Many Americans are working at home or attending school virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased use of home heating and its potential risks, an expert says.

Heating sources can pose electrical hazards and fire dangers, noted Purnima Unni, manager of the pediatric trauma injury prevention program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashv...

You might want to think twice before you enter a hallway with strangers during the pandemic: Researchers report that following a fast-walking person with COVID-19 down a narrow corridor could increase your risk of infection, even if you keep your distance.

That's because that person can leave long streams of virus-laden droplets behind them, according to a study published Dec. 15 in th...

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 16, 2020 (HealthDay News)-- Delayed mail delivery due to a push from the White House and others to slash spending and services could have enormous consequences for Americans who depend on the U.S. Postal Service for access to urgently needed prescription medications, a new study warns.

"We found that among those who rely exclusively on mail-order pharmacies, about half are...

Amid hopes stirred by the recent rollout of an approved COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, a new study warns that shots may not be available to nearly one-quarter of the world's people until 2022.

A second study estimates that 3.7 billion adults worldwide are willing to get the vaccine.

Together, these two findings suggest that getting people immunized could be as big a challeng...

Firearm injury is a major health crisis in the United States and new research sheds more light on how many of those who are injured survive and the circumstances of their shootings.

For the study, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University analyzed nationwide data from death certificates and emergency room visits.

Between 2009 and 2017, the United States...

A self-collected saliva sample is as good at detecting COVID-19 as a nasal swab administered by a health care worker -- without exposing medical staff to the virus while collecting the sample.

"The current pandemic has placed a significant strain on the supply chain, from swabs to the personal protective equipment [PPE] health care workers need to safely collect samples," explained lead i...

Two new COVID-19 vaccines, developed at record-setting speed, are soon to be assessed by U.S. agencies for emergency use in combating the ongoing pandemic.

Advisory panels of infectious disease experts this week will assess a vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech -- a vaccine that Britain began administering to its most vulnerable citizens on ...

Young women who regularly visit tanning salons may have an increased risk of developing endometriosis, a new study suggests.

Researchers said the findings, from a large study of U.S. women, don't prove that tanning beds help cause the painful pelvic condition.

But, they noted, the study might give women more incentive to avoid indoor tanning.

Endometriosis is a condition in wh...

Two COVID-19 vaccines are on the verge of approval in the United States, with pharmaceutical companies promising that millions of doses will be available to the first wave of recipients within a matter of weeks.

Creating two vaccines in less than a year is an astonishing achievement, experts say, but the next task could prove even more difficult -- convincing Americans that it's safe to t...

COVID-19 patients with abnormally high blood sugar are at increased risk for serious illness and death, even if they don't have diabetes, new research shows.

The study included more than 11,300 non-critically ill adults with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Spain between March and the end of May 2020. Of those, 19% were previously diagnosed with diabetes.

In all, one in five patien...

Vaping among teens and young adults has decreased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with two-thirds of e-cigarette users reporting that they've either cut back or quit, a new study says.

About 32% of e-cigarette users said they quit this year and another 35% reported cutting back, according to survey results published Dec. 3 in JAMA Network Online.

Concerns about l...

States with strong football cultures have often fumbled measures to protect young players who've suffered concussions, researchers say.

They analyzed youth concussion laws introduced by states between 2007 and 2014, specifically guidelines requiring a 24-hour delay before sending a player with a possible concussion back onto the field.

The researchers found that states with college ...

Nearly 15% of talc-based cosmetic products analyzed in a recent study contained asbestos.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) -- an American advocacy nonprofit that commissioned the tests and did the analysis -- said methods used by the cosmetics industry to screen talc supplies are inadequate. The voluntary testing method developed by industry is not sensitive enough to screen for asbestos...

People who cook with wood instead of other fuels may be at risk of lung damage because of the pollutants and bacterial toxins they're breathing, a small study suggests.

Researchers studied the impact of cookstove pollutants on 23 people in Thanjavur, India, who use liquefied petroleum gas or wood biomass (wood, crop waste or wood brush) to cook.

They measured concentrations of pollu...

As college students prepare to leave their campuses for Thanksgiving or study remotely for the rest of the semester, families should consider their risks and work to reduce them, according to an infectious disease expert.

Dr. David Cennimo, an assistant professor in pediatric infectious disease at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, offered suggestions on how families could appro...

President-elect Joe Biden campaigned on big plans for health care, many of which would face an uphill road if the U.S. Senate remains in Republican hands.

But one of the first contributions Biden will make to America's health also will be one of the most important, experts said -- de-politicizing and unifying the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think you have in this pers...

Restaurants are under increasing pressure to provide a safe dining environment as winter approaches and the United States enters what could be the worst wave yet of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some eateries are attempting to extend outdoor dining into the colder winter months, setting up heated tents that might allow patrons to enjoy a meal without fear of contracting the coronavirus. Others a...

