First study examining the impact of COVID-19 certification introduction on vaccine uptake in six countries suggests it led to increased vaccination uptake, but this depended on countries’ prior levels of vaccine coverage and availability. Countries starting at lower-than-average COVID-19 vaccine coverage (France, Israel, Italy, Switzerland) experienced a large uptick in vaccination, but there was no...
Health
Recent Cannabis Use Linked to Extremes of Nightly Sleep Duration
Recent cannabis use is linked to extremes of nightly sleep duration–less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours–reveals a study of a large representative sample of US adults, published online in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. This pattern was even more pronounced among heavy users–those using on 20 out of the previous 30...
Half of All Drinkers Risk Exceeding Legal Driving Limit by Underestimating How Drunk They Are, Study Suggests
As many as a half of all drinkers underestimated how drunk they were, judging themselves still safe to drive despite having exceeded the legal driving limit, according to new research. Worldwide, drunk driving is a major problem, despite decades of health promotion activities. Road traffic injuries have become the leading killer of people aged five...
U.S. Adults’ Blood Pressure Levels Increased During the Covid-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with higher blood pressure levels among middle-aged adults across the U.S., according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation. According to the American Heart Association, nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, a leading cause of heart disease, and nearly 75% of all cases remain...
Pandemic Stress Affects Black Adults More Than Their White Peers
A recent study finds that Black adults experience more pronounced mental health challenges than white adults in response to stresses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also found that younger white adults were less adversely affected by stress related to COVID-19 than older white adults. “We wanted to see how race and age affected...
When the Going Gets Tough: Challenges Faced by Healthcare Workers During Covid-19 Pandemic
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, while many of us remained in the safety of our own homes, frontline healthcare workers faced a sudden influx of patients with the new, highly contagious, life-threatening disease. This undoubtedly caused a great deal of stress among hospital staff. But what exactly were the most difficult aspects...
Facial Filler Is Not a DIY Project; Covid Shutdown Led to Rise in Self-Administered Cosmetic Procedures
The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for a nationwide healthcare and economic slowdown. Surprisingly, even during months of quarantine and isolation as masks and face coverings became the norm, people continued to spend money on products to enhance their attractiveness and to seek out cosmetic procedures. “During the lockdown, doctor-patient interactions slowly resumed largely in the...
Covid Gets Airborne
In May 2021, the Centers for Disease Control officially recognized that SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—is airborne, meaning it is highly transmissible through the air. Now University of California San Diego Professor and Endowed Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry Rommie Amaro, along with partners across the U.S. and around the world, has modeled the delta...
Covid Tech Took a Toll on Work-From-Home Moms
It’s no secret that being a work-from-home mom during the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic was a drag. And those tech tools – video meetings and texting – designed to make remote work easier? They just added to the stress and exacerbated the mental health toll on burnt out moms trying to hold everything together....
Wealthier Nations Should Stump Up for Covid-19 Jab Tax to Drive Vaccine Equity
Wealthier nations should pay a COVID-19 vaccine tax as part of the price they pay to manufacturers, to ensure a fairer distribution of the jab to poorer nations, argues a political scientist in the Journal of Medical Ethics. Taxation is fairer than the current donation model because it better reflects the ability of a country to...