Health

By Jacqueline Howard and Rachel Ramirez, CNN The World Health Organization, in a new special report, is calling for governments and policymakers to “act with urgency” on the climate and health crises. The report describes climate change as the “single biggest health threat facing humanity,” and outlines 10 recommended climate and health actions along with

By Jamie Gumbrecht and Maggie Fox, CNN Merck said Monday it is seeking US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization for its experimental antiviral Covid-19 treatment, molnupiravir. If authorization is granted, the drug, made by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, would be the first oral antiviral treatment to fight Covid-19. It comes in capsule form.

By Katia Hetter, CNN On International Day of the Girl Child, the second in a pandemic, I am grateful for this United Nations-designated day. It’s given us a moment to step back to consider what we can do to parent our girls — and really, all our children — in the middle of a pandemic,

By Madeline Holcombe, Maggie Fox and Holly Yan, CNN The nation’s top infectious disease expert says vaccine mandates work and they’ll help get more people vaccinated against Covid-19. About a quarter of the eligible US population remains unvaccinated against coronavirus and the rate of people getting booster shots is now outpacing the rate of people

By Jen Christensen, CNN Pregnant women who develop Covid-19 symptoms risk emergency complications and other problems with their pregnancies, according to two new studies. The disease also puts their children at risk. The first study showed that pregnant women with symptomatic Covid-19 had a higher percentage of emergency complications when compared to those who tested

By John Duffy, CNN On this World Mental Health Day, the second of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that people — most people — are struggling. Across cultures, we were experiencing plenty of mental health issues well before the pandemic, including — but not limited to — undue stress and anxiety, poor self-esteem, eating

By Aya Elamroussi and Holly Yan, CNN The big picture for Covid-19 in the US is looking a little brighter as new infections and hospitalizations decline. “That’s the good news. And hopefully it’s going to continue to go in that trajectory downward,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN It’s what parents around the country have been waiting for: Pfizer and BioNTech announced Thursday they are asking the US Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization for their Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. It may take some weeks for the data to make its way

By Maggie Fox, CNN There’s little doubt now — study after study, in real life and in lab dishes, in the US and elsewhere — that people’s immunity starts to wane just months after they finish the two-dose series of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. While getting two doses of vaccine creates a strong immune response that

By Katia Hetter, CNN The pandemic is making me think about Halloween costumes and candy earlier than ever. I am also wondering what my busy block will be doing. Will the couple at the end of my street have the player piano going as they hand out treats? Or will they go dark, as they

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Amid the growing prospect of more Covid-19 booster shots becoming available, an expert has suggested that some people could receive a dose of a different vaccine from the one they initially received. “I hope that when the FDA and CDC review data around Moderna and Johnson & Johnson that they will

By Holly Yan, CNN Some people who recently got a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine are noticing swollen lymph nodes. Don’t panic, doctors say. Swollen lymph nodes caused by vaccination are temporary, harmless and a sign that the vaccine is working. But to avoid unnecessary anxiety and uncertainty, women planning to get a mammogram should

By Aya Elamroussi, Maggie Fox and Mallika Kallingal, CNN With federal health officials set to consider Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children 5 years and older, most Americans are slated to qualify for a shot soon. But a widening gap between vaccination rates could slow the country’s progress in its fight against Covid-19, an expert warned

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN As soon as the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 in the United States, pediatricians’ offices, local pharmacies and even some schools will be ready to help get those first doses into young arms. Vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech announced on

By Matt Volz, Kaiser Health News My unvaccinated 7-year-old son began hacking and sneezing in late September as the hospitals in our home state of Montana started buckling under the latest Covid-19 surge. I took him to get tested when his symptoms wouldn’t go away. The cotton swab went up his nostrils and Thomas bucked

By Aya Elamroussi and Mallika Kallingal, CNN The US is making headway in its battle against Covid-19 — with infection and hospitalization rates on the decline after a surge fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant. But, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday, human behavior will ultimately determine how

By Maggie Fox, CNN Two real-world studies published Wednesday confirm that the immune protection offered by two doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine drops off after two months or so, although protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death remains strong. The studies, from Israel and from Qatar and published in the New England Journal of Medicine,

By Madeline Holcombe and Stella Chan, CNN The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to require patrons at indoor spaces such as restaurants, gyms and movie theaters to show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination — starting November 4. The ordinance will also apply to personal care establishments such as spas and hair salons, as well

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN The United States has just recorded its highest increase in rates of homicide in modern history, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Provisional data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, released early Wednesday, suggest the homicide rate for the United States rose 30% between 2019

By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN A King County, Washington, woman has died from a rare blood clotting syndrome after receiving the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, according to a statement posted online by Public Health — Seattle & King County. The woman, who was in her late 30s, was vaccinated on August 26 and died on

By Jen Christensen, CNN Before vaccines, the San Francisco Department of Public Health needed three whiteboards to capture all the names of senior facilities that had Covid-19 outbreaks. “We had been dealing with outbreaks the whole time. Everywhere, at a ton of facilities, big, small, rich, poor, it didn’t matter,” said Dr. Louise Aronson,a professor

By Madeline Holcombe and Virginia Langmaid, CNN Child deaths from a preventable illness like Covid-19, no matter how few, are motivation for authorizing a vaccine in children, the US Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official said Tuesday. “In this latest wave of Covid-19, particularly down south, there have been thousands of children hospitalized. And,

By Maggie Fox, CNN Dr. Francis Collins, the folksy, guitar-playing director of the National Institutes of Health, announced Tuesday that he plans to step down as head of the gigantic research agency by the end of the year. “It has been an incredible privilege to lead this great agency for more than a decade,” Collins,

By Maggie Fox, CNN After years of suffering, a patient with severe and untreatable depression has finally found relief with an experimental brain implant originally developed to help people with epilepsy, researchers in California reported Monday. It’s only a single patient, but the team at the University of California San Francisco says it has seen

By Megan Marples, CNN High blood pressure in young adults is linked to smaller brain size and increased risk of dementia, a new study has found. Adults who were diagnosed with hypertension between ages 35 to 44 had smaller brain sizes and were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia compared to adults their age

By Ivana Kottasová and Katie Hunt, CNN The 2021 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine has been awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. The two US-based scientists received the accolade for describing the mechanics of how humans perceive hot, cold, touch and pressure through nerve