As doctors around the world come up against severe cases of COVID-19, some positive news has emerged: New research shows the rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib may help reduce hospitalized COVID patients’ risk of death. Current standard-of-care medications aren’t enough, said study co-author Dr. E. Wesley Ely, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center… read on > read on >
If you’re vaccinated against COVID-19, you may still get infected — but the odds you’ll need hospitalization are reduced by about two-thirds compared to unvaccinated people, a new study reveals. Vaccination also greatly increases the chances that COVID-19 infection will be asymptomatic and halves the risk of long-haul symptoms — those lasting 28 days or… read on > read on >
College students often put on weight during their freshman year, and a lack of structured exercise may be largely to blame, a new study suggests. Weight gain is so common among first-year college students that it has spawned the phrase “the freshman 15” — though that figure is something of a myth. More often, studies… read on > read on >
Sports-related head injuries in male athletes tend to grab all of the headlines, but new research shows that female athletes are also increasingly at risk. From 2000 to 2019, there was a threefold jump in sports-linked concussions seen among high school-aged girls. These injuries were most likely to occur during soccer, basketball, cheerleading, softball and… read on > read on >
The debate over masks in schools intensified on Monday, as the U.S. Education Department launched a civil rights investigation into mask mandate bans in five states while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made good on his promise to slash funds to school districts that have defied his ban. Why a federal investigation? Such bans may restrict… read on > read on >
The pause in youth sports caused by the COVID-19 pandemic wound up shaking some budding athletes to their core, a new U.S. survey shows. More than 1 in 10 youth athletes ended up reconsidering their sports goals or aspirations as the pandemic closed stadiums and gyms. That included one-quarter of athletes in their later teens,… read on > read on >
The ability of COVID-19 vaccines to protect adults older than 75 against hospitalization appears to wane over time, but still remained 80% effective as of the end of July, new federal data shows. The same data indicates that vaccines continued to offer the same or nearly the same level of protection against hospitalization for people… read on > read on >
New research confirms the pandemic has not been good for the waistlines of children. During lockdowns, American kids gained more weight than before the pandemic, and the number who became obese also increased, researchers report. “This increased weight gain occurred in all youth between 5 and 17 years, but was particularly evident in children ages… read on > read on >
A high amount of coronavirus in the lungs is a major contributor to death in COVID-19 patients, new research shows. The findings challenge previous theories that simultaneous infections such as pneumonia or an overreaction of the body’s immune system are significant factors in COVID-19 deaths, the researchers noted. To come to that conclusion, the investigators… read on > read on >
You caught a case of COVID-19 and then you got your first dose of a vaccine. Maybe you now think you are protected from coronavirus infections in the future. Think again: New research shows that prior COVID-19 infection alone doesn’t guarantee a high level of antibodies against the coronavirus or a strong response after just… read on > read on >
