With several potential COVID-19 vaccines now in clinical trials, U.S. policymakers need to plan for the next hurdle: Ensuring Americans actually get vaccinated. That’s according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. It lays out recommendations for winning the public’s trust of any future vaccine, and helping them access it…  read on >

New U.S. coronavirus cases surged across 37 states on Sunday, with worsening hotspots in the South and West also fueling new daily records for COVID-19 deaths. Florida recorded more than 15,000 new infections on Sunday, breaking the daily record for new cases once held by New York back at the beginning of the pandemic, The…  read on >

Hospitals have put in place strict no-visitation rules meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but these precautions have led to another heart-wrenching dilemma. People are dying alone, gasping their last breath without any family or friends there to provide comfort. Now, some experts are arguing this shouldn’t be the case, and that hospitals need…  read on >

Parents are increasingly interested in whether medical marijuana can help their children with problems like cancer-related pain and nausea — but there’s concern about interactions with their medications and a general lack of research. That’s one of the main takeaways from a new report in Pediatrics detailing one hospital’s approach to medical marijuana. Doctors at…  read on >

States across America reported nearly 60,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, setting yet another daily record as the pandemic tightens its grip on a country struggling to reopen. The surge has been largely fueled by states in the South and the West that eased their lockdowns early, The New York Times reported. Single-day case records…  read on >

A nontoxic antiseptic developed in the former Soviet Union may be a valuable weapon for fighting common infections, British researchers say. The drug, miramistin, was developed for the Soviet Space Program. While little known in the West, it blocks or kills flu, human papillomaviruses (HPV), coronaviruses, adenoviruses and HIV, according to University of Manchester scientists.…  read on >

Want to make smoking less attractive to young people? Try taking menthol cigarettes off the market, a new analysis suggests. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned flavors in cigarettes in 2009 because flavors appeal to youth and young adults, and the agency recently announced that it also intends to ban menthol in cigarettes. To…  read on >