TUESDAY, Sept. 22, 2020 (Healthday News) — While health officials worry about a potential “twindemic” of COVID-19 and the flu this winter, a new study finds that hospital patients who were infected with both viruses were more than twice as likely to die as those infected only with the new coronavirus. British government scientists conducted…  read on >

MONDAY, Sept. 21, 2020 (Healthday News) — As the U.S. coronavirus case count neared 200,000 on Monday, public health experts debated whether the spread of the virus will continue to slow or a new surge will come, as cold weather returns to much of the country. “What will happen, nobody knows,” Catherine Troisi, an infectious…  read on >

Parents of kids with food allergies probably won’t be surprised to hear that Halloween is an especially risky time for their youngsters. A new study found that serious allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) triggered by peanuts jumped 85% when kids were trick or treating. Serious reactions triggered by an unknown tree nut or peanut exposure rose by…  read on >

The coronavirus pandemic could cause short-term decreases in life expectancy in many parts of the world, according to a new study. Using a computer model, the researchers concluded that infection rates of only 2% could cause a drop in life expectancy in countries where average life expectancy is high (about 80 years). At higher infection…  read on >

Nearly 6 in 10 U.S. parents say their children don’t get enough sleep on school nights, an American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) survey finds. It included more than 1,000 parents across the country with children between ages 5 and 18. Parents reported that early school start times (40%), homework (39%), sports (34%) and social…  read on >

FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (Healthday News) — New details surfaced on Thursday on an unexplained neurological condition that struck a volunteer who was participating in AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine trial. In an internal safety report obtained by CNN, company officials describe how a healthy 37-year-old woman “experienced confirmed transverse myelitis” after receiving her second dose of…  read on >

Yet another rapid COVID-19 test has proven its mettle in spotting infection with the new coronavirus, this time in a British study. The lab-in-a-cartridge testing device — which can be performed at bedside, doesn’t require a laboratory, and can be performed in cartridges smaller than a mobile phone — was tested on 386 National Health…  read on >

There are “substantial” rates of coronavirus infection in dogs and cats whose owners have COVID-19, new research shows. The researchers also found that, in several cases, infected pets had COVID-like respiratory symptoms at the time their owners were infected. SARS-CoV-2 has been reported to infect a number of animals, but the risks, susceptibility and symptoms…  read on >

THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020 (Healthday News) — The details of a plan to rapidly deliver a future coronavirus vaccine to Americans were unveiled by federal officials on Wednesday. Two of the key parts of the plan are to begin distributing a vaccine with 24 hours of any approval or emergency authorization and offering the vaccine…  read on >