Air pollution isn’t hard on the hearts of adults only, suggests a new analysis that found it can raise blood pressure in kids as young as 5. Children experienced increases in blood pressure if they had short-term exposure to air polluted with coarser particles or long-term exposure to finer airborne particles, and that also happened…  read on >  read on >

It’s long been known that obesity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 in infected people. But new research suggests that the connection may be even stronger for men than women. Researchers at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City analyzed data from more than 3,500 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital between early March…  read on >  read on >

In two real-world studies, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine appears to be standing up well against the challenges posed by more contagious coronavirus variants from Britain and South Africa. The Pfizer mRNA vaccine showed about 90% documented effectiveness in protecting against infection with the British B.1.1.7 variant and 75% effectiveness against the South African B.1.351 variant, according…  read on >  read on >

Access to free or low-cost birth control may be an important factor in improving young women’s futures, according to new research from Colorado. When access to affordable birth control increased, the percentage of young women leaving high school before graduation dropped by double digits, while the rates of pregnancies and abortions also dropped. The study,…  read on >  read on >

The United States could see a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases by the end of July, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Six research teams asked to project future COVID-19 trends have concluded that new infections will drastically drop in July and continue to fall through September,…  read on >  read on >