COVID-19

Doctor Cynthia Morrow, director of the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District, says a lot has changed since those early days of the pandemic.

As case counts ebbed and flowed during that time, officials say the largest testing center in Roanoke saw upwards of 500 patients a day during peaks.

A new report says it will take time to reverse the learning loss fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers have a number of recommendations that could help the recovery.

As more Virginians have become vaccinated against COVID-19, testing for the virus isn’t as frequent. But at the height of the pandemic, testing was a vital way to control the spread of the virus. And this lab in southwest Virginia played a crucial role in making that testing accessible.

State health officials say they’re proud of the progress made so far, and now have to focus their efforts on the state’s youngest kids.

Nearly 24 million Americans have been diagnosed with long COVID. They test negative for the virus but report brain fog, exhaustion, depression and other symptoms. No one knows what causes this condition, and there’s no FDA-approved treatment, but one study suggests pure oxygen could be useful.

While the COVID pandemic is easing in some places, the CDC says it’s the third leading cause of death for the third year in a row. Now, a Virginia company says it’s got a test that will help doctors determine which patients are at greatest risk so they can prescribe the best treatment.

Across the state, serious illness due to COVID-19 plateaued over the summer.

As schools reopen, many COVID-19 protocols have been relaxed. Dr. Cynthia Morrow said the situation today is very different than it was in 2020 or 2021.

New guidance by the CDC no longer recommends that people exposed to COVID-19 quarantine at home, as long as they are asymptomatic and test negative. Public schools in Virginia and universities have recently released their own recommendations for students and teachers; they too are relaxing several precautions.