FRIDAY, Dec. 17, 2021This season’s flu vaccine may do little to prevent infection with the main circulating virus strain because the strain has changed since the vaccine was developed, a new study suggests. However, the vaccine is still likely to protect against severe illness and death, according to the U.S. researchers. They assessed the vaccine’s… read on > read on >
Access to abortion pills by mail was made permanent by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. Patients will be able to have a telemedicine appointment with a provider who can prescribe the pills and send them to the patient by mail, the FDA said in new guidance issued Thursday. Abortion pills are approved… read on > read on >
Masking up again? Here’s what works best. New research finds that when it comes to keeping the COVID-19 virus to yourself, a tight fit matters. So, too, do the materials used, experts say. Read more U.S. makes rule allowing abortion pills by mail permanent: With a Supreme Court decision looming that could curb women’s access… read on > read on >
Recovery from heart surgery can bring some pain. But a new study suggests patients don’t need potentially addictive prescription opioids to control that post-op discomfort. “This study shows that discharge without opioid pain medicine after cardiac surgery is extremely well tolerated by some patients. In other words, we should not be reflexively prescribing pain medicine… read on > read on >
FRIDAY, Dec. 17 2021A new study confirms what many older women already know: Bladder problems in women worsen with age. The researchers found that postmenopausal women between 45 and 54 years of age are more likely to have overactive bladder syndrome, and that obesity and multiple births increase their risk for stress incontinence (urine leakage).… read on > read on >
Mask mandates work, according to a large international study that linked the laws with a reduction in COVID-19 deaths. The study included 44 countries with a combined population of nearly 1 billion. Over time, researchers found, the increase in COVID-related deaths was significantly slower in countries with mask laws than in countries without them. “While… read on > read on >
Following continued reports of a rare but life-threatening clotting condition linked to the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday backed the finding of its advisory panel and recommended that the Pfizer and Moderna shots be the preferred choices for Americans. “Today’s updated recommendation emphasizes CDC’s commitment… read on > read on >
It’s a phenomenon first identified in India earlier this year: Patients who have or are recovering from COVID-19 who then contract a sometimes deadly fungal infection known as mucormycosis — also known as “black fungus.” Now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said isolated cases of the disease are hitting COVID patients in… read on > read on >
Many people turn to marijuana or cannabidiol to ease their achy joints and help them sleep, but a new study suggests that could wreak havoc with any other medications they’re taking. Why? Because the body uses the same set of enzymes to process them all, scientists report. The chemicals in marijuana — THC, cannabidiol (CBD),… read on > read on >
NFL players are four times more likely to die of Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) than other people, new research finds, adding to known links between football-related head injuries and brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). And the longer they played football, the greater their risk, the new study found. ALS, or… read on > read on >
