Coronavirus medicine Coverage

Study: monoclonal antibody treatment reduced COVID-19 deaths in hospitalized patients

A newly released study revealed that monoclonal antibody treatments reduced deaths in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.Several doctors with Duke were part of the group that published the results in Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

$6M would go to light-based COVID treatment under proposed NC budget

A Durham company would receive $6 million to help develop a light-based treatment for COVID-19 if the proposed state spending plan becomes law.

Paul Specht, WRAL state government reporter

CDC: COVID symptoms could re-emerge after completing Paxlovid regimen

The U.S. Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention has a warning for those who are taking Paxlovid to treat COVID-19.

Worries Over the Strain on Health Care Grow in U.S. as Hot Spots Spread

When the coronavirus was in retreat across the United States in late February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new recommendations that veered away from depending on the number of new cases in a community to determine the need for pandemic safety measures.

Adeel Hassan and Sharon Otterman, New York Times

FDA authorizes first Covid-19 breath test

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization to the first Covid-19 test that spots chemical compounds associated with the coronavirus in breath, the agency said Thursday.

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN

New drug slashed deaths among patients with severe COVID, maker claims

An experimental drug halved the death rate among critically ill COVID patients who were receiving supplemental oxygen and were at high risk for serious lung disease and death, the drug's developer announced Monday.

Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times

New U.S. Website Aims to Help Americans Find Antiviral Pills

As the coronavirus pandemic moves into what the White House hopes is a “new normal,” the Biden administration has introduced covid.gov, a federal website meant to help Americans who are infected with the virus find the treatment they need quickly and at no cost.

Isabella Grullón Paz, New York Times

Ivermectin Does Not Reduce Risk of COVID Hospitalization, Large Study Finds

Anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, which has surged in popularity as an alternative treatment for COVID-19 despite a lack of strong research to back it up, showed no sign of alleviating the disease, according to results of a large clinical trial published Wednesday.

Carl Zimmer, New York Times

NC COVID hospitalizations drop below 500 for the first time since last year

The number of people hospitalized in North Carolina with coronavirus dropped below 500 for the first time in a year on Sunday. Staff working in hospitals in eastern North Carolina celebrated last week after discharging their final coronavirus patient.

How protected are we against Covid-19? Scientists search for a test to measure immunity

As mask mandates are lifted and restrictions removed in a step toward normalcy, a test to measure immunity would be a powerful tool to measure individual risk.

By Tasnim Ahmed, CNN

Second opinion saves teen's life after case of COVID

At Duke University Hospital doctors discovered swelling on Micah's brain and diagnosed him with post-COVID encephalitis.

'A pure miracle': Teen recovers from post-COVID brain injury

Micah Hullum was on the tail end of recovering from a mild case of COVID-19 in late December when he started experiencing brain fog and hallucinations that made him feel dazed and confused.

Joe Fisher, WRAL reporter

Preventative COVID-19 drug going unused in NC

There are some at-risk patients that don't get the full benefit of COVID-19 vaccines. The answer for said patients is a drug called Evusheld for protection against COVID-19.

COVID-19 treatment pills are in supply at Triangle hospitals, but people need to act quickly to get them

Pfizer's COVID pill -- Paxlovid -- tops the list of outpatient treatments for people with risk factors like cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity.

Joe Fisher, WRAL reporter

Pandemic to endemic: COVID-19 pill treatment in supply across central NC

Paxlovid, Pfizer's COVID treatment pill, tops the list of outpatient treatments for people with risk factors like cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity.

2 years, 2.6 million cases of COVID in NC

Thursday marks two years since the first COVID-19 case was detected in North Carolina. On March 3, 2020, Gov. Roy Cooper said a man in Wake County tested positive for coronavirus after traveling to Washington state.

Ali Ingersoll, WRAL investigative data reporter

White House Unveils New COVID Strategy, but It Will Need Congressional Funding

The White House unveiled its long-awaited new coronavirus response strategy Wednesday, a 96-page plan aimed at turning the corner on the worst public health crisis in a century, while preparing for the next threat -- in part by accelerating research into vaccines that could be deployed within 100 days of the arrival of a new variant.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times

FDA doubles dosage of Covid-19 monoclonal antibody, raising concerns about access and supply

The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday revised the emergency use authorization for Evusheld, a monoclonal antibody against Covid-19 for immunocompromised people and those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, to double the initial dose. People who've already received the drug should go back for an additional dose as soon as possible, the agency said.

By Naomi Thomas, CNN

Local doctor says NC doesn't have enough pills that 'cure' COVID

There's a coronavirus treatment pill that could reduce the chance of a patient being hospitalized by 90%, local doctors say, but the state is not receiving enough doses.

NC receiving too few doses of COVID 'cure,' local doctor says

There's a coronavirus treatment pill that could reduce hospitalizations by 90%, local doctors say, but some people are refusing the pill.

Joe Fisher, WRAL reporter

Double lung transplant gives woman new life after COVID

The first successful double lung transplant in a NC COVID patient took place at UNC Hospitals.

Variant Diagnosis Has Doctors Struggling With Virus Treatment Decisions

Most U.S. doctors have no way to determine which variant of the coronavirus a patient is carrying, a distinction that could mean the difference between life and death.

Christina Jewett, New York Times

COVID-fighting chewing gum in development could reduce virus transmission

Imagine being able to fight COVID simply by chewing gum. A recently published study out of a molecular therapy journal discovers the effects of a gum that could possibly reduce the transmission.

Prior infection is little defense against omicron variant, scientists say

A past coronavirus infection appears to give little immunity to the new omicron variant rippling across the globe, South African scientists warned Thursday, potentially tearing away one layer of defense that humanity has won slowly and at immense cost.

Lynsey Chutel and Richard Pérez-Peña, New York Times

Chaplain prays with, for patients, caregivers through time of COVID

When COVID brought Cape Fear Valley Medical Center its knees, Chaplain Melanie Swofford complemented modern medicine with the power of prayer.

Bryan Mims, WRAL reporter