Talking with their doctors may help convince reluctant Americans to get COVID-19 vaccines, evidence from a previous pandemic suggests. Researchers analyzed responses from more than 19,000 people in the United States who were surveyed during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009. The poll assessed respondents’ attitudes toward doctors, their openness to discussing vaccines with…  read on >  read on >

Serious vision problems among older Americans have declined sharply, and the improvement has been greatest among women, folks over 85 and seniors who are Black or Hispanic, a nationwide study shows. “The implications of a reduction in vision impairment are significant,” said study first author ZhiDi Deng, a pharmacy student at the University of Toronto…  read on >  read on >

A commonly prescribed component of the life-saving antiretroviral drug cocktails used to treat HIV may trigger weight gain, new research warns. The concern stems from tracking patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). Since the mid-1990s, the therapy has relied on various drug combinations to essentially outwit HIV, controlling viral loads and turning a once-deadly infection into…  read on >  read on >

Vaping high-strength nicotine can help adults with schizophrenia stop smoking traditional cigarettes, according to a new study. Between 60% and 90% of people with schizophrenia smoke, compared to 15% to 24% of the general population, the researchers noted in the report published March 16 in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Smoking is the main…  read on >  read on >

To the lingering damage of COVID-19 infection, add this side effect: New research shows that more than half of those sickened by COVID-19 report depression. Among more than 3,900 people who had COVID-19 surveyed between May 2020 and January 2021, 52% suffered symptoms of major depression, researchers found. “People who have been ill with COVID-19…  read on >  read on >