If you’ve already had COVID-19, your natural antibodies may last as long as 20 months, a new study suggests. While this is reassuring, experts are quick to caution that the new findings don’t necessarily mean you’re protected against reinfection, and that vaccines remain an important part of a COVID-19 prevention strategy. “This study tells us… read on > read on >
Chimpanzees aren’t monkeying around when they catch insects and place them on open wounds, researchers report. An ongoing study of about 45 chimps in Loango National Park in Gabon is the first to document via video that such “healing” behavior is occurring, according to the team from Osnabrück University in Germany and the Ozouga Chimpanzee… read on > read on >
Many Americans are working hard to get a good night’s sleep, and feeling the effects when they miss the mark. About 32% of people feel more tired these days than they did before the pandemic began, according to the results of a new HealthDay/Harris Poll survey. About 28% says they’re getting less sleep than they… read on > read on >
Omicron COVID-19 patients are younger and have more breakthrough infections, a new study finds. But people infected with Omicron are also less likely to be hospitalized or need intensive respiratory support than those who’d gotten the earlier Alpha and Delta variants. The researchers examined data on patients at Houston Methodist hospital, where by the start… read on > read on >
It’s a fate many older women fear: loneliness and isolation as they age. Now, new research suggests those feelings may also predispose them to heart disease. The findings may be especially relevant now because of social distancing required by the pandemic. “We are social beings. In this time of COVID-19, many people are experiencing social… read on > read on >
A new study finds that kids who have received years of seasonal flu shots have antibodies that provide wider protection against new influenza strains, something researchers say doesn’t happen in adults. These findings could help efforts to develop a universal flu vaccine for children. That would be significant, according to the authors of the study,… read on > read on >
The type of drill your dentist uses just might determine your chances of catching COVID-19 while in the chair. So claims new research that suggests dentists can significantly improve patient safety during the pandemic by switching the type of drill they use. British researchers used a harmless virus similar in size and structure to SARS-CoV-2,… read on > read on >
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday gave its full approval to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in people 18 and older. This follows a similar move made Jan. 31 by its sister agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine, which had before been available for that age group only… read on > read on >
It’s less enchanting than reading tea leaves, but federal health officials announced Friday that they are expanding nationwide efforts to track COVID-19 by monitoring virus levels found in raw sewage. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to add an additional 250 surveillance sites over the next few weeks to a list of… read on > read on >
The American Red Cross is pleading for donors as it grapples with its worst blood shortage in more than a decade. The shortage poses a risk to patient care because doctors are forced to make decisions about which patients receive blood transfusions and which ones must wait until more blood becomes available, the Red Cross… read on > read on >
