| Web: | mayocliniclabs.com |
|---|---|
| Email: | mcl@mayo.edu |
| Telephone: | 800-533-1710 |
| International: | +1 855-379-3115 |
| Values are valid only on day of printing | |
| Web: | mayocliniclabs.com |
|---|---|
| Email: | mcl@mayo.edu |
| Telephone: | 800-533-1710 |
| International: | +1 855-379-3115 |
| Values are valid only on day of printing | |
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Artificial intelligence (AI) may offer a way to accurately determine that a person is not infected with COVID-19. An international retrospective study finds that infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, creates subtle electrical changes in the heart. An AI-enhanced EKG can detect these changes and potentially be used as a rapid, reliable COVID-19 screening test to rule out COVID-19 infection.
Experts say getting fully vaccinated is the most important step people can take to lower their risk of transmitting or getting infected with COVID-19. Even then, Dr. Stacey Rizza, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist, suggests travelers wear a mask, avoid congregated areas when possible and maintain good hand hygiene. These measures are especially important for travelers who are immunocompromised and may not have had a normal response to being vaccinated for COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is holding an emergency COVID-19 meeting this week to discuss COVID-19 vaccine safety as it relates to news that young people may develop myocarditis after receiving a second dose of a messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine.
The parents of a young Florida patient were so grateful for the caring approach offered to their son during his COVID-19 vaccine appointment that they called back to express their appreciation and share their story.
UPDATE: Mayo Clinic in Rochester and at its Health System sites continue to offer patients, visitors and staff additional convenient opportunities to be vaccinated for COVID-19. All domestic and international patients, visitors and staff who want to be vaccinated for COVID-19 have opportunities to do so at walk-in clinics this week.
Twin Cities journalist Sonya Goins, like so many, has been coping with the challenges that have come with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as working remotely and not being able to see family and friends. If all of that weren't difficult enough, for the past year, she's also been battling breast cancer and Crohn's disease at Mayo Clinic.
More than 35% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And for anyone who receives the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, two doses are required to complete the series and be fully vaccinated.
"It's important for patients to know that this new guidance doesn't apply to health care settings," says Dr. Jack O'Horo, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert. "We ask our patients and visitors to continue to wear masks and socially distance to protect our patients. Also, state and local government may continue to require masking, particularly in places with increasing cases and relatively low COVID-19 vaccination rates. For now, the best thing you can do is be aware of your local conditions, continue to wear masks in facilities that require them, and if you haven't already done so, look into your options for the vaccine."
