas Day – BBC News

Kashmir and Paramjeet A mother and her daughter died when 11 members of the same family caught Covid-19 after meeting on Christmas Day. Kashmir Bains, 64, and Paramjeet, 43, of Wolverhampton, fell seriously ill after testing positive for the virus. The daughter died on 5 January, the day after she was taken to hospital, and her mother died four weeks later. “It’s been devastating for us as a family,” said Indy Bains, their son and brother. Mr Bains said the family considered not meeting at Christmas but decided to because his sister, who has learning disabilities, had been suffering in isolation with her mental health. They gathered on Christmas Day, adhered to the government’s three household rule and “played safe”, only meeting for a few hours. Mr Bains and his family, and his younger sister and her family, met up with his mother, father and older sister. Days after Christmas, all 11 tested positive for coronavirus.

Source: Covid-19: Two die after 11 catch virus on Christmas Day – BBC News

COVID-19 Vaccine Access for People with Disabilities | KFF- Nonelderly people with disabilities

Nonelderly people with disabilities and the direct care workers who provide their LTSS have similar risk factors for serious illness or death from COVID-19 compared to their counterparts in nursing homes, due to the close contact required to provide assistance with daily personal care tasks, such as eating, dressing, and bathing; the congregate nature of many of these settings; and the highly transmissible nature of the coronavirus. Seniors in nursing homes are explicitly included in the top priority group in all states’ COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans, but nonelderly people with disabilities who use LTSS may be not prioritized. This issue brief presents current state-level data about COVID-19 cases and deaths in settings that primarily serve nonelderly people with disabilities and summarizes available research on this population’s elevated risk of severe illness and death; explains how nonelderly people with disabilities and their LTSS providers are reflected in state vaccine prioritization plans; and discusses key issues related to vaccine access for these populations.

Source: COVID-19 Vaccine Access for People with Disabilities | KFF