Health

By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Despite hopes that full approval of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine would convince large numbers of vaccine-hesitant Americans to roll up their sleeves, a federal government analysis provided to CNN suggests approval was not a silver bullet. After the US Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to Pfizer’s shot

By Holly Yan and Susannah Cullinane, CNN As Covid-19 numbers gradually improve, health experts have an urgent message: Don’t get cocky and relax. “We can’t get overconfident. Every time we do and we put our guard down … we get another surge with another variant,” said Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, a viral researcher and internal medicine

By Travis Caldwell, CNN With a first-of-its-kind antiviral pill against Covid-19 potentially headed towards distribution, the health care community may soon have another tool to combat a virus that has claimed the lives of more than 700,000 Americans. Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics created an antiviral pill the companies say can reduce risk of Covid-19 hospitalization

By Virginia Langmaid, CNN Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced on Friday early result that indicate their experimental oral antiviral drug molnupiravir might halve the risk of death or hospitalization from Covid-19. In a news release, the company said 7.3% of 385 patients who received the antiviral were either hospitalized or died from Covid-19, compared with

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN A pill that could potentially treat Covid-19 is a “game-changer,” but experts are emphasizing that it’s not an alternative to vaccinations — which remain the most effective path to ending the coronavirus pandemic if enough people get their shots. Roughly 255,767 people are becoming fully vaccinated in the US each day,

By Ada Wood, CNN There is nothing like wrapping yourself up in a fluffy, warm towel after a hot shower or bath. After drying yourself, however, the towel also gets wet. Now it’s the perfect home for germs. Hopefully you’re hanging it up to dry, but that doesn’t keep your towel clean. That’s why CNN

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN Over half of people with chronic depression who attempted to stop their antidepressant medication relapsed into depression by the end of a year, compared to those who did not stop medicating, according to a randomized, double-blinded clinical trial released Wednesday. The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found

By Megan Marples, CNN Living life in the fast lane has lost its allure, with many people around the world saying they would opt to pull over and take in the view. Seventy-two percent of adults preferred a calm life to an exciting one, according to a 2020 Gallup poll released Thursday conducted in partnership

By Madeline Holcombe and Christina Maxouris, CNN Some governors are beginning to report encouraging signs in their state’s Covid-19 numbers, but warn of what could come next if more people don’t get vaccinated. Covid-19 hospitalizations and ICU utilization have decreased over the past week in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear announced at a Thursday news conference.

By Maggie Fox, CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an urgent recommendation Wednesday for pregnant women and those who have recently given birth to get vaccinated against coronavirus. Women trying or planning to become pregnant and those who are breastfeeding should also be vaccinated — but only 31% of pregnant people

By Holly Yan, CNN Dr. Adrian Burrowes has seen hundreds of Covid-19 patients. But he’s especially worried about what will happen this flu season — even more so than last year. This fall and winter could mark the first surge of patients infected with both the flu and the Delta variant — the most contagious

By John Duffy, CNN I walk by a grammar school on my way to work. The first day tends to be a big deal, moms parading to the school with kids in tow, cameras flashing to capture the moment. I noticed the first day this year was a bit more celebratory than years past, no

By Madeline Holcombe and Holly Yan, CNN Once heralded as a leader in vaccinations, West Virginia now has one of the lowest rates in the country. And it’s losing dozens of residents every day to Covid-19. “We’re gonna lose a bunch more people, West Virginia, no question about that,” Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday. The

By Nadia Kounang, CNN The US Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday issued a public safety alert about a sharp increase of fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine. This is the first such alert issued by the DEA in six years. According to the agency, more than 9.5 million counterfeit pills have been seized

By Virginia Langmaid, CNN A new Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll found that the highly transmissible Delta variant, overburdened hospitals and knowing someone who has died or become seriously ill from Covid-19 drove recent increases in vaccination. Among those vaccinated since June 1, 39% said they were motivated by transmission of the Delta variant, 38%

By Elissa Strauss, CNN The desire to raise good people is fairly universal among adults with kids in their lives. Most of us want our kids to grow up to be kind and compassionate adults. We mean it, we really do, but our kids often hear something else. Research from the Harvard Graduate School of

By Madeline Holcombe and Theresa Waldrop CNN The daily pace of new Covid-19 vaccinations in the United States is the lowest it has been since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started tracking it in mid-January, data shows. The seven-day average rate of people getting their first shot is 231,695, 31% less than last