Many folks have been waiting over two years for the chance to hear live music and see sports in person again, but if you plan to attend events you still need to protect yourself against COVID, an expert says. “We are doing much better and our viral numbers are improving rapidly and dramatically, so that’s…  read on >  read on >

Updated criteria to guide COVID-19 restrictions will be announced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later this week or early next week, according to a CDC scientist involved in the process. Currently, the agency’s guidance on measures such as mask use and social distancing is based on the number of new cases…  read on >  read on >

A drug developed for an autoimmune disease shows promise in treating a potentially life-threatening inflammatory condition in children who’ve had COVID-19, researchers say. The rare condition is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). It typically develops weeks to months after a child has had mild or even asymptomatic COVID-19. “Working collaboratively, we’ve been able…  read on >  read on >

More than 90% of free at-home COVID-19 tests ordered through a federal government website have been shipped in an “unprecedented” effort, the Biden administration’s senior adviser on testing said Tuesday. “It’s a lot of firsts. It’s the biggest test acquisition in history. It’s the fastest delivery of anything to this number of households,” said Dr.…  read on >  read on >

Early on in the pandemic doctors observed that some children and teens infected with COVID-19 went on to develop a relatively rare, but potentially life-threatening, complication known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). But new research out of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against…  read on >  read on >

Smoking in the weeks before and after conception has a potentially unhealthy effect on an embryo, Dutch research shows. “Smoking not only impacts an embryo’s growth during pregnancy and birth weight, but also embryo development right from the very early stages of pregnancy,” said study leader Dr. Melek Rousian, a gynecologist at Erasmus University Medical…  read on >  read on >

If they quit early on, there’s a good chance that teenage drug abusers can still succeed in life, researchers say. The findings show the importance of stopping drug use by early adulthood in order to protect future health and well-being, according to Jake Najman, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, and co-author…  read on >  read on >

Hot flashes. Night sweats. Waking up at all hours throughout the night. Millions of women battle these stereotypical menopause symptoms for years. Now, a small study suggests that a drug used for both men and women who have sleep disorders might offer relief. Researchers compared women who took suvorexant (Belsomra) with those who took a…  read on >  read on >