Feds Urge Vaccination as 'Tripledemic' Hits More Americans

Flu, RSV and COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm of respiratory disease that is overwhelming the nation's health care systems.

Vaccination will be key to getting through the winter holidays with your health intact, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a media briefing Monday.

"F...

Pfizer Asks FDA to Approve Tweaked COVID Booster as Third Shot for Kids Under 5

Infants and young children could soon receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine as part of their three-dose series.

Pfizer Inc. on Monday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have the vaccine that targets the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 replace the third dose in the series for children aged 6 months through 4 years old. Children...

As Alcohol Abuse Declines Among Teens, Marijuana Abuse Soars

American kids are drinking to excess less and abusing marijuana more, a new study finds.

Marijuana abuse among 6- to 18-year-olds has increased 245% since 2000, while child alcohol abuse has steadily declined over those years, say researchers who analyzed poisonings over two decades.

"This dramatic increase does coincide with t...

Bribing Folks Can Help Them Meet Weight-Loss Goals, Study Finds

Money may not buy happiness, but it might give low-income obese people an extra incentive to lose weight, a new study suggests.

The study, of people from urban neighborhoods, found that cash rewards encouraged participants to shed some extra pounds, versus a weight-loss program with no financial bonuses.

And the effects were sim...

Severe Seizures Are Rising, Especially Among Minorities

Growing numbers of Americans are suffering prolonged, life-threatening seizures known as status epilepticus, and Black people are nearly twice as likely to experience these seizures as white people.

These are the main findings from new research looking at hospitalizations for status epilepticus from 2010 to 2019 across the United Stat...

AHA News: 'Supernatural' Actor Had a Stroke at a Fan Convention. Now, He's Giving Back in His Own Way.

Actor and musician Rob Benedict was in his natural habitat, onstage and entertaining an audience, when two of his friends decided to pull a practical joke on him.

They were all gathered in Toronto for a fan convention for "Supernatural," the long-running TV series. Benedict, who played the author Chuck Shurley (aka God) on the show, was ta...

Shingles Ups Odds of Stroke, Heart Attack By Almost 30%

People who've had a bout of shingles may face a heightened risk of heart attack or stroke in later years, a new, large study suggests.

Anyone who ever had chickenpox can develop shingles — a painful rash that is caused by a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. About one-third of Americans will develop shingles in their ...

Vicious Cycle: Epilepsy Seizures Could Encourage More Seizures

Seizures tend to get progressively worse over time in people with epilepsy, and a new study in mice suggests why that might be the case.

Seizures appear to prompt the brains of mice to produce more myelin, the insulating layer around nerve cells, researchers from Stanford University found.

This essentially rewires the brain, creating...

There Are No Useful Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Left Against New COVID Variants

The last of six COVID monoclonal antibody treatments has lost its federal authorization because, like the others, it no longer works against the newest Omicron subvariants.

This last monoclonal antibody was bebtelovimab, delivered as a one-hour IV infusion.

The FDA said in a statement announcing the authorization withdrawal that the ...

U.S. to End Mpox Public Health Emergency in January

MONDAY, Dec. 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Mpox cases are down significantly in the United States, prompting the federal government to plan not to renew an emergency designation for the virus when it expires late next month.

“Given the low number of cases today, HHS does not expect that it needs to renew the emergency declaration wh...

Bacteria Risk Spurs Recall of 8 Million Laundress Products

MONDAY, Dec. 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The Laundress, a laundry and cleaning products company, has recalled nearly 8 million of its products over concerns they may be contaminated with various bacteria.

The bacteria include Burkholderia cepacia complex, Klebsiella aerogenes and multiple different species of Pseudom...