An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will meet Wednesday to discuss the best way forward with coronavirus vaccines, as evidence grows that variants are eroding the power of the country’s current shots. “As we prepare for future needs to address COVID-19, prevention in the form of vaccines remains our best defense…  read on >  read on >

Israel’s government made a second booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine available to all of its citizens aged 60 and older at the beginning of this year. Now, emerging data suggests this fourth dose greatly boosts protection against the Omicron variant. In a study published April 5 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers…  read on >  read on >

Vaccines did a good job protecting most cancer patients against COVID-19, but those with blood cancers remain at risk for breakthrough infections, new research suggests. The study analyzed nationwide data on more than 64,000 U.S. cancer patients who were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. The researchers looked at types of cancer, key treatments and other risk factors,…  read on >  read on >

A proposed rule to ban ongoing uses of the only known form of asbestos imported into the United States has been introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The ban would apply to chrysotile asbestos, which is known to cause cancer and is found in products like asbestos diaphragms, sheet gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket…  read on >  read on >

Health care workers battling the pandemic may be suffering moral traumas at a rate similar to soldiers in a war zone, a new study suggests. The pandemic has brought a stream of stories about overtaxed health care workers, facing repeated COVID surges, resource shortages and public resistance to the vaccines that can keep people out…  read on >  read on >

Gun violence can cause significant, long-lasting mental harm to survivors and their families, according to a new study. In the year after their injury, survivors are at increased risk for pain, mental health and substance use disorders. Their family members also have higher likelihood for mental health issues. Both victim and loved ones have the…  read on >  read on >

Your pet’s poop and pee may give you clues to how many cancer-causing toxins have taken up residence in your home. “Our findings suggest that pets are coming into contact with aromatic amines that leach from products in their household environment,” said study author Sridhar Chinthakindi, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Langone Health in New…  read on >  read on >