THURSDAY, Aug. 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Overdose deaths linked to illicit “designer” benzodiazepines have surged in the United States, as underground labs crank out new synthetic variations on prescription tranquilizers like Valium, Xanax and Ativan. Overdose deaths involving illicit benzos increased more than sixfold (520%) between 2019 and 2020,Continue Reading

THURSDAY, Aug. 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) — More than 171 million people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States, but the highly infectious Delta variant has left some with “breakthrough” cases nonetheless. These cases were anticipated, because the COVID vaccines weren’t designed to eliminate all virus infections, butContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Unvaccinated U.S. troops must immediately start getting COVID-19 vaccines, says a memo issued Tuesday by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which recently received full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will be added to the list of requiredContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) — When COVID-19 patients are discharged from the hospital, most are far from being well — even if their hospital stay was fairly short. That’s among the initial findings of a study that followed Americans hospitalized for COVID-19 during the pandemic’s “third wave” —Continue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Two new government reports confirm that while the power of coronavirus vaccines wanes over time, they still protect strongly against severe disease, even as the highly contagious Delta variant overtakes America. One study that looked at Los Angeles County reaffirmed that fully vaccinatedContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Aug. 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) – The coronavirus pandemic has posed significant challenges for many, but it did not appear to drive U.S. preteens and young teens to drugs. Repeated surveys of more than 7,800 10- to 14-year-olds between September 2019 and August 2020 found the overall rate ofContinue Reading