MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Vaccines and masks will be the United States’ first line of defense against the new Omicron variant, not lockdowns or border closures, President Joe Biden told the nation Monday. “If people are vaccinated and wear their mask, there’s no need for lockdowns,” BidenContinue Reading
MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Nearly 1 in 5 people with hypertension may be unintentionally taking a drug for another condition that causes their blood pressure to climb even higher, a new study suggests. Left untreated or undertreated, high blood pressure will increase your risk for heart attack,Continue Reading
MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Hopes for an easing of the pandemic were dealt a major setback over the Thanksgiving weekend, with news that a variant first spotted in southern Africa carries a multiplicity of mutations that might make it resistant to approved vaccines. At an emergency meetingContinue Reading
MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — As concerns about the new Omicron variant grow, vaccine makers say they’re already working on ways to protect people against the potential new threat. Pfizer said it and its partner BioNTech could develop and produce a “tailor-made vaccine” in about 100 days ifContinue Reading
MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Merck’s experimental COVID-19 antiviral pill appears effective, but may pose risks for pregnant women, including birth defects and toxicity to developing fetuses, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. On Friday morning Merck announced updated results from its molnupiravir study that showedContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Nov. 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Women getting vaccinated against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) now need two or three shots, but an African clinical trial suggests a single dose is just as effective. The finding could speed up the immunization process in developing countries with high levels ofContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Nov. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Protection can gradually fade after a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech, which suggests that a booster shot might be necessary, researchers report. They analyzed data from more than 80,000 adults in Israel, average age 44, who had no previous evidenceContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Nov. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Add an inexpensive gout drug to the growing list of medications touted as potential COVID-19 treatments — only to offer no apparent benefit. The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine doesn’t lessen COVID severity, the risk of death or shorten hospital stays, a new study reports.Continue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A wearable device that could inject a lifesaving antidote for an opioid overdose might be on the horizon. A new study shows that the device, worn on the stomach like an insulin pump, can detect when someone stops breathing from an overdose andContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Republican lawmakers in several states are pushing vaccine mandate exemptions for workers who have so-called natural immunity due to a previous COVID-19 infection. That’s despite evidence that vaccination can reduce the risk of COVID-19 even for those with a history of infection, andContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People will probably need regular booster shots for COVID-19 over the next few years to keep their immune systems on guard against a potentially deadly infection, an infectious disease expert says. COVID mutations and high transmission rates in some parts of the countryContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Nov. 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) — CVS Health, Walmart and Walgreens contributed to opioid overdoses and deaths in two Ohio counties, a federal jury in Cleveland found Tuesday. The first jury verdict in an opioids case came in the closely watched test case and may prove encouraging to plaintiffsContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Debate rages over access to abortion, but experts say the collected medical evidence makes one thing clear — it is a fundamentally safe procedure for women. Abortion is safer than childbirth and it’s also safer than a host of other common procedures —Continue Reading
TUESDAY, Nov. 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Federal health officials are imploring Americans to get vaccinated as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations start to climb just ahead of the holidays. There’s been an 18% increase in the United States’ seven-day average of reported coronavirus infections, and a 6% increase in theContinue Reading