The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday gave its full approval to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in people 18 and older. This follows a similar move made Jan. 31 by its sister agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine, which had before been available for that age group only…  read on >  read on >

It’s less enchanting than reading tea leaves, but federal health officials announced Friday that they are expanding nationwide efforts to track COVID-19 by monitoring virus levels found in raw sewage. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to add an additional 250 surveillance sites over the next few weeks to a list of…  read on >  read on >

The American Red Cross is pleading for donors as it grapples with its worst blood shortage in more than a decade. The shortage poses a risk to patient care because doctors are forced to make decisions about which patients receive blood transfusions and which ones must wait until more blood becomes available, the Red Cross…  read on >  read on >

You have almost certainly seen the pleas while scrolling through social media: Called crowdfunding, folks try to raise money to pay for their sick loved one’s mounting medical bills. But new research shows these grassroots campaigns rarely raise enough money to make a difference. According to GoFundMe, which corners over 90% of the U.S. crowdfunding…  read on >  read on >

If the pandemic taught the world nothing else, it’s that viruses can mutate, potentially giving rise to new and more harmful variants. Now, new research reveals that’s exactly what has happened with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Called VB (for virulent subtype B), the “new” HIV variant actually seems to have emerged more than…  read on >  read on >

Before your eyes become glued to the Super Bowl or the Winter Olympics, make sure your TV and furniture are anchored to the wall to protect little ones from potentially deadly tip-overs. Between 2018 and 2020, an average of 22,500 Americans a year required emergency department treatment for tip-over injuries, and nearly 44% were under…  read on >  read on >