For some counties and cities that share a public health agency with other local governments, differences over mask mandates, business restrictions, and other covid preventive measures have strained those partnerships. At least two have been pushed past the breaking point. A county in Colorado and a small city in Southern California are splitting from their...
A study published in the journal Risk Analysis suggests that people who embrace the ideologies of libertarianism and anti-egalitarianism are more likely to disregard the risks of COVID-19 and oppose government actions. Assistant professor Yilang Peng of the University of Georgia analyzed data from two surveys to investigate the relationship between attitudes toward COVID-19 and specific political...
It’s difficult to plan ahead when SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is so unpredictable. But, there is now a straightforward method for predicting one of the resources needed to slow the spread of COVID-19 in communities. Researchers at Boston University (BU) developed a real-time method for projecting COVID-19 quarantine needs in congregate housing settings...
New findings by Boston University School of Public Health investigators indicate that COVID-19 vaccination does not impair fertility—but males who become infected by the coronavirus may experience short-term reduced fertility. COVID-19 vaccination in either partner does not appear to affect fertility, according to new research led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) investigators....
Alcohol sales and consumption increased during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the effect of the increase in consumption on population health is not fully understood. In new research published in Hepatology, a team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) projected rates of liver disease and associated deaths due to increased alcohol consumption...
Twenty-one months into the global pandemic, millions of Americans continue to believe misinformation about vaccination and Covid-19, and these beliefs are associated with hesitancy to get themselves and their children vaccinated – or, if they are vaccinated, to get a booster for added protection against the omicron and delta variants. In the fourth survey conducted...
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...
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...
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...
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...
