December 15, 2023
Covid-19
December 14, 2023
In U.S., Physical Health Plummets After the Pandemic
(Gallup) – Key physical health metrics have notably worsened since before the COVID-19 pandemic, including obesity, diabetes and eating habits. The percentage of U.S. adults whom Gallup classifies as obese has reached an estimated 38.4%, up 6.0 percentage points since … Read More
December 11, 2023
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is Not Rare, Says New CDC Survey. It Affects 3.3 Million U.S. Adults
(Associated Press) – Health officials on Friday released the first nationally representative estimate of how many U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome: 3.3 million. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s number is larger than previous studies have suggested, and … Read More
December 7, 2023
A New Edition of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Is Now Available
December 6, 2023
Self-Copying RNA Vaccine Wins First Full Approval: What’s Next?
(Nature) – The approval of yet another RNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 might not seem momentous. But the endorsement last week by Japanese authorities of a jab against SARS-CoV-2 constructed using a form of RNA that can make copies of itself … Read More
December 4, 2023
Study Shows Businesses Selling Unapproved Stem Cell Treatments Have Turned to Long COVID
(JAMA News) – Dozens of businesses selling unapproved stem cell treatments and exosome therapies for COVID-19 have pivoted toward targeting people with post–COVID-19 condition, or long COVID, according to an analysis of the businesses’ marketing practices. (Read More)
December 1, 2023
U.S. Rates of Suicide by Firearm Reaches Record Level
(New York Times) – The rate of suicides involving guns in the United States has reached the highest level since officials began tracking it more than 50 years ago, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control … Read More
November 24, 2023
Omicron, Now 2 Years Old, Is Not Done With Us Yet
(New York Times) – In the two years since its emergence, Omicron has proved to be not only staggeringly infectious, but an evolutionary marvel, challenging many assumptions virologists had before the pandemic. It has given rise to an impressive number … Read More
November 24, 2023
Microbiologist Who Was Harassed During COVID Pandemic Sues University
(Nature) – Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles is suing her employer, the University of Auckland, in New Zealand’s employment court. She alleges that the university’s management “failed in their duty to keep her safe in her employment” while, as a high-profile scientist … Read More
November 22, 2023
How Viral Infections Cause Long-Term Health Problems
(New York Times) — Scientists have long known that infection can set the body down the path of autoimmune disease. The classic example is Epstein-Barr virus. About one in 10 people who have mononucleosis, which is caused by the virus, … Read More
November 21, 2023
Neck Injection Could Improve Smell Issues in Some Long Covid Patients
(NBC News) – The treatment involves injecting an anesthetic into the stellate ganglion — a tangle of nerves in the neck that deliver signals to the head, neck, arms and upper chest. It has been used for decades to treat … Read More
November 20, 2023
Is Novavax, the Latecomer Covid Vaccine, Worth the Wait?
(KFF Health News) – Data from the United Kingdom found that people more frequently reported temporary reactions — like low fevers, fatigue, and pain — as their immune system ramped up in the days following booster vaccination with Moderna’s mRNA … Read More
November 20, 2023
Respiratory Viruses, Thrown Out of Whack by Covid, Appear to Be Falling Back Into Seasonal Order
(STAT News) – Now, as we head into the fourth Northern Hemisphere winter of the Age of Covid, respiratory viruses appear to be falling back into seasonal order, experts tell STAT. Late summer RSV was not a thing in 2023, … Read More
November 15, 2023
Eating Disorders Skewed Younger During the Pandemic
(Axios) – The demographics of eating disorders are shifting younger, now most commonly affecting teens between 14 and 18 years old, according to a new analysis. Why it matters: The data, based on a FAIR Health repository of 43 billion … Read More
November 14, 2023
Study Suggests Covid Rebound Is Far More Common with Paxlovid Than Without
(STAT News) – A small and preliminary study published Monday seems to indicate that patients receiving the drug Paxlovid are far more likely to experience Covid rebound than those who did not take it. That conclusion runs counter to previous … Read More
November 13, 2023
Life Expectancy for Men in U.S. Falls to 73 Years–Six Years Less Than for Women, Per Study
(STAT News) – The life expectancy of men in the U.S. is nearly six years shorter than that of women, according to new research published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. At least partially as a consequence of over 1 … Read More
November 13, 2023
Can’t Think, Can’t Remember: More Americans Say They’re in a Cognitive Fog
(New York Times) – There are more Americans who say they have serious cognitive problems — with remembering, concentrating or making decisions — than at any time in the last 15 years, data from the Census Bureau shows. The increase … Read More
November 7, 2023
CDC Adding Flu, RSV Surveillance at Major US Airports
(The Hill) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Monday it will be expanding its respiratory viral surveillance of international travelers. In 2022, the CDC launched its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program (TGS), a public-private partnership to serve … Read More
November 7, 2023
A New Edition of Journal of Medical Humanities Is Now Available
November 6, 2023
Covid Vaccine Injury Suit May Fuel Federal Overhaul, Litigation
(Bloomberg Law) – A lawsuit by Covid-19 vaccine recipients claiming they were injured by their shots may usher in long-awaited changes to how the federal government handles immunization injuries. Individuals frustrated by the HHS program designed to compensate them for … Read More
November 6, 2023
Hospital Infections Dropped After Pandemic-Era Surge
(Axios) – Hospital-acquired infection rates fell at health systems across the country last year after a marked increase during the pandemic, according to new data from the patient safety watchdog Leapfrog Group. Why it matters: The pandemic-era data had raised … Read More
November 3, 2023
Why Your Neighborhood Pharmacy Isn’t So Friendly Anymore
(Wall Street Journal) – Long lines of disgruntled customers. Harried pharmacists shuffling back and forth to counsel patients and answer phones that seem to never stop ringing. Household toiletries locked behind theft-proof cases. America’s big chain pharmacies are a mess. … Read More
November 3, 2023
Wu Zunyou, the Face of China’s Covid Controls, Dies at 60
(Wall Street Journal) – Wu Zunyou, China’s top epidemiologist, never wanted the spotlight, believing that a successful public-health professional should be “invisible.” His last role, as the face of China’s draconian Covid-19 restrictions, was anything but. In China, the decisions … Read More
November 2, 2023
A New Edition of The New England Journal of Medicine Is Now Available
October 30, 2023
