-
โAm I at High Risk for Severe Illness from Covid-19?โ
Read More: โAm I at High Risk for Severe Illness from Covid-19?โThe Covid-19 pandemic is over, but the virus hasnโt gone away. Not as many people are getting sick now that vaccines are available, but the infection can still cause serious illness โ and even death โ especially if youโre at high risk of severe Covid-19. โWhat is severe Covid-19? According to Vidya Sundareshan, M.D., an…
-
A New Covid Variant Is Causing Cases to Rise. Hereโs How to Protect Yourself.
Read More: A New Covid Variant Is Causing Cases to Rise. Hereโs How to Protect Yourself.Is Covid over? We wish. Like us, youโve probably wrapped your brain around the fact that Covid โ and variants of the virus โ are still hanging around. And unfortunately Covid cases are on the rise. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported almost 35,000 people in the U.S. were…
-
9 Great Hand Creams Thatโll Prevent Dry, Cracked Hands
Read More: 9 Great Hand Creams Thatโll Prevent Dry, Cracked HandsWith cooler temps comes the all-important practice of washing your hands regularly. It wards off diseases like colds and flu, for sure. But with frequent handwashing comes a new problem: dry, cracked and itchy hands. Enter: hand creams that restore moisture. How often should you wash your hands? Per the CDC, you should wash your…
-
Will Omicron-Specific Booster Shots Be More Effective at Combating Covid-19? 5 Questions Answered
Read More: Will Omicron-Specific Booster Shots Be More Effective at Combating Covid-19? 5 Questions AnsweredBy Prakash Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina and Mitzi Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina On Sept. 1, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the use of updated COVID-19 booster shots that are specifically tailored to combat the two most prevalent omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5. The decision comes just a day after…
-
15 Minutes With: Kizzmekia S Corbett, Ph.D., Talks to HealthyWomen About Omicron
Read More: 15 Minutes With: Kizzmekia S Corbett, Ph.D., Talks to HealthyWomen About OmicronKizzmekia S Corbett, Ph.D, is a viral immunologist whose work focuses on propelling novel vaccine development for pandemic preparedness. She is a research fellow and the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvardโs T. H.…
-
A Motherโs Journey to Getting Her Children Vaccinated
Read More: A Motherโs Journey to Getting Her Children VaccinatedEleven years ago, Kristen OโMeara was hesitant to vaccinate her newborn daughter. โI was suspicious,โ OโMeara recalled. โI did a lot of anxious hand-wringing.โ OโMeara, a special education director at a charter school in Chicago, said she began her online research with questions primed to turn up answers that reflected her bias. โI went in…
-
Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers
Read More: Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health PowersBy Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Kaiser Health News Through a wave of pandemic-related litigation, a trio of small but mighty conservative legal blocs has rolled back public health authority at the local, state, and federal levels, recasting Americaโs future battles against infectious diseases. Galvanized by what theyโve characterized as an overreach of covid-related…
-
Should You Get a COVID-19 Booster Shot Now or Wait Until Fall? Two Immunologists Help Weigh the Options
Read More: Should You Get a COVID-19 Booster Shot Now or Wait Until Fall? Two Immunologists Help Weigh the OptionsBy Prakash Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina and Mitzi Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina While COVID-19 vaccines continue to be highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death, it has become clear that the protection offered by the current vaccines wanes over time. This necessitates the use of booster shots that are safe and effective in…
-
Should You Wear a Mask on a Plane, Bus or Train When Thereโs No Mandate? 4 Essential Reads to Help You Decide
