Uber Rides, Vouchers & Free Beers as Feds, States Seek More Vaccine Takers

Uber and Lyft will start giving free rides to vaccination sites starting May 24, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday as his administration tries to address lingering vaccine hesitancy among Americans.

The ride-sharing initiative will last until July 4, a date that Biden has set for getting shots into the arms of at least 70 percent ...

Gene Therapy Uses HIV to Rescue Kids Born Without Immune System

Cora Oakley is a rough-and-tumble 4-year-old who loves gymnastics and outdoor activities, particularly if it involves bouncing on a trampoline.

It's hard to tell from looking at her that she was born without an immune system. Kids with this condition can acquire dangerous, life-threatening infections from day-to-day activities as simple as...

Rural U.S. Schools Are Bringing Back In-Person Learning Faster Than Urban Schools

Rural school districts in the United States have led the way back to in-person instruction during the pandemic, a survey of school leaders finds.

About 42% of rural school districts were fully back to in-school learning by February, compared with 17% of urban districts, the survey found.

The opposite was true for online learning: 29%...

AHA News: These 'Concrete Steps' Could Help Fight Racism in Health Care

Doctors, hospitals and medical schools should take specific actions to fight the structural racism that threatens the health of millions of Americans, according to a new report meant to help guide the medical establishment.

Among the recommendations, which are part of the 2020 American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology C...

New Insights Into Treating Mild Head Injuries

It may be possible to treat the thinking problems that result from repeated hits to the head, a new laboratory study suggests.

The new experiments with mice are the first to offer a molecular analysis of what happens in the brain after repetitive but mild blows to the head, said researcher Mark Burns. He is head of the Laboratory for Brain...

Any COVID-19 Infection Raises Odds for Lingering Symptoms, Study Finds

Serious cases of "long-haul COVID-19" are rare in patients who were not hospitalized after their infection, but these patients still report more doctor or health care visits after recovery,. Danish researchers report.

The new six-month study found that COVID patients who were not hospitalized had small increased risks of blood clots and br...

Meat Production Is Dirtying the Air You Breathe

TUESDAY, May 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Steaks and burgers could be killing thousands of Americans each year, but in a way most people wouldn't expect -- via air pollution.

That's the conclusion of a new study estimating that airborne particles generated by food production kill nearly 16,000 Americans each year. Pollut...

In Girls as Young as 7, Weight May Predict Odds for Eating Disorder

TUESDAY, May 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Could there be a way to tell years in advance which girls are more likely to develop eating disorders?

New research from Denmark suggests that childhood body mass index (BMI) may offer important clues. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.

The new resea...

Sleep Disorders Cost U.S. Health Care System Nearly $95 Billion Per Year

Sleep problems cost America's health care system nearly $95 billion a year and raise the cost of health care by 60%, a new study finds.

Researchers discovered the number of doctor visits and prescriptions was nearly doubled in people with sleep problems such as sleep apnea and insomnia, compared to people without these conditions. People...

Most Severe COVID Cases Involve Neuro Issues, and They're More Often Fatal

Neurological problems are occurring in a very high percentage of hospitalized COVID-19 patients — and what's worse, those symptoms foretell a bad end for many sufferers, a new study finds.

About four out of five people sick enough to be hospitalized for COVID-19 suffer some sort of neurological problem, ranging from headache and a loss...

FDA Approves Emergency Use of Pfizer Vaccine for Those Aged 12 to 15

In a move that should hasten the country's recovery from the pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the emergency use of Pfizer's two-dose coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.

"Today's action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense o...

Centuries Ago, Gene Changes May Have Stopped Bubonic Plague

TUESDAY, May 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) - - After examining DNA from remains in an ancient mass grave in Germany, scientists think that genetic immunity from bubonic plague may have developed in the wake of the disease.

"We found that innate immune markers increased in frequency in modern people from the town compared to plague victims," s...

Alcohol Is No Friend to Social Distancing

Maintaining adequate social distance from strangers — a key COVID-19 preventive measure — can be tough when you're drinking alcohol, researchers say.

In a new study, the researchers put more than 200 young social drinkers in different social situations in laboratory settings. They drank either alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages.

Obesity Raises Odds for Many Common Cancers

MONDAY, May 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Being obese or overweight can increase the odds of developing several types of cancers, new research from the United Kingdom reveals.

But shedding the excess pounds can lower the risk, researchers say.

Reducing obesity cuts the risk for endometrial cancer by 44% and uterine...

Reviews Find No Evidence Weight-Loss Supplements Work

You're getting no real benefit from taking weight-loss supplements like garcinia cambogia, green tea extract, glucomannan, conjugated linoleic acid or chitosan, two new reviews show.

Most of the clinical trials studied didn't show these supplements producing any weight loss among users, the researchers said. In the rare cases where people ...

Women Get Help Later Than Men When Heart Attack Strikes

MONDAY, May 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- When young women land in the emergency room with chest pain, they wait longer and get less treatment than their male counterparts, a preliminary study finds.

Using a federal survey of U.S. hospitals, researchers found that younger women with chest pain were treated less urgently t...

Road to Healthy Middle-Aged Brain May Begin in Childhood

MONDAY, May 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Could having heart disease risk factors in childhood sow the seeds of thinking declines in middle-age?

It looks like it might, new research claims.

"I think it was not so big of a surprise for us, but maybe for the scientific community who have been focusing mainly on the mi...

Ibuprofen, Similar Painkillers Won't Raise Risks for COVID Patients

Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen doesn't make COVID-19 worse or more deadly, a new study finds.

When the pandemic began, doctors debated if NSAIDs increased the severity of COVID-19, but this study reports that the use of NSAIDs is safe, the researchers said. Common NSAIDs include Advil (ibuprofen) and...

Vegetarian Diet Could Help Fight Off Disease: Study

There's more evidence that a switch away from meat in your diet could cut levels of unhealthy "biomarkers" that encourage disease, researchers say.

A new study reported Saturday at the virtual European Congress on Obesity (ECO) found that people on vegetarian diets have lower blood levels of disease-linked biomarkers, such as "bad" (LDL) c...

Pfizer, Moderna or J&J? An Expert Answers Your Questions

Enough COVID-19 vaccine doses are available in the United States that many Americans may now have the freedom of choice.

Unvaccinated folks going to their local clinic or pharmacy could choose between the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that have been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for emergency use.

P...