There appears to be a silver lining to forced school and business closures during early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study: Fewer kids used e-cigarettes. Compared to the previous quarter, vaping rates fell among 15- to 20-year-olds while widespread stay-at-home orders were in place from March 14 to June 29, 2020,…  read on >  read on >

COVID-19 “breakthrough” infections, where someone who’s been fully vaccinated becomes infected nonetheless, are exceedingly rare, a new study suggests. Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York City said they uncovered just two breakthrough infections in a group of 417 university employees who were all more than two weeks out from their second dose of either…  read on >  read on >

THURSDAY, April 22, 2021 (HeathDay News) — April 16 was the first day that any Californian aged 16 or older became eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. And at a bustling vaccination center in Pomona, Calif., 16-year-old Ashley Madera was in line to get her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. “I think that this…  read on >  read on >

It may not be a good idea to take a daily low-dose aspirin if you’re also taking a widely used class of blood thinners called direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), researchers caution. DOACs include drugs such as Eliquis (apixaban), Pradaxa (dabigatran), Lixiana (edoxaban) and Xarelto (rivaroxaban). They’re used to help prevent strokes from atrial fibrillation or…  read on >  read on >