Health

Double masking can significantly improve protection, new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Researchers found that layering a cloth mask over a medical procedural mask, such as a disposable blue surgical mask, can block 92.5% of potentially infectious particles from escaping by creating a tighter fit and eliminating leakage. “These

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week is set to release highly anticipated new guidance for getting children physically back to school during the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration is pushing to reopen schools, an issue some view as being tied to the reopening of the economy and a return to normal

A variant suspected of helping fuel a surge of coronavirus in Brazil’s Amazon region shows up in Minnesota. Another that’s been worrying officials in South Africa pops up in two places in South Carolina and, just days later, in Maryland. Scientists are not surprised to see the coronavirus changing and evolving — it’s what viruses

More Americans say they are confident about getting a Covid-19 vaccine, but supplies are limited and new variants are raising concerns across the country. A Gallup poll released Wednesday found 71% of those surveyed are willing to get vaccinated, up from 65% in late December and the highest number since July. So far, about 10%

People who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus — right now that means with two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine — can skip quarantine if they are exposed to someone infected with the virus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. That doesn’t mean they should stop taking precautions,

A once-a-week injected diabetes drug helped overweight and obese people lose an average of 15% of their body weight over 16 months, researchers reported Wednesday. The maker of the drug, called semaglutide, has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to approve it for chronic weight management. If approved, it would be only the fifth

Let’s face it: Even as more people get vaccinated against Covid-19, everyone but small children will still need to wear a face mask for the foreseeable future. Sure, everyone is tired of wearing them. But as studies have shown, and as Dr. Anthony Fauci has pointed out many times, masks are the single most effective

About one in 10 Americans — almost 33 million people — have received at least one dose of the two-part Covid-19 vaccines, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show, and about 9.8 million people have been fully vaccinated. And while US and state leaders are optimistic vaccinations will ramp up in

Rosemary Connelly just wants to have a good time. The 92-year-old feels the day is near now she has her second dose of Covid-19 vaccine. A resident at Roosevelt Care Center in Old Bridge, New Jersey, Connelly misses her family, which includes five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, one of whom was born during the pandemic.

Americans’ perception of risk from the coronavirus is the lowest it has been since October, a new poll has found. When asked about risk to their health if we returned to normal, pre-pandemic behavior right now — while the pandemic is ongoing — 25% of respondents thought it was a small risk and 9% considered

Terri Lynn in Naples, Florida said that she had to embark on a repeat three-hour road trip for her second dose. Elsie Morales in New York said that her grandmother is still waiting for her second dose — and it’s a week overdue. Lynn and Morales are among some of the people in the United

It’s the second week in February, a time of year when influenza is usually sweeping across the country. Yet this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, there’s very little influenza activity. The CDC’s map of flu activity across the US is often a sea of red during the first half of