Deidre Johnson spends her days leading a center that provides resources to help Black people in her community overcome health disparities and other societal challenges. She understands the impact this can have. As a mother of two and a Black woman, Johnson faced discrimination in the hospital when her sons were born and she experienced…  read on >  read on >

People in nursing homes have been suffering in isolation during the coronavirus pandemic, with their institutions in constant lockdown to prevent potentially fatal outbreaks. Now that they’re some of the first in line to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, it would be natural for nursing home residents to expect that visits from friends and family will soon…  read on >  read on >

Kids who see their parents bicker during a separation or divorce are more likely to develop a fear of abandonment, new research warns. And even if a youngster feels close to one or both parents, that fear can still undermine his or her mental health down the road. The findings stem from interviews with roughly…  read on >  read on >

Despite being locked down during the pandemic, child care responsibilities often fell on women’s shoulders, a new study shows. “Most people have never undergone anything like this before, where all of a sudden they can’t rely on their normal child care, and most people’s work situation has changed, too,” said researcher Kristen Shockley, an associate…  read on >  read on >

Most transgender women can safely continue their estrogen treatments during gender-affirming surgery, a new study finds. Estrogen therapy and surgery can increase the risk of blood clots, so experts have suggested that transgender women stop taking the hormone when having gender-affirming surgery. But the sudden loss of estrogen was sometimes very uncomfortable, causing symptoms similar…  read on >  read on >

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly shortened life expectancy in the United States, especially among Black people and Hispanics, a new study says. With more than 336,000 COVID-19 deaths nationwide last year, researchers decided to examine the pandemic’s impact on life expectancy. The projection: Due to pandemic deaths, life expectancy at birth for Americans will shrink by…  read on >  read on >

If you’re trying to decide whether to have your child tested for COVID-19, talk with your pediatrician, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests. Children and teens with COVID-19 symptoms should be tested immediately. This is especially important if they’re going to school, playing sports or have in-person jobs, according to the academy. Testing is…  read on >  read on >

A combination of mask use, social distancing and routine testing would eliminate nearly all COVID-19 infections on U.S. college campuses, a new study claims. Using a computer model that simulated a semester of a mid-sized college (5,000 students and 1,000 faculty), researchers assessed the effectiveness and cost of 24 combinations of four common preventive strategies:…  read on >  read on >