The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now calls the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, also known as B.1.617.2, a “variant of concern.” The variant of concern designation is given to strains of the virus that scientists believe are more transmissible or can cause more severe disease. Vaccines, treatments and tests that detect…… MORE
Researchers have found more evidence that coronavirus was circulating at low levels across the United States as early as December 2019 — weeks before the first officially reported cases. Frozen blood samples indicate people in five states — Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Massachusetts — were infected with coronavirus days or weeks before any cases…… MORE
Children who eat more ultra-processed food are more likely to be overweight or obese as adults, a new 17-year study of more than 9,000 British children born in the 1990s suggests. The researchers also found that ultra-processed foods — including frozen pizzas, fizzy drinks, mass-produced bread and some ready-to-eat meals — accounted for a very…… MORE
The “No PFAS in Cosmetics Act” is scheduled to be introduced in the US House and Senate on Tuesday, following the release of a new study that found high levels of a marker for toxic PFAS substances in 52% of 231 makeup products purchased in the United States and Canada. Some of the highest levels…… MORE
The Mommy Wars — the alleged battle between working moms and stay-at-home moms — rests on a number of fictions. One is the myth that working moms neglect their children. In fact, many of today’s working moms spend more time with their children than moms from previous generations who didn’t work outside their home. Another…… MORE
The US reached another sobering milestone in the Covid-19 pandemic, with 600,000 lives lost to the disease as of Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. While daily deaths have decreased in recent months, hundreds of Americans are still dying every day from the disease that’s largely preventable by vaccines. Over the past week, the…… MORE
A third dose of coronavirus vaccine could help boost antibody levels among some organ transplant recipients who have not had robust responses to the standard vaccination schedules, a new study suggests. Among patients in the study who had no measurable antibodies after receiving two doses of vaccine, one-third of them saw a rise in antibodies…… MORE
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday it will suspend the import of dogs from more than 100 countries where rabies still spreads among dogs. The decision will affect dog rescue missions, imports from dog breeders and people bringing in pets, the CDC said. It’s because of a combination of factors —…… MORE
The American biotechnology company Novavax announced on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine candidate was found to have an overall efficacy of 90.4% in a Phase 3 trial conducted across the United States and Mexico. Additional analyses of the trial are ongoing, according to the company, and will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication. The…… MORE
The attacks on kids who identify as transgender keep coming. Arkansas in early April became the first state to ban gender-affirming care including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, for children under 18. West Virginia signed a bill into law that prohibits transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s secondary school sports teams…… MORE
