Getting the COVID-19 vaccine feels like a big sigh of relief for many people. But for Lily Hagigat, the long-anticipated moment was shadowed by an overwhelming sense of guilt. "After the second dose, the guilt really kind of hit me,"…
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Not to be sniffed at: Agony of post-COVID-19 loss of smell
The doctor slid a miniature camera into the patient’s right nostril, making her whole nose glow red with its bright miniature light. “Tickles a bit, eh?” he asked as he rummaged around her nasal passages, the discomfort causing tears to…
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No, you are not addicted to your digital device, but you may have a habit you want to break
Imagine that you’re a typical middle school student having dinner with your family. Your mother takes your smartphone away and puts it in a lock-box that won’t open for an hour. Would you: (a) go ahead and eat dinner with…
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Screening asymptomatic health care personnel for COVID-19 not recommended by experts
Routine screening of asymptomatic health care personnel (HCP) in the absence of confirmed exposures to COVID-19 is not a recommended strategy for preventing transmission of the coronavirus causing the current global pandemic, according to a new review co-authored by an…
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Why Even Presidential Pressure Might Not Get More Vaccine to Market Faster
Americans are dying of covid-19 by the thousands, but efforts to ramp up production of potentially lifesaving vaccines are hitting a brick wall. Vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are running their factories full tilt and are under enormous pressure to…
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The Pfizer vaccine may not be the best choice for frail people, but it’s too early to make firm conclusions
Reports of about 30 deaths among elderly nursing home residents who received the Pfizer vaccine have made international headlines. With Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) expected to approve the vaccine imminently and the roll out set to begin next month,…
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Feel out of practice talking to people in person? You're not the only one
At a loss for words when a cashier tries to make small talk at the shop? Struggling to remember how much eye contact is too much when you meet up with someone in your bubble? Welcome to the club. Aside…
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To stretch or not to stretch: What you need to know about exercise warm-ups
Over the past 20 years, static muscle stretching has gotten a bad rap. Once considered an essential part of any sport or exercise warm-up, static stretching has now been removed from the picture almost entirely. This move followed extensive research…
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Mindfulness training does not reduce migraine frequency: study
(HealthDay)—Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) does not improve migraine frequency more than headache education, according to a study published online Dec. 14 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Rebecca Erwin Wells, M.D., M.P.H., from Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and…
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Light smokers may not escape nicotine addiction, study reveals
Even people who consider themselves to be casual cigarette smokers may be addicted, according to current diagnostic criteria. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and Duke University found that many light smokers—those who smoke one to four cigarettes per…
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