Medication drop boxes at pharmacies are a safe and secure way for people to dispose of unwanted drugs, but many people are unaware of them, a new study finds.

Medications placed in the drop boxes are collected and typically incinerated or disposed of as hazardous waste.

That avoids them being flushed down the toilet or thrown in the trash, where they pollute groundwater, rivers and ...

More children and young adults are drowning in winter lakes because of warming temperatures that create unstable lake ice, a new study finds.

A team of international researchers examined several decades of data, including 4,000 drownings and population information from throughout Canada, 14 U.S. states, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Finland, Russia, Sweden and regions of Italy and Japan. They...

The first rapid coronavirus test that can be taken at home with results delivered in 30 minutes was cleared for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday.

The simple nasal swab test, developed by Lucira Health, requires a prescription and people under the age of 14 can't perform the test on themselves, the FDA said in a statement.

The California company said...

A Chinese COVID-19 vaccine seems to be safe and effective, early trial results suggest, but one expert says the findings should be regarded with caution.

The CoronaVac vaccine is based on inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was tested in a phase 1/2 clinical trial that included more than 700 healthy volunteers, ages 18-59, who were recruited in China between April 16 and May 5.

The vac...

As COVID-19 case numbers surge across the United States, some people are experiencing pandemic fatigue after many months of social distancing, mask wearing and quarantines.

Experts from Penn State Health stressed the importance of continued vigilance and following established safety efforts to slow the spread of the virus, while also offering suggestions for minding mental health while b...

Face masks are a key tool in the fight against the coronavirus, but many people wonder if it's safe to wear a mask for a prolonged period. Some also question whether a mask can restrict oxygen intake or cause a buildup of carbon dioxide.

"As a pulmonologist, I can assure you that for most people wearing a mask is safe," said Dr. Daniel Dilling, a critical care medicine specialist at Loyol...

A deadly South American virus that causes Ebola-like bleeding can spread human-to-human, public health officials have learned from its second-ever outbreak.

Public health investigators have reconstructed the path by which the Chapare virus spread from person to person during a 2019 outbreak in Bolivia, leaping from the initial patient to several health care workers.

But while the ro...

Black and Asian people in the United States and the United Kingdom have significantly higher odds of COVID-19 infection compared to white people, a large research review finds.

The study authors analyzed data from more than 18 million COVID-19 patients who were part of 50 studies published between Dec. 1, 2019 and Aug. 31, 2020.

Compared to white patients, Black patients had twice t...

Although New York City has banned smoking in its public housing, exposure to secondhand smoke hadn't declined a year later, a new study finds.

The reasons might include delays in promotion and enforcement, researchers said. These include not putting up signs, training building managers and reluctance to report violations. Also, lack of smoking cessation services may be a factor.

The...

It may be no surprise that this year's presidential election is taking a toll on the mental health of Americans.

In a new Harris Poll survey, conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association, 68% of U.S. adults said the 2020 election is a significant source of stress in their lives.

"The brain, body, the entire system -- all are trying to adjust to ...

If you're a senior who can't smell onions, smoke, chocolate or natural gas, it's time to see your doctor.

Seniors who lose their sense of smell -- which doctors call olfactory dysfunction -- have higher odds of dying from all causes within five years, new research shows. Scientists had previously found a link between olfactory dysfunction and impaired thinking and memory.

"We ...

Here's more proof that masking up reduces transmission of COVID-19: A new Massachusetts study found that wearing face coverings resulted in a decrease in coronavirus cases among health care workers as infections were increasing in the surrounding community.

"We found clear benefits to universal masking for preventing infectious spread within the work environment," researcher Dr. Ste...

For years, people with implanted heart devices have been told they can't undergo MRI scans. But a new study adds to evidence that, with certain measures in place, the procedure is safe.

The study focused on patients with older pacemakers and implantable defibrillators that were not designed to be more compatible with MRI scanners. The researchers found that when a particular protocol ...

A resurgence of the new coronavirus is bearing down upon the United States, with hundreds of thousands more deaths likely to occur over the next few months, according to one of the nation's top epidemic modeling teams.

But there's one thing everyone can do to forestall the surge and save lives -- wear a face mask whenever you're out in public.

The model suggests that total C...

Kids growing up in poverty show the effects of being poor as early as age 5 -- especially those who are Black, a new study suggests.

The research adds to mounting evidence that children of Black parents who are also poor face greater health inequities than whites.

"Our findings underscore the pronounced racialized disparities for young children," said lead author Dr. Neal ...

A cough could spread a cloud of COVID-19 throughout a room, but a face mask can greatly shrink the size and spread of that cloud, a new study finds.

In fact, the volume of the cloud without a mask is about seven times larger than with a surgical mask and 23 times larger than with an N95 mask, the researchers found.

"We found that anything that reduces the distance traveled...

A combination of two "targeted" therapies can beat back a rare form of blood cancer -- without the toxic effects of chemotherapy, a new study has found.