Read More: Should You Wear a Mask on a Plane, Bus or Train When Thereโs No Mandate? 4 Essential Reads to Help You DecideBy Daniel Merino, The Conversation On April 18, 2022, a judge in Florida struck down the federal mandate requiring passengers on mass transit to wear masks. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends that passengers mask up while on planes, trains or buses, it is no longer a requirement. When asked…
-
Coronavirus, COVID-19, Health care professionals, Prevention, Preventive health, Vaccinations, Vaccines
The 1 in 10 U.S. Doctors With Reservations About Vaccines Could Be Undermining the Fight Against Covid-19
Read More: The 1 in 10 U.S. Doctors With Reservations About Vaccines Could Be Undermining the Fight Against Covid-19By Matt Motta, Oklahoma State University and Timothy Callaghan, Texas A&M University American attitudes toward scientific expertise have become increasingly contentious in recent years. But many people across the political spectrum still place high levels of trust in their personal physicians. Correspondingly, both popular media and public health officials have encouraged physicians to serve as…
-
Even After Lockdowns Eased, Pandemic Depression Persisted Across Social Classes โ New Study
Read More: Even After Lockdowns Eased, Pandemic Depression Persisted Across Social Classes โ New StudyBy Catherine Ettman, Boston University and Sandro Galea, Boston University The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that more than 1 in 5 U.S. adults reported probable depression in both spring 2020 and spring 2021. We also found that financial…
-
Vaccine Hesitancy Is Complicating Physiciansโ Obligation to Respect Patient Autonomy During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Read More: Vaccine Hesitancy Is Complicating Physiciansโ Obligation to Respect Patient Autonomy During the Covid-19 PandemicBy Ryan Liu, Penn State Sitting barely 6 feet away from me, my patient yelled angrily, his face mask slipping to his upper lip: โNo, I will not get vaccinated. And nothing you do or say will change that fact.โ He provided no reason for why he was so opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine. As…
-
Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Chronic conditions, Coronavirus, Covid long-haulers, COVID-19, Policy
Long Covid Leaves Newly Disabled People Facing Old Barriers โ a Sociologist Explains
Read More: Long Covid Leaves Newly Disabled People Facing Old Barriers โ a Sociologist ExplainsBy Laura Mauldin, University of Connecticut Up to one-third of COVID-19 survivors will acquire the condition known as long or long-haul COVID-19. The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation estimates that long COVID will add as many as 22 million individuals to the U.S. population of disabled people. I am a sociologist and researcher…
-
Childcare, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crohn’s, Crohn’s disease, Digestive disorders, Ibd, Inflammatory bowel disease, Parenting, Real women real stories
It Feels Surreal When Covid Hits โ but Itโs Very Real
Read More: It Feels Surreal When Covid Hits โ but Itโs Very RealLast New Yearโs Eve, I walked into my parentโs house after running errands and heard news Iโll never forget. My mom stood by the Christmas tree, tears flowing down her cheeks. โHeโs positive. Dad just tested positive for Covid.โ It felt surreal. It couldnโt be. My family of five had just spent two days hanging…
-
How Becoming My Husbandโs Caregiver in My 30s Changed My Life
Read More: How Becoming My Husbandโs Caregiver in My 30s Changed My LifeFebruary 18 is National Caregivers Day. I get the text when Iโm at work, trying to focus on a project Iโve barely made any progress on all day. โIโm in the ER,โ my husband, Lee, wrote. โBut donโt worry, Iโm OK.โ My hands shake on the drive over to the hospital, but Iโm less anxious…
-
Covid-19: Whatโs Next for South Africa โ And When Will It Be Over?
Read More: Covid-19: Whatโs Next for South Africa โ And When Will It Be Over?Since the last wave of Covid-19, Omicron, hit South Africa at the end of last year, it seems that things… The post Covid-19: Whatโs Next for South Africa โ And When Will It Be Over? appeared first on Women’s Health.
