The Delta variant is proving just as infectious for children as for everyone else, with pediatric cases surging in some parts of the United States, pediatricians and children’s hospitals say. However, it’s not clear yet whether the variant is any harsher on kids compared to earlier COVID-19 strains, leading to more hospitalizations and brushes with…  read on >  read on >

Tougher steps to compel long-term care facilities, universities and other institutions to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations are being considered by the Biden administration. It’s looking at using federal regulatory powers and the threat of withholding federal funds from institutions to increase vaccination rates, according to people familiar with the early-stage discussions, the Washington Post reported. The…  read on >  read on >

Novavax said Thursday that it has applied for emergency use approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Later this month, it will seek the World Health Organization review required to be in the COVAX global vaccine program, the Associated Press reported. The Novavax shot is easier to store and transport than…  read on >  read on >

There are many factors that affect your longevity after experiencing a heart attack. And now, new research finds that your neighborhood could play a key role in your long-term survival. The researchers found that patients in poorer neighborhoods had a lower chance of survival over five years, and that Black patients in those neighborhoods had…  read on >  read on >

It’s long been know that polluted can damage the heart and lungs, but new research finds that it’s bad for your brain, too. A long-term study by a Seattle team linked exposure to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution to an increased risk of dementia. “We found that an increase of 1 microgram per…  read on >  read on >

Dispatching rapid-response medical teams to perform an emergency procedure on stroke patients significantly improves their chances of survival and a good recovery, according to a new study. Researchers assessed a pilot program in New York City where a mobile interventional stroke team (MIST) raced to ischemic stroke patients to perform a surgical procedure called endovascular…  read on >  read on >

A kind of ‘zap’ to the brain — a technique called noninvasive brain stimulation — may help hardcore smokers cut back, a new research review suggests. Nicotine can trigger changes in the brain that make it hard to quit, so researchers have been looking for ways to use noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques to counter…  read on >  read on >