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 >
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 >
If your baby has a cough, you might immediately think it’s COVID-19, but coughing is a common wintertime symptom, a pediatrician says. Dr. Mona Patel of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles offers some advice on what to do when your baby develops a cough. Congestion and postnasal drip will worsen the cough, especially during naps or… 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 >
Medicare will soon provide up to eight free COVID rapid tests a month to seniors enrolled in the government health insurance program, the Biden administration announced Thursday. The new policy for the over-the-counter tests will take effect in early spring. The at-home tests will be available at pharmacies and other locations for clients with Medicare’s… read on > read on >
If the pandemic taught the world nothing else, it’s that viruses can mutate, potentially giving rise to new and more harmful variants. Now, new research reveals that’s exactly what has happened with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Called VB (for virulent subtype B), the “new” HIV variant actually seems to have emerged more than… read on > read on >
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