Health

Talking on video-conference services like Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic has helped older people stave off the effects of dementia, a new study has suggested. Researchers found that regular communication helps maintain long-term memory, and elderly people who often use online tools showed less decline in memory than those who don’t. The study, by the

Several state governors and big retailers signaled a return to normal on Friday, a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it’s safe for fully vaccinated people to remove their face masks in most settings. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday the state — which just recently battled a surge in coronavirus

A fresh batch of data from a big study of health care workers across the country helped prompt the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to say fully vaccinated people can go without masks in most circumstances, the agency said Friday. The study found that real-life use of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines provided

Public health experts at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are facing challenges — even struggling — as they try to figure out how to convince hesitant Republicans to take the Covid-19 vaccine, federal officials familiar with the situation told CNN. “It’s kind of a mess to figure out with this particular audience

For Americans vaccinated against Covid-19, daily life may look increasingly different than for those who aren’t inoculated yet following Thursday’s mask guidance, experts said. “We are on the right path (for) people who are fully immunized,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins told CNN. “You can take your mask off indoors as well

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice physical distancing in virtually all indoor and outdoor settings. This was an abrupt shift from the CDC’s previous guidance, which had detailed color-coded pictures that many criticized as being too confusing and

Growing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus variant first identified in India may force the United Kingdom to tweak its Covid-19 vaccination program to prioritize people in the most affected areas, a top health official said Friday. Data released by Public Health England (PHE) on Thursday showed the number of confirmed cases of the

Leadership coach John Bates was speaking at a TED conference in front of a huge audience when his dog Flash walked across the stage, sniffed him, and repeatedly started poking him with his nose. Flash was doing what is called “alerting” in the world of working service dogs, telling Bates that he might not be

The US Food and Drug Administration has extended the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to recommend the expanded eligibility as early as Wednesday. Parents will be deciding whether to get their children vaccinated against this deadly pandemic. What are questions they

The data didn’t make sense. Five years ago, University of Maryland researcher Alisa Morss Clyne was studying pulmonary hypertension — a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs — in human cells she had cultured in her lab. But the results she was seeing just didn’t stack up. “We had

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday abruptly changed its guidance on masks and social distancing, saying people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 don’t have to wear masks indoors, and they don’t have to keep their distance from others. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that

People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,”

People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,”

Now that we’ve ticked past the one-year mark of Covid-19 safety restrictions, the calendar is scrolling once more through the same holidays that punctuated the early pandemic. Yet again, curtailed Purim and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations teed up a round of socially distant Passover Seders and virtual Nowruz, Easter and Ramadan gatherings. As the seasons

A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert said Wednesday that it’s OK to give the coronavirus vaccine alongside other vaccinations, a major boon for children and teenagers behind on their regular inoculations. Doctors and other clinicians were previously advised to avoid giving coronavirus vaccine within two weeks of any other vaccine. But Dr.

Teenagers between the ages of 12 and 15 years old can now be given the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. “CDC now recommends that this vaccine be used among this population, and providers may begin vaccinating them right away,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a