Two Common Over-the-Counter Compounds Reduce COVID-19 Virus Replication by 99% in Early Testing

University of Florida Health / SciTechDaily / Health

 

A pair of over-the-counter compounds has been found in preliminary tests to inhibit the virus that causes COVID-19, University of Florida Health researchers have found.

The combination includes diphenhydramine, an antihistamine used for allergy symptoms. When paired with lactoferrin, a protein found in cow and human milk, the compounds were found to hinder the SARS-CoV-2 virus during tests in monkey cells and human lung cells.

The findings by David A. Ostrov, Ph.D., an immunologist and associate professor in the UF College of Medicine’s department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine and his colleagues, are published in the journal Pathogens.

“We found out why certain drugs are active against the virus that causes COVID-19. Then, we found an antiviral combination that can be effective, economical, and has a long history of safety,” Ostrov said.

(Almost) Daily Meme

Biden spending bill's proposed cuts to hospital funding draw scrutiny

House version of the bill includes a cut in payments to hospitals that serve Medicaid patients in 12 states

Thomas Barrabi FOXBusiness

 

Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott and other critics are pushing back on a portion of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act that would cut hospital funding across predominantly right-leaning states, according to a report Monday.

The House version of the bill includes a provision that would cut Disproportionate Share Hospital payments across 12 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid coverage. DSH payments support hospitals that serve large numbers of patients who utilize Medicaid or are uninsured.

It’s unclear if the provision will be included in the Senate’s version of the Build Back Better Act. Scott, a major critic of the proposal, told the Washington Times it would hurt low-income families as part of the same legislation that would restore tax deductions for wealthy blue state residents.

What Manchin Had to Say About the New CBO Score

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall Tipsheet

 

Days after Sen. Joe Manchin reportedly told Sen. Lindsey Graham he was “stunned” by the Congressional Budget Office’s new score of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, the West Virginia Democrat spoke about his concerns publicly. 

"Inflation is real. It's not transitory. It's alarming. It's going up, not down,” he told reporters, according to Fox News. “And I think that should be something we're concerned about. And geopolitical fallout.”

His comments come on the heels of a new Labor Department report that revealed consumer prices surged by 6.8% in November from the previous year, the fastest pace since June 1982, when inflation hit 7.1%. The CPI – which measures a bevy of goods ranging from gasoline and health care to groceries and rents – jumped 0.8% in the one-month period from October.

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