Secondhand vapor from electronic cigarettes is harmful to others, causing bronchitis symptoms and shortness of breath in young bystanders, a new study reports. Secondhand exposure to vapor increased teens’ risk of bronchitis symptoms by 40% and shortness of breath by 53%, according to findings published online Jan. 10 in the journal Thorax. The effect was… read on > read on >
Americans should avoid travel to Canada due to “very high” levels of COVID-19 cases in that country, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The agency placed Canada under a Level 4 travel health notice, which is the highest category and includes other countries such as France, Germany, Britain, Spain and South… read on > read on >
Parents, brace yourselves. As the Omicron variant surges and U.S. schools deal with a substitute teacher shortage and related pandemic fallout, don’t be surprised if a return to remote or hybrid learning leads your kids to act out, a new study warns. Previous shifts from in-person to remote or hybrid learning (a combination of the… read on > read on >
The United States has passed another grim milestone in the pandemic as the Omicron variant races across the country: COVID hospitalizations have now eclipsed a previous peak, which was seen last January. There were 142,388 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday, more than the previous record of 142,315 hospitalizations reported on Jan. 14, 2021,… read on > read on >
Private insurers will have to cover the cost of eight at-home COVID tests per person per month as of Saturday, the Biden administration announced Monday. “Today’s action further removes financial barriers and expands access to COVID-19 tests for millions of people,” Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Biden administration’s Medicare and Medicaid chief, said in a statement. Under… read on > read on >
Researchers say they’ve uncovered a clue to why the Omicron variant spreads COVID-19 so much more rapidly than its predecessors. People who are infected but have no symptoms are still far more likely to infect others than they would have been with earlier variants, the data shows. “As we witness the quick, global spread of… read on > read on >
Swabs that come with at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests should be used in the nose and not the throat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. It issued the warning on Twitter in response to reports that some people are using swabs intended for nasal samples to take samples from their throats and posting their… read on > read on >
Vaccination is still the best way to protect someone from COVID-19, but new research suggests that immune system activation of T-cells by common colds may offer some cross-protection. The study might also provide a blueprint for a second-generation, universal vaccine that could prevent infection from current and future variants, the research team said. “Being exposed… read on > read on >
The surge of the Omicron variant across the United States has left people scrambling to find at-home COVID-19 test kits. “Tests are in short supply, there’s no doubt about it, because of the sheer volume of people wanting and needing to get tests,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of… read on > read on >
As the Omicron variant blankets America and demand for COVID-19 tests climbs, so, too, does price gouging. High prices for over-the-counter antigen tests are being seen around the country, CBS News reported. “The danger in health care is that for any lifesaving product — it’s vulnerable to price gouging because most people would pay [an]… read on > read on >
