TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Compared to previous coronavirus variants, Omicron appears to cause less severe illness, but is more resistant to the Pfizer vaccine, researchers at South Africa’s largest health insurer report. The team at Discovery Health analyzed 211,000 positive coronavirus cases during the country’s fourth wave,Continue Reading

TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Pfizer Inc. announced Tuesday that a final analysis shows its experimental antiviral pill Paxlovid sharply reduced hospitalizations and deaths among people at high risk for severe illness. The latest results, which reinforce an earlier analysis released in November, show that Pfizer’s drug cutContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Pandemic lockdowns may have led fewer Americans to seek pain treatment last year, but folks who did seek help had higher-than-usual odds of receiving dangerous opioid painkillers, a new study says. And that could lead to a worsening of the opioid epidemic, researchersContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A statewide indoor mask mandate will be reintroduced in California on Wednesday and last one month, officials in America’s largest state said Monday. “To ensure that we collectively protect the health and well-being of all Californians; keep schools open for in-person instruction; andContinue Reading

Pfizer’s antiviral pill could greatly reduce severe COVID. Paxlovid cut hospitalizations and deaths by nearly 90 percent when taken within three to five days after the start of symptoms, the company said, and preliminary lab studies also suggest the drug will hold up against the Omicron variant. Read more PandemicContinue Reading