Health

There's a real chance you'll need proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter certain venues, and Apple is hoping it can save you the hassle of digging up an email or carrying a physical card in your pocket. The company is bringing verifiable COVID-19 vaccination cards to Wallet as part of a future iPhone software update. The feature will take advantage of the international SMART Health Cards standard (already in use in several states) to produce proof of vaccination, sign it with a private key and create a public key to verify your info. The just-released iOS 15 already lets…

Photo: OlegRi (Shutterstock)The most important thing that the COVID vaccines do is prevent deaths and severe illness from COVID-19. The next most important thing they do is prevent many cases of milder illness—a job they’re not perfect at, but it’s still far better to be vaccinated than not. But what about long COVID, the still-mysterious long-term symptoms that can follow some coronavirus infections?Long COVID is still not well understoodOne of the reasons it’s hard to get a straight answer on this question is because long COVID itself is hard to define and has been hard to study. Symptoms of long…

Photo: goodluz (Shutterstock)When Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was approved in August, it was only approved for ages 16 and up as a two-dose series. But since fully-approved vaccines and medications can be used “off label,” many of us started wondering if providers could administer the vaccine to children or give boosters to people who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for them. Unfortunately, that’s not likely to be the case. The reason relates to some specific government paperwork, but first let’s talk about what “off label” means.What does “off label” mean?Drugs (and vaccines) are FDA approved for specific purposes. But providers are allowed to…

Photo: Brandon Bell (Getty Images)Variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 didn’t really make news until this year, despite the virus spreading around the globe all through 2020. There’s some misinformation out there blaming the vaccine itself for these variants, but that seems to be based on a misunderstanding. Let’s explore the facts.The truth: More infections = more variantsThere’s a saying in biology that “nothing makes sense except in light of evolution.” And that’s definitely true here. As anything reproduces—whether viruses or human beings—some of the individuals will be a little different from their parents. DNA isn’t copied exactly perfectly,…

Muscle spasms like calf cramps can be a painful companion on the path to your fitness goal. Muscle fibers contract unexpectedly and sometimes without warning, causing pain. This can happen during or after exercise (and often at night).The most commonly affected areas are the calves, feet, and thighs. A muscle cramp can sneak up on anyone – from beginners to professionals.WHAT CAUSES LEG CRAMPSFor a long time it was believed that fluid or mineral imbalances were the main cause of muscle cramps. However, to date there is no evidence on what really causes muscle cramps. What we know is that…

New research investigates whether the mRNA from the COVID-19 vaccines can be passed on to infants through breastmilk. The development and administration of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is helping to reduce transmission of COVID-19, and these vaccines have been an integral part of combating the global COVID-19 pandemic.  The first approved SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were mRNA vaccines, which use mRNA from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to train the immune system to recognize and attack the pathogen without the risk of COVID-19 infection.1 The two mRNA vaccines that are currently approved for COVID-19 are BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna).  Current research suggests that both…

The post-vax slutty summer is happening all around us, but some participants aren’t actually post-vax. The vaccine has been free and widely available for months now, but about half the population still isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19. A portion of those unvaccinated people is still interested in dating and if you’re part of it, we have some tips for how to do this ethically.(Of course, we recommend getting vaccinated, but you know that by now.)Know that vaccination status will be a dealbreaker for someLast month, dating app Bumble released its latest research on COVID-era trends among surveyed users. About 30% of…

Vaccine uptake has varied worldwide, with some countries still experiencing higher rates of first COVID-19 vaccine dose compared with a second dose, suggesting some people may be skipping their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. A recent study suggests why this might not be a good choice. Conventionally, the approval of new vaccines worldwide has always been a lengthy and systematic process. From an immunological perspective, new vaccines must be successful at inducing the production of neutralizing antibodies, made by specific immune cells called B cells, that block a virus from infecting the body.1 Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines The…

Evidence from a recent study suggests that a specific gene may provide some resistance to severe symptoms of COVID-19. According to the study, the genetic make-up of those who experience severe COVID-19 symptoms, versus those who are asymptomatic, significantly differ at one gene location. The study found a significantly higher frequency of the HLA-DRB1*04:01 gene in asymptomatic individuals. This potential gene for COVID-19 resistance is a version – allele – of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) family of genes, which are involved in immune system response. The research group from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom enrolled 49 patients in…

Are you constantly tired and sluggish although you slept enough? Of course, some kind of deficiency or disease might be making making you feel like this, but all too often there are other reasons why you feel so lethargic. If you keep asking yourself “Why am I so tired?”, then check out the common causes of fatigue below.1. Your sleep rhythm is disturbedOften, we only focus on how long we sleep. You should try to get somewhere between seven and eight hours a night. This is very important because people who are continually sleep deprived tend to put on weight.However,…

Patients who have been exposed to a coronavirus may produce a versatile, cross-reactive coronavirus antibody; this may be useful for the eventual development of a broad-acting vaccine. There are seven human coronavirus types, of which, four cause the common cold, named OC43, HKU1, 229E, and NL63. Most people become infected with at least one of these four coronaviruses at some point in their lives. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is another member of the coronavirus family that causes COVID-19. Infection with the cold-causing coronaviruses may lead to immune memory. This could potentially impact on the immune response to…

Does a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 increase the risk of heart attacks for those with pre-existing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) or familial hypercholesterolemia (FH)? It has been shown that higher rates of COVID-19 deaths can be associated with hypertension, heart failure, and cardiovascular disease. However, there were fewer patients reporting acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or heart attacks, when visiting hospitals during the pandemic. Researchers from across the United States gathered the data from approximately 55 million individuals for this study. They were divided into six categories based on the information available, which included combinations of diagnosed FH, probable FH, diagnosed…