Worried or wondering about COVID-19 vaccines? Many Americans are, so experts at Penn State Health are offering some reassuring insight. “People are approaching this vaccine with more hesitation because it was approved quickly, but that really just speaks to how far we have come in vaccinology,” said Dr. Mohammad Ali, an infectious disease physician at… read on > read on >
Pregnant women have high COVID-19 infection rates — especially women of color — and they should be near the front of the line for vaccines across the United States, researchers say. “Our data indicates that pregnant people did not avoid the pandemic as we hoped that they would, and communities of color bore the greatest… read on > read on >
Breathing in air that has even low levels of pollution poses a threat to older adults’ heart and lungs, a new study warns. Researchers analyzed medical records of more than 63 million Medicare patients from 2000 to 2016. They found that long-term exposure to low levels of air pollution could increase the risk of pneumonia,… read on > read on >
The drug cabozantinib is more effective than two similar drugs, as well as the current standard treatment, in extending the lives of patients with a rare and deadly type of kidney cancer, according to a new study. The cancer is called metastatic papillary kidney cancer. There are currently no effective treatments for it. A previous… read on > read on >
A number of new treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive eye disease, are under development. AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in older people. About 11 million Americans have AMD, which affects part of the eye that allows you to see fine detail. There are two types: wet and dry. Wet… read on > read on >
Today’s young athletes push themselves harder than ever before, which raises their odds for injury, experts say. But there are proven ways to minimize injury rates, according to the Stanford Children’s Health sports medicine team. Here’s what they suggest: Prepare for the season: Develop a comprehensive conditioning program for the off-season or when there are… read on > read on >
Diabetes is never an easy disease to manage, but coping with type 1 diabetes can be a particularly difficult challenge for teens. The transition from childhood to adolescence can be hard on both kids and parents, the JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) says. As boys and girls with type 1 diabetes enter puberty… read on > read on >
There was a double dose of good news Friday from COVID vaccine maker Pfizer: The company said just one dose may provide 85% protection against SARS-CoV-2, and vials of the vaccine might not require ultra-cold storage after all. The latter finding could be a game-changer for vaccine distribution, because the need for refrigerators capable of… read on > read on >
Many patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 could become “long haulers,” suffering symptoms months after they clear their non-life-threatening infection, new research shows. About 33% of COVID-19 patients who were never sick enough to require hospitalization continue to complain months later of symptoms like fatigue, loss of smell or taste and “brain fog,” University of… read on > read on >
Only a tiny fraction of the nearly 14 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the first month of vaccinations produced any sort of adverse event, U.S. health officials report. There were 6,994 reports of adverse events following a shot of the COVID vaccine between Dec. 14, 2020 and Jan. 13, 2021, amounting to about half… read on > read on >
