Latest Health News
CDC Recommends ‘Morning-After Pill’ Antibiotic Against STDs U.S. health officials want the nation’s health care providers to consider prescribing a common antibiotic to gay and bisexual men for use as a morning-after pill to prevent common sexually transmitted diseases.- Women Pay Billions More in Out-of-Pocket Health Costs a Year The report focused on working women, who analysts found pay as much as $15.4 billion more a year than men in out-of-pocket health care expenses. This spans age brackets, holding true for women 19 to 64.
- Verbal Abuse Should Be Considered Child Abuse, Report Says Emotional abuse is now the most common type of child abuse experienced in the U.S., according to CDC data published this summer. About one-third of all U.S. adults reported experiencing emotional abuse during childhood, the CDC data show.
- Romance, Breakup Can Disrupt Adolescents’ Sleep, Research Finds Starting romantic relationships or going through a breakup can have a negative impact on adolescents’ sleep patterns, according to a new study.
- Pair of Trailblazers of mRNA Vaccine Science Win Nobel Prize Scientists who pioneered an underlying technology to harness fragile genetic material in a way that ultimately resulted in the mRNA vaccines used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic were honored Monday.
- COVID Vaccine Uptake Is Steady, But Analysts Aren’t Sold Around 1 million people got a Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 shot, and nearly 800,000 people got Moderna’s version of the vaccine during the week ending Sept. 22.
- Study: Fitness Matters More Than Weight Loss for Kidney Disease Risk A new study helps address a longstanding question: What’s more important for our health, physical fitness or body weight?
- COVID-19 Hospitalizations Dropping, CDC Reports Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have dropped after about two months of increases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, though COVID-related deaths continue to go up.
- Shortages, Cost, and Frustration: Quest for the New COVID Shot As the rollout of the newly formulated shot begins in earnest, many Americans are finding roadblocks, while federal officials urge everyone to be patient and get the shot when you can.
- COVID Shot While Pregnant Limits Severe Cases in Infants Says CDC A study from the CDC found that vaccines were 54% effective at protecting infants from COVID-19 hospitalization in the first 3 months of life, and 35% effective at protecting babies from ages 3 months through 5 months old
- New Depression Drug Avoids Unfortunate Side Effects of Others The drug, Exxua, will stand out on the market because studies show it does not cause side effects like sexual dysfunction or weight gain.
- Insurers Say COVID Vaccine Problems Have Been Corrected Technical issues that resulted in denied insurance coverage for the updated COVID-19 vaccines have been “largely, if not completely, resolved,” the nation’s largest health insurers told federal officials on Wednesday.
- COVID-19 Infects Coronary Arteries, Causes Plaque Inflammation COVID-19 can raise the risk of heart attack and stroke by infecting the arteries of the heart and causing fatty plaque in the arteries to become inflamed, according to new research.
- Short-term Exposure to Air Pollution Can Raise Stroke Risk The risk of stroke increases by as much as 30% within five days of being exposed to air pollution, according to new research.
- FDA Adds Warning of Intestinal Blockages to Ozempic Label The FDA has received more than 8,500 reports of gastrointestinal issues among people taking medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, the latter of which is approved for weight loss.
- How What You Eat Is Linked to Midlife Weight Gain Eating an extra 100 grams a day of starch from vegetables like corn, green peas, or potatoes was linked to 3.3 pounds more weight gain over 4 years.
- Caring for Adult Children with Mental Illness: How to Help New research is showing that caring for a loved one with a mental illness exacts a tremendous toll.
- Survivorship Clinics a Crucial Part of Cancer Treatment Getting the word out about cancer survivorship resources is among the challenges the oncology field faces today, as well as innovating to meet the evolving needs of a more diverse population of cancer survivors.
- Teens Get Hundreds of Smartphone Notifications Daily: Study Some kids pick up their smartphones only a couple of times a day, and others check their notifications up to 498 times in 24 hours. Daily usage ranges from a few minutes to 16 hours, according to new research based on Android phone data tracked with permission.
- Hot Flashes May Signal Increased Dementia, Heart Disease Risks Hot flashes are widely considered a menopause symptom worth treating. Now, two new studies show they may be even more reason to seek medical attention: The sudden sensations of heat can be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and stroke.
- 250,000 Courses of Paxlovid Administered Weekly, Pfizer CEO Says About 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s anti-COVID pills are being administered weekly, CEO Albert Bourla said this week.The oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid is being distributed at no charge by the U.S. government, which bought about 24 million doses. About 15 million courses have been distributed so far.
- New Data Lowers Estimate of Long COVID’s Impact: CDC An estimated 18 million adults in the U.S. have had long COVID, and half of them are still dealing with the condition, new national survey data shows.
- Experts Say Now Is the Time for Kids to Get COVID Vaccines Doctors and the CDC recommend everyone over 6 months get the new COVID-19 vaccine as fears of complications ease.
- Robots Are Taking Over Your Surgery (and You Should Be Excited) Driving the technology forward are advances in materials science and AI, plus patient benefits like shorter recovery times and less pain.
- Study: Unexpected Vaginal Bleeding Rises After COVID Vaccination Non-menstruating women were more likely to experience unexpected vaginal bleeding after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new study.