A U.S. Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory panel will weigh whether to recommend the emergency use of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday. The decision will be based on clinical trial data the company released in January, when it first filed for approval of its vaccine. If the committee votes in favor of authorization, the…  read on >  read on >

It’s a good idea to get children outside every day, but especially on Kids to Parks Day, a national day of outdoor play on May 21. “Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, outdoor time and nature exploration are safe for most kids,” pediatrician Dr. Danette Glassy said in an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) news…  read on >  read on >

A growing number of U.S. kids are attempting suicide by medication overdose — with the biggest increase seen among preteens, a recent study shows. Researchers found that between 2015 and 2020, there was a 27% increase in overdose suicide or attempted suicide among U.S. children and teenagers. While teens accounted for most of those incidents,…  read on >  read on >

At least three elderly Americans suffocated after getting trapped in Mobility Transfer Systems adult portable bedrails, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says anyone who has the rails should stop using them immediately. The warning applies to 10 models of bedrails made and sold by Mobility Transfer Systems Inc. from 1992 to 2021,…  read on >  read on >

Graphic images on cigarette packs of diseased body parts and other smoking horrors may not have the desired effect on smokers themselves, a new study finds. Many smokers kept cigarette packs with gruesome warning images hidden, but the images didn’t have a lasting effect on their smoking habits, researchers discovered after presenting thousands of specially…  read on >  read on >

Adults who get COVID-19 could have antibodies circulating in their blood for nearly 500 days after infection, new research suggests. “We now have a good estimate of how long antibodies last after a COVID-19 infection,” said study author Michael Swartz, an associate professor and vice chair of biostatistics at the University of Texas Health Science…  read on >  read on >

Vaccination played a crucial role when Americans were deciding whether to have surgery during the pandemic, a new study finds. “It’s critical to understand what factors affect a patient’s decision to have surgery during an infectious pandemic if we want to help reduce deaths and illness. These factors include vaccination status of the patient and…  read on >  read on >