Health News

Reality bites for Putin’s much-hyped Covid-19 vaccine, as concerns over efficacy and safety linger

In August, Russian state media rolled out the red carpet for a bombshell announcement — President Vladimir Putin, from his residence outside Moscow, unveiled what he said was the world’s first registered coronavirus vaccine, meant to bring Russia closer to the end of a devastating pandemic. Putin, who is famously secretive about his family, said…

How the pandemic is contributing to your insomnia

Sleeping during the Covid-19 pandemic has become a nightmare for Aparna Aswani. Between cooling off from the stress of the workday and managing her anxiety from reading about the pandemic and politics, she’s lucky to turn in before midnight. Once the 44-year-old marketing executive falls asleep, she usually wakes up two or three times before…

Wisconsin faces Covid-19 crisis as coronavirus cases continue to rise, governor says

Wisconsin’s governor on Tuesday warned of an impending crisis as the state continues to see coronavirus cases rise and its hospitals overwhelmed. “There is no way to sugarcoat it, we are facing an urgent crisis and there is an imminent risk to you and your family,” Gov. Tony Evers said. Hospital beds in the state…

What you need to prepare for the Covid-19 surge this season

As the weather gets colder and we face the double threat of the flu and a surge in Covid-19 cases, now is a prime opportunity to stock up on food and supplies. Covid-19 cases will likely increase in the winter months for three reasons: “First, the virus that causes Covid-19 is a coronavirus and other…

British study shows evidence of waning immunity to Covid-19

A study of hundreds of thousands of people across England suggests immunity to the coronavirus is gradually wearing off – at least according to one measure. Researchers who sent out home finger-prick tests to more than 365,000 randomly selected people in England found a more than 26% decline in Covid-19 antibodies over just three months.…

Group sees 14% increase in child Covid-19 cases with close to 800,000 US kids infected

Children account for 11% of all Covid-19 cases in the US, a 14% increase over the past two weeks, the American Academy of Pediatrics said Monday. The group, which represents pediatricians, says about 792,188 children have been infected in the US as of October 22. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 8.6 million Americans…

Drop in non-coronavirus hospitalizations suggests people are skipping key medical care

A decline in non-coronavirus hospitalizations suggests that people are delaying necessary medical care during the pandemic, according to two new studies. The studies, released Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, are consistent with previous research showing a decline in non-coronavirus-related hospitalizations across the country since Covid-19 took hold. Researchers from the NYU Grossman School…

Diet drinks linked to heart issues, study finds. Here’s what to do

If your heart goes pitter-patter for diet beverages, it may not be due to love. Artificially sweetened beverages, a new study has found, may be just as bad for your heart as the sugar-laden kind. “Our study suggests artificially sweetened beverages may not be a healthy substitute for sugar drinks, and these data provide additional…

Utah hospitals could start rationing health care at overwhelmed facilities, hospital association says

Utah hospitals could be days away from using a patient’s age, health and other factors to decide who can remain in overcrowded intensive care units due to an onslaught of Covid-19 cases. A group of administrators representing Utah’s hospitals presented Gov. Gary Herbert with a list of “criteria they propose doctors should use if they…

This 12-year-old is happy to be testing a Covid-19 vaccine

The youngest volunteers so far to get experimental coronavirus vaccines have been given their first doses and are now being watched carefully to see if they are experiencing any unusual side effects. A team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital vaccinated 100 children as young as 12 last week, said Dr. Robert Frenck, who is leading the…

The US is close to having ‘exponential spread’ in some areas, and the hardest part may still be ahead, former FDA official says

The country is facing another cycle of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it may be the hardest yet, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Monday. “I think we’re right now at the cusp of what’s going to be exponential spread in parts of the country,” Gottlieb said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “If…

Young YouTube influencers are increasingly marketing junk food to fellow kids, study finds

Kid influencers on YouTube are marketing junk food and sugary beverages to their fellow kids, and they’re racking up billions of page views, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. The study demonstrates how advertisers are seeking to take advantage of new avenues to market their wares to children. “We should…

Despite the Trump administration’s new policy, many pharmacies still won’t vaccinate children against flu

