March 22, 2024
(New York Times) – More than four years into the pandemic, the virus has loosened its hold on most people’s bodies and minds. But a new variant better able to dodge our immune defenses may yet appear, derailing a hard-won … Read More
March 21, 2024
(NPR) – Despite the improvement, U.S. life expectancy remains below its peak of 78.9 years reached in 2014. It also lags behind other comparable countries. Final data compiled by CDC shows two public health crises, the COVID pandemic and overdoses … Read More
March 21, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Four years ago, the country was brought to its knees by a world-historic disaster. COVID-19 hospitalized nearly 7 million Americans and killed more than a million; it’s still killing hundreds each week. It shut down schools and … Read More
March 12, 2024
(Associated Press) – The nation’s top public health agency is expanding a program that tests international travelers for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program asks arriving international passengers to volunteer to have their … Read More
March 11, 2024
(The Hill) – Health care workers — and particularly female health care workers — are burning out at alarming rates. A recent survey from nursing marketplace platform ShiftKey shared with The Hill found that 86 percent of women in the … Read More
March 8, 2024
(Axios) – Free COVID tests are over, for now. So are guidelines for infected people to isolate. Half of the country thinks the pandemic is finished. But, in reality, COVID-19 is still with us. Though the official trappings of the … Read More
March 7, 2024
(Science) – Didier Raoult and his institute found fame during the pandemic. Then, a group of dogged critics exposed major ethical failings. But in January, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) journals that published the papers announced they were retracting … Read More
March 6, 2024
(Wired) – A 62-year-old man in Germany decided to get 217 Covid-19 vaccinations over the course of 29 months —for “private reasons.” But, somewhat surprisingly, he doesn’t seem to have suffered any ill effects from the excessive immunization, according to … Read More
March 6, 2024
(STAT News) – People often ask: How much should guidance be based on evidence versus what the public is willing to do? But that’s the wrong way to think about it. Instead, those in charge of public health guidance should … Read More
March 4, 2024
(Axios) – There were about 488 deaths per day from excessive drinking in the U.S. during the height of the pandemic from 2020 to 2021, part of a surge in alcohol-related fatalities seen over five years, the Centers for Disease … Read More
March 4, 2024
(STAT News) – Having Covid-19 increases a person’s risk of developing an autoimmune disease in the year after infection, a large study out of South Korea and Japan reports, but vaccination helps decrease that risk. Researchers used the medical records … Read More
March 1, 2024
(The Atlantic) – In New York, where I live, notices linger in the doorways of apartment buildings and stores. A colleague in Woburn, Massachusetts, sent me a photo of a sign reminding park-goers to gather in groups of 10 or … Read More
March 1, 2024
(Associated Press) – Americans who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, U.S. health officials announced Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its longstanding guidance, saying that people can return … Read More
February 29, 2024
(New York Times) – Alcohol-related deaths surged in the United States by nearly 30 percent in recent years, with roughly 500 Americans dying each day in 2021, according to a new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and … Read More
February 28, 2024
(STAT News) – An expert panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines on Wednesday recommended that people 65 and older should get an additional Covid-19 vaccine shot this spring. If the recommendation is approved by CDC … Read More
February 27, 2024
(NPR) – The monthly rate of antidepressants being dispensed to young people increased about 64% more quickly during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers used the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database to examine … Read More
February 23, 2024
(MedPage Today) – More than 134,000 cancers might have gone undiagnosed during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study of national trends in cancer incidence. Annual cancer incidence fell almost 30% short of the expected … Read More
February 21, 2024
(Medical Xpress) – Vaccines that protect against severe illness, death and lingering long COVID symptoms from a coronavirus infection were linked to small increases in neurological, blood, and heart-related conditions in the largest global vaccine safety study to date. (Read … Read More
February 13, 2024
(New York Times) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering loosening its recommendations regarding how long people should isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus, another reflection of changing attitudes and norms as the pandemic recedes. Under … Read More
February 9, 2024
(Axios) – A push to let physicians prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients is getting major attention in statehouses this year, with lawmakers in 19 states considering bills to allow the practice. The big picture: Despite continuing skepticism from … Read More
February 8, 2024
(Associated Press) – Widely varying guidance on when to keep children home has only added to the confusion, which many see as a factor in the nationwide epidemic of chronic school absences. Some advocates and school systems — and the … Read More
February 6, 2024
(STAT News) – The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next month in a case that could have sweeping ramifications for federal health agencies’ communications in particular. Murthy v. Missouri alleges that federal officials coerced social media and search … Read More
February 6, 2024
(New York Times) – If you’ve presented the same arm for every dose of a particular vaccine, you may want to reconsider. Alternating arms may produce a more powerful immune response, a new study suggests. The researchers studied responses to … Read More
February 1, 2024
(STAT News) – New data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the most recent Covid-19 booster offers about 54% percent protection against infection with the virus. A study published in the CDC’s online journal … Read More
January 29, 2024
(KFF Health News) – Those pandemic puppies are growing up to be a public health concern. The latest California data shows increased rates of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths from dog bites, with new records set after covid lockdowns. … Read More
