When five teenagers realized during virtual learning that their Glenbard, Illinois, classmates were strugging, they set up a text chain of support and delivered quarantine gift bags to their classmates’ homes. “Every single kid called us,” one of the teens told educational psychologist Michele Borba, “and after thanking us, they would start sobbing because they…
James Kirkland picked up his first dinosaur toy when he was 5 years old in 1959. He remembers it like it was yesterday. Little did he know then that his love of dinosaurs would lead to a career as a paleontologist. Since the day his father brought home a special gift for him — a…
With a surge in new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, health officials and state leaders have ratcheted up their calls for the public to be vaccinated before winter arrives while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has approved booster shots for an expanded number of Americans. Despite the appeals, the average rate of new…
Following days of lengthy debate among vaccine experts, booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine can now be officially administered to some adults in the United States. Early Friday morning, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky diverged from the agency’s independent vaccine advisers to recommend boosters for a broader group…
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argued long and hard Thursday before endorsing giving booster doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to people 65 and older, long-term care facility residents and certain people with underlying conditions. However, the advisers voted against recommending a booster dose for people whose jobs or situations…
An international group of 13 scientists has released a statement calling for the health care community to carefully consider the use of acetaminophen (APAP) during pregnancy until the painkiller is thoroughly investigated for any potential impact on fetal development in the womb. Outside the United States, acetaminophen is known as paracetamol. According to the statement…
Even for vegetable lovers, beets can be a hard sell. Beets are one of those love-’em-or-hate-’em vegetables, with strong opinions on both sides. As beets come into their peak season from late summer through late fall, the debate rages on. If you fall into the camp of beet haters because of their smell, there’s a…
With children returning to school, there’s a massive effort underway within many districts around the country to keep Covid-19 at bay. But additional issues — stress and anxiety — are finding their way in. Doctors and psychiatrists want parents to take note — children may be bringing last year’s pandemic stress into the classroom. Anxiety,…
The current wave of Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta coronavirus variant has the potential to be the country’s last major wave of infection — but it’s far from over, and even endemic Covid will pose problems, a former Food and Drug Administration chief said. “I think this Delta wave may be the last major…
The US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it would grant emergency use authorization for a booster dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease and people whose jobs put them at risk of infection. “After considering the totality of the available scientific evidence and the…