As a dark winter approaches with “twindemics” of Covid-19 and the flu, an effort by the Trump administration to increase the number of children receiving flu shots is not working, according to a CNN investigation. In August, the administration issued a declaration authorizing pharmacists nationwide to give flu shots to children ages 3 and older,…

The world needs more kindness. Here’s how to develop your practice

In a global pandemic, who has time to be kind? But kindness expert Houston Kraft suggests you think about it within this worldwide crisis. Kindness may be wearing a mask to keep others from getting sick, checking in on a friend starting a new project or sitting to listen to a family member who just…

US should consider national mask mandate for the winter, former FDA commissioner writes in op-ed

As the US reports its second-highest day of new Covid-19 cases amid the continuing fall surge, a former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration says it may be time for a national mask mandate. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Scott Gottlieb wrote the mandate could be “limited and temporary.”…

CDC highlights safety tips for in-person voting ahead of Election Day

With Election Day less than two weeks away, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released safety tips for voters to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. There are 8.5 million cases of the virus across the United States, and more than 224,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The CDC encouraged Americans to…

A vaccine helped end racial disparities in pneumococcal disease. There’s hope a vaccine will do the same for Covid-19

The world is focused on a Covid-19 vaccine to get everyone back to some version of normal, but the vaccine could also have another beneficial effect: It could reduce the disparities that have made the disease so deadly for some racial groups. A recent study showed that a vaccine against pneumococcal disease erased racial differences…

Daily Covid-19 cases will hit six digits soon, expert warns, as US reports a one-day high of more than 83,000 infections

The US just marked a harrowing milestone: It recorded its highest one-day number of Covid-19 infections Friday at more than 83,000 — more than 6,000 higher than the country’s previous record set in July. And as the fall surge continues, the daily numbers will get worse, experts warn. “We easily will hit six-figure numbers in…

CDC warns of multi-state Listeria outbreak linked to deli meats

A Listeria outbreak has sickened 10 people across three states, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes deli meats are the cause. The CDC issued a warning about the outbreak Friday, which has sent ten people from Florida, Massachusetts and New York to the hospital and led to the death of one…

The Americas are at risk of polio outbreak due to disruptions by the pandemic, experts say

Health experts fear an outbreak of the polio virus in the Americas during the Covid-19 pandemic due to a delay in vaccinations and surveillance. Countries in the region must maintain polio vaccinations and surveillance during the pandemic to prevent an outbreak, according to experts at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). “Although as a region…

AstraZeneca, Johnson&Johnson to resume Covid-19 vaccine trials in US

Drugmakers AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson both said Friday they are set to resume their paused coronavirus vaccine trials in the United States after health scares. AstraZeneca’s trial had been on hold since early September, and Johnson & Johnson’s trial had been paused since earlier this month AstraZeneca said the US Food and Drug Administration…

People with Down syndrome have 10 times the risk of death from Covid-19 as those without, study finds

People with Down syndrome have 10 times the risk of dying from Covid-19 compared to those without the disability, a team of researchers reported Thursday. They also found a fourfold increased risk of coronavirus-related hospitalizations for those with Down syndrome, “a group that is not currently strategically protected,” according to the report in the journal…

The US just reported its highest number of Covid-19 infections in one day since the pandemic’s start

The US reported more than 80,000 new coronavirus infections Friday — the highest daily case number since the pandemic began. That comes amid other bleak patterns including rising hospitalizations and daily death tolls across the country, with experts warning that the worst is yet to come. Friday’s case count of at least 80,005 surpasses the…

In Mississippi, more White people now have gotten Covid-19 than African Americans. Attitudes about masks might help explain why, official says

For the longest time in this pandemic, coronavirus had infected and killed more African Americans in Mississippi than White people, which experts explained in part by pointing to racial health disparities in one of the most impoverished states. Early on, Black Mississippians accounted for roughly 60% of the state’s cases and deaths, the state health…

Wearing masks could save more than 100,000 US lives through February, new study suggests

If 95% of Americans wore masks in public, more than 100,000 lives could be saved from Covid-19 through February, a new modeling study suggests. The study — from the Covid-19 forecasting team at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation — notes that, as of September 21, only about 49% of US…

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