-
Autoimmune disease, Chronic conditions, Coronavirus, Covid long-haulers, COVID-19, Lupus, Multiple sclerosis, Rheumatoid arthritis
Despite Its Disastrous Effects, Covid-19 Offers Some Gifts to Medicine โ an Immunology Expert Explains What It Can Teach Us About Autoimmune Disease
Read More: Despite Its Disastrous Effects, Covid-19 Offers Some Gifts to Medicine โ an Immunology Expert Explains What It Can Teach Us About Autoimmune DiseaseBy Dario Ghersi, University of Nebraska Omaha For all the misery that the pandemic has wrought, it has also opened up a vast storehouse of knowledge about medical issues beyond COVID-19. While itโs still too early to draw conclusions, evidence is emerging of links between autoimmune disorders and the virus that causes COVID-19. As a…
-
Heading Into the Third Year of the Pandemic, the US Blood Supply Is at a 10-Year Low
Read More: Heading Into the Third Year of the Pandemic, the US Blood Supply Is at a 10-Year LowBy Anna Nagurney, UMass Amherst The blood supply in the U.S. is now at its lowest level in over a decade. Many of the nationโs blood centers currently have only a one-day supply of some blood types in inventory. This is dangerous because blood transfusions are needed for many surgeries. Blood is also used in…
-
15 minutes with, Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Health insurance, Prevention, Preventive health, Vaccinations, Vaccines
15 Minutes With Dr. Leana Wen
Read More: 15 Minutes With Dr. Leana WenDr. Leana Wen is an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University who previously served as the health commissioner in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Wen is a familiar face on CNN, where she serves as a medical analyst, writes a weekly column in The Washington Post and hosts the Postโs newsletter, The Checkup…
-
Ready for Another Pandemic Malady? Itโs Called โDecision Fatigueโ
Read More: Ready for Another Pandemic Malady? Itโs Called โDecision FatigueโBy Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News Most all of us have felt the exhaustion of pandemic-era decision-making. Should I travel to see an elderly relative? Can I see my friends and, if so, is inside OK? Mask or no mask? Test or no test? What day? Which brand? Is it safe to send my child…
-
How mRNA and DNA Vaccines Could Soon Treat Cancers, HIV, Autoimmune Disorders and Genetic Diseases
Read More: How mRNA and DNA Vaccines Could Soon Treat Cancers, HIV, Autoimmune Disorders and Genetic DiseasesBy DNA and mRNA vaccines are much better at producing T cells than are normal vaccines.NIAID/NIH via Flickr What makes nucleic acid vaccines different from traditional vaccines? Most vaccines induce antibody responses. Antibodies are the primary immune mechanism that blocks infections. As we began to study nucleic acid vaccines, we discovered that because these vaccines…
-
Coronavirus, COVID-19, Diabetes, Health disparities, Heart disease, Obesity, Prevention, Preventive health, Racial disparities
How the Pandemicโs Unequal Toll on People of Color Underlines US Health Inequities โ and Why Solving Them Is so Critical
Read More: How the Pandemicโs Unequal Toll on People of Color Underlines US Health Inequities โ and Why Solving Them Is so CriticalBy Abubakarr Jalloh, Hollins University From the earliest days of the pandemic, COVID-19 has wrought a far higher toll in communities of color than in the general population โ thrusting the long-standing issue of health disparities in the U.S. into the attention of public health officials and the general public. Even though non-Hispanic white people…
-
Officials Struggle to Regulate Pop-up Covid Testing Sites โ and Warn Patients to Beware
Read More: Officials Struggle to Regulate Pop-up Covid Testing Sites โ and Warn Patients to BewareBy Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News NEW YORK โ In recent months, mobile covid-19 testing tents and vans have sprouted on urban sidewalks and street curbs as demand has skyrocketed in response to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Some of the sites run by private companies offer legitimate, timely and reliable results, but…
-
Ask KHN-PolitiFact: Is My Cloth Mask Good Enough? The 2022 Edition
Read More: Ask KHN-PolitiFact: Is My Cloth Mask Good Enough? The 2022 EditionBy Victoria Knight, Kaiser Health News The highly transmissible omicron variant is sweeping the U.S., causing a huge spike in covid-19 cases and overwhelming many hospital systems. Besides urging Americans to get vaccinated and boosted, public health officials are recommending that people upgrade from their cloth masks to higher-quality medical-grade masks. But what does this…
