There is no shortage of articles offering advice for how to deal with lockdown: stick to a routine, get enough sleep, eat regular meals, maintain social connections at a safe distance, and so on.   Drug use often doesn’t make the list, but early signs suggest this is how many people are grappling with a dark and uncertain reality, according to an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.   “It will be...

The vast majority of Houston-area residents who are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 are not getting tested for it, according to initial results of a survey from the COVID-19 Registry at Rice University.   In addition, more than 40% of households have lost income as a result of the crisis — and the economic impact appears to be much more severe among African American and Hispanic households than white and Asian American households. The initial...

A detailed study of the monoclonal antibodies from a person who survived a Marburg infection led researchers to identify novel mechanisms that contribute protection against the disease, according to the latest findings of a collaborative team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.   Certainly, the virus that is on everyone’s mind is the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 disease, but there are other viral families that continue...

By Ayomide Isola-Gbenla, BS, Monisha Arya MD, MPH, and K. Viswanath PhD.   As Harris County healthcare organizations adhere to social distancing and employ telemedicine during this COVID-19 crisis, we are worried that many residents in our community will be left out. While poverty and lack of education are known to limit healthcare access, not having access to communication technologies such as computers and internet is underappreciated as a health determinant. Ignoring these factors during...