CNN – Health

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 Casey Barber, CNN If you’re suddenly craving pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin bread now that it’s officially fall, it’s not just your stomach talking. Catching a whiff of a pumpkin spice-flavored food or drink can trigger emotions and memories that go deeper than a hunger pang. Combined with savvy marketing, it’s no wonder the

By Travis Caldwell and Naomi Thomas, CNN The US surpassed 700,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Friday, 108 days after the country reached 600,000 deaths from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The grim figure comes after another violent round of surging of infections, hospitalizations and deaths fueled by the highly transmissible Delta

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