TUESDAY, Aug. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — There’s strong evidence that the steroid drug dexamethasone can significantly lower hospitalized patients’ risk of dying from COVID-19, but many who might benefit from it the most aren’t getting it. “Dexamethasone is a steroid that is used for the treatment of arthritis, inflammationContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Aug. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Twenty seconds. That’s how long you need to wash your hands to remove germs, a new physics study confirms. Typical hand-washing guidelines — including those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — advise scrubbing your hands for a minimum ofContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Aug. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — While the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States has been dominating the news, an old viral enemy has been making a quieter comeback. In late spring, U.S. pediatric hospitals began reporting an unexpected rise in serious infections caused by respiratory syncytialContinue Reading

MONDAY, Aug. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 vaccination triggers a strong immune response in people with HIV, meaning they’re likely protected against the coronavirus, a new, small study shows. “Previous research has suggested a suboptimal response to COVID-19 vaccines in people living with HIV; however, these studies did notContinue Reading

FRIDAY, Aug. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Masks are making an unwanted comeback in many parts of the United States, after new data showing that fully vaccinated people with “breakthrough” coronavirus infections carry enough virus in their bodies to pose a potential risk to the unvaccinated. But these breakthrough infectionsContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Aug. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People fully vaccinated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine appear to have a lower risk of a “breakthrough” infection caused by the Delta variant than those who received the Pfizer vaccine, a new, preliminary report suggests. The researchers emphasized that both vaccines still “stronglyContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Aug. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) — When the antiretroviral regimen known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, was launched nearly a decade ago, patients were suddenly able to achieve near-complete protection against contracting HIV by taking just one pill a day. But there’s a big hitch: Not everyone is equallyContinue Reading