Exposure to a certain type of air pollution while pregnant may up the odds that your child will develop asthma, a new study says. Children born to mothers exposed to high levels of ultra-fine particle air pollution during pregnancy have a significantly increased risk of asthma, researchers found. Ultra-fine particle pollution is smaller than the… read on > read on >
Vaccines approved for use in the United States and Europe show protection against all of the more infectious coronavirus variants known to be circling the globe, the World Health Organization said Thursday. “All COVID-19 virus variants can be controlled in the same way, with public health and social measures,” European Regional Director Hans Kluge said… read on > read on >
Mom always said too much TV would rot your brain, and as with so many other things it appears she was right. Middle-aged folks who regularly turn to TV for entertainment appear to have a greater risk of decline in their reasoning and memory later in life, three new studies suggest. Researchers found that even… read on > read on >
If you are a heart patient, could climbing the stairs be a good workout alternative to the gym, particularly during a pandemic? It looks that way, two new studies show. Researchers noted that less than a quarter of heart patients stick to exercise regimens and that common reasons for not doing so include lack of… read on > read on >
During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, heart disease and stroke deaths rose in the United States, but a new study shows the increases were much larger in minority groups. Researchers compared monthly cause-of-death data for March to April 2020 to the same period in 2019. They found that heart disease deaths rose about… read on > read on >
A small but significant percentage of Americans take medications that can hamper their immune system and its response to COVID-19 vaccines, researchers say. Their analysis of data from more than 3 million adults under 65 with private insurance found that nearly 3% take immunosuppressive drugs. Those include chemotherapy medications and steroids such as prednisone. Two-thirds… read on > read on >
Virginia Terrell knew she wouldn’t be allowed visitors after she checked into the hospital with COVID-19 late last month, but being braced for that reality didn’t make her week-and-a-half stay any easier. “You get pretty lonely,” said Terrell, 59, who was treated at WakeMed and Duke Health hospitals in Raleigh, N.C. “It’s helpful knowing that… read on > read on >
Fully vaccinated people will likely need a COVID-19 booster shot within about a year, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert and Pfizer’s CEO said Wednesday. “We know that the vaccine durability of the efficacy lasts at least six months, and likely considerably more, but I think we will almost certainly require a booster sometime within… read on > read on >
COVID-19 caused nearly 1 million excess deaths in 29 wealthy nations in 2020, with the United States claiming the highest number, researchers report. Excess deaths refer to the number of deaths above what’s expected during a given time period. Overall, there were an estimated 979,000 excess deaths in the 29 countries last year. The five… read on > read on >
In a finding that offers the first evidence that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is indeed protecting women from cervical cancer, new research shows cases in the United States have slowly but steadily declined over the last decade and a half. However, other HPV-related cancers like anal, rectal and oral tumors continue to increase, suggesting… read on > read on >
