FRIDAY, Dec.31, 2021When a sick child spends time in the intensive care unit, the impact lasts even after the hospital stay is over. Added to it are days, weeks, sometimes months out of school for the young patient and extended work absences for their primary caregivers. “Pediatric critical illness impacts a family’s health and well-being… read on > read on >
By now, most folks know obesity is a leading risk factor for severe COVID-19, but a new study suggests that losing a significant amount of weight can reduce that risk. “The research findings show that patients with obesity who achieved substantial and sustained weight loss with bariatric [weight-loss] surgery prior to a COVID-19 infection reduced… read on > read on >
Younger adolescents may soon be eligible for COVID-19 booster vaccines, possibly by early next week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning on Monday to broaden booster eligibility to include 12- to 15-year-olds, sources told the New York Times. This would be for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, currently the only COVID-19 vaccine approved for this… read on > read on >
New U.S. data based on nearly 9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine delivered to kids ages 5 to 11 shows no major safety issues, according to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine was first authorized for use in this age group in October. Now the new study… read on > read on >
The percentage of older Americans reporting serious problems with memory and thinking has declined in recent years — and higher education levels may be part of the reason, a new study finds. Researchers found that between 2008 and 2017, the proportion of older U.S. adults reporting “serious cognitive problems” declined from just over 12% to… read on > read on >
If you like your coffee black, it could be that your grandpa or your great-aunt did, too. A preference for black coffee and also for dark chocolate seems to lie in a person’s genes, scientists report. It’s not the taste that these individuals actually love, but it’s because their genes enable them to metabolize caffeine… read on > read on >
Economic status appears linked to increased risk of being born with a cleft palate or lip, new research suggests, building on past evidence that it can also result in delayed care and poorer outcomes. Cleft palate and cleft lip are the terms that describe openings or splits in the roof of the mouth and lip,… read on > read on >
New antiviral pills for COVID-19 recently authorized for emergency use in high-risk people by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should give doctors an easier means of keeping people out of the hospital. But the initial hype is giving way to reality, as doctors and public health officials grapple with the challenges of getting the… read on > read on >
In an update that illustrates just how challenging it is to track the spread of a fast-moving virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday lowered its estimate of how prevalent the Omicron variant is in the United States. The latest agency data pegs Omicron’s prevalence at 59%, a sharp drop from… read on > read on >
Early research suggests that some rapid COVID-19 tests may be less able to detect the Omicron variant, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. To come to that conclusion, the agency used samples from patients confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant to see how well the rapid antigen tests work. In a… read on > read on >