In a trial of 63 patients, researchers found that the drug regimen frequently wiped out all signs of the cancer -- a subtype of the blood cancer acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). And at 18 months, 95% of patients were still aliv...

One of the reasons women may be less vulnerable to COVID-19 is because they're more likely to adhere to social distancing policies, a new survey suggests.

A survey conducted in eight countries in March and April found substantial gender differences both in numbers of people who considered COVID-19 to be a serious health crisis and who agreed with public policies to help fight the pand...

Promoting any emerging COVID-19 vaccine to a skeptical public could be tough.

But a new survey finds vaccine uptake might rise if the shot is promoted by medical experts, not politicians, and if it's been proven safe and effective through a rigorous approval process.

A vaccine shown to be highly effective in clinical trials with lasting protection and rare major side effects...

An experimental COVID-19 vaccine appeared to be safe and triggered an immune response in healthy people, according to preliminary results of a small, early-stage clinical trial.

The study of the vaccine based on inactivated whole SARS-CoV-2 virus (BBIBP-CorV) included more than 600 volunteers in China, ages 18 to 80. By the 42nd day after vaccination, all had antibody responses to the...

When parents have concerns about the safety of childhood vaccinations, it can be tough to change their minds, as a new study shows.

The study involved "vaccine-hesitant" parents -- a group distinct from the staunch "anti-vaxxer" crowd. They have worries about one or more routine vaccines, and question whether the benefits for their child are worthwhile.

Even though those par...

The truly scary thing about Halloween this year is that it's occurring during a pandemic, but there are safe ways to celebrate, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says.

Suggestions include: virtual costume parties; physically distant, outdoor costume parades; Halloween-themed craft making; movie nights at home; decorating pumpkins; and making favorite treats.

"Many kid...

Off-road vehicles are meant for exactly that -- riding on rough terrain including mud, sand and uneven ground.

A new study found that combining two questionable ideas -- driving all-terrain and other off-road vehicles on paved roads in the dark -- is particularly dangerous, especially since alcohol is often involved.

"It's lack of visibility and also what people are doing at...

Facebook chatter from the anti-vaccination movement now frames the issue as one of civil liberties, a new study finds.

As a COVID-19 vaccine gets closer to becoming a reality, opposition from so-called anti-vaxxer groups could become a political movement, researchers warn.

For the study, the investigators looked at more than 250,000 posts on 204 Facebook pages opposing vac...

Shortly after President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he and his wife, Melania, have been diagnosed with COVID-19, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said that he and his wife, Jill, have tested negative for the coronavirus.

Both Bidens had attended Tuesday's presidential debate between Trump and Biden, the Washington Post reported.

"I'm happy to repo...

Age, weight and gender are three risk factors for severe COVID-19 illness that could complicate President Donald Trump's coronavirus infection, medical experts said Friday.

Trump announced in a 1 a.m. tweet Friday that both he and his wife, Melania Trump, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, shortly after close advisor Hope Hicks tested positive.

Trump is 74 years ...

For at least two decades, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been approving new formulations of prescription opioids without requiring drug manufacturers to gather important information on safety and effectiveness, a new study claims.

The FDA approved dozens of these highly addictive medications for treatment of chronic pain between 1997 and 2018 based on clinical trials that:<...

Strong gun laws may be negated by more permissive laws in neighboring states, a new study reports.

It found that weaker gun laws appear to increase gun deaths in adjoining states. The finding could support policymakers looking to strengthen gun laws in their state, according to authors of the study published online Sept. 14 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

At Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's trauma center, Dr. Stephanie Bonne and her team noticed a string of patient injuries caused by broken glass tables.

"They were quite serious, significant injuries that required pretty big operations and long hospital stays," said Bonne, who is an assistant professor of surgery and trauma medical director. "We wanted to see, is there anything that...

School districts across America are navigating exactly how to resume classes this fall, just as a new study warns that many students and teachers live in homes with people at high risk for severe COVID-19.

"For many school districts, decisions over whether and how to reopen will likely be revisited throughout the school year … [and] evidence regarding the health risks of adults...

Yet another rapid COVID-19 test has proven its mettle in spotting infection with the new coronavirus, this time in a British study.

The lab-in-a-cartridge testing device -- which can be performed at bedside, doesn't require a laboratory, and can be performed in cartridges smaller than a mobile phone -- was tested on 386 National Health Service staff and patients in Britain.

...

The final statistics are in for America's last flu season, and the news is good: Record low rates of influenza were reported as cases plummeted during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why? Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the social distancing measures put into place across the country last spring kept more than the new coronavi...

Eyeglasses keep you from tripping over footstools and walking into walls, but they also might have a side benefit to spark envy among those with 20/20 vision.

People who wear glasses every day might be less susceptible to COVID-19 infection, a Chinese study reports.

Only about 6% of 276 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 at Suizhou Zengdu Hospital in China needed to wear...