Health Highlights: Sept. 3, 2021

Here are some of HealthDay’s top stories for Friday, Sept. 3:

Experts push back on rush for COVID booster shots. The White House has already set Sept. 20 as the start of a rollout of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans. But speaking to HealthDay Now, two experts — one a member of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel — say data supporting the urgent need for shots isn’t there, and the focus should remain on reducing the number of unvaccinated instead. Read more

Nearly 1 in 4 new U.S. COVID cases are occurring in kids. With a new school year underway, data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows children now account for 22.4% of reported weekly COVID-19 cases, with cases among kids rising more five-fold over the past month. Read more

A ‘bionic’ arm that feels like her very own. Former Marine Cpl. Claudia Mitchell lost her left arm in 2004 in a motorcycle accident. But cutting edge technology has given her a prosthetic arm that’s not only extremely dextrous, but has sensors that make it feel like her very own. The technology could help many other amputees, developers say. Read more

Americans’ COVID medical bills are set to rise. Earlier in the pandemic, U.S. patients didn’t have co-pays or deductibles for ER visits or hospital stays for COVID-19, and most COVID tests were also free. That’s beginning to change as rules lapse — and bigger bills are the result. Read more