-
End-of-Life Conversations Can Be Hard, but Your Loved Ones Will Thank You
Read More: End-of-Life Conversations Can Be Hard, but Your Loved Ones Will Thank YouBy Deborah Carr, Boston University Death โ along with taxes โ is one of lifeโs few certainties. Despite this inevitability, most people dread thinking and talking about when, how or under what conditions they might die. They donโt want to broach the topic with family, either, for fear of upsetting them. Ironically, though, talking about…
-
Biden to Expand Access to At-Home Covid Kits: 4 Essential Reads on the Critical Role of Rapid Tests
Read More: Biden to Expand Access to At-Home Covid Kits: 4 Essential Reads on the Critical Role of Rapid TestsBy Matt Williams, The Conversation President Joe Biden has outlined plans to massively ramp up COVID-19 testing in an effort to curb โ or at least slow โ the spread of the highly infectious omicron variant across the U.S. In a speech on Dec. 21, 2021, Biden said he aimed to get out โas many…
-
Genomic sequencing: Hereโs how researchers identify omicron and other COVID-19 variants
Read More: Genomic sequencing: Hereโs how researchers identify omicron and other COVID-19 variantsBy Andre Hudson, Rochester Institute of Technology and Crista Wadsworth, Rochester Institute of Technology How do scientists detect new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19? The answer is a process called DNA sequencing. Researchers sequence DNA to determine the order of the four chemical building blocks, or nucleotides, that make it up: adenine, thymine,…
-
How Effective Are Vaccines Against Omicron? An Epidemiologist Answers 6 Questions
Read More: How Effective Are Vaccines Against Omicron? An Epidemiologist Answers 6 QuestionsBy New variants of the coronavirus are all slightly different from the original strain that vaccines were based on, so immunity to variants may be different. Alexey Solodovnikov, Valeria Arkhipova/WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA 4. What about the omicron variant? The preliminary data about omicron and vaccines is coming in quickly and is revealing lower vaccine effectiveness.…
-
Covid-19 Vaccines & FOMO
Read More: Covid-19 Vaccines & FOMOFor some people, the holiday season can be a tangle of complicated emotions. Itโs often especially so for those spending the holidays with family because families can be tricky, not to mention that weโre still in a global pandemic โ and those are pretty tricky, too. What makes it all worse? Not taking care of…
-
How Can Scientists Update Coronavirus Vaccines for Omicron? A Microbiologist Answers 5 Questions About How Moderna and Pfizer Could Rapidly Adjust mRNA Vaccines
Read More: How Can Scientists Update Coronavirus Vaccines for Omicron? A Microbiologist Answers 5 Questions About How Moderna and Pfizer Could Rapidly Adjust mRNA VaccinesBy Deborah Fuller, University of Washington If the omicron variant of the coronavirus is different enough from the original variant, itโs possible that existing vaccines wonโt be as effective as they have been. If so, itโs likely that companies will need to update their vaccines to better fight omicron. Deborah Fuller is a microbiologist who…
-
Grocery Workers Suffer the Mental Health Effects of Customer Hostility and Lack of Safety in Their Workplace
Read More: Grocery Workers Suffer the Mental Health Effects of Customer Hostility and Lack of Safety in Their WorkplaceBy Brian Mayer, University of Arizona; Melissa A. Barnett, University of Arizona; Mona Arora, University of Arizona, and Sabrina V. Helm, University of Arizona With the holiday season here, consumers are understandably desperate for a โnormalโ holiday season. For many, that includes big family dinners and Black Friday shopping sprees. Retail and service sector workers…
-
Omicron: Why the WHO Designated It a Variant of Concern
Read More: Omicron: Why the WHO Designated It a Variant of ConcernBy Ed Feil, University of Bath The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the B.1.1.529 lineage of Sars-CoV-2, thought to have emerged in southern Africa, is to be designated as a variant of concern (VoC) named omicron. This decision has already precipitated a broad shift in priorities in pandemic management on a global scale.…
-
Hereโs Why Rapid Covid Tests Are so Expensive and Hard to Find
Read More: Hereโs Why Rapid Covid Tests Are so Expensive and Hard to FindBy Lydia DePillis and Eric Umansky, ProPublica ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series: Coronavirus The U.S. Response to COVID-19 A few weeks ago, a ProPublica reporter decided to test his kids for COVID-19. They had the sniffles,…
