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Robust immunity against SARS-CoV-2 with Pfizer vaccine is mediated by memory B cells

A reassuring study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, from a multi-institutional team of researchers in Italy suggests that with the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine, post-vaccination immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is both robust and durable.

14 Jun 2021

In mental health crises, a 911 call now brings a mixed team of helpers — and maybe no cops

By the time Kiki Radermacher, a mental health therapist, arrived at a Missoula, Montana, home on an emergency 911 call in late May, the man who had called for help was backed into a corner and yelling at police officers.

14 Jun 2021

Colorado bill aims to give farmworkers easier access to medical care

A woman with pregnancy complications needed permission from her boss to visit a doctor. Community health volunteers were turned away from delivering food and covid information to worker housing. A farmworker had a serious allergic reaction but was afraid to seek treatment.

11 Jun 2021

Labor department issues emergency rules to protect health care workers from Covid

Labor Department officials on Thursday announced a temporary emergency standard to protect health care workers, saying they face "grave danger" in the workplace from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

10 Jun 2021

Zooming into the statehouse: Nursing home residents use new digital skills to push for changes

Patty Bausch isn't a Medicaid expert, lawyer or medical professional. But she still thinks Connecticut legislators need her input when they consider bills affecting people like her — the roughly 18,000 residents who live in the state's nursing homes.

9 Jun 2021

Kidney experts say it’s time to remove race from medical algorithms. Doing so is complicated.

Alphonso Harried recently came across a newspaper clipping about his grandfather receiving his 1,000th dialysis treatment. His grandfather later died — at a dialysis center — as did his uncle, both from kidney disease.

8 Jun 2021

Combination of two early reading programs improves kindergarten readiness in preschool students

A study published in the journal Pediatrics shows the combination of two early reading programs had positive effects on preschool students entering kindergarten in Cincinnati Public Schools over a three-year period.

8 Jun 2021

Study confirms poor immunogenicity in hemodialysis patients receiving single dose BNT162b2 vaccine

Researchers from Ontario, Canada, recently conducted a prospective observational study to determine the SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in chronic hemodialysis patients following one vs. two doses of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. The results were compared to health care worker controls and convalescent serum.

1 Jun 2021

Report on the effectiveness of mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccines in Canada

The report has recently been published on the preprint server medRxiv* by Kwong et al. (May 28th, 2021) and focused on the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, confirming the supposed greater efficacy in preventing infection or severe outcomes following the administration of two doses.

31 May 2021

WHO launches campaign to support people to quit smoking

The World Health Organization's 'Commit to Quit' tobacco campaign has made resources from its Quitting Toolkit freely available to more than a billion tobacco users, less than 5 months into the year-long campaign.

29 May 2021

Enough to wreck their rest: $10,322 for a sleep study

José Mendoza's snoring was bad — but the silence when he stopped breathing was even worse for his wife, Nancy.

27 May 2021

Long-term data from smartwatches can help estimate clinical blood test results

Smartwatches and other wearable devices may be used to sense illness, dehydration and even changes to the red blood cell count, according to biomedical engineers and genomics researchers at Duke University and the Stanford University School of Medicine.

26 May 2021

Survey shows health care workers face unsafe working conditions, experience fear

A new report summarizes the findings from a national survey of frontline health care workers during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that many reported unsafe working conditions and retaliation for voicing their concerns to employers.

26 May 2021

New manifesto created by LGBT+ youth groups calls for a more inclusive society in the UK

A new manifesto created by LGBT+ youth groups and sociolinguistics experts at the University of Nottingham has been launched to call for a more inclusive society in the UK.

25 May 2021

Healthcare workers were three times more likely to get infected by COVID-19, shows study

A study of healthcare workers shows they were three times more likely to become infected during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the general population. Around one in five of workers who were infected were asymptomatic and unaware they had COVID-19.

25 May 2021

No-cancel culture: How telehealth is making it easier to keep that therapy session

When the covid-19 pandemic forced behavioral health providers to stop seeing patients in person and instead hold therapy sessions remotely, the switch produced an unintended, positive consequence: Fewer patients skipped appointments.

24 May 2021

Masks and physical distancing could reduce SARS-CoV-2 spread to 1% among essential food plant workers, says study

The food supply is an essential service. Yet, workers in this industry are at high risk of acquiring infection with the novel coronavirus in their workplace unless proper mitigation measures are put in place. A new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, shows that the risk of infection may be reduced to less than 1% with proper precautions.

21 May 2021

Emotional support animals can provide quantifiable benefits to people with serious mental illness

A team led by a social work researcher at The University of Toledo has published the first empirical evidence that emotional support animals can provide quantifiable benefits to individuals with serious mental illness who are experiencing depression, anxiety and loneliness.

21 May 2021

To the bat cave: In search of covid’s origins, scientists reignite polarizing debate on Wuhan ‘lab leak’

Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the idea that the covid virus escaped from a Chinese lab is gaining high-profile attention. As it does, reputations of renowned scientists are at risk — and so is their personal safety.

19 May 2021

Pandemic protocols in workplace resulted in less "sickness presenteeism"

Employer COVID-19 safety measures influenced worker precautions even when they were not on the clock, according to a new study out of Washington State University.