President Joe Biden plans to announce a new round of measures to protect Americans against the spread of coronavirus variants on Thursday. The strategy will include making rapid at-home COVID-19 tests free for more people, extending rules on mask wearing on planes and other modes of transport, launching public awareness campaigns on vaccinations and booster… read on > read on >
Which coronavirus vaccine is best at beating COVID-19 — Moderna or Pfizer? New research hands that honor to Moderna: In what is billed as the first head-to-head comparison of the two shots, researchers analyzed the health records of nearly 440,000 U.S. veterans who received one of the two vaccines between early January 2021 and mid-May… read on > read on >
Quitting smoking is especially important during pregnancy, and now a new study suggests that when it comes to kicking the habit, cash may be just the incentive some women need. The study results suggest progressive financial rewards for smoking abstinence “could be implemented in the routine health care of pregnant smokers,” the French researchers said.… read on > read on >
Hearing dogs make a huge difference in deaf people’s lives, a new British study shows. The dogs are trained to alert deaf people to everyday sounds such as doorbells, human voices, baby monitors and alarm clocks, as well as safety-related sounds such as smoke and intruder alarms. The animals also provide companionship and emotional support.… read on > read on >
The pandemic is taking a toll on health care workers’ sleep, which can put both their mental health and patient care at risk, researchers warn. Their study of more than 800 New York City health care workers found that compared to those with no sleep problems, those with poor sleep were two times more likely… read on > read on >
With HIV a continuing threat to women’s health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first long-acting device to protect women from sexually transmitted HIV. The device is a vaginal ring made of silicone elastomer, a flexible rubber-like material that makes it easy to insert and comfortable to use. The ring releases the antiretroviral… read on > read on >
Vaping can be tough on the lungs, but new research warns of another possible danger to men: It may more than double the risk for erectile dysfunction. After tracking erectile dysfunction (ED) risk among nearly 25,000 men aged 20 and older, investigators found that even vapers with no history of heart disease or other health… read on > read on >
Parents who want to read to their toddlers and give them a developmental boost ought to pick up a traditional paper book rather than an e-book on a tablet, a new study reports. Toddlers are more likely to interact with their parents when they’re sharing a paper children’s book rather than a tablet, University of… read on > read on >
Asthma is a tough disease for kids and their parents to manage well, but not keeping it under control may make these children up to six times more likely to wind up in the hospital with severe COVID-19, new research shows. With the cold and flu season about to kick in and COVID-19 rates climbing… read on > read on >
As the world struggles with ways to stem the spread of the new Omicron variant, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that international travelers to the United States will soon have to provide a negative result from a coronavirus test taken within 24 hours of departure. That’s a much tighter turnaround:… read on > read on >
