People who’ve had COVID-19 may have long-term immune protection against new variants of the virus, but researchers say vaccination remains the best safeguard against reinfection. Their small new study analyzed blood samples from 24 people whose COVID infections ranged from symptom-free to severe enough to send them to the hospital. While those who had mild… read on > read on >
Osteoarthritis has become increasingly common in recent decades, and authors of a new study say preventive steps are needed to bring numbers under control. “The disease burden … is formidable,” said co-senior author Dr. Jianhao Lin, of Peking University People’s Hospital in China. “Due to population expansion, aging and the epidemic of obesity, one would… read on > read on >
Though they’re on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. health care workers’ paychecks don’t always adequately reward those efforts. Wages for health care workers actually rose less than the average across all U.S. employment sectors during the first and second years of the pandemic, according to a new study that also reported a… read on > read on >
During the pandemic’s first year, the risk of dying shot up nearly 26% among American seniors with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study reveals. Minorities faced even higher odds of death, either as a direct result of COVID or because of disruptions in health care, researchers found. The main culprit: Unintended fallout from abrupt changes to… read on > read on >
For reasons that remain murky, new research warns that a spike in social media use during the pandemic might have worsened tic disorders in children. Tics are sudden twitches, movements or sounds that people do repeatedly because they can’t control their body. In the study, 90% of 20 tic patients aged 11 to 21 said… read on > read on >
Alexa can already play your favorite song or tell you whether it is going to rain, but soon you may also be able to tell the popular voice assistant to contact a doctor for health issues. The service from Amazon and telemedicine provider Teladoc Health will be available around the clock on Amazon’s Echo devices,… read on > read on >
Screening mammograms can lead to overdiagnosis of breast cancer, but a new study finds it happens less often than experts have thought. Researchers estimated that about 15% of breast cancers caught through routine mammography screening are overdiagnoses — meaning the tumors would never have caused harm if they had not been detected. The figure suggests… read on > read on >
Fresh data shows that Pfizer’s COVID vaccine is far less powerful at preventing infection among children ages 5 to 11 than teens, a finding that could leave some parents of younger children worried. The vaccine — the only one authorized for that age group in the United States — does prevent severe illness in young… read on > read on >
Minimum staffing levels will be a main feature of a major overhaul of U.S. nursing homes that President Joe Biden is expected to announce in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night. Staffing levels are considered a critical marker for nursing home quality, but the pandemic has left many facilities short of nurses, nursing… read on > read on >
Wanderlust has become a strong incentive for Americans to get COVID-19 vaccines, a new study finds. The bucket list beckons, and “many people consider travel an essential part of their lifestyle and a contributor to their sense of well-being,” said study lead author Dogan Gursoy, a professor in hospitality business management at Washington State University.… read on > read on >
