Misinformation and medical mistrust are major drivers of vaccine hesitancy among U.S. Hispanics, new research shows. The researchers also found that protecting other family members is an important factor in convincing Hispanics to get vaccinated. The small study included 22 Hispanic mothers in Oregon and 24 of their children who were in grades 9 to…  read on >  read on >

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has hit minority groups in the United States hard, with significantly more deaths among Black and Hispanic Americans compared with white and Asian Americans, a new study finds. According to the report, these disparities highlight the need to address ongoing inequities influencing health and longevity in the United States. What’s more,…  read on >  read on >

Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for people aged 18 and older have been given the green light by the European Medicines Agency. They “may be considered at least six months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older,” the European Union’s drug regulator said Monday, the Associated Press reported. The…  read on >  read on >

From the fear of getting sick to lockdown isolation, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased stress levels, and for many women, the uptick led to changes in their monthly periods. More than half of respondents to an online survey reported changes in their menstrual cycles during the pandemic, including differences in premenstrual symptoms and in the…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (Healthday News) — Johnson & Johnson plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve emergency use of a booster shot of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine early this week. While the request has yet to be submitted, the FDA on Friday scheduled an Oct. 15 meeting of its expert…  read on >  read on >

In a health emergency, social media giants like Facebook can be both quagmires of misinformation and sources of social support and reliable guidance, a small, new study suggests. Researchers surveyed 32 Facebook users weekly for eight weeks. All were asked about their online experiences during March and April 2020, when COVID-triggered lockdowns unfolded. The Facebook…  read on >  read on >

The United States has now surpassed 700,000 coronavirus deaths, as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to hold the country in its grip. America continues to have more COVID-19 deaths than any other the country in the world, followed by Brazil with more than 597,000 deaths, and India with more than 448,000 deaths, according to…  read on >  read on >

Black kids and Hispanic kids with cancer fare worse than their white counterparts, a large, nationwide study finds. “This study suggests that improving health insurance coverage and access to care for children, especially those with low [socioeconomic status], may reduce racial/ethnic survival disparities,” Jingxuan Zhao, an associate scientist at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta,…  read on >  read on >

Colon cancer numbers dropped dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean fewer people have the disease. In Spain, researchers discovered a more than 40% decline in colon cancer diagnoses, leading experts to worry about the ramifications. “These are very worrying findings indeed — cases of colorectal cancer undoubtedly went undiagnosed during the pandemic.…  read on >  read on >