More than four in 10 teens report feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Girls were twice as likely to experience mental health troubles compared to boys. And LGBTQ students were hit the hardest. The CDC’s findings were gathered […]
Category: Health
Must I get a 2nd booster? The CDC now says it’s up to you
People should use their own judgement to decide when is best for them to get a second COVID booster vaccine, Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has said. Last week, the CDC recommended second booster doses—a fourth shot for many people—for certain immunocompromised individuals and people over the […]
Israeli study finds fourth Covid booster protection, dissipates quickly
A fourth dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine seems to offer short-lived protection against infection overall, but protection against severe illness did not wane for at least several weeks, according to a new study. The study, published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at the health records of more than 1.25 million […]
Coronavirus lab leak theory won’t go away
It started out as a fringe conspiracy theory touted by Donald Trump. Now the suggestion that the deadly coronavirus was leaked from a laboratory in China is gaining both scientific and political traction. The latest tinder to ignite the flames of conspiracy came Thursday when it emerged that a top World Health Organization official leading […]
This season’s flu vaccine not effective
The flu vaccine has not been a great a match for the predominant viruses this season, preliminary data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows — but the season isn’t over, and the estimate could change. The vaccine was only about 16 percent effective at reducing a person’s chance of getting a […]
A Pandemic Deadlier Than Covid should be stopped
Although Covid is the most visible pandemic of our lifetime, it is neither the deadliest nor the most preventable. That distinction goes to cardiovascular disease, a pandemic so common it is invisible, so routinely lethal it seems normal, and so ingrained in the fabric of modern society it seems natural. Every year, cardiovascular disease kills […]
Biden’s Covid funding stalls as his administration is bracing for a new wave of U.S. Covid infections
As President Joe Biden pushes for Americans to return to their prepandemic lifestyles, his administration is bracing for a new wave of U.S. Covid infections in the coming weeks, without key funding or essential tools in its arsenal. Much of the administration’s plan for the next phase of the pandemic — when Americans can return […]
Pfizer asks US to allow 4th COVID vaccine dose for seniors
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech asked U.S. regulators Tuesday to authorize an additional booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for seniors, saying data from Israel suggests older adults would benefit. Currently the U.S. urges two primary shots followed months later by a booster dose for everyone age 12 and older. The new application seeks to […]
COVID is ‘not over,’ but CDC says most of America doesn’t need to wear a mask. Should you listen?
No matter where you are in the U.S. these days, it’s likely you’ll be greeted by unmasked faces in public. Today, more than 98% of the nation’s counties no longer fall under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to mask up. Last month, the CDC changed its guidance for masking to include hospital […]
What rising Covid-19 infections in the UK and Europe could mean for the US
Two weeks after the United Kingdom dropped its last remaining Covid-19 mitigation measure — a requirement that people who test positive for the virus isolate for five days — the country is seeing cases and hospitalizations climb once again. Covid-19 cases were up 48% in the UK last week compared with the week before. Hospitalizations […]
CHD Says Pfizer and FDA Dropped Data Bombshell on COVID Vaccine Consumers
In a 55,000-page set of documents released on Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is for the first time allowing the public to access data Pfizer submitted to FDA from its clinical trials in support of a COVID-19 vaccine license. This follows U.S. District Judge Mark […]
CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines today
The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics […]