CNN – Health

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Adequate rates of vaccination can help prevent the rise of new mutations that could force people to get booster after booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday. The CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration recommended booster shots for

By Casey Barber, CNN By the time your kids get to middle and high school, their tastes are changing, they are feeling very independent, and they have a lot of opinions. That goes double for their taste in lunch. The days of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on squishy white bread and a bag

By Maggie Fox, CNN Booster shots are here, after much hoopla from the White House and a great deal of discussion and consideration from the teams of doctors and other experts who advise the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 2 million people have already

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Three-quarters of eligible Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and some are now able to receive an additional booster shot. But the virus still poses a great threat to more than 70 million eligible people who remain unvaccinated. “The most vulnerable are those unvaccinated,” Dr. Rochelle

By Maggie Fox, CNN Two US researchers who developed the technology that underlies both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines won a prestigious medical prize Friday often known as “America’s Nobel.” Dr. Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó of the University of Pennsylvania share the 2021 Lasker clinical medical research award for their work developing messenger

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Covid-19 outbreaks are far more likely in schools that don’t require students and staff to wear masks, new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Two studies released Friday support the agency’s recommendation for universal indoor masking in schools. One study in Arizona showed schools with no

By Phyllis L. Fagell When five teenagers realized during virtual learning that their Glenbard, Illinois, classmates were strugging, they set up a text chain of support and delivered quarantine gift bags to their classmates’ homes. “Every single kid called us,” one of the teens told educational psychologist Michele Borba, “and after thanking us, they would

By Megan Marples, CNN James Kirkland picked up his first dinosaur toy when he was 5 years old in 1959. He remembers it like it was yesterday. Little did he know then that his love of dinosaurs would lead to a career as a paleontologist. Since the day his father brought home a special gift

By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN Following days of lengthy debate among vaccine experts, booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine can now be officially administered to some adults in the United States. Early Friday morning, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky diverged from the agency’s independent vaccine advisers to recommend boosters

By Travis Caldwell, CNN With a surge in new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, health officials and state leaders have ratcheted up their calls for the public to be vaccinated before winter arrives while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has approved booster shots for an expanded number of Americans. Despite the appeals, the

By Maggie Fox, CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argued long and hard Thursday before endorsing giving booster doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to people 65 and older, long-term care facility residents and certain people with underlying conditions. However, the advisers voted against recommending a booster dose for people

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN An international group of 13 scientists has released a statement calling for the health care community to carefully consider the use of acetaminophen (APAP) during pregnancy until the painkiller is thoroughly investigated for any potential impact on fetal development in the womb. Outside the United States, acetaminophen is known as paracetamol.

By Casey Barber, CNN Even for vegetable lovers, beets can be a hard sell. Beets are one of those love-’em-or-hate-’em vegetables, with strong opinions on both sides. As beets come into their peak season from late summer through late fall, the debate rages on. If you fall into the camp of beet haters because of

By Channon Hodge, CNN; Video by Natalia V. Osipova and Tawanda Scott Sambou, CNN With children returning to school, there’s a massive effort underway within many districts around the country to keep Covid-19 at bay. But additional issues — stress and anxiety — are finding their way in. Doctors and psychiatrists want parents to take

By Jason Hanna and Madeline Holcombe, CNN The current wave of Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta coronavirus variant has the potential to be the country’s last major wave of infection — but it’s far from over, and even endemic Covid will pose problems, a former Food and Drug Administration chief said. “I think this

By Maggie Fox, CNN The US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it would grant emergency use authorization for a booster dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease and people whose jobs put them at risk of infection. “After considering the totality of the available

By Maggie Fox and Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN The protection provided by Covid-19 vaccines appears to wane over time, especially for people 65 and older, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert said Wednesday. Ruth Link-Gelles, who helps lead the CDC’s Vaccine Effectiveness Team, reviewed a series of studies looking at the overall effectiveness

By Kristen Rogers, CNN People with migraines might get less of the sleep stage crucial for thinking and memory, according to new research. Rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep is the sweet spot of our sleep cycles, characterized by more dreaming, bodily movement, and faster heart rate and breathing than in other sleep stages. In

By Maggie Fox and Amanda Sealy, CNN Vaccine maker Pfizer said Monday tests have shown its Covid-19 vaccine works well in children ages 5 to 11. It’s now discussing these findings with the US Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner who is also on the board of Pfizer who

By Madeline Holcombe and Amir Vera, CNN The pace of people getting first doses of Covid-19 vaccines is the slowest it has been since July 23, according to data released Wednesday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data comes as flu season is around the corner, which could increase death tolls

By Maggie Fox, CNN A two-dose version of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine provides 94% protection against symptomatic infection, the company said Tuesday — making a two-dose regimen of J&J’s Janssen vaccine comparable to a two-dose regimen of Moderna’s or Pfizer’s. Plus, the company said, adding a booster dose to a single shot of the

By Christine Koh, CNN At a large family gathering when I was a kid, an adult female relative I barely knew gave me a rough hug, then yanked the neckline of my shirt out to peer down and check my breast development. The adults present laughed. I didn’t know what consent was as a tween,

By Katia Hetter, CNN The initial results are in: On Monday morning, Pfizer announced that its Covid-19 vaccine for 5- to 11-year-old children is safe and resulted in a robust antibody response. This is news many parents have been eagerly anticipating — but what exactly does this mean for when vaccines could be available for

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN They’re a fall staple in most communities across the United States: flu shot clinics. But this year many will offer something extra — Covid-19 shots. As the Delta variant spreads and uncertainty lingers around what the flu season could bring, joint vaccine clinics have emerged in cities and counties nationwide to

By Madeline Holcombe and Deidre McPhillips, CNN The average rate of Covid-19 deaths in the 10 least vaccinated states was more than four times higher over the past week than the rate in the 10 most vaccinated states, according to a CNN analysis. In the least vaccinated states, roughly eight people out of every 100,000

By Jen Christensen and Madeline Holcombe, CNN Covid-19 infections have continued to increase “exponentially” among children across the US, and now account for nearly 26% of all cases reported nationwide, according to data published Monday. Over the past week, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported the second highest total of new diagnoses among children over

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN A highly anticipated announcement Monday from the companies Pfizer and BioNTech revealed that their lower-dose Covid-19 vaccine was found to be safe and generated a “robust” antibody response in children ages 5 to 11, based on data from a Phase 2/3 trial. Many parents now are waiting for the time when

By Holly Yan, CNN Despite all the scientific and medical advances of the past 103 years, the Covid-19 pandemic has now killed more Americans than the 1918 flu pandemic did. More than 675,000 people in the United States have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. That surpasses the estimated US death toll from

By Amanda Sealy, CNN In a highly anticipated announcement, Pfizer said on Monday a Phase 2/3 trial showed its Covid-19 vaccine was safe and generated a “robust” antibody response in children ages 5 to 11. These are the first such results released for this age group for a US Covid-19 vaccine, and the data has

By Madeline Holcombe and Holly Yan, CNN The magnitude of Covid-19 patients filling hospital beds is avoidable, doctors say. But in some hospitals, patients with or without coronavirus are paying the price. “We are at the point where not every patient in need will get the care we might wish we could give,” said Dr.

By A. Chris Gajilan, CNN No clear culprit. No smoking gun. While Covid-19’s origin story is currently defined by a lack of hard evidence and data, scientists around the world continue their search for answers to how the pandemic began. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to leading virologists, epidemiologists and coronavirus researchers

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Alabama had more people die last year during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic than births, a top health official said, as the US continues to grapple with rising coronavirus cases and deaths. “This past year, 2020, is going to be the first year that we know of in the history

By Megan Marples Whether it’s stolen urinals, smashed floor tiles or missing soap dispensers, the destruction is apparent in school bathrooms across the United States. It’s the latest trend to go viral on Tiktok, called “devious licks”: Middle school, high school and college students vandalize school property, most commonly bathrooms, and post their results on

By Maggie Fox, CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration declined Friday to recommend the agency approve Covid-19 booster doses for everyone who got vaccinated six months ago or longer. They did recommend a more limited step: emergency use authorization for people 65 and older, and for people at high risk of

By Andy Rose, CNN Idaho officials announced Thursday they’re preparing to ration hospital care due to the Covid-19 surge, and it was the last thing next-door Washington state’s top hospital advocate wanted to hear. “It’s terrible. I don’t know if people understand the gravity of the situation,” Cassie Sauer, chief executive of the Washington State

By Maggie Fox, CNN A head-to-head study of all three authorized coronavirus vaccines in the United States finds the Moderna vaccine is slightly more effective than Pfizer’s in real-life use in keeping people out of the hospital, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine comes in third, but still provides 71% protection. Pfizer’s vaccine provided 88%

By Maggie Fox, Jamie Gumbrecht and Jacqueline Howard, CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted Friday to recommend emergency use authorization of a booster dose of Pfizer’s vaccine to people 65 and older and those at high risk of severe Covid-19 six months after they get their first two shots. But

By Maggie Fox and Madeline Holcombe, CNN Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration on Friday voted unanimously to recommend emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s booster shot six months after full vaccination in Americans 65 and older as well as those at high risk of severe Covid-19. That vote came after the group had

By Maggie Fox, CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration start meeting early Friday to discuss whether Americans need booster shots yet. It’s a simple question but one that has become bogged down in politics and turf battles. It’s sometimes seemed to put the FDA’s independence at odds with a White House

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN As we head back to work, we again come face to face with delicious diet-breaking temptations we were able to avoid at home. Office snack tables are often decorated with sweets from “well-meaning” coworkers. Vending machines are full of cheap, highly processed chips, candies, cookies, ready-made sandwiches and sugar-packed sodas. Even

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN Weeks of deliberation are coming to a head Friday when the US Food and Drug Administration meets to discuss Covid-19 boosters. But the science of the vaccine’s effectiveness will not be up for debate, one expert said. There is widespread agreement that the vaccines are primarily intended to reduce hospitalizations and

By Maggie Fox, CNN Clinical trials for coronavirus vaccines should include examination of any possible effects on women’s menstrual cycles — if only because so many women are worried about possible problems, a British expert argued Wednesday. But there’s also evidence the immune response prompted by both vaccines and viral infections can temporarily affect menstrual

By Maggie Fox, Jacqueline Howard and Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN Three reports published Wednesday support the argument that people may need a booster dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine over time, and suggest such boosters would be safe. The reports are part of a batch of data that will be discussed Friday by vaccine advisers to the

By Maggie Fox, CNN The US National Institutes of Health said Wednesday it’s starting a $470 million study to try to understand what’s become known as long Covid—the long-term, sometimes serious effects of Covid-19. The study will aim to include 30,000-40,000 people and will make use of digital data — including input from wearable devices,

By Arlette Saenz, CNN The US government is buying more doses of monoclonal antibody treatments for Covid-19, and the Biden administration is taking over distribution in order to avoid shortages of the key therapeutics. The moves come as demand for monoclonal antibodies has increased as cases surged due to spread of the Delta variant and

By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Most Americans believe that the public health benefits of restrictions due to Covid-19 are worth the economic and lifestyle costs, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center. Pew researchers surveyed 10,348 adults in the US between August 23 and 29. Most adults say that restrictions on public

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN The United States has reached another grim milestone in its fight against the devastating Covid-19 pandemic: 1 in 500 Americans have died from coronavirus since the nation’s first reported infection. As of Tuesday night, 663,913 people in the US have died of Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data. According to

By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Last December, when advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration met to consider whether the agency should authorize Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, it was generally understood that the answer would be yes. Nine months later, those advisers are meeting to discuss booster shots, and the situation is very

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Black and Hispanic people in the United States are more likely to catch Covid-19, and they’re more likely to be hospitalized or even die of it. But both groups are still missing out on testing and vaccination in many states, according to new data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and shared