It’s the Holy Grail for containing the spread of coronavirus, but contact tracing only works if it is done quickly, researchers report. The modeling study showed that even if all contacts are successfully traced, a delay of three days or more between the start of symptoms and testing will not reduce transmission of the virus… read on >
Irene Johnson noticed a big, blue bus bearing the words “Breathe Easy” outside the Benton, Tenn., library during the 2019 Labor Day weekend. Inside, a librarian told Johnson that the bus was a mobile CT unit that travels around screening smokers for lung cancer. Former longtime smokers, both Johnson and her husband, Karl, fit the… read on >
The rate of second strokes among Mexican Americans has declined steeply since the turn of the century, a new study finds. Between 2000 and 2013, the rate of recurrent stroke fell faster in Mexican Americans than in white people. By 2013, there was no difference between the two groups. “Throughout this long-term study, this is… read on >
Lockdown measures helped reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in countries around the world, a new study finds. Moreover, earlier stay-in-place restrictions such as closing schools and workplaces were tied to a greater reduction in cases, according to British researchers. The findings, published July 15 in the BMJ, were based on data from 149 countries… read on >
As the number of U.S. coronavirus cases topped 3.5 million on Wednesday, more states, cities and major retailers turned to face mask mandates to try to stem the spread of COVID-19. Increasingly seen as a last hope to slow soaring infection rates across the country, Alabama, Montana and the city of Tulsa on Wednesday moved… read on >
Even as new coronavirus infections soar in the United States, a new study offers one piece of good news: Severely ill COVID-19 patients are significantly more likely to survive now compared to a few months ago. In fact, deaths for COVID-19 patients in intensive care units have fallen by nearly a third in North America,… read on >
It has been the sole silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic — cleaner air and water on the planet. But will it continue? A new study says that isn’t yet clear. “The pandemic raises two important questions related to the environment,” said study author Christopher Knittel, from the MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston.… read on >
(HealthDay News) As 64,000 new U.S. coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday and states struggled to control the spread of the virus, the Trump Administration stripped the country’s leading public health agency of the ability to collect hospitalization data on COVID-19. Instead of patient information going to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it… read on >
The world’s population is shifting, with a new analysis predicting it will peak in 2064 at around 9.7 billion people and fall to 8.8 billion by the end of the century. The United States will have population growth until just after mid-century (364 million in 2062). That will be followed by a moderate decline to… read on >
About one-third of people prescribed drugs to prevent HIV stopped taking the medications when they were forced to stay home due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey finds. The reason, they said: They weren’t having sex. Many discontinued the drugs without their doctor’s say-so, which has experts concerned. “Reducing the number of new HIV… read on >