-
Success of Covid Antiviral Pills Hinges on Access to Speedy and Accurate Tests
Read More: Success of Covid Antiviral Pills Hinges on Access to Speedy and Accurate TestsBy JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News Within a few weeks, perhaps before many Americans finish decorating for the holidays, the U.S. could have access to a new antiviral pill from Merck expected to alter the deadly trajectory of the covid-19 pandemic โ with a second option from Pfizer to follow shortly after. Now under federal…
-
How Rural Communities Are Losing Their Pharmacies
Read More: How Rural Communities Are Losing Their PharmaciesBy Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News Batson’s Drug Store seems like a throwback to a simpler time. The independently owned pharmacy in Howard, Kansas, still runs an old-fashioned soda counter and hand-dips ice cream. But the drugstore, the only one in the entire county, teeters on the edge between nostalgia and extinction. Julie Perkins, pharmacist…
-
Fewer Diabetes Patients Are Picking up Their Insulin Prescriptions โ Another Way the Pandemic Has Delayed Health Care for Many
Read More: Fewer Diabetes Patients Are Picking up Their Insulin Prescriptions โ Another Way the Pandemic Has Delayed Health Care for ManyBy Ismaeel Yunusa, University of South Carolina Insulin is as essential as water for many people with diabetes. Of the more than 30 million Americans with diabetes, approximately 7.4 million rely on insulin to manage their condition. But it is one of the most costly drugs on the market, and the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified…
-
Iโm an Infectious Disease Doctor. Yes, Iโm Vaccinating Our 5-Year-Old Against Covid-19. Here Is Why You Should Too.
Read More: Iโm an Infectious Disease Doctor. Yes, Iโm Vaccinating Our 5-Year-Old Against Covid-19. Here Is Why You Should Too.Alexander Wong, University of Saskatchewan I am an infectious disease physician. When it is our turn to vaccinate our five-year-old son against COVID-19, I will do so with confidence and without hesitation. I am encouraging every parent with eligible children between ages five and 11 to do the same. Here is why. The U.S. Food…
-
Whatโs the Difference Between a PCR and Antigen COVID-19 Test? A Molecular Biologist Explains
Read More: Whatโs the Difference Between a PCR and Antigen COVID-19 Test? A Molecular Biologist ExplainsPCR tests are extremely accurate but require special lab equipment โ like the PCR heating machine seen here โ and can take hours or days to perform. Rapid antigen tests โ like the two seen here showing negative results โ are much faster and easier to perform but are less sensitive than PCR tests.Lennardywlee via…
-
Unvaccinated? Donโt Count on Leaving Your Family Death Benefits
Read More: Unvaccinated? Donโt Count on Leaving Your Family Death BenefitsBy Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News These days, workers who refuse to get vaccinated against covid-19 may face financial repercussions, from higher health insurance premiums to loss of their jobs. Now, the financial fallout might follow workers beyond the grave. If they die of covid and weren’t vaccinated, their families may not get death benefits…
-
Why Vaccine Doses Differ for Babies, Kids, Teens and Adults โ an Immunologist Explains How Your Immune System Changes as You Mature
Read More: Why Vaccine Doses Differ for Babies, Kids, Teens and Adults โ an Immunologist Explains How Your Immune System Changes as You MatureBy The dose that works for adults might not be appropriate for youngsters of different ages. Some vaccines need to be given multiple times.CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CC BY After 4 years of age and through younger adult life, your immune system tends to be more responsive and less prone to…
-
The FDA Authorizes Pfizerโs COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5 to 11 โ a Pediatrician Explains How the Drug Was Tested for Safety and Efficacy
Read More: The FDA Authorizes Pfizerโs COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5 to 11 โ a Pediatrician Explains How the Drug Was Tested for Safety and EfficacyBy Debbie-Ann Shirley, University of Virginia Elementary school children in the United States will soon have one more layer of protection to keep them safe from COVID-19. On Oct. 29, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The move came days after…
