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 >
All Lifestyle:
Israeli Data Shows 2nd COVID Booster Shields Against Omicron
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 >
More Evidence COVID Vaccine Offers Good Protection for Most Cancer Patients
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 >
EPA Proposes to Ban Last Form of Asbestos Used in U.S.
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 >
Hospital Work During Pandemic Was Like a War Zone: Study
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 Wreaks Havoc on Lives of Survivors, Their Families
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 >
U.S. Nursing Home Deaths Reach Lowest Levels Reported Since Pandemic Began
(HealthDay News) – Fresh government data shows that COVID deaths among nursing home residents data have fallen to the lowest levels seen since the pandemic began. Some 67 residents died nationwide of COVID during the week ending March 27, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that… read on > read on >
No Sign That COVID Vaccine in Pregnancy Raises Birth Defect Risk
Public health experts have been telling pregnant women that it is safe — and recommended — to get a COVID-19 shot because they are at higher risk for poor outcomes and death from the virus. New research now answers a key question about the vaccine’s impact on their babies. The vaccine is not associated with… read on > read on >
As Pandemic Evolved, U.S. Hospitals Learned Quickly How to Care for Patients
While hospitals and clinics are known for being slow to turn new evidence into actual practice, they picked up the pace during the pandemic. A research team led by scientists from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and the University of California, San Francisco, collected data from more than 50 academic medical centers across the United… read on > read on >
What Pet Poop Reveals About Toxins in Your Home
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 >